Here We Go Again, Unfortunately

It happened again. 

Another school shooting by a gunman, loaded with automatic weaponry and killing at least 18 school children at an elementary school along with a teacher. This time it was in the state of Texas.

 

From US National News . . . 

 

 

 

At least 14 children and one teacher are dead after an active shooter incident on Tuesday sent a Texas elementary school into lock down, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott confirmed. The suspect in the shooting is dead, according to Abbott. Following the incident at Robb Elementary, children were taken to the emergency room at Uvalde Memorial Hospital, per a statement from the hospital.

(Note- the update since this initial report now stands at 19 children dead, 21 total dead.)

 

How sad and sickening is this? 

There are so many instances when this occurs, it really is disgusting. Just ten days ago, the lunatic in Buffalo, New York shot dead at least ten people in a grocery store. Several years ago, the shooting at the high school in Parkland, Florida. And of course, nearly ten years ago was the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut. 

The governor of Texas today put forward the usual rhetoric following this latest shooting tragedy and then the republican party is already starting their grandstanding, including Mitch McConnell (republican U.S. Senator from Kentucky) who is wholly owned by the NRA and they have dumped plenty of money into his campaign coiffures throughout the years.

Hey Abbott and McConnell and (Texas republican U.S. Senator) Ted Cruz . . . Just shut up already and do something. 

This country of ours is a mess when it comes to gun reform. 

I am not holding my breath over anything being done about it, especially not in Texas. Abbott and his carelessness cost many people their lives last year when a winter deep freeze hit that state and their horse shit power grid failed and people froze to death. But no repercussions for Abbott and company. 

Don't expect them to budge at all on this one either.

 They will offer up their "thoughts and prayers" like they always do and it follows the old adage of rinse, lather, repeat. The next gun shooting/murder incident that occurs (and it will happen) they will do the same thing while making excuses as to why we cannot have sensible gun reform. 

In the meantime, just go about your business and pay no mind to what happened and just be thankful it wasn't you or your children or loved ones this happened to. 

That lax attitude has to change . . . for God's sake, it must change. 

I'm out. 

Hey America, Wake Up

 

Wake up America!

Those who want to blame President Joe Biden for all the inflation in this country  need look no further than the Trump policies that were put in place and are still having a big impact on the United States. In fact, Trump and his insanity (especially during the pandemic in 2020) were fully backed by the Republican party, especially when they held power in both the U.S. House and Senate. 

 

 

Trump and the republicans were the proponents of Saudi Arabia and all their affiliates cutting back oil production drastically and that impact is the chief reason for the rising gas prices in the last year (including price gouging by the major oil companies) since Joe Biden took office. It is a calculated effort to dupe the American people into getting so pissed off at the Democratic party in charge now because of the rising prices of gasoline and groceries, etc. Not to mention Trump's master Vladimir Putin and the Russian invasion of Ukraine contributing to rising oil prices as well. 

It is a concerted effort by the Trump cronies to get back into power. Plain and simple.

 

Think about it . . . how have these stupid "I Did That"(with Joe Biden pointing at the prices on the gas pumps) stickers all of a sudden show up just in time for the inflation we have been seeing?

My fellow Americans, you can be smarter than that. 

 

Not to mention the compromised U.S. Supreme Court (with three Trump appointees on the bench) and the dark money shadow groups backing extreme right wing candidates that do the bidding of billionaires and corporations, the rest of us all be damned. The corporate controlled news media doesn't help either as they constantly still beat the drums for the conservatives in this country. Big money controls that message. Again, thanks to the SCOTUS and that asinine Citizens United case a decade ago.

A big problem is most people have very (VERY) short attention spans and are struggling to just make ends meet so they cannot get involved in the political scene. The republicans thrive on this and when they held the power when Trump was in office, they helped to create a huge deficit with the TAX CUTS FOR THE RICH AND CORPORATIONS four years ago. 

Remember that people? 

Put your brains to work and get that memory bank tuned in and remember that the REPUBLICANS caused the current national debt we have. Not to mention the January 6th coup attempt (no, it was not just a riot in Washington, D.C.) the republicans are still trying to cover up. The commission investigating the whole thing has been moving at a deliberate pace and it's hopeful the heat gets turned up fill tilt before the November elections. 

In fact, the republicans embrace fascism and the MAGA Trump extremism that is a cancer on this country. They are using the same blue print that Hitler and his minions did in Germany nearly a century ago. 

Be careful what you wish for Joe Biden detractors. You will not like the final outcome if your wishes do come true. 

Point is too many people blame the wrong people for the problems in this country and the republicans in Congress (see Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy) do all they can to stall and squash any chances for real solutions the Democrats attempt to get going to give us some relief. Well, don't hold your breath on any of that changing as McConnell (Moscow Mitch as he is also known) keeps bloviating about how President Biden is responsible for the inflation. However, INFLATION IS AND HAS BEEN A WORLD WIDE PROBLEM since the pandemic two years ago. 

We bitch and moan about gas being over five bucks a gallon when it's nearly double that price in Europe and all other parts of the world. 

If republicans gain control of the House and/or Senate this election cycle, things will most definitely get way worse for we, the 99 percent of the country's population. 

Count on it. 

So get out there and VOTE . . . Vote the Republican bums out!

Don't say you weren't warned. 

Hockey Legend Guy Lafleur Dead At Age 70

NHL legend Guy Lafleur died at age 70 it was announced on Friday. 

Lafleur played for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1970's and early 1980's and the team won five Stanley Cup titles during his time with the team, including four consecutive Stanley Cups from the 1975-76 through the 1978-79 seasons. The Canadiens set an NHL record during the 1976-77 season with 60 wins and the most team points (132), which still stands.

The Habs went 60-8-12 in that season and cruised to a second straight Stanley Cup championship. During the decade of the 1970's, Montreal claimed six Stanley Cup titles. In addition, Lafleur won three NHL scoring titles in succession from the 1975-76 through the 1977-78 seasons. He also scored 50-plus goals in a season six times in his career and he is a member of the Hockey Hall-of-Fame. 

 

Lafleur also had playing stints with the New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques. 

 

                                                          Rest in Peace GUY LAFLEUR

 

 

Lafleur's career statistics are listed below.

 

 

Guy Lafleur Career NHL Statistics

Games Played - 1,126

Goals - 560

Assists - 793

POINTS - 1,353

+/-    + 446

PIM - 399

SHOTS - 3,516

Game Winning Goals - 98

History As U.S. Senate Confirms Brown Jackson to U.S. Supreme Court

The U.S. Senate confirmed Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Supreme Court today.

That is history as she is the first African-American woman named to the SCOTUS. Three republicans joined with the democrats to confirm Brown Jackson, who is the fourth woman on the current SCOTUS bench, joining Elena Kagan, Sonya Sotomayor and Amy Coney-Barrett. 

 

Congratulations to Ketanji Brown Jackson.

KANSAS WINS NCAA BASKETBALL TITLE

 

The Kansas Jayhawks completed the largest comeback ever in the history of the NCAA Championship game with a 72-69 win over the North Carolina Tar Heels on Monday night in the Superdome in New Orleans. 

 

It was the school's fourth championship in men's basketball and their first since the 2007-08 season as Head Coach Bill Self gets a second title since coming to the school back in 2003. The Jayhawks overcame a 16-point deficit as the Tar Heels coughed up the big lead, which included a 40-25 halftime edge. 

Kansas stormed back by a 47-29 count in the second half, thanks in part to a pressure defense and clutch shooting while holding UNC to just under 25 percent from the floor in the decisive second half to get the close win and capture the championship. 

 

   Congratulations to the KANSAS JAYHAWKS - 2021-22 NCAA Basketball Champions ! 

 

Major League Baseball - 2022 Season Preview

As the players get ready to start another baseball season, there are many questions about which teams will do what in the 2022 Major League Baseball schedule, which will be a 162-game adventure. There were some doubts about that roughly one month ago when the lockout by the owners was ended as things were settled in the contract negotiations. 

 

 

The Los Angeles Dodgers appear to be the team to beat, but as we all know, the games are played on the field and not on the statistical sheets, so they will have their work cut out this summer as they look to win their second World Series title in the last three years. No doubt the team is loaded and even their manager, Dave Roberts has said they will get it done this year and win the trophy. 

The defending World Series champion Atlanta Braves will likely have something to say about it all as they will attempt to win their fifth consecutive National League East division title. They bolstered an already air tight bullpen by picking up closer Kenley Jansen (formerly of the Dodgers) and also got first baseman Matt Olson from the Oakland A's to make up some for the loss of Freddie Freeman, who signed a huge free agent contract with the (you guessed it) Los Angeles Dodgers. 

The New York Mets will look to battle the Braves and Philadelphia Phillies in the NL East and signed pitcher Max Scherzer and picked up Chris Bassitt from Oakland to go with Jacob deGrom on a strong starting pitching staff. However, deGrom was recently shut down for at least the next four weeks with arm troubles and Scherzer has had hamstring issues so far this spring. Not a good thing if they want to hang around in a tough division. Meanwhile, the Phillies signed sluggers Kyle Schwarber and Nick Castellanos to an already potent lineup to try and make the playoffs for the first time in eleven years.

Over in the American League, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox, who both are usually very involved in free agent signings, were pretty quiet this time around when the frenzy began with the later start of spring training. Boston did get shortstop Trevor Story, who had been with the Colorado Rockies. Story will move over to second base because Xander Bogaerts is the shortstop in Beantown. The Yankees should get a post-season spot as long as they can avoid injuries to key players.

The American League East is perhaps the best division in the majors and both the Yankees and Red Sox will have their hands full with the Toronto Blue Jays and Tampa Bay Rays. Toronto bolstered their pitching staff and also has a formidable lineup with Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. and Bo Bichette leading the charge. Tampa Bay just keeps on chugging along as they once again made the post-season in 2021 and will likely be right there again this summer in the rugged division battle. 

The Chicago White Sox should win the AL Central again, but the Minnesota Twins and perhaps the Detroit Tigers will have something to say about that. The Twins snagged the biggest free agent this year, getting shortstop Carlos Correa (formerly of the Houston Astros) while dealing away Josh Donaldson to the Yankees for catcher Gary Sanchez. The Twins have a strong lineup and should the pitching hold up this season, they could give the ChiSox a run for their money. 

The White Sox signed reliever Joe Kelly along with picking up Kendall Graveman and already have premier closer Liam Hendricks along with a plethora of middle inning guys who form perhaps the best bullpen in the American League, if not all of the majors. They also just dealt Craig Kimbrel to the Dodgers for outfielder A.J. Pollock. If they stay healthy and play to their capabilities, the White Sox could make it to the World Series this time around after getting stomped by Houston last year in the American League Division series. 

Speaking of Houston, they will have starter Justin Verlander back this season after he missed all of 2021 due to Tommy John surgery. That will help in that area and their batting order is solid even without Correa. The Astros should win the AL West again, but the Seattle Mariners will be right there again and the Los Angeles Angels, with super stars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani (the reigning AL MVP) will likely be in the mix as well. Texas spent a ton of money on free agents, but the big question will be how the pitching holds up after they come off a 100-plus loss season. 

All in all, it looks to be an exciting season coming up this summer, so here goes nothing in picking the winners in the division races with some playoff predictions as well. This season, there are 12 playoff teams (six in each league) and two teams will get a bye round and take on the winners of the wild card round (best of three series) in the division series. Next will be the league championship series and finally the World Series.

(wild card teams are listed in italics)

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

East - 1. Toronto 2. NY Yankees 3. Tampa Bay 4. Boston 5. Baltimore 

Central - 1. Chicago 2. Minnesota 3. Detroit 4. Cleveland 5. Kansas City 

West - 1. Houston 2. LA Angels 3. Seattle 4. Texas 5. Oakland 

 

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

East - 1. Atlanta 2. Philadelphia 3. NY Mets 4. Miami 5. Washington 

Central - 1. Milwaukee 2. St. Louis 3. Chicago 4. Cincinnati 5. Pittsburgh 

West - 1. LA Dodgers 2. San Diego 3. San Francisco 4. Colorado 5. Arizona 

 

AMERICAN LEAGUE 

Wild Card Round - Chicago over LA Angels; Tampa Bay over NY Yankees

Divisional Series - Toronto over Tampa Bay; Houston over Chicago

ALCS - Toronto over Houston 

NATIONAL LEAGUE 

Wild Card Round - Philadelphia over Milwaukee; St. Louis over San Diego 

Divisional Series - Atlanta over St. Louis; LA Dodgers over Philadelphia 

NLCS - LA Dodgers over Atlanta 

 

                                                               WORLD SERIES 

                                       Los Angeles Dodgers over Toronto Blue Jays (4-2)  

 

 

MARCH MADNESS

 Here we go again college hoops fans . . .  

 

Attempting to pick the Final Four for this year's NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament is a total crap shoot. 

Good Luck and here goes nothing.