Potpourri - Bucs, Ballers, and Brady

Selected Short Subjects.......

The last time I wrote of the Pirates, they had played 31 games, just short of 20% of the season.  At the conclusion of yesterday's game, they had played 43 games, or just over a quarter of the season.

With a record of 21-22, I think that the best that could be said about the Pirates season is that it is "uneven."  A weekend sweep of the Mets was encouraging, but it followed another streak wherein they lost seven of eight games.  The good news is that the pitching of Cole-Burnett-Liriano (save that one awful game against the Twins), has been stellar, and that Andrew McCutchen is heating up BIG TIME.

Still, I will say that we have passed the "Hey, it's still early" phase of the season.  We are now in the "Hey, these guys better start picking it up" phase for the next fifty games or so.

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The Golden State Warriors and Cleveland Cavaliers have each taken 3-0 leads in their Conference Finals playoff series, so the NBA Finals are not quite set in stone yet, but I am going to go out on a limb and say that it will be a Warriors-Cavaliers Finals, and I, of one, am really, really looking forward to the dual that will be played out between Steph Curry and LeBron James in that Series.

It should be Epic!


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I was going to write a lengthy piece about Tom Brady, deflated footballs, his pending suspension, and the penalties heaped upon the Patriots.  

Then I thought, "Who cares at this point, so to hell with it."

All I will say is that Brady is paying the penalty for the past sins of his employer and his coaches.  Had this happened to any other QB and team in the NFL, both the QB and the team would have received a cursory slap on the wrist and be told to be sure to never do this again.

Playing with the air pressure of the footballs is not much different than the Pirates watering down the base paths when the Reds come to town in order to slow up Billy Hamilton.