To Absent Friends - Rich Morgan

I don't usually  offer up Absent Friends posts for people that I know on a personal basis.  There are exceptions to that rule, and today I present one of them, my friend Rich Morgan who passed away earlier this week at the age of 76.

I got to know Rich 10 or so years ago through his cousin and my pal, David Cicotello.   David introduced Rich to the Pirate Chat Facebook group, and away we went.  At that same time, Rich had a retirement job in Guest Services at PNC Park, and Marilyn and I would often make it point to look him up at his post manning the elevator along the first base side of the park.

Over the years, I came to learn that Rich was a US Navy veteran (I believe that he served in the Viet Nam War), an avid golfer, and a huge soccer fan, particularly of Liverpool in the English Premier League.

Perhaps the most remarkable and admirable part of the Rich Morgan Story was the fact that he was the recipient of a kidney transplant over twenty-five years ago.  He then became a tireless advocate for organ donation.  For several years, he hosted a golf outing to raise money for Pittsburgh Team Transplant, an organization for whom he competed in the National Transplant Olympics.  I am proud to say that I played in his outing three times over the years.  I also got to tee it up with him several times over the years when David was in town.

In recent years, Rich battled cancer, undergoing several operations and courses of treatment.  When in 2017 it was discovered that Marilyn had cancer, Rich was a constant source of inspiration and comfort to us both, always ending his messages to us wth his inimitable phrase, "Fuck cancer!"  He paid his respects to me at the funeral home when Marilyn died in 2021 and offered that exact sentiment to me.  It was a great comfort at the time.

He could also be a cantankerous curmudgeon at times, but who doesn't love a cantankerous curmudgeon?.  I remember when I wrote all about our trip to Great Britain in 2019. Included in that write up was mention of our  stop to see Stonehenge during the course of our nine day trip.  Rich chose to respond to that write up by focusing on only one part of the story.  He said "Stonehenge has to be the biggest and most over-rated tourist trap in the world.  What a waste of time and money to go here."  That may not be an exact quote, but it's pretty close.  At first I thought, well, gee, thanks a lot for that, Rich, but in the end, I laughed it off, and it became a source of kidding between us.

In the end, it was the cancer that ended Rich's time with all of us.  I last saw him on July 16 at PNC Park.  David was in town and Rich and Lorraine joined Andy Terrick, David, Linda, and me at the Pirates-Giants game.  I am so, so glad that we were able to do that.  Physically, you could tell that Rich was not doing well, but he was the same old Rich, emphatically stating several times throughout the game that Henry Davis "is NOT a right fielder for the love of Mike!"   Also evident that day, was the loving and supportive relationship that he and Lorraine had right up to the very end.

I will close this tribute in a way that Rich would surely approve.  First, if you are not already signed up to be an organ donor, do so today.  Not tomorrow, but today.  And secondly, Fuck Cancer.

RIP Rich Morgan

YNWA

"The Boys From Biloxi"

Long before there was such a thing as Artificial Intelligence (AI), there was the fertile and prolific writer's brain of John Grisham, the author of forty novels, all of them best sellers.  I can just see Grisham sitting at his desk as he contemplated  writing Novel Number 41.

He probably scribbled a few notes on a yellow legal pad that went something like this....

• Two first generation immigrant families produce two sons.  One son struggles to become an attorney, one drifts into vice and illegal doings
• They each produce sons born 28 days apart who become Little League teammates and All-Stars, and good buddies through high school
• Each follows in Dad's footsteps
• Each now become enemies on opposite sides of the law
• Add healthy doses of crooked cops, scumbag hoodlums and thugs, a murder or two, jury tampering, horrifying views of prison life, ruminations on the death penalty, and hinky Old South (or maybe not so old) Mississippi politics.
• Set it in Biloxi, Mississippi during the course of the 1950's, -60's, -70's, and -80's.

Toss all of these elements into the patented "John Grisham AI Processor", and  BOOM! out pops "The Boys From Biloxi."  Grisham probably didn't even break a sweat while churning it out.

Yes, it is formulaic.  Yes, it seems like Grisham wrote this one in his sleep, and yes, there are a few plot points that are a bit inexplicable.  It is also a vintage Grisham story.  Gripping and totally and completely readable and enjoyable.  I can't disagree with critics who have said that Grisham is now just phoning it in and waiting for the residual checks to roll in, but I will also tell you that I can't wait for the next time Grisham goes to his AI Processor and cranks out his next best seller.

"The Boys From Biloxi" gets Three Stars form The Grandstander.

Football and Futbol

THE STEELERS

The Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Buffalo Bills 27-15 last night, and now stand at 2-0 in the NFL Practice Games season.  We all know that that and $7.95 will get you a cup of coffee at Starbuck's, but, still, winning is better that losing, and the Steelers have shown us several things about which their fans can get excited.

Foremost has been the performance of second year quarterback Kenny Pickett.

Pickett has only played three offensive series in these two games. Each of those series has resulted touchdowns for the Steelers.  He has completed nine of eleven passes for two touchdowns, and the one he threw last night, a 25 yard bullet that threaded a needle to Pat Freiermuth on the goal line was a thing of beauty.

Muuuuuuuuth!!

These are only practice games, to be sure, but last night's win over Buffalo gave us a lot to dwell on.  Among them....

• Jaylon Warren's 63 yard run from scrimmage for a TD.  Talk about great execution!
• The Steelers first unit defense stuffing Josh Allen and the Bills first unit offense in the first quarter.
• Performances by WR's George Pickens and Calvin Austin.
• The play of rookie OLB Nate Herbig.  That kid looks like he's going to be one terrific player.

Joey Jr.'s first INT

• Rookie Joey Porter Jr making his first interception and then giving the football to his Dad in the stands.  It can be seen HERE, but what isn't seen in this video is the fact that Joey Sr had a Terrible Towel stuffed in his back pocket.  Somewhere, Myron Cope was smiling.

One more practice game next thursday night in Atlanta followed by a 17 day layoff until the 49'ers come to Acrisure Stadium to open the season.  Things change when you start playing games that count, but it is hard not to be excited by what we have seen so far from the '23 Steelers.

THE WOMEN'S WORLD CUP

The Women's World Cup ended today with a 1-0 victory by Spain over England.  I claim no expertise in futbol, but I believe that I am safe in saying that the better team on the pitch today was Spain.  They dominated the game, had a tenacious defense that swarmed all over the English players when they got near the Spanish goal, and are worthy Champs.  

The most exciting play of the game, however, came when English goalkeeper Mary Earps (later named the outstanding Keeper of the entire tournament) stopped a penalty kick for Spain midway through the second half.   Earps punctuated her save with a heartfelt scream that had those of us who read her lips blushing.  Had the kick been successful, it would have effectively sealed the win for Spain.  As it was, the game remained in doubt and Spain was forced to hold off England's furious efforts to score for the remainder of the came and through over thirteen minutes of stoppage time.

If ever a 1-0 ninety-plus minute soccer game can be described as "exciting", this game certainly was.  Perhaps I am coming to understand the Beautiful Game, after all.

Much of the excitement of the World Cup for American viewers, of course,  disappeared when the defending champs and tournament favorite USA was eliminated after their first game in the knockout round.  The team managed to score all of four goals in five games, three of them coming in one game against a clearly non-competitve Viet Nam.  A tremendously disappointing performance for the squad.  I admit that I pretty much lost interest in the rest of the tourney until the Final Four games matches were played.

Earlier in the week, USWNT Manager Vlatko Andonovski announced that he was resigning his position with the team.  Resigning, yeah right.

Lionel Messi

Since his debut last month, Lionel Messi has been running roughshod through Major League Soccer.  Prior to his arrival, Miami had the worst record in all of MLS.  Since then, they have not lost a game, and Messi has been scoring goals, seemingly, at will.

This performance is surely a testimony to Messi's greatness.  No one doubts that, but does it also tell us that the MLS is a distinctly inferior brand of futbol as it is played throughout the rest of the world?  

"Heart of Stone" on Netflix

The movie "Heart of Stone" debuted on Netflix this past Friday, so while Linda was at book club with her besties yesterday afternoon, I treated myself to watching this one.  In all honesty, had this starred anyone but Wonder Woman herself, Gal Gadot, I'm not sure I'd have watched, but while this movie will never win any awards, there are certainly worse ways to invest two hours of your time, entertainment-wise.

The movie takes place in London...and the Italian Alps....and the desert in Sudan...and in the fringes of outer space....and Iceland...and I probably left some other locations out.  Gadot plays Rachel Stone, who works for Britain's MI6, but who really works for some organization called The Charter, who controls some super duper commuter gizmo called The Heart, which can control and predict just about everything.  The Charter wants to use this gadget for Good.  A fellow MI6 agent, who is really a Bad Guy, wants to, and eventually does, steal The Heart.  He says he wants to use it for Good, but he really wants to use it for Bad.  Somehow, it all comes down to Rachel to find The Heart, ward off the Bad Guy, and return it to The Charter, who will continue to use it for Good.

All of this mumbo-jumbo of a MacGuffin just serves to highlight Godot as an absolute total BadAss female James Bond while performing some unbelievable stunts in the Alps, the Sudanese desert, in a space station, and in Iceland, all while looking unbelievably attractive while wearing well fitting jeans, tank tops, motorcycle leathers, and even while bruised and bleeding after engaging in some amazing hand to hand battles with the forces of evil.

And of course, the movie ends with a perfect set-up for more adventures of Rachel Stone and The Charter.  Or, as the moguls in Hollywood might put it, a Money Making Movie Franchise for Gal Gadot.

Like I said, it ain't the greatest, but it's entertainment.  Also, it's an excuse to post more pics of Ms Gadot.

Two Stars from The Grandstander.

Tears for Lahaina and Maui

In January 2015, Marilyn and I celebrated out fortieth anniversary by taking a trip to Hawaii.  Most  of our time in that state was spent on the island of Maui and our time there was centered in the village of Lahaina.  Because of those wonderful memories, the news of the wildfires that have ravaged Lahaina and have taken the lives of over fifty people are especially heartbreaking to me.   

We had wonderful meals there, we attended the renowned Lahaina Luau, and many of the excursions that we took originated in Lahaina.  There is no other word for what has happened than "heartbreaking."

Some memories of better times below.

You may have heard on the news of the 150 year old banyon tree 

that was a landmark in the center of the town.  This is that tree (and me).

At the famous "Lahaina Luau".....

"Quarterback" on Netflix

If you are a football fan and have not yet watched the Netflix series "Quarterback", stop whatever it is that you are doing right now and begin watching.  No, seriously. just drop what you're doing and begin watching this eight part series right now.  

The show, whose Executive Producer is Peyton Manning, follows three QB's throughout the 2023 season, from training camp to Super Bowl.  Unlimited access was given to the show for games, practices, and glimpses into the players' personal and family life.  Two of these players' wives had babies during the season, for example.  The three stars of the show represented a perfect cross section of life in the NFL at its most important position.

• Marcus Mariotta.  A former first round draft pick, now trying to hang on with his third team, the Atlanta Falcons.  He started as the team's number one QB, was benched three quarters of the way into the season and then left the team.  (The series ended by telling us that he had signed on with the Eagles to be Jalen Hurts' backup in 2023.)
• Kirk Cousins.  Led his team to a 13-4 record, the NFC North championship, and was a serious MVP candidate, but his season ended when the Vikes lost in the opening round of the playoffs.
• Patrick Mahomes.  Need I say more?  He was the League MVP and led his Chiefs to a victory in the Super Bowl and was named the game's MVP.

It is a fascinating look at three individuals and what they have to go through, week after week, through all kinds of injuries and adversities, and just how they prepare for every game, every week.  It always looks like Mahomes goes in the huddle and says  "Travis, go straight for twelve yards and turn right.  The rest of you guys just block", but it's not as easy as they all make it look.

I can't recommend the series highly enough.

Four Stars from The Grandstander.

To Absent Friends - William Friedkin

 

William Friedkin

1935-2023

Academy Award winning film director William Friedkin, or "Billy", as he was known to his pals, died earlier this week at the age of 87.  In the 1970's, Friedkin was hailed as one of the up and coming directors in Hollywood.  

Early in his career, he made several documentaries and directed some episodes of various TV series.  He made a couple of fairly well received feature films in 1968 and 1970, "The Night They Raided Minsky's" and "The Boys In The Band", but he struck it rich in 1971 when he directed "The French Connection".   Based on the true story of a couple of New York City cops who busted a major heroin ring, the movie won five Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Actor (Gene Hackman), and Best Director for Friedkin.  He followed that one up in 1973 with "The Exorcist", a horror movie about a young girl possessed by the devil and the priest who exorcised the demon.  "The Exorcist" was an enormous box office hit.  It was nominated for nine Oscars, winning two (Screenplay and Sound), and was nominated for Best Picture, Director, and three acting nominations.

"The French Connection" and "The Exorcist" were among the biggest box office hits of the decade, but, as the obituary his the New York Times put it, Friedkin was never again able to obtain the critical and commercial acclaim of those two films.  Among the more interesting looking subsequent works of his was a 1997 TV Movie remake of "12 Angry Men" that starred, among others, Jack Lemmon, George C. Scott, and James Gandolfini.  IMDB tells us that this is available for rental via Amazon Prime, and I might have to check it out.  He also directed a film version of the play "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" starring Kiefer Sutherland that is due to be released "sometime in 2023".  That will be one to watch out for as well.

But I write this Farewell to Friedkin mainly to be able to post  THIS SCENE,  Hackman's Popeye Doyle commandeering a car and chasing a subway train beneath the elevated New York City subway tracks.  Seven and one-half minutes that comprise the greatest "chase scene" ever in motion pictures (sorry about that all of you Steve McQueen "Bullitt" fans). 

RIP William Friedkin.

Directing Hackman in "The French Connection"

With Linda Blair in "The Exorcist"

This, That, and The Other.....

Time to clean out the Mental In-Box with some thoughts and opinions that have been accumulating.....

"Killers of the Flower Moon"

A major motion picture release coming this Fall is "Killers of the Flower Moon."  Directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio, and Jesse Plemons.  Three and a half hours long, and already the darling of the film festival circuit.  Can't wait see it, and to prepare, I just finished reading the 2017 book by David Grann that inspired it.

In the early decades of the twentieth century, oil was discovered on the tribal lands of the Osage Indian tribe in what is now Oklahoma.  This made the Osage Indians among the wealthiest people in America.  This fact pissed off a lot of white people, and soon the Osage were being murdered because of it.  A Bureau of Investigation agent named Tom White was dispatched to Oklahoma by his Washington DC based boss, a young guy named J. Edgar Hoover, to crack the case.  He did, and the Bureau of Investigation was soon to become the Federal Bureau of Investigation, in large part due to the work down by White on this case.  Hoover remained for another fifty years.

The Osage murders had become a largely forgotten piece of history, even Hoover's thirst for PR for the FBI had pushed it aside when bragging about its glorious victories over crime in America glossed over it.  This was largely due, most likely, to the victims:  Native Americans.  The FBI marginalized them as many minorities have been in the course of our history.  The best part of the book was the third part when author Grann went into a first person narrative describing the scope of his research, the interviews that he did, and learned that the full nature of the crimes against the Osage were even greater than was first thought.

The Grandstander gives the book Three Stars, and I am look forward with high expectations  for the movie when it is released in October.

"BlackBerry"

Back in the early 2000's, did you have a BlackBerry communications device for your job?  It was so revolutionary:  it was phone that you could hold in the palm of your hand and on which you could send and receive email!!  I had one and I positively hated it, and thank God I retired just as the business world was on the cusp of everyone getting smart phones and thus being tied to their jobs 24/7, and ruining forever the concept of Work/Life Balance.  But enough bout me.

This Canadian movie tells the story of the BlackBerry.  From the computer nerds who invented it, to the hard charging business guy who marketed it, to how it came to dominated this new world, to how this Canadian company came to be crushed by some company in California named Apple and its answer to the BlackBerry, the iPhone.  The tagline for the movie, "Work Hard. Fail Harder.", tells is all.

The "hard charging business guy" referred to was a guy named Jim Balsillie.  Hockey fans in Pittsburgh will remember him as the guy who tried to buy the Penguins back in the early'00s with the express purpose of moving them to Hamilton, Ontario.    That part of the story is covered in some detail in this movie.  As an aside, threats such as these to move the Penguins, including some by Mario Lemieux himself, did lead to the construction of a new arena in Pittsburgh, so I guess we can thank Balsillie for that at least.  An American actor named Glenn Howerton played Balisillie, and he was terrific in the part.

A good movie upon which The Grandstander bestows Three Stars.

Henry Davis

Back in 2021, the Pittsburgh Pirates used the overall Number One draft pick and selected Henry Davis, a catcher from the University of Louisville.  Less than two seasons later, Davis has arrived in Pittsburgh and it looks like he's here to stay.  He can hit - notwithstanding a recent 0-for-24 slump, which he broke last night with a single and a home run - and has shown some signs of power.  However, he has played all but one inning - ONE - in the outfield and not at catcher.   Mostly, he has played in right field.  This of course has brought about the usual griping among the cognoscenti....."only the Pirates would draft a catcher with the overall #1 pick and then never play him in that position."

It's not a complaint without some validity, and Davis' play in right field has oft times been, shall we say, adventurous, but I am coming around to the opinion that maybe, just maybe, the Pirates might be doing something right here.  One thing Davis has shown in right field has been a cannon of a throwing arm.  In back to back games against the Phillies last week, he made two throws that, if not Clemente-like, were enough to show me that it might be worthwhile to have the team work with Davis in the off season and spring training to improve his more basic outfield skills.  A throwing arm like that belongs in right field.  Of course much of this depends on how well Endy Rodriguez develops as a catcher.  There are a lot of moving parts to decisions like this, but Davis just might be a long term answer for the Bucs as an outfielder.

Pirates Over/Under 67.5 Wins

The Pirates sit this morning at 49-60.  For us OVER betters to cash in, they will have to go 19-34 (.358) the rest of the way to get that 68th win.  That .358 clip, interestingly enough, is the exact same percentage that they have been playing at since that wondrous 20-8 start.  They are 29-52 (.358) since then.

As I said at the outside, this will go down to the last week of the season.

Steelers Training Camp

I, along with my brother-in-law Jim Moellenbrock, spent this past Thursday afternoon at St, Vincent College in Latrobe, PA taking in Steelers Training camp.

I believe that the last time I was at a Steelers training camp in Latrobe was back in 1980, the year after their fourth Super Bowl win.  Somewhere in a dusty photo album, I am sure that I can come up with pics of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth.  The whole set-up at St Vincent has come a long way since 1980.  Among other things, you can now find a fully stocked pro shop filled with Steelers gear and apparel.  Following the dictum of the folks at Disney, what it costs to get in (free in the case of Steelers training camp) isn't nearly as important as what it costs to get out  of the place ($65 in my case for a new Steelers golf shirt).

Anyway, training camp can largely be a rather mundane affair.  Calisthenics, sprints, maybe some passing drills.  In the case of what we saw, Offense vs Defense in some drills from the two yard line were the highlights of the day, and even that was toned down a bit since no one was wearing pads on Wednesday.

So if you ask me "How did they look?", here is all I can tell you

• They looked big
• They looked fast
• George Pickens could be an All-Pro at WR this year

Still, a fun day, even with the god-awful heat that afternoon.  It's always great to see Rooney U out on the field.

Browns Helmet Decal

I watched very little of the Jets and Browns playing in the Hall of Fame game on Thursday night, but I watched long enough to notice this:

Yep, the Browns are honoring the late Jim Brown by wearing a #32 helmet decal this season. The Browns team that Jim Brown played for now plays as the Baltimore Ravens.  This Cleveland Browns team came into existence in 1999.  This Cleveland Browns team, with one or two exceptions, has pretty much stunk ever since 1999.  This Cleveland Browns team is owned by Jimmy and Dee Haslam.

This Cleveland Browns team should not be wearing Jim Brown's number.