Random Notes from a Crank

I'm both a fan of football and American football. 

In regard to the latter and in regard to the Super Bowl outcome, it's pretty simple. The team with the best line play is most likely to play. 

Use Occam's razor. 

What we saw in Super Bow LIX is that the Eagles have a great offensive line and a phenomenal defensive line. You win game at the line of scrimmage. It's that simple. 

Or I could showcase my old-guy self and simply say, "Defense wins championships." 

I was rooting for the Eagles because of Jalen Hurts, Devonta Smith, and Landon Dickerson.

I'm not a fan of the Chiefs, but I'm a fan of the Kansas City area. I lived there for a year and enjoyed it immensely. The metro area on Sundays is very much like a college football town. 

And the barbecue. People rave about the barbecue in Memphis, North Carolina, Texas, and various parts of the Deep South. But I prefer KC barbecue. 

As for the Royals, I've always liked them. I grew up as a kid loving the Royals when they were really good in the 70s and 80s: George Brett, Willie Wilson, Hal McRae, Frank White, Amos Otis, Bret Saberhagen, Mark Gubicza, Dan Quisenberry, et al. 

And one of my favorite small breweries in the nation is Boulevard Brewing Company.

Unfortunately, I don't see it around my parts here. 

With all these funding freezes of federal grants by President Adolf, a lot of farmers, some of whom probably voted for the autocrat, are going to get fucked financially. 

Check out the article from The Washington Post: "Farmers on the Hook for Millions after Trump Freezes USDA Funds." 

I don't know much about Kendrick Lamar, but I enjoyed his performance and the choreography of his dancers at the Super Bowl halftime show. 

The article, "The Subversive Genius of Kendrick Lamar's Super Bowl's Halftime Performance," covers it well as far as I can tell. 

 

That image above is pretty straightforward and symbolic: the American flag created by the backs of black men. 

Royals Flushed

Since the baseball season is approaching, I've been watching the MLB network's ongoing program that airs every evening, 30 Clubs in 30 Days.

Last night the program featured the Kansas City Royals, a team that hasn't had a winning since 2003.

People who know me know that I'm a Cubs fan. I've been a fan of the baby bears for a long time. As as native of Iowa, a place where there are many Cubs fans because of the reach of WGN via cable and the AAA affiliate of the Cubs is in Des Moines, it was natural for me to root for the Cubs. One of my favorite professional baseball players of all time is Andre Dawson. I loved listening to Harry Caray. Ryne Sandberg was one of the best second basemen ever.

But before I started cheering for the Cubs, I also followed the Royals, the American League yang to complement the National League yin. The first MLB game I ever saw was when I was very young, and the Royals played the Yankees in what is now called Kauffman Stadium. My parents and I visited my oldest brother, who lived in Blue Springs at the time, sometime in the 70s. I can't remember what year exactly.

The Royals teams of the 70s and 80s were solid with a host of great players: Hal McRae, Amos Otis, Al Cowens, Frank White, Willie Wilson, U. L. Washington, Paul Splittorrf, Mark Gubicza, Dan Quisenberry, Darrell Porter, Bret Saberhagen, and of course George Brett, the Hall of Fame third basemen who flirted with hitting .400 in 1980 but ended up with an average of .390.

What the commentators on last night's program talked a lot about is the organization's very deep farm system and how the future looks bright for the Royals.

I sure hope so because I'd like to see the Royals get out the wilderness, and from the look of it, there are some serious athletes who will be major-league-ready by 2012.

I'd sure like to see them beat the White Sox head-to-head this season. But if they don't, there's always the Minnesota Twins, another team I like because they play fundamentally sound baseball and seem to be able to do more with less than other clubs. It's what's called "the Twins Way."

I'd like to see the Royals find their way out of loserdom.

George Brett

Although I'm a well known fan of the Cubs, I grew up liking the Royals. Willie Wilson. Frank White. Hal McCrae. And George Brett.

I remember the year when Brett flirted with hitting .400 in 1980 (he finished with .390).

While I enjoy viewing a good freak-out, I tire of the pine tar incident because fools remember him because of that weird happening.

He was a great baseball player.