thependulumswings

Fresh and hot to hit the spot is a serving of Ten Piece Nuggets below.

1.  Two old-school NCAA bluebloods duked (sorry Coach K) it out last night for the NCAA Basketball Championship.  Kansas overcame a 15 point halftime deficit to beat North Carolina and completed the biggest comeback in title-game history.  It was the fourth title for the storied Kansas team which is one less than the five Level I NCAA infraction allegations it is facing.
2. Kansas isn’t too worried about them though as they gave Head Coach Bill Self a lifetime contract last April that pays him over $5 million per year.  LSU fired its head coach Will Wade last month for exactly the same- 5 Level I infraction allegations.
3. The contract states Self cannot be fired with cause for violations that occurred before this new deal, meaning he can only be terminated without cause for whatever penalties are handed down to the program by the NCAA.  This makes us wonder.  If Kansas fires Self will the team then be considered selfless? Clearly, we’re asking for a friend.
4. All of this brings us to a great quote about what the NCAA is and isn’t.  It was delivered many years ago but remains true to this day.  “The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky they’re going to give Cleveland State another year of probation,” said Jerry Tarkanian, then head coach of the Las Vegas Running Rebels.  Tark fought the law, and Tark won.  And it seems like Kansas, unlike LSU, is ready to do the same.
5. This is the best time of the year for sports nuts and second isn’t close.  Last night was the NCAA basketball final.   Hockey and basketball are in the stretch run right before their playoffs begin.  MLB throws out its first pitch this week.  The Kentucky Derby is just around the far turn. The NFL Draft hype builds by the day.  This weekend in golf is the revered Masters.
6. Will he or won’t he?  Fred Couples thinks he will.  Barring a setback over the next couple of days, Couples, one of Tiger Woods’ closest friends, believes Woods will play when the 86th Masters begins on Thursday.  “He’s kind of a tough guy,” Couples said.  They played a practice round together yesterday.  “He looked phenomenal,” Couples said. “What impressed me the most is he was bombing it.”  If Tiger tees it up The Masters will set a new viewership record for itself and second place won’t be close.
7.  By now you’ve heard that Elon Musk owns 9.2% of Twitter.   The surge in its price since the announcement earned him a cool $386 million and counting.  That’s pocket change for Musk whose net worth is nearing $300 billion.  What’s the next shot in the billiard match?  Musk could a) ask for a seat or three on the Twitter Board of Directors, b) ask for policy changes (read as free speech), c) takeover the company altogether, or d) sell his shares and bank a tidy profit.
8. Musk has 80 million-plus followers on Twitter.  Tesla spends nothing on advertising.  The Twitter platform would give the sly and wicked smart Musk a tremendous opportunity to tout whatever he chooses if he controlled its content, followers, and censorship.  Social media is maddening and fascinating at the same time.
9.  U.S. Senator Mitt Romney should officially change parties.  Utah should vote to impeach him or vote him out of office this fall.  Why?  Because he’s a sheep in wolves’ clothing is why.
10.  Real estate is expensive in Southern California. How expensive?  Black Lives Matter leadership allegedly purchased a $6 million luxury 6500 sq ft mansion with cash in SoCal using donation money, according to New York Magazine.  Why?  An April 1 internal BLM email states it is to “serve as housing and studio space for recipients of the Black Joy Creators Fellowship,” which “provides recording resources and dedicated space for Black creatives to launch content online and in real life focused on abolition, healing justice, urban agriculture and food justice, pop culture, activism, and politics.”  This makes the $30k per month that our government (you) is paying to rent a Malibu House to watch over Hunter Biden sound like a steal.  Could he find somewhere else to paint?  Could he find his laptop?

Remember to always keep your napkin in your lap!