thependulumswings

Day one of the new decade is done.  Your nuggets are as well.  They’re from all of the food groups, random, and tasty.  Dig in while they are still warm.

1. You don’t have to feel sorry for the NFL owners after all.   Colin Kaepernick knelt down and the ratings fell down two years ago.  Now riding a two year in a row year over year gain in viewership, the league has begun early talks on future broadcast rights. The NFL’s various deals are coming up soon, with the ESPN Monday Night Football deal running through the 2021-22 season, the CBS/Fox/NBC deals (both the Sunday packages and Fox’s Thursday Night Football contract) running through 2022-23, and the DirecTV Sunday Ticket deal also running through 2022-23.
2. Neal Pilson, the former longtime president of CBS Sports who now runs his own media consulting firm, estimated that the NFL could get a minimum of 30 percent more in broadcast fees under its new contracts, while one network official predicted a 50 percent increase.  The collective value of all of the deals currently is 5.7 billion (with a b) dollars.  The new deals will fetch between 8 and 10 billion and should be dry ink by the end of 2021.
3. Did you start your intermittent fasting diet yesterday? Or, is today the day?  There seems to always be a new diet craze and every now and then one gains national momentum.  Already the “experts” are telling us what is good and bad about the diet.  Soon it will reach it’s zenith and then die a slow death.  They all do.  Don’t believe me?  Ask Dr. Atkins.  Well, you can’t actually.  He died a few years back, but not before the his diet, the Atkins diet was the answer to our obesity.  Bread was dead.  Then his diet was.
4.  The Big 12 is done bowling for the year, thankfully.  Texas hammered Utah on the last night of the second decade of the 2000’s.  It was the  Big 12’s only win.  The conference finished 1-5 in the bowls and were embarrassed in some games.  Oklahoma was done at halftime in the 63-28 playoff loss to LSU.  Kansas State lost to Navy.  Oklahoma St. lost to five loss Texas A&M.  Baylor scored 14 measly points last night in the Sugar Bowl to a Georgia team that had 18 (yes, 18) players out for various reasons and was bounced from the final four two weeks prior.
5. Robert De Niro has outdone himself with his disdain for President Trump to close out 2019.   De Niro said in an interview with the Daily Beast late in November, “I think that if he became president for a second term he’d try to have a third term, and let smarter people manipulate it into getting us into some kind of altercation: a war.”  De Niro added: “The only other president who served a third term was Roosevelt because he was in a war, and this fool would go and start something. This was what Marty Scorsese was saying, and I said, ‘Marty, I never thought of that. I never thought he’d go for a third term if there was a war or something.’”  Bobby( can I call you Bobby?) and Marty have too much time on their hands.  The Twenty-Second Amendment says a person can only be elected to be president two times for a total of eight years.  They probably like that amendment better than, say, the second one.
6. One of the very best commissioners in any sport at any time passed yesterday.  David Stern took over an NBA at a crossroads in 1984.  His vision, preparation, and hard work turned the NBA into a global brand.  He presided over the league for 30 years.   Seven teams joined the league, and six relocated. Stern also helped in the creation of the WNBA and the NBA Development League, now known as the G League, providing countless opportunities for players to pursue careers playing basketball in the United States that previously weren’t available.  Adam Silver has big sneakers to fill.
7. Joe Biden castigated Texas Governor Greg Abbott a few months back while stumping in Iowa for signing into law the right to bear arms in places of worship.  “It’s irrational,” totally irrational,” he exclaimed.  If you missed it over the holidays a hero in a small town Texas church took one shot with his handgun from fifty feet and killed a gunman who had opened fire on the congregation killing two before he was taken out.  The whole episode lasted six seconds.  How long would it take for police to arrive after being notified?  Biden wasn’t going to carry Texas anyway, was he?
8. The New Orleans Saints worked out several wide receivers earlier in the week.  One of them was none other than Antonio Brown.  Afterwards Antonio called the workout a publicity stunt pulled by the Saints.  That is a funny take considering Brown brought a handful of associates with him to his Saints workout, including someone who was documenting the visit with a video camera. He posted clips of his visit on social media throughout the day, including a picture of the waiver the Saints made him sign.  Sometimes life’s lessons take a while to sink in.
9. Nancy, it’s a new year and a new you.  You can walk the seventy-five feet necessary down the hallowed halls of the Capital Building and deliver the two Articles of Impeachment already.  Or, don’t.  Every major poll taken in the last wo months shows that America is tired of the circus.  One of our BBR staffers has it from a great source deep inside of the action that the Republicans feel better than ever about regaining the House.  If so, the gavel leaves the Madam Speaker’s hands once more.   Time will tell.
10. Only Jerry Jones could drag the Jason Garrett “will he or won’t he be the head coach” saga out another day.  He, his son Stephen, and Garrett will meet for yet a third time today discussing the Cowboys future direction.  Jerry used to be quicker on the draw than the savior in the Texas church.   What possibly is left to discuss?  A ten year body of work is there.  Make the call.