Author: thependulumswings staff

Know When to Say When

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Now ex Astros Manager A.J. Hinch took the ball in game 7 of the World Series last fall from his starting pitcher Zach Greinke with one out and a runner on in the top of the seventh.  The Astros were nursing a 2-1 lead.  Greinke had given up a mere two hits and one run to that point.

It seemed like a good idea to Hinch at the time, obviously.  You have to know when to say when and you have to do it in real-time.  Now was when.  His replacement, reliever Will Harris, surrendered a two-run homer, and the Washington Nationals never looked back. They won game seven 6 to 2, and the World Series 4 to 3.

That was only one game, but it was a huge one.   Organizations take educated guesses on when to say when all of the time.  When it involves a legend, perhaps the greatest to ever play the game, “when” gets very complicated.  Take Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

The Patriots are owned by a very grey-headed Rober Kraft. They are coached by a getting very grey-headed Bill Belichick.  The are quarterbacked by the GOAT who has a bit more grey around the temples daily.  You can own and coach with grey hair, but can you still play at the highest level when you have some?

If you believe that great organizations are built first by great cultures then by great people who strive to get with one, then collectively thrive by being in one, you might favor cutting ties with Brady.  Bring in the reliever, Will Harris.  After all, weren’t the Patriots looking (as they always do) to improve their roster when they nabbed Tom Brady in the sixth round with the 199th pick overall from the U of Michigan?

If you believe that there is only one Tom Brady, ever, then he has earned the right to go out on his own terms.  Maybe you would have stayed with Greinke.  But this isn’t one game.  It’s a body of work stretched over 20 seasons, nine Super Bowls appearances, six rings, and 75k and counting passing yards.

The Astros culture, as it turns out, was severely lacking.  Their owner took the ball from Hinch a month ago.  Where do they go from here?  With a new team president, a new GM, a new manager, and no ace named Gerrit Cole the culture must be built all over again.  This time it must be built with a real foundation.  Great players will only take you so far.  Time will tell.

The culture in NE is firmly in place.  It’s a personnel decision and a huge one.

But time waits for no man.  The Patriots technically have until March 18 at 4 p.m.(one month from today) to ink a new contract with Brady before he hits free agency. You have to know when to say when.   And you have to do it in real-time.

Mr. Kraft and Mr. Belichick, it’s time.  Are you going to take the ball from the GOAT, or are you going to let him face one more batter?

 

Guns and No Roses.

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Ninety-one years ago today, St. Valentine’s Day as it was known then, wasn’t so happy in Chicago.  A mass murder, labeled the Valentine’s Day Massacre, was executed after significant planning.

The year was 1929 and prohibition laws ruled the land.  And, Al Capone ruled Chicago.  But George “Bugs” Moran and his northside Irish gang wanted more than what Capone thought was his fair share of the lucrative bootleg booze biz.

Capone escaped the winters of Chicago by living in Miami for the season.  While down there his right-hand man, Jack ” Machine Gun” McGurn, visited and together they crafted a plan to squash Bugs and his gang. Capone ordered the Detroit “Purple Gang” to handle this so that no one in Chicago could identify them.

The plan included a stolen police car and two stolen police uniforms, and two lookouts.  A planted bootlegger was expected to enter the premises at 10:30 AM to sell some stolen liquor to the eager Moran.  The lookouts thought they saw Bugs enter into the North Clark St. gang headquarters then and signaled so.

Two Detroit gang members entered posing as cops.  Two others entered in plain clothes.  Bugs’ gang believed that this was just another police shakedown and cooperated by lining up against a wall and surrendering their guns.  The four proceeded to riddle the seven inside with multiple gunshot wounds.  All of them died.

But, none of them were Bugs Moran.  He arrived a few minutes later and stayed a safe distance away also believing it to be just another police money shakedown.

After the massacre, the two posing as cops walked out, guns pointed at the two others who participated and now were posing as arrested gang members with their hands held high.  And, off they drove.

The massacre drew national headlines and is thought to be the catalyst to get the reluctant FBI involved in gang warfare.

Witnesses were interviewed.  Many mistakenly identified local policemen who were nowhere near at the time.  Suspects were interrogated.  No one was ever arrested.

Bugs Moran survived by being late for a meeting.  But the statement made was understood loud and clear.

Capone had the perfect alibi.  He was living large in sunny Miami.  And, from afar his legend grew even larger.

Will He Stay, or Will He Go?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Raise your hand if you’ve heard the following before, “The NFL is a quarterback-driven league.”  You can put your hand down now.   The NFL has put a premium on good qb play to the point where if you have a good one you win, and if you don’t, well, you won’t.

So, pray tell, what is going on this offseason?  An inordinate amount of QB’s could, have, or will change addresses this offseason.

Free agency is right around the corner.  Franchise tags must be placed on the keepers by March 10th.  Failing resigning or tagging, free agency begins on March 18th.  Let the wheeling and dealing begin.  But before that, let the speculation begin.

Tom Brady-  Obviously the biggest name that is a FA has nine Super Bowl appearances with six being victorious.  Much has been written on will he or won’t he go.  Reasons to stay are plentiful while reasons to go not so much so.  There are three big egos in the room here (four if you count Giselle) in owner Kraft, coach Belichick, and QB Brady.  Jimmy Garappolo can attest to that first hand.  BBR says he goes as this time his ego is bigger than Kraft’s will and wallet.  Where to?  Great question.

Drew Brees- At a young 41 years of age, Brees is a FA as well.  The year 2020 would be NFL year 20 if Brees returns.  The question here isn’t where.  It’s when.  Brees promised the NO organization an answer on whether he continues playing this coming year in the next few weeks.  He has publicly stated that he is a Saint until he retires.  BBR thinks that his competitive nature and good health will result in a “yay” over a “nay.”  But, we think it’s closer to a “nay” than many people think.

Cam Newton- Whew.  Isn’t it amazing how high Cam was riding and seemingly how far he has fallen?  Just a few years removed from a Super Bowl and a league MVP 2015 award, Cam’s tenure with the Panthers might be over and out.  A new owner, a new head coach, and a QB whisperer (for one year anyway) named Joe Brady are in town.  At 30, and with lingering injuries, BBR says that the Panthers want to rebuild and will say goodbye.

Philip Rivers- After 16 seasons with average to below-average pass protection, and average to below-average wide receivers, Rivers and the Chargers have already agreed to part ways.  Rivers moved his family (not an easy task as the Rivers have eight children and expect a ninth in March) to Florida this offseason.  BBR thinks Rivers will look pretty good in teal and white with a touch of orange on his uniform.

Andy Dalton- If ever there was an easier prediction it might have been the longevity status of the Titanic after the brush with the big ice cube.  Dalton is gone and looks like a serviceable backup somewhere with a shot at being the starter.  The Bengals enter the Joe Burrow era starting about 1 minute after Roger Goodell gets booed off of the draft day stage.

Nick Foles- The Jacksonville sometimes starter lost his job to a guy named Gardner Minshew II midseason.  The salary cap hit for dumping Foles would be huge, but his favorite OC has moved on.  Will Foles?  The cost to keep him is just as huge at $22 million next year.  This smells like a draft day trade to a team that wants a starter but doesn’t see one worth it when they are due to select.  Jacksonville will likely need to add cash and/or a lower pick to get a third with playing time clauses up to a second for him.

Marcus Mariotta-The second overall pick in 2015 has seen his last days as a Tenessee Titan.  His successor, Ryan Tannehill resurrected his career with the address change to Nashville.   Can Marcus do the same?  Maybe.  He stares at initial receivers too long and holds the ball too long.  From the west coast, on a hunch, BBR thinks he heads back that way as a well-paid backup, but no more than that.

Teddy Bridgewater-  After a disastrous leg injury nearly cost Bridgewater his career and his leg, he rehabbed both, went to the Jets, then joined the N.O. Saints in 2018.  In 2019 Brees suffered a thumb injury that kept him sidelined for five games.  Teddy stepped in and bridged the gap until Bress returned and then some.  Shaking off two years of rust he went 5-0 as a starter against some good teams that had some darn good defenses.  He stayed with Sean Payton and Drew Brees to continue to develop in 2019 for less money ($7.5 mil) that was offered to him as a starter elsewhere.  He loves NOLA and NOLA loves him.  But, it’s time to grab a starting position and QB starting money somewhere, isn’t it?  Can you hear the clink, clink, clink of the slot machines from the new Vegas stadium?

Which brings us to Derek Carr.  Ah, enough already.

Coaching careers can be made or finished by the choices made on the above.   The heck with the XFL, let the offseason NFL games begin.

 

 

 

Right from Wrong

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It started innocently enough last evening.  Not too long after the New Hampshire Democratic Primary polls closed Andrew Yang closed shop on his campaign.  He meant well.  But his $1000/month giveaway to every adult idea never gained traction.  He thought it was the right thing to do, but voters never lined up for the “free” handout.

Former Mayor Mike Bloomberg, not in this primary (are the rules convoluted much?), had audio tapes leak yesterday.  On them, defending his stop and frisk initiative he stated “95% of your murders, murderers and murder victims fit one M.O. You can just take the description, Xerox it, pass it out to all the cops, They are male, minorities, 16-25. That’s true in New York, that’s true in virtually every city.”

Avowed Democrat and African American Juan Williams, Fox News contributor, was asked how he felt about the words heard on the tape.  Juan said “on one hand the statistics prove that Bloomberg is right.  But, it would be wrong for my son to have to fear getting stopped by the police each and every time he left the house.”

Bernie Sanders took a victory lap with just over 25% of the New Hampshire vote last evening.  It’s his right to run for President even though he makes no bones about his Socialism platform.  The United States is fast approaching its 250th birthday.  It seems to be doing quite well as a capitalistic society.  It’s poor are far richer than the global average.  That’s not to say that we can’t do better.  He finished his victory speech with “this victory is the beginning of the end for Donald Trump.”  Bernie may be right.  Trump’s presidency and his reelection message are diametrically opposed to Sanders.  Someone (James Carville, Democratic strategist extraordinaire) once said, “it’s the economy stupid!”  There is a lot to like in today’s US economy.  Bernie may be wrong.

The purported front runner just weeks ago, Joe Biden skipped his “victory” party last night in NH and flew straight to South Carolina, the next primary battleground. He made the right move given his single-digit performance and subsequent fifth-place NH finish.  He called the Iowa finish (though it’s not finished) a “gut punch.”  The New Hampshire support lacked support as it was a punch below the belt.  Greeted by South Carolina supporters he attempted to rally the troops.  He told them “It’s important that Iowa and Nevada have spoken.”  Wrong.  Nevada, New Hampshire.  Pre Med.  Pre Law.  Tomato.  Tomatoe.  It’s all the same.  Right?

The DNC tried to put a new saddle on an old horse in Biden.  The RNC tried to do the same four years ago in Jeb Bush.  Wrong and wrong.  Biden’s campaign should be taken behind the barn and put out of its mystery.  It’s the right thing to do.  Biden should be on a beach with crew socks on his sandal feet and zinc oxide on his nose, with his Aviator glasses in place.

“Hello America! I’m Amy Klobuchar and I will beat Donald Trump,” she told a cheering crowd. “My heart is full tonight. We have beaten the odds every step of the way.”  She’s right.  No one thought the Minnesota Senator would still be standing at this point in the long road to the nomination.  She finished a “strong third.”

Since when is a third-place finish a victory?  When a party is searching desperately for a warm body to be the nominee, she isn’t wrong.

Everyone is famous for 15 minutes.  Klobuchar has no organization on the ground in any Super Tuesday primary state.  No candidate has ever gained the nomination without a first or second-place finish in the first two primaries.  Never say never, however.

Speaking of a first or second-place finish, Mayor Pete Buttigieg has one of each.  It’s Pete’s right to accept big donor money from Wall St.  Sanders says it’s wrong.

Based on the above history says it’s right to assume Sanders or Buttigieg will wind up being the nominee.  In today’s political madness basing anything on history might be the wrong thing to do.

And, waiting in the wings is Donald Trump.  Whether you think that he is right or wrong, all he wants to do is “Keep America Great!”

Queue the Billy Joel.

 

And the Winner Is?

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The 92nd Academy Awards presentation, more commonly known as The Oscars, was broadcasted live from Hollywood last evening.  The glamour and production looked alive and went quite well.  But, apparently, all is not well with the world according to a few woke people who had a chance to wake the rest of us up.

The very first award went to Brad Pitt for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Once Upon a Time…..In Hollywood.  Once upon a time in Hollywood actors thanked their friends, family, and all who had a role in making the movie.  Brad did that and more.  He told the crowd that the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences told him that he only had 45 seconds to address the assembled.  He commented that “45 seconds is 45 seconds more than the Senate allowed John Bolton to testify last week.”

BBR contacted Pitt’s agent last evening asking for comment on a persistent rumor.  Will Pitt and Mitch McConnell costar in the remake of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast?  “No comment,” came the terse reply.

Former President Barrack Obama and First Lady Michelle are celebrating the first Oscar win for their new production company, Higher Ground, which saw American Factory win Best Documentary Feature on Sunday evening.  By all accounts it’s a moving and well-made film.

It has one glaring omission, however.  The Obama administration bailout of troubled GM included a backroom deal that made the supportive United Auto Workers the exclusive union going forward in the deal.  The GM plant in Moraine, OH was unionized by the IUE-CWA. So despite being one of the top GM facilities for quality, efficiency, and production in the country, it was shuttered.  Its employees were put at the back of the line when requesting transfers to other GM plants.

The bailout actually forced the closure of the plant.  Chinese investments, state, and local officials actually got that plant started back up again with one caveat.  All hires needed to be with the UAW and were treated as new employees regarding benefits, wages, etc.

BBR would love to get a comment from the former president.   Given his net worth and security, he may be hard to track down.  He could be in any one of the 57 states that he said he visited.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences took the unprecedented step on Sunday of recognizing that the Oscars ceremony is actually taking place on tribal lands.

“The Academy would like to acknowledge that tonight we have gathered on the ancestral lands of the Tongva, the Tataviam, and the Chumash,” Jojo Rabbit director and presenter Taika Waititi said. “We acknowledge them as the first peoples of this land on which the motion pictures community lives and works.”

Since 2002, the Oscars have taken place at the Dolby Theatre, formerly the Kodak Theatre.  This year, the Academy bestowed an honorary Oscar to actor Wes Studi, making him the first Native American actor to win an Oscar.

BBR left messages for Native American Elizabeth Warren and her President 2020 campaign seeking comment.  We think our chances of getting a return call are roughly 1 in 1024.

The international movie Parasite, the winner of four Oscars, stole the show but did not unfairly infiltrate the process.  The Oscar presentation was long, but the vote results were not in dispute.

Hollywood had a better night than Iowa had all last week.

 

Run Forrest Run!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

If the four years of the Donald Trump presidency can be compared to four laps of a steeplechase race, Trump entered the first turn of the final lap this week.

He wants to run four more laps and has filed the necessary paperwork to do so.  He wants to win the next one. He always wants to win, win, win.  Don’t believe me, just ask him.  Or, don’t even ask, just listen.

So listening was just what America did yesterday.  Trump had a great burst into lap four and was free and clear of the field and its many detractors.  All previous investigations behind him, the biggest hurdles were two impeachment articles.  He jumped them both quite well.  The Democrats fell into the water.  Adam Schiff looks winded.  Nadler’s gassed.  The Iowa Primary went underwater and hasn’t surfaced.  Joe Biden said he took a gut punch.  The State of the Union address was lauded near and far as his best speech to date in office.

Out of the court and free and clear, Trump sprinted into Thursday morning and held his own court.  In the rearview mirror he could see them all getting smaller.  So what did he do?  In what should have been a well-earned victory lap, Trump decided to slow down and put all of his detractors right back into the thick of the chase.

He apparently cannot help himself.  In 49 or so minutes he reminded us that he won in 2016 when people thought that he couldn’t.  That’s so 2016 of him.

He bashed Comey.  Comey might have deserved bashing in 2017 and 2018.  What does Comey have to do with the Ukranian phone call, impeachment, and subsequent acquittal?  That’s so 2018 of him.

And, while thanking a female senator or rep (BBR could not identify her from the tv and Trump mumbled her name) for her help in defeating the uprising, Trump called her “nasty” and “mean” and said, “you did a great job.”  Take that as a compliment we guess.

Maybe, no probably, he only knows one way.  He prefers and excels at mixing it up.  He came from nowhere, he slugged it out with Hillary, and he has been fighting everyone for three-plus laps.

With no one in front of him he ran headlong into the next hurdle.  He brings the field back to him. He lowers the hurdles for the competition. Clearly he prefers tight quarters with elbows thrown over running unabated.

Just when the Democrats tied all of their shoelaces together Trump decided to go Forrest Gump.  Run Forrest Run!

The Grind

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

It actually started Monday.  Do you know what it is?  It’s the grind.  It’s the sports grind.  What is it?  It’s the time basically known as the month of February for sports fans.

Sure, there is the NBA and the NHL.  Both leagues are going full regular season throttle right now.  The NBA is already through 50 plus games per team in its schedule.  So is the NHL.  But, both leagues qualify so many teams for the playoffs that the regular season’s importance is significantly lessened.

Since October we’ve had MLB baseball playoffs, World Series, NCAA conference championships, bowls, CFP playoffs, the CFP Championship Game, NFL playoffs, and the grand finale-the Super Bowl.

Now what?  Did you watch the Toronto Maple Leafs skate against the Arizona Coyotes last night?  You didn’t for two reasons.  First, a midseason hockey game has nowhere near the interest of a Thursday Night NFL game as an example.  Second, the Coyotes and the Leafs didn’t drop the puck against each other last night.  Gotcha!  How about the Denver Nuggets v. Utah Jazz?  Well, at least they really did play last night.  NBA All-Star Game anyone?

But, for some cities this season is one that they cannot wait for.  Who are those cities?  What cities in North America have only the NBA as one of the four major sports?

  1. Orlando, of all places, is one.  It’s surprising given its population.  Though Tampa is a stone’s throw and a half away with the Bucs (if you call them major) and the Rays.
  2. Salt Lake City (Utah Jazz) is another.  New Orleans, you messed up.  Utah, change your damn nickname.
  3. Oklahoma City makes three.  How did they get a major sports franchise?
  4. Memphis sings the major sports blues save for the Grizzlies.  Formerly Vancouver, the nickname fits the midsouth city.
  5. Portland only has the Trailblazers, but they’ve strongly supported them since the franchise’s inaugural 1970 season.  It’s a woke town.
  6. San Antonio loves the multiple time NBA Champions Spurs.  But for all of the other months, it’s “remember the beautiful, beautiful Alamo.”
  7. And Sacramento only has the Kings.  And, that’s not much to brag about.

In the NHL nine cities have only a hockey team to call their own.  Though in fairness, there is the Canadian Football League.  That would reduce the list significantly.  Six of these NHL teams call Canada home.  They are Winnipeg, Vancouver, Edmonton, Calgary, Montreal, and Ottawa.  The three US teams follow.

  1. Las Vegas is one, but that ends this year as the Raiders of Oakland make the move to Sin City.
  2. San Jose has the Sharks and a Greyhound Bus stop as far as we know.
  3. Columbus(OH) has only the Blue Jackets.  Some would argue that THE Ohio St. University is a professional football team given how well they play and how well they are paid.

February has 29 days this leap year, not 28.  So, there is a need to grind out an extra day before Spring pops, NBA and NHL playoffs begin, and other sports (the Masters, MLB, etc.) bloom all over again.

March 1st is 24 long days away.

Ironing, Washing, and Exercise

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Super Bowl viewing isn’t for everyone.   In today’s world alternative suggestions to occupy your time while others soak up every minute are plentiful.  Likewise, the State of the Union (SOTU) addresses aren’t for everyone either.  Several alternatives were suggested before and during the speech last evening.  Rather than recap the SOTU, let’s look at the alternatives suggested, acted upon, and even some others that could have been.

Hillary Clinton suggested that you spend the hour ensuring that your voter registration was up to date and ask two others to do the same.  Patriotic!  She also could have rifled through a ton of old emails and filed the keepers and tossed the rest.  Wait, BBR is being told that she’s up to date.  Well, maybe she could have caught up on some ironing.  You know, so many pantsuits, so little time.

Hillary’s Pinterest friend Monica Lewinsky skipped the address as well.  She decided to catch up on some wash, she said.   Hillary had a suggestion.  Shout®. has the stain-fighting ingredients to break up and remove tough stains—so you can live in the moment, and clean up later.

Alexandria Octavio Cortez had a great seat but boycotted the event.  She said, “None of this is normal and I will not legitimize it.”  Dramatic.  That’s the way to drop the hammer AOC.  AOC suggested that M.C. Hammer had it all wrong many moons ago when he sang “Too Legit. Too Legit to Quit.“

Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D) from Michigan walked out midway through the speech.  She tweeted, “…the shameless bragging about taking away food stamps that people depend on to live-it was all beneath the dignity of the office he occupies.”  She walked straight to her favorite restaurant in such disgust that she could barely sit through the entire meal.  One suggestion going forward is to call food stamps by their proper name.  SNAP, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, is the program formerly known as food stamps.  Saying “food stamps” is beneath the dignity of the office she occupies.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.) on Tuesday night brought a Ukrainian flag with him to the address to show that Democrats stood with an “ally he tried to extort.”  During the speech he walked out saying “I can’t stand a liar.”  Perhaps the 83-year-old Pascrell, who no one has ever heard of, should have stayed.  Everyone is famous for 15 minutes.  Why shortchange yourself?

A small group of Dems didn’t stand (Ilhan Omar among them) while all others did three separate times to honor 100-year-old Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee.  Even McGee at 100 stood all three times, and they were honoring him!  Maybe some need to hit the U.S. government provided gym for some much-needed exercise rather than sit in those comfy leather chairs all evening.  Up. Down.

Adam Schiff sat through the entire evening right next to Jerry Nadler.  Kudos to him.  Schiff, eyes bulging, looked like he could barely breathe though.  Understandable.  One suggestion to him might be- don’t sit next to Nadler next time.

Congressman Tim Ryan (D) from Ohio also walked out.  He tweeted, “I’ve had enough.  It’s like watching professional wrestling.  It’s all fake.”  We hope Ryan soldiered on and watched the balance of the address on CNN.

President Trump reaffirmed that America is going to participate in the Trillion Tree Initiative “an ambitious effort to bring together government and the private sector to plant new trees in America and all around the world.”  That’s a good thing for the environment and the paper industry.

Paper will be so plentiful it’ll be growing in trees.   Paper is what kept Nancy Pelosi in her seat shuffling hers until the very end.  She seemed torn though.

May we suggest a House led investigation into possible Russian interference in the Iowa Democratic Primary to get her mind off of all of that pesky paperwork?

 

 

 

 

 

Like Him or Not

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Nine quick days ago tragedy struck a globally iconic figure-Kobe Bryant.  He was full of life and had much more to live.  Yesterday, another iconic figure, although a far more polarizing one, announced on his now 32 years and running AM radio talk show that he had been diagnosed with stage four lung cancer-Rush Limbaugh.

What do the two have in common?  The answer is very little, save one thing.  Both rose to the very top of their very difficult and highly skilled professions and flourished for an abnormally long time.

In the mid-’80s Rush stopped trying to be what others wanted him to be on air and started being Rush.  By 1988 he was in New York and his conservative talk show entered syndication.  Soon radio stations coast to American coast picked him up and began revamping their station lineups around him.   The number of stations in his mid-’90s zenith was nearly 700.  Today it’s still 590 or so.  His listenership peaked at nearly 20 million per week.   It remains the #1 talk show today with over 16 million.  He single-handedly changed talk radio.

Along the way Rush made many new friends, made many new enemies, and found himself embroiled in more than a few controversies.

In 2003 he was extra busy.   He joined the ESPN Sunday NFL Countdown.  He didn’t last long.  He questioned Donovan McNabb’s ability as a QB.  “Sorry to say this, I don’t think he’s been that good from the get-go,” Limbaugh said. “I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback does well. There is a little hope invested in McNabb.”

He also was extra busy in 2003 consuming way too many prescribed pain killers.  A court case was settled and one count of obtaining them illegally was dismissed.

His campaign to marginalize Sandra Fluke in 2012 was strongly worded and unrelenting.  It cost him and his show dozens of sponsors.

There is a softer side too.  His work leading charitable causes and his private monetary donations are numerous and generous in the many millions.

But, make no mistake about it, Rush has been Rush and has been great at it for a long time.  His appeal in conservative circles is unmatched.  He’s been at odds with the Republican Party more than once as well.  There’s a difference in being a conservative and a Republican.

His shtick is uncanny and unrelenting.  “Sitting high atop the EIB (Excellence in Broadcasting) Network Broadcast Building with talent on loan from God, it’s Rush Limbaugh at the Golden Mic, the center for advanced conservative studies.  I have half my brain tied behind my back just to make it fair.”  And on he pushes.

A colleague called him the Babe Ruth of broadcasting just a few weeks back.  Babe did it his way.  Legend has it that Babe once pointed to where he then hit the next pitch for a home run.  Rush has had a clear vision of the future cultural and political changes that few others could foresee.  Babe hit 714 in all and retired in 1935.  It took until 1974, or 39 years for Hank Aaron to break the home run record.  There is and has been no one on the radio that has come close to Rush’s combination of passion, wit, knowledge, and ability to convey the complex in a simple way for 32 years and counting.  Rush does it his way.

You can argue his political takes, but be prepared for the long game.  His work ethic is unparalleled.  Try being the solo host of a three-hour show, five days a week, and fifty-two weeks a year.  Now do that for 32 years and counting.

His show is his life.  And, now he is in the fight of his life.

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-Super Bowl and More

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

You had way, way too much chip, dip, and beer.  It’s time to get back to your routine.  Here’s a serving of Ten Piece Nuggets.  Chew them slowly and drink lots of water to rehydrate.

  1.  Jay Z and Beyonce’ had seats on the 50-yard line.  They sat in them all game including during Demi Lovato’s swift 1:50 rendition of the National Anthem.  It’s hard to say what they were protesting.  Jay Z signed a deal with the NFL recently to promote “social justice.”  Are they dissatisfied with the capitalistic society that they wisely profited from to afford such expensive seats?  Maybe they’re still mad at the NFL’s hands-off attitude towards malcontent Colin Kaepernick?  Wouldn’t it be something if the seats were comped by the big, bad, ugly NFL?
  2. If San Francisco had Kaepernick this season they surely could have done better.  Wait.  It would be hard to have done better upon further review.  They were the number one seeded NFC representative in the Super Bowl after all.
  3.  Maybe a good SF offense and a really good San Fran defense just ran into a better team when all 60 minutes were played.  After all, Patrick Mahomes is the first under 25 years of age QB to win the league’s MVP Award and win a Super Bowl.  The future seems quite bright for the young lad flourishing in an Andy Reid offense tailored to play to his strengths, of which there are many.
  4. Mahomes came to Miami without a title and left with one.  Maybe he’ll be like LeBron.  When the King arrived in Miami a while back he promised not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not even seven titles.  Quarterbacks, given today’s rules that so favor their health and production, can easily play into their forties.  LeBron has changed addresses twice since then and has three rings and counting.  How many will Mahomes, the best QB in the league, be able to garner?
  5. Another great QB arrived in Miami once.  It was 1983, and a man named Daniel Constantine Marino, Jr. was drafted late in the first round by the Dolphins.  He led the Dolphins to the Super Bowl in only his second year, 1984.  And after 9 Pro Bowl Appearances, one league MVP, and 18 playoff games he never went back to another Super Bowl in his 17 year Hall of Fame career.  Fame wasn’t fleeting for him, Super Bowl wins were.
  6.  Did you bet the J Lo will or won’t flash a little butt cleavage novelty proposition?  If you bet the “will” BBR thinks you lost.  But, or should we say butt, that was some of the only skin covered in the high energy, fast-moving halftime extravaganza.  Shakira and J Lo shook, rattled, and rolled and even used a stripper pole.  Wasn’t it just yesterday that the NFL apologized for the outrageous behavior of Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson?
  7. Turning the page, but speaking of having skin in the game, Donald Trump congratulated the Kansas City Chiefs and the great state of Kansas last night after the SB victory in a tweet.  Not too long thereafter, he corrected his tweet to read the great state of Missouri.  That’s the problem with screen grabs though.  It’s out there now, forever.  Of course, the NFL seemed to not have a problem with what Shakira and J Lo grabbed on screen.  But we digress.  Trump is forever impeached anyway.  So said none other than a not so somber and prayerful Nancy Pelosi early last week.
  8. The Donald will deliver his State of the Union Address to Congress Tuesday PM.  Like Jay Z and Beyonce’, roughly half of the members of Congress will likely sit for the entire proceedings in protest of the President and all that he actually stands for.  And, as of now, the plan is that the Senate will acquit him Wednesday of both charged articles of impeachment.  Put a tent over the circus that currently is under the rotunda, please.
  9. The football season ended last evening.  But the primary season begins today.  The Democratic hopefuls will watch with interest usually reserved for Super Bowl viewing at the results in Iowa, the first whistle stop.  Polls (not the one J Lo abused) show Crazy Bernie Sanders with about a five-point lead 25-20 over Joe Biden going into today.  Bernie can make it rain at the Democratic Party’s party.
  10. Joe might not really want to win though after he takes a look at how Republican Senator Joni Ernst rained on his parade this past weekend. “Joe Biden should be very careful what he’s asking for because, you know, we can have a situation where if it should ever be President Biden, that immediately, people right the day after he would be elected would be saying, ‘Well, we’re going to impeach him,’” Ernst said.  Ernst explained that an impeachment case against Biden could be made “for being assigned to take on Ukrainian corruption yet turning a blind eye to Burisma because his son was on the board making over a million dollars a year” during his time as vice president under Obama.

It’s only seven months till football starts up again.  And, it’s only nine months till the general election.   The butt cleavage exposure never ends so to speak.