Author: thependulumswings staff

Crush is No Longer a Hit in Baltimore

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

As we wrote Wednesday, the Washington Generals are off to a rough start with a won/loss record of 1-17,000.  It’s a winning percentage of roughly 0.0001 or one one hundredth of one percent.  But there is a certain 2019 major league baseball player who is actually off to a worse start.  Chris Davis, of the Baltimore Orioles is ohhh for his last 53 at bats.

Davis is nicknamed “Crush” Davis.  His 0-53 has now crushed the previous record for ineptness.  Earlier this week, Davis passed Eugenio Velez’s record of 46 straight hitless at bats, which had stood since 2011.  Dave Campbell, who parlayed his slump and playing career into a broadcasting career, went 0-45 many moons ago for three separate teams all in one season.   He and Craig Counsell are now tied for third in streaks you want no part of.  Counsell, who parlayed his slump and playing career into a managerial career (currently managing the Brewers) equaled that 0-45 in 2011.

Davis’ bat seems hopelessly broken.

If only 0-53 was the worst of his problems.  Davis set the record last year for the lowest average ever by a qualified hitter, crushing(not) it at .168. That’s one hit for every six at bats.    Under current rules, a player must have 3.1 plate appearances per team game for a total of 502 over a 162-game season to “qualify.”  One hit every three at bats, or twice as good, usually is at or near the league lead.  Davis hardly seems qualified to be called a qualified hitter.

In three-plus seasons since signing a seven-year, $161 million contract with the Orioles in 2016, his .199 average is the worst in baseball among players with at least 1,000 at-bats. His strikeout rate is a quite high 36%.  It all might be overlooked if he had game-changing power.  Davis doesn’t seem to have that anymore either.  His homer totals the last four years are a precipitously declining 47, 38, 26 and 16.

Shouldn’t this utter ineptness earn Crush a pink slip?  Yes.  There is but one problem.  Davis is still owed $23 million a year for the four years that remain. Every penny is guaranteed.

Perhaps he could be sent to the minors to work out the kinks?  He could be claimed him on the way down there.  If only the O’s could be so lucky. The percentage that anyone would claim him likely equals his 2019 average to date though.  That’s zero point zero zero zero.

Maybe he could be put in timeout?  He was iced down last year for 10 straight games.  How did that work out?

Crush says that he is open to anything to help him or his team.  One option is his outright release.  As crazy as that seems, it’s not unprecedented in today’s baseball.

However, in any day’s baseball, eating a $92 million Oriole contract is still a lot of crow.  Daily, the boo birds were feasting.  Even they have stopped picking at the carcass.  Encouraging standing ovations have replaced the howling.  Witchcraft anyone?

Poor Crush.

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-The Masters

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Hello friends.  Ten very quick thoughts on The Masters which begins its annual walk among the azaleas today.

  1.  It’s the most anticipated week of the year for golf purists.  Second place isn’t close.
  2. Anyone and everyone that has been shouts to those who have not, “you HAVE to go!”
  3. If Tiger is threatening on Sunday, the ratings will break a record.
  4. The field is deep and talented.  Pundits usually speak to a handful of possible winners.  This field is likely twenty plus deep in that regard this year.
  5. McIlroy is firing on all cylinders coming in.  He has to be the favorite.  If he closes the deal, he will be a quite young grand slam champion.
  6. Yesterday’s par three tournament is unique to golf like so many other Master’s traditions.  It never disappoints.
  7. Spieth, Watson, Fowler, and Reed are all VERY interesting stories for VERY different reasons this week.  Oh, the drama is thick.
  8. Will Fred Couples hit the leaderboard today and stay there till early Saturday?  Will the azaleas be in full bloom?
  9. Will his college roommate at the U of Houston, Jim Nantz, say “hello friends”  when he launches the broadcast?  Does a bear walk in the woods?
  10. How many hours will you watch?  Even if you aren’t a golf fan, this almost transcends golf.  One of our staff writers anticipates watching about 16 hours minimally.

Enjoy “friends.”

One Win and 17,000 Losses Makes Them Winners

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday, the disappointing, no playoff Los Angeles Lakers lost team president Magic Johnson, as he abruptly resigned.  Meanwhile, the perennially disappointing New York Knicks won their 17th regular season game to insure that they won’t set a single season record for futility even if they lose tonight’s season ending game.  But, if you are really talking about losses and futility, look no further than the Washington Generals.

Also known as the Boston Shamrocks(1971–1972), New Jersey Reds(1971–1972), Baltimore Rockets(1971–1972), Atlantic City Seagulls(1971–1972), New York Nationals(1995–2006), International Elite(2011–2012),  Global Select(2011–2012) , and the World All-Stars (2013–2014), the Generals are the all time losers.  To give the illusion that the Globetrotters play different teams they changed names and uniforms to be the best foil that they can be.

Depending on which version of history you believe they have only won one, or three, or six games while losing over 17,000.  The Generals exist primarily as a part of the Harlem Globetrotters’ act, effectively being stooges for them. While the Globetrotters play tricks and spectacular displays of skill for the crowd, the Generals appear to attempt to play a “normal” game of basketball.

Below are ten fun facts (their history isn’t perfectly nor completely documented) about the multi decade traveling show.

  1.  The Washington Generals were named so to honor Dwight D. Eisenhower.
  2. The Generals would rarely, but occasionally, play teams other than the Globetrotters. They beat the Taiwanese national team and a low-level Red Army team along the way.
  3. The Globetrotters official website only recognizes one loss.  That loss came in Tennessee at Tennessee Martin in 1971.  Even the date of the loss is disputed as either January 5th or 25th.
  4. The loss was mostly the result of an incorrect scoreboard that showed the Globetrotters winning by four with three minutes to play.  Thinking they had the game in hand, the Trotters were mostly running out the clock.  When they realized that they were behind, the clock operator stopped the clock to allow them one final shot as they now trailed by one.  The Generals allowed Meadowlark Lemon to dribble straight to redemption, but he missed the final shot.
  5. Some say that a pregame dispute between the two caused the Generals to play to win that evening vs “play along.”  Neither team has ever spoken in support or denial of that accusation.
  6. There have been a scant few, but still a few players who were once Generals that became Trotters and vice versa.
  7. One of the few was Paul Sturgess who made the opposite transition. The former Globetrotter, after a few seasons playing for other teams, transferred back into the setup as part of the arranged opposition. The 7 ft 8 in. Sturgess adopts the persona of “Cager”, a masked adversary who adopts a villainous role.
  8.  The Generals were created in 1952 by their owner, GM, coach, and player Red Klotz.  Klotz played into his fifties.  They were a part of the staged act until 2015 when the Globetrotters decided to end their long, long relationship.   Fans actually objected to not seeing the Generals.
  9. So, in 2017, Herschend Family Entertainment, the owners of the Harlem Globetrotters, bought the Washington Generals from the Klotz family and revived them as an active team with Kenny Smith as general manager.  Yep, that Kenny Smith.
  10. The night of the lone recognized loss it’s reported that many children in the crowd cried in disbelief.  Meadowlark Lemon, ever the showman, was furious about the loss.  It wasn’t the game loss that concerned him in all likelihood.  It was the loss of a cornerstone of the brand.  The brand never lost.

One game tears aside, the Generals have won for a long time by losing to the beloved Globetrotters.  Creating a winning show that has prospered for 65 years is no easy task.  Ask the Knicks who are way, way off-Broadway, thankfully.  Or, ask Magic who couldn’t work his magic where he was once the lead actor in the hit play Showtime.

I Have Yet Another Story and a Moral Thereof

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Michael Phelps was the third ever American athlete to capture gold in four consecutive Summer Olympics in the same event.  Carl Lewis became only the second American to do so from 1984 through 1996. He won nine golds in all, but four consecutively came from the long jump.  But do you know who the first American was to win and in what event in four consecutive games?  If you just said Alfred “Al” Oerter, Jr. and the discus throw, without googling it, go directly to the medal stand to collect yours.

Al Oerter began his Olympic career in the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.  As a not well-known underdog he threw a then career best 185 feet in the discus competition.  In 1960 Oerter set an Olympic record of 194 feet for his second gold.  In 1964, hampered by neck and rib injuries he skipped his last throw due to the pain but tossed his second one nearly 200 feet, good for gold number three.  In 1968, as a 32-year-old big underdog, Oerter came from well behind with a third and final hurl of 212 feet for his fourth and final gold.

His discus career had an almost mythical beginning.  While running on his high school track (Oerter began his track and field career as a miler), an errant discus, which weighs four and-a-half pounds, nearly hit him and fell nearby.  He tossed it back further than from where it came.  He immediately was asked by his coach to switch events.

After the ’68 games he retired to pursue life in the business world.  That world was not suited for him (especially the suit part) and by 1976 eyed a comeback in the sport he so loved.  He tried out for the 1980 Olympic team and threw a personal best 228 feet, but failed to qualify finishing fourth.  Amazingly, he was a young 43 years old then.

He also was suffering from high blood pressure that plagued him throughout his rewarding life.

Almost getting hit by the discus and suffering from high blood pressure were not known to this writer in 2003 when Al addressed a several hundred strong contingent of eager listeners, and told his remarkable story at our sales meeting.  His tale was riveting.  His passion pure.  His intensity extreme.  What was known was that a few social beverages consumed by a not to be named coworker and I prior to the speech made us thirsty for more as soon as another presenter stopped droning on post Al’s address.  Sitting by the back door of the amphitheater we bolted for the post meeting poolside party bar.  Beverages secured, we saw Al ready to mingle with the masses.

“Let’s go talk to him.”  “Sure, what to say?”  “Come on, we’ll think of something.”   Al was sweating profusely in the night air.  Blood pressure was the culprit, I suppose, now that I know.  After a quick bit of small talk (and a bit more of our refreshments) about how great the speech was and how proud he must be, I decided I had to ask.  “Al, you’ve seen the video of that guy running track that accidentally gets skewered by the javelin throw?”  “Huh?”  “You know, like the thrill of victory, and the agony of defeat?”  He nodded affirmatively in silence, but with a furrowed brow.

“Well,” I went on.  “Well I was just wondering if you ever hit anyone about the cranium with the discus when you were practicing.”  “Are you serious?” He asked with some anger.  “Um, yes.”  “I traveled all the way to this meeting for you to ask me that?”  He seemed to not like my question much at all.  “Um, yes.”  “NO!”

With that Al turned faster than the whirl of a good discus throw and was off to talk to some other folks that might hold his interest and slow his escalating heartbeat.  Who knew?  Not I.  Well, it was time to head to the bar for another.  Maybe you “had to be there,” but at the time it was funny as hell.

Al died four years later in 2007, at a too young 71, of cardiovascular disease.  He refused a suggested heart transplant telling doctors that he “was going out with what he came here with.”

Oh.  What’s the moral of the story?  It probably is important to know your audience before you address them.

He did.  I did not.

 

 

 

Ten Piece Nuggets-April Madness

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The madness that was March Madness didn’t disappoint due to the calendar turning the page to April.  We have a few nuggets for you to chew on prior to tonight’s final.

  1.  Saturday, in The Final Four matchups, upset minded and upstart Texas Tech stymied a darn good Michigan State team.  Meanwhile, Virginia squeezed by upstart and upset minded Auburn.  The field of 64 narrowed to 2, and tonight it’s down to the one who gets the scissors to cut down the twine.
  2. Virginia is a slight 1 and 1/2 point favorite if you like a wager.  Or, you could place $100 to win $110 on Texas Tech on the money line while Virginia costs you $130 to win $100.  Hmm.  What to do?  What to do?
  3. One bettor has a YUGE (thanks Donald) “what to do?” themselves.  He or she put $1500 on Texas Tech to win it all back in November.  The fat odds then were 200-1.  The potential payday is 300k.   Here is the story.  And, here is the dilemma.  If you have come this far, do you let it ride?  It’s 300k or nothing.  Or, do you hedge the bet?  Maybe you bet 100k on Virgina on the money line tonight.  If you don’t have 100k in loose change stuck in the sofa cushions, you could always borrow it from friends and pay them back plus a bit of the haul.  That would insure a 100k payday at a minimum if Virginia wins, or a 200k payday if Texas Tech wins.  Common sense says that you have to hedge.  Of course, common sense says that $1500 on Texas Tech in November wasn’t using a lot of common sense either.
  4. Common sense also says that Virginia beat Auburn 63-62 in the last second fair and square.  Conspiracy theorists disagree and at least one Auburn fan disagrees.   His feelings poured out right after the game and right at the refs.  You can see the short clip here. But turn down, way down, the volume if you are at work.
  5. If you think that the refs collectively followed some mysterious guidance from the NCAA to get the “blue bloods” into the finals as some have mentioned, we have a question or three for you.  Was the whole game tilted that way, or just the no call double dribble against Virginia and the three-point attempt Auburn foul call?  Why did the NCAA “allow” Texas Tech into the grand finale?  Why not fix that game too?  And, lastly, do you believe that one of the three shots that Lee Harvey Oswald took really came from a sharp shooter behind the grassy knoll?
  6. Speaking of sharpshooters, how about that Guy?  Kyle Guy that is.  Kyle was fouled (per the maybe crooked, maybe biased refs) and very calmly sank three straight free throws, the last of which was taken after a timeout aimed at icing him.  He iced the game for Virginia instead.  Ten years from now you can ask, “Do you remember when that guy hit those three last second free throws to win that game over Auburn?”  Then you can ask what was that guy’s name?  Don’t be that guy.
  7. Is there any hypocrisy in Auburn yelling about cheating?  Watching Bruce Pearl bounce up and down the sidelines after the foul call in disbelief about the refs ruling was just a tad of karma.  Bruce has been accused a time or three of cheating, too, we seem to recall.  One of his Auburn assistants plead guilty in the NCAA/FBI investigation while another was just suspended on March 13th.  He will remain sidelined (not on the sidelines) while the probe into his alleged involvement in a bribery while at Penn U. is investigated.  His acts at Penn might put him in the pen too.  He needs a good defense attorney.
  8. Speaking of good defense, The Red Raiders of Texas Tech play some.  Don’t take our word for it, ask Michigan State.  Or, ask any other team that they have faced in this tournament.  The over/under line for tonight is 118.5.  It’s the lowest point total for a final in 20 years.  Who says defense doesn’t win championships?
  9. Dick Vitale picks Virginia to win it all in a close, low scoring defensive struggle.  Shocker.  Him taking the blue blood team, taking the chalk, and predicting low scoring isn’t exactly groundbreaking.  Dick was once, and for a long time, a breath of fresh air in the gym.  Now, his rhetoric is tired.
  10. We’ll take Texas Tech and over 118.5.  If you haven’t heard, we like to zig when others zag.

Enjoy the final.  You’ll be watching it.  So will Bruce Pearl.  Isn’t karma a beeotch?

Lefty and Shorty Talking Baseball, Sorta

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

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Lefty and Shorty were all but ready to close the Gulf Oil gas station last evening.  The Gulf of Mexico has spoken.  The early spring, humid, steamy air descended on the quiet evening.  Midnight neared and cars were nowhere near.  Lefty- Why on earth do we stay open this late on a Thursday night?  Shorty- So that you and I can talk sports.

Lefty sat to the left of Shorty.  Imagine that.  Shorty sat on the shorter of the two “halves” of the 55 gallon drum. Imagine that.  Each were cut down to size and retrofitted with a soft cushion top.

Lefty- Can you believe the slow start for New York, Boston, and Houston?  Shorty- Everyone knows the Knicks stink.  Lefty– What?  Shorty- But, Boston and Houston are good.  They clinched a playoff berth.  Lefty- I’m talking baseball. The season just started. All three are Vegas favorites.  Shorty- Oh.  Baseball?  Nobody cares about baseball this early.  Lefty- I care.  Shorty- Tampa is in first and nobody knows one player on their team.  Lefty- Snell.  Shorty– Smell what?  Lefty- Blake Snell, the pitcher for Tampa.  He won the Cy Young last year.  Shorty- That’s one.  Name another.  Lefty- I can’t, but isn’t it interesting that they sometimes pitch their staff backwards.  Shorty- Backwards?  That must hurt.  No wonder no one goes to their games.  Lefty- No! No!  They sometimes start their closer, and close with their starter.  Shorty- Sounds weird.

Silence fills the still night for a moment as Lefty shakes his head and tries to regroup.

Lefty- So, who is going to win the MVP race?  Shorty- Harden.  Lefty- You mean Harper?  Shorty- Harden.  Lefty- I’m still talking baseball.  Harper just got traded to the Phillies.  Shorty- Why?

Lefty-Have you heard of Abbott and Costello? Shorty- Yes.  They are Lefty and Shorty wanna be’s.  Lefty- Have you heard of Who’s on First?  Shorty- On first?  Where?  I don’t know.  Lefty- No, he’s on third.

Shorty- Be sure to lock up.  I going home to catch the Harden highlights on ESPN unless they are talking about LeBron and his groin injury.

 

 

 

Hoping to Change Is Unrealistic

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.  So said William Arthur Ward.  We had no idea who William Arthur Ward was, but an avid reader forwarded this quote to us yesterday.

Turns out that Mr. Ward was an often quoted  writer of inspirational maxims.  During his lifespan more than 100 articles, poems and meditations written by Ward were published in such magazines as Reader’s Digest, The Phi Delta Kappan, and Science of Mind.

We had no idea who Lori Lightfoot was either.  Well that is, we didn’t until yesterday.  Turns out that Lightfoot was elected mayor of the third largest city in America, Chicago, yesterday.  In her victory speech late Tuesday evening she said that her election was a “mandate for change.”  She went on saying “Together we will insure that your zip code will no longer determine your destiny.”

Mr. Ward and Ms. Lightfoot on the surface both sound quite inspirational don’t they?

But we wonder, as a realist, if a mayor, or a government can insure that you, as an individual, or as a zip code can change as her “mandate” of an election speech suggests.

It was John F. Kennedy who asked in his inauguration speech, “Ask not what your country can do for you.  Ask what you can do for your country.”  Sounds like President Kennedy, who I am sure felt like his election was a mandate for change as well, was perhaps more of a realist.

Reliance on government creates a dependency.  When one hopes someone else will help them, they are dependent.  Once in place, and BBR submits its been in place for far too long, it becomes an entitlement.  Hoping is the first cousin of moping.

But, every two, four, or six years too many people in too many elections run on a promise of change, and hope, and dreams.  As a realist, we wish they would run on reality.

Chicago’s very own, the Reverend Jessie Jackson, while concluding the 1988 Democratic Convention warm up speech before a worldwide audience said “Keep Hope Alive!”  In fact he liked the sound of it so much he said it four consecutive times.  Inspirational indeed.

Hope is but an emotional connection.  Post election reality sets in all over again.  It’s nice to keep hope alive.  It really is.  We all like to dream of better days.

Realistically, however, without action, it gets you as an individual, nowhere.  Sorry to disagree Ms. Lightfoot, but you’ll be in the same zip code in four years if you rely on others.

 

Boom Boom’s Life Lessons #14

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

One of the many gifts that Boom Boom gave us was the torrent of quips about how one leads one’s life.   He could say so much by saying so little.   A statement at just the right moment resonated in my young, eager eardrums.  How I interpreted or applied it was up to me.  No more words were spoken because no more words were needed.

Growing up, Daniel Joseph “Rusty” Staub was my favorite MLB baseball player.  Born and raised in NOLA, he signed with the Houston Astros for a then crazy 100,000 dollars in the early sixties.  Our family and his were friends.  My dad introduced me to him at an early age both in person and through the TV and newspapers.  I was hooked.

He went on to play in four decades (late 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, and early 90’s) for five teams (the Mets twice), amass 2700 plus hits, and late in his career set a modern-day record for pinch hits.

Growing up my conversations with Boom Boom were plentiful.  Rarely did one occur that didn’t start or end in baseball.  Rarely did one occur without a subtle or not so subtle lesson imbedded in it.

“Rusty went one for three last night Dad.  What’s his batting average?”  “Get a pencil and paper son and we will figure it out,” he suggested.

“Can we drive to Houston and watch Rusty play for our vacation?”  “Let’s sit down tonight with your mom and see if that’s what we want to do this summer.”  “We could go to AstroWorld too!”  “Sounds great son.  It’s a family decision, let’s talk to mom.”

“Why did the Astros trade him to the Montreal Expos, dad?”  “The Astros must have thought they were getting value back son.”  “What does value mean, dad?”  “Value means getting equal or better in return.”

In my teen years, “Why did Rusty turn down 2.5 million dollars over five years from the Mets, dad?”  “He asked for $200k a year for the next 20 years instead Wally.  He is setting himself up for the rest of his life son.”  “What does that mean?”  “Get a pencil and paper and we will figure it out,” he again suggested.

Rusty never held out for more money.  He never had a bad word to say about another teammate or coach. He never got tossed from a game.  And, most of all, he left the game with his head held high.  Over time he became a favorite of many for how he conducted himself on the field, in the clubhouse, and in life.

Happy belated birthday to Rusty!  He would have been 75 on Monday, April 1st, or April Fool’s Day.  But, Rusty was no fool.  He didn’t know it, but he helped Boom Boom teach an eager beaver a thing or two about sports, life, finances, and growing up “the right way.”

It’s great to have heroes in life.  It’s greater to have one that you can learn a lot from.  It’s greatest when you can share that hero’s journey with your ultimate hero in life.

 

 

 

 

Down Goes Biden, Down Goes Biden!

Posted on by thependulumswings staff

Yesterday we offered up our four best runners-up for the top five countdown of Donald Trump’s best (from the right) or worst (from the left) nicknames on his road to, and now, as President of the United States.  In the era of “play nice in the sandbox”  The Donald never shies away from a good jab or a right (saw what we did there?) cross.

Today, below, are our top five in ascending order of punch strength.

5.  Low Energy Jeb Bush– The Republican old guard and its committee for election in 2016 mostly had aligned its effort and huge money behind the brother of one and the son of another former president.  Hey everyone, get excited about another Bush!  The problem was twofold.  One, America was screaming for less of the same and wanted a fresh feel.  Two, Jeb’s a nice guy, but Jeb doesn’t exactly energize.  Then candidate Trump sensed all of the above and labeled him Low Energy Jeb.  Republican’s from near and far collectively agreed that Jeb didn’t exactly light up a room.  Soon, he wasn’t any longer in the room.  It was a Trump TKO.

4.  Pencil Neck Adam Schiff–  The newest nickname is only a week old.  It makes its debut at number 4.  We were quite tempted to place it higher, much higher.  It was the impetus for this post actually.  It’s not higher because of the significance of the remaining three, but like a fine wine (or whine if you are Schiff) it will only gain more character with age.  Schiff, Chair of the Intelligence Committee, has put himself on the front burner as one of Trump’s biggest critics.  When one sticks his (pencil) neck out attacking President Trump one might get burned.  No further explanation is needed.  It’s as if a flyweight stepped into the wrong ring.

3.  Crooked Hillary– As Secretary of State under President Obama, Hillary Rodham Clinton had a small problem with too many phones in hand, and way too many emails erased.  After Trump stumped his way past Lil Marco, Lyin Ted, and Low Energy Jeb, he focused his energy on the highest office in the land.  Clinton’s Bengazi problem and use of personal technology while conducting official and perhaps top-secret US business was under investigation.  Trump decided that she was guilty, naming her Crooked Hillary.   America, almost silently it seemed, had grown tired of the same old, same old Washington mess.  Jeb Bush had no energy and the wrong last name.  Hillary was labeled crooked and had the wrong last name.  Drain the swamp Trump said.  He hit her right on the nose.

2.  Pocahontas- Like Pencil Neck Adam, we were tempted to put this one higher, meaning number one.  It easily could be.  Elizabeth Warren, senior Senator from Massachusetts, claimed many times in her past that she was of Native American heritage.  She did so repeatedly on college entrance applications and law bar applications alike.  Being a minority helps in such pursuits.  As she rose in recognition and importance the lie, exaggeration, or stretch (however you wish to look at it) grew in stature.  Her outspoken opposition of The Donald caused him to drop the name Pocahontas on her.  Politically incorrect, said many.  Racist said many more.  But, now Warren has had to say she was sorry about that more and more.  With a one word nickname Warren, now an announced presidential candidate for 2020, has a handle that she will struggle to shake.  It’s a shot to the body by The Donald that takes the wind away.

1. Rocket Man–  A ripple of shock rolled through Twitter and the global media when President Trump called North Korea’s Kim Jong Un “Rocket Man” on the floor of the United Nations.  How dare he inflame an already very strained relationship with a dictator who sent a few nuclear test missiles over South Korea and Japan?   Heck, we even heard that North Korea’s capability had reached a range that could target the left coast of America.  Undeterred, on a world stage, Trump pressed on.  Perhaps he knows when he has the better cards?  Two years and two summits later Rocket Man has not yet been completely neutered, but the rockets haven’t glared red in a long while.  And, Trump and team continues to press hard for complete disarmament.  Given what was and is at stake on a global stage, this nickname is the knockout.

It’s only a matter of time before Trump recognizes another exposed chin and takes a swing.   The BBR money is on Joe Biden.  With accusers aplenty, Biden might wear himself out before he ever gets into the ring.  Trump is just bidding his time before he jabs.

Say it ain’t so, Joe.