IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 3 Comments

by John Walters

Starting Five

MBS’ B.S.*

*The judges will also accept “Turkish, Bizarre” and “CSI: Istanbul”

Mohammed bin Salman’s lame attempts to Nathan Thurm his way out of the Jamal Khashoggi murder took another hit this morning as Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan spoke at length about what he termed a “premeditated murder” and demanded that those responsible, no matter how high up the ladder, be held accountable and tried in Turkey.

What we know: On September 28, a Friday, Khashoggi, a Saudi native, visited the Saudi consulate requesting papers to finalize his divorce so that he could marry his fiancee. Later that day Ahmad Abdullah al-Muzaini, the deputy head of the consulate, flew to Riyadh and met with Ahmad Asiri, the deputy chief of Saudi intelligence. al-Muzaini returned to Turkey on Monday, October 1; the assassination squad sojourned there the next day, October 2, the day Khashoggi was told to return for the paperwork.

Again, and we’ve asked it before: How stupid and how clumsy and how downright unnecessary of MBS? So a Washington Post columnist pens a few columns that get under your thaw and you get this butthurt? People will tell/have told me that this demonstrates that MBS didn’t care about the consequences; I disagree. If he did not care, he wouldn’t have tried to cover it up. He would have done it in broad daylight, Gran Torino-style, and bragged about it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SVjMzrCMW9Q

This was premeditated, but also a crime of anger and passion. MBS was like Homer Simpson on “rageahol” and he didn’t think through the consequences so much as he just wanted this “I’ll show you who’s boss” murder done because the opportunity presented itself. He insisted on stealth because he actually thought he’d get away with it.

What a dope.

If you’re scoring at home, the Saudis at first denied any knowledge of Khashoggi’s whereabouts or disappearance. Then they admitted he’d died during an interrogation gone wrong. They’re still yet to produce a body, or explain why a bone saw was brought to an “interrogation.” Nor can they explain why a body double dressed in Khashoggi’s clothes was sent out of the consulate that afternoon to walk about in public places in Istanbul so that there’d be surveillance “proof” of his being out and about.

We’re nearly at the point where Donald Trump and Jared are just going to have to (once again) lie directly to our faces. Fortunately for them, they’ve had plenty of practice.

2. Caravandalism!*

*The judges will also accept “Hondurance Run” and “Minority Deport”

No matter what you think of the 7,000-plus Hondurans making their way northward from Honduras to what they hope will be the U.S. border, a pilgrimage that will still take them at least another six weeks, think about this: Can you imagine 7,000 Americans making this trek?

I mean, think of all the whining: “My phone’s almost out of juice” or “I can’t find a Starbucks serving pumpkin spice anything” or “I’m a binge-watcher, not a binge-walker!”

Anyway, we don’t want to beatify these folks, but we don’t want to (as a certain president is doing) demonize them, either. Our guess is if you’re that desperate to flee the country you call home that you’d put up with marching 1,500 miles through Guatemala and Mexico, you must really want it. Not that (The Mayflower) we Americans (the Pilgrims) would have  any concept (Plymouth Rock) of what (Happy Thanksgiving!) that would be like.

3. Nationalist Lampoon

As my high school friends and I like to say, “What The WTF?!?” The president of the United States, appearing in Houston to support old enemy Ted Cruz (incidentally, he mocked Beto O’Rourke for going by a childhood nickname [full name, Roberto] while conveniently ignoring that Ted is actually Rafael Edward Cruz, but when have facts ever mattered to Trump or his mindless supporters who pay him unadulterated fealty?), dropped any pretense of not being on the side of the neo-Nazis last night when he said, “You know what I am? I’m a nationalist, okay?…Use that word, use that word.”

Now when I make the inevitable comparison to Adolf Hitler, the previous century’s most avowed nationalist, some will roll their eyes. Why? They’ll always go immediately to the worst things Hitler did, you know, like kill 6 million Jews and incite a war that resulted in 70 million dead worldwide.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a72zyywjAWM&bpctr=1540300552

But here are the points they always seem to miss: 1) Hitler didn’t start out that way. In the early 1930s, he was doing all the same things that Trump is doing now. All of them; Trump is basically operating from his playbook, and 2) And this may be the more important point to make: even if Trump never goes down the genocide/World War III route, why would you as an American ever want a president who so closely identifies with Adolf Hitler as a leader? Aren’t the shared values bad enough? Do you really want to sell your soul and the actual values that the USA stands for just to make sure another Kenyan doesn’t occupy the White House?

4. LAL? LOL!*

*The judges will also accept “Cranky Goes To Hollywood”

Four of the NBA’s 30 teams are winless after nearly one week of games, and LeBron James’ new team is one of them (as is his most recent former team). The Lakers lost 143-142 to the Spurs in overtime last night to move to 0-3. That’s not instant oat meal, by a long shot.

It’s not that we’re so happy that LeBron is losing as we are that this is totally screwing with ESPN’s boo-boo kiss love affair with the Lakers. The ESPN NBA show headquarters are located a mere minute or two by foot from Staples Center, and they’re certainly not there for the Clippers.

A couple things: Villanova product Josh Hart was, not at all to our surprise, a great pickup. The rookie scored 20 off the bench last night. He’s already a pro’s pro. We told you we loved both him and teammate Donte DiVincenzo last spring before the draft…Also, have you noticed that nobody seems to be playing defense this season? A few scores from the first week of games: 143-142 (OT), 125-124(OT), 131-120, 133-111, 132-112, 140-136, 131-123, 149-129, 124-123, 131-112

5. Clueless Joe*

*The judges will also accept “MAGA Millions!”

So many mornings as we type we have CNBC’s “Squawk Box” on in the background. More often than not it’s on mute because co-host Joe Kernen almost always makes our ears bleed with his reliably tone-deaf statements. Besides being a chauvinist and a Trump cheerleader, Kernen consistently fulminates on topics that demonstrate how out-of-touch he is with anyone who doesn’t frequently lunch at Del Frisco’s on the expense account.

To wit, yesterday his sane and agreeable co-hosts, the full-generation-younger Becky Quick and Andrew Ross Sorkin, were talking about the Mega Millions jackpot and how it had exceeded $1 billion. And this is where Kernen felt the need to interject, “I don’t know, I just think that it’s so much more satisfying to earn it than win a lottery.”

Well, duh, Joe. Let us clue you in on a few things: You more than likely are in the top 1% of wage earners, and I’m not here to say that you don’t earn it or that your job is easy. I respect that you wake up every morning before dawn and are on the air for three hours live.

But here’s the thing: there are millions of Americans who work every bit as hard as you, millions who work harder, who because of the careers they chose will never, ever be in the top 1%. Teachers. Firefighters. Police. Nurses. They’ll never even be in the top 5%, which means they’ll never have the access to luxuries that you do.

And while no one should rely on a lottery to change their fate in life, the idea that everyone is going to have the opportunity to be rich, or should covet that, is asinine. Moreover, what you are saying implies that you equate how much you earn with how hard you work. As if you are saying, If people just worked a little harder (the way I’ve done), they’d be wealthier.

Sorry, no. The shittiest analyst at J.P. Morgan is still likely to earn more than the best teacher in the Bronx. The laziest, cocaine-snorting, skirt-chasing bond trader at Citi Bank will still earn more than almost every nurse in every big city hospital.

Wealth and hard work do not go hand in hand. Wealth is a product, for almost all, of your family upbringing (trust fund, inheritance, etc.) or the choice of profession. And as I was talking to a family member about this last night, she said something that stuck with me, “When did we start looking down on people just because they were poor?”

Or even middle-class?

Music 101

More More More

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlJGrIyt-X8

In 1975 Andrea True was a porn star living in Jamaica (we’ve all been there…the Caribbean, that is, not porn stardom) when an attempted coup prevented her from leaving the country with the wages she’d earned from some work. So she called on Gregg Diamond, a songwriter, to come visit and help her write and record a song. The result was one of the most popular songs of the disco era, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard charts in 1976. Stick around for the second half of the song and you’ll hear the riff that Len would later steal as the backdrop for their one hit, “Steal My Sunshine.”

Remote Patrol

World Series, Game 1

Dodgers at Red Sox

8 p.m. Fox

There’s the Babe, front and center

These two franchises last met in a World Series in 1916, when the Dodgers played in Brooklyn and were known as the Robins and when Boston played in Fenway Park and were known as the Red Sox. In Game 2 of that series, Red Sox pitcher Babe Ruth went all 14 innings in a 2-1 Boston victory (the Bambino went 0 for 5 batting, though he had an RBI—not the game-winner). The Babe’s final 13 innings that day were scoreless, and though Boston’s home field was Fenway, they played their World Series games at Braves Field, as they were able to draw 10,000 or more fans at that venue.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 2 Comments

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

We really hope Phyllis does not ask us to explain why this is funny….

Starting Five

This is the 9-minute mile gate….

1. The Walking Dread

On the one hand, yes, you just can’t allow thousands of illegals to cross into Texas as if they’re in the midst of a Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure. On the other hand, this is what you reap when you separate thousands of children from their parents.

Of course, that’s just a tiny slice of the 7,000 or so Honduran migrants who have crossed the Suchiate River that separates Guatemala from Mexico and are now continuing north. You have to admire these folks’ desire for a better life and yet as November bears down on us in the northeast, I’m thinking a beach below the Tropic of Cancer wouldn’t be the worst thing (Can you Air BnB switch with a Honduran migrant?).

Are we headed toward another Kent State massacre, just on a larger scale? And why won’t anyone take us up on our idea to economically invade Honduras, i.e., let our raging venture capitalists take over the economy, build luxury resorts and Zaxby’s chicken eateries, and then no one would want to leave?

President Trump has frequently derided our border laws as “a joke” but has yet to come up with a realistic and/or viable alternative (no, “The Wall” is not it). The most popular policy being considered at the moment to deal with the caravan involves the following: “Parents would be forced to choose between voluntarily relinquishing their children to foster care or remaining imprisoned together as a family. The latter option would require parents to waive their child’s right to be released from detention within 20 days.”

The problem, as we see it, is that any finite amount of incarceration only means that the illegal immigrants will try again at a later date. Any undetermined amount of incarceration is both illegal (unless, you know, you’re Muslim and happened to be walking down the wrong street in Kabul at the wrong time) and extremely costly to U.S. taxpayers. Violence—just mow ’em down when they try to cross—would probably be a popular option at certain red-state precincts and in the Saudi royal palace, but not play well as a long-term strategy and would eventually foster an Oscar-nominated picture starring Penelope Cruz and George Lopez, directed by Alfonso Cuaron.

“Badges?!? We don’t need no stinkin’ badges!”

And who wants that?

So, it’s a sticky situation, and it’s only worsening. The Border Patrol apprehended 16,658 people in family units in September, a record amount. Our radical idea is one we’ll stick with. Play offense. Invade those countries. All that coastline. All that arable land. The price of a bottle of Casamigos would plummet, no? Call me loco, but it just might work. Would you rather re-locate for your job to Detroit or Puerto Vallarta?

2. Purdue Comes Through

Rondale Moore, Moore, Moore/How do you like it/How do you like it

A terminally ill student…a prime-time game at Ross-Ade Stadium on ABC…an unranked program, one that hadn’t knocked off a top ten opponent since 1984, taking on mighty Ohio State, ranked No. 2.

The Boilermakers didn’t just win and upset the Buckeyes, they curb-stomped them, 49-20. For some reason Ohio State QB Dwayne Haskins attempted a school-record 73 passes, as suddenly Urban Meyer’s surfeit of 4- and 5-star offensive linemen forgot how to run-block.

Meanwhile, Tyler Trent, who is dying of bone cancer, became a national celebrity, as Tom Rinaldi worked his tinkling piano magic once again. He seems like a terrific young man and we’re genuinely thrilled for him that he had this moment, even if ESPN did lay it on, as is their habit, a little thick.

How Purdue was this weekend? The school’s greatest alum not to orbit the earth in a lunar vehicle, Drew Brees, completed his NFL cycle by beating the last team he’d never defeated, the Baltimore Ravens. And even that was somewhat magical, as it required Raven kicker Justin Tucker to miss the first PAT of his career (he was 222 of 222 until that moment) in the waning seconds of the game as New Orleans won 24-23. Tucker had been the only kicker with a serious amount of PATs from the NFL’s new distance, which changed in 2015, to never miss a PAT from that distance.

He can’t believe it, either

Tucker appeared shocked, but that’s just the kind of weekend it was for Boiler Up! acolytes. As Brees departed his post-game presser, he shouted, “Go, Boilermakers!”

3. Michigan’s Moment


versus…

All I can say, as a Notre Dame alum, is that I’m really glad the Irish don’t have to face Michigan this season.

4. Rio Naranjo Tragedy

In Costa Rica, four Americans on a bachelor party excursion drown when their raft capsizes on the Naranjo River. The guide also perished. The Americans, ages 25 to 35, were all from the Miami area and the river was swollen and flooding due to recent heavy rains. Pro tip: when the water is brown, don’t go rafting.

5. Walk-Off Go-Home Run

This is Kenya’s Kenenisa Bekele, who is arguably the greatest marathoner ever to lace ’em up. Yesterday he was running the Amsterdam Marathon and had the lead at the 18-mile mark. He began to get tracked down by some in the lead pack and by the final mile he was in 10th place or so. With about a half mile remaining in the 26.2-mile event, Bekele simply stopped running and walked off the course (above). No “Finisher” T-shirt for you, Kenenisa.

When asked why his client did not finish the race, Bekele’s agent, Jos Hermens said, “Tell me why he would? I know he was going to finish in 10th place probably, 2:10. And then push another 2k? It’s no use.”

Music 101

Mr. Soul

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrFvZYTPQaw

Look, kids, it’s Neil Young in a lime-green fringe outfit. Here’s Buffalo Springfield (the name is taken from a brand of steamroller) performing at the Hollywood Palace in 1967. Little-known fact we learned while researching this: before joining this future R&R HOF band, Young was in his native Canada all set to join a group called the Mynah Birds, but the band’s lead singer, Ricky James Matthews., was arrested by the U.S. Navy for being AWOL. That singer served a year in prison and so Young headed to California. You know that singer better as “I’m Rick James, bitch!”

Remote Patrol

Monty Python’s Best Bits

Netflix

We were way too young and our tiny brain was not fully formed when the local PBS station would air “Monty Python’s Flying Circus” in the early Seventies. Go back and watch some of their best sketches (“The Argument Clinic”) for one in this five-episode series, as comics and actors from today (Jim Carrey is, expectantly, animated and hilarious describing his passion for the troupe) introduce the sketches.

 

CHRIS PICKS! Week 7

by John Walters | 1 Comment

by Chris Corbellini

Overshare warning: I didn’t exactly wow an NFL team during a recent chat, I bitched to Medium Happy EIC John Walters via text about working for free*, my accounting course could be going better, and I’m currently dealing with a slight hangover due to a wedding rehearsal dinner that got all Malbec-y. That’s the cloudy-sky version of things.

The sunny side: I did pick up a sweet consulting gig, an NFL team actually wanted to talk to me, I’m actually studying at Columbia, John actually allows me to write here, and one of my favorite family members is getting married, and seeing her smile last night I must admit it’s hard to be a misanthrope. I’m running towards life this weekend. Good things lay ahead. Even with these picks. “Things *do* turn around, Steve,” Cameron Crowe once wrote. And I believe it.

So anyway, yeah, that’s a long way of writing that on a professional note … I didn’t get these picks in until Saturday around noon. Home team in CAPS. William Hill odds.

* (Editor’s Note: I, too, have bitched to John Walters about writing for free…)

MIAMI (+3) over Detroit

When in doubt, go with the home dog. Last week I was certain the Bears D was going to pound and grind the Dolphins into a tuna melt, but Brock Osweiler made things interesting. By comparison, the Lions linebackers are poorly rated on Pro Football Focus, and field a corner who, according to the grading system, is one of the worst in the league. So, throw more than few dump-offs to Kenyan Drake, put in Frank Gore at the goal-line, and get Danny Amendola involved, and the Dolphins get to a single eyebrow raising 5-2. I see the Dolphins winning this by a field goal, with cries of “Why not us?” before Brady throws for seven touchdowns against them in mid-December, and Amendola refuses to hug it out with Tom after the game.

INDIANAPOLIS (-7.5) over Buffalo

I really wanted to write that the Bills will cover here. They showed me enough at Houston last week to second-guess this. But Buffalo’s new QB, Derek Anderson, is being force-fed the offense in a few days, and his last start was in 2016 (and only to punish Cam Newton). I think Anderson will make some good throws on muscle memory alone, and the Bills defense will play nasty at times (especially on the defensive line), and this week it won’t be enough.

Dallas (+1.5) over WASHINGTON

I have this working theory that coaches who’ve failed miserably as NFL HC’s make terrific assistants. Something about having a second chance reinvigorates them, and while they understand the big picture the way a head coach would, they don’t have all that responsibility anymore and can focus on a specific area. Example: Cowboys offensive coordinator Scott Linehan. He washed out in St. Louis, and now doing great things with Dallas QB Dak Prescott.  And defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli? Suffered through a winless season with the Lions in 2008, and is now putting together a top defense without any established stars in Big D. Dallas is one receiver away from contending, but still, these Cowboys do look dominant at times.

KANSAS CITY (-6) over Cincinnati


At Arrowhead? Nah, not this week Cincy. For starters, the Bengals don’t have the speed to keep up with Tyreek Hill.  Plus, I keep reading about the dirty play of Cincinnati LB Vontaze Burfict, and it’s clear all the frustrated quotes from opponents are feeding into his self-worth as a player. He thinks he’s doing the right thing. Well, the football gods are getting angry, Vontaze. There will be a reckoning when you hit people late over and over just to hit people late.

Opponents see that … so not only will they target Burfict whenever they can, there is a possibility Bengals QB Andy Dalton absorbs a few late shots himself. You know, just enough of an elbow that’ll make Dalton feel it and the refs won’t be able to see. I predict Hill will score a long one, TE Travis Kelce will score underneath, and perhaps Burfict has a meltdown to remember. “Instant karma’s gonna get you. Yeah, you.”

Last week: 1-3

Season: 6-15

My head still hurts a little

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 1 Comment

by John Walters

A personal note up top: Yesterday we staged our penultimate private party of the season at the Cookoutateria and I don’t mind sharing with you the name of the company who rented out our space: Component Assembly. I tell you this because it’s a contractor company—they worked on the Freedom Tower—privately owned, that specializes in carpentry.

Almost all of the 250 guests on a bright, sunny autumn afternoon were carpenters, men (and a few women) in well-work construction boots and bright orange or lime green hooded sweatshirts. More African-American or Hispanic than white, overall. And I mention this because we host dozens of parties in the summer, working with private equity firms, law firms, major banks, advertising agencies and accounting firms. 

And this, from a bartender’s perspective, is what I can share with you: nobody but nobody even comes within a mile of tipping as well as these blue-collar laborers do. No one. One dude pulled out a $20, momentarily asked for change, then just said, “Keep it.” 

At the end of the party the owner of the company gathered us around and sprayed anywhere from a $50 to a benjamin to each of us who worked the party. That just doesn’t happen at our place. Ever. So a shout-out to Component Assembly but also to people who work with their hands, who are part of the real labor force. The only other party we worked this summer where guests were as generous and also generally seemed to be having as much fun was when we hosted the NYPD. 

Make of these observations what you will….

Tweet Me Right


Matt, we need this as our bedroom wall. Also, it’s fall break at ND so this is the only way any students are going to see this…

Starting Five

The Price, Finally, Is Right (Even Though He’s A Lefty)

Lanky lefty David Price, whose $250 million deal has long dwarfed his postseason stature—his teams were 0-11 in postseason games he’d started before Game 5 of the ALCS last night—at long last came through. Six innings, no runs, no walks and nine strikeouts as the Red Sox shushed the Astros and once again celebrated a series win on another team’s mound.

Final score: 4-1, and Mookie Betts made a catch near the very same spot where he’d failed to make a catch (but did record the out, thanks to Cowboy Joe) the night before.

The Sawx will host Games 1 and 2 of the Fall Classic in Fenway beginning Tuesday.

2. From The Land to La La Land

First of all, why are the Lakers wearing their home yellows on the road? How long has this been going on?….Second, if Josh Hart can come off the bench and score 20, how much longer is Lonzo Ball going to be in the rotation?….The LeBrakers lost 128-119 at Portland last night. Sweet Pea had 26 and 12 but the team shot only 7 of 30 from beyond the arc, which is why the Warriors are guffawing at this morning’s shoot around in Utah…meanwhile, we did not know this but maybe you did: it was Portland’s 18th consecutive win in their home opener and their 16th consecutive defeat of the Lakers. Wow.

3. Well, They’re Comin’ (Yes, They’re Comin’) To Your Ci-TAY!!!!

No, this is NOT the starting line of the Tegucigalpa Marathon.

 

College GameDay to Pullman? That’s kinda big news, but what about caravan of 2,000 to 4,000 Hondurans making their way to the U.S. border? No, this blog has not been hijacked by Dinesh D’Souza, it’s really happening.

The reasons these immigrants/refugees provide as to why they are making this 1,000 to 1,700-mile trek (without even being awarded a T-shirt or medal) are not surprising: 1) A better life for their families, 2) To find work, 3) To escape gangs and 4) To scare the crap out of Mitch Mconnell.

No shoes, no shirt, but cell phone service

This is going to be interesting. Remember when it was just a swarm of killer bees that Americans feared would be heading our way from Mexico? Any president, from Obama to Trump, would be compelled to take drastic action to curb this.

I’ll repeat our MH solution to this entire conundrum: The U.S. should just “invade” these Central American nations economically. Forget NAFTA. Forget the U.N. If this many people from your country want to live in our country, then we’re taking over your country. Oh, you have lovely beaches on both the Caribbean and Pacific? Even better.

4. When You Leave Even Pat Kiernan Speechless


New Yorkers know Pat Kiernan as the mild-mannered morning host of New York 1, the city’s go-to all-day news channel that we all inevitably find because it’s literally Channel 1 (no such channel ever appeared on our TVs when we were kids, an eternal source of confusion). If you watch Kiernan enough, you know that his greatest skill is being universally palatable, that he is inoffensive to the nth degree as he spends the mornings usually poring over our local papers and synthesizing the stories for the viewer.

Pat literally reads you the morning news, like a better-looking version of your own spouse sitting across the breakfast nook table as you’re drinking coffee. So the fact that even he was bothered by this, in the same week that the news of the Jamal Khashoggi murder got nastier, tells you something.

 

5. Roma Conquers

Okay, so Hurricane Cooper-Ga Ga came and passed, leaving in its path of celluloid destruction a Best Original Song Oscar fave and definitely a Best Actor nomination for the star/director/writer, but most of us agree that it’s a good, not transcendent, film.

And now here comes Alfonso Cuaron (Gravity, Children of Men, Y Tu Mama Tambien) with a film, set in Mexico City in the 1970s and shot in black and white, that critics are rushing to see as if they were northward-bound Hondurans.

It’s the perfect critical backlash flick for A Star Is Born, and critics are tossing around the word “masterpiece,” which almost definitely means it won’t be playing at the Chattanooga multiplex any time soon. But in select cities, and with select critics, this will be a fave. And the question will become whether it belongs on the Best Picture or Best Foreign Picture list.

Tell me something, girl.

Music 101

Peg

Liner Notes: Released as a single in 1978 off the band’s Aja album, this Steely Dan song spent 19 weeks on the Billboard charts, peaking at No. 11…the band went through six studio musicians before finally finding a seventh, Jay Graydon, who played the guitar solo to their satisfaction…the song has long been surmised to be about Peg Entwhistle, a Broadway star who leapt to her death from the Hollywood sign shortly before her first talkie film was released in 1932…the surviving member of the band, Donald Fagen, is playing as Steely Dan for the next two weeks not far from MH headquarters (5 blocks)

Entwhistle was only 24 when she took her own life. For the curious, she jumped from the “H”

Remote Patrol

Dodgers at Brewers

NLCS Game 6

8 p.m. FS1

Joe Buck does not have many days off this time of year. From the NFL booth on Sundays to four Dodger-Brewer games this week, and possibly a fifth on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Brew Crew is waiting for Christian Yelich (.150 batting average in the postseason) to hit like the MVP that he is.

IT’S ALL HAPPENING!

by John Walters | 1 Comment

by John Walters

Tweet Me Right

Starting Five

Betts, Bens and Bradley, Jr.

The Red Sox are the best team in baseball because they have the best outfield in baseball, and last night’s Game 4 in Houston demonstrated why. Jackie Bradley, Jr., one day after smoking a grand slam, hit a three-run jack. Presumptive MVP Mookie Betts (already the Mookie of the Year) pegged Tony Kemp on what should have been a leadoff double in the eighth inning, and then left fielder Andrew Benentendi, with the bases loaded of Astros and only up 8-6, made a diving catch to end the game.

If Benentendi misses, the Astros at least tie it up, have a great shot of tying the series, and won’t have Craig Kimbrel for today’s Game 5. They won’t now, but it doesn’t matter as much.

It’s the second Game 4 in as many series in which Kimbrel loaded the bases in the ninth and he Red Sox escaped by the narrowest of margins. They’re charmed, but they’re also really good.

The ball is just above his glove. Note how the three closest fans have their eyes closed.

About that Jose Altuve two-run homer that became an out in the first inning, three points: 1) What exactly are the fans supposed to do in that situation? It’s not as if they reached their hands far past the wall, if at all? 2) It seems cruel, in that situation, to call Altuve out. The catch by Betts there is hardly a presumed certainty, it would have have to be a fabulous play, and 3) on the TBS postgame show, a great point: it’s Joe West who immediately called interference; back at the the review center in Chelsea, might the anonymous replay ump feel a little intimidated about the prospect of overturning a Joe West call, i.e., are umps just as worried about their own jobs as the rest of us?

2. This Seems Rather Incriminating

As the White House gives Saudi Arabia a few more days to put a digestible lie together conduct its investigation, the free press is way out in front of both, as expected. Here’s a photo of Maher Abdulaziz Mutreb, an aide to Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), walking into the Saudi Arabia consulate in Istanbul. Not the time stamp: Tuesday, October 2, the day Jamal Khoshaggi also walked in and was never seen again.

And above is a triptych of MAM traveling the world with MBS just this year. Note how he stays out of photo op range but within keeping-an-eye-on-him distance. He’s one of his more trusted, if not most trusted, security men.

If this were an actual court of law, the defense would already be plea-bargaining to simply get life imprisonment. But this is Donald Trump’s White House, where the only things that matter or are treated with respect are money and authoritarianism. The Saudis have as much of both as they have oil stockpiled.

Khashoggi, with Apple watch that may have recorded his murder in sharper focus

At the end of the day, this is going to be Trump using his powers of Implausible Deniability to say that they buy the Saudis’ alibi, then some poor Saudi sucker will be hanged or beheaded, the $110 billion arms deal will remain intact, and as a world power the United States is now on the same ethical plane as Russia or China. And you may argue, But we always were and that may be true, but at least in the past when we were caught with our pants around our ankles we hustled to pull them back up.

Not under this White House. Truly sad, particularly when journalist, abetted by Turkish officials, paint such a vivid and gruesome picture of what took place in the Saudi consulate that afternoon.

3. Some 41

A 41 year-old starting at guard in the NBA?!? That’s Vinsanity!

After the NBA’s widespread opening night, no number was more relevant than 41: that’s the number of points Kemba Walker of the Charlotte Hornets scored in a one-point loss to Milwaukee and it’s also the age of Vincent Carter, who started in the Atlanta Hawks’ backcourt along with 20 year-old Trae Young (we still can’t believe Atlanta took him).

Elsewhere, Devin Booker scored 19 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Suns ran away from the Mavericks. Top overall pick Deandre Ayton looked terrific with 18 points in his debut and this Suns fan of 40 years has no idea how to deal with a team that has a potentially dominant center.

4. Making A Murderer, Season 2

In the northwest Wisconsin town of Barron, 13 year-old Jayme Closs‘ parents are shot dead in their home on Monday morning and then their tween goes missing. Steven Avery, serving a life sentence hundreds of miles down state, says, “Don’t look at me.”

James Closs, 56, and his wife Denise, 46, were murdered some time after midnight Monday morning. Police received a cryptic 911 cell phone call  from the house at 1 a.m. in which no one spoke, but a disturbance was heard (was that Jayme or a parent surreptitiously dialing?). Deputies arrived at the home 4 minutes later but no living beings were there and no vehicles were in the immediate area.

A neighbor said he heard two shots shortly after 12:30 a.m. Police are not saying from whom the call came but are saying that they are “100% certain” that Jayme is still alive.

There is no known motive.

5. Rainbow Warrior

Why are there so many songs by this Rainbow/And what’s on the other side?
We don’t know Randy Rainbow‘s backstory, his real name or if he’s ever sung on Broadway (or inside Marie’s Crisis Cafe in the West Village). All we know is that he’s uber-sassy, his lyrics are hot fire and that he must be the demon spawn of Liza Minelli and Pee Wee Herman.

UPDATE: Here, you can do the work on Randy’s backstory.

Reserves

Jail? No, this man deserves his own ad campaign. Dilly Dilly!


*****

Meanwhile, during the Mavs-Suns game last night, ESPN’s Dave Pasch casually dropped that Klay Thompson will be the College GameDay celebrity picker for the show’s relatively historic visit to Pullman on Saturday. That info had not yet been released and College GameDay often likes to keep that a secret. Particularly this weekend. Wheels Up, head down, Dave.

Music 101

While You See A Chance

Not unlike Jefferson Airplane/Starship, Steve Winwood went from late Sixties rock icon to early Eighties pop star. For anyone who was alive and into music in 1981, the instrumental opening of this tune is an eight-foot wave of nostalgia. This was one of the former Spencer Davis Group, Traffic and Blind Faith vocalist’s biggest solo hits, peaking at No. 8 that spring. Yes, the video is god-awful.

Remote Patrol

Red Sox at Astros

ALCS Game 5

8 p.m. TBS

Every time we hear “Jackie Bradley, Jr.,” we think “Jackie Rogers, Jr.” And the latter is more photogenic.

Joe Buck and John Smoltz are the better booth duo (don’t mistake us, I like Brian Anderson and Ron Darling, too), but this is the better series. It’s the de facto World Series (now watch the Dodgers go ahead and win it all).

Stanford at Arizona State

9 p.m. ESPN

And this is why October is the greatest sports month, and that was before the NBA moved up opening night two weeks. The Cardinal under David Shaw, in his eighth season in Palo Alto, have never lost three consecutive games. That mark is on the line tonight in Tempe, as week night Pac-12 After Dark mayhem awaits. Bryce Love, who last played on September 29 and has already missed two full games this season, should start.