by John Walters
A Medium Happy 80th to the man who penned “Lonesome Dove,” Larry McMurtry…..
….This is a classic. McMurtry is not to be confused with Cormac McCarthy, who wrote “All The Pretty Horses” and “Blood Meridian”
We’d also like to wish a Medium Happy 35th to McLovin…
Starting Five
Strength In Numbers
Dellavedova went Down Under on Iguodala
1. Ballin’
Golden State trailed briefly in the third quarter and only led 71-68 when Cleveland’s Matthew Dellavedova swiped at one ball on this fast break play and smashed another. The Dubs went on a 25-8 tear against the Cavs after that, mostly without the help of the Splash Brothers.
Game 1 goes to Golden State, 104-89. At one point late in the fourth quarter six Dubs were in double figures and none of them were named Curry or Thompson. That’s a bad omen for the Cavs, but it’s only one game.
2. Military Deaths
Kuss was the 27th Blue Angel pilot to suffer a fatal crash….
In Smyma, Tennessee, during a practice run for this weekend’s Great Tennessee Airshow, Marine captain and pilot Jeff Kuss, a member of the elite Blue Angels stunt team, died when his plane crashed. According to figures on-line, there have been fewer than 270 Blue Angel pilots since the unit was formed 70 years ago, and now 27 have perished while flying. That’s a better than 10% on-the-job fatality rate.
Kuss, who was one of six pilots in the unit, was the first Blue Angel death in more than a decade (and you may have read that last weekend a Thunderbird pilot, the Air Force’s version of the Blue Angels, had to eject in Colorado after doing a flyover for the USAFA graduation, which he did, but that pilot survived.)
Meanwhile in Fort Hood, Texas, five Army soldiers have died and four are missing when their light tactical vehicle overturned during a training mission in the midst of severe flooding.
What’s up with Texas? I remember visiting five years ago when parts of the state had not had any rain in nearly a year. Houston has already surpassed its monthly rainfall quota for June (5.9 inches) by more than 1 1/2 inches. And it’s only June 3. And more rain is expected.
“Don’t mess with Texas?” Don’t worry, we won’t.
I’ve lived in south Texas in June. It’s horrendous. Worse than Phoenix in June. Throw in all that rain, creating more humidity, and then toss in that all that stagnant water creates more mosquitoes, plus you’ve got your water moccasins and rattlesnakes who have been dislodged from their homes and are even more ornery than usual, and it’s no place you want to be. I’d almost—almost—prefer to attend the Olympics in Rio.
3. Fight Fire With Water
Let’s just have a spelling bee!
Bad move by the Trump protesters in San Jose, Calif., yesterday. They got violent with Trump supporters before he spoke there. One woman was pelted with eggs. Remember in the Garden of Gethsemane when one of Jesus’s pals sliced off a Roman soldier’s ear in an attempt to defend the Messiah and J.C. was all like, “It’s cool, bro. We better than that?”
Well, that’s the lesson for anyone who reviles Trump or what he represents. Don’t behave like him. Meanwhile, what a terrific conspiracy theory if Trump planted those anti-Trump goons in the crowd. That would be genius and I’d have to say, “Well played, Tan Man.”
4. The Battle of 16-13
A few oddities about last night’s Mariners-Padres game, in which Seattle erased a 12-2 deficit in just two innings to win 16-13 at Petco Park: 1) It was the second time in the past three nights that the Mariners put up 16 runs versus the Padres (16-4 on Tuesday), 2) It was the final game of a strange four-game home-and-home series between the two, 3) Each side had an inning in which it sent 13 men to the plate, 4) Jon Jay (“The Federalist!”) of the Padres went 5 for 6 and is now 9 for 12 his past two games, which may explain why he’s their leadoff batter, and 5) during Seattle’s nine-run 7th inning, the Mariners hit SEVEN consecutive two-out singles. I’m sure I’ve never seen that before.
5. Where In The World?
Hint: A man-made passage has cut down the list of sightseers
Last week’s answer: The tiny republic, surrounded on all sides by Italy, of San Marino.
Music 101
Summer Breeze
As long as the kids from the Wednesday MH comments section are on the topic, why not post this hypnotic summer tune from Seals and Crofts that owned the airwaves in the summer of ’72? The song, released in August of that year, only climbed to No. 6 on the Billboard charts, but it is the quintessential early ’70s soft-rock harmony tune that plays as you’re driving home from the beach in the wood-paneled station wagon, begging your parents to stop at Carvel.
Remote Patrol
SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY!
7 p.m. Miss USA Pageant, FOX
8 p.m. Game 2 of the NBA Finals, ABC
9 p.m. Game of Thrones, HBO
Last year’s Miss USA, from Oklahoma, Olivia Jordan
Wax your remote controls, cuz you’re gonna be doing some surfing on Sunday night….
If I had not seen the game or knew the outcome & someone told me that Steph & Klay would TOGETHER only score 20 pts & have multiple turnovers, I would begin whoo-hooing thinking that the Cavs had won the game. You’re right, this (a nonfactor Splash Brothers did not preclude a Dubs win by 15) is the most worrisome fact about last night’s loss. BUT, I keep telling myself – it COULD be worse! Kyrie or Kev could have broken a kneecap & be out for the duration. So, all Cavs fans need to stay optimistic. Plus, we came back from a poor 2nd quarter & actually took the lead for large parts of the 3rd. Unfortunately, by the time LBJ came back in from his usual start-of-4th quarter rest, the Dubs had scored 50 straight points. Well, it SEEMED like that!
Overall, the Cavs did NOT play great, heck, not even good for large parts of the game & YET, the Cavs weren’t really out of it till the final few minutes. TURNOVERS were our biggest downfall, I think. Followed by lack of points from our 3-pt guys (JR & Channing). I’m worried that JR hurt his wrist when he dove on the floor for the ball in 1st quarter, otherwise I can’t imagine why HE only put up 3 shots. I thought Kev played well, especially banging down in the paint but while Kyrie scored the highest number of Cavs points, he was NOT efficient (i.e. many missed baskets) & his # of assists are hard to find on the stat sheet. Ahem. Sweet Pea of course played very well, but I think HE will need to impose himself on this series if we are to win. He may have thought with K&K on the court this year, he wouldn’t need to average 35 pts/game this time. Hmmmm, well if the sharpshooters don’t start knocking them down, he will once again have to don that superhero cape across those magnificent shoulders.
I didn’t expect to win both games in Oakland, so I’m not TOO upset with this one loss, but I do wish we’d played better. If we lose the next one, the worst thing will be hearing all the commentators rant/trashtalk the Cavs for the next 3 days like they did the poor Raptors in the Eastern Finals. BTW, why are so many in the media like preteen girls – it’s ALL tragedy or ALL ecstasy & that both will never end? How can anyone who has ever watched an entire NBA playoffs not know that teams can win big then lose big then win again? From game to game? It’s the nature of the format & the game itself.
Also, that the WARRIORS had a fit over an inadvertent crotch swipe makes me howl! The team with ‘Draymond GKE (Groin Kicker Extraordinaire)’? HAH!
Ah, Summer Breeze. Loved it. Oooh, oooh, just remembered another fave summer song – SAILING by Christopher Cross (1980). Most memorable time I heard the song – my younger sister & I were coming back from 4 days at Ocean City, MD & as we were starting across the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, that song came on the radio. I looked out the car window & saw some sailboats in the Bay & immediately proceeded to choke back some tears. Oh man, STILL gives me goosebumps when I think about it. Funny how music can transport you back in time. Who needs a Delorean? 🙂
Also, I’m very tardy on this but since you INADVERTENTLY (I’m sure) failed to mention it – the National Spelling Bee once again crowned 2 champs last week. Even after changing the format to prevent such a result. Which made me laugh & laugh.
And THIS year I was actually able to spell about 10 of the Final round words without looking at the screen! Whoo-hoo!