by John Walters
You Rally Got Me!
This photo by Jabin Botsford of The Washington Post from Saturday night’s Donald Trump rally should be appropriated by Joe Biden as his 2020 campaign poster. Though it is refreshing to see a MAGA type observing social distance protocol.
Second Wave
The U.S. reports 30,000 new cases for two days in a row, the highest totals since May 1st (when 1,500-plus were dying per day). 23 states are reporting a rise in coronavirus cases while Florida had its highest number of new cases in one day (4,049) yet. Are you listening, Adam Silver?
But you can relax because this morning on CNBC Larry Kudlow said, “There is no second wave coming. It’s just hot spots.”
Of course, this is what Kudlow said about the coronavirus back in Febuary: “We have contained this, I won’t say airtight, but pretty close to airtight.“
So don’t worry.
At The Copa, Copacabana
Fun story in The New York Times this weekend about the punch that got Billy Martin traded and the 88 year-old bouncer who is finally ‘fessing up. Music and passion really were always in fashion.
La La Land
Click on this story about how the markets are not obeying fundamentals just to see that graph. You should feel like the meteorologist in The Perfect Storm when he realizes that all three scary weather patterns are about to converge in the Atlantic.
Easy Wind
(Has any major band ever looked at its instruments more while playing live than the Dead did?)
This just in: the Grateful Dead is releasing a deodorant brand. So now you won’t need to buy as much pachouli when you follow them around on tour. I’ve only attended one Dead show (not being high, I didn’t enjoy it much) but I don’t recall hygiene being paramount on the list of Deadhead concerns.
Well, Kudlow is partly correct – there is no “2nd wave” as THE 1ST ONE IS STILL HERE!
And yes, with the OUTBREAK of rising cases in FL every day, it’s putting the NBA’s plans in jeopardy. I would suggest that EVERYONE who will be coming into contact with the teams & their rooms,etc should be IN THE BUBBLE WITH THEM. This means all medical, cleaning, & cooking staff,etc too. Either Disney hires volunteers from within their own employee group or the NBA should bring all their own. Pay them double or triple their regular pay & I would think there will be plenty of workers who will sign up for “summer camp”. ANYONE who leaves the “bubble” can’t get back in. And no, this is not prison! It’s a FANCY RESORT! Only four teams will be there for more than a month, so if they really want a “conclusion” to this season’, this is the price.
If that price is too high, they should just scrap the plan. It’s their choice. But I doubt many Americans will shed a tear for them as there are still more than 30 million unemployed, worrying how they will pay this month & next month’s mortgage/rent & put food on the table. AND worrying about contracting the virus possibly without health insurance. So boo-freakin-hoo if NBA players might have to stay inside a high-end “bubble” for 1-2 months.
Susie B,
I remember being grounded as a kid and telling myself the same thing about my room: “This is not prison! It’s a FANCY RESORT!”
Prison is all in the mind. I’ve read Mandela.
There will not be an NBA, MLB or NFL season in 2020. Hear me now and listen to me later.
Thinking about college football this fall … I have consistently thought that there would the college football season would start on schedule, come hell or high water, because of the reliance of athletic departments on football revenue and the importance of the sport to people in the South and Midwest.
I still think that is true. Even though confirmed covid-19 cases are now again on the rise, deaths continue to fall nationwide. I think people will take the rather morbid position that those who were mostly likely to die from covid-19 have already done so (see NY and Washington state), and as long as we keep strict protocols at the nursing homes and hospitals, the continued spread of the infection is only going to cause brief illness and not death.
The wild card would be if the PAC-12 says they aren’t playing. Cases are on the rise in California, Arizona and Oregon, and of course the fervor for college football isn’t the same there. How will the NCAA have a season if the Left Coasters don’t play?