This and That

The Celtics lost again yesterday. Vu Den. With a player like Rajon Rondo as your main stud, no team will win. Rondo is an immensely talented player who does not have the win gene in him.  He is now shooting a jaw dropping 32.1 per cent from the foul line.  If you look out your window and wait for four adults to come by.  And selected the least athletic one. And told this least athletic one that she or he could make a million dollars a year, if they could average hitting six foul shots out of ten.  And told her or him to practice for a month.  That person, for a million dollars a year, could average six out of ten foul shots.  Rondo making many more millions a year. He is a tremendous athlete who can make plays that belong in a Hall of Fame.  And he just does not work hard enough.  Here is what happens when you go to the foul line. Nobody is there. Nobody can bother you.  You need to concentrate and take your time.  A player like Rondo has been at the foul line millions of times. For millions of dollars if not just to be a professional he needs to make his foul shots.

I read today that Ray Sadecki has passed away.  Sadecki was a pitcher for the Cardinals, Giants, and Mets.  What people should remember about him is how he won many clutch games in a Cardinal uniform. What many sports people will remember is that he was involved in one of the more controversial trades of all time.  He was traded for Orlando Cepeda, a star hitter on the Giants. The Giants got Sadecki. The Cardinals got Cepeda.  "Sadecki for Cepeda" became code for a bad trade. There even was an allusion in the obituary that the trade indirectly led to another Cardinal success. You wonder how references to the trade could have had an effect on Sadecki's psyche and behavior the rest of his life.  I don't know for a fact that it had any effect.  But I wondered today as I read his obituary if he was reminded, or reminded himself, his whole life that he once was considered a bad deal.

Today is a gourmet buffet for college football fans.  From noon to midnight today there are marquis games.  Ohio State//Michigan is an intense rivalry. Likewise, Florida/Florida State.  Mississippi State//Mississippi, Auburn/Alabama.  Each of these games can determine who may play for the championship in college football.  I have been very critical of the system for deciding the champion in division I college football. This year the NCAA made a change and it has had a very positive effect. There now is a four team playoff system to determine the best team.  With TCU winning yesterday, if Florida State, or Alabama or Mississippi State lose today, TCU will likely become a player in these inaugural championship playoffs. Predictions: I think Florida State could have a tough time today.  Alabama is one of my least favorite teams, but I think they will prevail against their rival Auburn.  I like Mississippi today to defeat Mississippi State.

Did not take out the garbage last week.  Lot of garbage in the can this morning for the sanitation workers. Got out there at 7 am and tried to jam all the bags into one rolling garbage can.  Pushed and jammed. Tried to get the cover on.  Eventually, I managed to, but was not sure that some sort of energy would pop it up.  A metaphor there.  If there is enough natural force, very tough to keep the cover on anything no matter how much we try and suppress it.