Howdy! Gonna do something a bit different before we get into the Sportball and other items this week. I'm going to start with one of the BEST opening monologue openings EVER on Saturday Night Live. SNL alum Maya Rudolph was hosting last weekend, and dropped this gag-worthy musical number for Mother's Day, in the vein of Madonna's Vogue.
I guarantee as you listen to her lyrics, this video will brighten your day! Maya IS the House of Rockefeller Mother! Enjoy!
SF Giants: Back home at Oracle to face the Cinncinati Reds, and before I get to Friday's game, need to address the Giant player injuries. and why it seems like half of the Sacramento Rivercats minor league team is in the line up! So injured player/replacement: CF Lee(minor foot injury)/Slater, C Bailey (concussion)/Reetz, SS Ahmed(calf strain-10 days)/fan favorite Casey Schmidt, Conforto(rest)/Fitzgerald, RF Yaz (rest)/Ramos, C Murphy(60 days-leg)/ Sabol. And in the 1st inning, CF Austin Slater will probably be joining that list, as he SLAMMED into the unpadded part of the wall out in center field, and left the game and is probably headed to the seven day concussion protocol. Move Fitzgerald to center, and the day off is over for Conforto now playing left field. Starter Logan Webb scratched out a gritty seven innings, and left the game with a no-decision as the Giants bats were quiet, and lost, 4-2.
It was Hello Kitty Bucket Hat day at the park, and I was there to snag mine! And I was rewarded with a Matt Chapman grand slam in the 1st, some great defense, a decent outing by rookie starter Mason Black, and an added bonus, a HUGE pelican swooped into the ballpark and take up position behind shortstop, and it didn't leave for a few minutes, especially after the fantastic catch Heliot Ramos made in left field! The Giants ended up winning the game, 5-1 over the Reds! Penny the Pelican ( I picked that name!), new SF Giants good luck charm!
Here's a great story with a very fun video play by play of Penny's debut at Oracle Park embedded in this link: https://www.si.com/giants-announcer-absolutely-nailed-play-by-play-pelican-flying-around-oracle-park-01hxpjea8cmj
Sunday's day game was a rollercoaster, as Cincinnati jumped out to a three-run lead in the first inning of rookie Kyle Harrison, but the Giants clawed back to tie the game, with help from 1B LaMonte Wade Jr's two-run homer. The two teams traded runs in the late innings, forcing a 10th inning, where back up shortstop Casey Schmitt got his first hit of the season after 31 at-bats to give the Giants and their fans an exciting walk-off 6-5 victory over the Reds! UPDATE: Conforto on 10-day Injured Reserve with strained hamstring. Bailey put back on seven-day injured list with possible lingering concussion symptoms. (Sigh)
SS Casey Schmitt in SF Giants City Connect uniform!
Monday night saw the arrival of the despised Los Angeles Dodgers and our current ace starter Jordan Hicks taking the mound. Hicks didn't have his best stuff, but it was good enough to go five innings and allowing two runs, striking out four, and no walks, and the Giants leading at that point, 3-2. The teams traded runs in the later innings to get to 4-4 and force extras. In the 10th, LA scored two, and eventually went on to win the game, 6-4. The very bad news for the Giants though was center fielder Jung Hoo Lee trying to make a fantastic play in center for a highlight reel catch, but instead smashed into the fence, and had to leave the game due to what was later diagnosed as a separated shoulder. Lee coud be out for a minimum of two months or the entire season, depending on what he specialists determine the extent of the damage. (Sigh)UPDATE BELOW.
(A Professor Colby note: When a game goes into extra innings, the last player to make the last out becomes the "ghost runner" on second base- this was a new rule activated a couple of years ago to help prevent 5 hour 17 inning games!).
I did not really see Tuesday night's game, and am glad I missed it, as the Dodgers trounced the Giants and starter Keaton Winn, and the bullpen, winning the game, 10-2. Winn left the game with "forearm soreness". (Sigh) Update: On Friday, Winn to 15 day injured list, rookie pitcher Mason Black recalled from Sacramento to take Winn's place in the starting rotation.
Wednesday's night game had Logan Webb take the mound, and in the Giants triage news, Patrick Murphy moved to 60-day injured reserve, Reetz optioned back to Sacramento, and Giants sign veteran catcher Kurt Casali, who was with the Giants a couple of years ago, and catches Webby in this game. Webb had his usual struggles in the first two innings, but after Yastrzmski hit a two-run home run and added one more on a Heliot Ramos RBI double, Webb left after 6 innings, allowing zero runs, three hits and five strikeouts. The bullpen held up, and the Giants finally beat the Dodgers, 4-2. Of note is a fantastic catch by rookie Luis Matos who leaped over the fence to rob the Dodgers of a home run. It was the same type of leap at the center field fence that Jung Hoo Lee made, but Matos appeared to be okay.
BREAKING: Giants announced Friday that Jung Hoo Lee will have SEASON ending surgery on his torn labrum shoulder. Huge loss on so many levels here.
49ers: BREAKING! San Francisco 49ers football team had their 2024/25 NFL schedule released Wednesday night. Take a gander as to which game catches your fancy. There are SIX prime time games this. season!
Tennis: Upcoming French Open update: As of this writing it's 50/50 if Rafael Nadal will play, but he IS flying to the courts of Roland -Garros in France. Other update is that #1 ranked Jannik Sinner will probably withdraw from this Grand Slam tourney due to leg injury.
Locker Room Buzz: The Golden State Warriors WNBA team, which will debut in the WNBA in 2025, has a name and logo! the Golden State Valkyries! Check it out!
Besides the Buzz, there are times when one must also address the garbage in the locker room, and hoo boy, did someone really go dumpster-diving this past weekend! Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs place-kicker (the dude who kicks field goals and extra points), Harrison Butker spoke at a commencement ceremony at a conservative college on Saturday in Kansas, and his "inspirational" speech to the graduating class was a doozy...in the far far right of ways. Among the many things Butker shared:
Slamming the sins of (gay) pride month. Dangerous gender ideologies (trans folk), and this whopper on Covid, and the "dangerous road" vaccines have led the world down: Via USA Today: "While COVID might have played a large role throughout your formative years, it is not unique," Butker said. "The bad policies and poor leadership have negatively impacted major life issues. Things like abortion, IVF, surrogacy, euthanasia, as well as a growing support for the degenerate cultural values and media all stem from pervasiveness of disorder."
But Butker wasn't done as he had his thoughts on where women belong and where their place should be in Butker's vision of the world:
Same USA Today article: "I can tell you that my beautiful wife, Isabelle, would be the first to say that her life truly started when she began living her vocation as a wife and a mother. I’m on this stage, and able to be the man I am, because I have a wife who leans into her vocation," Butker said.
"I’m beyond blessed with the many talents God has given me, but it cannot be overstated that all of my success is made possible because a girl I met in band class back in middle school would convert to the faith, become my wife, and embrace one of the most important titles of all: homemaker."
Those who didn't fit in that category, Butker had more words for them.
Misogynist, much?
UPDATE: The NFL came out with a statement denouncing Butker's comments, and social media has had a field day with him and his archaic remarks. Also, not wise to rattle Swiftie Nation, by quoting a lyric from one of her songs! CNN does a great roundup here getting us up-to-date, I haven't seen anything with a response from Butker as of this posting. https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/16/sport/harrison-butker-commencement-speech-analysis-cec/index.html
I'll let this GIF speak for me, and I'm guessing a LOT of people:
Lets cleanse the palette and end on positive notes (or at least odd):
I have not flown in almost two decades, so what a surprise it was to me to see how economic class "seating" has now evolved! It was Southwest Airlines though, so perhaps this was the natural evolution of air travel?? <grin>
Doctor Who gets "Jinxed": The new season, with a new black, queer Doctor started recently on Disney Plus, and those of us who were in the know got rewarded early with "The Devil's Chord", the first ever "musical" episode featuring the oh-so-talented Jinx Monsoon as the episode's villain, Maestro. I've watched the episode three times already, and still enjoy the boundless energy Jinx brings to the episode! You don't need to be a Doctor Who fan to enjoy this episode, as for the most part, it's pretty straightforward, as my drag queen friend told me! Speaking of which, my friend recently endured a health scare, when much to the world's surprise, they had a heart attack and is at home recovering. The surprise wasn't that one of the best Cher impersonators had a heart attack, but they had a heart! <grin>. Since we can't turn back time, I believe that we can help out this dark lady in their time of need by donating to their Go Fund Me link here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/jason-seneca-health-home-support-fund?attribution_id=sl:7fc94f70-e088-4584-9980-52d143e5f28c&utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer . We got you, babe!
Here is a brief behind the scenes clip of Jinx explaining how Maestro's wardrobe and looks came to be!
And to wrap up this column, a pic you will also be seeing in the Zoom Zoom as we have a race in Italy this weekend. One reader knows which F1 driver this adorable pup belongs to, but I'm giving you readers of this column a sneak peak of "Leo"!
Palette cleanser indeed! Have a great weekend! And remember, as Doctor Who says/sings: There's Always a Twist! :)
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