Hooters Taylor Takes A Pull Off Her White Claw Helmet, Bill Belichick Living Like He's 22 & Oh Ohtani!
10 years ago today, I visited the Pontiac Silverdome for the last time
Facebook Memories reminded me today that it's been 10 years since I drove up to Pontiac, Michigan to pick up a seat from the Silverdome along with a sign pointing to the media room.
I don't remember what I said to the woman working the job site trailer who was taking the money for the seats, but I remember walking into the dome and looking around. It was a deconstruction site at that point. Workers were busy ripping out seats and anything of value that the salvage company could sell online.
Looking back, the lady probably broke OSHA rules by allowing me to take a look around, but everything was fine.
It's still hard to believe the place looked like this in 2014 when the Lions played their last game there in 2002. It's also hard to believe this is the place where Wrestlemania III took place, which gave us one of the most-rented VHS tapes of the 1980s. I seem to remember if you lost that VHS, it was like $100 to replace. As a kid, I remember being freaked out that our family would be bankrupt if we lost one of those tapes.
Old Pizza Huts
- Brad S. writes:
This is a former Pizza Hut.
Notice that the back one-third of the original Hut still stands (the kitchen area), and then they knocked down and rebuilt the rest! (A great restaurant, by the way.)
Brianna Ruffalo has been locked up with a ring, it's hot in L.A., letting Jim Furyk play through and when is the best time to tee off?
- LA Don has this report from Los Angeles:
Joe, LA Don here… been a while my friend… Hope you and the family are well. Thank you for all you do my man. You are appreciated. Much to catch you up on from out here on the west coast.
I have sad news my to report from Los Angeles, last week, our friend Briana Ruffalo got engaged to a solid B actor… Josh Lucas. I mean, sure… maybe the sweet home Alabama thing is what got Brianna going… but, I dont think it will last. Josh is losing hair quickly, he also does not have a ton in the pipeline as far as coming attractions. According to IMDB, his only movie coming up is called 'Queen of the Ring’. Looks ok, but no A actors in it. I give this marriage 3 years. TOPS.
The real question is… does she take his last name? Let’s see what kind of gal she is. Hmmmmm
Moving right along...
This week I am traveling around So Cal… currently in La Quinta CA playing some of the PGA West courses.
Even though this is a dry heat out here, you’ll still sweat your bag off with in the first two holes. So, I bought myself a drinkable mister. Yep, thats right… A driankle mister. See image from Amazon below. Simply put… this item has saved my life. See image below…
PGA West Stadium Course… HOT HOT HOT.
HOW HOT? Welp…..
On Friday, I will be heading to San Diego, and playing Del Mar Country Club and then Torrey Pines South.
I have a question… when is the best time to T off? I have been having this debate with our inner circle of golf pals I play with on a regular basis… and my choice, hands down is FRIST ONE off in the morning. The argument is, some of the guys like to have a good time the ngt before when we travel for golf. They get hung over, I do not. and I like to get out EARLY.
The course is wide open and peaceful. Walking w some Frank Sinatra / Dean Martin playing from the Bluetooth, Cup of Joe and feeling the fresh sunlight hit my face.. nothing else like it. So, what say you? When do you like to T off, Joe?
Photos of being first off look like this…(and yes, that is in fact Jim Furyk. We were playing Poppy Hills in Pebble Beach, and he and his son came up behind us.. we all played a hole together, then we let the man play through. This was first off in the morning. Never know what you’ll find or who you will run into… Jim is an absolute gentleman.
Kinsey:
Here are my tee time preferences:
1. If it's a weekend and I have stuff to do, give me 7 a.m. or earlier, if available. Canoe Kirk and I have been known to grab the first tee time on the sheet. He can play 18 before his wife wakes up and I can play 18 with him before Mrs. Screencaps is done playing video games on a Saturday morning. It works out well for both of us.
2. If I'm looking to play with the guys, and we're going to drink a couple of beers, give me 10 to 10:30. That's the perfect time where we don't have to get moving too early, it's not awkward to crack a beer on the 4th hole and then we can finish up, maybe go grab lunch, then get home around 4:30, the kids are happy, the wives are happy, there's still daylight to play around the house and then we get dinner.
3. Anything after 2 p.m. better come on a golf trip. I know the dangers of the post-2 p.m. golf round. It's going to take 5 hours, it's going to get ugly and the wives are picking us up at the course. Not advisable, millennials.
4. The best tee time for a golf scramble is definitely 9:30 a.m. I try to avoid all scrambles that start after Noon. Last summer, I played in one that started at like 3:30 on a Sunday and I had a two-hour drive home. Never again. The outing was fun, but I was sweating the clock at all times and I got home at like 11. It was bad.
The State of the Post Office and stamps
- Cypress Shawn writes:
While I understand the overall message of inflation and the price hike for a stamp (32.7% since 2020), let's pause for a second and look at what you're getting for 73 cents. The hassle of procuring stamps aside, you lick and stick a 73-cent boarding pass on a letter-sized envelope and it gets picked up and delivered anywhere in the continental US for 73 cents!
Also, while I agree with the disappointment of an "overnight" letter not being guaranteed to be overnight but you're being charged for such, if you think you can personally deliver it, especially out of town for less than $30 (plus add in your time to do so), I say do it!
They have the consumer bent over.
Smoker pellets
- Mike T. has advice for the millennials who bought Traegers this summer:
I use a Traeger pellet smoker and these Costco pellets work just as well as the name brand pellets at a fraction of the price!
Pitch counts in baseball
- Brandon C. in Pinckney, MI emails:
Your first hit today about pitch count limits hit me in two areas.
1- I remember pitch counts starting to come into vogue in the early 90s in youth baseball. It was tagged to Dr James Andrews who was starting to get more younger players with arm injuries. My thinking is that there weren't more injuries per se, it's that more were getting diagnosed and the means to pay for those (expanded health insurance) were becoming more common.
2- the rule my coaches always went by which I think was also tagged to one of the Andrews articles in SI from the 90s was: (players age * 7)- 15. Thinking was that for your average high school varsity staying pitcher, he's 18, so that's 111 pitches. For a standard 7 inning game, that's 16 an inning which is one above what was generally regarded as a "good" inning, 15 pitches per (about 4-5 batters seen). Scaling down to your average 10 yr old, that's 55 pitches, which should be between 2-3 innings, maybe 4 if the kid is *dealing*.
3- the unintended consequences part is the designated hitter. By taking the pitcher out of the batting lineup, you don't have to pinch hit for him, which means you dont run out of bench players that correspond to a new pitcher coming in the game. That essentially means a team gets unlimited pitching changes with no penalty to the rest of the team, so why not have your guys just go balls out for 1-3 innings and then switch? The original rules of baseball with no DH meant there was a baked in limit to the number of pitching changes. Had to make sure you had at least a guy on the next to replace for injury. So the trade over the long term has been more dingers + more strikeouts for lesser starting pitching
Starting pitchers are running backs
- Jim T. in San Diego emails:
Meh, this stuff is cyclical. We’re going to raise a generation of LBs and DBs who are only used to tackling wide receivers, and some big stud RB with speed will come out of college on fire and then everyone will want a dominant RB again.
As for pitching – part of the issue is a whole generation of players raised with no real bat control. They strike out at a ridiculous rate – and don’t care. I mean, we’d never have needed a ban on the infield shift if guys still knew how to hit – if you’d try to put a shift on Tony Gwynn or George Brett, they’d have hit .425 just by putting the ball in the gap. You only put a shift on when the hitter has no ability to place their hits.
I know we have a bunch of younger sports announcers these days who think the passing game is the only path to excitement in football – but anyone who watched pre-2000 remembers the thrill of a Barry Sanders, a Thurman Thomas, an Eric Dickerson hitting the hole and going downfield. LT was probably the most recent dominant RB.
Someone with that skill set – if they had any blocking at all – would just dominate today’s stop the pass defenses …
Kinsey:
Derrick Henry was that big running back and look where it got the Titans.
Do you know who was the leading rusher for the Chiefs in 2019? Damien Williams. In the last five years, the Chiefs have had four different leading rushers. If you look at Bill Belichick teams, not since Corey Dillion's three-year run from 2004-2006 had a guy led the team in rushing three straight years.
If you're waiting for the return of dominant running backs who can take a team to a Super Bowl, you might be waiting a long time.
Catching a summer game in Cincinnati
- Indy Daryl was out on the road this week:
It was a wonderful evening at Great American Ballpark for my 9 year old son and me!! We got there just as batting practice was ending, found some good food, went to our seats, and then I commenced trying to explain the rules of baseball to a kid who has only ever played soccer. He picked it up quickly and was even able to pick up on a double play later in the game. We left our upper deck seats around the 5th inning and wandered the park trying to see the game from all possible angles. At the end of the day, he loved being up high and seeing the whole field. As we expected the Rockies were easily handled by the Reds (0-6), never really threatening the whole night. Despite that we really enjoyed the experience.
It brought back great memories of going to the park with my dad, and I can’t believe I’m old enough to do it with my son. Time sure does fly by!!
Dopamine & hot foods
- John B. writes:
Regarding the dopamine rush from hot peppers. Keep up the good work!
Friendliest Georgia towns
Earlier this week, I posted a meme about the friendliest Georgia towns and asked the Georgia readers to confirm/deny that the towns were friendly. I think Tybee Island was on there and a few others.
- John H. writes:
I live in St Marys Ga, Not much to do here other than catch the ferry to Cumberland Island. Which is worthwhile if you like walking, lots and lots of walking, wild horses, the ruins of Vanderbilt abodes and unspoiled beaches !
But we are friendly …… Did I mention that June to Sept is NOT when you want to visit, it’s So hot the devil is like "nah, I’m good…thanks"
Brunswick surprises me a bit, only time I go to Brunswick is on my way to St Simons Island for some BBQ at Southern Soul , if you’re driving past Brunswick on I-95 , take the time, it’s worth it.
The Tour de France is my favorite sporting event of the year so I’m glad to see it mentioned in SC , the last 10 days or should be outstanding , all the really hard climbs are towards the end, starting with stage 14 !!
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And that's a wrap on this Thursday in July. In case you haven't noticed, it's already July 11. We have training camps opening up in like two weeks. The Hall of Fame game is August 1. Time is flying.
Go out there and soak up summer. My 12U kids have a big tournament game. Let's go get a win.
Email: joekinsey@gmail.com