Look out
So I went to the County Commission meeting on Wednesday.
Lots of budget discussions and approvals of a whole, Whole, WHOLE lot of American Relief money from the federal government, which is a whole other kettle of corn. (Side question: Why was it ever kettle of fish? Kettle of corn makes sense and brings that alteration pop that I enjoy.)
Then at the end of the meeting as the commissioners go around the dais and make announcements or share their thoughts, Tim Boyd fired the first salvo at the Lookouts’ new stadium proposal.
He did not mince his words. Jim Coppinger then took umbrage. (Side note: That ‘umbrage’ is one of those words like ‘colonel’ that makes the English language so nuts. Umbrage sounds 99% of the time like it should have a ‘D’ just like colonel desperately needs an ‘R’ in there somewhere.)
Anywell, Coppinger fired back, and even said the proposed development at the 170-acre site that used to be the Wheland Foundry – of which about 9 acres would be a new Lookouts ballpark – is a generational opportunity and compared it to VW. Also of note, the county commissioner, Sabrina Smedley, had the final word during the announcement period and she sounded very receptive to putting county coins into the project.
I wrote a new column about this in today’s TFP. It’s here.
Coppinger also added that there was going to be a news conference today with the players involved with the project and a website detailing the plans unveiled.
Answers and details would be a good thing, especially if it’s really starting to feel that a lot of the power players – and several of them, like Coppinger and Smedley, are not looking for votes any time soon – are pushing this thing forward.
With or without the public’s approval.
Getting to first base
Today’s the last day of June. Where did the first half of 2022 go, people? Dang.
While we’re not exactly to the halfway point in the season in terms of games – Atlanta will play its 77th game out of 162 tonight – we are at the end of the first three months.
With three months to go.
And while the drama and emotion of the Freddie Freeman tear-fest has been the storyline recently – including talks now that reportedly Freeman’s agent did not bring the Braves’ final offer to the former MVP, a report that the agent denies and may sue over – let’s examine the production of the two dudes manning first base for two of the best teams in the National League.
Freeman is a Gold Glove defender, but Matt Olson has been smooth, dependable and this side of Freeman’s uncanny ability to scoop every low throw, almost as good in the field. How good is Freeman scooping short hops? He’s reached the “Tiger putting in the early 2000s” and the “Curry from the foul line” stage where if any of them missed, it surprises me.
At the plate, Olson is slashing .253/.348/.508 (that’s batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage, in that order, for those unaware) and leads the free world with 31 doubles. Heck, that’s more doubles than a hungry Joey Chestnut could manage at the Wendy’s eating competition.
He has 12 homers and 62 runs accounted for (RBIs plus runs scored, minus homers). Those are good numbers. Fringe All-Star numbers. Freeman, though, has been Freddie Freeman, and continued his five-year swing of Hall of Fame production.
He’s slashing .308/.391/.497 with nine homers and 89 runs accounted for. Those are assuredly all-star numbers.
NBA moves
So the NBA free agency period starts today.
And yes, the NBA, like many other professional leagues, has an interest hierarchy in my opinion of postseason, offseason regular season. Like MLB, a super-long regular season becomes tedious.
But the action-packed offseason happens in a flash and the moves can be debated about successes and failures and perpetuate hope in almost every direction.
Take the Hawks for example. They dealt a borderline starter, three first-round picks and Dan Rounfield’s old red-and-white warm-up suit to San Antonio for all-star guard Dejounte Murray, who was silently terrific last year with averages of 21.1/8.3/9.2 in points, rebounds and assists. He was second in the NBA in triple-doubles last year with 13 and became the first NBA player to average 20-8-9 and two-plus steals per game.
Great move for the Hawks.
Does it make them a title contender? No, not really. But it makes them notably better.
Another eye-opener was James Harden declining his player option worth in the neighborhood of $47 million – that’s a very nice neighborhood friends – but reportedly will re-sign with the 76ers for roughly $30 million – still a very nice neighborhood – so the team can add championship pieces.
If Harden does hit the open market, he seems to be one of the best – or maybe biggest – names on the market, which opens at 6 p.m.
Here is a list of some of the other names of note that could be in play tonight.
This and that
– So Ted Cruz is now picking a fight with Elmo. Cool. Vegas has the line at Elmo minus-160. Cruz has a beef that a commercial showing Elmo getting vaccinated shows “zero scientific evidence supporting the decision for kids to get vaccinated. Nothing like arguing with a talking puppet, right Ted? What’s next, Cruz condemning the lifestyle of Bert and Ernie?
– Arch march. Texas recruiting is soaring. After getting some kid named Manning earlier this month, Steve Sarkisian and the Longhorns are pulling pledges from five-stars like the Times food critic in Little Italy. The latest is five-star wide receiver Johntay Cook II. (Side question: Should I add the ‘tay’ suffix to my name? Does Jaytay work? Discuss.) Appears Alabama’s Nick Saban was not the only one who noticed the five-star haul Texas A&M landed in the last recruiting cycle.
– Deep breaths, deep breaths. OK, the back half of “Better Call Saul” will see the return of Walter White and Jesse. I feel like Kevin Bacon at the end of “Animal House” when drops the famed, “Remain calm; All is well.”
– A Yellowstone visitor was gored by a bison recently. No real commentary – other than the bear spray the other man uses does not appear to affect the bison one iota – and certainly no celebration. It just struck me how violent the verb ‘gored’ is. How many action verbs can compete with ‘gored’ people?
– Yeah, Greg Norman can’t be loving this. Families of some of the folks killed in the 9/11 terrorist attacks are planning to protest the LIV event this weekend in Portland.
Today’s questions
Several above, and as always we open the floor on Thursday for whatever strikes your fancy.
Also, remember the mailbag. We have a couple of good ones already this week but have a spot or two open.
As for today, June 30, let’s review.
It’s Superman’s 84th birthday, as the superhero from Krypton first appeared in a DC comic on this day in 1938.
The “Johnny Carson Show” debuted on this day in 1955 on CBS. Boyz II Men released “End of the Road” on this day 30 years ago. Man, realizing some of the songs of your younger days are 30 years old can make you feel old in a hurry.
Mike Tyson is 56 and Michael Phelps is 37. Do either of those grab one of the three spots available on the “Rushmore of Mike/Michael in sports” because we all can agree on far left, right?
Go and enjoy the day.