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What my musings are all about...

Blogging might well be the 21st century's form of journaling. As a writing teacher, I have always advised my students to keep a daily journal as a way of organizing their thoughts for future writing projects, a discipline I have unfortunately never consistently practiced myself. By blogging, I might finally be able to follow my own good advice.

The difference between journaling and blogging is that the blogger opens his or her writing to the public, something journal- writers are usually reluctant to do. I am not so reticent.

The trick for me will be to avoid cluttering the internet with more blather, something none of us need more of. If I stick to subjects I know: sports and literature, I believe I can avoid that pitfall. I can't promise that I'll not stray from time to time to comment on ancillary subjects, but I will make every attempt to be interesting and perhaps even insightful.

Monday, June 7, 2021

A Few Comments and Observations from this Morning's Sports Page

 Clippers defeat the Mavs. I was pulling for the Mavs, not for any basketball reason, but because Mav's owner Mark Cuban was such a vocal critic of psycho Donald Trump. Such a comment will cost me Trump supporter. To which I reply who wants them?

What Dallas wants  (desperately needs) is a better supporting cast for their super star. Let's start by getting rid of Porzingis So he knocks down the 3 ball occasionally and dunks a wide open feed, Big Deal! The Mavs get more D out of flat footed Boban the Giant. Ever notice that when Porzingis catches the ball within 10/15 feet from the basket with a smaller man guarding him, the 7 foot plus passes out rather than turning into a jump shot. Is he afraid of a little body contact? And who the hell can he guard? Make a trade, Mavs; there might be a sucker out there. Think young, long, athletic 3's and 4's. Next on the list is a rim protecting center who will love every minute of Donic's lob passes. Imagine a Clint Capella of the Hawks or DeAndre Jordan in his heyday. They also need a true point guard off the bench who doesn't need to score but can play solid D. Will Kleeber ever be be a reliable shooter? This a a long shot, and I don't know if it's what can be done, but how about keeping Boban in Dallas all summer working on footwork, low post moves, and maybe ballet lessons. I'm not kidding. If the bieeeegggg man were only slightly better, he'd be one hell of a back up center. You can not teach height. 

I understand what a force Denver's Jokic is, but why don't I like him? My wife says it's because he's always wiping his nose on his shirt. Maybe it's because I'm getting tired of his "pitiful pearl" whining to the officials. Jokic is huge, talented, the difference between the Nuggets losing or winning. What does he expect? He needs to check out a clip of Shaq with the Lakers. Opponents beat on the big fella relentlessly, and he hardly ever said anything, just beat everybody down. I was never a great Shaq fan, but the man was not a complainer. Have I beat this drum before? If so, it deserves beating. 

Will 76ers' Joel Embid ever stay healthy through a full season? But he played through the slight miniscus tear, and darn near brought his team from behind to beat the Hawks who almost blew a 30 point lead. 

Let's close with a hats off to two women in sports: 

Yako Sasso, a 19 year old from the Philippines won this year's U.S. Women's Open. She tied Inbee Park as the youngest winner in event's history. Question? Why are there so many Asians in women's pro golf compared to men's?

Simon Biles won her 7th U.S. All-Around Championship. Did we have any doubt?

It's take me out to the ball game season, so here's a baseball poem.

LOOKING AT AN X-RAY OF MY BACK   by Tom Meschery

I say to my doctor my spine 
looks like a curve ball,
and he says
it's breaking pitch
to the inside. I think that's funny,so I say I can still win a game 
or two even at my age,
you know. And he says
you can't fool anybody
with that pitch at any age.



2 comments:

Marni Stephens Bauder said...

Hi Tom, I'm sure you don't remember me but my childhood was in Truckee and I was friends with Janai, we moved to Alaska our freshman year. I have many fantastic memories at your home including how when you guys served macaroni and cheese how there would be an uncooked noodle thrown in and whoever got it choose dessert. I carried this on with my children.
I am actually writing because the son of some dear people from Petersburg, Alaska, the town I raised my children in. Their son is battling a rare form of leukemia and it has been and continues to be a very tough fight. He is a huge NBA fan with his favorite team being the Golden State Warriors. He was recently granted a make a wish and his wish is to see them play someday. He has been in the hospital for many months, this last round of treatment has had him in there for 62 days so far. I am reaching out to see if you would possibly know who I could reach out to for possibly a tshirt, a signed card. If you have the time a letter to stay strong to him would be amazing.

I sent you more info in a pm on Facebook but I wasn't sure if you checked that often

Thom McKinney said...

Thanks, Tom! From you I learn the nuance and stories of basketball.