I had mixed emotions today when I read about the sinking of the Russian flag ship, Moskva, in the Black Sea by two Ukrainian missiles. I was elated because this is the same ship that bombed and killed the Ukrainian soldiers on an island fort following their response of “go f**k yourself” when asked by the commander of the Moskva to surrender. On the other hand, I think about the young Russian navy members who drowned in the Black Sea following the missile strike and the eventual sinking of the ship. Drowning seems like a terrible way to die.
Since my post on Wednesday about the tragic death of Patrick Lyoya in Grand Rapids, I have been reminded by some friends about the hazards of driving while black. Their stories are similar. They were pulled over because they were black, and the officers who pulled them over were surprised to find out they were senior citizens who are pillars of the community. When asked why they were pulled over, they were given a very flimsy excuse that would never be a cause for me to be pulled over.
Whether we want to admit it or not, driving while black is an issue in our country. It gets to my question about Patrick Lyoya’s death. Why did the officer choose to run the plates on Patrick in the first place? What was the trigger? Would the officer had run the plates if it was two white people of the same age in the car? Understanding the answers to these questions is very important if we as a country are ever going to reduce the hazards of driving while black.
The Miguel Cabrera 3,000 hit watch just got more exciting after Miggy’s three hit performance last night against the K.C. Royals. Miggy now has 2,994 hits. With six more hits and two more doubles, Miggy will join a very exclusive list of players with 3,000 hits, 500 home runs, 1,800 RBIs and 600 doubles. Only Hank Aaron and Albert Pujols have achieved these numbers. Surprisingly, Willie Mays is not in this group, but there is a darn good reason. Willy was much faster than Miggy and Albert. With his speed Willy turned many doubles into triples. Mays had 141 triples thus he ended up with only 525 doubles, as compared to Miggy with 598 doubles and only 17 triples, Albert Pujols with 672 doubles and 16 triples, and Hank Aaron with 624 doubles and 98 triples.
In Wednesday’s game against the Minnesota Twins, Los Angeles Dodger Manager Dave Roberts found himself in a no-win situation. Future Hall of Famer (my opinion) Clayton Kershaw was in prime form — call it perfect — in his season debut for the Los Angeles Dodgers. Kershaw took a perfect game (no walks, no hits, no errors, no one reaching a base) through seven innings for the Dodgers until he was pulled by manager Roberts after 80 pitches. Kershaw was dominating the Twins with 13 strikeouts in 21 batters during a 7-0 victory on Wednesday. In the aftermath, the rest of the baseball world was ablaze second-guessing the manager Roberts’ decision. Fans, pundits, and even current and former players debated online whether Kershaw should have been allowed to stay in the game and go for what would have been Major League Baseball’s 24th perfect game. Per Yahoo sports, Kershaw’s reaction was conversely tame. He showed no signs of outward frustration, no indications of anger or discontent. He said he would have loved to remain in the game and go for history, but also understood the realities of the predicament — knowing he was coming off an elbow injury from last season, and that he hadn’t thrown more than five innings or 75 pitches in an outing all spring
Pray for peace and tolerance. What are you doing to stop the violence? Get vaccinated and get your booster.
Orchid of the Day: Clayton Kershaw, Dodger pitcher, for his seven innings of perfect baseball in the game against the Minnesota Twins on Wednesday.
Onion of the Day: Former University of Michigan violin professor Stephen Shipps who was sentenced Thursday to five years in prison for engaging in sexual activity with a 16-year-old student during a trip to New York 20 years ago.
Quote of the Day: “Woooo. Did you see that?! Speedy Gonzalez.” Miguel Cabrera after he tagged from third base on a medium-depth fly ball to left field by Harold Castro and challenged the arm of left fielder Andrew Benintendi. He lost the race — the ball beat him to the plate — but Cabrera slid to the back side of the plate and avoided the tag of catcher Salvador Perez.
Questions of the Day: Have you ever wondered why we drive on parkways and park on driveways? It seems very confusing to me.
Video of the Day: Coach K getting a new member of his family.