In talking today with a friend about Jon Gruden’s emails, he asked me what he would find if he was able to have access to everything I have put in writing over the length of my career? Would he find similar things as was found in Gruden’s emails? It was an interesting question that I have been thinking about all day. Fortunately for me, I have worked most of my life at organizations that are subject to FOIA requests, which for me was a great deterrent as I never wanted anything I put in writing to appear on the front page of the AA News or the Toledo Blade. However, I plead guilty to things I have said over the years that would not be acceptable today. My friend’s question was a good reminder that I should not be so quick to judge others for their faults when I have faults of my own.
Yesterday I gave MLB an Orchid for how the playoffs were going. Today, I am giving them an “onion”. They have chosen to start today’s win-or-go-home game between the Dodgers and Giants at 9:07 EDT, which means the game will not likely end until 12:30 AM. I understand they are trying to accommodate the two west coast teams and their fans by not starting the game before 6 PM PCT, but MLB starts west coast world series games at 8:07 EST, thus allowing a large majority of the country to have a chance at going to bed at a reasonable hour. Furthermore, the late starting time, eliminates a large portion of young kids from watching even the early parts of the game since it is a school night and most young school age kids are going to bed before 10 PM. I guess I am just going to record the game and watch what I miss tonight in the morning.
It hasn’t taken long for one of the Lions coordinators to be under fire. As I said in my blog on Monday, the Lions didn’t get beat by last second field goals, they got beat because they could make the plays to stop the teams from getting in position for the field goals. Twice in the past three weeks, the Lions held the lead with under a minute to go before end-of-game defensive play calls burned them. It happened on the second-to-last play against the Baltimore Ravens. And it happened again last weekend against the Minnesota Vikings. In both of those late-game situations, defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn opted to rush three defenders instead of four, which led to the opponent completing critical passes to set up crushing, last-second field goals.
Per the Washington Post, Hours before he was scheduled to retire in 2018, Andrew G. McCabe, then the F.B.I.’s deputy director, was fired by the Justice Department, depriving him of his pension and prompting cheers from President Donald J. Trump, who had been hounding him over his role in the Russia investigation. On Thursday, the department reversed Mr. McCabe’s firing, settling a lawsuit he filed asserting that he was dismissed for political reasons. Under the settlement, Mr. McCabe, 53, will be able to officially retire, receive his pension and other benefits, and get about $200,000 in missed pension payments. In addition, the department agreed to expunge any mention of his firing from F.B.I. personnel records. The agreement even made clear that he would receive the cuff links given to senior executives and a plaque with his mounted F.B.I. credentials and badge. The Justice Department did not admit any wrongdoing. But the settlement amounted to a rejection by the Biden administration of how Mr. McCabe’s case had been handled under Mr. Trump, who perceived Mr. McCabe as one of his so-called deep-state enemies and repeatedly attacked him. A notice of the lawsuit’s dismissal was also filed in federal court. Justice has been served.
Stay safe. Wash your hands regularly. Schedule your vaccine and booster. Wear your mask. Social distance.
Orchid of the Day: Captain James Tiberius Kirk of the USS Enterprise for coming out of retirement for one last hurrah at the age of 90
Onion of the Day: Major League Baseball-see above story.
Quote of the Day: “No matter how many social-justice slogans the NFL stencils in its end zones or allows players to put on their helmets, no matter how many prominent Black artists the league hires to perform during its Super Bowl halftime show, no matter how much money the NFL gives to anti-prejudice organizations, it will never fix its own corrosive, institutionalized racism without more fundamental change. Unless the league chooses to confront prejudice in substantive ways, bigots will continue to protect bigots, and power will continue to protect power.” Jemele Hill is a contributing writer at The Atlantic and former ESPN personality.