My favorite organization (not) the NCAA is finally moving into the 21st century. They have decided to allow the Women’s NCAA Basketball Tournament to use the term “March Madness” as part of their marketing of the tournament. The NCAA has claimed the rights to the use of the term “March Madness” and up until now, has limited its use to only apply to the Men’s tournament. The change was a result of recommended changes submitted to the NCAA after it became public during the recent tournament that the men were receiving significantly better accommodations, food allowances, training facilities, etc. than the women.
The Tigers still have four games left in the season and the last few games have not been too kind to them, but it should not put a damper on what they have accomplished this year after a 9-24 start in April. For the first time in five years, I see a bright future for this team. Manager A.J. Hinch and pitching coach Chris Fetter have changed the culture of the organization. They are now adapting to the use of technology to help with strategy. They now have one of the top “farm systems” in baseball after it was decimated by Dave Dombrowski. They have just reconstructed their player development and scouting functions bringing in a younger generation who understands baseball metrics. They can build on their three young starting pitchers, Mize, Skubal, and Manning along with a stellar group of young arms in the bullpen with Fulmer, Soto, Funkhauser and Cisnero. If Boyd and Turnbull can come back from injuries, I envision the Tigers to have one of the top pitching staffs in the American League. They have a strong group of young players in Baddoo, Castro, Hill, Cameron, and Paredes. Robbie Grossman, Miggy, Schoop, Candelaria and Haase (even though he is a rookie) will provide maturity in the locker room. With Greene and Torkelson having breakout years in the minors, for the first time in a long time there will be plenty of competition and depth, which causes players to get better.
Racing to avoid a government shutdown at midnight, President Biden signed a spending bill on Thursday evening that extends federal funding through early December and provides emergency aid to support both the resettlement of Afghan refugees and disaster recovery efforts across the country. The president’s signature came after lawmakers hastily cleared the measure in both chambers earlier in the day. The Senate’s vote was 65 to 35; the House’s was 254 to 175. Lawmakers reached a deal on the spending legislation after Democrats agreed to strip out a provision that would have raised the federal government’s ability to continue borrowing funds through the end of 2022. Senate Republicans blocked an initial funding package on Monday over its inclusion, refusing to give the majority party any of the votes needed to move ahead on a bill to avert a first-ever federal default in the coming weeks.
Per the NY Times, Speaker Nancy Pelosi on Thursday vowed to push ahead with a House vote on a $1 trillion infrastructure bill that passed the Senate with bipartisan support, driving Democrats toward a showdown between moderate supporters of the bill and liberals who have said they will bring it down without progress on a separate social policy measure. Democratic leaders told lawmakers that no votes would occur before 9 p.m. but did not rule out the possibility of completing work on the bipartisan bill Thursday evening. Democrats entered Thursday juggling four consequential tasks on the final day of the current fiscal year: keeping the government open past midnight, ensuring it can pay its debts, securing the infrastructure bill and drafting a climate change and social safety net bill that the speaker called the “culmination” of her congressional career. The rest is a mess.
Stay safe. Wash your hands regularly. Schedule your vaccine and booster. Wear your mask. Social distance.
Orchid of the Day: Former Lion’s quarterback Matthew Stafford, who is having an outstanding start of his season with the L.A. Rams.
Onion of the Day: The State of Michigan for not even being considered by Ford for their major electric vehicle plants that will add more than 10, 000 new jobs in Kentucky and Tennessee.
Quote of the Day: “This is a good outcome — one I am happy we are getting done. With so many things happening in Washington, the last thing the American people need is for the government to grind to a halt.” Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the majority leader, speaking on the Senate floor today.