And there was much joy!

Guess who is not in last place in the ALEast:

It took 10 innings to do it but the Red Sox won their second game in a row, beating the Tigers 1-0 last night.

Suarez pitched a great game, facing 26 batters over 8 innings. He struck out 4, walked 1, gave up 2 hits and 0 runs.

I will say that once again, the batters left 7 guys on base during the game with 3 of those runners in scoring positions. That means they failed to move the line along when it mattered. aving said that, I'll say they got the job done in the end so good for them but they really need to figure out how to get get guys stepping on home plate.

Thankfully, game 2 of this series is being carried by NESN so watching it is no problem for me. First pitch was at 4:10 and it is currently 4-1 Tigers after 7 innings.

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The problem with having a fertilizer guy and a sprinkler system is I have a nice lawn and it's growing fast. I actualy have to mow my lawn today.

This, my friends, is what is known as a first-world problem...

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Key line in this story: "...a workplace culture that discourages basic verification of eligibility."

I have nothing at all against providing basic food, clothing and housing for people that need it but at the very least, I want those people scrutinized down to their toes. I want the authority running that service to be 100% positive that each and every person being helped not only needs that help but is also contributing in some tangible way to their own support.

When I'm in line at the grocery store register and I see someone with three or four live lobsters paying for them with a SNAP card, I get a little pissed off. When studies throw words around like "billions in waste and fraud", I get a little pissed off.

I disagree with a lot (well, most) of what The Very Stable Genius is doing but his push to take a long hard look at how our tax dollars are being spent is long over due. It's time we had an executive branch that wanted a full accounting of the trillions of tax dollars being spent by the government.

The big difference between Dementia Donny and me is I think that level of scrutiny should include all spending, including the military.

Why does a hammer used by a carpenter in the Army cost 100 times more than a hammer I use to build a shelf?

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Here are some links:

• Didn't Dementia Donny say it was open...



• I'm actually kind of surprised that these shopping networks have survived into the age of the internet.



• This is why you should never jump out of a perfectly good airplane.



• Key line in this story: "A 3-year-old hunter..."

The schedule is out

The Bruins @ Sabres series starts this Sunday. The puck drops at 7:30 and it looks like NESN will be carrying all the games. ESPN & TNT will also be carrying them but screw ESPN. TNT does a pretty good job and if NESN starts having picture qaulity issues, I'll just switch over.

They play the first two games (4/19 & 4/21) in Buffalo before going to Boston to play game three and four (4/23 & 4/26).

If any of the last three games are needed, they will alternate between Buffalo (4/28 & 5/3) and Boston (5/1).

Should be a good series because these two teram are not "best friends" in any sense of the word. I'm betting things get a little sporty right at the face off and they'll continue that way throughout the series.

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Tonights Red Sox game is on Apple TV. This means I will be searching the interwebs for a stream of the game.

I may have mentioned this once or twice or ten times before but I'll mention it again: Ain't no way I'm paying for yet another streaming service...

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Here are some links:

• You know you got a problem when the biggest nutcase on the planet thinks you have dementia.



• Psycho Vlad's 4 year old "special military operation" isn't going to well. I'm thinking some generals will be accidentally falling out of windows pretty soon.



• I wonder if Dementia Donny will try to pardon his disbarment...



• It was 90° here yesterday...



• Remember when these two were famous? Pepperidge Farms remembers...

I lied

Yesterday, while telling you about Friday's baseball game between the Red Sox and the Tigers, I said, "I hope things go better for them in Detroit".

I lied.

That four-game series will be played in Boston at Fenway Park, not in Detroit.

I apologize for any confusion this may have caused.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.

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Today was breakfast with an old friend followed by doing a little grouting in the kitchen. Then, while the grout dried, we ran some errands.

The reason for the grout is that the old grout had stained and chipped in some places. Fortunately, the guys that tiled our kitchen floor left us with a couple of pounds of grout.

I mixed up a bit, put it into a plastic bag, clipped off the corner and proceeded to squirt it in between the tiles, filling the low spots and covering the stains.

Tomorrow I will complete the job by sealing the grout.

My knees and back are not happy with me...

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Here are a few links:

• We were promised flying cars...



• Turns out Jerry Cheevers little boy is a scumbag.



• Those Boeberts seem like a real stable family...



• It sucks for the Sabres but it sure is great for the Bruins.



• Attention dehydrated drivers: Don't leave your water bottles in your car.

First wildcard

The Bruins have solidified their standing in the first wildcard slot and that means they will face the Sabres in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

This is good because the Bruins have a 3-1 season record against the Sabres. That means they stand a very good (75%) chance of winning the best of seven playoff round.

From what I can tell the first game of the playoffs will be this Saturday.

Since there are still a lot of teams playing their last regular season games over the next two days, the playoff bracket isn't set yet. As things stand right now, I am not sure if Bruins/Sabres will start on Saturday or Sunday.

Seeing the Bruins make the playoffs makes me happy because...

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...the damned Red Sox lost last night, getting beat 6-0 by the Twins and dropping back into a tie for last place in the American League.

Gray did not have a stellar outing and Cora pulled him after 4 innings.

Fortunatly, they played the final game of their series at 1:40 this afternoon and the Red Sox managed to win, beating the Twins 9-5.

Early had a pretty good outing, facing 23 batters over 6 innings, giving up 1 run (a home run), walking 2 and striking out 5.

It was a good game to watch but they still lost the series and they aren't close to moving up in the standings. They really need to start winning series.

They start a 4-game series against the Tigers this Friday. First pitch is at 7:15.

I really hope things go better for them in Detroit.

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Is anyone shocked that Hampshire College is closing?

I'm not shocked that it's closing. What I'm shocked about is that it lasted as long as it did.

Back in the early 60s, UMass, Amherst, Smith and Mount Holyoke formed a committee to look at liberal education. That committee came up with something they called "The New College Plan" or something like that. Need I remind you that anything designed by a committee is nothing more than a collection of compromises. In other words, it is not the best idea, it is the idea that makes everyone the happiest.

So in 1970, Hampshire College opened its doors and has been producing basket weavers, history majors, english majors and social justice warriors ever since.

Not a lot of career opportunities for basket weavers...

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Here are some links:

• Meet Kirk Moore, extraordinary hero and the newest member of the A-Team



• "A pontiff or any religious leader can say anything they want. Unless it's about Dementia Donny, the president of piece. Then they aren't allowed to say anything."



• Normally, I would guess that Ron DeSantis doesn't have anything to worry about but this is Florida so you never know...



• This is why I don't dress up like Santa Claus and get fall-down drunk.

Well this sucks

At one point during my career, I spent a lot of time flying to various cities across the US doing office buildouts and network installations.

For four years, my daughter attended school in Ames, Iowa and she flew back and forth on a fairly regular basis.

During those four years, my wife flew to Ames, Iowa numerous times.

The majority of those flights were on American Airlines with very few exceptions. I have never had a bad experience on American Airlines. My wife has never had a bad experience on American Airlines. My Daughter has never had a bad experience on American Airlines

In two cases, I flew on United and both times I experienced unexplained flight delays and generally shitty service from the United airport staff. They provided no information regarding why the flights were delayed or when we (the paying passengers) might expect the flight to take off. They seemed to be overwhelmed and took their frustrations out on the people asking them questions.

United also was in the news quite a bit for the way they treat people, general passenger discomfort and their god-awful luggage handling.

For instance, there is the famous instance where United decided that it was more important for 4 of their air crew to get on a flight rather than the passengers who paid to be on the flight..

Then there was the time an obscure band from nowhere Canada became famous because United Breaks Guitars.

In recent years, my wife and I have flown American internationally and in all cases, they have been very accommodating on helping us navigate the ever-changing rules regarding entry/exit of countries. They have also been very clear and up front whenever there has been a flight delay. They state why there is a delay and they give estimates of takeoff times.

Why am I saying all of this?

Because this news pissed me off.

I will not be happy if American Airlines suddenly starts behaving like United.

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Another thing that sucks is that the Red Sox got their ass kicked last night, losing 13-6 to the Twins.

So much for a winning streak...

My youngest and I have decided that something must be wrong with Crochet. There is no way he could go from the lights-out ace last season to a guy who gives up 11 runs in the first two innings this season.

They will play agin this evening with Gray on the mound. First pitch is at 7:40.

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In case you didn't see it yet, this is the image Trump posted when he decided to take a cheap shot at the Pope and then claimed he thought it was him depicted as a doctor:

I can hear the announcement over the PA system now: Paging Doctor Dementia. Doctor Dementia please report to the Emergency Room right away.

Or for you Three Stooges fans: Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fein, Doctor Trump. Calling Doctor Howard, Doctor Fein, Doctor Trump...

And don't worry, the internet has created plenty of memes for this. One of my favorites is this one:

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Golf was played today and I'm pleased to announce our 2026 season is just like our 2025 season.

We have not improved at all.

No sir, not one bit.

Neither Rory McIlroy or Nelly Korda have anything to worry about from us...

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It's going to be a channel flipping kind of evening for me.

The Bruins v devils game starts at 7:00 and the Red Sox @ Twins game starts at 7:40.

I kinda like channel flipping.

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Here are some links:

• Key line in this story: "...researchers have detected empty voids moving faster than the speed of light..."
  In other words, Einstein was right, nothing can move faster than the speed of light.



• Excuse me, but northwest Alabama isn't anywhere near an ocean.



• After last night's performance, I fully expected a press release from the Red Sox saying, "Crochet put on 15 day DL with [insert body part here] strain" or something like that.