Matthew

Re Ohtani: MLB's version of "The Butler Did It!" With how many layers there are between Mizuhara and Ohtani's money, this Ohtani didn't know strikes me as pure bs.

Well, I'm not going to be reading the new incarnation. I'm on the same page as @ghost of miles, baseball only (limited interest in the 49ers), and got a subscription to The Athletic, due to a $1.00 a month offer. I wonder though, how much longer I will keep an interest in sports, I'm hanging on with baseball but it's not the same game I grew up with, and with each rule change or scandal (now Ohtanit!), it becomes more difficult to be a fan.

Just reading, so sad to lose such a great presence and guy.

Suits Season 2. Luis Litt is an insanely great character, Rick Hoffman did an amazing job.

Binge watching Suits Season 1. Light and fluffy lawyer drama/comedy that I'm hooked on.

Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Never read any book in the series, and I liked this one so much, I went ahead and bought all the books. Very enjoyable read.

Congratulations for both teams getting into the Super Bowl, of course, I was very happy to see the 49ers get in. What I am finding strange though, and maybe this show how out of it I am -- how many people on the internet say that the games were "obviously fixed." Is that a thing now with the NFL? Teams no longer lose, but results are pre-determined? I'm use to hearing that stuff about the NBA, but now with everything now, "the fix is in." What a sad world.

Dre gave me a freakin' heart attack!

Looks like Sports Illustrated is at the end of its run, and what a great run it had. I think most sports fans my age (65) or older had a subscription to SI in their younger days. I did in the late 60s to mid 70s, and I didn't realize how special that time was for SI. The writing was outstanding, and pre-internet, cable, streaming, you waited for their articles about important games and series. The also had these interesting in-depth articles that were always the last one of the issue. I often wonder how many people came to love good writing reading about something they loved, sports. I try not to get too melancholy about things, since that is a disease of old age, but SI and the Sporting News where my go to sports magazines and both gone or a mere shadow of what was. Frank DeFord, Roy Blunt Jr., Tex Maule, Peter Gammons, Dan Jenkins, and many others, what a rich heritage. Edit: For spelling Sports Illustrated

Stolen Focus: Why You Can't Pay Attention And How To Think Deeply Again by Johann Hari. Very interesting book.

Obvious the Dodgers are going all in, wanting to be the dominant team for the next decade. Their one blind spot is the continued thinking that Dave Roberts is the right manager for this to happen -- nope, not in a million years, his speciality is messing up the playoffs. Really, staring Kershaw??? 1/3 inning, 6er, the Dodgers never recovered from that one.

Ohtani to the Dodgers is not unexpected. Once Dave Roberts spoke publicly about Ohtani meeting with the Dodgers last week, I felt it was over. Supposedly the Giants made a strong run, but given the amount, I'm kind of glad they lost out. I don't see Ohtani pitching long term, but moving to first base in the next couple of years. No hitter can impact a club that much to earn 700 million, look at Bonds, he was unreal as a Giant (won't get into the PED stuff, the stats are incredible though), but he never won a World Series with them. Plus, Roberts will find a way to mess up the post season as always.

Jim Sullivan: UFO

Friends: Season 1: In honor of Matthew Perry's passing, I'm going to go through the whole series.

Matthew Perry Drowned Today Okay, I'm a huge Friends fan, and this is sad.

The Avalanches: Since I left You

Star Trek The Next Generation. Reconnecting with Star Trek after years of being away from it.

HPI.Season 2. I watched this during a long plane trip yesterday, and I enjoyed it quite a bit (thank goodness for subtitles). It had a lot of interesting characters, and a nice feel, even though the main character, Morgane Alvaro, was very irritating at times. A very nice police show to pass the time. Too bad it's not offered on Amazon Prime, I'd love to see season one, and the outcome after season two.

I know this isn't his best writing but I really love this novel.

Gravity Falls. I know it's a kids show, but it's great.

In a state of high intellectual ferment, I watched this twice over the weekend. Support Your Local Sheriff

Radical Wordsworth: The Poet Who Changed the World by Jonathan Bate.

To my mind, he's more than a manager. Can you imagine the pressure of Churchill and FDR watching your every move? Critiquing them, and knowing you're sending men to death, no matter what your decision? Also dealing with the massive ego of political / military leader of different countries? You have to get it right, and for D-Day, Eisenhower did. How he did as president is another matter...

What has become a D-Day tradition for me is to watch this CBS Special 20 Anniversary interview between Walter Cronkite and President Eisenhower. I get a glimpse into those leadership qualities Eisenhower had, and you can see his intelligence in how he answered the questions. It's also nice to see a quality interview and mutual respect between the two as they discuss D-Day. I always thought of Eisenhower as some kind of stumblebum, not that up on things, and this complete changed my outlook on him.