Happy # 61 Roger Clemens

We say happy birthday to Roger Clemens.    He was born in Dayton, Ohio on this day in 1962.  Later the family moved to Texas, as I understand.

Roger was a high school star in Houston and then won the national title with The University of Texas in 1983.   In fact, I remember watching Texas win the title on ESPN.  

His major league career was legendary, as Richard Baehr wrote in 2007:  

Some sportswriters have argued, prior to the release of the Mitchell report, that he was the best pitcher in baseball history. 
A career won lost record of 354-184 over 24 seasons, and a career ERA of 3.12, more than one earned run per nine innings below the League Average for the years he pitched of 4.46, make for a  pretty strong case for Clemens to be considered among the best ever.  
Clemens posted his career low ERA in 2005, 1.87, less than half the National League average at age 42.  His ERA was also below 3 in 2004 and 2006.   

On paper, Roger Clemens should be a Hall of Famer. Unfortunately, the allegations about steroids will haunt him for a while.    It may take a few years before writers take a second look at his career.  Or maybe they never will.

In the meantime, we are left with some incredible memories of watching Roger Clemens pitch against the Rangers in Arlington.    He was awesome, specially those years with Boston and the two seasons in Toronto when he was 41-13 with a 2.33 ERA.

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Thursday's podcast: Bad news from South Africa, Streets of New York & President Coolidge 1923

Thursday's podcast:   

Bad news from South Africa, Streets of New York & President Coolidge 1923......click to listen:

Thursday's video: Bad news from South Africa.....Streets of New York...President Coolidge 1923....

Bad news from South Africa.....Streets of New York...President Coolidge 1923......and other stories...

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Funny how no one cares about racism in South Africa anymore

 (My new American Thinker post)

Remember all the speeches about apartheid?  As I recall, Jesse Jackson got involved in South African politics.  It was the issue of our time, as they often say.   

For the record, apartheid was terrible and a correction was needed. However, it's hard to see what's happening in South Africa today.  The country is a financial mess and the extremes seem to be doing all the talking. 

This is the sad story:      

South Africa's Marxist-Leninist political party, the Economic Freedom Fighters, celebrated its 10th anniversary over the weekend.  After the radical group's demagogic leader emphasized, "We are with President Putin... We are Putin, and Putin is us, and... we are not with the USA," Julius Malema led nearly 100,000 of his followers in singing the anti-white hate song, "Dubul' ibhunu," known as "Shoot to kill, kill the Boer, kill the farmer."

Video of the bloodthirsty chant at the FNB Stadium, complete with gun sounds, has gone viral, prompting outrage and concern from the world's richest man, South African Twitter CEO Elon Musk, who wrote, "They are openly pushing for genocide of white people in South Africa."

It sounds like they are in fact pushing for genocide of white people.

All this reminds me of a conversation that I had with a White South African family recently relocated to Texas.  They were simple farmers and descendants of people who had moved there over a century ago. The young father confirmed that people were leaving and heading to Australia, New Zealand, or the U.S.  He felt that they'd be in danger back home and wanted his young kids to grow up in a different world.

Once upon a time, Nelson Mandela was the darling of the West.  Of course, he died years ago, but one wonders what he would say about the destruction of what was once an imperfect but prosperous land?

Things were supposed to turn out different in South Africa.  Where is Jesse Jackson when we really need him?  Or maybe President Obama?

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Wednesday's video: Biden indictments, The Biden phone call, Streets of New York.....and others..

Wednesday's video: 

Biden indictments, The Biden phone call, Streets of New York.....and others.....

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Wednesday's podcast: The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

Wednesday's podcast:   

The week in review with Bill Katz the editor of Urgent Agenda

More goals, fewer frowns

 

(My new American Thinker post)

Who knew that I'd be talking about soccer after the baseball trading deadline? Well, I am talking the U.S. women's soccer team and the ladies who are not living up to expectations. This is the story from the land down under or wherever the tournament is being held:

The U.S. women’s national team advanced to the knockout stage of the Women’s World Cup on Tuesday with a draw against Portugal.

Neither team was able to put a goal on the board and the draw was one of the more surprising results of the tournament. The U.S. had been favored to win the tournament for the third consecutive time as Portugal was making its first Women’s World Cup appearance.

The U.S. finishes the group stage with two draws and one win. It’s the ninth straight time the Americans have advanced to the knockout stage but this time it was behind less-than-inspiring play.

"Less than inspiring play"? What a nice way to say that these ladies are not worth getting up at 2 a.m. to watch play.  

It's a shame that Zig Ziglar is not around to give the ladies a pep talk. Or maybe they can watch Rudy but that may be too much "toxic masculinity" for this collection of snobs.  

My guess is that these young women take themselves too seriously.  Someone has persuaded them that they are on a mission to change the world or be on the right side of history.  

We wish you the ladies well.  My suggestion is to have the coach take a page out of Billy Martin's "The Bronx Zoo."  Martin put the names in a hat and selected the lineup that way.  It worked because the Yankees started winning.  Here is the story:   

“I did it to relax the guys,” the manager said. “Besides, when you don't have any hot bats, it doesn't matter where they hit.”

That's right!  The young women are not scoring, so go crazy and pick the starter out of a MAGA hat.  It may work!   

And then tell them to smile and respect the national anthem.  

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Tuesday's podcast: Lopez Obrador vs DEA....Athletes and politics...and more

Lopez Obrador vs DEA....Athletes and politics...San Francisco and shoplifting..............and other stories....

click to listen:

Tuesday's video: Lopez Obrador vs DEA....Athletes and politics...and more

Lopez Obrador vs DEA....Athletes and politics...San Francisco and shoplifting..............and other stories....

 

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What Lopez-Obrador doesn't know

 

(My new American Thinker post)

Up in Washington, the information about Mexico's cartels was not good. This is the story:    

Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador on Friday pushed back against estimates made this week about the strength of Mexican drug cartels by the top U.S. counter-narcotics official, saying the United States lacked “good information.”

The comments come in response to testimony from U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chief Anne Milgram on Mexican cartels as part of a hearing in the U.S. Congress.

Among other findings, Milgram testified the DEA estimated that the powerful Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG) have more than 45,000 members, associates, facilitators and brokers in some 100 countries.   She added Sinaloa and CJNG have a presence in 21 and 19 of Mexico’s 31 states respectively and that the DEA is mapping how both have spread around the world.

“No,” the president said in response to a question from a journalist about if the information from the U.S. official were true. “They don’t have good information.”

Speaking at a press conference, Lopez Obrador questioned her figures and urged the DEA to share more details.  

Wait a minute.  The "woman" that President Lopez-Obrador referred to is U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Chief Anne Milgram. 

Why does the DEA have to share more details?  Shouldn't President Lopez-Obrador share information to contradict the "woman from the DEA," as he called her?

We have seen this side of Lopez-Obrador before.  He mocks his critics and questions their credibility.  Again, he is attacking the DEA Chief. My guess is that he is mocking Chief Milgram because her comments hit a nerve.

To be realistic, nothing is going to happen until President Biden picks up the phone and delivers a stern message.  Is that going to happen?  Probably not.  After all, the Biden administration is currently in a legal fight with Texas over border barriers rather than doing something about the source.

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