Some quick thoughts .....

SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE: Anyone who chose sleep by giving up on the Patriots when they fell behind the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday night by 12 points in the fourth quarter missed out on a nice near-comeback by the Patriots. They had a chance to win on the final play, when they made it to the 1-yard line, but they couldn't punch the ball in with two seconds left. The Pats' defense had a tough game, but the offense --- notably quarterback Cam Newton and veteran receiver Julian Edelman --- had huge games in what would have been an unbelievable fourth-quarter rally had they won, and was still an impressive effort. The Patriots, so far, have been very entertaining to watch without Tom Brady, but the defense sorely misses the players lost to free agency and those who opted out of the season.
CELTICS MUST BUILD ON GAME 3 WIN: It's imperative that the Celtics build on their Game 3 win over the Miami Heat when the teams resume their best-of-seven Eastern Conference Finals on Wednesday night at 8:30, because they can't afford to fall behind 3-1. Gordon Hayward, as many observers have pointed out, made a big difference just by being out on the floor again, and the Celts played a tighter game except for the last several minutes of the fourth quarter when they got sloppy and let the Heat back into the game after they went up by 20 points. It's a cliche, but the Celts have to play hard for all 48 minutes.
LAST WEEK OF THE BASEBALL REGULAR SEASON: It's been a weird baseball season, but for those of us who like the sport and who were missing it, it'll still be worth tuning in to the last six games of the Red Sox season this week. They play three night games, starting tonight (Tuesday, Sept. 22), with the Baltimore Orioles and then travel to Atlanta for three games against the Braves. Nate Eovaldi and rookie Tanner Houck will get their last starts this week, and it'll be good to watch more of Alex Verdugo. He didn't make us forget Mookie Betts (he was among the players the Sox received in the Betts trade to the Dodgers), but he's been an impressive player. .... The 7:30 starts for night games shouldn't be carried over to 2021. The games average well over 3 and a half-hours and aren't over until well after 11 -- and last Friday night's 12-inning affair against the Yankees took five hours! There was no need to start the games almost 30 minutes later. That was one more move by the Sox that wasn't fan-friendly. .... I give the broadcast teams on both the radio and TV sides very high marks. They've done a remarkable job of keeping us interested in the game. Only the radio crew did home games from the park, and no one did road games from the park.
CATCH "AGT" FINALE: Fall TV will be missing many of our favorites, including "Survivor," but fans of NBC's "America's Got Talent" should enjoy tonight's season finale,  which will feature 10 performers, including several excellent singers. The talent has been top-notch this season, and kudos to the crew for persevering during the pandemic. The winner will be revealed Wednesday night (9-11 p.m.).


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Prayers for a somber Passover

  Passover began Monday night (April 22, 2024), and with war raging in the Middle East, it hasn’t been a typical Passover. There is much trouble accompanying this holiday, and antisemitism is at an all-time high. In this column, published in the April 20-21 Weekend edition of The Sun Chronicle of Attleboro, MA, I shared my prayers for this Passover season. The link to the column, as it appears on the newspaper’s website is:    https://www.thesunchronicle.com/opinion/columns/larry-kessler-a-passover-like-no-other/article_f002c65f-a5fc-5711-b6ac-a7ca5c623fb3.html ****** Passover, the eight-day Jewish Festival of Freedom, will arrive later than usual --- the holiday will begin the evening of Monday, April 22 with the first of two ceremonial meals called Seders --- because the current Hebrew calendar year of 5784 is a leap year. It's no secret that the holiday hasn’t been normal since 2019. First came the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, followed by an improved, but cautious, year
Read more

Renewing my love affair with baseball --- and the PawSox

Image
"Walpole Joe" Morgan shouts "Play Ball!" at PawSox Heritage Day. WooSox employees with longtime PawSox connections are honored at PawSox Heritage Day. Larry Kessler's ticket to the final PawSox game on Sept. 7, 2020 that never was. CUTLINES: 1.  "Walpole Joe" Morgan, a former PawSox and Red Sox manager, shouts "Play Ball!" at PawSox Heritage Day at Polar Park in Worcester on Saturday, July 9.  (Worcester Red Sox photo) 2.  Worcester Red Sox employees with long tenures at the Pawtucket Red Sox who were honored in a pregame ceremony during PawSox Heritage Day at Polar Park on Saturday, July 9 are, from left: WooSox Vice Chairman Mike Tamburro of Seekonk, WooSox Senior Vice President of Communications Bill Wanless of North Attleboro and Senior Vice President of Corporate Partnerships Michael Gwynn.  (Worcester Red Sox photo) 3.  The author's ticket to what would have been the final game in PawSox history on Monday, Sept. 7, 2020. That game,
Read more

An ode to a lovable cat named Cooper

Image
  Cooper: A gentle cat I wrote this column, which was published in the February, 2024 edition of Jewish Rhode Island of Providence, RI, in memory of our beloved cat Cooper, whom we lost in January at the tender (by cat years) of 10 ½. The link to the story on the newspaper’s Website is: https://www.jewishrhody.com/stories/cooper-will-live-forever-in-our-hearts,57217? ******** We lost a beloved member of our immediate family early last month, our friendly, cuddly male cat Cooper. While some people may question calling a pet a member of their family, they clearly are. We feed them, take care of them, groom them and take them to veterinarian appointments on a regular basis. In addition, just as we did for our kids while they were growing up, we made sure Cooper and our dog Buddy both got their necessary checkups and shots. With our children adults and living on their own, my wife Lynne and I would look forward to having our pets sit next to us on the couch while watching our favorite s
Read more