Your Friday Video Link: Banana Ball Is Frozen! (And Wicked! And Dirty!)

I have posted before about the phenomenon of Banana Ball, a wild and wacky variation of minor league baseball which combines the game with episodes of theatricality.

Like what happened at Coors Field stadium in Denver on August 16, 2026.  

Kristen Bell surprised fans at the Savannah Bananas game in Denver with a live performance of “For the First Time in Forever” from Frozen. 

Broadway star Derek Klena joined her on the field for a medley of songs from Wicked and Dirty Dancing.

Your Friday Video Link provides a record of that performance.

That show was awesome and the Dirty Dancing lift was epic.

Here is Banana Ball Commissioner Jesse Cole discussing the work and planning that went into that performance.

And that is a wrap on this week's edition of Your Friday Video Link.

We're back tomorrow with Movie Time! 

Until next time, remember to be good to one another. 

This (Non) Sporting Life: Twilight Baseball

This post is a sequel to last week's entry Midday Baseball.

This post involves a follow up visit to watch the Greensboro Grasshoppers for an evening game against the Greenville (SC) Drive.  And since this was on a Saturday evening, a post game fireworks display. 

Like the previous excursion, this was done on my employer's dime but this time I had to pay for food. My free baseball game cost me over $30.  

Below is a shot of the downtown stadium with some beautiful cloud displays in the evening sky. Excellent artwork by the late great Bob Ross.  

Unlike the day game, this time I was accompanied by my wife, Andrea.  

You might wonder why I didn't post a photo of me looking happy.

Yeah, that is me looking happy.  The other selfies I took looked like angry arrest photos.  

The Greensboro Grasshoppers have two mascots. There's this strange bug like creature dressed like a pirate for some reason.

It seems the "some reason" is the 'Hoppers are now the farm team for the Pittsburgh Pirates. I really do not know much about sports.   

Here's the classic mascot for the team, Guilford the Grasshopper.

The 'Hoppers used to have a bat dog, a black lab named Babe who would retrieve bats. Sadly, Babe is no longer with us but is immortalized in a pair of statues outside the stadium.

And by whatever this nonsense is. 

Our seats were up on the 2nd level in my employer's sky box. It provides a clear view of the field from just above the first base line.  

Behind us on that elevated perch was some guy who had to comment on everything.  He would admit he didn't know something and then elaborate for 10 minutes trying to fill the gap in his knowledge.  

Despite the sun going down and the temperature descending into the mid 70's, the weather remained oppressively hot.  The air was still and according to Andrea's weather app on her phone, humidity was at 86%.  From being baked on Wednesday to being steamed on Saturday.

Our repast for the evening included hot dogs, chips and sodas followed by ice cream.  

The ice cream was Dipping Dots which Andrea still enjoys but I quite frankly do not.  I really do not understand what the fuss is about.  

The Grasshoppers were in the lead going into the 9th and that guy behind us told his son to pay attention, the game was 3 outs from being over. 

Yeah, about that.  

The Greenville Drive had other plans and pulled the game into a tie. Bottom of the 9th, Greensboro could not pull ahead and we're into extra innings, folks. 

It's gonna be awhile before we can get to those fireworks.

In the first half of the 11th inning, the Drive drive home 5 runs.

If the Grasshoppers truly love their fans, they will graciously accept defeat.

"Root! Root! Root for the visitors! 

I can't take anymore!

'Cause it's ONE - TWO - THREE strikes you're out!

The home team 

Can do

NO MORE!"

Bottom of the 11th and 'Hoppers strike out which was awfully nice of them and we finally got to the fireworks.  

Here are a few photos from that.   

Andrea enjoyed the experience which was what was important to me.

As for myself, I am a curmudgeonly ornery bastard and between

• the high price of food
• fighting the crowds and noise to get the food
• the chatterbox behind me 
• the excessive humidity

The most positive thing I can say is I survived the experience.

And I am so glad my suffering amuses you.

00000000000000000000000000000000000000

This (Non) Sporting Life: Midday Baseball

Yesterday, I got paid to watch baseball in the middle of the day.

It's another edition of This (Non) Sporting Life, a blog post about sports by a guy who does not know much and cares even less about sports.

(Wait! Two of these "This (Non) Sporting Life" posts in a row? For "a guy who does not know much and cares even less about sports", that's a lot of sports!)  

The occasion was a company event for employees to have some "fun" watching the Greensboro Grasshoppers.

If you call sitting in the baking hot sun with an overpriced hot dog watching a game I was not invested in "fun".

To be fair, I did not pay for the overpriced hot dog, my employer did that. And I have to admit it was a very good hot dog.

But $6 for a plain hot dog is a lot. 

And damn, the weather was hot.

As I exclusively work from home these days, this was a rare chance to perhaps get in touch with some people from when I worked in the office.

Which is ironic because when I did work in the office, I would actively try to avoid interacting with people. Now I'm choosing to do that when I don't have to?  

I saw exactly 3 people I knew. Dude, where is everybody I used to know? It's enough to make me feel old if I didn't already feel old just getting up in the morning.

The potential onset of heat stroke wasn't helping my disposition.

Before I left the cool safety of my work from home, my boss told me relax and stay as long as I wanted.

I made it to the 3rd inning before I called my participation in this "fun" due to thermal nuclear meltdown.

Hey, here's Guilford the Grasshopper who has a really GREAT job being a total goofball for a living AND the absolutely WORST job having to work in a fur suit in 90+ degree weather.

Here's a selfie of me and I have questions.

• Who am I?
• Why am I here?
• Do I remember where I parked?
• Should I get another hot dog?

The heat is getting to me.

Well, the ball game got me out of the house which is a rare thing. I hardly go anywhere outside the Fortress of Ineptitude. 

Such as when I make a semi-regular pilgrimmage to Acme Comics.

Which brings us to the 2nd post of the day.

Up in a few hours: Batman! 

Who I am sure does not go to midday baseball games.  

This (Non) Sporting Life: World Cup Sucker Punch

A big sporting event of worldwide importance is going on and I haven't written abou it on my blog.

Said event is the FIFA World Cup, an international contest in the game of soccer which is being played here in the United States as well as venues in Mexico and Canada.  

I haven't written about it because it don't know much about soccer and quite frankly, I care even less.

Welcome to another edition of This (Non) Sporting Life, an irregular feature of this blog about sports written by someone who does not know much or care about sports. 

By all accounts per my admittedly very limited understanding, the World Cup has been going very well.  

The United States' team has been holding their own and advancing through this tournament.

There was an unfortunate incident while the U.S was playing Portugal when the American's star forward Folarin Balogun stepped on the ankle of an opposing player.  This earned Balogun a red card.  

A red card is a penalty that removes a player from the field for that game and prohibits the player from participating in the next match as well.  

Much like a flagrant foul in college basketball, a ref handing out a red card is not looking to determine intent. Did Balogun mean to step on that player's ankle? It doesn't matter, it's still a prohibited action and there are consequences for doing something wrong.

Which brings us to Donald Trump.

I mean, it shouldn't. Why the unholy fuck does Li'l DOnnie need to be concerned with what's going on in World Cup soccer?

Because Trump is an expert on sports. 

“I’m a person that loves sports and was a good athlete. And I understand sports really well. Really well. And that wasn’t a foul. That wasn’t even an infraction."  

So der Führer made a phone call or three to FIFA President Gianni Infantino.

Infantino was the guy who created and presented a FIFA Peace Prize to Donald Trump after Trump petulantly whined about not getting a Nobel Peace Prize.    

And for the first time in 64 years,FIFA overturned a Red Card ruling and cleared Folarin Balogun to play as the United States readied to take on Belgium.

Trump tried to pull a Steve Urkel with a "Did I do that?" response.

“All I did, all I did, I asked for a review ’cause I didn’t think it was a foul. And again, I’m good at this stuff. I didn’t think it was a foul. I thought it was two great athletes who crashed into each other and got entangled.” 

Then Li'l Donnie began claiming the referee was untrustworthy. 

“This referee, who is a little bit suspect if you check his past. I don’t want to say that because I don’t like to create controversy. But very suspect.”

Do I need to tell you that Trump offered NOTHING to support his claims the ref was "suspect"?  

So a lot of goodwill about the World Cup games and all these different people and cultures coming together for the sheer joy of the sport of soccer just gets shredded under a cloud of suspicion caused by Donald Trump's unwarranted interference.

Jesus H. Christ! Can we NOT go ONE damn day without this lying, petulant, bullying, unintelligent, sociopathic, dishonorable, treasonous, gutless, moronic, heartless, soulless, slimy, loathsome, vile, incompetent, psychotic, crooked, disgusting, reprehensible, revolting, horrible, malicious, obnoxious, hateful, narcissistic, small-minded, despicable god damn, motherfucking piece of shit making every goddam thing about himself? 

As an American, I'm supposed be rooting for the United States team.  But given Trump's fuckery, I almost hope Belgium kicks their ass.

And they did! 

Belgium shredded the Americans in a 4-1 win Monday night.  

The Trump curse strikes again!  

This (Non) Sporting Life: In the Knick Of Time!

It's This (Non) Sporting Life, the blog post about sports written by a guy who does not know or care about sports.

Usually.

Tonight, Andrea and I watched the NBA Finals... on purpose.

It was Game 5 of the series between the New York Knicks and the San Antonio Spurs.

So far, so good. I know who is playing. Usually I don't know.

I also know who we're pulling for in this thing too! Usually I don't care! 

We were really pulling for the Knicks to win their first title in 53 years. 

Even our son Dean who knows and cares about sports even less than I do was rooting for this team to win! 

But  Andrea was worried the Spurs might win this one.

Nah, the Knicks had the Spurs where they wanted them.

New York got hot when it counted and went on a major run, winning the game 94-90 and winning the 2026 NBA Championship!  

The New York Knicks were awesome!

Jalen Brunson who scored 45 of those 94 points was awesome!

Sports Ball is awesome!

...

...

...

OK, my sports adjacent euphoria is wearing off now.

Good night! 

This (Non) Sporting Life: Baseball But With Bananas

This past Saturday, Andrea and I made our inaugural 2026 visit to the Burmil Park Communal Bath Tub Swimming Pool for the summer season.

It was, I suppose, a nice day for it.  The weather was hot but not too hot.  Some of the kids and worse still some of the adults were a bit too boisterous for me.   

It interfered with favorite pool activity: standing there. 

I can't swim so mostly, I just... stand there.

Occassionally, if I'm feeling frisky, I will bob.

After several hours of too much sun and... standing (& bobbing!), I was ready to crash on the sofa of the Fortress of Ineptitude for some televised entertainment.

I chose... sports! 

Really? Me? 

Welcome to This (Non) Sporting Life, a blog post about sports written by a guy who does not know or care much about sports.

And I chose to watch a sporting event? 

Yes.  Yes, I did.

And the sporting event in question was Banana Ball.

Which is baseball.  But with bananas. Sort of.

Banana Ball Championship League (BBCL) has six teams: the Savannah Bananas, the Party Animals, the Firefighters, the Texas Tailgaters, the Loco Beach Coconuts and the Indianapolis Clowns.

Saturday Andrea and I watched a match between the Bananas and the Clowns.  

Whenever a player for the Clowns came up to bat, I could say "Hey! Who's this clown?" and it was not an insult.

The flagship team for the BBCL is the Savannah Bananas. They started off as a garden variety minor league farm team but moved into exhibition games a few years ago.

The Bananas have yellow uniforms and the team owner shows up at games in a bright yellow suit.  

They have player who wears stilts.  

There's a lot of nonsense.  

The Bananas and all the teams in the BBCL are committed to their bits.

The Clowns have a mascot, Peanut the Elephant, who is also a pitcher.

The Firefighters dress in fire fighting themed gear. 

The Party Animals are known as  "gayest team in baseball" for their theatrical routines heavily influenced by queer and drag culture.

All the teams have choreagraphed dance routines, comedy bits and specialized musical bits when batters approach the batter's box. 

Back flips and trick plays are part of the game play.

Here's a nice feature about banana ball: it can't last indefinitely.

A game last 2 hours plus whatever it might take to finish the last inning.   

There are other rules that are unique to Banana Ball and those are provided in the bonus below.

I'm not going to make watching Banana Ball games part of my regular TV watching habits but it was a fun diversion that helped me decompress after the trauma of the Burmil Park Communal Bath Tub Swimming Pool.

And I think I would like to see a Banana Ball game live if they come anywhere near the Fortress.

_______________________________________

BONUS FEATURE!

How the Hell Do You Play Banana Ball?!?!?

Listed below are the 13 rules that make banana ball more than just another baseball game! 

1. Games are won by points, instead of runs: the team that scores the most runs in an inning gets one point, except in the final inning when every run counts as one point. The final inning may be earlier than the ninth inning, due to the time limit noted below. When the home team has scored enough runs to "win" any inning other than the final inning, the inning immediately ends.
2. There is a two-hour time limit; no new inning may start after 120 minutes have elapsed. Once an inning starts, it is played to completion.
3. Batters cannot step out of the batter's box. Doing so results in an automatic strike.
4. Batters cannot bunt. Doing so results in an automatic ejection.
5. Batters can attempt to steal first base at any point during their at bat, including on passed balls or wild pitches.
6. Walks are replaced by "ball-four sprints". After ball four, the batter and all baserunners are allowed to advance as far around the bases as they can while the ball is sequentially thrown to all of the fielders other than the pitcher, starting with the catcher. The ball remains dead, with the all runners not liable to be put out, until the four infielders and three outfielders have each touched the ball. This often results in the batter-runner advancing to second base on the sprint, and baserunners advancing multiple bases, often scoring.
7. No mound visits are allowed. Once a pitcher is out there, they're on their own. No pep talks from Daddy.  
8. Foul balls caught by fans on the fly are counted as outs.
9. Ties are broken by a "showdown tiebreaker", an abbreviated extra innings format. Each team's half-inning during the showdown ends with any out, or run scored by the batter—if the batter puts the ball in play, he must attempt to score. A batter who draws a walk advances to second base, with the hitting team allowed to send a new batter to the plate. The same happens if the batter is hit by a pitch. At any point during the showdown, a home run hit over the outfield wall immediately ends the game in favor of the batting team. If the game is still tied after a showdown round, another showdown round is played, until there is a winner. Scenarios differ by showdown round: In showdown round 1, each team selects a pitcher and hitter to face off, with the defense fielding only their pitcher, catcher, and a single fielder. In showdown round 2, the fielder is eliminated. In showdown round 3 (and later), the fielder returns, but each half-inning starts with the bases loaded, and each run scored counts as a point. This also affects the ball-four sprints or walks given up: as walks or sprints are added during this time, runners are added in for either the home or away teams, with 3 consecutive walks/sprints determining the walk-off victory by the home or away team.
10. Each team is allowed to challenge certain calls by the umpires: whether a ball was fair or foul, whether or not a runner was tagged out (at home plate or on the basepaths), and whether a ball was caught or not. A team retains its right to challenge until they lose a challenge, after which they may not challenge any calls for the remainder of the game. The fans can also challenge one play per game, as determined by a fan who is chosen to initiate the challenge. Challenged plays are reviewed by the broadcast team, who relay their ruling to the umpire.
11. "The Golden Batter Rule" – One time in a game, a team may send any hitter in the lineup to bat in any spot. The goal of this rule is so a team can have their best hitter hit when the game is on the line.
12. "The Equalizer Point" – If the visiting team has more trick plays than the home team after eight innings, they get an extra point before the ninth inning.
13. "The Designated Fielder Rule" – Similar to the Golden Batter rule, but on the defensive side: any team can, once in a game, send one extra or bench player to field in replacement of an active player.

This (Non) Sporting Life: Kentucky Derby 2026

Welcome to another edition of This (Non) Sporting Life, a blog post about sports written by a guy who does not know much about sports.

And if there is a sport I don't know much about, it's horse racing. 

But it has become a habit for Andrea and I each first Saturday of May to watch the Kentucky Derby. 

It's kind of like how we don't know much about football but we will watch the Super Bowl. 

The lead up to the actual race itselt is a spectacle of conspicous wealth and fealty to arcane traditions.

And hats! 

Hats are BIG literally and metaphorically at the Kentucky Derby.

Those are some hats! 

The race itself lasts a couple of minutes so we got a LOT of time to fill before the thing itself arrives. 

Interviews with owners about how much they've worked and sacrificed to make it to this day.

"Instead of platinum, we had to settle for mere gold plumbing fixtures on our luxury yacht like a common Trump. Oh dear, it has been quite the struggle."

Nobody interviews the horses. 

Various sports reporters and analysts offered their takes on who will win this most hallowed and sacred of horse racing events.

There's a QR code to scan to place your bets.

Oh my! There is gambling at this most hallowed and sacred of horse racing events?  

I am shocked SHOCKED! to find there is gambling at this...

The gambling site with the QR code is one of NBC's sponsors?

Yay! Gambling! Gambling is great!

I for one welcome our gambling overlords! 

Finally the big moment arrives and we're....

Watching horses being led to their stalls.

One big jet black horse called Great White doesn't want to to go.  He rears back, throws off his rider and falls to the ground.  The horse quickly gets back up and seems to be OK but Great White gets scratched from the big race.

So all you racists out there who bet on him because he's named "Great White", well, tough luck!

Finally the big moment arrives and we're....

OFF!!! 

The 152nd running of the Kentucky Derby is underway! 

Down the stretch they come and with 23-1 odds of winning this thing, it's Golden Tempo first across the finish line! 

Jockey Jose Ortiz, who has ridden in the Kentucky Derby 10 times, had his first win with Golden Tempo.

"I'm just glad I get to ride almost every year, but to get the winner is just special. I just wish my grandpa was here."

Cherie DeVaux is the first female trainer to win the Kentucky Derby.

"I don't even have any words right now. I'm just so, so happy for Golden Tempo, Jose did a wonderful job. He has had so much faith in this horse."

What about the horse? Did anyone interview Golden Tempo?

"I was promised hay! And an apple!"

Thank you, Golden Tempo, for that insight.

The winner of the Kentucky Derby receives $3.1 million of the race's $5 million purse.

The horse doesn't get $3.1 million.  The owners get the money.

"I say, we can take those dreadful gold fixtures off the yacht now! I'm thinking diamond faucets?"

Well, the owners do have to share.

The trainer gets $300,000.

The jockey also gets $300,000.

The horse gets the really good hay. And TWO apples! 

Anyone For Tennis?

Before before we get into today's regularly scheduled post, a few words about yesterday's post about the attack on Saturday’s White House Correspondents’ Association dinner in Washington, D.C..

As I wrote in that post, "I'm worried about what will come after. I am already anticipating that Donald Trump's snivelling syncophants as well as the man himself will use this incident to fuel more anger and division."

Sadly and predictably, I have been proven right.

Long time Trump toady Rep. Jim Jordan said that it shouldn’t be “lost on anyone” that what he described as a third assassination attempt on the president happened the same week the Southern Poverty Law Center was hit with dubious fraud charges.  😟

Donald Trump seems to be criticizing the family of shooting suspect Cole Tomas Allen.... I think, if you can parse this sentence: "That family knew that he had difficulty, and his family seemed to be, I think, they spent a lot of time with his family, his family said he had big difficulty.  Maybe they should have reported him a little bit more strongly, probably, but it's a hard thing to do, I guess."  😕

Trump tried to pin an alleged anti-Christian bias to Allen's manifesto of grievances against the Trump administration. "When you read his manifesto, he hates Christians, that's one thing for sure.  It was a religious thing, it was strongly anti-Christian."  😲

OK, let's get on with today's regularly scheduled post about some Trump fuckery against women.

This should be ever so much fun.

___________________________________

Hooray for the players of the Georgia Bulldogs women's tennis team who won the NCAA Division 1 title in 2025! 

Cheers for the women who made this accomplishment possible:

• Anastasiia Lopata
• Mai Nirundorn
• Aysegul Mert
• Sarah Branicki
• Alexandra Vecic
• Tatum Buffington
• Guillermina Grant
• Haley Gaudette
• Sofia Rojas
• Mell Reasco
• Hayden Mulberry

You amazing women deserve accolades for your remarkable achievement with a visit to the White House! 

C'mon out here, ladies and let's take a look at you!

Where is the Georgia Bulldogs women's tennis team?

Hold on, I think I can see them! 

Yep, there they are, in the background behind some dudes in suits.

Well, who are THOSE guys? 

Well, the one in the middle of the shot is Donald Trumop and the rest of those guys are coaches and support staff for the the Georgia Bulldogs women's tennis team.

Give it up y'all for...

• Georgia deputy athletic director Ford Williams
• Athletic director Josh Brooks
• Head coach Drake Bernstein
• Associate head coach Jarryd Chaplin
• Assistant coach Will Reynolds

Because these MEN are the REAL heroes for winning the NCAA Division 1 title for WOMEN's tennis?

To quote Donald Trump, "No more Mister Nice Guy!"

What the FUCK is going on here? 

What kind of mysogonistic sexist BULLSHIT is this?

Has anyone ever seen a sport team photo that put coaches and support staff front and center in front of the actual team?

Can Li'l Donnie not rein in his ego mania for one single photo op in deference to his guests in the White House?

What is with this raging disrespect for this team? 

Which by the way goes beyond just the photo.

When Trump entered the room, he personally greeted and shook the hands of each of the men but only waved from a distance to the actual athletes who won the goddam title. 

Donald Trump's disdain for women made manifest in one event.

There's a reason most women's sport teams have declined invitations to the White House under Donald Trump.  

Trump's antagonism towards women is broadly evident.

In talking to the press, der Führer is frequently hostile to female journalists, insulting their intelligence, their appearance, telling them to shut up.  

And going back to sports for a moment, consider this sequence of events at this year's Winter Olympics in Milano Coertina.

The US women’s hockey team wins Gold and there's silence from Trump's White House.

The US men’s hockey team wins Gold and  der Führer himself is on the phone to congratulate them on their victory and invited them to the White House.  

And while on the call, Trump complained that he would need to invite the women's team too or he'll get in trouble.   

Trump begrudgingly extended an invite to the women's team to visit the White House and they declined the invitation. 

The US women’s hockey team cited scheduling conflicts for declining the invite which is a nice way of saying "we've got better places to be".  

They deserved better than to be in the disrespectful company of the chairman of the "he-man woman haters club".  

A disrespect experienced firsthand by the players of the Georgia Bulldogs women's tennis team. 

This (Non) Sporting Life: Basketball Games Are 40 Minutes Long

Welcome to This (Non) Sporting Life, a blog post about sports by a guy who does not care or know much about sports.

But I do know this: basketball games are 40 minutes long. 

Which is an important piece of information.

In today's NCAA Men's Tournament Game between Duke and UConn, Duke was winning after 39 minutes and 50 seconds.

Which is great! 

But...

What's that important piece of information?

Let's say it together: All bubble-blowing babies will be beaten senseless by every able-bodied patron in the bar.

NO! Not THAT! 

Say THIS with me: basketball games are 40 minutes long. 

So....

At 39 minutes and 50 seconds, Duke had the ball and a 2 point lead, 72-70. All they had to do for 10 seconds was keep the ball away from UConn and Duke wins and advances to the Final Four.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy.

This game is pretty much over, ain't it?

Except....

Basketball games are 40 minutes long. 

And UConn steals the ball.

And some UConn player named Braylon Mullins heaves a desperation shot at the basket.  Oh, there's NO way that ball is.....

It went in? 

Nooooo! It didn't! It couldn't!

IT DID?!?!

IT WENT IN! 

For 3 points! 

UConn is up 73-72.  

What the unholy hell was that?

I mean, 39 minutes and 50 seconds and... and... and...

Damn it! Basketball games are 40 minutes long. 

Now if there is a sense of deja vu in this post, well, it's because the same goddam thing happened back in February when Carolina snatched victory from the jaws of defeat with a last second basket from Scott Trimble.  

Read about it here.

And the conclusion I came to then?

Damn basketball games are a damn 40 minutes damn long! 

Damn! 

OK, so the bad news is Duke has lost and been denied a shot at the national championship. And that sucks.

The good news is I can finally stop caring about sports. 

It really is out of character for me. 

Movie Time Goes Bananas

 Instead of a Movie Time post, we've got....

...we've got Banana Time.

So what happened? 

Hell if I know.

I had my laptop perched on my lap while watching the Duke/St. John's basketball game and I was heading down the homestretch on a Movie Time blog post about a movie that was released March 27, 1937 called The King and the Chorus Girl.

To be honest with you, I saw this movie about a year ago on TCM and I was struggling to remember exactly what the hell went down.

There was a king.

And a chorus girl.

That much I knew.

Oh, and the screenplay was by Groucho Marx.

Yeah, that Groucho Marx.

Despite writing from one of the Marx Brothers, I recalled the movie wasn't really that funny or good.

But damn it, I was getting a blog post out of it.

But while typing, I notice my screen was blank. 

All the text I was writing as well as pictures and graphics were gone. 

I have no idea what key stroke I made to cause that to happen and no efforts on my part were successful in retrieving anything I had created.

Apparently typing on my laptop on top of my lap was a bad idea.

Hey, what happened with the Duke/St. John's game?

<INSERT SCORE HERE>.

...

Psst!  Hey....  

It still says....

<INSERT SCORE HERE>

....

Whoops! Sorry.

After putting me through 2+ hours of this is too damn close, Duke pulled out the win over St. John's, 80-75.

So Duke gets to play another day.

And I have to continue "caring" about sports.  

This (Non) Sporting Life: Tournament Tension

So yesterday afternoon while I was at work, I decided to check in on Duke's opening game in the NCCA Men's Basketball Tournament. 

The Duke Blue Devils are a #1 seed and they were playing a #16 seed, the Siena Saints. 

Because I am a guy who does not know or even care much about sports, I really cannot handle the stress of a close game and much prefer whatever team I'm rooting for to engage in what I call a romp 'n' stomp. 

Since Duke is a #1 seed and Siena is a #16, I expected a classic romp 'n' stomp.

What I found instead when I turned in at half time was Duke was DOWN by 11 points.

Duke was DOWN?!?! To THESE GUYS?!?!

Oh come on! This can NOT be happening! 

Online there was a headline about the status of the game at half time: DUKE gets BURNT by SIENA! 

You know, like the color, burnt sienna?

Some sports writer somewhere scored a once in a lifetime headline. 

But would they be able to use that headline for the whole game?

Thankfully.... no. 

Over the course of the 2nd half, Duke began playing more like what I expect from Duke but damn, it felt like like moving through proverbial molasses watching Duke overcome it's deficit and eventually pull ahead.

But it was no romp 'n' stomp!

Final score: 71 to 65.  

What happened in the 1st half? Duke coach Jon Scheyer said, "I just got outcoached!" 

I don't understand the intricate mechanics of basketball coaching. If I were to be plopped down in an arena somewhere and told to coach a team, my best advice would be "Put the ball through the hoop!"

Really, that's all I know. 

Later in the evening, Andrea settled in to watch her beloved Carolina Tarheels play the VCU Rams.  

Which was a good ol' fashioned romp 'n' stomp!

At one point, Carolina was leading by 19 points! 

I was a bit jealous that Andrea was getting a romp 'n' stomp out of Carolina which is all I wanted out of Duke.

Carolina would eventually disavow me of that jealousy.

As VCU began to inch it's way out of the hole it was in and pushed the game to a tie, 75-75 and we're in overtime, folks!

Where VCU would go on to win, 82-78 in the largest 1st-round comeback in NCAA tournament history. 

Even though I do not know or even care much about sports, I still thought that sucked.

Andrea who does care deeply about these things was prepared to commit Seppuku. 

She was seriously bummed.  

How is she today?  Let's see....

Still in mourning, I see.

Which is why I am glad I do not know or care much about sports.

This (Non) Sporting Life: Duke Vs. Carolina 2026 -Part 2

 This is My (Non) Sporting Life, my blog post about sports from a guy who does not know much about sports.

I don't know about sports and I don't care about sports.

Well, normally I don't care.

But...

In the previous match up between the Duke Blue Devils and the North Carolina Tarheels, Duke was a rompin' and a stompin' for 39 minutes but games are 40 minutes and thanks to a literal last second 3 pointer by Seth Trimble, Carolina won the game.

Well... so what?

I'm the guy who does not know much about sports and also does not care. 

So big deal. Carolina won. What do I care?

But...

Going into last night rematch at Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium, I had to admit.... I did care! 

VENGEANCE DOTH BELONGETH TO THE BLUE DEVILS SAYETH ME!!

Duke needed to win this thing!

WIN, DAMN YOU! WIN!!!!!

<ahem> Sorry about that. 

I should mention that my quest for vengeance was taking place in the belly of the metaphorical beast.

We were watching the game with Andrea's dad at his house.

As I have written before, Andrea is deeply, truly and passionately a Carolina fan.

A sentiment shared by her father.

And I'm going to sit across from them in his home and cheer for Duke?

Damn straight I will! 

And vengeance belonged to the Blue Devils.

No. 1 Duke beat No. 17 North Carolina 76-61.

A 15 point margin of victory that was actually wider at earlier points the game. 

This was a good ol' Fashioned Duke Blue ass whuppin'! 

Game super stars Maliq Brown and Cameron Boozer.

So yay team!

And I feel better now.

Which is weird and I don't get it.

It's not like I went to Duke or know anyone who went to Duke or even have money on the game or anything else that might be relevant.  

Now...

Can I go back to not caring about sports?

Caring about sports is so exhausting!