Brain Drain

Reading the book “Keep Sharp: Building a Better Brain at Any Age”, by Dr. Sanjay Gupta. Didn’t realize he was a neurosurgeon at Grady Hospital, and professor at the Emory Med School. Fill of tips of how to avoid Alzheimer’s Disease, which has its origins years before symptoms are first detected. Many things you do are among his five key suggestions: (1) exercise, (2) keep learning and trying new things, (3) get plenty of sleep, (4) eat right, and (5) connect with other people in person. 

Gupta published a long list of experiences that can lead to Alzhiemers-like diseases, such as concussions, heavy alcohol intake, obesity, smoking, sitting too much, lack of exercise, lack of purpose, and retiring from work. Women are more likely than men. Puzzles can help, but only to a certain extent.

After Matt Ryan was traded, before he flew to Indy, he took his Falcons offensive linemen out for dinner. This morning on the radio while thanking all the members of the Falcons organization, while talking about the equipment managers Matt Ryan said that he never concerned himself with the feel of the footballs, but that the equipment managers did.  

NFL insider Chris Mortenson said that had the Falcons not gone after Deshaun Watson then Ryan would still be the Falcons QB. Ryan then went to the GM and asked to be traded to the Colts. The Falcons could’ve sought better offers from other teams and probably would’ve gotten more in return (WHICH IS WHAT THE FALCONS SHOULD HAVE DONE). I love me some Matt Ryan, but the Falcons have paid Ryan like $75,000,000.00. They don’t owe him any more favors. 

The Falcons have one of the worst roster in the league, almost as bad as the Jaguars. This year they’re taking a $40 million cap hit because of Ryan, meaning that’s $40 million they can’t use for other players. Nice the Falcons treated Ryan so well, sending him to a contender for only one third round draft pick. Now other players are going to expect the Falcons to treat them the same way, even though they weren’t the face of the franchise for 14 years. You don’t see the Braves cowtowing to players like that. That’s why they’re the world champions.  

Tiger Woods is like Michael Jordan (and Tom Brady). Tiger only plays to win. When Tiger came along in the late 90’s his success meant bigger purses and more money for all pro golfers. Also more money for the charities than benefit from each tournament. 

Phil isn’t getting any younger, and he won’t get those chances to win major championships that he missed back. But I guess what he is doing will benefit all golfers, most of whom will have much shorter careers and earn far less money. Similar to Curt Flood taking a stand about the baseball reserve clause back in the day. 

By taking his stand against the PGA, Phil is losing money by not playing in tournaments. He’s lost several sponsorships. The Masters doesn’t want him. If Tiger plays in the Masters, it won’t be for the money. He wants to win more major championships.

Chipper took less money because his priority wasn’t the money, but staying in Atlanta. Still unclear if Freddie was more concerned about the money, or moving home to be near his family. The contract Freeman signed was for less money than he could’ve signed for in Atlanta.

Hate that money drives sports the way it does. I heard yesterday that adidas will start paying college athletes to wear their shoes. Players are deciding here to go to school based on where they’ll make the most NIL money.

Last night C ate out with her friends. There are five of them that all go out to celebrate each of their birthdays. M and I were going to eat at Scoville Hot Chicken, but my coupon had expired. He had received a free gift from Dominos, so he ate pizza and wings. I made a quesadilla for supper.

Went outside and practiced chipping for 30 minutes. Chipped almost one hundred balls. Need to do that every night. Watched the Netflix movie The Adam Project, a new time travel movie. Pretty good.

Watched some of the Grizz as well. Agreed with L that more calls were going the Nets way.

Ran / walked over three miles again this morning at the YMCA. Was sore but knocked it out with a decent time. Worked from home again today.

Article: How Emotionally Intelligent People Use the Mark Twain Rule to Become Exceptionally Persuasive. Otherwise smart people betray a lack of emotional intelligence by (1) failing to articulate what they want, (2) fail to consider how their message will be taken by those hearing it, and (3) communicate unclearly, muddle directions, and meander as they talk. The solution? One word: brevity.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.inc.com/bill-murphy-jr/how-emotionally-intelligent-people-use-mark-twain-rule-to-become-exceptionally-persuasive.html__;!!AE29DT8V!A683e7UgRQpzoeLUuTDn_PAmSYH756vYVW8inV2w2HHoakneps7ARib3xDCFG8wHixI$

Yesterday was National Puppy Day. 

CHRISTIAN YELICH  [B-R Bio] led his league in batting average (for the second straight year), on-base percentage in addition to leading  the majors in slugging and OPS yet did not even win his league’s MVP. Brewer Yelich finished second behind the Dodgers’ Cody Bellinger in the 2019 NL MVP voting. Yelich was traded for four players, none of whom are any longer in baseball. On 25-Jan-2018, the Marlins traded Yelich to Milwaukee for Lewis Brinson, Isan Diaz, Monte Harrison & Jordan Yamamoto. Yelich played for the United States national baseball team in the 2017 World Baseball Classic. Following the conclusion of the tournament, he was named to the All-World Baseball Classic team.

DENISON: a Yale professor is warning that law schools are in crisis after students disrupted a free speech panel. The University of Virginia's student newspaper opposed a campus visit from Mike Pence, claiming that the former VP's beliefs threaten "the well-being and safety of students." A proposed bill in California would codify the killing of unborn children throughout all nine months of pregnancy and includes newborns up to seven days after its birth.

Jumbo Jets

 

Was watching a show about the C5 Galaxy transport plane last night, the largest in the US Air Force. A C5 was making a world record flight from an AFB in Pennslyvania nonstop to Dagrom AFM in Afghanistan, with a midair refueling. A flight of 48 hours straight. When it landed they got unloaded quickly, and took off as soon as it could.

The program also showed C5’s being refurbished at Lockheed in Marietta. I’ve always had a thing for C5’s since I was a young boy watching President Johnson christening the first C5 in Marietta.

Monday: left work shortly after five and headed to small group. Our leader wasn’t there, so we muddled on without his expert insights.

Tuesday: knocked out three miles on the treadmill, in 39 minutes. Left work after 5:30. Stopped by the driving range. My poor ball-striking this past Saturday carried over to the range. It is as if I have forgotten how to hit a golf ball.

Ate supper at Stockyard Burgers & Bones in The Avenue East Cobb. A good burgers and fries. Watched UVA vs St Bonaventure and some Hawks/Knicks. Also Mr. Mayor, starring Ted Danson.

Looks like Ozzie Albies is wearing his socks at mid-calf this spring, like Fernando Tatis. Perhaps in homage to his traded friend Christian Pache, who also favored the look. I consider this a good development.

Freddie Freeman played in his first game as a Dodger, and got as much press as the Supreme Court hearings.

Lifted weights at the YMCA this morning. Worked from home today, and hopefully tomorrow and Friday as well.

Looks like your friend Phil won’t be playing in the Masters. He had to know that when he took his stand what the repercussions would be. Guess he feels strongly about what he believes.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.palmbeachpost.com/story/sports/pga/2022/03/22/augusta-national-officials-dont-want-phil-mickelson-playing-masters/7123174001/__;!!AE29DT8V!Dhr31xT6EZrIa1D_ygcPYINkhIfKmM3u5467dA9AipmRP3Cn5wXA8-nBJnJTXjAe-7Q$

Article about members of Augusta National.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.golfmonthly.com/tour/us-masters/augusta-blog/who-are-the-most-famous-augusta-national-members-212800__;!!AE29DT8V!EvlAi6Y4DkxykrbJhePiTFXw6EUBuMcDBCOhDIlvujg4KVISc96cjWSQfbNfcYiTJ5Q$

The two Catholic churches nearest to me are having spring yard sales this weekend. St. Ann in East Cobb on Thursday, half price Friday, and $5 fill a bag on Saturday. St. Andrew down by the river in Roswell on Saturday.

FRANKIE FRISCH  [SABR Bio] played in eight World Series without hitting a home run, but homered from both sides of the plate in All-Star competition. Frisch batted in Series play in 1921, 22, 23, 24 for NYG and in 28, 30, 31, 34 for STL with 58 hits, not one of which was a home run. Then he homered off righty General Crowder in 1933 ASG and off Lefty Gomez in the 1934 game. No one has come close to equaling the record he set for most chance and assist in a single season. In 1927, his first year with St. Louis, he accepted 1,059 chances and was in on 641 assists. As a manager, he was a legendary umpire baiter. Here’s one example: manager Frisch was once confronted by Bill Klem, the authoritarian dean of umpires, who often drew a line in the dirt with his spikes and said, “Don't you dare cross that line”.  Frisch kept circling Klem while the umpire kept drawing lines until Frisch chortled: “Hey, Bill, you're all fenced in.”

DENISON: a survey reports that 72% of Americans say the nation's moral compass is pointed in the wrong direction, suggesting there is a "right" direction we can find and follow. A Wall Street Journal reporter responded to the fact that "all my millennial friends are rethinking their lives" by choosing to embark on a "reassessment" for the sake of his "mental and spiritual health."

In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis noted: "In God you come up against something which is immeasurably superior to yourself. Unless you know God as that—and, therefore, know yourself as nothing in comparison—you do not know God at all. As long as you are proud you cannot know God. A proud man is always looking down on people: as long as you are looking down, you cannot see something that is above you."

Falcons Trade Matt Ryan

Crazy that both the Braves and Falcons traded their “face of the franchise” player in the same week. The Dirty Birds were weighed down by Ryan’s massive contract, and weren’t ever going to improve with him taking up so much salary. I was always a Matt Ryan fan. The Falcons problems were only Ryan’s fault in that his humongo salary limited getting players to compliment his tremendous ability, knowledge, and work ethic.

Despite the constant beating Ryan took both on the field and in the media, he never complained or blamed others. He played under three head coaches and five offensive coordinators. Some say he got the raw end of the deal, but all those millions and millions the Falcons continue to pay him even out the deal. At least Ryan goes from wearing one of the ugliest uniforms in the league to one of the best.

With the Colts, Ryan is surrounded with offensive talent: a superior offensive line and one of the best running backs in the league, in Jonathan Taylor – who has been putting up Herschel-like numbers in college and as a young pro. Kicker Rodrigo Blankenship should be recovered from the hip injury that sidelined him last season. So it will be up to Matty Ice to carry Indy deep into the playoffs.

No doubt the Falcons will be horrible in 2022. They’ll still take $65 million in cap hit for Ryan, Julio Jones, and other players. As a transition they signed former Titan and Raider QB Marcus Mariota, who seemed to have bolstered his stock last season in Vegas.

Will be interesting to see how quickly the Falcons move to draft their QB of the future, either next month or wait a year. Unless the prefect QB is available when they draft, I’d be fine with them waiting.

The team has many needs besides QB. Not sure if they have any RBs or WRs on the roster. One guy they don’t need: the oft-injured Julio Jones, recently release by the Titans, who released their mistake. IDEA: since the Falcons are already paying $20 million to Jones this year, perhaps signing him wouldn’t tie up any additional money against the salary cap. Probably not how it works.

I always liked Matt Ryan. He’s kinda like Peyton Manning and Tom Brady, the guys who stand in the pocket but can rid of the ball at the last second, as opposed to taking off running at the first sign of pressure. Ryan is the type QB who knows what the defense will be doing, more than most QB’s. A leader on the field. Also gave back to the community. When Ryan boarded the jet today to fly him to Indy, his young twin boys were both wearing #2 Colts jerseys.

I read on social media that Freddie Freeman’s wife had removed all the Atlanta products from her clothing website. Not sure if it’s true or not.

Hall of Famer SAM THOMPSON  [SABR Bio] is still the all-time career leader in RBI per game, more than a century after his retirement. He averaged 0.92 RBI per game in his career. Second and third on the list are Joe DiMaggio & Babe Ruth. The 61 RBIs he amassed in August 1895 has also never been equaled for any one calendar month. Thompson was part of an outfield trio that is considered by many to be among the best ever. The 1881-1895 Philadelphia Phillies outfield featured Thompson, Ed Delahanty & “Slidin’ Billy Hamilton. In 1894 they hit .415, .405 & .403 respectively. Thompson learned baseball from his father, who picked up the game from other military men. His great grandfather served in the American Revolution, and his father was a Union soldier in the Civil War.

DENISON: The White House warned that the Russian government "is exploring options for potential cyberattacks."...Like Denzel Washington, we can view our abilities and resources as gifts given by the "grace of God" and use what we have "to help others."...A study shows that teenage Christian boys from working-class families who regularly participate in their church and demonstrate faith in God are twice as likely to earn bachelor's degrees as their nonreligious or moderately religious peers. Research by the Barna Group reports that 61% of practicing Christians said they are flourishing in romantic relationships and friendships, compared to only 28% of all US adults...Unfortunately, many of us settle for a religion about Jesus when we could have an intimate relationship with him. To experience such a relationship daily, as Oswald Chambers reminds us, I must give up "my claim to my right to myself."

https://www.denisonforum.org/daily-article/pastor-to-church-after-building-destroyed-by-fire-we-are-always-more-than-the-tragedies-we-face/

Rushing Yards Per Game

Most rushing yards per game. As usual Herschel is the outlier, with so many receiving yards on his resume. Of the backs on this list, only Walter Payton and Emmitt Smith played in more NFL games than Walker's 187. Herschel’s 240 games played as a pro are among the most ever for a RB.

Backs earn Pro Bowl and All Pro status because of their high rushing totals (especially back in the late 80’s & early 90’s), yet every year Herschel was gaining similar numbers rushing and receiving. As one of the first prolific pass-catching running backs, only later did PFHOF electors begin to take notice, enshrining Faulk and Tomlinson. Roger Craig has been shut out as well.

When Herschel retired, only Brown, Payton, Sims, and Dickerson had averaged more combined yards per NFL game. Only Walter had played in more NFL games.

avg.games.year.combined yards

134. 053 1985 07115 134 Herschel USFL (comb yds)

104. 118 1965 15459 131 Jim Brown = 131 yd/game

85.1 060 1984 07178 120 Billy Sims = 119.6 yd/game

88.0 190 1987 21803 115 Walter Payton = 114.8 yd/game

90.8 146 1993 15396 105 Eric Dickerson = 105.5 yd/game

105. 240 1997 25283 105 Herschel NFL+USFL 105.3 comb yd/gm

105. 053 1985 05562 105 Herschel USFL rushing only 104.9

97.2 187 1997 18168 Herschel Walker NFL (comb yd)

83.2 135 1979 13378 OJ Simpson

81.8 115 1985 10213 Earl Campbell

78.0 092 1987 07544 George Rogers

Of those who retired after Herschel, several averaged more combined yards per game, but only Emmitt played in more games. Tomlinson came close to Walker’s number of games played.

99.8 153 1998 18308 119.7 Barry Sanders

97.5 078 2001 08887 113.9 Terrell Davis

87.8 113 2010 11941 105.7 Clinton Portis

83.9 168 2005 17430 103.8 Curtis Martin

82.7 148 2009 15610 105.5 Edgerrin James

81.6 080 2016 08873 110.9 Adrian Foster

81.2 226 2004 21579 099.5 Emmitt Smith  

81.0 131 2009 12486 095.3 Jamal Lewis

80.2 170 2011 18456 108.6 Ladainian Tomlinson

76.9 123 2008 10973 Shaun Alexander

76.4 153 2010 14079 Fred Taylor

74.9 150 2006 13154 Corey Dillon

74.2 130 2017 11923 Chris Johnson

74.0 141 2004 12668 Eddie George

Several active players are starting to compile impressive numbers. Adrian Peterson has numbers comparable to Herschel, and will probably receive much more consideration from the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

93.1 032 2021 03639 Jonathan Taylor

86.1 056 2021 06319 Dalvin Cook

83.9 088 2021 09630 Ezekiel Elliott

83.0 056 2021 05567 Nick Chubb

81.1 184 2021 17808 96.8 Adrian Peterson

79.0 086 2021 07643 Derrick Henry

Herschel’s USFL numbers are off the charts. I usually don’t include them, but it’s fun to see how much higher they are than everyone else’s.

Finished a short book by Reese Witherspoon “Whiskey in a Teacup” about her childhood in the South, which included recipes and entertaining tips. I’m always up for a good book about the South, though this one didn’t quite hit it out of the park for me.

Listened to Chipper’s outspoken interview on 680 the Fan. Interesting and educational. Said a player has to make sure his agent is working for the player, not vice versa. Too many agents just want to land the most money. Chipper’s first concern was staying in Atlanta, even if it meant taking less money. Last July Jones told Freddie that if Freeman if he didn’t sign before becoming a free agent, teams with the most money would come calling with the most money, and the Braves would have to do what was in their own best interest – and that’s exactly what happened.

Friday I worked late, finishing a report. Saturday morning I played golf. One of the two regulars had an early t-ball game, and had to miss. Drove straight home.

Worked around the house on Saturday, unpacking and reselving books. Also got all my scrapbook calendars together in one place, every year back to 1984. Since 2000 I’ve used the same style black calendar. Did some laundry. Later I drove Ceil around on various errands. Homemade pizza for supper. M joined us.

Watched UNC beat Baylor, an outcome I had picked. My two finalists have been knocked out: Auburn and Kentucky. But supposedly I still have the second-best chance of winning the office pool.

M has an upstart cake baking business. This weekend he baked a strawberry cake for someone is knew. Plain cakes are $35. Fancier cakes, like with fruit, cost $45.00.

Sunday school and worship. Chicken salad sandwich for lunch. Nap. Laundry. Cut the grass.

JOE TINKER  [SABR Bio] hit an inside-the-park home run off Christy Mathewson, in the game with the mental error that came to be known as Merkle's Boner, Tinker hit a game-tying HR against NYG’s Mathewson just prior to Fred Merkle's baserunning gaff. Tinker is one of a few major leaguers with a twin. She died at a very young age. Famous major leaguers with twins: Jose Canseco and Richie Ashburn. After twelve very successful seasons with the Cubs (1902-1913), Tinker joined the Federal League as a player/manager with the Chicago Chi-Feds. They changed their name to the Whales for the 1916 season & won the league’s pennant. He returned briefly to CHC after the Federal League folded. An enormous metal baseball has been erected in his honor in his hometown. Muscotah, Kansas now houses this giant curiosity.

Interview with Bill Murray.

https://urldefense.com/v3/__https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/bill-murray-interview-new-worlds-b2012289.html__;!!AE29DT8V!FovciZDs5WHrfPCDC2TSAQI6U1Jddd5gKOg5ore5Xt0O4fLuAJKtN-KoA-FVuT5Y_Rw$

Cakes For Sale

Matthew sold another cake this weekend. He calls his fledgling business @WorthlessCakesXOXO evidently because there are similarly named cake businesses. Need a cake? Hit him up. He charges $35.00 for plain cakes, and $45.00 for fancier cakes, like this strawberry cake above.

Where I work: southern border of Duluth. Northern border of Norcross. Northeastern border of Peachtree Corners. Eastern border of Berkeley Lake.

Where I live: western border of Roswell. Eastern border of Marietta. Not far from the northern border of Sandy Springs.

Today the Nationals sent out minor league prospect Darren Baker to exchange lineup cards with the Astros manager - his father Dusty. Darren is no stranger to meetings at home plate. As a child he famously ran out to retrieve a bat too early, ad was rescued from harm by JT Snow (below). Several on social media noticed Dusty's colorful Hoka sneakers (above).

So far I've worn nine different sneakers to the gym. Still to wear on weightlifting days: (1) Puma hightops, (2) Stan Smiths, (3) red Puma suedes, (4) grey adidas, (5) black adidas, (6) teal Sauconys, (7) silver Reebok Zigs, (8) orange KD7's, (9) Nike All-Turfs, and (10) the Vans UltraRange sneakers I just picked up. Lots of black Vans out there, but I have enough black sneakers already. These UltraRanges are even marketed as spikeless golf shoes. 

LEFTY GROVE  [SABR Bio] was the only pitcher to win 300 games between the two World Wars. All of Grove's wins came between 1925 & 1941. He was the first pitcher to lead the American League in walks and strikeouts in the same season. In 1925, Grove's rookie season, he led the majors in walks with 131 and led the AL in Ks with 116. Grove won more league ERA titles than anyone else. He won nine ERA titles in the AL between 1926 & 1939, leading the majors one.

Many forget that Pete Maravich was named to both the NBA 50th anniversary team, as well as this year's 75th anniversary team. Cool photo of the Pistol rocking Pro Keds. I wore the same pair back in the day.

Rare early photo of Maravich playing a preseason game his rookie year, before the Hawks donned new uniforms, and Pete changed his number to 44 - his scoring average in college.

I've decided to cut back on Denison's Ukraine discourse - after one more quite interesting interpretation involving the church. 

DENISON: we discussed an article by cultural commentator David French on the threat posed by Russian "tactical nuclear weapons." Now we'll turn to another article by French, this one published a day later. He refers to research by former NSA analyst John Schindler describing an ideological "fusion" between the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC) and the FSB, Russia's intelligence service. Putin does not seek Russian greatness only out of a sense of secular national chauvinism, but also out of religious mission rooted in the ROC. The head of the ROC considers the "main threat" to Russia to be "the loss of faith" in Western Christianity. ROC spokesmen constantly denounce feminism and LGBTQ activism as Satanic creations of the West that aim to destroy faith, family, and the nation.

The ROC believes it has a "spiritual security" mission to defend Russia from Western spiritual influences, in partnership with Moscow's intelligence agencies. French cites Giles Fraser's article: "Putin regards his spiritual destiny as the rebuilding of Christendom, based in Moscow." TASS quotes ROC Archbishop Kirill: "For us Kiev is what Jerusalem is for many. Russian Orthodoxy began there, so we can not abandon this historical and spiritual relationship." In AD 324, the Roman Emperor Constantine declared the city of Constantinople the new capital of the Roman Empire, calling it the "New Rome." When Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 many in Russia began claiming that Moscow became the "third Rome" and the spiritual heir of Jerusalem. French concludes: "Putin has fused Russian identity with the ROC, sees his nation and his church as a bulwark against western decadence, and is now attempting to seize his church's 'Jerusalem'.

Joe Carter noted in First Things that during the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln was purportedly asked if God was on his side. He replied, "Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side. My greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right."

Back to Ponko

 

M went with me and C out to eat last night, at Ponko Chicken in Alpharetta. Very good. M got wing and fries. C got a big salad with Ponko chicken and a side of rice. The Diet Coke wasn’t working so I got half lemonade half orange. Also a three piece plate with sweet potato fries and a big side salad. Too much food. Nobody finished. We took a bunch home. Next time I’ll order less food.

My stomach hasn’t been feeling good lately. Not sure if it is the job stress or reduced amount I’m eating. It’s been a hectic week. No time for golf or the driving range, but I did work out all five days this week.

Then golf this morning with Robert. Ducks on the pond. Frogs croaking. Need to get in some yardwork this weekend.

Thursday night I worked past six. C had been helping with Shivonne. W&MC and CC and S all went to a driving range near their house. W couldn’t get C to hit any balls.

Of course I had Kentucky losing in the final game, so my bracket is cooked. Instead some dude with a mullet tamed the Cats. That’s what I get for picking a two seed. I should’ve stuck with Baylor, but I’m not a fan of theirs. Turns out I picked the upset: UNC over the Bears in OT. Nice that Georgia State showed out well.