Two Baseball Games

I'm so bad at creating blog post titles. Anyway, in less than a week, I got to attend two Washington Nationals games. That's not the story though. For the first time since 1999 or 2000, I went to Fenway Park to see the Boston Red Sox. We just happened to see them play the Nationals since tickets were half the price than they were for Boston's previous series against the New York Yankees. Is it okay to write that Fenway Park is magical? A little too much? The stadium opened in 1912, and while there have been renovations over the years, it's a historic venue. While I think that the Pierogi race in Pittsburgh and the Presidents race in Washington is fun, particularly for kids, there aren't those types of gimmicks at Fenway Park. You're there to watch a baseball game. And sure your primary view of the game is the outfield if you sit straight in our seats about 20 rows up from the right field foul pole (meaning that you need to turn your body to the left to see actual at-bats), but that's part of the stadium's charm. 

Okay, one gimmick is great. Singing Sweet Caroline!

I'll admit that I don't watch many Red Sox games on TV, but sports betting advertising on the Green Monster is a bit much.

As for the second Nationals game, I saw Washington host my Pittsburgh Pirates. It was hot. Really hot. 100 degrees at first pitch. While I've seen dozens of Nationals games over the years, a few notes from this one.

The national anthem was sung by DC Washington. Perfect name for an anthem singer for a game in Washington DC and a terrific voice. Not sure if DC Washington would be as successful in Baltimore.

My biggest complaint (besides the heat) is the primary scoreboard. Look at this picture and tell me what inning it is.

Is this any better? I mean, the math doesn't math.

(The answer was the 7th inning.)

I also got to see Pirates phenom Konnor Griffin play for the first time. He seemed to enjoy the post-game fireworks.

Unsure if Griffin met the 1st overall pick of the NBA draft, AJ Dybantsa who threw out the opening pitch.

The Nationals defeated the Pirates 9-5, but the Pirates won the last two games of the series. Interesting note. Two Nationals players (Luis Garcia Jr. and Daylen Lile) both hit two home runs. Not sure I've attended a game where teammates hit multiple home runs. Meanwhile, the Red Sox defeated the Nats 6-3 in a game that featured three home runs in the first inning though the Nats won the last two games of the series.

To Pay Or Not To Pay

In Boston earlier this week, my family and I visited a quaint neighborhood cafe called Dunkin. Seems to be popular among locals. We ordered three donuts, an iced coffee, and a bagel. Then, I asked for a cup of water. The guy working at Dunkin replied that his manager said that he needs to charge for water. When I asked how much it would cost, he said $1 plus tax. I then asked about the price of a bottled water which was $2.85. Reluctantly, I paid for the tap water in an enormous cup.

About a minute later, a woman who had already ordered coffee and was holding a small dog in her arm (why was there a non-service dog in Dunkin?) asked a different employee for a cup of water when she received her beverage. The customer added that it was for her dog. The female employee handed the customer a small cup of water for no change. I immediately made sure to mention to the male employee who took my order that she didn’t get charged for water. He didn’t respond, and I really didn’t want to fight over $1. I feel like I was right in this situation, but what would have been the successful outcome? The store demanding $1 from the other customer? Or putting $1 back on my credit card? It wasn’t worth it. In my head though, I was thinking "I have not yet begun to fight," even though I probably would have been as successful as the black knight.

Maybe a little karma though for dog woman and the employee who gave her the free water. Dog woman spilled some of her water because of course she did. She was holding the dog and two drinks! Although she made a passing attempt at drying the water with napkins, the floor was still wet when she left the restaurant. Therefore, the female employee then had to get a mop out for the rest.

There’s no moral of the story here. I mean maybe don’t try to carry a dog and two cups at the same time. Or maybe charge nothing at all or a nominal fee like 25 cents for a cup of water for all customers. 

One Headlight

I saw The Wallflowers perform at Hollywood Casino at Charles Town Races last month. It was an odd concert and an odd venue. Let's back up a little. For those of you under 35 (and I completely understand that no one under 35 reads this blog unless one of my kids stumbles on to a post), The Wallflowers are a band that had several massive hits in the mid-90s, and their lead singer is Jakob Dylan, son of Bob Dylan. 

The Wallflowers are touring to celebrate the 30th (30th!!!!) anniversary of the release of their album Bringing Down The Horse ("BDTH"). Although I never actually bought the album, over 4 million people did, and of course I knew all of the band's big hits from that album. For this tour, The Wallflowers performed all of the songs from BDTH in order. Unfortunately, the album is extremely frontloaded. One Headlight and 6th Avenue Heartache are the band's biggest hits, and the first two songs they played. After Bleeders, the band performed Three Marlenas and probably my favorite song, The Difference. 

Those were the first five songs. I honestly could have gone home at that point. The band played the remaining songs from BDTH, and I barely knew many of them. 

Before the show, I listened to some of the more recent Wallflowers songs to try to familiarize myself with their later work. I didn't need to. I completely missed the fact that The Wallflowers were going to perform the entire Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' album, Long After Dark. I like Tom Petty. I mean, everyone likes Tom Petty. However, except for You Got Lucky, I didn't know any of the other songs from that album. No I Won't Back Down, no Runnin' Down a Dream, no American Girl, no Don't Come Around Here No More. The Wallflowers closed with I've Been Delivered (a song of theirs that I didn't recognize) but never played Heroes and finished with two Tom Petty songs that I knew, Refugee and The Waiting. 

Overall, such an odd venue. I mean look at it.

This looks more like a large hotel ballroom than a concert venue. On the positive side, if you can make it through the smoky casino floor, they have free soft drinks. And horse racing is always fun. And there was a Waffle House just down the street. You can go there with Cinderella and put it all together. And after that, you can drive it home.

My Adventures In Not Attending UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest

I received an offer to attend the UFC Freedom 250 Fan Fest in Washington this weekend. I loved watching WWF (that's what it was called then) wrestling when I was in junior high and even attended a few events at Pittsburgh's Civic Arena (that's what it was called then). I stopped following wrestling sometime in high school. Boxing was still a big deal when I was in high school and college with heavyweights like Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield. That sport lessened in popularity and relevance (at least for me) to the point where I can't name any active boxer under 40.

As for UFC, it's just not for me. I don't need to see people beat up their opponents. While there's an audience for this, I have absolutely no interest in it. So although I politely declined the invitation to deal with the commute to DC, the heat, the crowd, and the security, in my head, I said to myself that there's probably 100 things I would rather do than attend the Fan Fest.

And then I actually made a list. I decided that my list would only include realistic items. I mean, sure, I would much rather visit the Eiffel Tower in Paris or go to Vegas and see the Eiffel Tower knock-off there (and catch some shows too), but my list is for things that I can actually do this weekend.

1. Watch the World Cup on TV

2. Go to the pool

3. Go out to eat

4. Laundry 

5. Referee soccer games

6. Pay bills

7. Go grocery shopping

8. Go clothes shopping 

9. Cut my kids’ toenails

10. See Herr Metal perform (which I did)

11. Go to the gym 

12. Set my fantasy baseball teams’ lineups

13. Just sit on the couch

14. Go for a walk/run outside 

15. Load, run, and empty the dishwasher 

16. Go to the movies (and I’m not even sure what’s playing)

17. Play board games with the family

18. Attend a Loudoun United soccer game

19. Watch TV (non-World Cup category)

20. Go to the library 

21. Attend my niece’s soccer game

22. Walk by my mailbox every hour or two to see if mail arrived

23. Catch up on work

24. Finalize summer vacation plans

25. Call my friend to wish her a happy birthday

26. Listen to podcasts

27. Pull weeds

28. Scroll through my Twitter and Bluesky feeds

29. Record a podcast with The Moose

30. Play with my cat Lucy even though her version of playing usually ends with her biting me

31. Start planning for Dad Camp week at the end of the summer

32. Search for theater performances in the area to attend over the next few months

33. Drive back to the Scout Shop for the third time in a week to buy more pins and merit badges for Pedro Tulo’s Troop

34. Write some blog posts

35. Begin compiling a list of people I want to contact for an epic blog post idea for this fall

36. Look through MLB rosters to see who the Pirates could acquire to help their bullpen

37. Play pickleball 

38. Play frisbee golf

39. Take my kids to the dentist. All three have braces or Invisalign, so I’m there all the time.

40. Watch videos/reels of people using Saxboy Billy’s Puerto Rico song

 

41. Go to the podiatrist. The toe nail on my big toe looks better, but there’s still more healing that needs to happen.

42. Return pants to Costco

43. Clean Lucy’s litter box

44. Clean out my Gmail messages and photos. My Google account is out of storage.

45. Not bet on sports (one month of no online bets!)

46. Go through papers/mail/bills. 

47. Play Wordle

48. Try to get The Moose to finish his last assignment of the school year

49. Go out with friends to play trivia

50. Take a nap

It was really difficult coming up with 50 more items, so I stopped here. I mean typing all the different names of shows to watch would easily get me to about 250. So for those of you attending the Fan Fest, more power to you. I'll gladly do any of the items above.

Herr Metal photo by Jessica Miller.

World Cup Embarrassment

The World Cup, arguably the biggest sporting event in the world (either this or the summer Olympics) begins today. I considered writing a World Cup preview (my previews from 2010, 2014, and 2018 were amazing and still hold up today!) or asking for World Cup predictions (like I did in 2022), but I'm not for the 2026 edition. Basically, while having 48 teams may make the tournament more enjoyable by having more countries like Cape Verde and Curacao participate, does anyone believe that teams like Haiti will keep a match close against Brazil? The group stage is somewhat pointless since 32 teams will advance to the knock-out rounds. I tend to think we're going to see a lot of chalk. Favorites like Spain, France, Argentina, England, and Brazil are going to be there at the end. With so many rounds as a result of the additional 16 teams, I expect that one of these countries that have the most depth will win.

I’ve mentioned multiple times on this blog that with the exception of about 5-6 years in the late 90s and early 2000s, I’ve been a soccer referee since I was 14. While I never worked high school, college, or professional adult games, I've worked some high level youth games over the years. Now, I prefer working travel and recreational games for kids in the 10-14 age range. I can still keep up with them, but I also like teaching and explaining the rules/laws of the game. Plus, with this age group, I get to work with some newer referees, and I enjoy being a mentor and providing advice and suggestions.

Where am I going with this? When I watch the World Cup, I can’t help but watch the referees too. Their positioning, their calls, their body language. I was never on track to become a professional referee, let alone one who got to the World Cup, so I have great admiration for World Cup referees. It's an incredible honor to be selected, and as much as teams/fans will criticize officials, the referees earned their spots. Basically, FIFA didn't observe my U13 boys' recreational games last weekend and decide that I should work World Cup matches.

All of this brings me to Omar Abdulkadir Artan. While you can read all about Artan's background from this BBC article, since we're in the middle of the NBA and NHL finals and the World Cup hasn't actually started yet, I'm not sure how familiar many sports fans are with this name. Artan was going to be the first referee from Somalia to officiate at the World Cup. He was the 2025 Confederation of African Football referee of the year. This is the entire African continent, so again, he is significantly more qualified to officiate the World Cup than me. Artan arrived in Miami earlier this week, which is where the referee base camp is located. My guess is that there were multiple meetings and activities planned to finalize preparation for the games. Artan was denied entry into the United States. This is from CNN:

When asked about Artan’s case, a US Customs and Border Protection spokesperson told CNN that he underwent additional inspection upon arriving in Miami following a flight from Istanbul.

“During processing, the traveler underwent additional inspection, a routine part of CBP’s inspection process when officers need to verify information or determine admissibility,” the spokesperson said. “Following inspection, the traveler, a referee for the FIFA World Cup, was determined to be inadmissible due to vetting concerns and was denied entry.”

Apparently, FIFA has no say in this matter. Although FIFA has plenty of its own problems, this decision was made solely by US authorities, and the host country has final say on these types of matters. 

According to ESPN:

A United States official said Tuesday night that Omar Artan, the Somalian soccer referee who was denied entry into the country ahead of the World Cup, was refused admission due to "association with suspected members of terror organizations."

The official spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss a matter that is covered by visa privacy laws.

While it's certainly possible that Artan has some type of ties with suspected members of terror organizations, as the kids say, this is sus (that’s short for suspicious for those unhip folks). I highly doubt that Artan was a last minute replacement official. FIFA likely assigned the officials weeks if not months before the World Cup. Which means that FIFA provided names of officials to the US well before the Cup began. So you’re telling us that the US only learned of Artan’s so-called terrorist ties when he arrived in Miami and not anytime in the weeks and months before? Again, sus. 

If Artan was from Germany or Japan or Bosnia and Herzegovina, he would probably be fine. This is because he’s from Somalia, and I suspect that our government considers everyone from that country to have ties to terrorists.

Let's say that Artan does have association with suspected members of terror organizations. That's an incredible long-game to work your way up to become the continent's top referee and get invited to the World Cup. And what exactly is he going to do in America? I suspect that there is tight security surrounding referees to make sure no one approaches them, due to suspected threats involving match-fixing and gambling. Is Artan going to leave his hotel and skip his match to do some type of scouting of potential terrorist attacks? Do you know how ridiculous this sounds?

Meanwhile, there has been no media attention given to Christian Pulisic and the strong possibility of him being a traitor. Sure, Pulisic is the face of US men's national team, but here he is supporting Sweden.

Don't let the "red, white, and blue" Swedish fish fool you. It's still SWEDISH fish. If the US ends up facing Sweden later in the tournament, watch Pulisic closely for bad passes and maybe an own goal. He'll get a hero's welcome when he moves to Stockholm.

Enjoy the World Cup matches!

How Not To Do Customer Service

The Poscast with Joe Posnanski & Michael Schur is one of my favorite podcasts. I've listened to every single episode for many years. Posnanski is a sports writer, and I've read several of his books. Schur is best known for creating Parks and Recreation, The Good Place, and Man on the Inside among a long list of credits. So when they announced that they co-wrote a book, I was excited to read it. The pair promoted a specific independent bookstore that I will not mention here where you could purchase the book. All of the books would be autographed by the authors with limited edition versions signed by people like Ted Danson and Kristen Bell. On May 13th, I placed my order through the bookstore's online site.

After finishing the transaction, I received an email from the store indicating that the preorder had been processed and would be shipped upon the book's release. The book was released on Tuesday, May 19th, so I figured that I would receive an update with the status or a tracking number on or around that day. To date, 10 days later, I still have not received any information about the order status. And it's certainly not due to a lack of effort by me. Let's go to the timeline:

On Thursday, May 21st, I emailed the store's account for online orders asking about the status. No response.

On Sunday, May 24th, I emailed a general "contact us" account about the order status. No response.

On Monday, May 25th, I attempted to contact the store through its Facebook page. I received an automated message asking me to email a different account or call the store due to the high volume of messages the store receives. I sent an email to that email address on that day. No response.

On Tuesday, May 26th, I called the number from the Facebook message and was given a prompt for online orders. I left a voice message. No response.

On Thursday, May 28th, I called the store and actually talked to someone. I was told that the store essentially outsources its online store, so she could not see the status of my account. I was given the store's marketing email account and sent an email. No response.

So I have now sent four emails to four different email accounts, provided a message on Facebook, and left a voice message. I have not received a response, and the physical bookstore can't access my order. 

This really shouldn't be that difficult. I generally check out books from the library, but I figured this would be a fun book to own, particularly since I would get an autographed copy. While I truly want to support independent bookstores, I could have paid less to order from a giant company and received the book at least a week ago. Get it together!

J. Jonah Jameson, Dauber, and The Pope

There are several different subjects I want to write about, but this is an emergency. We have multiple celebrities wearing (or adjacent to) Pittsburgh gear. First, actors J.K. Simmons and Bill Fagerbakke threw out the first pitch at Wednesday's Pirates game. You know J.K. Simmons from his roles in the Spider-Man movies, the Farmer's Insurance commercials, and for his Oscar-winning performance in Whiplash. Such a disturbing yet thought-provoking film. Meanwhile, Bill Fagerbakke's name may not be familiar but his voice is. Yes, you may recognize him from being Dauber on Coach, but he's also the voice of Patrick Star on SpongeBob SquarePants.

Across the ocean a few weeks ago, leaders of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA visited Pope Leo XIV in Rome and presented him with a Terrible Towel. The "American Pope" recognized the item and smiled. Although it doesn't appear that Pope Leo waved the Terrible Towel, he at least held it, so that counts as a celebrity in Pittsburgh gear in my book.

Please click here for more posts about celebrities in Pittsburgh gear posts.

Photos by the Pittsburgh Pirates and Vatican Media. Seems like it would be cool to work at Vatican Media!

Coming Clean

I have saved this story for several years, but I believe that the statute of limitations has expired. In the summer of 2022, we took a family trip to Niagara Falls, Toronto, Rochester, and Ithaca. Niagara Falls is absolutely stunning, and there’s so much to do in Toronto. We went to a Cirque du Soleil show, Blue Jays game, visited the Hockey Hall of Fame and Toronto zoo, and checked out a few museums. In Rochester, we saw some friends and went to The Strong National Museum of Play which is worth it particularly if you have younger kids. We went to Taughannock Falls outside Ithaca and toured my alma mater, Ithaca College.

Let me double check with my lawyers if I’m allowed to continue. Please hold.

I got the okay. We visited Ithaca on a summer weekend when the campus was completely empty. This was the first time my kids had been to Ithaca, so I was excited to show them around the campus. The bookstore was closed and many buildings were locked. I saw the Athletics and Events Center for the first time which made me a little jealous since that facility wasn’t there when I was a student. Maybe I would have actually gone to the gym to try to counterbalance late night Rogan’s pizza and D.P. Dough calzones. There were one or two staff members there, and we got kicked out since the building was closing. 

Finally, we wandered into the Whalen Center of Music. And we heard music. In one of the main concert halls, there were maybe 25 adults on stage. We didn’t know who they were, but we felt like we were intruding, so we listened from the outside for a few minutes before moving on. Except that I noticed a table with bags and coffee mugs. I figured this was nice memorabilia for people visiting the building, so I took one of each. 

I later learned that there was some sort of IC Band reunion with a performance later that night. So were the mug and bag for me? Probably not. Does the mug get used in our kitchen four years later? Yes it does!

I’ve included several pictures from the trip that have been saved for nearly 4 years. For example, you can enjoy this Canada Dry can on the ground close to Niagara Falls where it definitely is not dry!

My Updated Sports Betting Post

Remember a few months ago when I wrote a post about how I needed to stop sports gambling? Well, that has proved difficult. At the time, my excuse was that I didn’t want to delete the apps because I wanted to see the outcome of some season-long wagers. Would the Washington Wizards win over 20.5 games? No because the franchise purposely tanked in the attempt to get a better draft pick (and it worked!). Would Sidney Crosby have more points than Jack Hughes? No because Crosby got hurt during the Olympics and didn’t play in 2 of the final 3 games of the regular season to rest for the playoffs. Would the Portland Trailblazers make the playoffs? Hey, I got one right!

My next excuse was that I wanted to wait until I finished reading the book “Everybody Loses” by Danny Funt before deleting the FanDuel and DraftKings apps. The idea is that I would share parts of the book in a blog post in conjunction with stopping sports betting. Although I made the decision to stop following about a dozen people on Twitter who post almost exclusively about sports betting and their picks (and often want you to subscribe to get their best picks), I finished the book last month and still continued to bet.

Finally, on my birthday, I withdrew most of the money from my DraftKings and FanDuel accounts and deleted the apps. I understand that continuing to have a little bit of money (about $25) in each account means that I’m not totally done with sports betting. The sites often have promotions where if you make a $5 or $10 wager, you get 3 months of AppleTV or a full season of NBA Season Pass. Assuming that I make only the one bet to get the subscription, this is a good investment. Maybe not the best rationale, I know.

So what did I learn? If you bet a lot of money, and have success, sportsbooks* can and will limit the amount you wager. If you’re a VIP, sportsbooks will provide all types of incentives…as long as you continue to lose. Now, I don’t fall into either of these categories. As I mentioned in my previous post, most of my bets are $1. Still, I would make 10-20 wagers a day. While I ended up ahead, that’s a lot of time spent on the apps and probably more time following the bets and thinking about the next bets I wanted to make. The sportsbooks have few guardrails and offer little support. Sure, there’s fine print on commercials about addiction and when you login to the apps, a message appears with a phone number to contact if you have a gambling problem, but that’s there to give the sportsbooks some coverage. If you try to sue DraftKings for getting you addicted to sports gambling, they can point to the disclaimer. Of course, the books’ business models need you to continue to bet. It’s a conflict of interest for them to have you stop wagering. And how much are states using money they make from sportsbooks on helping people with gambling addictions? Not as much as they should, and that's probably being generous.

And gambling is addicting. You’re chasing money. You’re chasing the action. Even on my $1 bet, I’ll stick around to the end of an NBA game to see if a team covers a spread or follow a full baseball game to watch if the number of runs are over or under a certain amount. Sports leagues know this which is why they support gambling. Higher ratings mean more money from sponsors and for TV rights. Are the integrity of games under scrutiny? Absolutely. If there’s a bad call, people will wonder if the referee is getting paid by someone. Same if a player misses a tackle or drops a pass. Some players have been banned for making sports bets or throwing a ball to start an inning. While sportsbooks might say that they help track unusual action, and they probably do, they can’t catch everything. Sports leagues are trying to balance a fine line here. They want to say that the increased revenue from sports gambling is good for the leagues and partnering with sportsbooks helps find criminal elements. I mean, it's definitely good for the leagues' bottom lines. However, it's only a matter of time before something truly negative happens. Maybe it's something akin to the Black Sox scandal where members of the team were accused of throwing the 1919 World Series. 

Maybe it's some superstar that gets caught betting on his or her team. I worry that some disgruntled gambler who blames a player for a loss and physically assaults the player, the player's family, or damages the player's property. 

There's a societal issue here too. There are more bankruptcies in states that allow sports betting and who knows how many families and individuals have been hurt from gambling losses. I wrote in December that I’m really concerned about sports betting among teenagers and young adults and particularly my son The Moose who is now 15. He is obsessed with sports and spends way too much time on his phone, primarily following sports. That’s why I deleted the apps. When he turns 18 or 21, I can’t tell him not to gamble when I continue to have them on my phone. I just think of this PSA:

I understand that gambling isn't going away. Sportsbooks actively limiting the amount people wager would be helpful, meaning that they should know if their clients have the means to bet a certain amount. More money into helping people with gambling addictions and to study gambling would be great too. I just don't see this happening anytime soon.

* I’m using sportsbooks as a general term, primarily for sports betting apps. It’s incredibly easy to make bet after bet at any time using your phone. It’s much harder to make instant and impulsive bets if you have to go somewhere in-person.

Random Ramblings: I'm Old Edition

* Look, I understand that I’m old and am increasingly out of touch. I recently read in my Ithaca College alumni magazine (yes, a print version!) that “The hottest career choice is no longer doctor, lawyer, or actor. It’s now content creator” with 57% of Generation Z (people born between 1997-2012) saying they would become an “influencer” if given the chance.” I think I’ve heard of the biggest content creators/influencers. There’s Mr. Beast who makes videos and seems to give away significant amounts of money. I don’t know what Druski does, but he’s in several commercials with Snoop and Zoe Saldana. I’ve heard the name Alix Earle though I’m not sure what she does either except that she spent time with Tom Brady at a party. This brings me to Kendall Vertes. The Pittsburgh Pirates shared pictures of her throwing out the first pitch at a recent game. Despite having nearly 11 million followers on Instagram, I had never heard of her. 

Apparently, Kendall is/was on Dance Moms and started on the show as a child when she was definitely not a mom. But if the show is about the moms, shouldn’t her mom have 11 million followers? Since Kendall seems to be a big deal, they should rename the show Dance Moms and Dancing Kids. Maybe create a new show called Dance Kids Who Are No Longer Kids? I’m sounding older and older as I continue to type this, so I’m stopping now.

* Based on the schedules of my kids’ activities, I haven’t been able to work as a soccer referee this spring. I worked one game as an assistant referee a few weeks ago, so I was excited to have two games as a center over the weekend. Just before I was about to leave my house, the assigning app gave me a notification that my games were canceled. I figured it was a mistake, and since I was running a few minutes late and the field was about 25 minutes away, I ignored it and drove to the field. When I arrived at the sports complex, the parking lot was mostly empty. There was an adult soccer game occurring on one field but no one else was there. I checked my email to see two more notifications that my games were canceled. Apparently, the county (not the county where I live) closed the grass fields due to rain from the night before. My particular field was absolutely playable. One of the coaches was there and grumbled about county officials not actually visiting the field before making a decision to cancel games.

I got back to my car and emailed the referee assigned to see if any other games were available. She gave me several options in the afternoon, but I couldn’t do them. Instead, I took one U-12 girls rec game in the exact opposite direction. The game was fine as I really enjoy teaching and mentoring younger referees and explaining rules and calls to the players (and sometimes coaches). Still, I drove 16 miles to the original field, 33 miles to the second field, and back 19 miles to Luigi’s flag football game. That’s 68 miles just so I could make $30 for a game with 30-minute halves. While I joke that I get paid to exercise when I referee, I’m not sure the paycheck will cover the cost of gasoline!

* I loved the TV show Jury Duty from a few years ago. The show was made up of all actors except for one guy who thought he was a member of the jury in an actual case. Highly recommend seeing it if you haven’t. I was skeptical about the new series, Jury Duty Presents Company Retreat since I wasn’t sure how they would do it again. Despite the awkward title, the show was just as good as the original.

* A few weeks ago, I wrote how I thought (but wasn't 100% sure) that retired Browns and Steelers cornerback Joe Haden was a coach in my third grader's flag football league. It's now confirmed that the 3-time Pro Bowler is a coach. The Moose got a picture with him at Luigi's last game, and we talked to him for about 30 seconds. He was in Pittsburgh to announce a pick at the NFL draft on Friday evening and then flew to the DC area on Saturday to make it back in time for his team's flag football game. That's dedication!

* My kids’ elementary school holds an annual Heritage Night where the gym is filled with tables of families’ cultures/countries. It’s such a fun event, and the kids (and parents) get to try different types of foods from all over the world. 

* I might have been 100 feet from US soccer great Clint Dempsey last week. Men In Blazers, maybe the biggest soccer podcast/show in the US, held a contest for the Best American Soccer Bar. Ireland’s Four Courts near where I work in Arlington won, so Men In Blazers held a live event which featured Dempsey. I walked by the restaurant a little before taping, so I might have been close to him.

* In the next few weeks, I plan on writing two "serious" posts. I have general notes and ideas but need some time to fully form them into posts. They're going to be a little different for me.

Wordle

I've written before that I consider most of my blog posts to be like long-form articles and that I share my quick thoughts on other social media sites. Today's post is going to be one of those quick posts.

Last month, the teacher of Luigi's third grade class sent a message to The New York Times about what Wordle has meant for the classroom. Every week, Luigi's class plays Wordle, and it's something that the kids look forward to as an engaging and meaningful activity.

The New York Times' Wordle editor replied by sending a very kind note and video to the teacher/class and provided some Wordle swag. Luigi is so excited about his stickers and keychain. 

So cool. Well done, New York Times and Wordle!

Jeremy Renner Attends a Riverhounds Match

Jeremy Renner is an A-list actor. Look at his credits. He got nominated for two Oscars for his terrific work in The Hurt Locker and The Town. Great movies! Throw in some Marvel movies, Arrival, American Hustle, a Bourne film, and more, and you have an incredible career.

Over the last few years, Renner has starred in the Paramount series, Mayor of Kingstown filmed in Pittsburgh. That last part is key since Renner and some of his castmates attended the Pittsburgh Riverhounds match against Detroit City FC on Saturday evening. The Riverhounds won 2-1, becoming the only Pittsburgh professional sports team to win at home on Saturday. Anyway I’m impressed that Renner wore Riverhounds gear at the game, and in honor of this, he gets a blog post dedicated to him!

Please click here for more Celebrities in Pittsburgh Gear posts!

Photos by the Riverhounds and Ed Thompson.

The DoorDash Grandma

Perhaps you’ve seen the news recently. No, not about the war with Iran. Not President Trump picking a fight with the Pope. Not Trump claiming that he is a doctor in his social media post. 

Since all doctors dress like this, particularly on The Pitt. 

No, the news about the “DoorDash Grandma” delivering McDonalds to Trump. By the way, getting McDonalds to the president at the White House seems very inefficient. Although there's a McDonalds only a few blocks away from the White House, it's going to take some time for the DoorDash driver to arrive at the gate, get through security, park, and deliver the meal to the president. The Big Mac and fries are going to be cold once the president gets his meal!

Anyway, the DoorDash Grandma earned $11,000 in tips in 2025. While I'm not completely familiar with the legislation and her actual finances and I'm not an accountant, it seems like she is going to save some money by not having to pay taxes on tips. (Again, she earned $11,000 in tips, she's not saving $11,000.) Doordash Grandma has 10 grandchildren and her husband has cancer. In the interview on Fox News below, she mentions wanting to spend more time with her grandchildren. Now this should be the bigger story.

Does she want to work or does she have to work? I saw a story where she and her husband went through their savings to pay for cancer treatments. You know what would be better than saving money by not having to pay taxes on tips? Not having to pay significantly more money on cancer treatments! Maybe the administration and Congress should try to expand and improve on the Affordable Care Act. Universal health care would be nice. But nope. We're going to talk about Trump getting McDonalds and maybe how people will save money by not paying taxes on tips while the DoorDash Grandma goes back to Arkansas to try to support herself and her husband while trying to figure out how to pay their healthcare bills.

Random Ramblings: April 2026 Edition

When I was in preschool or early in elementary school, my mom worked as a real estate agent for Howard Hanna. While I don't think she worked in real estate for very long, and I don't remember much of her time there, all of the families were invited to a BBQ at a nice house with a big backyard. Phil Garner of the Pittsburgh Pirates was at this gathering, and I got his autograph. Garner passed away on Saturday at the age of 76.

Luigi is playing flag football this season and had his first game over the weekend. About half-way through his game, we saw another team, the Browns warming up for their game. I'm 98% sure that the Browns are coached by 3-time Pro Bowl cornerback of the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers, Joe Haden. The coach definitely looks like Joe Haden and he wore Browns shorts with Haden and #23 on them. I also overheard some other parents mentioning that he played in the NFL. The only reason I'm not 100% certain that the coach is Joe Haden is because I can't figure out why he's coaching a 2nd-3rd grade team in Northern Virginia. Apparently, Haden lives in Bowie, Maryland, which isn't that far from the Northern Virginia field, but it's not necessarily close either. Luigi's team plays the Browns in mid-May. The Moose wants to meet him!

Since my wife rarely reads this blog, I'm going to share something personal today. I always throw in a dryer sheet for each load of laundry I put in the dryer. She never does. I don't understand this. Why have staticky clothes when the load finishes when this is easily preventable? 

Just finished season 3 of Shrinking. Loved it! I read that the show was renewed for a fourth season. While I think season three ended at a perfect spot and another season isn't necessary, the cast and writers are so good that I'm sure they'll figure out a way to make another season great.  

The Moose is playing recreational basketball this spring in a league of 9th and 10th graders. Even though he just played basketball this winter, the kids seem much bigger this season. Apparently, some of the kids on high school basketball teams play rec now that the high school season is over. The team The Moose faced on Sunday had two players that were at least 6'3"!

Best of the 'Burgh

Let's get this over with. Voting for Pittsburgh Magazine's annual Best of the 'Burgh is underway through April 20th. I'm honored to be nominated in the Local Writer category. Thanks to everyone for submitting my name as a nominee and thanks if you vote for me or for one of the other finalists in this category.

As many of you know, I live in Northern Virginia. While I was born and raised in Pittsburgh, I am not likely considered a "local" writer if Pittsburgh Magazine has a specific definition of local. I mean, I'm local to Pittsburgh compared to the Artemus II astronauts circling the moon but that probably doesn't count. With that written, many of my posts are Pittsburgh related or have Pittsburgh references. Not including this post, I have written 13 separate posts in 2026. Of course I'd like to write more, but that's a different topic for a different day. 11 of the 13 posts include some type of mention of Pittsburgh. The other two are about my youngest son participating in a spelling bee and about my passing the Brimley / Cocoon line. (For the spelling bee post, I included a story about how I participated in a spelling bee when I was in third grade. Although I didn't actually name the school or my teacher, that spelling bee occurred in Pittsburgh.) I think a spelling bee and reaching a certain age milestone are universal for residents of Pittsburgh and beyond.

If Pittsburgh Magazine and the Best of the 'Burgh voters want someone who lives in Western Pennsylvania, I understand. If they want someone to write only about local topics, I understand that too, though I believe that the great Hal B. Klein is the only nominee that meets this criteria. If it helps my candidacy as a local writer, I can write about very specific local topics such as why it's "sus" (as the kids say) that the longtime Woodland Hills High School Band Director and Director of the Spring Musical retired just a few weeks before opening night of Young Frankenstein at the auditorium named in his honor. Or I can write about two of my kids being in the background of a story filmed by WTAE last week. Is that local enough? Look, I haven't lived in Western PA for many years but Pittsburgh and the region will always be part of me. 

I Met Josh

In the late 2000s through mid-2010s, there were thriving blogging communities in Pittsburgh and Washington DC / Northern Virginia and I imagine other places as well. While there were various in-person events (such as happy hours and blogger nights at grand openings for venues), there were also online directories and groups for bloggers and guest blogger exchanges. Through these online activities, I got to meet some really cool people though rarely in person with a few brief exceptions. I met Nicolas of Pittsburgh Sports and Mini Ponies fame at a Penguins-Islanders game and had brunch with Heidi of The Steel Trap and John of Ya Jagoff!

One of the people I got to know over the years is Josh of Josh's World. Josh is one of the few people from over a decade ago who still maintains a blog, but we also participate in multiple fantasy sports leagues and Oscar pools together. Plus, Josh is always up for participating in any of my silly predictions blog posts. Despite being Facebook friends, we never actually met in person.

Last month, Josh announced that he bought a restaurant. Although I don't think there will be a movie about this starring Matt Damon and Scarlett Johansson, this was very exciting news, and I was and am very happy for Josh.

With spring break approaching, I decided that I wanted to support Josh and visit his restaurant. I also wanted to attend a Penguins game and buy some cheap T-shirts in the Strip District, so I took a road trip to Johnstown and Pittsburgh with The Moose (now 15!!) and Luigi.

We got on the road a little later than I wanted thanks to some type of blade in my tire and the time it took for the repair. Because of this, we didn’t arrive at the Corner Coffee Shoppe until after 2:00. About a half-mile before the restaurant, we passed a Long John Silver's. I love this chain, and since there are no franchises near me, I briefly considered stopping there instead. But no. We were on a mission!

Corner Coffee Shoppe is located in the corner of the Bel Air Plaza. The shopping center also has a Dollar General, Japanese restaurant, an escape room, and more but there's a big vacant spot in the middle in what might have been a Value City based on my 45 seconds of internet research. The restaurant itself is unassuming from the outside but is very cool once you go in. There’s an old-fashioned diner counter set up on the right part of the restaurant, and booths and tables for the rest. 

Although I sent a message to Josh a few days before letting him know that I planned on visiting, I didn’t give him an exact day or time of when we would arrive. Not that we were invited to the festivities, but we missed the new ownership ribbon-cutting ceremony. Josh made the news! 

The crowd from that event died down by the time we arrived, and I didn't see Josh when we were seated. I was actually a little nervous about meeting him. I was basically showing up at his job somewhat unannounced. I wanted to say hi, but I didn't want to bother him. After we got drinks, I saw Josh go back and forth between the kitchen and a table where he was eating with his family. I definitely didn't want to interrupt that. Maybe 15 minutes later and when we were finishing our meal, Josh walked towards the front of the restaurant by our table and I introduced him to my two kids with me and we talked for a few minutes. It was a fairly brief conversation since Josh was heading out, and again, he was with his family and already had a full and eventful day. Still, it was cool meeting him in person and checking out his restaurant. The food was good (I need to get dessert next time!) and very reasonably priced. Plus, I love the placemats highlighting local businesses. More places need to have this. 

Once things settle down for Josh, I'd love to interview him about the experience of owning a restaurant. In the meantime, if you're in or around Johnstown, please support Josh and enjoy a meal at Corner Coffee Shoppe!