2025 Pittsburgh Pirates Predictions

Baseball season starts this week, so it's time for my annual Pirates post where I ask a group of people for their season predictions. While I probably write this every year, I think it's true that this year includes the best group of participants since I started doing these posts. So with that, I'm proud to introduce the panelists.

Nubyjas Wilborn – Pirates fans will remember Nubyjas for covering the Pirates for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette a few years ago. He currently covers the Tennessee Titans for SI. (Twitter)

James Santelli – The biggest Pitt women’s volleyball fan you’ll ever meet! (Blue Sky)

Ethan Hullihen – Arguably the best person to follow on Twitter for Pirates payroll and transactions. (Twitter)

Josh Croyle – Author of Josh’s World and always up for participating in any of my silly or not silly predictions posts. (Blue Sky)

Jim Lokay – Pittsburgh born and bred and FOX 5 DC anchor. (Blue Sky)

Noah Hiles – Pirates beat writer for the Post-Gazette. (Twitter)

Jim Rosati – You know him from NorthShore Nine podcast (Twitter)

Saxboy – Puts together incredible Pirate-related (and other) videos. (Twitter)

1986-1992 Pirates – The best place on the internet to find pictures, videos, and more of the 86-92 Pirates. (Blue Sky)

1. Let's start with the biggest star on the team and one of the biggest in baseball. What do you expect from Paul Skenes this season?

Nubyjas: Paul Skenes is one of those rare athletes that I’d happily pay to watch even if it means filling Bob Nutting’s wallet. 😀 But seriously he’s a special talent who if he stays healthy can be a perennial CY Young candidate. I expect a great season.

James: It appears that anything less than a Cy Young Award and the Pirates' first no-hitter in 28 years (and first solo no-hitter in 49 years) would be a disappointment. Is it fair to actually expect those from Skenes? Why not! I would say the sky's the limit, but his limit may put him out of Earth's orbit.

Ethan: It wouldn’t be fair to expect MORE than what Skenes provided last year. Sure, it’s certainly possible—and maybe even likely—I’m just saying we shouldn’t expect it. With this season being his first full campaign, I can’t imagine the team totally lets the reins off quite yet. Other than that, nothing would really surprise me, but again, just don’t expect it. Young pitching is fleeting.

Josh: Fan expectations are insanely high, everyone seems to think he will go 28-0 with at least ten no-hitters. I do not think he will be quite that good. I am thinking 14-7, 2.97 ERA, finishes top five in Cy Young.

Jim L.: He'll dominate once again -- maybe not ASG starter stuff that early on, but there's no reason to think he'll regress.

Noah: The sky's the limit for Skenes. I think it's reasonable to predict he will be well in the mix for this year's National League Cy Young. I personally think he wins the award after leading baseball in ERA and strikeouts. 

Jim R.: I'm not sure it’s fair to expect to see what he did last year, but I do expect him to be one of the best pitchers in the NL this season. Let’s go with something like 15-5 with a 2.55 ERA and he finishes 2nd in Cy Young voting. 

1992: It’s going to be difficult for Skenes to top such an incredible rookie season. But he’s a student of the game and he’s aiming to do just that. In that vein, Skenes has been tinkering with a couple new pitches this spring in an effort to try and induce contact so he can lower his pitch count and thus go deeper into games. I think this approach and adjustment will cause him to take somewhat of a “step back” because the movement on his pitches is just too good. It’s simply hard for hitters to make contact on him. I think he needs to double down on what he does best, go for the strikeout and make batters try and miss his pitches. He’s also going to be without his personal catcher Yasmani Grandal. In 2024, Skenes for the most part allowed more base runners and ran up high pitch counts in his first few innings of starts, but then locked in and became much more efficient as the game progressed. Grandal had a knack of working with Paul to make adjustments during the 2nd and 3rd time through the order. Don’t get me wrong, Skenes is still going to have a very good season. I can envision him with an ERA in the low 3’s, 14 wins, and 250 strikeouts in over 30 starts this season.

2. Who will lead the Pirates in home runs in 2025? (Sean’s Note: My pick of Jack Suwinski in 2024 was so bad that I disqualified myself from participating in this year’s predictions.)

Nubyjas: While he’s not a power hitter I will pick Bryan Reynolds because he at least makes consistent contact. I’d love for O’Neil Cruz or Ke’Bryan Hayes to prove me wrong.

James: I'll call for Bryan Reynolds with the first 30-homer season of his career. Let's get him one before he gets to the sorry end of the age curve.

Ethan: Not much of a choice here—the smart money is either on Bryan Reynolds or Oneil Cruz. I’m going with Cruz, and let’s say somewhere between 25 and 30.

Josh: Bryan Reynolds is a safe pick with just 23 HRs.

Jim L.: Bryan Reynolds?

Noah: I will go with Oneil Cruz. If I have to pick a number, I will guess 33. 

Jim R.: Gonna have to go with Cruz. Hoping the move to CF can allow him to just go out there and play ball. 

1992: Obvious answer is Oneil Cruz. He has the most raw power on the club. But I do not believe he is going to go up there swinging for the fences every time like he did the first season-and-a-half of his career. He’s going to be focused more on putting the ball in play, and getting productive outs. He’ll have a higher batting average but that’s going to limit his homers to 28.

3. Will Derek Shelton be fired as the Pirates manager during the season, fired after the season, or be the team's manager in 2026?

Nubyjas: If you would’ve asked me this before the Jared Jones news I would’ve said no because I believe the Pirates pitching would’ve overcame deficiencies in hitting. But. If Jones is out for a significant time period it could get ugly.

James: Unless he can get the Bucs over .500 and in contention when the Steelers are playing games that matter, nope, he's toast. I'll predict he gets the axe in mid-September and Don Kelly takes over.

Ethan: I’m not sure those making the decision are the type that would make such a move during the season, but I don’t think the club is going to be good enough (see below) to be considered to have taken the next step, so let’s say Shelton goes after the season.

Josh: No, I think he is fired before the end of the season.

Jim L.: There's a difference between being the manager of a bad team and the manager of an underperforming team. It's not his fault that Nutting doesn't give him what he needs to win, but it's easier to fire a manager than it is to admit fault (or sell the team.) So, I think he's safe this year. Next year? That's anyone's guess.

Noah: I don't think Derek Shelton will be fired this season, but I also don't think he will be the manager next year. 

Jim R.: Fired.

1992: I like Derek Shelton the person but don’t believe he is the right manager to lead them to the playoffs. I just believe after 5 years of losing the team needs a different voice. That said, this is an organization that is painfully slow to make changes. Only a complete dumpster fire would cost people jobs (see 2019 season with embarrassing arrests and clubhouse fights). I believe the club will show enough improvement that Derek will keep his job and be back in 2026.

4. Will Paul Skenes and Livvy Dunne get engaged in 2025?

Nubyjas: Sure. Why not?

James: Yes, aboard the Gateway Clipper Fleet. But not on the Princess or the Duchess. Oh, no. It's gotta be the Empress.

Ethan: I really couldn’t care less about social media “stardom”, so I’ll just say I hope those kids are happy. And if I had to bet…I’m going with no.

Josh: Yes

Jim L.: I don't care.

Noah: No idea. Probably not. 

Jim R.: No

1992: Yes, my guess is it will happen after the season concludes, around the holidays in 2025 before the new year. 

5. Who is your surprise/breakout player for the Pirates this season?

Nubyjas: Ji Hawn Bae if for no other reason than it’s time for him to show and prove or move on.

James: Call me naïve, but I'm still a believer in Henry Davis. There's something in the bat that I can't shake. And when Endy or Bart gets hurt, because a catcher always gets hurt, I think Davis will seize the moment and put some punch into the lineup this summer.

Ethan: This really isn’t my kind of thing, like at all, so I’m not sure my answer matters. I would be willing to bet Oneil Cruz would be the popular pick, so I’ll try and come up with someone different. I’ll say that Kyle Nicolas comes up after some bullpen glut gets sorted through, finds some control, and becomes a big contributor to the bullpen.

Josh: Bubba Chandler...I think he comes up early and has a solid year, perhaps finishing in the top 3 for ROY

Jim L.: I'm pulling for Spencer Horowitz.

Noah: I will go with Kyle Nicolas. I expect him to have a really good year out of the bullpen. 

Jim R.: I hope there’s a few, but let’s go with Nick Yorke. 

1992: Someone from the bullpen. Let’s go with Kyle Nicolas. People have been raving about his stuff for a long time, and he is good friends with Skenes and Jones. I think their mentality and preparation will rub off on him, and I could see Kyle emerging to be a solid 8th inning guy on a team that desperately needs a lockdown bullpen after last year’s disasters.

6. Will any of the Dodgers, Mets, and Braves NOT make the playoffs?

Nubyjas: Too much would have to go wrong for the Dodgers to miss the playoffs. Hell, they were without Freddie Freeman and Mookie Betts yet had no problem smoking the Cubs in Japan. If anything the NL East gauntlet could eliminate either the Braves or Mets because the Phils are a good team and the Marlins can catch you slipping.

James: Hmm let's go with the Mets missing out. If one of Lindor or Soto gets hurt or has a protracted slump, things could really get interesting -- especially since the Braves are a more complete team in that division.

Ethan: Injuries are already creeping up on both the Mets and Braves already, but in the end, I’d say it’s more likely than not all three make it. However, I’d say the Mets have the worst chance.

Josh: Yes, the Braves miss out this year

Jim L.: MLB is broken. They all SHOULD because they spend the money, but somehow, I think the Mets revert to their old ways and vastly underperform this year and miss the postseason.

Noah: The Mets will miss the playoffs. Not enough pitching. 

Jim R.: No

1992: The NL East is loaded. The NL West is loaded. Outside the division winners, your wild cards will come from those 2 divisions. I could see the Mets missing the playoffs, and the other wild card going to Arizona who just missed out last year.

7. What's your overall prediction for the Pirates? (Record, finish in the NL Central, etc.)

Nubyjas: My prediction is pain. It’s hard to see this team finishing higher than third in the Central which is a shame considering how weak the division seems to be this season. Pirates will finish sub .500 again.

James: 77-84 (Some game against the Nationals or the Reds late in the season gets rained out with no re-scheduling), which still winds up being good enough for 3rd place in the NL Central. Maybe I'm just pessimistic because I'm making predictions right after word that Jared Jones is having elbow trouble -- but that news only illustrates how many things must go right, and how little can go wrong, for the 2025 Pirates to be a playoff contender. I'll note that I was two wins on the optimistic side last year with a 78-84 prediction.

Ethan: As anyone reading this hopefully knows, I’m really not one for bloviating or prognosticating, so thanks for bearing with me (I couldn’t even get one numbers question?!). Personally, I don’t think the team is going to be very good—they weren’t very good last year, and didn’t do a ton to get much better. Internal improvement is their only hope, and the list of “if such and such goes right, they may have a chance” can only get so long before there actually isn’t one. Ultimately, I’m not sure they finish above .500, so let’s go with 80-82.

Josh: 74-88...4th place.

Jim L.: 4th place. 78-84. If they open strong as they've done in the past, it'll be short-lived. If they start off sluggish, they'll only turn it around enough to skirt .500. I'm sorry, I want this team to win but I'm just numb to the lack of commitment by the ownership.

Noah: I think the Pirates will finish 82-80. They will remain in wild card contention until the final weeks of September, but ultimately run out of gas down the final stretch. 

Jim R.: 76-86, 4th place 

1992: I think the team will show enough improvement to keep management’s jobs safe but will fall short of the playoffs and .500. They’ll be in “contention” for that last Wild card spot in September but fade down the stretch. My prediction is 4th place, 80-82.

Thanks to everyone for participating!

Photo credits:

Skenes from Pirates Twitter.

Reynolds by Hakim Wright Sr AP

Livvy Dunne by Ben Watts/SI

Ohtani by Mary Decicco/MLB Photos via Getty

I Survived A Campout

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I was going on an overnight campout with my 5th grade son, Pedro Tulo (and that I would not survive a zombie apocalypse). Well, that campout happened. And this post is proof that I survived. A lot happened to get to this point/post. 

Pedro Tulo and his Cub Scout den recently graduated (bridged is the technical term) and the leaders organized a campout as a celebration of this accomplishment. In the days leading up to the event, I received "helpful" text messages such as:

The forecast is calling for the temperature to go down to 32 Saturday night...I have worn my down puffer in my sleeping bag in a pinch.

And

While this isn't THAT cold for camping, it's possible that water in your bottles may begin to freeze in the early hours tomorrow. For this reason, it is preferable to have bottles that can be tightly sealed so that you can keep them in your sleeping bag to stay warm.

There were supposed to be 10 kids on the campout. The numbers on Saturday quickly dwindled. One kid had the flu. Another was out due to allergies/lack of energy. Another didn't give a reason (at least in the text chain). One dad wrote that they were having plumbing issues at their home and would arrive late. But would they? After meeting at the campground parking lot, we (6 kids and 6 adults) started our hike up to the site with all of our gear. About 2/3rds of the way there, one kid who had been sick but really wanted to attend vomited. They turned around and went home. It was starting to turn into Hunger Games! (Without the whole districts and teenage death thing. Oh, sorry. Spoiler!) 

Once we got to the site, things were fine. There was a nice space for the tent. 

We used pit toilets.

We boiled and filtered water.

We ate, um, gourmet meals.

Oh, a big one. We didn't see any bears.

The family with plumbing problems joined us. All was good. Except for the sleep part. I fell asleep before 10:00 and woke up in the middle of the night. When I checked my phone to see the time, I discovered that it was only 11:05 PM. That was it?!? I woke up several more times to put on more clothing layers, to use the bathroom, because my back hurt, or from Pedro Tulo waking me up. I finally got up around 7:30. 10:00-7:30 would be an incredible night of sleep except for the whole waking up at least a half dozen times. 

Oh, this was Pedro Tulo just before he woke up.

Overall, we had a great time. At night, we had clear skies to see beautiful views of stars and satellites. I really do enjoy hikes and eating by a campfire. I can just do without tents and sleeping on the ground.

Bate-man

I'm working on two pretty big posts, but since I haven't posted anything this week, I wanted to share my favorite current commercial. 

This is State Farm's complete Batman vs. Bateman:

So much fun!

Chris Kirkpatrick Loves The Pens

Want to feel old? NSYNC's Bye, Bye, Bye peaked at #4 on the Billboard chart for the week of April 15th, 2000, or 25 years ago next month. Now that we got that out of the way, NSYNC's Chris Kirkpatrick attended the Pittsburgh Penguins-Vegas Golden Knights game in Pittsburgh on Tuesday evening. Naturally, Kirkpatrick wore some Penguins gear to PPG Paints Arena. 

If you want to know more about his Pens fandom, please check out this YouTube short from the Penguins organization and this interview with Taylor Haase of DK Pittsburgh Sports.

40% of NSYNC has now been featured on this blog for wearing Pittsburgh gear. (Thanks Joey!) Your turn Justin, Lance, and JC!

Photo by Taylor Haase/DKPS

What Really Grinds My Gears

I was inspired to start Sean's Ramblings after reading blogs by several friends. My friend Dan was the author of one of these blogs and had a regular feature titled What Really Grinds My Gears after the TV show Family Guy. Well, I have a perfect example of this today.

Late in 2022, three friends and I purchased tickets to see Bruce Springsteen for approximately $200 per ticket. Why there was a television show called Who’s the Boss? and the answer wasn’t Springsteen is one of life’s greatest mysteries. Anyway, the concert was scheduled for summer 2023. It was postponed several weeks because of an illness and then postponed again to September 2024. By the time the concert date arrived, two of my friends were no longer to attend.

So I did what any other logical person would do with two extra tickets. I posted them on Ticketmaster and sold them. While I can't find the exact amount of the sale, I made some money even after refunding my friends for their tickets. Of course, Ticketmaster being Ticketmaster, they took a cut of the sale. Yes, Ticketmaster charged a rather significant fee to buy the tickets and took even more money from me selling the same tickets. 

A few weeks ago, I received a 1099-K form from Ticketmaster/Live Nation. While I'm not an accountant or tax professional and I don't play one on the internet (or TV), apparently, this counts as income that needs to be reported on my tax return. Even better is that the amount on the form is the total amount of sale. The original cost of the ticket and the fees taken out for selling the tickets by Ticketmaster are not part of the equation. Ticketmaster is the worst.

Sean's Day Off

You've seen the movie Ferris Bueller's Day Off, right? Matthew Broderick takes a day off school and lives it up in Chicago by going to a Cubs game, visiting the Art Institute of Chicago, eating at a fancy restaurant, and leading songs in a parade. I hope that these aren't spoilers from a nearly 40 year-old movie. This is also a somewhat poor summary if you haven't seen the movie. I think it's safe to write that Ferris had a great day. That's not a spoiler either. 

Recently, I took a day off of work. Did I tour Washington DC by attending a Capitals or Wizards game, eat at a fancy restaurant, or lead the Cherry Blossom Festival parade (which is still a few weeks away) like Ferris Bueller? Not quite. Here's what I did to celebrate:

- Took my car in for an oil change and state inspection.

- Played pickleball where I was one of the younger people in attendance. Do not underestimate any of the other players. They all play regularly and are assassins. When I told my 13 year-old the probable age of many people there, he boasted that he could easily beat them. Not a chance. They would destroy him.

- Picked up paperwork from the pediatrician.

- Took my 13 year-old to the dentist.

-  Went to Costco.

Oh, I also cut my toe nails. 

Yep, I am really living the dream. I also suspect that this is what my life is going to look like when I retire!

Sean Vs. Zombies

I recently watched The Last of Us which aired on HBO. If you're not familiar with the show, it's based on a video game where a mass fungal infection causes people to turn into zombies. I mean, it's slightly more complicated, but that's the general premise. The show starts with the beginning of the pandemic and mostly focuses on several years later in a post-apocalyptic world where Pedro Pascal's character transports a teenage girl across the country. Hilarity ensues! (Spoiler: While there are some amusing scenes and the chemistry between Pascal and Bella Ramsey is fantastic, hilarity does not ensue.) I was really disappointed by the show's ending until I found out that there's a season two coming out. Knowing that the show didn't end where it did makes more sense.

Pedro Tulo is about to finish his time as a Cub Scout. Boy Scouts is right around the corner, and while the kids are largely responsible for their own activities there, parents really do the bulk of the planning in Cub Scouts. This helps explain my work in adding the wheels to Pedro Tulo's pinewood derby car.

Amazingly, the wheels stayed intact during the three heats of the race. Pedro Tulo didn't win (or place or show), but the car didn't fall apart on the track. I count that as a win.

In the next few weeks, Pedro Tulo's Cub Scouts den is going to go on one final campout. I wrote about our previous camping experiences here and here. For this one, we don't have the luxury of a car nearby. After parking, we will walk a mile with all of our gear to the campsite. That's not really a problem depending on how much we need to carry. We also won't have the luxury of plumbing and potable water. The campsite has pit toilets, which I don't believe I ever used. Regarding water, one of the parents mentioned that we'll simply have to boil water or use iodine tablets. Sure. I just have a bag of iodine tablets sitting around. Look, I don't need a fancy hotel, but potable water and plumbing doesn't seem like an extravagant ask.

What it comes down to is that I'm not very handy and have little to no outdoor/camping/survival skills. If there is a zombie apocalypse, I will not turn into Pedro Pascal's character. I'll be one of the first ones eaten or bit or whatever.

A Commercial Made For Me

There is a recent Verizon commercial that shares one of my biggest fears: my cell phone not working when I need it most.



The purpose of the commercial is to let consumers know that they can trade in any phone in any condition. That's not what I get from it. What I see is the reason I still use paper tickets for boarding passes at the airport. If I could still use paper tickets for sporting events or concerts, I would do so. I hate the moment when I have to scan my phone to get into a venue. I worry that it's not going to work and that I spent lots of money only to be stuck outside. Fortunately, that hasn't happened yet, but I worry it will.

So thanks Verizon for encouraging me to never use my phone for a boarding pass!

Reason #782 Why I'm Old

I like to think that I'm up-to-date on pop culture. Somewhat through my kids, I know most of the current pop hits. When a friend posted on Facebook recently that his son predicted that Dua Lipa would perform at the next Super Bowl halftime show and the friend admitted that he had no idea "who or what is dualipa," I replied by naming several of her biggest songs that he had probably heard. While I don't watch many movies, I'm generally aware of those with the biggest box office numbers. I also follow sports and television rather closely.

Now that I got that out of the way, let's show how unaware I am. My kids watched the NBA All-Star celebrity game the other night. Here are the rosters:

From this list, I know the three country singers, Walker Hayes (he sang the Applebees song), Shaboozey (from Northern Virginia and singer of Tipsy), and Mickey Guyton (can't name any of her songs but she's performed the national anthem at several major sporting events). Matt Barnes and Baron Davis both played in the NBA, and Terrell Owens is a Hall-of-Fame wide receiver. From there, I know that Noah Kahan is a singer, Kai Cenat is a YouTuber my kids like, and I think that Oliver Stark was a character on Game of Thrones. While there were a couple Olympians in this group that I probably watched last summer, I don't know more than half of these celebrities. How many do you know? Or am I just old and out of touch?

George Mason Women's Basketball

I'm writing about women's college basketball today and specifically about the George Mason University team. (I'm sure you figured that out by the title.) The boys and I attended a game in January where The Moose and Luigi both caught T-shirts thrown to the crowd after the Patriots made threes, and Pedro Tulo participated in an on-court challenge where he raced another kid in putting on a giant basketball jersey, shorts, and shoes before attempting a shot. Although Pedro Tulo lost, he also got a T-shirt for his efforts. Mason won by 20, and the kids had a great time. 
 
Based on the kids' schedules since winter break ended, we haven't been able to attend a George Mason men's or women's game until Sunday. We didn't realize this until we arrived, but Sunday was Mason's annual Pink game in support of breast cancer awareness. Mason wore these incredibly cool black and pink uniforms.

Many people in the crowd wore pink as did the entire Mason coaching staff. I was and still am extremely impressed by Graduate Assistant Riley Childs who was on the floor passing basketballs to the team during warmups while wearing huge pink heels. Awesome.

The game itself was very competitive. The University of Massachusetts has a solid team and an impressive freshman point guard Yahmani McKayle. She is my favorite type of player. A fast point guard who passes well and finishes around the basket. While she can make threes (she shoots 40% from 3), she's more effective driving the basket and either dishing the ball to a teammate or making shots around much taller players. While I'm probably dating myself, she reminded me of Damon Stoudamire or Nick Van Exel. She finished with 21 points and 8 rebounds.

Possibly my new favorite player in all of sports is Mason senior guard Paula Suarez from Pamplona, Spain. She is what college sports, especially basketball, used to be all about. This is her fourth year at Mason, and she has improved in nearly every category each season. Plus, she did this.

At a stop in play but not during a timeout, Suarez just casually walked over towards the UMass bench to listen to the opposing coach give instructions to his players. I love the look McKayle gives her (might need to zoom in)! She's Mason's point guard and truly leads the offense. It also helps that Suarez scored 34 points with 12 assists in the two games we saw her play. 

George Mason is in an interesting position. The team is 23-3 and 13-2 in conference after winning 76-66 over UMass. You would think that would be enough to be an NCAA tournament team, but the current projections have them as one of the first teams out. The Atlantic-10 conference is fascinating. Despite that conference record and winning 11 straight games, Mason is behind Richmond, who is 22-5 with a 13-1 conference record and a 12-game winning streak. Saint Joseph's just lost to Richmond and is now 11-3 in conference with a 20-5 record. In my book (yes, I have a book), all three should make the tournament. Mason plays Saint Joseph's next week. What makes things more complicated is that Mason's leading scorer, Kennedy Harris, is injured and has barely played the last few weeks. However, between Suarez and Nekhu Mitchell (pictured above) and Louis Volker having career highs on Sunday, I like their chances.

Photo of Mitchell and the Mason uniforms by Rafael Suanes/GMU

The New Kennedy Center

Look, this isn't going to turn into a political blog. There are just some current events that are unavoidable, and I feel the need to write about their absurdity. And hopefully you'll find this entertaining.

My family and I have visited the Kennedy Center many times since I moved to the Washington DC area. It's a fantastic venue with multiple performing spaces and beautiful views of the Potomac River. I feel fancy and cultured and elegant whenever I go there. I love it and need to visit more often.

At the end of last week, President Trump announced that he named himself as the chair of the Kennedy Center since apparently he has nothing else to do with his time (presumably since Elon Musk is doing everything). Here is what you can expect from Trump in this position.

Sara Bareilles performed several shows at the Kennedy Center at the end of last year. She's not welcome back because she didn't write Trump a love song.

Renaming the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to the Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Center for the Performing Arts. Robert Kennedy Jr. has done significantly more for Trump than John F. Kennedy ever did. Besides, it's still the Kennedy Center. No one will even notice the change

Shear Madness is a murder mystery comedy show set at a hair salon with audience participation which has been running for several decades. It's a fun show. Unfortunately, the gay character in the show is now out. Of the show.

The Kennedy Center Honors is an annual event where five performing artists are honored for their lifetime contribution to American culture. Don't expect a committee discussion this year. Trump is going to name the following individuals himself to receive this honor in 2025.

* Kid Rock - Obviously a big supporter of the president. 

* Lee Greenwood - He performed at both Trump inauguration ceremonies and they sell bibles together.
* Scott Baio - He's in charge of your days and your nights. Trump supporter.

* Donald Trump -  According to probably one person, The Apprentice is the biggest and most successful television show of all time. 

* Melania Trump - The fashion part of the performing arts has been underserved. She gets this honor simply for this hat.

Although Black History Month will still be celebrated at the Kennedy Center, it's going to have a new look featuring the work of Trump supporters Amber Rose, Kodak Black, and Kanye West. 

I'm changing the tone of this post for a minute. I started writing some ideas for this post shortly after Trump's Friday announcement. Since that time, Kanye West went on (another) rant with multiple antisemitic comments. And now, he's selling T-shirts with a swastika on them. Can we as a society be done with him? As in banning his songs from radio, SiriusXM, Spotify, etc.? He is a hateful person with a dangerous message. This isn't a one-time thing. This is how he really thinks and feels. If anyone deserves to be cancelled, it's him. I hope we never hear from him again.

Okay, I'm not getting back on track. I thought about including ideas like a new Elon Musk-version of The Sound of Music where the von Trapp family supports the nazis or the national symphony orchestra only playing YMCA, but that's enough for this post. Just another day in 2025.

Photo by Saul Loeb/AP

My Unauthorized Grammys Post

I previously mentioned that I applied for virtual media credentials for the Grammy Awards. My application was denied. So instead of reading quotes or watching videos from my interactions (or more likely other people's interactions) with the winners and nominees, you're going to get my thoughts and observations of Sunday's ceremonies.

I would like to know the ticket protocol for Grammy nominees. My assumption is that each nominee gets to bring a +1. There’s probably also some type of fine print that children under a certain age are not permitted. In looking at the audience, Beyoncé brought her husband Jay-Z and their oldest child. Alicia Keys brought her husband Swizz Beatz and their two kids. Shakira brought her two sons. Of course, the people I just mentioned are some of the most famous people on this planet. Mark Guiliana got nominated for Best Contemporary Instrumental Album. Mark is obviously an extremely talented musician, but I know nothing about him or his personal life. I randomly picked his name for this hypothetical. Let's say that Mark has a significant other and a 5 year old daughter. Could he have brought them both? Only his partner? This is something I might have learned with media credentials!

Okay, let’s get to the show and the awards.

I feel like Chappell Roan puts on heavy make-up going for a David Bowie look. That's a good thing. There should be more David Bowies in this world.

The Rolling Stones won for Best Rock Album. This Grammy is exactly what the band needs to kick off their career. I see big things in their future!

Before or after a commercial break, comedian Jim Gaffigan had the microphone and said something about Trevor Noah getting traded to the Dallas Mavericks. This was a safe and timely joke about a blockbuster NBA trade. I actually thought he might go with a foreigner taking a job or something about immigration that would have been much more risky.

Anthony Kiedis of Red Hot Chili Peppers has to dye his hair and facial hair, right? Dude is 62 with no gray whatsoever.

Sabrina Carpenter sang Espresso and seems like she has a really good sense of humor based on the vaudeville-style performance. Espresso is a really fun song too, though she also included a portion of her song Please, Please, Please which is a huge step down in my opinion.

To paraphrase Shaq, while I knew the name Doechii, I need to apologize for not being familiar with her work. 

Best performance of the night. I had trouble posting the entire performance, but here's a link in case you missed it or want to see it again. Entertainment Tonight only shows a small part of it.

Since many of my posts have Pittsburgh references, congratulations to the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra on winning the Grammy for the Best Engineered Album, Classical.

Since many of my posts have Ithaca College references, congratulations to 1979 Ithaca College alumnus Elaine Martone on winning the Grammy for Producer of the Year, Classical.

While I don’t think Jelly Roll was in attendance, I hope that he, Post Malone, and Teddy Swims are on a text chain where they just discuss facial tattoos.

Buzz Aldrin was in a Verizon commercial that aired early during the show. A reminder that Buzz Aldrin is the perfect person to be in a commercial during a music awards ceremony.

I enjoyed that Best New Artist medley though I admit that I was surprised that Kajagoogoo was nominated in this category. "Too Shy" must be 30 years old. (Since I probably won't understand this reference when I look at this post next year, Khruangbin earned a Best New Artist nomination. I know more Kajagoogoo songs, and I already named it.)

Are we done with Benson Boone yet? He just comes off as whiny in Beautiful Things. I guess he could make a decent living being a Paul Skenes impersonator.

Overall, I liked the show. I think there was a nice balance of celebrating the music industry while acknowledging and supporting Los Angeles after the devastating wildfires. I'm glad that Beyonce finally won Album of the Year, and Kendrick Lamar's Not Like Us was unavoidable and a massive hit.

Looking forward to covering the event next year!

Chappell Roan photo by Kevin Winter/Getty; RHCP picture from Instagram's RedHotChiliPeppersClubMexico page; Benson Boone photo by Gilbert Flores/Billboard via Getty.

The First Four Days

This post is being published on Friday morning. Donald Trump has been president for all of four days. 96 hours. That’s all. Seriously. A lot has happened over that time, so I’m going to share some thoughts and opinions on the first few days of the Trump administration.

I’m not going to comment on the pardoning of nearly all of the January 6th rioters, even those found guilty of assaulting officers. This is a big win for Antifa who I heard was behind the whole thing. I’m also not going to comment on the executive order to ban birthright citizenship. The 14th amendment wasn't even one of the Bill of Rights, and the only part of the constitutional amendments that are important are the first ten.

Instead, let’s look at some other actions that may not have received adequate attention.

Trump signed an executive order requiring the United States to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. This is clearly going to bring down the cost of groceries. And sure, media companies might need to start calling this body of water the Gulf of America, but that's like telling Pittsburghers to call Heinz Field the current name of Acrisure Stadium. My question is why stop there? Change the name of the state of New Mexico too! Pittsburgh’s Mexican War Streets should now be the American War Streets. Quarterback Michael Vick had an alias of Ron Mexico. It’s Ron America now! 

The Department of Defense is sending 1,500 troops to the southern border. Not widely publicized is that Trump is also ordering troops to the North Carolina border. Anyone who visits the rest stop/tourist trap South of the Border in South Carolina is not welcome in North Carolina, regardless of immigration and citizenship status.

Trump is ordering all federal employees to return to the office. While this impacts federal employees across the country, this is a bigger deal in places like Washington DC. Sure, it will take some people 2+ hours each day to commute (when they could use even half of that time to work from home), but the real reason behind this action is a little-known fact that Trump is a huge proponent of public transportation. Trump took the subway everyday when he lived in New York. Ridership has been down on the Washington-areas buses and trains significantly since COVID, and he wants to Make Metro Great Again!

Finally, just before inauguration, Donald and Melania Trump released the cryptocurrencies $TRUMP and $MELANIA also known as Trumpcoin and Melaniacoin. This is clearly a fundraising idea to help pay for the devastating destruction caused by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina and Tennessee and the wildfires in southern California. Or maybe to help offset some of the proposed tax cuts. Seems like selling cryptocurrencies is much more effective than a bake sale. I applaud the president and first lady for creating these coins to help the country as I'm sure that they wouldn't use the office of the presidency for their own financial gain. 

Photos by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images and Saul Loeb/AP

You're Welcome, Lee Greenwood

Lee Greenwood is scheduled to perform at the inauguration this Monday. Greenwood is probably tired of singing the same patriotic songs over and over and over again. I mean, he has to sing "God Bless The USA," but maybe he wants to show his versatility and vocal range and abilities. Back in 2017, we provided some ideas for songs he could perform during the inauguration activities. Apparently, he didn't listen, which is somewhat understandable. Performing at an inauguration or one of the events around the ceremony is a big deal. Maybe he didn't want to mix things up. 8 years later, Greenwood should be comfortable with his resume. Perhaps he really wants to do something big to cement his legacy. Therefore, I asked people on my social media sites for suggestions about what Greenwood should perform. Here are the results though some of these may not be suitable for work:

Sabrina Carpenter - Espresso

This is arguably the biggest song of 2024, and you know Greenwood is working late, 'cause he's a singer. 

2 Live Crew - Me So Horny

An obvious choice to honor President Trump's south Florida ties.

Shania Twain - Man! I Feel Like A Woman!

Good song to get the crowd dancing!

The Weather Girls - It's Raining Men

The Pussycat Dolls - Don't Cha featuring Busta Rhymes

Greenwood could perform vocals by both The Pussycat Dolls and Busta.

Divinyls - I Touch Myself

Nine Inch Nails - Closer

This one is a little heavier on the instrumentals. Maybe a good song to showcase his fellow musicians.

James Brown - Say It Loud - I'm Black & I'm Proud

Jimmy Buffett - Why Don't We Get Drunk

Guarantee that there are a lot of Buffet fans in the crowd.

Cardi B featuring Megan Thee Stallion - WAP 

Disturbed - Down With The Sickness

Diana Ross - I'm Coming Out

Christina Aguilera - Candyman

In honor of Trump winning Pennsylvania, Greenwood should support a Pittsburgher.

Mtume - Juicy Fruit

And staying on the snack/candy theme.

Lee Greenwood - God Bless You Canada 

To close the show, Greenwood should perform his song to honor America's soon to be 51st state!