Day: 04/23/2025

Winning & Musing…Volume 2.25

Spring has sprung…sort of. We’re still dealing with some intermittently chilly weather here in Appalachia, but that just makes me appreciate the occasional sunshine even more. We’ve got a little bit of everything today, so let’s roll.

Congratulations to the Florida Gators, who emerged from March Madness as your 2024-25 national champions. For probably the first time in my life I didn’t watch a single second of the title game because I totally forgot it was even on. I was pissed off out of the gate on Selection Sunday when my WV Mountaineers were inexplicably left out of the tournament, and just never got that mojo back. There was alot of chalk and very little drama throughout the tournament, with all the #1 seeds making it to the Final Four, only the second time that has occurred (the first being in 2008). Apparently the championship contest was quite exciting, so I guess I missed out. Ah well…c’est la vie.

Staying with basketball, I suppose it is time to pay attention to the NBA now that the playoffs have begun. I have a vague recollection of watching almost every second of postseason action back in 2006 when I was convalescing at a “skilled” nursing facility. That was WAY before streaming, and the cable options weren’t that extensive either. However, I have always been thankful to be a sports fan because sometimes a game of any sort is a nice distraction from the darkness of real life. As far as this particular tournament goes, I have a soft spot for the Boston Celtics because their head coach, Joe Mazzulla, is a former Mountaineer, but it’s all good as long as the L.A. Lakers or Golden St. Warriors don’t get their hands on another trophy.

Kudos to Rory McIlroy for winning his first Green Jacket at The Masters. I didn’t watch as much of the tournament this year as I usually do because I simply had other things going on.

The NFL Draft is coming up, and Steeler Nation has our eyes on what the Black & Gold will do. Lord knows the powers-that-be have their work cut out for them after completely screwing up the quarterback situation. They decided to put all their chips in the middle of the table for enigmatic Aaron Rodgers, who may or may not join the team…eventually. IF Rodgers does come to Pittsburgh there are legit questions about what he has left in the proverbial tank, and whether or not he’s worth the hassle. I do NOT believe that there is any QB in this draft worthy of a first round pick, and absolutely do NOT want the Shedeur Sanders Circus coming to town. The kid is all hype, with an overinflated ego that exceeds his skill level by a country mile. I would much rather the Steelers upgrade the trenches on both sides of the ball and kick the can down the road on a quarterback until next year’s draft. Let the returning Mason Rudolph be the starter in 2025, even if it leads to a horrible season. They don’t consult me on these decisions though, so we’ll see.

Circling back to basketball, I’d be remiss not to mention West Virginia’s coaching situation. Head coach Darian DeVries bolted after one season for allegedly greener pastures with the Indiana Hoosiers. I have alot of questions about how things went down and who knew what & when did they know it, but what’s done is done. WVU has hired Ross Hodge, who compiled a 46-24 record in two seasons with the North Texas Mean Green. Mountaineer fans have had a rough time wrapping their heads around the new norms of collegiate athletics and do not want to believe that their beloved Old Gold & Blue has become a stepping stone program, but that is the reality. The ultimate goal of any good college basketball coach is to be hired by a blue blood school, or atleast a Big Ten/SEC team. That is where the money and the glory is to be found. If Hodge has some success he’ll also be gone in a year or two or three. With NIL & transfer portal insanity rosters are being rebuilt every year. It isn’t ideal, but that’s the way things are right now.

Points of Ponderation…Episode 2.25

A semi-regular attempt to address some of life’s minutiae that might otherwise be overlooked…..

I will not poke fun or criticize government employees fearful of losing their jobs. Anyone who has ever been fired or “downsized” understands their concern. Having said that, the insane overreaction to Elon Musk & DOGE is baffling. First of all, the amount of waste and absolute corruption that has been found is quite alarming, yet way too many people seem to be completely ignoring it. Secondly, the whole point of Musk asking government workers to reply to an email stating five things they do on the job is simply to prove they actually exist. Why?? Apparently there have been federal employees & social security recipients receiving checks who a) are 150 years old 🤔 or b) never existed in the first place, which obviously raises alot of questions. Also, if a government agency had 15k employees five years ago but has 25k now, I think asking why that number ballooned so exponentially in just the past few years is fair. If 10k people lose their jobs it is unfortunate for them and no one is denying that, but it is also clear that those 10k jobs were superfluous. If the agency ran smoothly with less employees then the additional staff is, in the big picture, wasteful. Elon Musk was hired to trim the fat, and he is doing exactly that. It happens in the private sector on a daily basis. It is understandable that people would be upset about losing a gig that, in most instances, pays well and offers good benefits. It makes even more sense that people who, in some cases, lose a rather comfortable gig that pays them well while not demanding much, would be angry. Having said all of that, may I suggest that, instead of acting like a petulant child after losing a job that, in the grand scheme of life, was apparently unnecessary, you instead channel that energy into moving on to something bigger, better, and more worthy of your skills & talent.

Rewatching the same movie or television show again & again isn’t a sign of laziness, it is actually a form of emotional regulation. When life feels overwhelming or unpredictable, your brain craves familiarity. Watching a show or movie you already know gives you a sense of control, comfort, and stability. There are no surprises & no tension. You know exactly what happens next, and that predictability helps calm your nervous system. A study from the University of Chicago found that people are more likely to return to familiar movies & TV shows when they feel depleted or emotionally drained. Rewatching provides a way to restore energy and regain a sense of peace. In moments when the world feels uncertain your brain reaches for what it knows.

Pop star Katy Perry is NOT an astronaut. Neither is Jeff Bezos’ wife Laura Sanchez or Oprah Winfrey’s gal pal Gayle King. I don’t want to engage in wacky conspiracy theories, so we will proceed on the assumption that Blue Origin’s space dildo did actually take flight. Contrary to King’s whining, what those ladies’ participated in was indeed a joy ride, not a mission. They barely penetrated space for ten minutes. I am sure it was a very cool moment, but instead of simply expressing gratitude for an opportunity they most certainly didn’t earn, an experience that was handed to them based on fame, fortune, and connections, they could not stop themselves from pompously bloviating in an effort to convince the masses that they’d accomplished something meaningful. I’ve had bowel movements that lasted longer than their little jaunt into “space”, and the fact that it received more media coverage than the March rescue of actual astronauts that had been stranded on the International Space Station for nine months is nauseating. Society’s culture of celebrity worship is misguided at best, and a sad symptom of much bigger issues.