Today, as I write this, it is still Father's Day.
Our family got together in an odd configuration. What was supposed to be Jamie, myself, The Admiral, KareBear and Jamie's dad, DocDik - expanded to include my CousinSue, Unky Bob and Steanso. Steanso's kids and wife are out of state seeing her family while he toils in the legal salt mines.
I have had the good fortune of not just a Quality Dad - I've also had a great Father-in-Law. Not everyone gets to say that. But we get along very well, and get to debate "what's wrong with the Cubs now" on a frequent basis. My own Dad is doing well. He's into The Expanse, which is cracking me up. That has spread across our whole family like a virus.
Sometimes I wonder what kind of father I would have been had the fates been different. And very different they would have had to have been as I very much didn't care for kids until I was in my mid-30's. Now I find them charming chaos goblins and enjoy how different each one of them really is, right from jump. But I also don't have to raise them.
My Dad put up with a lot of nonsense from me, pretty much from when I was a small kid to when I aged into a smart-aleck who liked to push buttons, to someone who fancied himself a wry observer and therefore allowed to crack whichever joke he felt was best in any situation. That my father allowed me to keep living to age 25 is a testament to his eternal patience.
Here's to Dads. Good dads, dads doing their best, and dads who go out for cigarettes and don't come back.
And to the moms out there who are either doing it single-mom style or who are partnered up with a lady raising kids minus anyone specifically called *dad*. Parenting is hard, weird work. Y'all should get a card on Father's Day, too. Just scratch out "dad" on the front.
World Cup Fever
I don't know that I've contracted World Cup Fever, but I have been watching some games.
This weekend I checked out both the game in which Curacao tied Ecuador and the game in which Cabo Verde tied Uruguay. And that's part of the fun. These are tiny countries - I hadn't heard of either prior to this last week - who will have eternal futbol glory thanks to a *tie*. Everyone expected them to get clobbered at this stage, and they held against established national programs.
There's a lot of joy to be taken in so much of the World Cup - something the corrupt dirtbags at FIFA know and exploit - and it's been decades since it was on our shores. But now we have thousands and thousands of people from across the globe running around the U.S. And after the past decade of the US looking like Keystone Cops to the rest of the world, it's great for people to come here and see we're not all ultra violent weirdos. Just, you know, way too many of us.
Anyway - despite how essentially corrupt and dirty FIFA's leadership may be, I count World Cup as a worldwide good. Governments may want to lob missiles at each other, but people want to have a beer and cheer on their team by wearing matching shirts. It may actually work against some interests as it's a reminder we have more in common than we have different, and cultural exchange can be groovy.
When Germans and Japanese people are fascinated with our way of life, like learning getting endless chips with Tex-Mex is free, then we're doing something right by having people here. But also that we're not the snarling monsters that media would have them believe (we've contained that to the capitals).
Anyway - I have no particular dog in the fight. I suppose I'll cheer for Team USA a bit. They're doing better than I anticipated. But it's more fun to watch the underdog countries every time.
Late Edit: I admit, I'm gonna cheer for Argentina. I like that Messi fella. I assume they are not an underdog.
WNBA
Once again off to a somewhat slow start, the Las Vegas Aces are playing well again here as the season progresses. We're at 12 and 4, and that ain't bad. But once again, the Minnesota Lynx are at the top of the leader board with a genuine rookie phenom in Olivia Miles.
It's funny - there's always a lot of overblown hype about rookies coming in, but Miles has delivered beyond any reasonable expectation. That's not to say the superstar rookies haven't played well - looking at you Azzi Fudd - but there's usually a curve for growth. I mean - look at Bueckers in Season 2 as a genuine team leader for the Wings.
Anyway, I don't really have *a* team. I watch several teams and enjoy the players on those teams. The only team I outright dislike is Phoenix, and I am slowly, begrudgingly, gaining respect for the next Portland team. Good for me, as Phoenix is 5-12 right now.
My favorite player remains A'ja Wilson, but that doesn't mean I don't still cheer for lots of other players, like Kelsey Mitchell on the Fever or Thornton on the Valkyries.
If you are curious about WNBA, there's tons of games on network and cable TV right now. Just take a look at your local listings.
Cubs
We're not yet to the All-Star Break and I kind of need a break. The Cubs are basically all over the place, sometimes looking brilliant and occasionally looking like last week's trash. Overall, stats are okay-ish. But our pitching will just melt-down in the bullpen with absolutely no forewarning. Someone who pitched great two days ago will come out in the 7th and give up a five-run lead.
And that's not always on the rest of the defense. In general, those guys are doing pretty well, too. I disagree that Shaw (that racist piece of shit) is a better right fielder than Suzuki. But I also respect resting Suzuki.
Meanwhile, Pete Crow-Armstrong has been on fire on both sides. He's still doing amazing, stats-defying work in the outfield while also doing things like hitting for a cycle (in reverse, starting with a homer) and just consistently winding up on base every game, or smacking a dinger.
But then we have a game like the one on Saturday that was just dumb, where we blow the aforementioned lead.
