Author Archives: Sam Ross Jr.

Today’s scribblings are inspired by the words of the late, great Joe Schmidt – again. The man’s memorable, graphic maxim on life had inspired a post here the past July

As a refresher, Schmidt was a Pittsburgh native, played linebacker at Pitt, went on to play in the NFL for the Detroit Lions, including winning an NFL championship with them, then coached the Lions for six seasons and afterward moved on to a successful career running a firm that supplied the region’s auto manufacturers.

While still involved with football, Schmidt uttered the definitive observation on the human condition: “Life is a shit sandwich and every day you take another bite.”

Life isn’t easy, and it isn’t supposed to be, regardless of what you hear from the congenital whiners of Gen X or Gen Z. You put on your big boy pants and soldier on, which is what Schmidt said and did.

But, there are times when the sandwich is tastier, when the news is good and hope springs for even better.

This is such a time.

Just Monday, Tampon Tim Walz, bowing to the mounting Somali fraud scandals Democrats seem to have abetted in Minnesota, announced he would not run for re-election as governor there.

Considering the checkered military background of Walz, him running away is somehow fitting.

Walz went from denying the scandal and branding any that spoke of it as racists or islamophobes to acknowledging – sort of – massive corruption occurred on his watch. Oh, he still carped about Republicans taking advantage of the situation to make political hay.

You might say Walz fell on his sword, but this klutz would have missed the blade. Have you seen videos of him trying to load a shotgun?

It’s hard not to shudder at the thought that this fool would have been a mere heartbeat away from the presidency had Cackling Kamala’s Democrats been able to pull off another election “miracle” on par with 2020.

Now, Tampon Tim can go from screaming nonsensically at rallies, rejoicing that his state’s employee pension funds took a hit when Tesla stock declined, or doing photo ops as the human trophy of Democrat powerbrokers, back to wrangling his strange family that includes the cringeworthy turn-the-page hand gestures of wife Gwen, odd social media ramblings of daughter Hope and any foibles of son Gus (whose name should be Change to go with Hope, right?).

In typical Walz unintentional humor, Tim (referred to as Tim, not dad, by Hope) posted a video before a morning run to announce Tim is not running. You can’t make up this crap.

All of this came on the heels of a weekend that saw Nicolas Maduro surgically removed as dictatorial head of Venezuela, prompting the usual outcry from enemies of America, both foreign and domestic.

I was particularly encouraged, though, that many culled through the social media archives to find prominent Democrats in the not-too-distant past screaming for Maduro to be handled. They just didn’t like that Donald J. Trump did it this time.

There was a post from Clueless Joe Biden as a campaigner vs. Trump, calling Maduro a thug and dictator, accusing Trump of talking tough but doing nothing and Biden promising to do something about it once he was president.

Well, for four years of hiding in the potted plants as president, Biden did nothing. Less than a year on the job during his second term, Trump has eliminated Maduro as a problem, both for us and Venezuela.

Also, crying Chuck Schumer, the Democrat leader terrified the ultra-left wing of his party is going to send him to the old folks home for inept politicians, decried Trump’s weekend removal of Maduro. Yet, there Chuck was in 2020 complaining Trump had not dealt with Maduro.

It is true that if Trump walked on water tomorrow, Democrats and their lapdogs in LameStream media would headline: Trump Can’t Swim!

While it truly is heartening to see the Walz, Biden and Schumer types of this world be exposed for the hypocrites that they are, I’m more encouraged by the long game Trump seems to be playing.

It is becoming increasingly clear that blue states and cities have bastardized social programs and found a way to use them to funnel money toward maintaining Democrat political power, the better to keep the cycle repeating.

Similarly, Venezuela was a critical source of aid and comfort to our enemies, from a base in our hemisphere. From propping up Cuba, to helping China and Russia skirt economic sanctions and restraints, Venezuela was the international equivalent of Minnesota’s Somalis.

By cutting off the purloined money domestically, Trump is leveling the political playing field here. By taking out Venezuela, he is doing the same regarding matters of international security and economics.

Looming over all this is the very real possibility that Democrats will be able to pull a psyop on the American populace and take control of the House of Representatives in November.

That would neuter Trump and end all the great long-range plans. It is a very real possibility and it would result in more bites of Schmidt’s disgusting sandwich.

Until then, let us enjoy the moment.

I wasted three-plus hours of my life Sunday night watching the Steelers-Ravens game, a contest that could be summed up with a variation on a familiar sporting cliché.

Frequently, we hear it was a shame one team had to lose a particular game. In this case, it was a shame either team had to win. They both played poorly, on both sides of the ball and on special teams, too.

Along that line, it was fitting the Steelers prevailed, 26-24, when Ravens kicker Tyler Loop misfired badly from 44 yards as the clock expired.

I spent the night trying to assure a Steelers fan I’d invited over to watch the game that his Steelers were going to win, despite their many hiccups. That continued right up to Loop’s miss, which I told him would happen. It was a sentiment based on what had transpired earlier in the game.

This guy had misfired badly on a previous kickoff, booting the ball out of bounds. He looked as nervous as the proverbial long-tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs.

Ravens coach John Harbaugh apparently forgot his team no longer had Justin Tucker, having sent him into kicker oblivion over accusations of misbehavior with massage therapists.

Instead of an Old Reliable veteran, Harbaugh sent out a vapor-locking youngster to attempt a field goal that was anything but a chip shot, with the game and the season on the line.

Failure was all but guaranteed.

Harbaugh instead might have tried to gain some valuable yardage on the final play from scrimmage instead of having Lamar Jackson give up a few yards in order to center the ball for Loop.

That centering failed to help Loop as he missed badly to the right.

And so, the curtain fell on a game replete with miserable play.

Twice in the fourth quarter the Steelers lost Ravens wide receivers on pass routes, leading to long touchdown completions. That same Steelers defense allowed Ravens running back Derrick Henry to go over 100 yards – in the first half. Usually proficient Steelers placekicker Chris Boswell missed his first PAT in more than two seasons with just under a minute remaining.

The Ravens defense was equally porous, including having a defensive back look like Bambi on ice during one late Steelers touchdown reception. It seems the next time an initial Ravens defender on the scene is able to execute a tackle will be the first.

Jackson and Aaron Rodgers interspersed their few good throws with many off-target efforts. Rodgers came alive after injuries depleted the Ravens secondary and produced some extremely vanilla coverages.

Jackson had pathetic passing numbers beyond the couple of absolute Steelers coverage breakdowns, managed to throw an interception, and showed none of his touted explosiveness running the ball.

The bottom line is two mediocre teams slopped around with the AFC North title on the line. The 10-7 Steelers won and move on to the playoffs, but don’t bother ordering Super Bowl tickets.

I awoke Saturday morning to news that Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro and his wife were on a U.S. warship, reportedly the first leg in a journey to New York to face justice.

Maduro et ux got there after one of those middle-of-the-night, pinpoint military raids that probably only the U.S. or Israelis could make with such successful precision.

The usual suspects – China, Russia, Iran, Democrats and LameStream media – are decrying the action, ordered by President Donald J. Trump. As my late mother used to emphasize to the kids in the family, you are known by the company you keep. Actually, she was more earthy, saying if you travel with (excrement), you stink with it.

Along that line, it is fitting that the deranged leftists among us would join our avowed enemies and back a thug drug lord, albeit one (formerly) with political portfolio.

I presume that LameStream media will begin the propaganda campaign by calling Maduro a New York father, once he arrives there. These same useful idiots would have labeled Hitler as a Berlin, or Brandenburg, husband, neatly ignoring his pathological behavior that led to the deaths of millions.

Perhaps some prominent stooges among the Democrat far-left wing can arrange to visit Maduro and have a few drinks, providing photo ops for their vacuous social media posts.

More of those leftist stooges will flood social media with allegations of military overreach (he was just sitting there in his country presumably minding his own narcoterrorist network, although admittedly while in hiding), racism (Maduro is not white), misogyny (presumably his captured wife is a woman), and maybe even fraud (Trump overstating the reach and power of the U.S. military, albeit such being a tough sell considering this success, but still a possibility with a typical left-wing zealot masquerading as a judge presiding over a trial).

Can the Supreme Court be called into emergency session to demand Maduro and his wife be returned to Venezuela?

Some seem to be surprised by this Maduro capture. The only surprise to me was the exact timing.

I read it might have happened a few days earlier but for some bad weather. Regardless, Trump has been perfectly clear that Maduro had to go as far as Venezuela leadership.

In typical Trump fashion, he first made sure he had all the negotiating cards. Recall him pointing out to that pathetic dwarf Zelenskyy months back that the Z guy held no cards in his tiny hands? Maduro was similarly challenged when it came to lacking a strong hand to play.

Late in the going, Maduro must have sneaked a peak at his cards and offered to deal, a plaintive request dismissed summarily by Trump. Too late.

This negotiation had reached the point of no return for Maduro. The outcome was inevitable.

I find symbolism in Maduro being headed to New York, the state of our largest city, which now is run by a socialist mayor who sounds a lot like Maduro. Many Venezuela residents bought into Maduro’s socialist claptrap, only to find themselves needing those free bus rides so they could trek to garbage dumps in search of dinner.

Leaders of Mexican drug cartels might want to pay attention to Maduro’s capture, too. Trump is citing executive authority, the same power that led to deposed Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega being captured. CBS news reports that the Maduro grab is 36 years to the day after Noriega was taken.

The allegations against Maduro and Noriega are similar – narcoterrorism.

But Maduro was taken relatively easily owing to the advancements in our military in those three-plus decades.

Yes, I’ve read how well-trained and formidable Mexican drug cartel militias are. But, if push came to shove in a full kinetic confrontation, I’m confident the U.S. military would bloody their cocaine-stained noses with ease.

Trump might want to redirect some of that sea and air power formerly off the Venezuelan coast to the western edge of the Gulf of America, or even to the Pacific Ocean below California, just to make his point with Mexican drug lords.

If he does, they might do well to check their playing cards quickly, and fold immediately if not sooner.

Once upon a time, Jan. 1, or in some years Jan. 2 or 3, was the zenith of the college football season. Most bowls were played in early January, the season was a wrap, and thoughts quickly turned to the next season. Not now.

The NFL calendar has been stretched similarly. You might not recall it, but the first Steelers Super Bowl win, in edition IX played in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans (there was no SuperDome back then), was contested Jan. 12, 1975. This season’s Super Bowl comes almost an entire month later, Feb. 9.

Stanley Cup Finals that stretch into late June, World Series games in November, etc., etc., etc., all indicate sports fooling with Mother Nature’s calendar.

Thus, we find ourselves early in January with only the four semifinalists for the national collegiate football crown having been determined and with yet another week of REGULAR-SEASON!! NFL games on the ticket.

What have we learned from football games contested over the past week and change?

• Texas Tech made big news this season spending $28 million in Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) money, mostly on its defense, en route to a Big 12 title and a spot in the playoffs. After watching Tech look hapless on offense in a 23-0 quarterfinal loss to Oregon, maybe the priority for 2026 should be to spend some coin buying an offense.
• It probably was merely coincidence that Oregon called a late timeout to ram in its final, meaningless, touchdown against that high-priced defense.
• By the way, there is a lot of uncertainty regarding Oregon’s NIL spending, but quarterback Dante Moore gets a reported $2.3 million and NIKE billionaire Phil Knight reportedly has donated about $1 billion over the years trying to get the Ducks a national title. There’s a good reason to root against Oregon.
• Indiana also has mystery regarding total NIL, but it has been reported quarterback Fernando Mendoza, Mr. Heisman Trophy, gets $2.6 million to play what used to be an amateur sport this season.
• Considering this reality, announcers and the NCAA should spare us the student-athlete crap.
• Among the more annoying aspects of football circa 2025 and 2026 is the bow to “analytics.” In recent days I’ve seen coaches inexplicably try to convert fourth downs in their own territory, and fail. I’ve seen coaches strangely go for two-point conversions early, when it didn’t make apparent sense, then opt not to do so later. Three thoughts on analytics: 1) If you go on fourth down at your 35-yard line, even if you succeed, you’re still most often maybe 30 yards or more from a field goal and 70 or so from a touchdown, so risk vs. reward is not there. 2) A valid sample size for football is hundreds if not thousands of occurrences, so there are going to be a lot of times when the result is failure. 3) Coaches are dealing with humans, not calculators, so there is emotional letdown that comes when these sporting gambles fail. Can you say momentum?
• I’ve read many are picking Baltimore over the Steelers in their division title showdown Sunday night, some by lopsided scores. Mostly, these pundits are factoring in the absence of Steelers wide-receiver DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf due his suspension for lack of self-control regarding a fan. Considering my track record, far be it from me to pick a winner. But, I’ve got to think Steelers chances are enhanced considerably by the determination of Lamar Jackson to play quarterback for the Ravens and likely produce more of his patented big-game gaffes.
• Back in the 1970s, Steelers fans used to hate Howard Cosell of Monday Night Football fame. Foam rubber bricks were sold back then to throw at the television and Cosell without actually harming either. I wish I had one of those bricks to toss at Cris Collinsworth Sunday night should I watch the Steelers-Ravens game with the sound activated. Collinsworth picks a player to deify each broadcast and I suspect it will be his frequent favorite, Jackson. Never mind that Jackson never has taken his team to a championship, he’s Tom Brady with mobility in the eyes of Collinsworth. Maybe I should use a real brick. I’m due for a TV upgrade.

The sun is shining, but the wind is blowing gales and, baby, it’s cold outside.

It is a good day to stay inside, trade the volatile metals markets and dispense some random thoughts on random topics as 2025 winds to a close.

• Talk abut 3-D chess, President Trump hitting China by putting the clamps on Venezuela certainly qualifies. While the general population pursues free stuff from the government, what Trump is doing escapes the attention of the masses, but will benefit them more than the price of gasoline declining.
• This is the latest iteration of the Monroe Doctrine, something we ancients learned about when American history was taught in schools, not distorted with the DEI brush. Said doctrine declared Americans would actively oppose foreign powers gaining influence in our hemisphere. Trump’s attention to Venezuela is as much about hamstringing the oil flow to China as it is about hammering a state sponsor of narco-terrorism.
• Mid-term elections are not until November, but the polls continue to rain down upon us, often contradicting each other. We are to believe that Democrats hate their party in historic numbers, but will sweep to a House of Representatives majority in said elections. Yet, other polls cite that finding of Democrat unrest as proof Republicans can hold their slim majority. The only poll that counts is the actual voting in November. Until then, it’s all just noise.
• It would seem to me the Republican election hopes will hinge on the economy. If Democrats are able to convince average Americans that their “affordability” problems are the fault of Republicans, then the Democrats will take the House. It is incumbent on Republicans to hammer the truths of increasing wages, lower taxes, lower interest rates, increased investment returns, economic gains overall, as well as asking how one can put a price on street crime being reduced considerably.
• Considering daily revelations about alleged fraud in Minnesota, it looks like Trump was correct to call Gov. Tampon Tim Walz retarded. For further evidence, dredge up video of Tampon Tim trying to load a shotgun and looking like Elmer Fudd having sexual relations with the weapon. There, but for the grace of God, was your vice president had Cackling Kamala won the last election. Yes, to quote Barry Hussein Obama, elections do matter.
• ESPN.com checks in with some interesting takes on the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens. First, the Steelers have the most expensive defense in the NFL, yet rank near the bottom of the league in all significant defensive categories.
• As for Steelers fans hoping the Ravens will continue to be without starting quarterback Lamar Jackson for the teams’ season-ending game, they might note the two biggest Baltimore wins this season, against Chicago and Green Bay, came with Tyler Huntley playing quarterback. In those games, Huntley ran well, passed efficiently and avoided the turnover gaffes that define Jackson in key games.
• If you want insight on the pecking order on cable business and news outlets, check to see which hosts actually are working during the holiday season, and which ones get extended days off with a rotating cast of guest hosts filling in for them.

Like Buffalo quarterback Josh Allen misfiring on the potential game-winning two-point try against the Philadelphia Eagles Sunday, I choked.

Specifically, I thought the Steelers could win a game against a very bad Cleveland football team and by so doing, win the AFC North. I said as much right here earlier today.

As I wrote then, I expected an ugly game and was not interested in watching, but the Steelers would win. Well, reports indicate it was ugly. But the Steelers didn’t win.

All I know is, I got around to checking for the final score in the evening, while my wife and I were visiting the granddaughters and before taking them downtown to look at the massive, musical Christmas tree, dislocated from Central Park, which now is pretty much a frozen mud hole, and relocated to PNG Park.

Imagine my surprise when I saw the Steelers had ended up on the short end of a 13-6 final. I guess that’s why I heard the yelp of so many kicked dogs while driving late Sunday afternoon.

For God’s sake, if one team in a Browns game is going to score just six points, it’s almost a given it will be the Browns.

Even the hapless Las Vegas Raiders, leading the pack to get the top pick in next year’s draft, the booby prize awarded to the worst NFL team, got 10 on the Browns in a 24-10 loss earlier this season.

That would be the 4-12 Browns, the NFL’s epitome of everlasting losing.

To say the Steelers failed miserably in the clutch is the same as saying Cackling Kamala slightly mishandled her $1.5 billion-plus war chest.

Unlike the cackling one, the Steelers get a second chance, this coming weekend against Baltimore. I will ponder that at a future date.

Meanwhile, my thoughts Sunday evening were in the Far East, with precious metals trading opening at 6 p.m. our time.

Owing to the way silver, and to a lesser extent, gold, had skyrocketed last week, there was great excitement surrounding the Sunday night Asian open, which is Monday morning there. I found numerous YouTube types doing live broadcasts of it all and tuned in to follow along, after getting back from the tree and losing a Monster Card game to granddaughter No. 3.

Silver ripped from the gate and got as high as $84 an ounce in the spot market before the actors behind the scenes hit the silver and gold prices, buoyed by word that the COMEX (called the CrimeEx by critics) would be raising margin rates yet again Monday a move designed to tamp down prices by raising the cost of holding positions for those using leverage.

Silver got beaten down to a tad over $75, but has rebounded and now trades at 80.60, down $3 and change from the high earlier tonight, but still up $1.33 from the Friday close.

This is why the Steelers’ collapse hasn’t darkened my mood.

I learned long ago, while still working as a sports writer, that there were bigger, more interesting and potentially more lucrative avocations than following sports.

The Steelers lost, but silver just might continue to win. I’ll accept that tradeoff.

We’re running our own-two-minute drill here, rushing to get this written and posted before the Steelers-Browns game kicks off in less than an hour.

But first, a little anecdote. When I covered the Steelers for the local Woke Gazette, I flew on the team’s charter flights to road games – except Cleveland. The Steelers rode buses to the Cleveland games then and I preferred to drive myself. Otherwise, I flew with the team.

On one return flight from San Diego, whose airport had and likely still has a curfew due to the city having grown up around it, we throttled up and raced down the runway toward takeoff, only to throttle down and return to the gate.

A lift truck was dispatched to position a mechanic who, I swear, seemed to be looking at an engine with a flashlight.

It was a flight from the now defunct Pan Am airline, which went out of business in 1991. The flight attendants explained that a warning light had lit and the pilots had decided it likely was nothing, but . . .

And so, the mechanics were rushing to make a final determination as the clock ticked until takeoffs no longer were allowed.

Quipped Steelers radio broacaster Myron Cope at the time: “They’re running a two-minute drill with my life and I don’t like it.”

The final decision was made there likely was no problem, albeit after curfew. The Steelers gave the order to go, regardless, and they’d pay the fine.

The fact that I’m writing this indicates the flight was uneventful.

Now, to the matter of Cleveland. It’s raining here, but it could be worse. I could be in Cleveland. Past visits produced a lot of miserable experiences, including a car tire flattened – likely intentionally due to my Pennsylvania license plate – in the media parking lot. There also was a lost raincoat, hairy travel and some pretty uninteresting games to chronicle.

Today’s game has it all there for the Steelers, playing yet another certifiable putrid Browns team. There is growing sentiment to pick the Browns at least to cover a point spread that has oscillated between 4.5 points and three.

Maybe, but the big thing for the Steelers is they wrap up the division with a win and spare themselves a must-win game next week vs. Baltimore.

In a way, this game epitomizes the lowly state of the AFC North, where only the Steelers at 9-6 have a winning record.

If you’ve been with us from before the season, you might recall that I anticipated a soft overall schedule and a weak division would conspire to give the Steelers playoff life, a postseason life that would end in typically early fashion for them.

It’s too late to change horses now. The Steelers will win, despite the absence of wide-receiver DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf, despite their ancient quarterback, despite the race toward sack history of Cleveland’s Myles Garrett.

It likely will be ugly and I won’t be watching, but now I’m on the record and it’s 12:42 p.m. as I type this final word, 12:47 as I hit the publish button.

Today, we’re revisiting the lyrics to this Christmas standard.

We three kings of orient are,

Better that we’d driven a car.

But instead,

It’s camels we’re riding,

Leaving us still afar

Oh, camels are such smelly beasts,

Offering comforts in the least.

Biting, spitting, often sitting,

Making our woes increase.

This trek it has gotten so long,

Leaving us to make up this song.

Singing, humming,

Rum, tum, tumming,

Where have we all gone wrong?

Oh, camels are such smelly beasts,

Offering comforts in the least.

Biting, spitting, often sitting,

Making our woes increase.

Still we’re bound to honor the king,

Packing gifts and assorted bling.

There’s no wrapping,

Only our yapping,

Listen to us all sing.

Oh, camels are such smelly beasts.

Offering comforts in the least.

Biting, spitting, often sitting,

Making our woes increase.

Finally the end is in sight

Any luck we’ll be there by night.

Food and toys,

Assorted joys,

As we bask in the light.

Oh, camels are such smelly beasts.

Offering comforts in the least.

Biting, spitting, often sitting,

Making our woes increase.

‘Twas the night after Christmas, and all through the nation,

The peeps they were crying ’bout too much inflation.

The presents were opened, the bills not yet due,

So why were the peeps all feeling so blue?

The fears that were nestled so deep in their heads,

Had been put there by leftists who peddle such dread.

They’d gotten to mamas and papas and more,

Making the lot of them think they were poor.

To cut through it all came a Trumpian clatter,

The great man was noting it’s truth that does matter.

He posted this truth on his social creation,

Telling us all this still’s a great nation.

The prospect of tax cuts and other rewards,

Would push back the gloom in all of our wards.

His message was strong, a clarion call,

Uplifting the mood and the purse of us all.

He arrived in the beast, it was drawn by a crew,

And he shouted their names till their ears turned quite blue.

Now, Hakeem! Now, Nancy! Now, Schiff and Swalwell!

On, Jazzy and AOC, just all go to hell!

To the far, far left, let you socialists go,

And bury your heads quite deep in the snow.

And I heard the bells ring with deafening clanks,

To note that tax refunds had arrived in the banks.

Trump’s eyes, how they twinkled at the sound of the money,

And he brushed back his hair, ’twas the color of honey.

Trump spoke of the cash with little timidity,

He was talking his language of increased liquidity.

His suit was quite dark and his tie it was cherry,

He was an odd sight, this cash-giving fairy.

But we all knew there was nothing to fear,

It truly would be a happy new year.

His work now completed, Trump readied to go,

Leaving behind all that stimulus dough.

They sprang up from nowhere, his security team,

And spirited him off; it was just like a dream.

But I heard him exclaim, ere he whisked out of sight,

MAGA Christmas to all, not just those on the right.

Christmas Day is in the homestretch and it looks like I somehow will survive without watching any sporting events.

Imagine that. Instead, I spent time with the extended family, and now that they all have returned to their respective homes, I’m DVRing a Christmas movie, monitoring the upward explosion of gold and silver prices in Asia trading, contemplating plans for Friday before the ice storm hits, and writing this.

The NFL made it easy to decide not to watch, exiling their three Christmas Day offerings to Netflix and Amazon Prime in the league’s never-ending quest to wring yet more money from media outlets. No big deal, I’ve read, because “everybody” has Netflix and Prime.

I don’t have either, and I’m certainly not going to sign up just to watch three irrelevant football games. Really, people are expected to pay up to watch not one, not two, but three matchups in which five of the six teams won’t be making the playoffs?

They ought to be paying us to watch the games, and even then I’d not be a taker. It was more fun helping the two granddaughters explore their slime presents today, or watching them learn how to write cursive with instruction from my wife.

Interesting note: Cursive writing no longer is widely taught and I read that an effective code these days to prevent younger folks from catching on to a message is simply to write it in cursive. It’s akin to the foolproof way to prevent car theft by millennials and younger – drive a manual transmission car, which they cannot do.

The NBA’s “Dunk the Halls” marathon of Christmas games was available on regular and cable outlets. Still, I’m not a taker.

I recall back in the days when I wrote for the Local Woke Gazette and the Christmas Day NBA was just being tested. Some hack glandular case who played for the New York Knicks was whining about playing on the holiday and I noted a lot of regular folk – me included – often worked on Christmas and other holidays, and for a lot less money.

Somehow the guy read it and ripped me on one of those daytime talk shows afterward. If only I could have been there to respond.

I’m the first to admit to enjoying holiday time with the family. I’m also aware that there are many who have to work holidays, ranging from police, military and healthcare workers, down through newspaper types. Remember, your morning newspaper is put out the night before, so if you want a product the day after Christmas, people work Christmas day or night to make it happen.

Add in that sporting events often are played on holidays. If you are covering a team, you are working those holidays. Even if there is no game, frequently you are on the road in anticipation of the games, or returning home from same.

This is not a complaint, merely a statement of facts. If you want to work Monday-Friday daylight hours, get a job as a bank teller.

Too bad Steelers wide receiver DeKaylin Zecharius Metcalf wasn’t playing on Christmas Day and going after a fan who had the temerity to call him by his legal name.

Also, too bad we didn’t have yet another meaningless bowl game that devolved into an end-of-game brawl to spice up the holiday.

Increasingly, I’m finding sporting events carry too much baggage to make them able to hold my interest.

That goes doubly so on holidays.

Merry Christmas!