Good morning, all! I hope your Thursday is off to a terrific start!
Before I begin with the sports, let us not forget 9-11. This is the 24th anniversary of that tragic day that changed the world. I was on the radio with Brad Davis in Hartford, when we watched the first plane fly into the Twin Towers at around 8:45 a.m. I felt a pit in my stomach, as the story unfolded. We immediately connected on the air with our sister station in New York, WOR, whose studios were located just blocks from the attack, getting a firsthand description of what was unfolding. Then the story broke about the plane hitting the Pentagon and the downed plane in a Pennsylvania field. Let us never forget the lives lost on that fateful day and the pictures and videos that are etched in our memories.
Charlie Kirk
The political discourse in our country has turned ugly. Frankly, it’s been that way for quite some time. There is no more room for debate, no more room for disagreement. It is one of the reasons I got out of the political talkshow business seven years ago.
Wednesday, the day before the 9-11 anniversary, we reached a tipping point. Regardless of your political persuasion, remember that Charlie Kirk, a man who believed in God, family and country, was assassinated for expressing those beliefs. Now a young wife is widowed and two children fatherless. We must do better as a country. We have to do better as a country.
Last night, the Yankees remembered Charlie Kirk and then posted this on social media:
On to expansion
We hear a lot about Nashville, Salt Lake City, Portland and Montreal being potential locations, when MLB expands, but what about Raleigh, NC? A move is underway to land a big league team in North Carolina’s capital, led by the owner of the NHL’s Carolina Hurricanes, Tom Dundon. It is no secret Dundon has deep pockets. In addition to owning the Hurricanes, he recently reached a tentative agreement to buy the NBA’s Portland Trail Blazers. Apparently he does not want to stop there. According to CBS 17, Dundon’s dream is to bring an MLB team to Raleigh.
Not only is Dundon interested there is also a grassroots group, MLBRaleigh, working to land an MLB franchise. Supporters of the movement say the region, and for that matter, the state, has too much going for it not to attract a team. The group lists a growing population, an educated workforce and a prosperous business base in what is known as the Triangle area: Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill.
Lou Pascucci, part of the MLBRaleigh group told CBS 17:
We’re one of the fastest growing regions, we’re the largest state in America that doesn’t have Major League Baseball. MLB is missing out on a lot of money by not being here.
“You never know about these things,” a dear friend and mentor of mine once said, and who knows, maybe Raleigh will emerge as a contender. MLB needs to settle its labor landscape first, though, before expansion can proceed.
Here are some other thoughts, as I contemplate all these teams proposing stadiums as part of mixed-use developments:
I will give you my Picks for Kicks in Saturday’s newsletter, but in case you are wondering, Washington is getting three points in its game tonight at Green Bay the last I checked on DraftKings.
I have the Red Sox taking two-of-three from the Yankees at Fenway this weekend.
According to a new book, QB Jeff Hostetler, filling in for the injured Phil Simms, said he suffered a torn ACL in the 1991 NFC Championship game, but played and led the New York Giants to victory, then played in the Super Bowl the next week, torn ACL and all, to lead them to a 20-19 win over Buffalo. He said the ACL was torn, when he was hit by former Giant Jim Burt.
By the way, Burt used to be a frequent visitor to my hometown of Torrington, CT., when his son played on a summer collegiate baseball league team located in the city.
Word is QB Brock Purdy is now a “long shot” to play in Week 2, when his 49ers play at New Orleans. As of this writing, the Niners were three-point favorites.
Amazing. The Athletics Shea Langeliers collected a double off of Red Sox closer Aroldis Chapman on Wednesday, the first hit Chapman had permitted since July 23. He went 50 batters over 17 appearances without giving up a hit. Lawrence Butler delivered a walk-off single to lead the Athletics to a 5-4 win, as they salvaged the finale of a three-game series.
Heard Red Sox TV-voice Dave O’Brien saying there is talk the Athletics may not complete the remaining two years on the three years they were supposed to play in Sacramento, while their stadium in Las Vegas is under construction. O’Brien stated there is buzz the A’s could play the remaining two seasons at the ballpark of their AAA affiliate in Vegas.
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for subscribing and have a great day!
DAN