Live report. Super Bowl LIX (59) doesn’t look good for Kansas City Chiefs fans. At halftime, the score is 24-0 Philadelphia Eagles. KC’s Quarterback Mahomes is not invincible so far; he’s been sacked three times, and threw an interception for a touchdown, and another one deep in KC territory that was converted for a touchdown. The time of possession has been in Philly’s favor (twenty minutes to ten), they’ve mostly had the ball on offense.
Okay, halftime, and Kendrick Lamar brings his hypnotic rap music. I’ll be honest, I’ll take Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, or Marvin Gaye, over rap (except only Wonder is alive). The latter understood music theory, rappers don’t seem to know much about melody, and harmony. Samuel L. Jackson was fun to watch as emcee (master of ceremonies). It was an impressive production, except for the music. I’m an old guy.
The Nike women empowerment commercials were progressive, enjoyable.
Back to the game: field goal, Philadelphia, they lead 27-0. KC was the favorite going into the game, and Philly the underdog, so this lopsided score in favor of the Eagles was not at all expected. What do sports writers do when nature calls: 34-0, Eagles, somehow...
The Chiefs get on the scoreboard (took awhile), 34-6.
The Eagles make a field goal from 48 yards, 37-6. It’s been a long night for Chiefs fans. The KC three-peat may be out of reach.
Chiefs turnover the ball on a sack. This has been the pattern: Mahomes scrambles out of the pocket for the big yardage gain, playing defensive catch up football. Then these high-risk maneuvers resulted in sacks, or turnovers like interceptions.
The Eagles field goal kicker puts another one, this time 50-yards, right between the uprights, 40-6, Philadelphia.
I don’t know if I should gloat, but I wanted the Eagles to win, and the Chiefs didn’t really show up. They fell so flat. This Super Bowl wasn’t really close. Taylor Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, retires with two Super Bowl rings, not three.
The Chiefs try to keep it interesting with a touchdown, two-point conversion successful, 40-14, Eagles.
Mahomes shows off his arm and connects with his wide receiver, sixty yards away, two-point successful, 40-22. Too little, too late.
(I’m watching on Tubi.) 2/09/25.
Trump will be the first sitting President to attend the Super Bowl. Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs, offensive tight-end, raised a few eyebrows when he said “it’s a great honor” to have the President in attendance.
Trump and Kelce’s girlfriend, Taylor Swift, have never gotten along. In fact, Trump said he “hates Taylor Swift,” after she endorsed Kamala Harris for President.
I get the impression that Kelce wants to stay out of the fray, and not openly comment about Trump’s contempt for Ms. Swift. A President would be an honor, not necessarily this President though. Kelce is thinking, no game day distractions...
If Travis Kelce wins his third consecutive Super Bowl ring, will an engagement ring for Taylor Swift be soon to follow? Did you see Ms. Swift’s thigh pendant, a “T,” at the Grammys? Damn!
In the National Football League, who do you like this Sunday? There’s these conference championship, elimination rounds: Washington Commanders versus Philadelphia Eagles (final, Philly, 55-23), and Buffalo Bills versus Kansas City Chiefs
Will the Chiefs three-peat in the Super Bowl? I like underdogs, and you cannot get a bigger underdog than the Buffalo Bills, this year, or any year. Sorry, Taylor. (She’s dating Chiefs offensive tight end, and future Hall of Famer, Travis Kelce.)
In real time: KC 29-22, 4th, 10 minutes remaining, when it’s a really tough team, comebacks aren’t going to happen, so says I... Final, KC 32-29...
Super Bowl 59: KC vs. Philly, February 9th; KC is a slight favorite to win. 1/25/25.
At Orchard Park today, the Buffalo Bills, at home, stopped the Kansas City Chiefs unbeaten streak at nine games. Even though Chiefs’ Travis Kelce is a future Hall-of-Famer, and the boyfriend of Taylor Swift (America’s sweetheart), I was backing the Bills, from start to finish. Buffalo is a minor-market, and a decided underdog, yet they were able to pull off the victory, 30 to 21.
Buffalo is a powerhouse in football this year, yet it is 81st most populous city in America. I am surprised Buffalo gets a national stage in sports. I am by no means disappointed, just surprised.
Salary parity is what the National Football League does better than Major League Baseball. Kansas City is also a minor market, but check out baseball, who perennially wins? Just look at this year’s World Series, New York, and Los Angeles, the East and West Coast giants.
(You’re probably wondering how I watch the NFL. Do I have a cable NFL package costing hundreds of dollars every season? Do I listen to a call of the game over the radio? : No, I watch it via an over-the-air (OTA) broadcast received with my television antenna, and it costs nothing; I have no pixelating, or static, either.
Okay, one side of my house is closest to New York City, and the TV there gets the best signal. Plus, I use a signal amplifier, a small, inexpensive device ($10-$15) that plugs into an electrical outlet, and interfaces between the antenna coaxial line, and the TV. It may take a little trial and error to maximize signal strength, but the result might save you hundreds of dollars per year.)
Here is a log of the pennant chase, and the World Series for 2024. Also included, is why Major League Baseball would be better off with salary parity.
Game five, Dodgers, up by two games. Play ball...
Bottom of the first inning, Yankees hit two home runs, one man on, for the first homer. This is not going well, at all. 3 to nothing, Yankees lead. OUCH! I’ll check in later.
Yankees up by four, bottom of the second. Then, 5 to nothing, Yankees. This could be a long night.
Top of the seventh, six to five, Yankees. This game turned out to be much closer than I thought it would be. This is what makes baseball exciting, a win is never out of reach until the final out.
Top of the eighth, Dodgers load the bases, hit two sacrifice flies to deep center, and the score is now 7 to 6, Dodgers.
I thought the Dodgers would blow it in the final six outs, but they held on to win by one run, 7 to 6. The Los Angeles Dodgers have the best baseball team in the world for 2024. This is the eighth World Series championship for dem bums from Brooklyn (where the Dodgers were before their move to L.A. in 1957).
The Yankees did not seem to be the most well-rounded, disciplined ballplayers. Five of the seven Dodger runs were unearned, and on top of that, the catcher interfered with the batter, and the pitcher had a balk, all defensive errors. The Yankees were great on offense tonight, but they lacked consistency in the fundamentals of defense.
Hey, baseball fans, who’s catching the Series tonight? The Los Angeles Dodgers are ahead 3 games to none. If they win tonight, Dodgers are world champs. They were behind 5 to 2, but rallied in the top of the Fourth, and now the score is 5 to 4, Yankees lead. Keep it here for all your World Series coverage. Never mind. (At last, it’s raining here in Brunswick, Brooklyn.)
The Yankees knocked one out of the park in the bottom of the Fifth, so now the score is 6 to 4, Yankees.
Freddie Freeman of the Dodgers is setting World Series homer records. If he wasn’t made of money before, he’s made of money now.
This doesn’t look to be the Dodgers night, but if they win one of the next three, they are champions. If you’re wondering why I am a New Yorker, yet I’m rooting on Los Angeles and the Dodgers, it’s because I’m a Red Sox fan, my father was from Boston. If you are a Red Sox fan, the Yankees are your least favorite team.
The Yankees blew this one open. Five runs in the bottom of the Eighth, three on a three-run home run. The score is 11 to 4, New York, and that’s how the game ended. Well, Dodgers fans come up empty tonight.
The thing about the New York Yankees, is that they are the best team money can buy. In Major League Baseball, Yankees are regularly the top three in aggregate salary, they get the best players, year after year.
Salary correlates very well with winning percentage, which correlates to Pennants, and World Series wins. Whereas a team like the Red Sox win on heart (or the Dodgers do for that matter), the Yankees win on monopolizing baseball talent. If you don’t like underdogs, you like the New York Yankees.
Major League Baseball has a problem in that, unlike the National Football League, MLB does not have salary parity. The team with the most money in baseball, wins most of the championships. Not so in the NFL, there is a chance for small-market teams like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, or the Buffalo Bills, to do very well.
Anyone catching the World Series tonight? End of the Third inning, and the Los Angeles Dodgers just scored three, on back-to-back home runs (one on-base for one homer). The score going into the top of the Fourth is 4 to 1, Dodgers. I am a New Yorker, yet I could not care less about the Yankees, who are behind L.A., one game to none, in this best of seven Series...
A close contest until the final out, yet the Dodgers pull away with a victory. The top of the Ninth, the Yankees loaded the bases, but could not bring home the tying run. The final out was a long fly-out, short of the bleachers. The Dodgers win, 4 to 2, and lead the Series 2 to nil.
The Yankees are the perennial spoilers to the chances of the Boston Red Sox, where my father hails. I’ll root for the New York Mets though. Boston and New York compete in the same American League, Eastern Division, those two teams are one of the biggest rivalries in all of sport. (Fox is carrying the Series.)
Direct audio feed from my Coney Island office:
I open my window in my Coney Island office, and this is what I hear:
That wraps up the season for the 2024 New York Mets. No “miracle Mets” in this pennant series, the “Amazin’s” came up short. This is not the “You gotta believe” year. The Los Angeles Dodgers kept proving they were the stronger team.
After striking out the side, in the top of the eighth inning; L.A. tacked on three more runs, in the bottom of the eighth; then gave up one run to the Mets in the top of the ninth. Final score was 10 to 5, L.A.. The Dodgers win the National League pennant, 4 games to 2. Dodger Blue faces the New York Yankee pinstripes, in a bi-coastal World Series.
Who do I want to win? Even though I am a lifelong New Yorker, I have never liked the Yankees. My father’s from Boston. Ever hear of the “Curse of the Bambino”?
Anyone catch the Mets game? This may not be their year, but it ain’t over yet. Baseball is a game of second chances, a ball game is not complete, comebacks are still possible, until the final out is made, in the last inning, of the season-ending game.
This is a good way to look at life, don’t let yourself get defeated, there are still outs left, years left really, to try and win the damn thing. There are times when all that you want is a little validation, a pat on the shoulder, which might make the difference, that you do have potential, the potential to succeed in life. However you choose to measure success.