Hello again, friends of the Show. Once more it's time for your favorite newsletter - still free and worth every penny of it!

Sorry to start out with sad news. Regular readers here know that I'm somewhat of a baseball fan. But my peak years for baseball probably were maybe 1958-1962. I collected baseball cards. I pored over the daily newspaper for the box scores and player stats. I rooted for the Milwaukee Braves. I watched the (one and only) Game Of The Week. Many - too many - of the players I followed in those days have left us in recent years, including stars such as Don Newcombe, Frank Robinson, Al Kaline, Don Larsen and Roy Sievers, as well as players you may not have ever heard of, such as Alex Grammas, Wally Moon, Tony Taylor and Gene Conley, all pieces of my childhood. And this week we add another name: All-time Yankee great, Whitey Ford. Again, regular readers know that I am not a Yankee team fan and never have been, but I did like a lot of their players from this era, including Whitey. Read more about him here.

In other baseball news, the League Championship Series is set in both leagues. Surprisingly enough, Atlanta has made it this far, actually winning a series (actually two) for the first time in, maybe, your lifetime. Sadly, the New York Yankers will be watching from home.

In "amateur" sports, the "Hawaii" and "Bahamas" bowl games have been canceled because of the pandemic travel restrictions. Here's something I didn't know, and maybe you didn't either. Those two bowls as well as fifteen others are owned and operated by ESPN. Among those are the "Texas Bowl", the "Camellia Bowl", the "Broccoli Bowl", the "Studebaker Bowl", the "Potato Bowl", the "Chili With Beans Bowl", and the "Spam Bowl". Okay, I made some of those up, but it is true that ESPN owns seventeen bowls.

Turning to the NFL, the Washington NoNames have the latest in their long line of failed quarterbacks which reaches all the way back until I was just a wee lad, I believe. Dwayne Haskins has been benched by Coach Ron Rivera, although Ron says he hasn't "given up" on Dwayne. Haha! Inquiring minds wonder how long it will be before Ron joins the long list of failed Washington coaches. We also note that the Bears defeated the Buccaneers as Tom "Deflated Balls" Brady forgot that it was fourth down when he threw an incomplete pass. Thus the "G.O.A.T." became just a plain old "goat".

Lebron, A.D. and the rest of the Lakers will try once again tonight to put away those pesky Miami Heats, they of the very weird flaming ball logo. Late update: Lakers win in a blowout. Well done!

In golf, a fellow named Bryson DeChambeau, if I've got that right, is being criticized by some in the golf world for his improving ability to hit his driver farther than King Kong could. He has worked on his body and his clubs to increase his distance off the tee. Fellow golfer Matt Fitzpatrick believes the golf police should crack down on Bryson, saying that "It's not a skill to hit the ball a long way in my opinion". In my opinion it's a major skill to hit the ball past the ladies' tee, let alone 350+ yards. As the old saying goes, "Those who can, DO. Those who can't, CRITICIZE".

Who holds the record for most consecutive STARTS in the NFL? That's an easy one that even your grandmother knows. For extra credit, what DEFENSIVE player holds the record for most consecutive STARTS in the NFL? For a bonus 1000 points - remember: The points don't matter - what player holds the record for the most consecutive games PLAYED in the NFL? (Answers below)

Goldin Auctions is going to offer for sale some items from the Cal Ripken memorabilia collection, including the bat he used in the Gehrig record-breaking game and the jersey he wore in his first MLB game. The auction starts tomorrow (10/12).

Also coming up for sale is a 1996 Mercedes-Benz S600 "Lorinser" (that's what it says) once owned by Michael Jordan. It was reportedly briefly seen in the "Last Dance". Opening bid is $23,000, but I'd guess it will fetch a little more than that.

PSA reports that they are still way behind in their grading but say they are "taking steps" to help out. For a report from PSA, click here.

Topps Now has a new card (available for only a few more days) from the Vice Presidential debate. It shows the "fly" with VP Pence pictured underneath. Seriously.

Here's some pics from the June 2004 CSA show in Richmond, VA, when I got Whitey Ford's autograph (along with Bobby Richardson, Bob Turley, Don Larsen and Gil McDougald). It was definitely a fun day for me.

Sometimes the biggest heroes are not the ones who are actually in the game. They may be those who only stand by to help. These two young ladies had only one job to do, and they totally messed it up. I believe, however, that at the end of what was probably a thoroughly boring race, they actually added some fun and excitement to the event. I doubt, however, that they were ever invited back again. Watch here.

In prior newsletters we've discussed some "sports" that derived from childhood games such as "tag", "tiddlywinks" and various forms of beer guzzling, which have been adapted by "adults" for their amusement. Today we discuss "peashooting". You remember that irritating kid in grade school who used a straw to fire "spitballs" at you, until you'd had ENOUGH and shoved the straw up his nose. The "adults" in this video - from (no surprise) England - are "shooting" at a target rather than each other. Shooting at each other would no doubt be more fun to watch, but anyway, targets it is. Note some of the elaborate weapons they use, with lasers, spotting scopes and fancy arm rests, as well as the humongous hay bales used as backstops - as if the "Big Bad Wolf" is participating and will blow a pea right through the target, the trees and the building in back. The thrills never stop! I tell you, I've seen golf matches that aren't as exciting as this. Watch here.

This month: Leslie Nielsen had starring roles in many movies, but he's maybe most remembered for "Airplane!" and the "Police Gun" series. He also did a short video in 1993 called "Bad Golf Made Easier". If you want to watch it, click here for a YouTube video. But here's a few quotes for you. I don't know about you, but I can hear Leslie's voice as I read these.

The name October comes from the Latin word "Octo", meaning "eight", because the "early Romans" thought it was the eighth month for some reason. Their inability to count may have contributed to their famous "Decline and Fall". Thank goodness, though, that they named it for a word and not for the Roman numeral or we would have had the unpronounceable "VIIIber". We reported last month that September was apparently "rice" month, which excited nobody. October does better - this is "Go Hog Wild, Eat Country Ham Month", "Sausage Month", and the generic "National Pork Month". This somewhat conflicts with "No Salt Week", which is the 3rd through the 10th. The 13th is "Ada Lovelace Day" (no, you're thinking of LINDA Lovelace), a day which should be celebrated by all us current and past computer programmers. The 7th was "Walk to School Day", an activity which has been done by actually nobody in the last, oh, 30 years or so. October is "Caffeine Addiction Recovery Month", which you should be aware of if you now have to get somebody to hold your coffee cup steady enough for you to drink it, or perhaps you're mainlining the stuff.

October 4-10 is "International Post Card Week". For those "millennials" who have no idea what a "post card" is, I'll explain. In the olden days you could buy a small card which usually had a scenic picture on one side, such as "Welcome to Dave's Dinosaur Park" or "The Birthplace of Abe Lincoln". On the other side you could write by hand, using a "pen" or "pencil", a message (which will be reported by your biographers after you're dead) such as "Having a great time - wish you were here", and the address of a friend or family member. And then you would drop it into a "mail box" and the "Post Office" would carry it to that friend or family member. Sorry - too much to explain.

Brett Favre started 297 consecutive games. Defensive end Jim Marshall started 270 consecutive games. Finally, punter Jeff Feagles played 352 games, if you consider a punter to be a "player".

Up above I mistakenly called the New York AL team the "Yankers". My alert staff reminds me that the team is actually the "Wankers".

Sorry, there were no newsletters from November 2020 through May 2021.