PONDERABLES
Given the relentless proliferation in Toronto of illegal guns smuggled from the U.S., how incompetent is Canada’s Border Services Agency?
Why do judges need weeks after a guilty verdict is reached to decide on the sentence? Shouldn’t they already be prepared for such an outcome?
When someone gets a lucky break, have they lucked in or lucked out?
How long does it take for “breaking news” to no longer be “breaking?”
THINGS I FIRMLY BELIEVE
It’s impossible to measure the damage Donald Trump has done to his country.
Use of the phrase “going forward” is almost always redundant.
Some small-minded, so-called activists being uncomfortable with the history of something is no reason to try to erase it.
Anyone who doesn’t think the LA Angels’ dual superstar, Shohei Ohtani is the most exciting player in baseball doesn’t really understand the game.
SOME MORE TANTALIZING COUNTRY SONG TITLES
Put Your Clothes Back On
What Did I Promise Her Last Night?
Half Of Me Wants A Beer (and so does the other half)
ANOTHER PAROLE BOARD OF CANADA SNAFU
The recent carnage wreaked in Saskatchewan by parolee Myles Sanderson, who hadn’t been reporting to his parole officer for months before he died while in police custody, is further proof the Parole Board of Canada is an institution in dire need of reform. Among other apparent deficiencies, it is clearly peopled by too many bleeding hearts. At Sanderson’s parole hearing last February, despite a rap sheet of 59 convictions for violent crimes, he was again released. Considering he then was allegedly involved in the murder of ten people and the attempted murder of eighteen others, the Board’s comment that he had “a high risk to reoffend with violence” was probably the understatement of the century. Any board member who voted for his release should be summarily dismissed.
That it took an incident like this for Public Safety Minister, Marco Mendicino, to suggest the Board’s procedures should be reviewed is another of many reasons why this hapless MP should be removed from cabinet.
I’M GLAD TRUDEAU IS STAYING ON
Given my antipathy towards Justin, you may be surprised that I was absolutely delighted to hear he plans to stay on as Liberal leader for the next election. First and foremost, I want to see him get whipped. But it also means his heretofore presumptive heir apparent, Chrystia Freeland, will likely move on. Her incessant smug lecturing will not be missed.
THE BLUE JAYS PLAYOFF CHANCES
Having fifteen games left with the Baltimore Orioles and Tampa Bay Rays, whether the Blue Jays make the playoffs is squarely in their own hands. What’s not, though, is how far they can go if they do make the postseason. They may well get by with only three reliable starting pitchers, but having only two reliable relievers doesn’t augur well for a lengthy playoff run.
MLB NEEDS TO CHANGE THIS PREPOSTEROUS RULE
The rule regarding the blocking of the plate by a catcher is so difficult to interpret that it’s rendered useless. The official interpretation is:
“Unless the catcher is in possession of the ball, the catcher cannot block the pathway of the runner as he is attempting to score. If, in the judgment of the Umpire, the catcher without possession of the ball blocks the pathway of the runner, the Umpire shall call or signal the runner safe.
Notwithstanding the above, it shall not be considered a violation of this Rule 7.13 if the catcher blocks the pathway of the runner in order to field a throw, and the Umpire determines that the catcher could not have fielded the ball without blocking the pathway of the runner and that contact with the runner was unavoidable.”
It’s absurd at best, and just a matter of time before a ruling by some umpire affects the outcome of a deciding playoff game; perhaps even a World Series championship. Brett Hull’s clearly illegal Stanley Cup winning goal in 1999 comes to mind.