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Another NFL season flew by in four months and now that 2024 has burst into existence, the playoffs have arrived. Like I have promised in the past, if I predict less than half the teams correctly (Six or less), I will skip my postseason NFL blog and write about the things that truly inspire like Jennifer Lawrence’s ass, the mating patterns of the Regent Parrot, and whether Napoleon was one of the worst dictators in history because he was angry about being born small. Here are my predictions from early September.
AFC
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Here is how they finished. AFC
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SUPER WILD CARD WEEKEND Here are my picks. Cleveland over Houston Houston has found a franchise quarterback in CJ Stroud. He had a wonderful rookie season and stepped up at the end to lead the Texans to a division title. The future is bright with this kid. Cleveland’s playoff run may have been even more impressive. Winning eleven games despite starting four quarterbacks. Their 4th starter, 38-year-old Delaware graduate and Super Bowl champion Joe Flacco, has had a career renaissance with the Browns late in the year. I believe this will continue for another week. Kansas City over Miami The Chiefs are the defending champions and despite having a Super Bowl caliber defense, the offense has been abysmal especially during the second half of the season. Despite their decline, the rest of the AFC West was pathetic which allowed Kansas City to win an 8th consecutive division title. Miami was impressive early but as soon as they started playing some of the NFL’s best, they began to struggle only winning at the last minute over Dallas at home and losing the rest. If this game was in a dome, I would be leaning towards Miami. But this game will be taking place in freezing weather in Kansas City. Miami historically does not play well in this weather. Kansas City will bumble and stumble their way to a victory. Buffalo over Pittsburgh Not much to say here. Buffalo struggled and was sitting at 6-6 in early December. They are now 11-6 and hanging onto the 2 seed as possibly the hottest team in the AFC entering the playoffs. Pittsburgh again slips into the playoffs as Mike Tomlin keeps his insane non-losing record streak alive for another season. The talent gap in this game is immense. Unless a bomb blows up and kills half the Bills team or Josh Allen has one of his infamous high turnover games, the Bills should roll. Dallas over Green Bay Dallas won the division as expected even though it took until the final week to do it. Green Bay’s Jordan Love matured in the 2nd half and took a struggling 3-6 Packers team and guided them to a 6-2 finish to slide into the 7 seed. Green Bay is young and Dallas, who is undefeated at home, should defeat the Packers. Detroit over LA Rams The Detroit Lions were my favorite pick in the preseason. I was impressed with how Detroit finished in 2022. I expected this to carry over with an even more talented team in 2023. The Lions rewarded my prediction by rolling to an NFC North division crown. The LA Rams being in this spot is a huge surprise. Going into the bye week with injuries to three of their top four skill players and sitting at 3-6, the season was starting to resemble the miserable 5-12 2022. But in a shocking turn of events, the Rams came together and finished 7-1 and slid into the playoffs only one year after blowing up their roster due to salary cap issues and starting over. Detroit has two significant advantages over the inexperienced Rams, a great D-Line and two very good running backs. If they play conservative and use their superior line talent to control the line of scrimmage, the cursed Lions franchise should advance for the first time in 32 years. Tampa Bay over Philadelphia Tampa Bay is the most shocking surprise of this NFL season. They lost Hall of Famer Tom Brady and were heading into rebuild mode. In comes Baker Mayfield who wins one more game than Brady did with a more talented team the previous season and steals away a shocking division title. Philadelphia looked dominant at 10-1. Since December started, the team has completely fallen apart. Jalen Hurts looks like he has regressed, and the defense can’t stop anyone. If this play continues, I believe Tampa will blow the Eagles out and move them into their offseason with a likely new coach. AFC Divisionals Baltimore wins a close one over Cleveland. Buffalo blows out Kansas City NFC Divisionals San Francisco blows out Tampa Bay Detroit upsets Dallas AFC Championship Baltimore wins after a late Josh Allen turnover. NFC Championship San Francisco handles Detroit Super Bowl LVIII A rematch of Super Bowl XLVII from eleven years earlier. Baltimore won this game 34-31 after taking a 28-6 lead and holding on. Joe Flacco, who is now with Cleveland, was the winning quarterback. Baltimore walloped San Francisco earlier in the year. This Super Bowl will be a repeat of that game. Baltimore jumps out early and cruises to a 37-27 victory capturing their 3rd Super Bowl title and sending the 49ers to their 3rd straight loss in the Big Game since 2012. Baltimore will become the 11th team to win at least three Super Bowls putting them into a five-way tie with Las Vegas, Kansas City, Washington, and Denver. Enjoy everyone!
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 ** SPOILERS: IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN ‘LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND’ ON NETFLIX, DO NOT READ THIS ARTICLE UNLESS YOU WANT THE FILM SPOILED. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. **
Recently on Netflix, the platform released one of their most anticipated movies of the year with the goal of delivering some decent content and preventing people from cancelling their membership for at least another month. The movie is called LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND and is based on the novel by Rumaan Alam that was released in 2020.The movie stars Julia Roberts, Ethan Hawke, and Mahershala Ali. The movie is directed by Sam Esmail, an up-and-coming director who is most famously known for creating the incredible techno futurist, four season thriller MR. ROBOT. This post will dive into a review of this film followed by an analysis and evaluation of the story and some interesting observations about this film, political events and the future it seems to be showing us. LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND starts innocently enough. A stressed-out wife played by Julia Roberts makes reservations at a luxury home on Long Island to get away from the city and relax with her husband Ethan Hawke and two children played by Farrah Mackenzie and Charlie Evans. Upon settling down and enjoying the beautiful beach, which is part of their rental’s backyard, the film begins its transition into a disaster movie. An out-of-control tanker crashes into the beach which begins a series of events that the family cannot explain. As the distress increases, the owner of the home played by Mahershala Ali and his daughter played by Myla’La come to seek shelter from the disaster unfolding all around them. As a straight up thriller that has apocalyptic undertones throughout, the movie does a great job building up the intensity. At first, Julia Robert’s Amanda is very distrustful of the newcomers. This tension is slowly relieved as the tragedies increase and the need to depend on each other becomes vital to everyone’s survival. The movie has one specific problem though. As the resolution of the story is occurring on Kevin Bacon’s doorstep, the reveal of what happened is going to leave a lot of viewers unsatisfied. As a film, the structure and story make the 140 minutes fly by. The cinematography and music is fantastic. But there are decisions made revolving around the unfolding disaster that came across as utterly ridiculous (The overused stampede and large gathering of animals and the pool flamingos). Plus, there is one gigantic problem. The movie was produced by HIGHER GROUND Productions which was founded by Barack and Michelle Obama. Because of the involvement of an ex-president, it muddles the ending of the movie when the cause of the disaster is finally revealed. As a person who is always open-minded about films and what a writer or filmmaker is trying to tell me, my brain began to wonder about this film’s purpose. And some of these questions that lead to my hesitancy to endorse this movie need to be answered because an evaluation of a movie that is produced by an ex-president must consider the political angle and point of view that was revealed. The big TWIST in this film is that the United States is undergoing a cyberattack. This attack leads to the crippled oil tanker beaching itself right outside their rental home. Later in the film, a few more bizarre events occur. Planes end up crashing near Ali’s character upon visiting a neighbor’s home. Tesla’s begin to auto-drive and crash into themselves on the nearby parkway. Hawke’s character Clay drives off and gets bombarded by a drone dropping leaflets in Arabic. The final moment revolves around Ali’s character explaining a “secret” program that apparently was going to be used to destroy nation-states around the world. It was a three-step program that starts with a cyber attack and leads to a Civil War. But the attack only commences once the nation is “weak enough” for it to be initiated. This movie has led to quite a few evaluations on its subject matter. If Esmail had been able to direct the movie, I believe he wanted to make, I think the nations or organizations behind the “cyberattack” would not have been clearly defined. The movie would have worked better if an explanation had never been given, nor the antagonists ever discovered. Horror always works better when less information is revealed. The movie can still be seen this way if you dismiss certain events as “disinformation” which Ali said is a key component of the enemy’s attack. But, Barack Obama, who was a gigantic fan of the book, gave away the film’s purpose in an interview. Here are a few quotes from this article about the making of this picture which shows that our ex-president had a very hands on producer role in terms of creating its underlying reality. “In the original drafts of the script, I definitely pushed things a lot farther than they were in the film, and President Obama, having the experience he does have, was able to ground me a little bit on how things might unfold in reality,” Esmail said to Vanity Fair. This is the final quote from Ali’s character at the end that gives away the underlying story. “This (Defense) program was considered the most cost-effective way to destabilize a country because if the target nation was dysfunctional enough it would do the work for you. Whoever started this, wants us to finish it.” In the film, there is a comment made by a character about whether the “elites” are behind this attack. After considering this for about a whole second, this idea is quickly blown off. Ali’s character is more concerned that no one is in charge at all. In the real world where a medical elite recently shut down the entire world for over a year for a virus with a 99.9% survival rate, this aspect of “no one being in control” is hard to stomach. The problem we have in the present day is our leaders’ need for control. Many governments are making the push to control the last bit of freedom that most people have: their minds and body. Plus, if you read the news even badly, our elites are warning us all the time about future apocalyptic events. Global Instability Will Lead to Cyberattacks from the WEF Reporter believes a black swan event will occur in 2024 Doomsday Clock Warns World of Catastrophe in 2024 If I posted all the threats of nuclear bomb usage, I would have another half a dozen links. But going back to my main point, why did this movie need to be made? And if there was a cyberattack on the United States, wouldn’t it make the most sense that our own government participated in some fashion in its continued war against the people? We already know that Dr. Fauci’s ECOHEALTH ALLIANCE funded the creation of COVID-19. I would have liked the movie more if the reality of the situation is that the United States initiated the cyberattack to begin its final descent into full blown authoritarianism. It would have made more sense than the movie we got. The other flaw with this movie is its underlying cynicism. I always saw Obama as a cynic during his presidency. It was the one thing that drove me nuts about his personality. This movie reflects some of Obama’s personal viewpoints. There is a short scene where Ali’s daughter warns him about this family because they are WHITE. This is the only time it is brought up as the families quickly unite after this comment. Kevin Bacon’s character is meant to be an unsympathetic, right-wing survivalist who is supposed to be the antagonist during the last scene. His distrustful point of view and lecture about protecting his own family made him sympathetic to me. But I do not believe this was the point. I believe Esmail, Obama, and Netflix want us to see him as a villain. The type of villain that you live around every day inside the United States of America. Here is another article that dives into this idea especially regarding the Obama’s elitism. My personal favorite contemplation regarding this movie involves deception. Could Obama by creating a fictional movie be showing us a glimpse into our future? But when confronted with this observation, he denies that is the purpose. But it really is the purpose. Take this as an example. “Whereas animal lures are straightforward, the human being is unique in being capable of a special kind of lure which involves a ‘double deception.’ This is a kind of lure which involves deceiving by pretending to deceive (i.e. telling a truth that one expects to be taken for a lie)…The classic example of the properly human lure is the joke quoted by Freud (and often cited by Lacan) about the two Polish Jews: ‘Why do you tell me you are going to Cracow so I’ll believe you are going to Lvov, when you are really going to Cracow?’…Other animals are incapable of this special kind of lure owing to the fact that they do not possess language.” Is LEAVE THE WORLD BEHIND a lure? Or is it just a harmless disaster movie with no actual agenda? That, my readers is up to you to decide. HERE IS WHY ANALYTICS WILL NEVER BE THE SOLUTION FOR SPORTS, CENTRAL BANKING OR ANY HUMAN PROBLEM11/29/2023 Back in 2003, mainstream journalist and FTX lover Michael Lewis released his most famous book, MONEYBALL: THE ART OF WINNING AN UNFAIR GAME. The book immortalizes Oakland GM Billy Beane who had to cut payroll and rebuilt the Athletics into a 100-win team using the art of analytics in only one season. A few years later, the Boston Red Sox became the first team to win a World Series using this system of analytics as their foundation. Since this book and the entertaining 2011 movie were released, analytics has taken over the game of baseball. Creating new acronyms in our society like OPS (On Base plus Slugging Percentage) for hitters, BB% (Walk Percentage) and K% (Strike Out Percentage) for pitchers, and WAR (Wins Above Replacement) for everyone, the means in which players are evaluated has completely changed from the game that was played in the 20th Century. Every aspect of the game is divided into percentages and statistics. What is the batter’s hit rate if the pitcher’s first pitch is a strike? What is the likely ERA of a starting pitcher after he has thrown 70 pitches? What are the chances of the Los Angeles Dodgers coming back from a 2-run deficit with San Francisco’s set up man and closer pitching the final two innings? Every aspect is now based on mathematical formulas. While there have been some interesting benefits to this system which has revolutionized the game, after over 20 years of usage, it is time to analyze what analytics or sabermetrics has done to the game from an entertainment perspective and where it has gone wrong. Then, we will analyze how other mathematical data analysis is used in another key aspect of our lives, central banking.
“Everyone sees it, everyone knows it, everyone recognizes its killing baseball, yet it persists. Baseball is ruled by math based on the broadest possibilities; ones that spread corrosion posed as wisdom.” Phil Mushnick When I was in school, I was very good at math and statistics. There is a basic logic to math that if you follow a specific formula or problem-solving mechanism, you will get a universal and definitive answer. You can’t lie about the solution to a math problem. But there is another problem with math. It is incredibly boring. Watching a baseball game where both teams strike out twenty times, most of the runs are generated by quick one or two run homers, and a pitching coach or manager make ten trips to the mound cumulatively between the two teams has sucked the air out of the game. Most baseball games are unwatchable now. Even Michael Lewis agrees with this. The game has become robotic, predictable, and worst of all, boring as hell. To fix this latter problem, the MLB had to institute a pitch clock to speed up the game and keep the fans in their seats due to the increase in pitching changes that analytics brought about. Because taking pitches is now one of the foundations of this movement, strike outs and home runs seem to set new record highs every season. Baseball used to have big personalities,” Lewis said. “It hasn’t accommodated them recently. Baseball has steadily been drained of emotion. The analytics movement has drained it of emotional content. What used to be a source of great drama was the manager coming out of the dugout and lifting third base and hurling it into the outfield and kicking dirt on the umpire. There’s no point in doing that anymore… You raise your hand and say, ‘Can we review the videotape?’ It’s become much more slickly professional.” In addition, there is no guarantee that analytics has created the “perfection” that was promised. One of the best examples of the failure of the analytics movement is Game 6 of the 2020 World Series. Blake Snell was unhittable through 5 1/3 innings. He gave up his second hit to Austin Barnes and was pulled after 73 pitches. He was replaced by Nick Anderson who preceded to give up a double to Mookie Betts. A wild pitch and fielder’s choice later, Tampa Bay was losing 2-1 on their way to blowing the World Series. Based on analytics, Snell should have been pulled in that scenario before facing Betts. But with the way he was pitching, a little common sense and leaving him on the mound through the sixth inning may have been the better outcome. Analytics cost the Tampa Bay Rays that game. There is no way to know if Snell would have blown the game if he had been left in. As people obsess over analytics and its robotic efficiency, they often fail to notice how the proper reliever may be brought into a game and not have his best “stuff” that evening. Or maybe a specific umpire has a tighter strike zone which will be a hindrance to your best side arm reliver who lives on the corners of home plate. Baseball analytics works when the percentages, and the formula succeeds. But it fails because analytics eliminates the emotion of the game, dehumanizes the sport, and does not account for the variables of the human experience, which is unpredictable, random, and chaotic. Taking an analytical stat like DRA (Deserved Run Average) seriously is ridiculous. The chaotic nature of sports means nothing is truly earned and nothing is deserved even on a percentage basis. If a player is having a bad run of luck or no support from his lineup, a statistic like DRA means nothing when evaluating a player. SIERA (Skill-Interactive Earned Run Average) and WAR (Wins above Replacement) are just percentage calculations and change nothing about the player’s current statistics. So, understanding the problems that analytics causes, what other fundamentally important aspects of our society are being burdened by mathematics? Well, there is the question of central banking. Almost every country in the world has a Central Bank. There is even an International Bank called the IMF run out of the United Nations that helps give assistance loans to third world countries as long as certain political goals and contractual obligations are met. In the United States, we have had a Central Bank since 1913 called the Federal Reserve. With a system set up to control the nation’s money supply with data coming in from every aspect of this nationalized economy, it would be logical to think that these “experts” would understand the economic problem and be able to fix it. But the Central Bank managers are incapable of doing anything other than putting out small fires while allowing larger infernos to blaze beneath the surface. There was never a Great Depression till we had a Central Bank. There would have been no tech crash without a Central Bank. There would not have been a mortgage collapse without the Central Bank. You can also not blame this problem on just one nation’s Central Bank. Every country in the world has different economic problems usually caused by a previous action undertaken by their Central Bank. Inflation in the UK Property Crisis in China Basic Overall Failure of the US Federal Reserve So, what could be the cause of these problems? Why can’t these Central Banks keep the economy healthy? First, almost every Central Bank will distort data which causes many of their projections to be incorrect. This inevitably leads to mal-investment and the creation of a new problem. This distortion of data allows the Bank to create a more positive narrative about the economy and prevent people from engaging in bank runs or losing confidence in their investments. Why is the bank incapable of projecting economic numbers? Because there is an inherent flaw with banking statistics that it shares with baseball analytics. The world is unpredictable and chaotic, and decisions made by human beings cannot be predicted by a computer algorithm. There is a famous book that explains this phenomenon and why the elites with their administrative need to control the flow of money can never succeed no matter how many data points reach their computers. After World War II, Austrian economist Ludwig Von Mises wrote the greatest economic book of all-time called HUMAN ACTION. It explains in detail that centrally controlled economies, especially Communist ones, will always fail economically. Because no matter the intention, Central Banks will distort an economy and create the conditions for bad investment, misplace demand for labor, and worst of all, allow preferential treatment of certain individuals and institutions over others. Human beings will make the market work through their own consumer actions and these actions will adjust the market to its proper pricing mechanism. These actions are incompatible with administrative spreadsheets and economic statistics. Here is the summary. “Mises argues that market-generated money prices are essential to determine the most highly valued uses for resources to satisfy consumer demands. He attempts to demonstrate the inconsistencies of piecemeal political intervention in the market economy and the pernicious effects of political control and manipulation of the monetary system. In Mises's view, government interventions that distort market prices always result in misdirection of resources, including labor, and mal-investments of capital, leading to inflationary upswings followed by inevitable economic downturns. Mises believed that the market economy was the only system that provided freedom and personal choice to all members of society while generating the means for coordinating the actions of billions of people in the most economically rational manner, and that monetary manipulation by central banks was one of the most disruptive distortions to the process of economic calculation.” All this is important to keep in mind because the globalists have every intention of plugging in every imaginable data point and statistic into artificial intelligence and allowing it to control our lives. AI can be manipulated based on the data that is inputted which is one major problem. But as mentioned above, how can a computer determine the intricacies of human speech, intelligence, and personality with statistics? It is an impossible task. But if we allow it to happen, baseball and Central banking aren’t the only things the administrative state is going to ruin. Online censorship, digital money, and digital identification are coming. These things will be just as bad if not worse than everything discussed here. It is time that we wake up to what is being prepared for all of us. A world run by data and statistics that has turned every living being into a dehumanized data point is not the future of humanity that we want. After all these con jobs, attempts at upselling, and data mining my information, you would think that this miserable ordeal was over. But before I could grab a craft beer and pour it down my gullet in celebration, another irritation came upon me shortly after final publication. I will explain this problem in two condensed parts.
The first problem revolves around the media. A couple of weeks after my book was published, my publisher released a “press release” to hundreds of newspapers, magazines, and websites for promotion. So far, I have done one authentic interview with a small-town paper. Before I explain what happened, I have to provide a little background. As an individual who worked in the television industry for 12 years, I have a firm understanding of how the money was made and how my toast was buttered so to speak. Advertising is the key to making money in television, magazines, and newspapers. It has been the foundation of the industry for generations. Without it, the newspaper industry would not have survived for centuries. But in the present day, there are other types of advertisements. One of the biggest is subscription fees paid by the consumer for a service or money received by a cable provider to carry a particular station to its consumers. Another, which this blog will be focusing on, is sponsored advertisements. If you do a Google search, usually the first search result will say “Sponsored.” Sponsored ads appear in newscasts to promote certain products. On television, the best example of a sponsored ad is a thirty-minute infomercial that usually airs at night. Once my “press release” was sent out into the world, the nightmare began. First was something called the Spotlight Network. It apparently exists only on Roku. The network contacted me for a ten-minute interview. But being from the television industry, my first question was, “How much is this going to cost me?” Confused by my response, the salesmen asked me why I thought this advertising would cost money. After explaining the concept of sponsored advertisements and the fact I worked in television for over a decade, he came out and stated exactly what I expected. $999 out of pocket for a ten-minute infomercial on a station with virtually no viewership on Roku. I told him I wasn’t interested. This did not stop the calls. For this nightmare to end, I had to register his phone number as spam on my Android Phone to block all future phone calls. Then, two magazines started to contact me (These shall remain nameless). They were only interested in my book based on how much advertising I could spend in their mediocre publications. The problem with both these magazines is that the demographic I was interested in targeting had no relation to the subject matter in either one. Finally, there is one last problem which will serve as a warning. Once the book is published, third party book services or providers scrape Amazon, my publisher’s website and Barnes & Noble to acquire the information regarding my book. They quickly create a page to buy the book for resale and charge an exorbitant price in a different currency. I have no control over stopping these websites due to them being created outside the United States. Here are several examples on Google alone. Indigo in Canada Mighty Ape in Australia Germany Bruna in the Netherlands Libris in Romania Prospero in Hungary Rakuten in Japan And many more. If you are interested in my book, buy it on Amazon, Google, Barnes & Noble, Thrift Books, or my publisher’s website. Do not get conned into purchasing it from any other source. Hopefully soon, this marketing nightmare will come to an end. Before posting Part 3 of my battle online with scam artists and con men revolving around my website and published novel, I want to take a slight, short diversion to current events. Over 3 weeks ago, the date October 7th became a part of the global lexicon. The terrorist organization Hamas with the help of gliders and parachutes launched an attack on Southern Israel that has killed over 1300+ people based on the latest estimates. This has led to a retaliation from Israel that has been brutal. The approximate numbers of dead in Gaza have surpassed 8000 people so far, most are women and children. The blood that is being spilled is extraordinary and has been continuous since Israel declared itself a nation back in 1948. While my anger with both sides regarding this dual tragedy is immense due to my peace-loving nature, I refuse to favor a particular side in this battle. I will not be taking up an Israeli or Palestinian flag and marching in solidarity with protestors. There are multiple reasons for this below. First, the crimes of the Palestinians.
1) Killing over 260 people at a musical rave where young people are just getting together to dance, have a good time and maybe to engage in a little drug use is unacceptable no matter how you justify it. 2) Killing another 1000 plus innocent people during the attack is not going to promote any sympathy on the global stage. Mass murder even for political reasons is still murder especially if the killing is indiscriminate (More on this later). 3) The three primary monotheistic religions, (Christianity, Islam, and Judaism), who want to claim the Holy Land for themselves has led to nothing but violence for over thousands of years. No side has a righteous claim when so much violence has been committed. Islam is very much a contributor to this problem. Now, the crimes of the Jews 1) Turning Gaza into an open-aired prison and concentration camp. Not many people on this planet want to be locked down in one spot, get intermittent internet service for a few hours a day, have their water shut off whenever Israel wants to punish the Palestinians, and submit themselves to security checks and constant searches while being unable to travel outside the territory. Human beings are social animals that do not like being locked down (See the COVID-19 pandemic backlash for more evidence of this). 2) The Israeli belief in collective punishment whenever the Palestinians fight back against their often-draconian measures. Collective punishment is a war crime. Despite how the Israeli leaders feel, the women and children of Gaza (And most of the men) due to the high population had absolutely nothing to do with the October 7th attacks. Unfortunately, Israel punishes them all the same. 3) Zionism is not the same as Judaism. Zionists are Jewish Nationalists in the same vein as the Ukrainian Nazis and America First Movement are Nationalists. I fear that the only way this Israel/Palestinian War ever ends is when one side is either forcibly removed or exterminated. And the Zionists are much more capable of this due to their technology and weapons of war. There are other questions that also need to be answered. How did the supposedly omnipotent Mossad “miss” all the training that Hamas did inside that constantly surveilled open-air prison as well as receiving warnings not only from the United States but Egypt as well? Did Israel blow up the Gaza Hospital? Evidence says no if you base it on a simple missile attack. But what if it was something else? The problem with every one of these stories is that Israel and Gaza are at war. With a warlike setting, there is propaganda which will be promoted by both sides to gain international sympathy. The world seems to support the Palestinians with protests occurring all over the globe (That were not staged). So, do college kids and an anti-war Jewish group? The United States media especially on the conservative side of it is very much propagandizing in support of Israel. And this is where my particularly unique opinion on this war is strongest. Conservatives who have been so right about the Ukrainian War, the evil rights destroying online technocracy being created, and the COVID-19 lockdowns are splitting over Israel and Gaza. Like always, the strong religious background of many Conservative Christians and their undying support for Israel, the country that can do no wrong, is fracturing the good elements of Donald Trump’s movement. Scumbags like John Hagee who disappeared from public consciousness after Bush Jr. left office is back with a vengeance. With this development now occurring inside the conservative movement, where does it leave us? An overwhelming number of conservatives and a strong minority of liberals support the war in Gaza waged by Israel. The liberals continue to support the other war in Ukraine. And the military industrial complex is laughing all the way to the bank. Eisenhower was correct. Too bad our stupidity blinds us to this basic reality. In addition, the damage being done to Trump’s movement with this ongoing split where Conservative Christians are aligning with the Never-Trumper Neo-Cons over Israel is an interesting development that could lead to his permanent destruction as a viable presidential candidate. Right now, not even Tucker Carlson is talking about this. But I think this conversation is inevitable. P.S. Fuck Ben Shapiro. There has been suspicion that overrated podcaster has had contacts with Jewish intelligence for years. One of his closest confidantes basically confirmed this. With conservative allies like this, I hate to see what the enemies look like. Before getting started on the incredible number of problems I had with my publisher, I would like to thank everyone who has purchased a paperback, hardcover, or eBook version of my book. I greatly appreciate your support and the next time we see each other; lunch or dinner is on me.
After completing my book back in May of 2022, the next step was getting it ready for publication. There are various ways you can go about this process. 1) You can send your manuscript off to some of the biggest publishers and hope the book is good enough to grab some attention. As an individual who has no connections in the industry, this proved to be a mistake. As a writer with no previous titles to my name, the work has to stand out and attract a massive audience. A travel book that analyzes the landmarks along a historical road is not going to give off any “Harry Potter” vibes. 2) Self-publishing was the next choice. There are lots of online classes and YouTube videos that explain the entire process. My biggest issue was not having the resources on my computer mixed in with the surprisingly long amount of time it was going to take to learn the process. In addition, accounting for my 40 hour a week job, my parenting and husband responsibilities, and my diverse number of interests, I just could not find the time to sit down and learn this skill. Intellectual exhaustion also had an impact. 3) So, the final choice was passing the responsibility off to a third-party independent publisher. After doing research and getting recommended a publisher from a podcaster who contacted me, I went with the publisher Xlibris. I bought their classic package for colored books. The total amount for publication was just under 2500 dollars. Certain aspects of marketing were given to me for free as the editor who reviewed my manuscript was impressed by it and gave me a thousand dollars of credit which I used on an editor and press releases. If only the experience could have ended here, we could have had a fairy tale Cinderella story. But this is when the nightmare began. After signing the contract, the phone calls began. Xlibris hassled me daily for a little over a month with constant phone calls and emails. Here is what impressed me about this harassment. The salesperson never gave up. Giving him a NO answer led to contacting me back with a cheaper offer. When this didn’t work, they resorted to psychology. “Don’t you want to be a bestselling author?” “We think your book has the potential for greatness.” “Spending money is the only way to make money.” While that last statement does have truth to it, I am also only an occasional idiot. But not a complete one. There were three main problems with their marketing offers that I saw right through. 1) The marketing to their “clients” had nothing to do with the clientele I was interested in acquiring. My manuscript is a historical travel book about a very specific region of the country. The people interested in this type of book probably number in the tens of thousands. So having my book appear at book shows in Europe and Asia seemed like a colossal waste of money and effort. As I mentioned to them in multiple phone calls, if you want to sell my book, put it in National Park bookstores, museums in the West, travel and road magazines, travel websites, etc. The money involved in marketing is not worth the price of trying to appeal to liberal intellectuals. So, for this process, I created my own business. After my first round of royalties, I am going to use whatever profits accumulated and reinvest it into the proper advertising demographic online and via print. 2) The advertising that was appealing to me like a personalized review in the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW were brutally expensive. To do this sponsored review, I needed to drop close to 5000 dollars of my own money. For me to break even on this book, I would then need to sell close to 1000 copies of my book. The other problem was if you purchased all the marketing services in a package (At a reduced price per the salesmen on the phone), the cost runs up to 15,000 dollars. At this point, the whole thing becomes a giant scam. Here is the reality of the book publishing industry. Most books don’t even sell 100 copies. Per this article, “In 2004, 950,000 titles out of the 1.2 million tracked by Nielsen Bookscan sold fewer than 99 copies. Another 200,000 sold fewer than 1,000 copies. Only 25,000 sold more than 5,000 copies. The average book in America sells about 500 copies. Those blockbusters are a minute anomaly: only 10 books sold more than a million copies last year, and fewer than 500 sold more than 100,000.” And these numbers are even worse now as the publishing industry has declined by around 20% since the early 2000s. If I happen to sell more than 100 copies (Which according to my sales figures, could very well happen before the end of the year), I have already surpassed most authors. Since my book is evergreen and will still be historically accurate in ten years, this was my long-term goal with the novel. Anyone can buy this book and read it during my lifetime. I did not write this book to become rich. I wrote it because this experience of driving this road was something I was interested in sharing with the public. 3) Finally, the worst part of this whole process is the psychology that is used to try to convince you to part with your money. As a person who studies and is fascinated by propaganda, it enraged me that the tactics that governments and media outlets throughout the world use on their populace were being used to convince me to purchase a services product. Despite how I may be perceived, I am a pretty humble person and am realistic about my talent. I understand that this book is being written by a no-name author that only about 1000 people on this planet know personally. I am not going to become arrogant and believe that my novel is the greatest thing ever written, Because if you think this way, that is how they financially trap you. If you want to know what the experience was like, read these reviews online. There are people that are out over 20,000 dollars or have had their project completely ignored while also being bombarded with endless marketing calls. The only reason this was not an issue personally is that my editing was solid, and I understand the process. So, I would not let them get away with slacking on my novel. Despite all this, it still took 16 months for them to publish it. So, what is the lesson here? I don’t know. But it feels like every creative industry I have been involved with in my lifetime is a gigantic con. This includes the film and music industries also. The publishing industry is just another one of the immense frauds that bombard our lives daily (Insurance, Registration Fees, Property Taxes, Ticketmaster Fees, etc.) We live in a capitalist society where none of the capitalists have any sense of morality or ethics in their quest to make a precious dollar. Maybe this is one of the main reasons why this country is hanging on by a thread. Next week, the final part! Back during the early days of the misguided and idiotic COVID-19 lockdowns in May of 2020, I built and published my own personal website through the company Weebly. There were a couple of reasons for this. I have built basic and bare minimum websites through my years learning the command line in Linux. But after watching hours of instructional videos, I decided to use one of these website building services. Building a website was too complicated for my primitive, simple brain. For a small fee (Slightly over 100 dollars a year), I found it easier to use the tools that this website provided to complete and build the website. After launching Expert of Some, I got to experience something I was not expecting, endless marketing calls regarding my website. This short blog will be about this experience, and it will tie into Parts 2 and 3 which involve the incredible amount of frustration that was created during my attempts to get my book published. If you have the suspicion that inside of this surveillance capitalist system where so much of our economic output is now directly tied to the world wide web and the lack of privacy that this entails will lead to marketers swamping you with calls and emails, then your instincts are absolutely correct.
Before beginning, I want to define a term that is key to understanding this article. SEO stands for search engine optimization and every year, approximately 73.38 billion is spent on SEO by corporations’ advertising and marketing departments. Search Engine Optimization’s definition is this. ” The process used to optimize a website's technical configuration, content relevance and link popularity so its pages can become easily findable, more relevant, and popular towards user search queries, and consequently, search engines rank them better.” The key to SEO is to help your company stand out online by using key words which allow the search engine algorithms to pick up your website and prioritize it near the top of the search results. During the building of my website, I could create my own SEO words that I wanted to prioritize. After publishing and creating fifteen SEO words to market my website, this is when my trouble began. For over a year, I would get a daily phone call or email from some random marketing firm or SEO “specialization” company about hiring them to optimize my new website. Almost every single one of these calls was from three locations: India, the Philippines, or China. And the calls were persistent. To gain my privacy back, I had to be firm and often belligerent with the marketers to get them to leave me alone. The only way to truly stop the harassment was to threaten every single marketer that contacted you. After 15 months of this psychological torture, the phone calls did finally stop. So how did they get this information? I only have two possible explanations for this. One of them makes more sense than the other. One, Weebly owned by Square sold my data off to third party marketing firms who used the information provided to swamp me with emails and phone calls. Or Two, these companies are using analytical tools to track the additional websites that are being added to the world wide web every day and using this information to make their marketing push. I have no idea which one of these possibilities is the actual cause. And this is another problem with the internet. Who gets your data? No one really knows as the tech company will give you a large, twenty-page user agreement that does not specify who they sell your information to. Finally, did I end up purchasing SEO services? The answer is NO. As many of you know from my writing, I have dived into the controversial topics of censorship and vaccine mandates on my blog. Did the Google algorithm flag me for disinformation and pull some of the links to my website down? It appears this is the case. Since this happened, purchasing any SEO services is pointless as the algorithm determines the visibility of your website. Let’s compare. Here is what I get when I put “ExpertofSome” into the search engine. BING DUCKDUCKGO Bing was the worst. It forced me to clarify the search to +expertofsome.com. If an expert of some was entered, the top search result comes up as expertofhome.com. With the modified search, it pulls up my website with sub links underneath to the other three pages. My new book selling on Amazon is also in the top 5. And that is it. DuckDuckGo is the best. Every possible webpage and my Substack where I cross post articles from my personal website all are top searches. This search also brings up my LinkedIn page. My book does not appear as it is listed properly under my real name. Google censors my blog in the searches. My home and about page are the top searches. My blog is nowhere to be found. Of course, this is where the “controversial” content would be located. The publisher of my book comes up and my top comment on Substack written for Edward Snowden (Who did reply and reached out to me) are the other two choices. Everything else including my LinkedIn and Substack are missing. So here is my recommendation. Unless you really have no understanding of how to set up a website or engage with the SEO process and the investment is worth it to you, avoid it at all costs. No matter what words are used, the fate of your website is totally dependent on the whims of the algorithm and whether your content is controversial enough to be flagged and disappeared. Because this is how censorship works now. They will not remove your website. They will just make sure no one alive ever gets to see it. Next week, Part 2. I want to lead with a couple of thoughts and a link. This is a Wikipedia link, but it gives a nice breakdown on the history of humans and the different time periods broken down politically, culturally, and technologically. Remembering just the basics of history, you can summarize all of human history into just a few categories.
PreHistory – The period that lasts between the first appearance of the scientific animal known as Homo Sapiens who often lived as hunter/gatherers to the invention of the first writing systems. This lasted approximately three million years and the actual time of this period is unknown. Ancient History - Human beings began organizing into groups and complex political systems. Religion becomes part of many cultures’ daily lives. This was when the first empires mostly based in Mesopotamia and Egypt came into existence. There was also a dynasty that existed in the area around China. Classic Antiquity – This is the epitome of human evolution at the time as many ideas from this era still exist today. This era was mainly linked to the Greek and Roman Empires and their inventions. Post-Classical History – Often remembered for the empires that collapsed, the Hans in China, the Romans, the Guptas in India, and the Persians. Middle Ages – A long 1000-year timeframe of monarchies and regressive political systems ruled by kings, the lords who influenced them, as well serfs and merchants who were considered lower class people. This period started with the rise of Christianity and Islam and ended with the Renaissance. Renaissance and Age of Discovery – The human race evolves again as it spreads out to previously undiscovered territories and human beings increase in wisdom and knowledge due to printing presses. The Era of Democracy – Our present-day era. This timeframe led to incredible technological innovations, new political systems, and new philosophies. The idea of monarchy, feudalism, and imperial colonization began to die at the end of this timeframe. Human beings began to practice the philosophical ideas of democracy invented by the Greeks during the Classic Antiquity. When observing how history moved from the Renaissance to the Era of Democracy, two significant events occurred: The American Revolution and the French Revolution between 1775 and 1799. During this time, another new entity was created, the democratic nation state. Until these revolutions, borders were just something that Kings and Queens fought over for thousands of years usually at the request of the land-owning lords and the Church. Throughout early history, humans were warlike looking to capture as much land and rule as many people as possible. After the people rose up and executed the French monarchy and began the first steps of creating a republican experiment like their allies did across the Atlantic, the French ultimately failed in changing their culture. Early parliamentarian politics was unpopular and was dissolved, and Napoleon soon took over as the first dictator in 1799 leading us into a new type of warfare as well as being able to control the population in ways that were previously unimaginable like instituting military drafts. Soon, Napoleon launched the first Continental War with the Napoleonic Wars which evolved out of the French Revolutionary Wars of the 1790s. Napoleon became the first figure to control a large majority of Europe until his defeat at Waterloo in 1815. The impact of this era affected Europe for generations due to the collapse of multiple empires and many of the innovations brought about by the French culturally and politically that still have a lasting impact on the continent today. This era of democracy led to technological innovations best symbolized by three different eras: The Industrial Age, the Nuclear Age, and the Internet Age. These inventions led to freedoms previously unimagined. It also led to control mechanisms that every aspiring dictator craved. Different political systems were invented including capitalism, socialism, and anarchism. With the rise of the “democratic state”, jingoism/nationalism became a dominant philosophy and the consequences of this led directly into World War I and II with Adolf Hitler becoming the second dictator (Fuhrer) to take over the majority of Europe in the 1930s to mid-1940s basing his ideas around a fascist authoritarian ideology. On the opposite side of this ideology, Mao Zedong in China and Josef Stalin in the Soviet Union were pushing an authoritarian state Communist based model that killed millions of their own people during its implementation. But the main takeaway from this Democratic era was the rise of the nation state. Since the year 2020, the Western philosophy of freedom represented by democratic republicanism has begun to decline. A new philosophy appears to be taking hold that happens to be based around the current political situation in China. The old system of the Middle Ages (Lords, Merchants, and Serfs) called feudalism had become a relic of the past. But the ideas of this past have never actually gone away. During the Napoleonic Wars, one European family made a fortune. This one bet on the war has led to a parallel development during this Age of Democracy. Wealthy individuals have learned over the past 200 years that making money through invention and being a successful businessman/merchant was no longer necessary. Real wealth was working with the nation state. This development has led to consolidated wealth among a small group of people that has never been seen in human history. With this development came the narcissistic need to control these governments and the people within the borders. Globalism was the idea. But that idea only worked at an economic level. As people have begun to wake up to these systems that their governments and elitists have created for them, the people in power are starting to lose control. So what is the point you are trying to make with this long thousand word explanation? It appears we are entering one of these transitory periods of history after the Age of Democracy. Right now, the elitists are fighting to impose their own visions upon the world. But the people they want to psychologically and mentally control are beginning to unshackle their minds. No one knows how this will end. But it will be transforming. Over the next year, I will be posting various blogs related to this topic. If anyone has any ideas for a specific subject matter, please let me know. I hope you enjoyed this short historical summary. So to all the unfortunate people who read this blog, I qualified to make my annual NFL predictions again. For the second straight year, I successfully predicted eight of the fourteen playoff teams. For every Los Angeles Rams will win the division prediction, I had a Miami prediction that was almost perfect. I missed on the Cincinnati Bengals (Yeah, Joe Burrow is good) and nailed the improvement of the Philadelphia Eagles. Counting 2021 and 2022, I have successfully predicted 16 of the last 28 NFL playoff teams. For a league that changes so regularly, change is often more incremental than many football fans would like to believe. So, let’s do a quick recap of the 2022 season.
Super Bowl LVII: Kansas City 38 Philadelphia 35 This is Kansas City’s 3rd Super Bowl title and 2nd since the 2019 season. They also won their 5th AFC Championship and 13th AFC West title: 7th consecutive since 2016. For Philadelphia, their recent string of success continues. They won their 4th NFC title and 12th NFC East title. Other AFC Division winners Buffalo: AFC East – 10th Division title: 3rd consecutive Cincinnati: AFC North – 11th Division title: 2nd consecutive Jacksonville: AFC South – 4th Division title Other AFC Playoff Teams Miami Dolphins: 24th appearance Los Angeles Chargers: 20th appearance Baltimore Ravens: 14th appearance Now, the NFC! Other NFC Division Winners Minnesota: AFC North – 19th Division title Tampa Bay: AFC South – 8th Division title and 3rd team all-time to win a division with an under .500 record. San Francisco: AFC West – 21st Division title Other NFC Playoff Teams Dallas Cowboys: Tied with Green Bay for the most postseason playoff appearances with 35. New York Giants: 34th playoff appearance Seattle Seahawks: 20th playoff appearance Onto the 2023 divisional predictions and playoff teams. The power in the NFL is definitely moving east. AFC East:
Miami is a sleeping giant. Mike McDaniel appears to be a wonderful coach that fits into the Sean McVay mold of young coaches taking over the NFL by storm. If the Dolphins can avoid injury and stay healthy, this team can win this division and the conference. I believe the battle between Buffalo and Miami will go down to Week 18 this year. Miami will be the wild card. Everyone is excited about the changes that the New York Jets have made. Coming off a mediocre 7-10 season, the Jets only need to improve by 3 games to be a wild card team. But here is the kicker. I am not sure if free agent and future Hall of Famer Aaron Rodgers is playing at an elite level anymore. This will put pressure on this young team to step up their game. Because of this, I think the Jets will likely win 9 games and miss the playoffs. From 2001 to 2019 (19 seasons), the Patriots won the AFC East 17 times including an NFL record 11 consecutive division titles. No team may ever match this incredible statistic. But looking at this team from a talent perspective, this team could win the AFC and NFC South and possibly even the NFC North. But in the AFC East, they are the 4th best team out of 4 talent wise. Expect the Patriots to hang around .500 but still finish last. AFC North
Cincinnati has Joe Burrow and a great amount of talent around him. The offensive line, the problem for this team the last two seasons, continues to improve. The defense took a step-up last year. This is a very good team that can also win the AFC. Cincinnati will roll to a wild card this year, but an improved Baltimore will steal the division from them. Pittsburgh’s season relies heavily on the development of Kenny Pickett. The talent on this team continues to improve. And their coach, Mike Tomlin, continues his incredible streak of not finishing below .500 in any season that he has coached (Dating back to 2006). This team is an unknown dynamic. I can see a few future scenarios. Pickett is still developing but improving and the Steelers once again hang around the .500 mark. Or Pickett develops into the next elite quarterback. If this is the case, the Steelers could very well win this division. I personally believe the latter is going to happen but next season (2024). But watch out for the Steelers. They could be a dark horse this season. Cleveland has talent but not at the level of the rest of this division. They may pull an upset or two, but last place is where they will finish. AFC SOUTH
Jacksonville is continuing to build around Trevor Lawrence. The issue is that the Jaguars have a 1st place schedule this year. So even if they show improvement, it is very possible that their record is worse. But because the division seems in flux, they still are the most talented team in the South. They should repeat. Tennessee has an incredible running game and solid defense which can lead to another division title. The problem revolves around the quarterback. With two quarterbacks breathing down starter Ryan Tannehill’s neck on the depth chart, any mistake could lead to him being benched. I expect this to happen. I expect that the Titans are going to be engaging in the QB carousel this year. Because of this, they will miss the playoffs. Houston can only look forward to a brighter future after the disastrous 2022 season. They have their QB and defensive leaders of the future to build around. With time, there will be talent. I expect them to be better and finish just out of the cellar. Indianapolis’s season has been in turmoil since Jonathan Taylor requested a trade. With a young quarterback starting and dysfunction in the franchise, this season could get very bad for the Colts very early. This is exactly what will happen. AFC WEST
Denver’s 2022 season was an absolute disaster. With Sean Payton taking over the reins for this franchise, the Broncos are expected to be one of the surprise teams of 2023. Russell Wilson will finally have an offensive play-calling genius to help him improve in the Mile High City. I am not ready to make them a playoff team yet even if they win nine or ten games. I like the Chargers. I like their talent. I like their ballsy coach. So why does it feel like this will be a lost season with Brandon Staley on the unemployment line by December? 2023 will be another season where the Chargers underperform their expectations. Many teams get hammered for their pathetic histories. Because the Raiders won 3 Super Bowls between 1976 and 1983, their recent string of failure is often overlooked by the media. Since their three straight AFC West division titles from 2000-2002 and AFC Title in 2002, this team has played twenty seasons of football with two playoff appearances, 1 AFC West title, two winning seasons, three .500 seasons, and 15 losing seasons. They are 116-206 since 2003, the 2nd worst record in the league in front of only the Cleveland Browns. The Raiders signed Jimmy Garoppolo from the 49ers. This isn’t going to matter. The Raiders will be in the cellar again. NFC EAST
Dallas has an incredible amount of talent especially on their lines. The problem revolves around the leadership of Dak Prescott. I believe Dallas will shock the league and win the NFC East this year keeping that incredible streak alive of no repeat division winners that dates back to 2004. But will the Cowboys get over their postseason blues? The answer to this question is NO. With that incredibly difficult loss in the Super Bowl, I expect the Eagles to have a hangover this year. They will lose a few games they should win and allow Dallas to slide past them and win the division. The talent on this team is explosive and incredible. If they slide into the playoffs, the Eagles will be the one team that no one will want to play. The Commanders seem like a team that can make the playoffs. They have been steadily improving. Now that the chaotic ownership situation has been settled (One of their biggest problems over the past twenty years), the Commander management can start guiding this team towards success. But in 2023, that success will have to wait at least one more year. The Giants rolled to a playoff appearance and wild card win due to one of the easiest schedules in the NFL. As a person who is still not sold on Daniel Jones or this team’s defensive talent, I think a more difficult schedule this season will expose this team as being lucky in 2022. NFC NORTH
Chicago is another team that can only improve off the miserable season they had last year. Justin Fields started to develop as a leader as the season went on. The lines are improving. The defense is being refurbished. I am not sure if this is a playoff team this year, but the Bears should have a defined identity by the end of the season. Green Bay is my wild card. The talent on this team has definitely slipped. I am putting them in 3rd place because of the unknown talent of Jordan Love. I am expecting him to have a rough season and the Packers will struggle to win games this year. But if I am wrong and Love turns out to be their QB of the future, the Packers can walk away with this division. Minnesota is due for a rebuild. They have a talented team that seemed to have good fortune throughout the season which led them to the NFC North title. As the season went on, the Vikings looked more unimpressive and flawed. They were finally exposed at home during the wild card round against the Giants. With the 1st place schedule, I expect the Vikings to have a rough season. It would not surprise me if there were a coaching and quarterback change at the end of the year. NFC SOUTH This division maybe even more unstable than the AFC South. Every team in this division is below average talent wise. So who will rise up and win this division’s only playoff spot. The starting quarterbacks in this division are: Derek Carr Baker Mayfield Bryce Young Desmond Ridder There are too many unknowns here. Talent wise, I really like the Atlanta Falcons but because of Carr, here are my picks.
Atlanta is building a decent team in the background. The team has decided that 3rd round pick Desmond Ridder will be their starter. With an improving run game and defense, if Ridder is just a game manager, I think the Falcons can make the playoffs. If Ridder is even more, this team can win this division. Carolina is on the Bryce Young rookie train. This will be an interesting season for the Panthers with a lot of ups and downs. They will have a better idea of their future and what they are lacking after Young completes his first season. Tampa Bay could very well be the worst team in the NFL this year. A long fall for a franchise that hosted a Super Bowl trophy just three seasons ago. The rebuild has begun and Baker Mayfield will do his best to try to win a game or two this season. NFC WEST
The Seahawks appear to be the rising team. Despite the increase in talent, I am still not sold on Geno Smith. With Smith as the QB, this team’s peak is likely the divisional round. Smith is basically a Dak Prescott type of quarterback with less talent. I don’t see him taking Seattle on a deep playoff run despite the talent that surrounds them. Speaking of teams in trouble, the Los Angeles Rams are setting themselves up to have a season much worse than their previous one. After setting the NFL record for the worst title defense team in NFL history (With a 5-12 record), this team ate many of their overinflated veteran contracts that were signed to push them towards their Super Bowl triumph during the 2021 season. Now, they have the capability of scraping the bottom of the barrel in this league with the 2020 champion Buccaneers. The defense looks awful. If they win games, it will be because of Matthew Stafford. A dark season approaches for Los Angeles. Luckily, they can probably start competing for a playoff spot again in 2025 with the cap space and draft picks that are coming. Arizona is the worst franchise in NFL history. They have a talented quarterback, a lot of talent at the skill positions and a good defense. Despite this, they only managed one playoff appearance. The team is now in full rebuild mode. It will be shocking if Arizona is anything other than the worst team in the NFL this season. Here are my 2023 playoff seeds. AFC
Given the nickname America’s Finest City back in the 1970s, San Diego often ranks as one of the most tourist friendly and favorite cities for many Americans. The city has grown to become California’s 2nd largest but unlike its much larger neighbor to the north, San Diego has a different appeal. The city is home to four separate military bases. Unlike Los Angeles which is laid out in a massive valley near the Pacific Ocean with scenic hills and mountains shadowing it in the distance, San Diego County mostly consists of beautiful rolling hills and scenic mountains with the majority of the population living in the flatlands close to the water. San Diego is home to probably the best craft beer scene in the country. San Diego also has the cleanest beaches in Southern California. With all these benefits, there is a reason why a native San Diegan is often arrogant about their hometown. But there are two things the city lacks (Not counting the escalating homeless and criminal problem that exists downtown which is impacting every major California city). First, the culture here lacks the diversity of Los Angeles and San Francisco. Yes, they got concert halls, museums, gorgeous parks, amazing beaches, and solid entrepreneurship along with amazing food. But it lacks the originality and sheer volume that have given Los Angeles and San Francisco the reputation of being some of the most creative cities in the world. Second, the professional sports teams in this town are pathetic. The history of San Diego when it comes to athletic success ranks among the worst cities in the nation. An argument can be made that it is the worst. This blog will dive into this pathetic legacy and why the 2023 San Diego Padres are the latest and best example of the failure of sports in this town.
I started living in San Diego in 2012 before buying a condo in Southern California wine country (Temecula/Murrieta) in Riverside County back in 2017 where we have lived since (I have also lived in Los Angeles County, Orange County, the Riverside County Desert, and Phoenix, Arizona). With so much movement inside California paired with my lifelong interest in sports, the teams I root for are mostly based in two locations, Los Angeles, and San Diego. During my childhood, San Diego had this monstrous AM radio station called XTRA 690 that broadcast out of Rosarita, Mexico (About 30 miles south of the Mexican border) XTRA aired sports talk radio and broadcast the local college teams, the San Diego Padres and the NFL Chargers. Growing up in Los Angeles allowed me to appreciate teams from three distinct areas, Los Angeles Orange County/Anaheim, and San Diego. To make this comparison legitimate, here are the cities that house professional sports franchises in California and the number of championships that their teams have won. I will also add my adopted city of Phoenix into this mix. Los Angeles (8 Teams: Dodgers, Kings, Lakers, Clippers, Rams, Chargers, Galaxy, and LAFC). Lakers have 12, Dodgers have 6, Kings have 2, Rams have 2 (Also won another single title in both Cleveland and St. Louis), Galaxy have 5, and LAFC has 1. The Raiders also won 1 here during their short run in Los Angeles from 1982 to 1994. This gives the city a total of 29 sports championships. San Francisco (3 Teams: 49ers, Giants, and Warriors). 49ers have 5, Warriors have 5, and Giants have 3. The California Golden Seals of the NHL played in San Francisco but folded. This city has 13 sports championships. Oakland (1 Team which will be none in 2025: Athletics). Athletics have 4 and the Raiders who moved to Las Vegas in 2020 have 2. Oakland will finish with 6 sports championships. Anaheim (2 Teams: Angels and Ducks). Both the Angels who have had a tortured history and Ducks each have 1. The Rams played in Anaheim from 1980 to 1994 and won no titles. The city of Anaheim has 2 championships. San Jose (2 Teams: Sharks and Earthquakes). Sharks have none, Earthquakes have 2. The city of San Jose has 2 championships. Phoenix (4 Teams: Cardinals, Suns, Diamondbacks, and Coyotes). The only team that has won a championship is the Diamondbacks. This city only has 1 championship. And Sacramento who have only one professional team, the NBA Kings, has never won a title. So what city is missing? My beloved San Diego! San Diego (2 Teams: Padres and a future MLS franchise). The NFL Chargers played in the city from 1961 to 2016 and the Rockets in the NBA from 1967-1971 and the Clippers in the NBA from 1978-1984. All these teams had a cumulative zero titles in the city. To compare Sacramento with San Diego is unfair because that city has had only one sports franchise while San Diego has had 4 through its history with 3 of them leaving for other cities. Sacramento has played 38 seasons of professional ball with no titles. Phoenix comes the closest to San Diego’s ineptitude. The Suns have played 55 seasons, the Cardinals have played 35, the Coyotes have played 28, and the Diamondbacks have played 25. That totals 143 seasons of professional sports with only one championship. Phoenix has also lost 4 times in a championship series/game. The Padres have played 54 seasons, the Chargers had played 56 seasons, and the Rockets/Clippers had played 10 combined. This totals 120 seasons of professional sports with a single championship won by the Chargers in the AFL in 1963 which no longer exists (The league was merged into the NFL). This past college basketball season, the San Diego State Aztecs made a surprising fairy tale run to the Final Four and NCAA Championship Game. With this city craving a title badly, the Aztecs lived up to the San Diego tradition and got blown out in the Championship game moving the city to a Buffalo Bills-like 0-4 in title series/games while being non-competitive in every single one. As arrogant as San Diegans are about their beautiful city, the entire history of professional sports in this city has been an embarrassment. Here are a few other examples. The two sports heroes in this town both died young. Tony Gwynn passed away at 54. Junior Seau died at 43. Their second owner Ray Kroc, of McDonald’s fame, belittled the team over the PA system in 1974. The founder of the Padres, C. Arnholt Smith, was a notorious San Diego figure who often got in trouble with the Feds and law enforcement. During his short-term ownership, the team averaged 7500 fans and over 100 losses a season. He was going to move the team to Washington D.C. until Ray Kroc bought them. Smith served time in prison for embezzlement in 1979. This run of bad owners is a tradition of Padres history. The Krocs owned the team through mostly misfortune (And 1 NL Title) until 1990. It was taken over by Tom Werner from 1990-1994 who sold the team and became a fantastic owner with the Red Sox and led them to 4 World Series titles. The 18 years of John Moores had highs (The 1998 NL Title, 2005 & 2006 NL West Titles) and many lows. The 8-year ownership of Ron Fowler was a miserable failure. Now, Peter Seidler has taken over. The ownership problem impacts all teams that have called San Diego home during any portion of its history. The old San Diego and now present-day Los Angeles Chargers are owned by Dean Spanos who angered the entire city when he moved the Chargers north to be tenants in the Rams new stadium and has managed to run the franchise just as badly as his father Alex once did. The Clippers were owned by Donald Sterling, a team that had losing records in over 80% of their seasons under his leadership. He was forced to sell the team and was banned for life by the NBA for some racist remarks he made back in 2014. Currently, there are only two teams based in Los Angeles that have never won a championship for the city. They are the Chargers and the Clippers, and both spent time in the city of San Diego. Looking at other local professional sports played in the city, San Diego has won a few professional championships in minor league sports or leagues that have a small following. The San Diego Sockers are an indoor soccer team that has won 14 titles in 3 different iterations. During the eight seasons of the now defunct WCHL, the San Diego Gulls won 5 titles during that minor hockey league’s history before folding. The San Diego Seals are a winning franchise since they started playing in the National Lacrosse League back in 2019. But following city tradition and despite having the best record in the league in 2023, they were upset in the 1st round of the playoffs and remain title-less. In 54 seasons, the Padres only have 16 winning and 2-.500 seasons. They have 36 losing seasons. They have as many 100 loss seasons (5) as division titles (5). The Padres have only won over 90 games four times (1984, 1996, 1998 & 2010). They have never won 100 games in any season with 98 wins being the franchise high. The Padres have made the playoffs seven times in their history. They are 6-7 in playoff series including being 0-2 in the World Series. During both their World Series appearances, the Padres played two of the best professional baseball teams of all-time, the 1984 Detroit Tigers (104-58) and the 1998 New York Yankees (114-48) and managed to win only one game. Since Peter Seidler became the owner, the Padres have actually spent money consistently for the first time in their history. He inherited Manny Machado who was signed as a free agent & Fernando Tatis who grew up with the organization. Since taking over, he has added Yu Darvish, Blake Snell, Joe Musgrove, Josh Hader, Xander Boegarts, and Juan Soto. Despite this accumulation of talent, the results have been mixed. The 2020 COVID shortened season ended with a wild card appearance. The #4 Padres beat the #5 Cardinals 2-1 before getting swept in the NLDS by the Dodgers 3-0. In 2021, a once promising season came apart when the pitching collapsed in August and September. Padres ended up with a losing season. Last year, they rebounded to finish 89-73 after the massive Juan Soto trade. Padres actually made a respectable run and defeated the Mets 2-1 in the wild card round, the Dodgers 3-1 in the NLDS, before getting beat by Philadelphia 4-1 in the NLCS. After bringing in Xander Boegarts during the offseason, the 2023 Padres have never been in sync all season. They are a few games under .500 despite having a plus 64 run differential. The Padres are also 14-17 against bad teams with losing records. The Padres currently have 21 blown saves/holds in 49 opportunities which is tied for 2nd worst in the league. The bullpen numbers do not look bad upon analysis. If the Padres are blowing a team out or losing a game, the bullpen tends to perform well. The numbers crater when the bullpen is asked to protect a 1, 2, or 3 run lead. Despite having 58 wins so far this season, Hader only has 27 saves. Because when the Padres win, they usually do comfortably. Everyone of the Big Four has disappointed and their stats are tracking below their norm. There are rumors that Boegarts is battling a season long wrist injury. Jake Cronenworth has regressed. Trent Grisham continues to hit around the Mendoza line. Free agent pick up Matt Carpenter has been practically useless. During the first three months of the season, the Padres had one of the worst batting averages with RISP. The Padres are also 6-23 in one run games and 0-10 in extra inning games. All these problems mixed in with bad management and a GM who has put a team together piecemeal has also contributed. But the biggest tragedy is the waste of good starting pitching. Here are the Padres five main starters’ statistics. Other than Darvish and Lugo who still have decent stats, these starters have been fantastic. Blake Snell 10-8, 176 Strikeouts, 2.65 ERA (The bullpen has blown seven of his games so far this season) Joe Musgrove 10-3, 97 Strikeouts, 3.05 ERA (On the DL currently for the second time this year) Michael Wacha 9-2, 78 Strikeouts, 2.65 ERA (Just got off the DL after being on for over a month) Seth Lugo 4-6, 94 Strikeouts, 4.16 ERA Yu Darvish 8-8, 134 Strikeouts, 4.24 ERA Those are the pitching stats of a World Series winning team. Yet, the Padres are below .500. Whatever dark cloud or supernatural curse that has impacted this team, I am hoping at some point it will stop. The pain of being a Padres fan and having expectations only seems to lead to the inevitable disappointment. Let’s hope that after the waste of 2023 is sketched into the history books, that this team can put together a run for the ages in 2024. This old Padres fan will be watching and waiting! |
AuthorEXPERT OF SOME Archives
October 2024
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