Two important news items before sports. First, HOW THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION SEALED THE GAZA CEASEFIRE DEAL:- Credit Steve Witkoff, another real estate developer, now a special envoy, and Jared Kushner, son-in-law. They've handled the bulk of the negotiations.
- You can read the details, but this article did not underscore the main reason why there is now peace in the Gaza Strip, with all the live hostages to be returned in 24 hours.
Very simply, President Donald Trump early this month warned all hell, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas, if they don't agree to his Gaza Peace Plan by the deadline.- While few have any pretensions that what now happening means there will be peace in the Middle East forever, what Trump has done is create a platform for Israel to work in tenuous unity with key countries like Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey and Qatar, to marshal a kind of truce for now. A lot more work left.
- Nobel Peace medal from Trump in a year? If the Gaza Strip avoids more war, maybe.
Time magazine provided details on the 5 longest government shutdowns, with the article titled: The Longest Government Shutdowns in U.S. History--and Where This One Ranks.
- Looks like the earliest this shutdown can now occur is October 14, when the Senate will next vote. If they succeed, the 14-day period will rank fifth longest in the U.S.
- The longest was during Trump's first term, from 21December2018 to 25January2019, or 34 days. The problem was funding for his proposed Mexican wall.
#2 was from 15 December1995 to 6January1996, 21 days, when Bill Clinton was president. In those days, Republicans controlled both the House and Senate.- You can read the article for #s 3 and 4.
Now into sports. Seattle's victory over Detroit in 15 innings was the longest winner-take-all postseason game in Major League Baseball history. Watch this ending!
Finding the league championship games will be a lot easier than those division games. The first begins today at 8:03 EDT on FOX. I asked Google AI to list them:
American League Championship Series (ALCS)
The ALCS is a best-of-seven series between the Toronto Blue Jays and the Seattle Mariners.
- Game 1: Sunday, October 12—Mariners at Blue Jays (8:03 p.m. ET on FOX)
- Game 2: Monday, October 13—Mariners at Blue Jays (5:03 p.m. ET on FOX/FS1)
- Game 3: Wednesday, October 15—Blue Jays at Mariners (Time TBD on FOX/FS1)
- Game 4: Thursday, October 16—Blue Jays at Mariners (Time TBD on FOX/FS1)
- Game 5:* Friday, October 17—Blue Jays at Mariners (Time TBD on FOX/FS1)
- Game 6:* Sunday, October 19—Mariners at Blue Jays (Time TBD on FOX/FS1)
- Game 7:* Monday, October 20—Mariners at Blue Jays (Time TBD on FOX/FS1)
National League Championship Series (NLCS)
The NLCS is a best-of-seven series featuring the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Milwaukee Brewers.
- Game 1: Monday, October 13—Dodgers at Brewers (8:08 p.m. ET on TBS)
- Game 2: Tuesday, October 14—Dodgers at Brewers (8:08 p.m. ET on TBS)
- Game 3: Thursday, October 16—Brewers at Dodgers (Time TBD on TBS)
- Game 4: Friday, October 17—Brewers at Dodgers (Time TBD on TBS)
- Game 5:* Saturday, October 18—Brewers at Dodgers (Time TBD on TBS)
- Game 6:* Monday, October 20—Dodgers at Brewers (Time TBD on TBS)
- Game 7:* Tuesday, October 21—Dodgers at Brewers (Time TBD on TBS)
The World Series begins on Friday, October 24. My sense is that the Blue Jays will play the first game in Dodger Stadium. Why? Seattle pitching was stretched, and Toronto is well-rested. Toss-up between the Brewers and Dodgers, but just a sense that Los Angeles has the better starting pitching. Oh, why the first game will be in Los Angeles is that the Dodgers had the better regular-season record than the Blue Jays.
- Indiana beat Oregon 30-20, and is now #3 on the AP poll.
- Now #12 Georgia Tech over Virginia Tech, 35-20. The big news is that the team is still undefeated, 6-0.
- Totally unranked (well, they were #72 last week) University of Hawaii beat Utah State, 44-26.
- Had not won since 2000, losing eight straight. Last year? Utah State destroyed Hawaii, 55-10.
- Last bowl game was 5 years ago.
- Went to the 2008 Sugar Bowl, when Hawaii lost to Georgia.
- Read the story of kicker Kansei Matsuzawa
- The life of Kansei.
- Native of Ichikawa, Japan, and played soccer.
At the age of 20, attended an NFL game and subsequently taught himself how to kick by studying You Tube videos.- Spent two years kicking for Hocking College in Ohio. Go their Wikipedia site. Listed as their ONLY notable alumnus was Kansei Matsuzawa.
- Decided to walk on to the Hawaii team in 2023. Was not particularly noteworthy.
- Has had an unbelievable season, making all of his field goals and point-after-touchdowns.
- Named Mountain West Special Teams Player three time this season, and twice honored as a Lou Groza Award Star of the Week.
- Watch this You Tube Video.
I won't be covering the NBA this year because I won't have any fantasy teams. However, I can inform you that the season begins on October 21, and will continue on to 12April2026.
I do have one story to tell. Anyone I know who is 6'3" tall is really tall. Below, 6'3" De'Aaron Fox Spurs guard, new to the team, with 7'4" Victor Wembanyama. Victor doing well in the preseason. They are only ranked #13 of 24 teams, but if they suddenly spurt to the top, I'll watch.
Wembanyama, still is only 21-years old, and grew half an inch from last year. He played this past season for the first couple of months, averaging 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.8 blocks, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game in his second season. He was shut down early after surgery for an arm problem. By the way, there is another 7'4" NBA player, Zach Edey of the Grizzlies, who is in the photo to the left. Victor certainly looks taller than Zach here.
Incidentally, tallest NBA player ever was Romanian Gheorghe Muresan in the early 90s. There was also Yasutaka Okayama of Japan, who was selected in the 1981 NBA draft, but never played. He was 7'8". Remember Yao Ming of China? He was 7'6".
- Banana Ball is a barnstorming exhibition league based in Savannah, Georgia.
- There are six teams.
- Began in 2020.
- Fun for entertainment.
- Games are won by points instead of runs.
- Foul balls caught by fans are counted as outs.
- Trick plays can earn a point.
- Will be covered by ESPN and You Tube.
First game of the season was yesterday (sold out), with the Party Animals defeating the Firefighters. Watch the whole game. You got to see this if you don't particularly get excited by baseball.
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