The men's Sweet Sixteen games begin today in four locations. Four games will be nationally televised  tonight and the other four tomorrow. The Elite Eight games will then follow on Saturday and Sunday, with the Final Four at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.  National Championship on April 7 at 8:50 EDT on CBS. The women's final eight games begin on Friday, with Elite Eight finals on Sunday and Monday, and national championship game in the Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida, at 3PM EDT on April 6. Big shocker was the  season-ending knee injury of the best women's player this year , Juju Watkins of USC. One bit of good news is that my ESPN women's bracket pick is at 95.4%. The Major League Baseball season started play between the Los Angeles Dodgers and Chicago Cubs in Japan last week.  Dodgers won both games. So are they a lock on again being champions this year?  Yes, and no.  Mookie Betts has lost a lot weight and hasn't really played in Spring ball, ...

Sakata with a population of almost 100,000 is in Yamagata Prefecture. However, it was 127,000 in 1960.   Many immigrants to Hawaii came from this area.   From the 17th to 19th century, Sakata was very prosperous because it was a shipping route for the Sea of Japan into the country, November is the wettest month, but it was sunny yesterday.   This city escaped damage in World War II, with only one air raid.   The Sakata Festival from May 19-21 is their major historical event.   You can catch the bullet train from Tokyo to Niigata, then transfer north to Sakata. City most known for the 2013 film,  Oshin  (click on it to watch the entire movie), which followed the 297 15-minute episodes of  Oshin , the serialized morning television drama, which aired in 1983 and 1984.   Here is a typical episode . I had never before heard of Sakata, but if you decide to visit, here is Trip Advisor link on  Things to do in Sakat...

As my Worldometer table has weekly been showing, COVID-19 and the Delta variant are now in worldwide decline.   From the  New York Times  this morning, the USA reflects this drop: There is a ten-day to two week lag from new cases to new deaths, as shown here: The next worry will be the Fall and Winter, when people go indoors.  However, schools have returned, and yet we are experiencing those above declines.  Part of the reason must have to do with vaccinations.   76% of Americans have now received at least one  shot. United States vaccinations At least one dose Fully vaccinated All ages* 65% 56% 12 and up 76% 65% 18 and up 77% 67% 65 and up 94% 83% The latest guess is that  90%  of the population needs to be fully vaccinated for herd immunity to be reached. Said former FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb and author of  Uncontrolled Spread :    Covid has not only been one of the worst pandemics in modern times. It has been...