In anticipation of those Super Bowl food fests a week from today, a Sunday buffet is timely and appropriate. This won’t be a Golden Corral trough, nor will it be the stuffy offering of the Ritz-Carlton.
Regardless, it’s a safe bet in roughly 600-700 words, you will have had your fill of me.
BASEBALL FANS: Had an opportunity to attend a breakfast at SunTrust, I mean Truist Park. It was a chance to visit with Braves President/GM Alex Anthopoulos. A Braves broadcaster and marketing VP, Adam Zimmerman, were on the dais.
It was the marketing shill’s dream when the Q & A session began with softball being lobbed at Braves’ officials: “Are you upset Josh Donaldson is gone?” or “Who’s going to play corner outfield?”
Then the fun started.
To say the guests still had an unhealed festering wound still left over from September’s playoff series loss to the Cardinals would be like saying the fans aren’t at all elated with the ballpark’s new name.
It was a surly, vocal group.
In the old days, when it was fun to tweak team officials before I wrote about it. This time, I sat on my hands. There would be no questions from me.
However, there was still anger about that 10-run first-inning ambush. It’s a fresh memory that the Braves lost a game before they ever had a bat in their hands.
One fan chastised the suits when the Chop was taken away in the form of missing foam tomahawks, resulting in weak excuses from Zimmerman.
One fan who has purchased eason tickets since 1981, read my mind. He wanted to know why he had watched the Kansas City Chiefs game and had his ire raised.
This guy was reading my mind. The Chop was in full view. It was audience participation time at Arrowhead Stadium. Bottom line: In Game 5, Braves fans, ready to party, were served bad food that resulted in a botulism/salmonella parlay.
Oh, yeah, the Chiefs maximized their home field advantage and are still winning.
Now an ill-named stadium and a Chop-free atmosphere could mean starting the season with an 0-2 count.
The home opener is Friday night April 3. Hope the team wins. Otherwise...
VULTURES ARE MIGRATING and Chester is itching for a fight. Our aging Retriever who is old, fat and flatulent, doesn’t want them in our trees. He hates them worse than cats (he refused to see the movie flop or the musical). Not only does he want them out of the pine trees, he abhors their flying in our home’s airspace.
He has no opinion on the chop. He is all-in about who will be giving him those yummy (his opinion, not mine) Paul Newman jerky treats.
A head scratch, outside activities and plenty of treats will make sure that all is right in his world.
By the way, this brutal cold snap is tough on pets (even cats). If you own an “outside” dog, let them in for a night or two. Share a blanket. If the tables were turned, they’d do it for you.
Oxy Clean will take smells out of the blanket.
MY NEW FRIEND OSCAR: They announced the Oscar nominations and a few of the chosen movies were ones that I had seen. For the life of me, I can’t imagine how that happened.
“Ford v Ferrari” was outstanding and pretty much ignored at the box office. Only problem: Greg and his friend, Chase, tried to bring the racing scenes into real life. Luckily, the only tickets issued that night were the ones that got us into the theater.
And Kathy Bates was nominated for her role in the panned Clint Eastwood movie, “Richard Jewell.” I reckon Clint’s flick didn’t make money was because it lambasted Kathy Scruggs, the AJC reporter who played a starring role in helping ruin Richard Jewell’s life.
Again, the media affirmed they can dish it out but can’t take it.
I might watch some of the Oscar telecast if someone lands a haymaker on Robert De Niro’s quickly inflating nose. He’s miserable and with a few more drinks, you won’t find “Bob.”
He’ll be answering to “Rudolph.”
RUSH WAS RIGHT: Four years ago, the revered talk show host predicted that the media and Democrats would brutalize the newly-elected president. He was so correct I’d like to ask him to pick some lottery numbers for me.
Mike Tasos’ column is published every other Sunday. For a minute or two this week, he actually felt sorry for the buffoons and their feeble attempt to overthrow a president. But his pity didn’t last. He says: “Throw the bums out.” He can be reached at miketasos@earthlink.net. He is also on Facebook.