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April comes in like a lamb. And lingers.

Posted on April 29, 2020 by moc

This is the last post for the month of April, the most bizarre month, probably, all of us have ever experienced. (Or didn’t experience… what did I really do this month?)

My friends and family members assure me the month of April 2020 flew by. All of a sudden April was over. Me? This was the longest dang month I’ve ever had the misfortune to slog through. Somehow I’m simultaneously bogged down by work… and also incredibly bored. Weird, right?

Kind of like how this month has flown by.

And dragged on forever.

Let’s hope May is a little different.

Seriously.

Last Dance keeps dancin’

Posted on April 27, 2020 by moc

Thank God for 30-year-old sports highlights to watch on Sunday nights, even those interspersed with 21st-century melodrama. The Last Dance gives 30-somethings (and up) a chance to relive their youth and actually see some competition that’s not a prerecorded singing contest.

Too bad most people I associate with think Michael Jordan is the bad guy from Black Panther.

TGI still applies

Posted on April 24, 2020 by moc

In the land where every day is exactly the same, is Friday still awesome?

Oh, heck yeah.

It’s kind of beyond all reason and explanation. It just is.

Manna in the sports desert

Posted on April 22, 2020 by moc

They say any port in a storm, but sometimes the port ends up being really awesome.

In the sportsless world known as April 2020 there is The Last Dance, a 10-part documentary chronicling the Michael Jordan era Chicago Bulls. The sports franchise of my youth.

Last night I watched the first two episodes. (They’re being released two at a time.) In a word… they’re great, and one wonders why it took 22 years to get this thing together. Honestly, though, I think the subject matter—basketball is but a mere subplot—is one I can appreciate more at age 37 than at 15.

Ratings, naturally, are through the roof. What the heck else ya gonna watch to get your sports fix? Games you already know the result of? (Wait, that’s exactly what this is!)

Give me parts 3-10 pronto!

Corona Weekends

Posted on April 20, 2020 by moc

Weekends are still pretty fun, right? Even when you can’t go anywhere?

I think the biggest thing I miss, of course, is sports. I finally have the time to watch all the sports I want… where are they?

Someday they’ll be back.

When I don’t have any time to watch.

The first thousand

Posted on April 17, 2020 by moc

This is blog post number 1,000 at mikeoconnelljr.com.

I’d always planned a bigger celebration than this.

Well, nobody feels too much like celebrating these days.

Party’s on hold, I guess, like many things in the world now.

Some day. Some day.

Way ahead of the curve

Posted on April 15, 2020 by moc

Social distancing? Actually I’ve been practicing social distancing for years. It’s been easy, to be honest, as other people have been kind enough to distance themselves socially from me as well.

We were way ahead of the curve on this one!

Quarantine Easter

Posted on April 13, 2020 by moc

Family gathering for a breakfast of French toast: yes.

Church: no.

This was my kind of Easter.

Hemingway on the Potomac

Posted on April 10, 2020 by moc

I’m in the fortunate position of watching this war from a sort of Hemingway-in-Spain perspective. As long as I don’t look at the chaos outside I’ve got a pretty sweet view of it all.

I’m not writing a book about it. Just being grateful.

Don’t really need it

Posted on April 8, 2020 by moc

There are many opinion pieces out there saying we “need” sports right now. I disagree. I think sports are great entertainment, yes, and I’ve been disappointed I haven’t been able to follow them the last few weeks. But need? Like I need baseball to happen in empty stadiums for the sake of its happening?

Nope. Don’t need that. There are more important things going on in the world right now other than baseball. Wartime comparisons don’t work for me. Military battles on the other side of the world don’t equate with can’t-even-have-people-in-the-same-room.

Sports take a backseat right now.

Can I say the same for math class?

Well, we’re doing our best.