Pokémon cards are now so in demand that local retailers cannot handle the crush of customers (sometimes literally) clambering to obtain them. Target, for example, once one of the world’s go-to spots for Pokémon cards, has just plain given up. … Continue reading
May 16, 2001, was a momentous day in the life of Mike O’Connell Jr. This was that day I moved into my new apartment, my first apartment as a matter of fact, and, as went the procedure at the time, … Continue reading
You hear about the gas shortage? Depending on where you live you’ve either been not affected at all or you’re in a complete gas desert, apparently a result of your neighbors’ panicking when told they might not be able to … Continue reading
New York Mets pitcher (and frequent mikeoconnelljr.com subject) Jacob deGrom left his start Sunday after only five innings, “right side tightness” later declared to be the cause. Following a “clean” MRI, deGrom was nonetheless placed on the 10-day Injured List, … Continue reading
Many holidays have found me confused, not about the spirit of the day or its merit, but rather… how to spell it. (I swear I’ve seen “Presidents’ Day about six different ways.) Mother’s Day? No such problem. Seems as though … Continue reading
Question: What has Joe Biden done every day of his presidency? Answer: Set a record for being America’s oldest President.
Every so often I like to keep up with what “the masses” are reading, embarking on a fiction journey worthy of third-grade prose and soap opera substance. That’s me reading 28 Summers, the 2020 beach book written by the dean of all beach … Continue reading
I used to see a house in my neighborhood selling for 400 grand and think what kind of gold-plated underground secret fortress is that place hiding? Now when I see a house in my neighborhood selling for 400 grand I think… … Continue reading
I knew the deGrom jinx would work. Walking off the mound Wednesday evening, having given up an awful one run in six innings, deGrom’s otherworldly ERA+ had fallen to 744, only about triple that produced by the greatest pitchers in the … Continue reading
I know, I know, small sample size, but you gotta love this one, from the world of baseball. New York Mets (and former Binghamton Met) phenom Jacob deGrom’s first four starts this year have yielded an ERA+ of 1227. (Dramatic … Continue reading