Mike O'Connell

I leave for a few days and I figure by the time I get back somebody else will own my local NFL team. (That would be the Washington Commanders.)

We’ve been hearing about a potential sale for years, though this past week it really seemed imminent, as even folks outside the DMV were expecting this thing to happen. (News has even reached Binghamton, New York.)

More interesting for me, of course, is the issue of a potential new stadium. Like, new stadium possibly in my backyard.

And it’s the classic thing-I-want versus thing-I-believe-in, as my personal desire to see that stadium built (no doubt at taxpayer expense) conflicts with my political principles that say such things are borderline criminal.

Hmm.

This real-life event reminds me of something I saw on television not long ago. (Actually it was very long ago.)

If you’ve never had the pleasure, do yourself a favor and watch the final episode of the BBC’s Yes, Minister from 1982. This “football”-themed episode was Ted Lasso before there was Ted Lasso, and damned if it isn’t still relevant today.

Though I really don’t think something from 1982 should be considered old.

The only thing better than a new episode of Ted Lasso is when said episode channels one of my all-time favorite cartoons, the Disney classic Donald in Mathmagic Land. (If you grew up in the 20th century you saw it in your math class; here was my take.)

Worlds colliding, so beautifully. And this was only a minute and a half of a stellar one-long episode. Unusual, yes, but everything we expect from Ted Lasso. It’s not really just Ted’s story anymore; there were half a dozen side plots last night worth your time.

But damn that cartoon sequence topped them all.

Today on Math and Musings I recap “what I did on my Spring Break.”

Always amusing.

And it’s better to go in fresh, so yeah, just check it out.

Happy Friday.

Yesterday afternoon I was at Capital One Arena to witness my hometown team (that would be the Washington Wizards) take on the Houston Rockets. The Rockets came into the game tied for the worst record in the Western Conference. And with San Antonio’s win they needed to do likewise to avoid the distinction of having the worst record in the West.

Happy to help, guys.

Rockets 114, Wizards 109.

This was my son’s first NBA game and my first in more than 30 years.

And I still have never seen a home team win.

I called last year’s Final Four teams the bluebloods of college basketball and this year’s set the also-rans, but consider your 2023 champion. The University of Connecticut has now won more titles than all but three other programs. And those three schools? In the last 25 years, UConn’s won more than all of them combined.

Tell the Huskies where the hide-a-key is and show ’em the secret handshake. They’re basketball royalty now.