Sunday, December 31, 2017

Number 563

And now, my 563rd and last post of the calendar year 2017. Interestingly enough, it matches the career home run total of my all-time favorite athlete, Reggie Jackson.

It's been a typical year, full of good things and bad things. But it's also been a very atypical year, full of things that had never happened before, and never should have happened.

Goodbye, 2017. So long, farewell, auf wiedersehn, get lost!

*

Days until the Alex Rodriguez Contract From Hell officially runs out, and the Yankees can spend his salary on new players: 0! It's over!


Days until The Arsenal play again: 3, this Wednesday afternoon at 2:45 PM our time, home to West London club Chelsea. Today, they were robbed of a win against West Midlands side West Bromwich Albion, due to a bogus penalty from the worst referee in sports on planet Earth, Mike Dean.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 7, this coming Sunday night, against the New York Islanders, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Their next game against the Philadelphia Flyers will be on Saturday, January 13, 2018, at the Prudential Center. They won't play the New York Rangers again until the last week of the regular season, on Tuesday, April 3, at the Prudential Center.

Days until Phil Murphy is inaugurated as Governor of New Jersey: 16, on Tuesday, January 16. Goodbye, Chris Christie, and stay out.

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 28, on Sunday night, January 28, at 9:30 PM Eastern Time, a friendly against Bosnia and Herzegovina (that's 1 country), at the StubHub Center in the Los Angeles suburb of Carson, California. Just 4 weeks. After that, no matches are scheduled. They were supposed to play at the World Cup in June 2018. Alas...

Days until the next Winter Olympics begins in Pyeongchang, Korea: 40, on February 9. Under 6 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby: 41, on Saturday, February 10, at Wembley Stadium in West London, where Spurs are playing their "home games" until the new stadium they're building on the site of White Hart Lane opens the following August. Two things could change this day-count: The game could be moved due to the British TV networks' demands.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 69. They open at home against the Portland Timbers on March 10. Just under 10 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": Unknown, as the rest of the 2018 MLS regular season schedule has yet to be released, so we don't yet know when they'll next play New York City FC, the Philadelphia Union, D.C. United or the New England Revolution.

Days until Opening Day of the 2018 Major League Baseball season: 88on Thursday night, March 29, as the Yankees open away to the Toronto Blue Jays. Under 3 months.

Days until the Yankees' 2018 home opener: 92, on Monday afternoon, April 2, against the Tampa Bay Rays.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: 100, on Tuesday, April 10, at Fenway Park.

Days until the next World Cup kicks off in Russia: 165, on June 14. Under 6 months. But the U.S. team won't be playing. At least now, Donald Trump doesn't have to choose, and can root for his favorite country, the host nation, Russia.

Days until September 2018 roster call-ups, when we can finally start to expect seeing most of these wonderful "prospects" that Yankee general manager Brian Cashman wanted: 244. Just 8 months.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 244, on Saturday, September 1, home to Texas State University. 

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: Unknown. The 2018 schedule hasn't been released yet. But the season opener is usually on the 1st Friday in September. that would be September 7, which is 250 days from now.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 310, on November 6. A little over 10 months.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 321, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game (after tomorrow's): 326, on Thursday, November 22.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 388, on January 23, 2019. A little over a year, or a little over 12 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 523, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little under a year and a half, or a little over 17 months. The U.S. team, as 3-time and defending Champions, has, as usual, a better chance than the men's team would have had in 2018 anyway.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 752on January 22, 2020. A little over 2 years, or a little over 24 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 936on July 24, 2020. A little over 2 1/2 years, or a little over 30 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 1,048on November 3, 2020. Under 3 years, or 34 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 1,116at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 3 years, or 36 months. Note that this is liberation from the Republican Party, not just from Donald Trump. Having Mike Pence as President wouldn't be better, just differently bad, mixing theocracy with plutocracy, rather than mixing kleptocracy with plutocracy.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,784, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. Under 5 years, or about 59 months. The charges of corruption against Qatar may yet mean that they will lose the tournament, in which case it will be moved to a nation where it would not be too hot to play it in June and July.

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