Conversation With Mike, Age 15

Family photo, Thanksgiving Weekend, 1984.

Best picture of me I could find from around when I was 15.

I know, the hair was horrible. I look like a young Marv Albert.

1985 Me, age 15: Do the Yankees win the World Series this year?

2018 Me, age 48: No. The next 10 years are going to be hard. But the next few after that will be wonderful, Then it's going to be a rollercoaster for a few years.

1985 Me: Does the Rutgers football team ever get its act together?

2018 Me: You'll have to wait 20 more years, but it happens. And it doesn't last long.

1985 Me: Of the big stars of my youth, which ones are still alive?

2015 Me: Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Elton John, Madonna. But not Michael Jackson, Prince or George Michael. Robert Redford is still alive, but not Paul Newman. Meryl Streep and Sally Field are still alive, but not Patty Duke. Most of the cast of the original Star Wars trilogy is still alive, except for Carrie Fisher and Kenny Baker. And we just lost Burt Reynolds.

1985 Me: Will there be more Star Wars movies? Will we see Episodes I, II, III, VII, VIII and IX?

2018 Me: Yes, but they range from lousy to merely mediocre. Episode IX comes out in late 2019.

1985 Me: Any new superhero movies?

2018 Me: Lots.

1985 Me: Which ones are good?

2018 Me: Most of the Superman movies will be bad. Some of the Batman movies will be good, some will be laughable. There will be a Wonder Woman movie, and it will be good. There will be Spider-Man movies, and they'll range from really good to disgustingly bad. Captain America gets good movies, but the only good movies with the Hulk will be where he teams up with other Marvel heroes, like the Avengers movies.

1985 Me: Well, at least I can be satisfied with the knowledge that we will never have a President worse than Ronald Reagan.

2018 Me: Boyyyyyyyy....

*

Days until Arsenal play again: 3, this Thursday, at 12:55 PM New York time, away to Qarabag in Baku, Azerbaijan, in their 2nd match of the Group Stage of the 2018-19 UEFA Europa League. After opening the season with losses to Manchester City and Chelsea, Arsenal have now won 7 straight games, including Saturday's Premier League win over Watford.

Days until the next Yankee game that matters, the American League Wild Card Game: 3, this Wednesday night, October 3, at Yankee Stadium II, against the Oakland Athletics. And if you believe the Yankees will win that game, then you're a hell of a lot more optimistic than I am.

Days until the next Yankees-Red Sox series begins: It depends. If the Yankees win the Wild Card Game, they begin the AL Division Series against them, at Fenway Park, on Friday, October 5. That's 4 days. If they lose the Wild Card Game, the next game against The Scum won't be until Tuesday, April 16, 2019, at Yankee Stadium II. That's 207 days.

Days until East Brunswick High School plays football again: 4, this Friday night, home to South Brunswick. Dear Old Alma Mater is now 0-3, having gotten clobbered by Piscataway, fumbling away a game to J.P. Stevens of Edison, and clowned their way to a loss to Ridge of Bernards, Somerset County. It could be an 0-10 season for Bob Molarz' Green-White Army.

Days until Rutgers University plays football again: 5, this coming Saturday, at 12:00 noon, home to the University of Illinois. After a season-opening win over Texas State, they have been bombed in away games against Ohio State and Kansas, and lost embarrassingly to the University of Buffalo and Indiana.

Days until the New Jersey Devils play another competitive game: 5, this Saturday, October 6, at 1:00 PM New York/New Jersey time, against the Edmonton Oilers, at... Scandinavium, an arena in Göteborg (Gothenburg), Sweden, part of the NHL Global Series. The Mulberry Street Marauders will warm up for it today, with an exhibition game in Berne, Switzerland; while the Oilers will visit Cologne, Germany on October 3.

Days until the New York Red Bulls play again: 5, this Saturday night, at 10:30 PM, away to the San Jose Earthquakes. They beat Atlanta United 2-0 at home yesterday.

Days until the New Jersey Devils' home opener: 10, next Thursday night, against the Stanley Cup holders, the Washington Capitals. Boy, there's words you never thought you'd read!

Days until the U.S. national soccer team plays again: 10, next Thursday night, a friendly against Colombia, at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.

Days until the New Jersey Devils next play a local rival: 19, on Saturday afternoon, October 20, against the Philadelphia Flyers, a.k.a. The Philth, at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. The 1st game against the New York Islanders, a.k.a. the Fish Sticks, will be on Saturday night, November 3, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The 1st game against the New York Rangers, a.k.a. The Scum, will be on Thursday night, January 31, 2019, at the Prudential Center.

Days until the Red Bulls next play a "derby": 20, against the Philadelphia Union at Chester on Sunday, October 21. They do not play DCU, New York City FC or the New England Revolution again in the regular season. New York City have qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs, Philly probably will, and D.C. United still can, while the New England Revolution are almost certainly out.

Days until the next Congressional election, when we can elect a Democratic Congress that can impeach and remove Donald Trump from the Presidency: 36, on November 6. A little over 5 weeks.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State game: 47, on Saturday, November 17, at High Point Solutions Stadium in Piscataway, New Jersey. Under 7 weeks.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge Thanksgiving high school football game: 52, on Thursday, November 22. A little over 8 weeks.

Days until the next North London Derby: 62, on Sunday, December 2, at the Emirates Stadium. It had been set for December 1, but was moved due to Arsenal once again being stuck playing Europa League games on Thursday nights. No more "Thursday is Spursday" jokes for us Gooners.

Days until a Democratic Congress can convene, and the impeachment process can begin: 94, on Thursday, January 3, 2019. A little over 3 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Mariano Rivera: 114, on January 23, 2019. A little under 4 months.

Days until the next Women's World Cup kicks off: 249, on June 7, 2019, in France. A little over 8 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 Yankees and Red Sox play each other in London: 271, on June 29, 2019. A little under 9 months.

Days until my 50th Birthday, at which point I can join AARP and get discounts for travel and game tickets: 443, on December 18, 2019. A little over a year, or under 15 months.

Days until the Baseball Hall of Fame vote is announced, electing Derek Jeter: 478, on January 22, 2020. A little under a year, or a little under 16 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympics begins in Tokyo, Japan: 662, on July 24, 2020. Under 2 years, or a little under 22 months.

Days until the next Presidential election, when we can dump the Trump-Pence regime and elect a real Administration: 764, on November 3, 2020. A little over 2 years, or a little over 25 months.

Days until Liberation Day: 842, at noon on January 20, 2021. A little over 2 years, or a little under 28 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 Winter Olympics begins in Beijing, China: 1,222, on February 4, 2022. A little under 3 1/2 years, or a little over 40 months.

Days until the next World Cup for which the American team will be eligible is scheduled to kick off: 1,512, on November 21, 2022, in Qatar. A little over 4 years, or a little under 50 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.