A Bad Summer Is Finally Over

I haven't had much good news from sports lately. The Yankees' season ended without making the Playoffs. Record-wise, it was their worst in 22 years, 82-80, just 1 game better than .500. And there will be no change in either the field manager or the general manager, offering not even the slightest bit of hope for improvement.

Typical of them, the Rutgers football team is 4-2 overall, but just 1-2 in the Big Ten Conference. The football team at East Brunswick High School, just 2 years after a Playoff berth, goes into tonight's game 0-7. And our last 2 opponents are 6-0 and 5-1.

The New York Red Bulls, as usual, are going nowhere. And, due to the Nets' abandonment of New Jersey leading me to seek hoop rooting elsewhere, the Philadelphia 76ers have as much disarray as talent.

This followed a Summer in "the real world" where the heat was hard to bear, and yet, due to circumstances beyond my control, including a lot of rainy days, I wasn't able to make a single trip to a beach town. It was the warm-weather equivalent of C.S. Lewis' line about Narnia being a land where it was always Winter, but never Christmas. And my computer has been acting screwy lately.

Meanwhile, the threat of another Trump Administration hangs over America like the Sword of Damocles. Russia's war against Ukraine has no end in sight. And now, Hamas have decided to finish the Nazis' job and end Israel, with Israel, unlike back then, being strong enough to fight back, resulting in the side that I support killing as many as the side that must be opposed, because that side is acting in an inhuman way.

And, on top of all of that, I was thisclose to "firing" my primary-care doctor, for cause, and then, yesterday, his receptionist told me that he no longer accepts my insurance. The choice is no longer in my hands: In essence, without intending to, he has "fired" me as a patient.

And you thought today was Friday the 13th.

It hasn't all been bad, though. I've been reasonably healthy, as has the rest of the surviving family. The heat has finally broken, and we've had a few nice days in a row in Central Jersey. The computer did not act screwy at all yesterday. Also yesterday, I finally got a much-needed haircut. The day before, I had a nice visit to "the old neighborhood." The leaves have begun to change.

In sports, the Philadelphia Eagles are 5-0, while The Arsenal are, for all intents and purposes, top of their league as well. The New York Liberty have made the WNBA Finals, although they now have their backs to the wall against the defending Champions, the Las Vegas Aces.

And, last night, following a season in which they made the Playoffs, and beat the arch-rival New York Rangers in the 1st Round, the New Jersey Devils opened their 2023-24 season last night, at home at the Prudential Center, beating the Detroit Red Wings, 4-2.

A bad Summer is finally over. Maybe there will be a nice Autumn, after all, and then a Merry Christmas.

*

Hours until the next East Brunswick High School football game: 8, tonight, at 7:00 PM, home to North Brunswick.

Days until the next Rutgers University football game: 1, tomorrow, at 12:00 Noon, home to Michigan State.

Days until the next game of the U.S. National Soccer Team: 1, tomorrow, at 3:00 PM, an international friendly, home to Germany, at Pratty & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field in East Hartford, Connecticut.

Days until the New Jersey Devils again play a local rival: 7, a week from tonight, at 7:30 PM, away to the New York Islanders.

Days until the next Arsenal match: 8, a week from tomorrow, at 12:30 PM New York Eastern Time, away to West London team Chelsea. Arsenal are as good as they've been for years, Chelsea as bad as they've been for years. Trap game?

Days until the next New York Red Bulls game: 8, a week from tomorrow night, at 7:30 PM, away to Nashville SC. This is the last game of the season, as they did not make the Playoffs.

Days until the next Rutgers-Penn State football game: 36, on Saturday, November 18, 2023, at 12:00 Noon, at Beaver Stadium in State College, Pennsylvania. A little over 5 weeks.

Days until the Red Bulls again play a nearby rival: Unknown. The 1st game of next season will be on the weekend of March 9 and 10, 2024, and it's unlikely that it will be against a nearby rival. So, most likely, the next week at the absolute minimum, March 16, which would be 155 days. A little over 5 months.

Days until the next North London Derby: 197, on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at 10:00 AM New York time, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The game will almost certainly be rescheduled, to a different time, maybe to a different day, for the purpose of TV ratings. But it will still be that weekend. Under 7 months.

Days until the Yankees' next series against the Boston Red Sox begins: 245, on Friday night, June 14, 2024, at Fenway Park. About 8 months.

Days until the next Summer Olympic Games: 287, on Friday, July 26, 2024, in Paris, France. Under 10 months.

Days until the next East Brunswick-Old Bridge game: Unknown. If the 2024 game is played in the same week of the year as was the 2023 game, a close 30-28 loss, it will be on Friday, September 20, at 7:00 PM, away, at Vince Lombardi Field. That would be 343 days. A little over 11 months.

Days until the next Presidential election: 389, on Tuesday, November 5, 2024. A little over a year, or under 13 months.

Days until the next elections for Governor of New Jersey and Mayor of New York City: 753, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025. A little over 2 years, or a little under 25 months.

Days until the next Winter Olympics open in Milan, Italy: 847, on Friday, February 6, 2026. Under 2 1/2 years, or under 28 months.

Days until the next World Cup opens: 969, on Monday, June 8, 2026. Under 3 years, or under 32 months.