November 10, 2018: Donald Trump Calls American War Victims "Losers" and "Suckers"

November 10, 2018: It is the day before the 100th Anniversary of the Armistice that ended World War I in victory for America and her allies. Representing America, Donald Trump had been scheduled to lay a wreath and observe a moment of silence Saturday at the Aisne-Marne American Cemetery and Memorial, located adjacent to Belleau Wood, about 60 miles northeast of Paris.

Trump had his appearance there canceled. Officially, the White House office cited weather conditions that grounded the Presidential helicopter, Marine One, for the cancellation.

Attending the cemetery event in Trump's place were the White House Chief of Staff, retired Marine General John Kelly; the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine General Joe Dunford; and several members of the White House staff. The Battle of Belleau Wood was a critical conflict in the war, the 1st-ever battle between American troops and European troops in Europe, and the victory is regarded as a pivotal encounter in Marine Corps history. So, if Trump couldn't go, these were appropriate people to send.

The truth: Trump could have gone, and should have. He chose not to. He wasn't advised not to go: He made the choice. A report in The Atlantic, penned by the magazine's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg, said Trump had refused to visit the cemetery because "he feared his hair would become disheveled in the rain."

Donald Trump was worried about his hair. Have you seen Trump's hair?

As if those soldiers, and their comrades from other countries, especially Britain and France, who had been doing it a lot longer, hadn't gone through horrible conditions.

"In a conversation with senior staff members on the morning of the scheduled visit, Trump said, 'Why should I go to that cemetery? It's filled with losers,'" the article said.

Donald Trump called Americans who died serving their country in war "losers."

"In a separate conversation on the same trip, Trump referred to the more than 1,800 marines who lost their lives at Belleau Wood as 'suckers' for getting killed," The Atlantic added, citing four unnamed people it said had firsthand knowledge of the discussions.

Not one person, not two people, not three people. Four different people, who all heard him say it.

Donald Trump called Americans who died serving their country in war "losers" and "suckers."

Trump slammed the report, after his aides earlier called the allegations "disgusting, grotesque, reprehensible lies."

According to The Atlantic, Trump asked aides on his trip to France, "Who were the good guys in this war?" and could not understand why the United States had come to the aid of the Allies.

When asking Congress for a Declaration of War on April 2, 1917, President Woodrow Wilson said, "The world must be made safe for democracy."

Wilson's hypocrisy on the issue of democracy became clear after the war, when he continued policies that were terribly undemocratic toward black Americans. Nevertheless, he at least understood democracy. Trump doesn't even try to understand it.

The truth: Donald Trump doesn't understand anything beyond his own selfish desires. He was not fit to be President of the United States, and commander-in-chief of our armed forces, and our representative to the world, when he ran for President in 2016. He was not fit to serve in those posts in 2018. He was not fit when he ran for re-election in 2020.

UPDATE: He was not fit while running again in 2024.

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November 10, 2018 was a Saturday. Among the college football games played were these:

* Number 1 Alabama beat Number 18 Mississippi State, 24-0 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. 'Bama won the Southeastern Conference title.

* Number 2 Clemson beat Number 17 Boston College, 27-7 at Alumni Stadium in the Boston suburb of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. Clemson won the Atlantic Coast Conference title.

* Number 3 Notre Dame beat Florida State, 42-13 at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. Notre Dame were invited to the Cotton Bowl, where they lost to Clemson.

* Number 4 Michigan beat Rutgers, 42-7 at High Point Solutions Stadium (now SHI Stadium) in Piscataway, New Jersey.

* Number 5 Georgia beat Auburn, 27-10 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia.

* Rivalry: Number 6 Oklahoma beat Oklahoma State, 48-47 at Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman. Oklahoma won the Big 12 Conference title, and were invited to the Orange Bowl, where they were beaten by Alabama. 'Bama went to the National Championship Game, where they lost to Clemson.

* Number 7 West Virginia beat Texas Christian University (TCU), 47-10 at Mountaineer Field in Morgantown, West Virginia.

* Number 8 Ohio State beat Number 24 Michigan State, 26-6 at Spartan Stadium in East Lansing, Michigan. Ohio State went on to win the Big Ten Conference title.

* Number 9 Louisiana State University (LSU) beat Arkansas, 24-17 at Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas.

* Number 10 Washington State beat Colorado, 31-7 at Folsom Field in the Denver suburb of Boulder, Colorado.

* Rivalry: Number 12 Kentucky were upset by Tennessee, 24-7 at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tennessee.

* The University of Washington were unranked at this point, and were idle this week. They went on to upset Washington State and Utah, ranked 8th and 17th at the time, respectively, and win the Pacific-12 Conference title. Washington went to the Rose Bowl, and lost to Ohio State.

* Rivalry: Duke beat North Carolina, 42-35 at Wallace Wade Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

* Rivalry: Kansas State beat Kansas, 21-17 at Bill Snyder Family Stadium in Manhattan, Kansas.

* And among the service academies, Army beat Lafayette, 31-13 at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York; Navy lost to Number 11 University of Central Florida (UCF), 35-24 at Spectrum Stadium (now FBC Mortgage Stadium) in Orlando; and Air Force beat New Mexico, 42-24 at Falcon Stadium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. UCF went to the Fiesta Bowl, where they lost to LSU, ending their dream of an undefeated season and a possible challenge to the winner of the official National Championship Game. (The highest-ranked team they beat was the University of Cincinnati, then ranked Number 24. Any pretensions they had to being on the same level as Clemson and Alabama were laughable.)

There were 10 games played in the NBA:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Toronto Raptors, 128-112 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Golden State Warriors, 116-100 at the Oakland Coliseum Arena (then named the Oracle Arena).

* The Washington Wizards beat the Miami Heat, 116-110 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 112-106 in overtime at the FedEx Forum in Memphis. Mike Conley scored 32 points to lead all scorers on the night.

* The New Orleans Pelicans beat the Phoenix Suns, 119-99 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 99-98 at the United Center in Chicago.

* The Dallas Mavericks beat the Oklahoma City Thunder, 111-96 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

* The San Antonio Spurs beat the Houston Rockets, 96-89 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Milwaukee Bucks, 128-126 in overtime at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

* The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings, 101-86 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

And there were 11 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Rangers beat the Columbus Blue Jackets, 5-4 at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The New York Islanders lost to the Florida Panthers, 4-2 at the BB&T Center (now the Amerant Bank Arena) in the Miami suburb of Sunrise, Florida.

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Vegas Golden Knights, 5-4 at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

* In an "Original Six" matchup, the Boston Bruins beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 5-1 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Philadelphia Flyers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 4-0 at the Wells Fargo Center (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 4-3 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Ottawa Senators beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 6-4 at the Amalie Arena (now the Benchmark International Arena) in Tampa.

* The Buffalo Sabres beat the Vancouver Canucks, 4-3 in a shootout at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.

* The Pittsburgh Penguins beat the Arizona Coyotes, 4-0 at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh.  

* The Nashville Predators beat the Dallas Stars, 5-4 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas. Mattias Ekholm scored the winning goal, with 2:33 left in overtime.

* And the Calgary Flames beat the Los Angeles Kings, 1-0 at the Staples Center (now the Crypto.com Arena) in Los Angeles.

October 28, 2018: Los Angeles Hosts All 5 Sports In 1 Day

October 28, 2018: Los Angeles becomes the 1st metropolitan area to host games in all 5 of North American sports' major leagues on the same day.

In the National Football League: The Los Angeles Rams beat the Green Bay Packers, 29-27 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, to move to 8-0. The following week, the Rams fell from the ranks of the undefeated, losing to the New Orleans Saints. The other team in the area, the Los Angeles Chargers, had a bye week, and did not play.

In the National Basketball Association: At the Staples Center (renamed the Crypto.com Arena a year later), the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Washington Wizards, 136-104. The city's main NBA team, the Los Angeles Lakers, were not scheduled.

In the National Hockey League: Later in the day, also at the Staples Center, the Los Angeles Kings beat the New York Rangers, 4-3. The area's other NHL team, the Anaheim Ducks, were also at home, at the Honda Center, but lost to the San Jose Sharks, 4-3. Timo Meier scored the winning goal with 2:48 left in overtime.

In Major League Soccer, the Los Angeles Galaxy lost to the Houston Dynamo 3-2 at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson. The city's other MLS team, Los Angeles FC, were on the road, losing 2-1 to Sporting Kansas City.

Most importantly, in Major League Baseball: Game 5 of the World Series was held at Dodger Stadium. Andrew Bentinendi hit a 2-run home run for the Boston Red Sox in the top of the 1st inning, while David Freese hit a solo homer for the Dodgers in the bottom of the inning. That 2-1 score held until the 7th, when J.D. Martinez homered to make it 4-1, extending Clayton Kershaw's poor postseason record. Steve Pearce hit a home run in the 8th, cementing his status as the Series' Most Valuable Player.

The Red Sox won, 5-1, taking the Series in 5 games, their 4th World Championship since 2004 -- and their 4th since 1918. There was no steroid-using David Ortiz this time, but they found a new way to cheat: Apple Watches. A little more than 3 months later, Boston would beat Los Angeles for another World Championship, as the New England Patriots beat the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

UPDATE: The Red Sox have a team Hall of Fame. From the 2018 World Champions, they have inducted 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia, pitcher Jon Lester; executive Elaine Weddington Steward, guest relations director Al Green, broadcasters Jerry Remy and Joe Castiglione, and longtime vendor Arthur D'Angelo.

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October 28, 2018 was a Sunday. This was the only baseball game played that day. Aside from the Rams, these games were played in the NFL:

* The New York Giants lost to the Washington Redskins, 20-13 at MetLife Stadium in the Meadowlands.

* The New York Jets lost to the Chicago Bears, 24-10 at the new Soldier Field in Chicago.

* The Philadelphia Eagles beat the Jacksonville Jaguars, 24-18 at the new Wembley Stadium in London. Officially, it was a home game for the Jaguars, who willingly gave up a home game because they weren't drawing well at home.

* The Carolina Panthers beat the Baltimore Ravens, 36-21 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte.

* The Pittsburgh Steelers beat their arch-rivals, the Cleveland Browns, 33-18 at Heinz Field (now Acrisure Stadium) in Pittsburgh.

* The Cincinnati Bengals beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 37-34 at Paul Brown Stadium (now Paycor Stadium) in Cincinnati.

* The Seattle Seahawks beat the Detroit Lions, 28-14 at Ford Field in Detroit.

* The New Orleans Saints beat the Minnesota Vikings, 30-23 at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

* The Kansas City Chiefs beat the Denver Broncos, 30-23 at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City. It would almost make sense geographically for these teams to be each other's arch-rivals, but both teams have a bigger rivalry with the Raiders, whatever city they're in.

* The Arizona Cardinals beat the San Francisco 49ers, 18-15 at State Farm Stadium in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, California.

* The Indianapolis Colts beat the Oakland Raiders, 42-28 at the Oakland Coliseum.

* In the week's Thursday night game, the Houston Texans beat the Miami Dolphins, 42-23 at NRG Stadium (as Reliant Stadium was then known) in Houston.

* The following night, on Monday Night Foot ball, the New England Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 25-6 at New Era Field (formerly Rich Stadium and Ralph Wilson Stadium)in the Buffalo suburb of Orchard Park, New York.

* And the Atlanta Falcons, the Dallas Cowboys and the Tennessee Titans had a bye week.

In addition to the Clippers' game, there were 3 games played in the NBA:

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the Golden State Warriors, 120-114 at the Barclays Center. Steph Curry scored 35 points.

* The Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Phoenix Suns, 117-110 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena (now the Paycom Center) in Oklahoma City.

* And the Utah Jazz beat the Dallas Mavericks, 113-104 at the American Airlines Center in Dallas.

In addition to the Kings' and Ducks' games, there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The New York Islanders beat the Carolina Hurricanes, 2-1 at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Detroit Red Wings beat the Dallas Stars, 4-2 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-1 at the United Center in Chicago. Connor McDavid scored the winning goal, 53 seconds into overtime.

* And the Vegas Golden Knights beat the Ottawa Senators, 4-3 at the T-Mobile Arena in the Las Vegas suburb of Paradise, Nevada. Jonathan Marchessault scored the winning goal, with 2:36 in overtime.

In addition to the 2 L.A.-area teams, there were 9 games in Major League Soccer:

* The New York Red Bulls beat Orlando City, 1-0 at Red Bull Arena in Harrison, New Jersey.

* New York City FC beat the Philadelphia Union, 3-1 at Yankee Stadium.

* The New England Revolution beat the Montreal Impact, 1-0 at Gillette Stadium in the Boston suburb of Foxborough, Massachusetts.

* Toronto FC beat Atlanta United, 4-1 at BMO Field in Toronto.

* The Columbus Crew beat Minnesota United, 3-2 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.

* The Chicago Fire and D.C. United played to a draw, 0-0 at SeatGeek Stadium in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview, Illinois.

* The Colorado Rapids beat FC Dallas, 2-1 at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in the Denver suburb of Commerce City, Colorado.

* The Seattle Sounders beat the San Jose Sharks, 2-1 at CenturyLink Field (now Lumen Field) in Seattle.

* And the Vancouver Whitecaps beat the Portland Timbers, 2-1 at BC Place in Vancouver.

And in English soccer, North London team Arsenal went to South London, but could only manage a 2-2 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park.

October 27, 2018: The Pittsburgh Synagogue Shooting

October 27, 2018: Shabbat morning services at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh are desecrated, as 17 people are shot, 11 of them dying. It was, and remains, the deadliest attack on Jewish people in American history.

Robert Bowers, a man with a history of online anti-Semitism, was shot and arrested by the police. He survived, and was charged with 63 federal crimes and 36 State crimes. As of this writing, his case has not yet gone to trial.

This shooting was part of a culture of bigotry drummed up by Donald Trump and his illegal, immoral Administration. It was reflective of the neo-Nazis marching in Charlottesville, Virginia on August 12, 2017, chanting, "Jews will not replace us!"

The Pittsburgh metropolitan area did not stand for this act, perpetrated in Squirrel Hill, an inclusive place that was once the home of the Rev. Fred Rogers, the longtime host of the PBS children's program Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood. This happened in Mr. Rogers' actual neighborhood, and it was treated like a desecration. One of those occasional "(City Name) Strong" movements began, with an accompanying logo, in this case based on the U.S. Steel Corporation's "Steelmark" logo that had been used by the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers since 1962.

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October 27, 2018 was a Saturday. It was the end of the Major League Baseball season, and Game 4 of the World Series was played that night. The night before, we saw the longest game in World Series history, going 18 innings, before Max Muncy hit a home run to give the Los Angeles Dodgers a 3-2 win over the Boston Red Sox.

But that would be the only game won by the Dodgers in the Series. They took a 4-0 lead in the 6th inning of Game 4, only to see the Sox score 3 in the 7th, 1 in the 8th, and 5 in the 9th. The Dodgers came back with 2 runs in the bottom of the 9th, but it wasn't enough, and the Red Sox won, 9-6. The next day, the Sox wrapped the Series up, winning Game 5, 5-1.

There were 9 NBA games played that day. Neither the New York Knicks nor the Brooklyn Nets were scheduled:

* The Philadelphia 76ers beat the Charlotte Hornets, 105-103 at the Wells Fargo Arena (now the Xfinity Mobile Arena) in Philadelphia.

* The Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks, 97-85 at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.

* The Miami Heat beat the Portland Trail Blazers, 120-111 at the American Airlines Arena (now the Kaseya Center) in Miami.

* The Indiana Pacers beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 119-107 at the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse (now the Rocket Arena) in Cleveland.

* The Boston Celtics beat the Detroit Pistons, 109-89 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* The Memphis Grizzlies beat the Phoenix Suns, 117-96 at the FedEx Forum in Memphis.

* The Utah Jazz beat the New Orleans Pelicans, 132-111 at the Smoothie King Arena in New Orleans.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Orlando Magic, 113-91 at the new Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee.

* And the San Antonio Spurs beat the Los Angeles Lakers, 110-106 at the AT&T Center (now the Frost Bank Center) in San Antonio.

There were 11 NHL games played that day:

* The New Jersey Devils beat the Florida Panthers, 3-2 at the Prudential Center in Newark.

* The New York Islanders beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-1 at the Wells Fargo Center, which had hosted the 76ers-Hornets game earlier in the day. (The New York Rangers were not scheduled.)

* The Montreal Canadiens beat the Boston bruins, 3-0 at the TD Garden in Boston.

* The Toronto Maple Leafs beat the Winnipeg Jets, 3-2 at what's now named the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-4 in overtime at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Edmonton Oilers beat the Nashville Predators, 5-3 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville.

* The St. Louis Blues beat the Chicago Blackhawks, 7-3 at the Enterprise Center in St. Louis.

* The Minnesota Wild beat the Colorado Avalanche, 3-2 at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.

* The Arizona Diamondbacks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning, 7-1 at the Gila River Arena (now the Desert Diamond Arena) in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale, Arizona.

* The Washington Capitals beat the Calgary Flames, 4-3 in a shootout at the Saddledome in Calgary.

* And the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Vancouver Canucks, 5-0 at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver.

It was a Saturday, so no NFL games were scheduled. But there were some notable college football games played:

* As is traditional, the last Saturday in October saw "The World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," played on "neutral ground" in Jacksonville. That's a laugh: Not only is TIAA Bank Field, home of the NFL's Jaguars, in Florida, but the University of Florida's Ben Hill Griffin Stadium is 81 miles away, while the University of Georgia's Sanford Stadium is a considerably farther 341 miles away.

Both teams came into the game highly ranked: Georgia was the Number 7 team in the country, Florida the Number 9. Georgia won, 36-17.

* Alabama was then ranked Number 1, but had the week off. Number 2 Clemson went to Tallahassee and beat Florida State, 59-10. Clemson would go on to defeat Alabama in the National Championship Game.

* Number 3 Notre Dame played Navy at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego. Given that San Diego is a Navy city, it should have been a "home game" for the Naval Academy. But Notre Dame won, 44-22.

* In New Jersey, Rutgers had the week off, while Princeton walloped Cornell 66-0 at Powers Field in Princeton.

* And in New York City, Columbia beat Yale 17-10 at Wien Stadium in Upper Manhattan.

October 26, 2018: The Longest Game In World Series History

October 26, 2018: Game 3 of the World Series is played at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. It turns out to be the longest game in World Series history. Joc Pederson gives the Los Angeles Dodgers the lead with a home run in the 3rd inning, and Jackie Bradley Jr. ties it for the Boston Red Sox with a home run in the 8th, to make it 2-2. The Red Sox scored in the top of the 13th on a walk, a wild pitch and a single-and-error. But the Dodgers tied it on a walk, a fly out, and a single-and-error of their own.

As the game went on and on, Twitter users began making jokes about its length: This game had started at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn and was moved to Dodger Stadium; Sandy Koufax had started the game for the Dodgers, Cy Young for the Red Sox; Ted Williams and Jackie Robinson had traded home runs in the 14th, and so on.

Max Muncy nearly hit a walkoff home run in the bottom of the 15th, but his drive hooked just foul. He finally hit one in the bottom of the 18th, giving the Dodgers a 3-2 win. Nathan Eovaldi, normally a starting pitcher, had thrown 7 innings in relief before taking the loss.

But Eovaldi's effort helped save the Boston bullpen, keeping their relievers fresh. This would be the only game the Dodgers would win in the Series.

The 18 innings broke the Series record of 14, set by the same teams in 1916, and tied by the Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros in Game 3 in 2005. The first pitch was at 5:10 PM Pacific Time (8:10 Eastern), and it ended at 12:30 AM (3:30 Eastern).

At 7 hours and 20 minutes, it broke the record of that 2005 Game 3, 5 hours and 41 minutes, and tied the record for longest postseason game ever, set in Game 4 of the 2005 National League Division Series, won by the Astros on Chris Burke's home run against the Cardinals. This game was longer than the entire 1939 World Series, a 4-game sweep by the Yankees over the Reds, which took a combined 7 hours and 5 minutes to play.

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October 26, 2018 was a Friday. It was the only baseball game played that day. Football would be played for the next 3 days. There were 7 games played in the NBA that night:

* The New York Knicks lost to the Golden State Warriors, 128-100 at Madison Square Garden. Kevin Durant scored 41 points.

* The Brooklyn Nets lost to the New Orleans Hornets, 117-115 at the Smoothie King Center in New Orleans.

* The Charlotte Hornets beat the Chicago Bulls, 135-106 at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte.

* The Toronto Raptors beat the Dallas Mavericks, 116-107 at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto.

* The Los Angeles Clippers beat the Houston Rockets, 133-113 at the Toyota Center in Houston.

* The Milwaukee Bucks beat the Minnesota Timberwolves, 125-95 at the Target Center in Minneapolis.

* And the Sacramento Kings beat the Washington Wizards, 116-112 at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.

And there were 4 games played in the NHL:

* The Carolina Hurricanes beat the San Jose Sharks, 4-3 in a shootout at the PNC Arena (now the Lenovo Center) in Raleigh.

* The Columbus Blue Jackets beat the Ottawa Senators, 6-3 at the Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

* The Winnipeg Jets beat the Detroit Red Wings, 2-1 at the Little Caesars Arena in Detroit.

* And the Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Vegas Golden Knights, 3-2 at the T-Mobile Center outside Las Vegas in Paradise, Nevada.

October 12, 2018: Columbus Saves the Crew

October 12, 2018: The Columbus Crew are "saved." This was not a given.

One of the founding franchises of Major League Soccer in 1996, the team in Ohio's capital city were the 1st to move into a soccer-specific stadium, in 1999, which became known as Historic Crew Stadium. The Crew won the U.S. Open Cup in 2002, won the Supporters' Shield as regular-season champions in 2004, won the Shield and the MLS Cup in 2008, won the Shield again in 2009, and reached the MLS Cup Final again in 2015.

In 2013, hedge fund manager Anthony Precourt bought the team from Clark Hunt, owner of the NFL's Kansas City Chiefs. (and son of Lamar Hunt, the founding owner of both teams). Like so many other sports team owners, decided he didn't like the team's current playing venue. (So why buy the team, stupid?) On October 17, 2017, he announced intentions to relocate the franchise to Austin, Texas if a downtown stadium could not be secured in Columbus.

Following this news, fans and supporters of the club began a campaign and movement known as #SaveTheCrew. Later in the month, it was revealed that Precourt had a clause in his purchase of the club that would allow him to relocate the franchise, but only to Austin.

This made no sense. First of all, by playing in a Summer league, the Crew had no competition. The city's baseball team, the Columbus Clippers, was only Class AAA. There was competition early in the season, from the NHL's Columbus Blue Jackets, but the Crew are arguably more popular, and the closest NBA teams were in Cleveland and Indianapolis. And at the end of the season, there was no NFL team to hog the schedule, although Ohio State football sure does.

Second of all, Precourt moving the team to Austin made no sense. It was a metropolitan area that had never previously had any major league sports team, not even in a secondary "rebel league" like the AFL, the ABA, the WHA, the WFL or the USFL. He'd still have to get a stadium built, no matter where he wanted to play, unless he wanted to play before 90,000 empty seats at the University of Texas' Memorial Stadium, or fill a high school stadium.

And the location made no sense for Precourt himself: He grew up in Denver, went to high school in Connecticut, went to college at Pepperdine outside Los Angeles, worked at Merrill Lynch in New York, and started his firm in San Francisco. He had no connection to Austin, or even to Texas.

Responding to fans' demands, on March 5, 2018, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein filed a lawsuit against Precourt, citing a previously untested 1996 State law that prevents sports teams that benefited from public facilities or financial assistance from relocating to another city without a six-month notice and attempting to sell the team to a local ownership group. This was known as the Modell Law, and was passed after Art Modell moved the original version of the Cleveland Browns to Baltimore.

The new Browns franchise was established in 1999, and was now owned by Jimmy Haslam, who owned the Pilot Flying J chain of truck stops, and the Browns, and also a share of the NBA's Milwaukee Bucks. His brother, Bill Haslam, was then the Governor of Tennessee, owns minor-league baseball's Knoxville-based Tennessee Smokies, and, as of 2022, is in the process of buying the NHL's Nashville Predators. So the family is involved in all 5 sports at the professional, if not major-league, level.

On October 12, 2018, Jimmy Haslam revealed that he was in the process of buying the Crew from Precourt. MLS Commissioner Don Garber said that if this deal went through, Precourt would get an expansion team in Austin. The State's lawsuit against Precourt was dropped, and the Modell Law remains untested. The fans and the State government, working together, had #SavedTheCrew. It is one of the few examples of fan power saving their team.

Haslam officially became owner of the Crew on January 1, 2019. With the fans getting a second chance, the Crew won the MLS Cup in 2020. In 2021, the Crew moved into Lower.com Field. Their former home, now named Historic Crew Stadium, remains in operation as the team's training facility and a concert venue. (UPDATE: The Crew won the MLS Cup again in 2023.)

Precourt began operating Austin FC almost immediately after the sale to Haslam went through, hiring coaches and other staff starting in July 2019, and signing players starting in July 2020. They began play on April 17, 2021, losing 2-0 away to Los Angeles F.C. Served Precourt right. They played their 1st 8 games on the road, until the stadium that Precourt wanted so badly, Q2 Stadium, opened on June 19. Austin and the San Jose Earthquakes played to a dull 0-0 draw. Also served Precourt right.

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October 12, 2018 was a Friday. Game 1 of the National League Championship Series was played at Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee Brewers beat the Los Angeles Dodgers, 6-5. But the Dodgers won the series in 7 games, and then lost the World Series to the Boston Red Sox.

The NBA season hadn't started yet. The NHL season had, but no games were scheduled for the day.

And in New Jersey high school football, my Alma Mater, East Brunswick, lost to Edison, 31-14 at Matthew J. Drwal Stadium in Edison.

October 2, 2018: The Saudi Hit On Jamal Khashoggi

October 2, 2018: There are certain things that the President of the United States has to avoid, first if he wants to be re-elected; then, if successful in that, if he wants to be remembered well by history.

As Ulysses S. Grant, Grover Cleveland, Herbert Hoover, Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and both George Bushes found out, you can't have a major economic downturn on your watch.

As Lyndon Johnson and George W. Bush found out, you can't have a war go badly on your watch -- or, as Carter also found out, you can't have a hostage crisis that drags out until it feels like a war.

As Grant, Warren Harding, Richard Nixon and George W. Bush found out, you can't have a major scandal. (The one that the Republican Party tried to put on Bill Clinton didn't work: Having avoided the other things, he was more popular after a full 8 years than any President.)

And, as George W. Bush also found out, you can't be seen as screwing up the response to a devastating hurricane.

Except for a war, all of those things happened during the Presidency of Donald Trump. But what no one foresaw until Trump got into the White House was the possibility of a President being compromised by a foreign power. 

Trump is compromised by, among other nations, Russia and Saudi Arabia. Without the backing of both of these nations, his financial empire wouldn't be worth the paper it's printed on. (It still might not be.) And without their campaign contributions -- and hacking from at least the Russians and possibly also the Saudis -- he could not have become President.

On June 3, 2009, President Barack Obama met with King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and appeared to bow before him. Trump had a public fit over this. But on January 23, 2015, Abdullah died, succeeded by his half-brother, King Salman; and on May 2017, Trump met with Salman in the Saudi national capital of Riyadh, received a gaudy medal from him, and appeared to curtsy right afterward.

Salman's health was already beginning to fail. On June 21, 2017, he appointed his son, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, to run the country on his behalf. On that day, Trump called him to "congratulate him on his recent elevation." Trump and "MBS" pledged "close cooperation" on security and economic issues.

The month before, MBS publicly warned: "I confirm to you, no one will survive in a corruption case—whoever he is, even if he's a prince or a minister." He wasn't kidding: On November 4, the Saudi media announced the house arrest of some 200 wealthy businessmen and princes at the Ritz Carlton hotel in Riyadh, on various "corruption" charges. They became the subject of "The Night of Beating," with Saudi agents torturing them.

He became his country's absolute ruler at age 32.

This is why "foreign policy by obituary," waiting for

a tyrant to die so policy can change, usually doesn't work.

This included Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal, an English-language news commentator and a major shareholder in Citigroup, Twitter, and Rupert Murdoch's News Corp; Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, head of the Saudi Arabian National Guard; Adel Fakeih, Minister of Economy and Planning; and Admiral Abdullah bin Sultan bin Mohammed Al-Sultan, commander of the Royal Saudi Navy. As of October 2, 2022, Fakeih was still in custody; the others were quickly released, but have not been returned to any role in the Saudi government. 

Jamal Khashoggi was born on October 13, 1958 in Medina, Saudi Arabia. He was an exiled journalist who had written damning exposes of his homeland's government. This was complicated by the fact that his grandfather, Mohammed Khashoggi, was the personal physician of King Ibn Saud, the founder of the Saudi state. His uncle, Adnan Khashoggi, was a billionaire arms dealer. He was also a first cousin of Dodi Fayed, the Egyptian film producer who was Princess Diana's boyfriend and was killed with her in the 1997 Paris car crash.

In a column printed in the April 3, 2018 edition of The Washington Post, Jamal Khashoggi wrote that Saudi Arabia "should return to its pre-1979 climate, when the government restricted hard-line Wahhabi traditions. Women today should have the same rights as men. And all citizens should have the right to speak their minds without fear of imprisonment." In that same column, he said that Saudis "must find a way where we can accommodate secularism and Islam, something like what they have in Turkey," the country where he was then living. He also opposed the Saudi's intervention in neighboring Yemen.

He was no angel: He had just gotten married for the 3rd time, but was already planning to divorce his new wife and marry another woman. He was critical of Israel. He had even been friends with Osama bin Laden during the latter's opposition to the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, but renounced bin Laden when he turned to violence against America. When bin Laden was killed in 2011, Khashoggi wrote, "You were beautiful and brave in those beautiful days in Afghanistan, before you surrendered to hatred and passion."

On October 2, 2018, Khashoggi walked into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, where he was living, to obtain documents needed for his planned marriage. (He was already married, but planning to divorce his wife so he could marry someone else.) He never left alive, and word reached the outside world that he was murdered and dismembered inside the consulate. He was just short of turning 60, and left behind his wife, 2 sons and 2 daughters (with all 4 children from his 2nd marriage).

On November 16, the CIA determined that MBS has personally ordered the murder. This was not just an assassination: This was more like a Mob hit.

On December 11, 2018, Time magazine collectively named journalists they called "Guardians of the Truth" as their "Persons of the Year." They put Khashoggi on the cover as their stand-in. This made him, technically, the 1st person already dead to receive their Man/Person of the Year designation since the distinction was established in 1927. Time also cited journalists in the U.S., Mexico, Venezuela, Russia, Turkey, Sudan, Bangladesh, Myanmar (formerly Burma), Vietnam and the Philippines.

(No, John F. Kennedy didn't receive it in 1963, although he got it while alive in 1961. The 1963 recipient was Martin Luther King Jr.)

In 2021, the former Saudi intelligence official Saad al-Jabri said in an interview with CBS that bin Salman is "a psychopath, killer... with infinite resources, who poses threat to his people, to the Americans and to the planet."

*

October 2, 2018 was a Tuesday. Football was in midweek. The NHL season started 2 days later; the NBA season, 15 days later. And only 1 baseball game was played. It was the National League Wild Card Game, at Wrigley Field in Chicago, and the Colorado Rockies beat the Chicago Cubs, 2-1. With 2 outs in the top of the 13th inning, the Rockies got consecutive singled from Trevor Story, Gerardo Parra and Tony Wolters to take the lead. The Rockies were subsequently swept by the Milwaukee Brewers in the NL Division Series.

July 16, 2018: Donald Trump Meets With His Master, Vladimir Putin

Left: A man who knows he's owned

by the man on the right.

July 16, 2018: A summit meeting is held at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland, between the President of the United States, Donald Trump, and the man who made sure he would get that job, and was now expecting something for it, the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir Putin.

With Trump were Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton, White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, Kelly's Deputy Zachary Fuentes, U.S. Ambassador to Russia Jon Huntsman Jr., and Presidential Advisor Fiona Hill.

Among those with Putin was Foreign Affairs Minister Sergey Lavrov, whom Trump had met with in the Oval Office, along with Russia's Ambassador to the U.S., Sergey Kislyak, on May 10, 2017. That meeting had Russian reporters and photographers present, but no Americans were in the room, other than Trump himself. As of July 16, 2022, no one in America knows what was said, but it is suspected that Trump gave Lavrov and Kislyak classified information.

Trump and Putin met privately for 2 hours, without aides or note-takers, accompanied only by their respective interpreters. The private meeting was followed by a working lunch that included senior advisors. No agenda was published for their discussion, and no communique was issued afterward.

Jonathan Lemire of the Associated Press asked this of Trump: "Just now, President Putin denied having anything to do with the election interference in 2016. Every U.S. intelligence agency has concluded that Russia did. My first question for you sir is, who do you believe? My second question is would you now, with the whole world watching, tell President Putin, would you denounce what happened in 2016? And would you want him to never do it again?

Trump's response:

So, let me just say that we have two thoughts. You have groups that are wondering why the FBI never took the server. Why haven't they taken the server? Why was the FBI told to leave the office of the Democratic National Committee? I've been wondering that. I've been asking that for months and months, and I've been tweeting it out, and calling it out on social media. Where is the server? I want to know where is the server, and what is the server saying?

With that being said, all I can do is ask the question. My people came to me, Dan Coats came to me, and some others, they said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia.

I will say this: I don't see any reason why it would be. But I really do want to see the server, but I have, I have confidence in both parties.

I have great confidence in my intelligence people,, but I will tell you that President Putin was extremely strong and powerful in his denial today and what he did is an incredible offer. He offered to have the people working on the case come and work with their investigators, with respect to the 12 people. I think that's an incredible offer. Okay? Thank you.

(Dan Coats was then the Director of National Intelligence, and had previously served Indiana in both houses of Congress, and had been U.S. Ambassador to Germany.)

Jeff Mason, of Reuters, asked Putin whether he had wanted Donald Trump to win the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, and had he directed any of his officials to help him do that. Putin replied: "Yes, I did. Because he talked about bringing the U.S.-Russia relationship back to normal." Clearly, this was an admission to the 1st half of the question. Whether it was an admission to the 2nd half, an admission of interference in the election, was less clear.

Ever since, Trump has insisted that the evidence proves that there was no collusion between him and Russia, on anything. It does not prove the negative. It doesn't prove the affirmative, either, but there is plenty of evidence to suggest it. Had the evidence suggested implication of the Democrats, Trump would have argued words to the effect of, "Where there's smoke, there's fire."

Upon becoming President, Trump removed President Barack Obama's economic sanctions on Russia, and offered no opposition to anything Putin did. Someone, I forget who, asked a potent question: If Trump is not an active Russian asset, would he be acting any differently if he were one?

*

July 16, 2018 was a Monday. The only major league sport in season at the time was baseball, which was in its All-Star Break. So there were no scores on this historic day.

July 15, 2018: Croatia Win the World's Hearts, But France Win the World Cup

July 15, 2018: The World Cup Final is held, at the Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, built on the site of the Lenin Stadium, the main stadium of the 1980 Olympics. This made it one of the few sites, although not one of the even fewer stadiums, to have hosted both an Olympic Opening Ceremony and a World Cup Final.

Fox broadcast the tournament in America. They had billboards advertising their broadcasts, featuring some of the biggest stars in the game. For Lionel Messi of Argentina, it read, "Men Become Gods." For Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal, it was "Never becomes Now." For Neymar of Brazil, who lost a Semifinal to Germany, 7-1 on home soil, it was "Disgrace Becomes Redemption." For Javier Hernandez of Mexico, a.k.a. Chicharito, it was "A Curse Becomes a Challenge." And for Harry Kane of England, it was "Lions become Kings." And yet, none of these men and their countries reached the Final.

For those of us who oppose Donald Trump (and for those of you who don't, What the hell is wrong with you?), the nightmare scenario would have been a match at the tournament between the U.S. and the hosts, whose President, Vladimir Putin, would not only be lording it over the tournament -- as had Benito Mussolini in Italy in 1934, the Junta in Argentina in 1978; and, at the Olympics, Adolf Hitler in 1936, Leonid Brezhnev in 1980, and the Chinese bigwigs in 2008 -- but was scheduled to meet with Trump at a summit meeting in Helsinki, Finland, 3 days after the Final. Who would Trump have been supporting? But the U.S. team didn't even qualify, preventing that scenario.

Instead, the fear was that Putin would intimidate the officials into fixing the games for Russia. The 1st game didn't assuage those fears, as the hosts won, 5-0. Then again, the opponent was only Saudi Arabia. But when they won their 2nd game, 3-1 over Egypt, suspicions grew. Uruguay beat Russia, 3-0 in the last Group Stage game, but Russia still finished 2nd in the Group, and advanced to the Knockout Stage.

Not so lucky were Russia's longtime rivals and the defending Champions, Germany: They lost 1-0 to Mexico, beat Sweden 2-1, and then lost 2-0 to South Korea, finishing last in their Group.

In the Round of 16, Russia came from behind to take Spain to penalties, and won, and suspicion increased. Denmark scored in the 1st minute, Croatia in the 4th, then they played all the way to penalties with no further goals, and Croatia won the penalty phase. France won a 4-3 shootout with Argentina, Uruguay beat Portugal, Brazil beat Mexico, Belgium beat Japan, Sweden beat Switzerland, and, in the most shocking event of the round, England won a knockout stage game on penalties, defeating Colombia after allowing an equalizer in stoppage time.

In the Quarterfinals, Brazil were upset by Belgium, England beat Sweden, and France beat Uruguay. And, at the 2014 Winter Olympic stadium in Sochi, Croatia ended all concerns of corruption by taking Russia to penalties, and winning that round, 4-3. Danijel Subašić, goalkeeper for AS Monaco, stopped Fyodor Smolov. And Mário Fernandes, born and raised in Brazil but accepting Russian citizenship, missed his shot. Ivan Rakitić of FC Barcelona scored the decisive penalty.

That earned Croatia a lot of goodwill, and reminded people of what had happened between each side's predecessor nation: Yugoslavia had stood up to the Soviet Union. Croatia became the darlings of the tournament, at least for people who accepted that Putin was evil.

In the Semifinals, France beat Belgium, 1-0 in St. Petersburg. In Moscow, England and Croatia went to extra time, matching England's best performance since winning in 1966 (they lost to West Germany on penalties in a 1990 Semifinal), before Mario Mandžukić of Turin, Italy team Juventus scored the winner in the 109th minute. Thus did Croatia surpass Yugoslavia's best performance. They reached the Semifinals in 1930 and 1962.

Managed by Didier Deschamps, who had starred for Olympique de Marseille and Juventus, and had played on France's 1998 World Cup winners, France were loaded, and their players came from all over France's former empire.

Their Captain and goalkeeper was Hugo Lloris of North London team Tottenham Hotspur, half-French and half-Catalan. Right back Benjamin Pavard played in Germany for VfB Stuttgart. Raphaël Varane, a Real Madrid centerback of Martiniquais descent, nicknamed "The Rolls-Royce of Defenders." Centerback Samuel Umtiti was born in Cameroon, grew up in Lyon, and played there for Olympique Lyonnais. Left back Lucas Hernandez was born in Marseille, of Spanish descent, and played for Atlético Madrid. Also at Atlético was midfielder Antoine Griezmann, of German descent.

Midfielder Paul Pogba of Manchester United was the son of immigrants from the African nation of Guinea. Midfielder N'Golo Kanté of West London team Chelsea was the son of immigrants from the African nation of Mali. Midfielder Blaise Matuidi had Angolan and Congolese parents. Forward Olivier Giroud had starred at Tours FC, Montpellier HSC, and North London team Arsenal, and now played at Chelsea. And forward Kylian Mbappé was from the suburbs of Paris, with a Cameroonian father and an Algerian mother.

But Croatia had proven themselves worthy of being on the same pitch with anyone. They were managed by Zlatko Dalić, a former star at Hajduk Split. Their captain was midfielder Luka Modrić, probably the best player ever to come from any of the countries that once made up Yugoslavia. After starring for Dinamo Zagreb and Tottenham, he was, by this point playing for Real Madrid. In addition to Modrić, Mandžukić, Rakitić, and goalkeeper Subašić, they had Liverpool centerback Dejan Lovren, and Internazionale Milano left wing Ivan Perišić.

I guess what I'm saying is, with all these accent marks, French and Slavic alike, typing this post was hard!

Both teams wore their 1st-choice uniforms: France wore all blue, and Croatia wore red-and-white-checkered shirts with white shorts. The game got underway, before 78,011 at the Luzhniki Stadium, at 6:00 PM Moscow time, 5:00 PM in both France and Croatia, and 11:00 AM on the U.S. East Coast. The weather was a bit warm by European standards, but turned out not to be a factor.

In the 18th minute, Croatia tried to defend a free kick, with disastrous results. Mandžukić became the 1st player, and remains the only player, to score an own goal in a World Cup Final. Perišić tied the game in the 28th. In the 38th, referee Néstor Pitana, from Argentina, called a handball in the box on Perišić, and awarded France a penalty. For the 1st time, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) was used in a World Cup Final, and it revealed that Pitana got the call right. Griezmann converted the penalty, and it was 2-1 France at the half.

In the 59th, Pogba shot, and Lovren was only able to deflect it back at him, allowing him to score on the rebound. Young sensation Mbappé, 5 months from his 20th birthday, scored in the 65th, joining Pelé of 1958 Brazil as the only teenagers ever to score in a World Cup Final.

At 4-1 down with 25 minutes and change to go, Croatia refused to go down without a fight. Just 4 minutes after Mbappé's goal, Mandžukić took advantage of a Lloris mistake and redeemed himself. It was now 4-2 with France, with plenty of time to go, and the Russian crowd -- perhaps sensing a Slavic brotherhood -- seemed to be behind Croatia. But, try as they might, they could not find a 3rd goal, let alone a 4th, and France had won the World Cup for the 2nd time.

It was the highest-scoring Final since 1966, and the 1st decided in regular time since 2002. Deschamps joined Mário Zagallo of Brazil and Franz Beckenbauer of Germany to become only the 3rd man to win the World Cup as both a player and a manager.

Sometimes, a World Cup team is remembered more fondly than the team that actually won. Hungary over West Germany, who beat them in the Final, in 1954. Wales and Northern Ireland over Brazil in 1958. Portugal and North Korea over England in 1966. The Netherlands over their Final conquerors West Germany in 1974 and Argentina in 1978. France and Brazil over Italy in 1982. England over West Germany in 1990. Italy, Sweden and Bulgaria over Brazil in 1994. South Korea over Brazil in 2002. France over Italy, who beat them in the Final, in 2006. Hosts South Africa over Spain in 2010.

The Balkan nation, once part of a Yugoslavia team that was usually stronger but had never made a World Cup Final, became one of those teams. Croatia had won the world's hearts. But France had won the World Cup.

The England fans had said, "It's coming home." They forgot: Jules Rimet, founder of the World Cup, and for whom its trophy was named, was French. It had come home.

UPDATE: An article for ESPN.com, published after the 2026 World Cup, ranking all 23 tournaments, rated this one 19th, the worst since 1978 and the 2nd-worst of the post-World War II era, basically saying the tournament was dull. I didn't think so.

*

July 15, 2018 was a Sunday, as the World Cup Final usually is. These games were played in Major League Baseball:

* The New York Yankees lost to the Cleveland Indians, 5-2 at Progressive Field in Cleveland. Masahiro Tanaka started for the Bronx Bombers, Trevor Bauer for the Tribe, but neither factored in the decision. Cleveland scored 3 runs off Chad Green in the bottom of the 8th, including a home run by Michael Brantley, making a winning pitcher out of Carlos Carrasco. Neil Walker hit a home run for the Yankees.

* The New York Mets lost to the Washington Nationals, 6-1 at Citi Field. Corey Oswalt started for the Mets, but the Nats scored 5 runs in the 7th inning. The Mets' were not helped by their bullpen: Anthony Swarzak walked the 1st 2 batters of the inning (Cliché Alert: Walks can kill you, especially the leadoff variety), and Jerry Blevins hit back-to-back batters. In between, former Met Daniel Murphy singled 2 runs home.

* The Boston Red Sox beat the Toronto Blue Jays, 5-2 at Fenway Park in Boston.

* The Baltimore Orioles beat the Texas Rangers, 6-5 at Camden Yards in Baltimore.

* The Miami Marlins beat the Philadelphia Phillies, 10-5 at Marlins Park (now LoanDepot Park) in Miami.

* The Atlanta Braves beat the Arizona Diamondbacks, 5-1 at SunTrust Park (now Truist Park) in the Atlanta suburb of Cumberland, Georgia.

* The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 7-6 at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. The Pirates scored a run in the 8th and 2 in the 9th to send the game to extra innings. The Brewers scored a run in the top of the 10th, but Josh Bell singled 2 runs home in the bottom of the 10th.

* The Chicago White Sox beat the Kansas City Royals, 10-1 at Guaranteed Rate Field (now Rate Field) in Chicago.

* The Minnesota Twins beat the Tampa Bay Rays, 11-7 at Target Field in Minneapolis. Brian Dozier hit a grand slam in the bottom of the 10th inning.

* The St. Louis Cardinals beat the Cincinnati Reds, 6-4 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis.

* The Detroit Tigers beat the Houston Astros, 6-3 at Minute Maid Park (now Daikin Park) in Houston.

* The Colorado Rockies beat the Seattle Mariners, 4-3 at Coors Field in Denver.

* The Chicago Cubs beat the San Diego Padres, 7-4 at Petco Park in San Diego.

* In an Interleague, inter-metro-area matchup, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 5-3 at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.

* And in an Interleague, inter-metro-area matchup, the Oakland Athletics beat the San Francisco Giants, 6-2 at AT&T Park (now Oracle Park) in San Francisco.