Start your season with a smile

Spring hasn’t officially sprung, but Spring Training has.

This baseball season is going to be different. We’ll still see masks on players who aren’t catchers. In addition to caps and gloves, we’ll see guys wearing contact-tracing devices. And it’s still unclear as to whether or how many fans will be allowed in the seats.

But at least we’ll have a season — and for that I’m grateful.

To celebrate (from a distance!), here are five bite-sized bits of baseball entertainment to get your season started with a smile:

5) For the ninth consecutive year, “Home Run King” Barry Bonds failed…

Cure your pandemic blues with rare grooves

Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious summer?

Not yet.

An endless January has given way to what promises to be the longest shortest month. With any luck, March will come in like a lion and go out like a fully vaccinated lamb.

But we still have a way to go, so what do we need to make it through? More wine? More edibles? More caves to hibernate in?

Nope.

We need more funk.

Not funk as in a strong offensive smell, a state of paralyzing fear, or a depressed state of mind. We have that covered. …

To achieve real change, Biden must change the way Democrats are perceived

On January 20th, if the world hasn’t ended, Joe Biden will be inaugurated as the next President of the United States.

My man has his work cut out for him.

Coronavirus. The economy. Racial justice. The climate. And healing a nation that is so divided, it’s on the verge of cracking in half.

But there’s another item Biden must add to his to-do list: Changing the way the Democrats are perceived. Not only by Republicans, but also by those within their own ranks. Like this country, the Democratic party is split — and it’s not a good look.

They’d do…

Marshall McLuhan coined the phrase “the medium is the message” in his 1964 book Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man.

Unlike the pompous blowhard in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, I will not attempt to mansplain McLuhan. (But if you’ve never seen McLuhan’s cameo in the movie — it’s classic.) I’ll just share my interpretation and tell you why I think his most famous idea is relevant today.

McLuhan writes that the content of a medium often blinds us to its character. And character is where the real power lies. The power to change society, harm it, even destroy it.

I’ve…

I had a good feeling about the Georgia runoff.

Of course, I’m talking about the January 5th race for two U.S. Senate seats from which Democrats Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff emerged victorious, effectively giving their party control of the Senate.

Something about these two candidates seemed different. Refreshing. Inspiring. Grounded. Welcoming. Winning.

They lifted people up with their message, as opposed to, say, “The Squad,” which doesn’t so much lift as grab by collar and slam against the wall.

I’m all for strength and determination. But also in favor of self-awareness. A big proponent of understanding, as my husband…

In June, New York Road Runners announced that this year’s New York City Marathon, scheduled for November 1st, had been canceled due to coronavirus concerns.

If the event had gone on as usual, it would have been my fifth consecutive NYC Marathon and my eighth overall. And this was going to be a big one — the 50th running of the race.

Before the NYC Marathon expanded in 1976 to the city-wide extravaganza it is today, the course was four-plus loops of Central Park. There were 127 registered runners and just 55 crossed the finish line.

I love looking at…

I hear you. Now here’s why you should vote for Biden

Dear Trump Supporters,

This morning, along with the rest of the world, I awoke to the news that the president and first lady have tested positive for Covid-19. I’m not gonna lie. The “left-wing” columnists and commentators, talk show hosts and tweeters, are going to have a freaking field day with this.

While I will never say that Trump deserves to have contracted the virus he promised would disappear like a miracle (no one deserves to get sick), there is something deeply satisfying about this development.

But those who want Trump gone become satisfied at their peril.

I’m not going…

Yes, Democrats, I’m talking to you

Imagine this: Donald Trump wins a second term.

And it’s not because he cheated. There’s no rigging. No bots or missing ballots. No relying on his comrade Vlad to get him over the line.

None of the doomsday scenarios the Dems are assuming will come to pass actually come to pass. There’s no military intervention, no violence in the streets.

He just plain wins. As in get more votes. Like, a lot more. The country spoke and what the majority of it said is that it wants Trump to stick around.

What will the left do then?

Will it finally…