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The Daily Dose/May 30, 2026
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
USA! USA!: Both the federal government and the state governments of New York and New Jersey are getting involved in sports when they really should be butting out. The attorneys general of both states have sent letters to FIFA asking then to explain their World Cup ticket pricing and sales policies, while Congress is trying to intervene in the fiasco that is major division college sports.
Aichiwawa: You do not have to be Pele to know why FIFA is charging an awful lot of money for tickets: because they can. It’s a free market, and FIFA is free to sell its tickets for whatever it can get for them, and if they can get over ten grand for a seat to their final match, more power to them. Any fan who doesn’t want to pay thousands of dollars for a seat to a boring soccer game does not have to buy them, and if enough people don’t buy them then – like Big Macs or sneakers – prices will come down.
And In This Corner: Congress is trying to pass a law to regulate college sports, which is akin to trying to regulate cats’ purring. A bill in the House failed, but the Senate is trying to muster one, though it is a long way from coming to a vote. You know the situation is completely whack when Texas US Senator Ted Cruz, a sponsor of the bill, is the one talking sense. He hit the nail on the head when he said:
College sports are at a breaking point.
Show Us The Money: Indeed they are. Every element of major division college sports – players, coaches, schools, conferences, and networks – are in it solely to strafe everyone for every last possible dollar. Like America itself, there is no common good, and greed of this sort tends to be unsustainable. If we’re college athletes, we’re keeping an eye out here because any law Congress passes is likely to affect the virtually unfettered free market they currently enjoy.
The Bottom Line: Both federal and state governments must butt out here. New Jersey and New York have no business wondering why FIFA is charging an arm and a leg for tickets to their tournament. The federal government must stay out of the college sports imbroglio. The NCAA got themselves into this mess, and they can get themselves out of it.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s plans are screwed up. Today’s Diary.
Then hell was called to order…For the next hour-and-a-half it was always something, and we didn’t have more than ten minutes to ourselves…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1961 – Dominican Republic dictator Rafael Trujillo is assassinated in the capital city of Santo Domingo. Trujillo was shot in his car in a plot organized by members of the military. The group, however, did not take control of the government, and most were later captured and executed. Trujillo had taken power in 1930 and was succeeded by his son, Ramfis, who would go into exile later in the year.
In 1935 – Babe Ruth of the Boston Braves plays his final major league game, an 11-6 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies in the first game of a doubleheader. Ruth grounded out in the first inning before being replaced by Hal Lee in left field in the bottom of the second inning. Ruth retired as the major league leader in several categories and still holds the all-time career record for slugging percentage at .690 and holds the American League record for most shutouts in a season by a left-hander, 9, a mark later tied by Ron Guidry.
In 2009 – The Black Eyed Peas are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the seventh of twelve consecutive weeks with Boom Boom Pow. It was the first of three #1s for the group, and the song went to #1 in six other countries, including Israel, Portugal, and Great Britain. Boom Boom Pow also peaked at #51 on Billboard’s soul chart, was Bilboard’s #1 song of the year and their 7th-biggest song of the decade. The group was also in their seventh of a Billboard Hot 100 record 26 consecutive weeks at #1 as their follow-up I Gotta Feeling spent 14 weeks at the top.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Genius is from the school of solitude.
Edward Gibbon
Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.
Chris Evert has won the most women’s French Open titles, with seven.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What country does the Dominican Republic share an island with? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/May 29, 2026
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Leading Off will return.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow sits through one of those team huddle meetings.
In fact, one time this vacuous, pinhead broad was yapping so unintelligibly we asked Hunter if we could type “whore” into the chatbox…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1953 – Mount Everest is summited for the first time, when Sir Edmund Hillary of Great Britain and Tenzing Norgay of Nepal make it to the top. Though initially the two declined to say who had reached the summit first, in his autobiography, Tenzing stated Hillary had reached the summit first. Three days before, two others from the expedition had come within 300 feet of the summit, before turning back due to equipment issues. Everest had been identified as the world’s highest mountain in the 1850s.
In 1954 – Maureen Connolly wins the French Open, defeating Ginette Bucaille of France 6-4, 6-1. It was the second consecutive and final French Open win for Connolly and her ninth of ten Grand Slam titles, and was the highest Grand Slam finish for Bucaille. Connolly lost only 14 games in her five matches, and she retired in July at age 19 following a horse riding accident.
In 1961 – Ricky Nelson is at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the first of two non-consecutive weeks with Travelin’ Man. It was the eleventh of 17 Top 10 songs for Nelson and was his second and final #1. The song also went to #1 in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, peaked at #2 in Great Britain, and was Billboard’s 23rd-biggest song of the year. The song was written for Sam Cooke, but his manager dismissed it, and the B side of the record, Hello Mary Lou, peaked at #9 on the Hot 100.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
If you want to be successful in anything, you’ve got to believe in yourself; because no one else is going to do it.
Glen Sather
Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.
The second British prime minister to engage in a duel was the Duke of Wellington, who bloodlessly dueled Lord Winchilsea in 1829.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
Which woman has won the most French Open titles? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/May 27, 2026
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
Editor’s Note: This item ran in 2024. It is still relevant.
QUOTE THAT SUCKER: The inspiration for this segment came from today’s Some Philosophy Crap quote. It’s from Randy Shilts’s book And The Band Played On, which chronicles the AIDS epidemic in the 1980s.
Insanity triumphed because sane people were silent.
Back To The Future: This is happening in America right now. We are in the ninth year of Donald Trump’s prominence, a man of no intellectual, political, or moral substance. He is about to be nominated for president for the third time because his followers prefer to lower themselves to his standard than demand better of their candidates and themselves.
Fly In The Ointment: Sane people are taking this, too. Very few are willing to call Trump – who believes, among other things, that the moon is part of Mars and that Colorado borders Mexico – the idiot he is. His claims the 2020 election was stolen is given credence instead of being dismissed, as are his claims that his 91 criminal indictments are a government plot.
FunFact: Trump, honestly, is so witless he shouldn’t even have made the primaries in 2016. A real media would’ve dismissed him out of hand, but Trump meant ratings and clicks, so they ushered him right into the primaries, the nomination, and the White House. A media paced by Walter Cronkite and Woodward and Bernstein – not to mention any one of a dozen or so journalists of the era – would’ve had Trump out of the race by the weekend.
The Bottom Line: We are reaping what we have sown. America is in its seventh decade of TV being the focal point of our American life, and the prominence of a witless blatherskite like Trump is our reward. But we’re in a post-thought America now, preferring to be well-entertained and well-fed rather than give substantive thought to substantive issues. As a result, we were unable to produce a competent response to COVID, and we haven’t done anything great since we left the moon in 1972. A hundred years from now, all new people will look back at this time and wonder why sane people didn’t demand better.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow takes it easy at work. Today’s Diary.
We were of a mind for a leisurely weekend at work and when ol’ Sparrow is hell-bent on leisure, stand back because he usually gets it…
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 1798 – British prime minister William Pitt the Younger and his political rival George Tierney engage in a duel outside of London. Neither man was much of a shot, and both missed with their first shots. Pitt deliberately shot in the air with his next shot, with seconds then intervening, insisting that “perfect honor” had been restored to both sides. Tierney had challenged Pitt following a perceived insult during a House of Commons debate.
In 1937 – Carl Hubbell of the New York Giants extends his major league record for most consecutive wins in a 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Hubbell pitched the eighth and ninth innings, and Mel Ott’s 9th-inning home run provided the go-ahead run in Hubbell’s 24th straight win. Hubbell’s streak ended with a loss to the Brooklyn Dodgers on May 31 and he had broken the mark of 20 straight wins established by Rube Marquard from 1911-12 and his record still stands.
In 1972 – The Chi Lites are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 for the only week with Oh Girl. The song also peaked at #14 and #5 in separate Great Britain chart runs, spent two weeks at #1 on Billboard’s soul chart, and was Billboard’s 13th-biggest song of the year. It was the third of five Top 40 pop hits for the group, their second of two Top 10s, and was their only #1 pop hit and their second and final #1 soul hit.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
Insanity triumphed because sane people were silent.
Randy Shilts
And The Band Played On
Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.
The longest losing streak in major league history is 26 games, by the 1889 Louisville Colonels in the American Association.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
William Pitt was the first of two British prime ministers to engage in a duel. Who was the second? – Answer next time!
The Daily Dose/May 25, 2026
By Gaylon Kent – America’s Funniest Guy™
Editor’s Note: This column has run on Memorial Day from time to time.
Leading Off
Notes from around the human experience.
USA! USA!: Today is Memorial Day here in the US, a day set aside for honoring our nation’s war dead, a worthwhile and solemn occasion. Its roots date back to after the Civil War, when communities put flowers on the graves of those who died in that war, though it did not become a federal holiday until 1971.
Dry, Technical, Matter: There are probably few families in America who have not had someone go off to war, and while, statistically, most people come back from their war, some do not.
Fly In The Ointment: Over the centuries, approximately 2.8 million Americans have died in battle, with 40,000 more missing. There is no reason to think they’re alive, so think of them today, too, dammit, becaue some became POWs and did not have the benefit of quick death.
A Warm, Personal Remembrance: We are very fortunate: everyone on both sides of our family returned from their wars. Six-time great-grandpa Absalom in the Revolution, Grandpa Gaylon in War I, Dad and Uncle Don in War II. More than one uncle returned from Vietnam, and my late brother returned from the Gulf. In fact, no one returned with so much as a bad case of dandruff. Not every family was that lucky, including two widows we know.
Me! Me! Me!: There wasn’t a war for us to fight, and we spent four years in the Navy mainly catching up on our rest, a treasured pastime to this day.
The Bottom Line: Please, do not thank a veteran or a current servicemember today. It is inappropriate, and they would resent it. Do, however, take a moment to remember those who did not come back and do so without fussing over whether or not you supported the wars they died in. Every one of them died for our country.
Today At The Site
Writing worth reading. Usually.
The Diary of a Nobody – Sparrow’s sleep log is back. Today’s Diary.
…1030 Sunday until 1700 Sunday…7.0 hours for the day, a satisfactory start to the sleep week.
———
Would you like 4Ever & Ever access to Gaylon’s crap?
Of course you would.
Click here. It’s only $24.99.
Click here for complimentary chapters of all of Gaylon’s books.
It’s easy reading on any device.
———
On This Date
Extra, extra, read all about it.
In 240 BC – History refers to Halley’s Comet for the first, in the Chinese chronicle Records of the Grand Historian, which noted a comet that appeared in the east and moved north. Halley’s Comet appears every 75-76 years and is scheduled to make its next appearance in 2061. It’s orbit takes it from between Mercury and Venus and out past Neptune’s orbit and is currently heading back to Earth, about 3.3 billion miles away.
In 1906 – The longest losing streak in American League history comes to end in a 3-0 Boston Americans win over the Chicago White Sox. It was the first victory in 20 games for the Americans – now the Red Sox – which broke the AL record of 18 straight losses by the Washington Senators in 1904 and the mark is now 21, by the 1988 Baltimore Orioles and the 2024 White Sox.
In 2024 – Post Malone and Morgan Wallen are at #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs chart for the first week with I Had Some Help. It is the second time Wallen has simultaneously had the #1 pop and country song in the US (Last Night, multiple weeks, 2023) and Malone, who has had four #1s on Billboard’s soul chart, joins Elvis Presley, the Everly Brothers, Ray Charles, and Billy Ray Cyrus as the only acts to have #1s on all three major Billboard singles charts.
Some Philosophy Crap
The wisdom of the ages. Whatever.
…memory finds paths away from a humiliation too terrible to accept.
Henry Wiencek
Master of the Mountain
Answer To The Last Trivia Questions
Knowledge is power.
The Boston Bruins have lost 14 Stanley Cup Finals, the most of any NHL team.
Today’s Stumper
Match wits with Gaylon. It’s not that hard.
What is the longest losing streak in major league history? – Answer next time!
