Sabbatical

We are back. Rink Rats, after a year away from writing has returned.

A sabbatical if you like: What is a sabbatical? A sabbatical is an extended period away from work. During this time, employees are still employed and may still be paid. The employee can use this time as they like, whether for rest, learning new skills, or writing.

Well, I did not write, or was I paid, but I needed a break.  Call it writer’s block, the need to recharge the batteries, tired of all the BS in the world, and time to think about some new twists to Rink Rats.

It has been a year of good and bad (July 2022 to present). Good health, good friends, good golf, and of course the rewards of teaching wonderful students ranging from high school to graduate degree students. The bad: Bad leadership, bad weather, bad baseball, and divisions we have in society in so many areas.

We will try and tackle a few of these good and bad as we get back into our blog. I plan of three blogs a month plus some special editions. We also plan on once a quarter podcast and some other surprises. 

We appreciate you staying with us, let’s get at it!

 

MARKET WEEK - To see what an economic soft landing looks like, search no further than business hiring.

Parts of the U.S. economy are cooling, just as the Federal Reserve would like to see to combat inflation. Yet the key to a measured, inflation-busting slowdown that does not sink the economy lies in whether companies hold on to workers or lay them off. The answer, so far, is clear: They are making a priority of keeping workers. July's jobs report on Friday will offer a fresh look at whether employers are continuing to resist large-scale staffing cuts.

Everyday investors are thriving in a world awash in yield.

Interest rates are hovering at their highest level in more than two decades. For individual investors, that has been an unexpected blessing. Although it is more expensive for consumers to borrow money now, they also have more options to put their cash to work. American households are earning an extra $121 billion from income on investments annually versus a year ago, according to Commerce Department data through June. In the coming days, investors will be parsing earnings reports from the likes of Apple, Amazon and Starbucks for insights into where consumers are spending their money as inflation eases and interest rates rise.

The U.S. economy continues its glide path to the elusive "soft landing," even in the face of 11 interest rate hikes and counting.

That is in large part because we spent the 15 years before the rate hikes steadily deleveraging and ensuring that debtors could not easily fall victim to a credit crunch.

Why it matters: Rate hikes in many other countries, especially the U.K., hurt most of the population rapidly, thanks to their high homeownership rate and how short-term their mortgages are.

The U.S. has positioned itself to withstand rate shocks much more easily.

Household and corporate debt is mostly fixed-rate rather than floating-rate, meaning that debt payments do not immediately rise when rates go up.

There is also less debt, overall, than there has been historically.

The bottom line: The good news is that the U.S. economy has shown that it can remain strong in the face of an ultra-aggressive rate-hiking cycle by the Fed.

The bad news is that rates might have to remain high for some time before the Fed feels comfortable bringing them back down to a more neutral level.

But we believe two major areas of the economy will have a recession in the next six months: (1). Television and film production, and (2). Higher education. Stay tuned to future blogs for analysis.

 

HEAT - How hot does it have to be for a month to be declared the hottest month on record when it is not even over yet?

Approximately 62.51 degrees Fahrenheit, which was the global average temperature for July through the 23rd day of the month. That makes it the hottest month ever (barring a sudden ice age), according to the EU’s Copernicus Climate Change Service and the World Meteorological Organization.

Warning of the “existential threat of climate change,” the president announced policies yesterday aimed at protecting workers at high risk of heat-related illness or death on the job.

President Biden asked the Department of Labor to issue a heat hazard alert, which would mandate heat-related protections under federal law. Last month, Texas Governor Greg Abbott signed a law to eliminate local rules mandating water breaks for construction workers, saying it creates too much red tape for business.

The President also called for increased inspections on farms and construction sites.

Other industries are also adjusting to the record heat. In the fragile airline industry, which is already juggling huge demand and worker shortages, the heat is disrupting operations even further:

Warm air is less dense and requires planes to have longer runways and lighter weight to lift off, which can cause delays.

Workers on the tarmac need more frequent breaks from slinging Away suitcases.

It is difficult to cool down a plane once it has been disconnected from cooling units at the gate. Left idling, an aircraft’s cabin temperature can reach a dangerous level—such was the case with a Delta flight last week in Las Vegas. The airline is under investigation for leaving passengers on the tarmac in a sweltering plane without A/C for hours.

It is not going to get better soon. Forty percent of the US population was under a heat advisory yesterday as dangerous temps move East and roast the heavily populated I-95 corridor (hello from sweaty Brew HQ). Phoenix, AZ, can sympathize: Wednesday marked the 27th day in a row that temps reached 110 degrees.

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Kate Beckinsale (50); Ken Burns (70); Reggie Dunlop, “Give 'em the old-time hockey!”; Issam Ghazzawi…the best teacher at the University of La Verne; Corlan Harrison…a truly giving person; Mick Jagger (80); Lisa Kudrow (60); Norman Lear (101); Sandro Suffredini…the master of video games

 

TOP FIVE – Rink Rat Summer Movies

1). Oppenheimer

2). Mission Impossible – Dead Reckoning

3). Living (Netflix)

4). You Hurt My Feelings

5). Asteroid City

 

STAT OF THE WEEK - Former President The Thing’s PAC has spent $40.2 million on legal costs to defend himself and his associates in the first half of this year, The Washington Post reports.

That is more than Save America — the PAC — raised in the second quarter of 2023 and brings the group's total spending on The Thing's post-presidential legal woes to around $56 million.

The former president is facing multiple criminal investigations at the state and federal levels, and he has been indicted in Florida and Manhattan.

Costs are adding up as Save America, which mostly raises money through small-dollar donations from The Thing supporters around the country, takes on the legal bills of almost anyone in the former president's orbit who has been pulled into the investigations.

 

HISTORY 101 - In the United States, Teapot Dome, Watergate, Iran-contra and Whitewater never put a president in the dock. The only sitting president to see the inside of a police station as a defendant was Ulysses S. Grant, who was stopped for speeding down the streets of Washington in his horse-drawn carriage. He paid $20 and went on his way.

While no president has ever been indicted before, an early vice president, Aaron Burr, was put on trial for treason after leaving office for plotting to carve off Western territories into a new country, although he was acquitted. Nearly two centuries later, another vice president, Spiro T. Agnew, resigned amid a plea deal in a corruption case.

The Thing would not be barred from running for his old office by an indictment or even a conviction. In 1920, Eugene V. Debs, the Socialist leader, mounted his fifth bid for the White House from prison, where he was serving time for his opposition to World War I. He received 919,799 votes, or 3.4 percent of those cast. Of course, unlike The Thing, he was not a major-party candidate and had no prospects of winning.

At least a couple other presidents worried about being indicted after office. Richard M. Nixon was pardoned by his successor, Gerald R. Ford, a month after resigning, sparing him any prosecution in the Watergate scandal. Bill Clinton struck a deal with Whitewater prosecutors on his last full day in office in which he admitted providing false testimony under oath about his affair with Monica S. Lewinsky, gave up his law license for five years and paid a $25,000 fine in exchange for not facing charges as a private citizen.

 

BIDENOMICS - If Larry David were a macroeconomist, he’d probably tell you that the economy is doing pretty, pretty, pretty good. The real economists at Morgan Stanley have upgraded their prediction for this year’s US GDP growth by almost fourfold (to 1.9%), crediting the boost to “Bidenomics.”

Biden’s critics and supporters alike have embraced the term for the president’s economic philosophy. And now that POTUS has made it central to his reelection campaign, you are going to keep hearing it.

What does it mean? The backbone of Bidenomics is industrial policy, aka directing loads of government spending toward key industries like clean energy and semiconductor production. The goal is to make America a high-tech manufacturing hub that is less reliant on global supply chains while creating solid middle-class jobs.

It’s intended as a rejoinder to Reaganomics, the philosophy that reducing business regulations and cutting taxes for the rich juices spending, making wealth eventually trickle down through the economy.

But in Bidenomics, it is federal spending that drives the action.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act made $550 billion available for road repairs, broadband expansion, and electrical grid upgrades.

Chipmakers now have more reason to chip make in the US thanks to $52.7 billion in direct subsidies in the CHIPS and Science Act.

And companies involved in solar, wind, and clean hydrogen technologies can receive tax breaks and funding from the $500 billion Inflation Reduction Act.

The administration also doled out cash for social welfare, like temporarily expanding a tax rebate for families with children in 2021.

How is it going so far?

The White House has quickly branded recent strong economic data as a Bidenomics win. Experts were surprised by faster-than-expected 2.4% annualized GDP growth last quarter, partially due to government spending. Yearly inflation cooled to 3% last month after peaking at 9.1% a year prior, and the labor market remains strong.

Just how much credit Biden’s industrial push deserves for all that is up for debate. But there are some concrete industry investments stemming from the new laws:

Lured by federal subsidies, chipmakers plan to invest $210 billion in US factories and employ 44,000 people, according to the Semiconductor Industry Association.

And many foreign cleantech companies are reportedly looking to invest in the US, where incentives for their industry abound. Swiss solar battery-maker Meyer Burger indefinitely postponed plans to expand in Germany and wants to build a factory in Colorado Springs, CO, where it says it will hire 350 people.

Cheerful economic updates do not automatically turn workers into Biden supporters though—only 36% of Americans approve of the president’s handling of the economy, per recent polling.

Many people are still spooked by months of predictions that a recession is near and feel like inflation has eaten into wage gains.

Looking ahead...it’s probably too soon to judge Bidenomics: Major government programs take time to work and can have unexpected complications and side effects—so its full impact may not be felt until well after the pundit chatter recedes.

Growth in key US inflation measure continues to slow.

The personal consumption expenditures price index—the Federal Reserve's preferred inflation gauge—rose 0.2% month-over-month in June, up from 0.1% monthly growth in May. On a yearly basis, the index rose 3% in June, down from 3.8% growth in May and 4.3% in April. The index measures the costs consumers pay across a wide swath of items.

To see what an economic soft landing looks like, search no further than business hiring.

Parts of the U.S. economy are cooling, just as the Federal Reserve would like to see to combat inflation. Yet the key to a measured, inflation-busting slowdown that does not sink the economy lies in whether companies hold on to workers or lay them off. The answer, so far, is clear: They are making a priority of keeping workers. July's jobs report on Friday will offer a fresh look at whether employers are continuing to resist large-scale staffing cuts.

 

SCIENCE 101 - The month of August will be bookended by two supermoons — and the first will illuminate our night skies at the start of this week.

This month’s first full moon, nicknamed the Sturgeon Moon, will reach peak illumination at 2:32 p.m. ET on Tuesday, August 1, and will be best viewed later that evening as it rises in the southeastern skies after sunset, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

This full moon is the second in a unique string of four supermoons in a row this summer. It will be followed by a supermoon blue moon — the second full moon to occur within one calendar month — on August 30.

A full moon is called a supermoon when it reaches peak fullness at the same time it reaches “perigree” — the moment when the moon is at its closest point to Earth in its roughly 28-day orbit cycle. This can cause the moon to appear larger and brighter than usual, especially when the moon is near the horizon as it rises.

According to The Old Farmer’s Almanac, which publishes names for each full moon based on a variety of cultural sources, the August full moon is called the Sturgeon Moon because it coincides with the time of year historically associated with the season for catching sturgeon, a massive Great Lakes native fish with prehistoric origins. Moon names traditionally applied to the moon’s entire 28-day cycle, not just full moon itself.

 

OUT AND ABOUT – This past month a group of St. Lawrence hockey “old-timers” came together in Canton, New York for a reunion. A fantastic weekend was hosted by hockey coach Brent Brekke and associate athletic director Randy LaBrake. Golf, campus visits, Hoot Owl, and great stories highlighted the weekend. The best, touring the “old barn” Appleton Arena. What a great job by St. Lawrence in renovating the famous arena. The names of Yosh, Cat, Red Jet, Murph, Newfie, Lunar, Road Map, Hoot Owl, Hollywood, Breeder, Brousser, “O”, Bugsy, and Caper, will live on forever in this hockey haven.

 

 

THE SWAMI’S WEEK PICK –

MLB Game of the Week – Saturday 8/5, 1:05 PM (EDT), YES: Houston Astros (59-47) vs. New York Yankees (55-50). Both teams are battling for a wild card spot, Yanks are feeling the heat being 4.5 games behind the Astros. Also, Astros have the Yankees number. Houston wins 5 – 3 in the Bronx.

Season to Date (0 - 0)

 

Next Blog: A Recession in Higher Education

Until August 7, 2023, Adios.

Claremont, California

July 31, 2023

#XIV-1-452

 

2,637 words, four-minute read

 

RINK RATS POLL – Ocean or lake?

____ Ocean

____ Lake

 

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – “Fireworks Season”

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK – “The era of global warming has ended; the era of global boiling has arrived.”  – Antonio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General

 

Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations, predictions, and commentary. We welcome your comments and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada, South America, and the United States.

Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010

Our Fourteenth Year.

www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com

 

Yankee Doodle Dandy

 Holiday Weekend Edition

I cannot think a better time to have a long holiday; The Thing, the innumerable amount of BS in our day-to-day lives, airline travel, gas prices, Detroit Tigers, Fox News – it is time for a break.

Canada Day - The British North America Act came into effect on 1 July 1867, creating the country of Canada with its initial four provinces of Ontario, Québec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. In June 1868, Governor General Charles Stanley Monck called for a celebration of the anniversary of Confederation on 1 July 1868. While several communities did organize celebrations on this day, the legal status of Dominion Day as a public holiday was uncertain. In May 1869, a bill to make Dominion Day a public holiday was debated in the House of Commons, but it was withdrawn after several members of Parliament voiced objections. A more successful effort, sponsored by Senator Robert Carrall of British Columbia, passed through Parliament in 1879, making Dominion Day a public holiday.

In the decades following the Second World War, several private members’ and government-sponsored bills were proposed to change the name of Dominion Day, but none succeeded. In July 1982, a private member’s bill to change the name to Canada Day was proposed by Vaudreuil MP Hal Herbert. The bill quickly passed through the House of Commons and was ratified by the Senate in the fall.

Independence Day - The Fourth of July—also known as Independence Day or July 4th—has been a federal holiday in the United States since 1941, but the tradition of Independence Day celebrations goes back to the 18th century and the American Revolution. On July 2nd, 1776, the Continental Congress voted in favor of independence, and two days later delegates from the 13 colonies adopted the Declaration of Independence, a historic document drafted by Thomas Jefferson. From 1776 to the present day, July 4th has been celebrated as the birth of American independence, with festivities ranging from fireworks, parades and concerts to more casual family gatherings and barbecues.

When the initial battles in the Revolutionary War broke out in April 1775, few colonists desired complete independence from Great Britain, and those who did were considered radical.

By the middle of the following year, however, many more colonists had come to favor independence, thanks to growing hostility against Britain and the spread of revolutionary sentiments such as those expressed in the bestselling pamphlet “Common Sense,” published by Thomas Paine in early 1776.

On June 7, when the Continental Congress met at the Pennsylvania State House (later Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, the Virginia delegate Richard Henry Lee introduced a motion calling for the colonies’ independence.

Amid heated debate, Congress postponed the vote on Lee’s resolution, but appointed a five-man committee—including Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, John Adams of Massachusetts, Roger Sherman of Connecticut, Benjamin Franklin of Pennsylvania and Robert R. Livingston of New York—to draft a formal statement justifying the break with Great Britain.

On July 2nd, the Continental Congress voted in favor of Lee’s resolution for independence in a near-unanimous vote (the New York delegation abstained, but later voted affirmatively). On that day, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail that July 2 “will be celebrated, by succeeding Generations, as the great anniversary Festival” and that the celebration should include “Pomp and Parade…Games, Sports, Guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other.”

On July 4th, the Continental Congress formally adopted the Declaration of Independence, which had been written largely by Jefferson. Though the vote for actual independence took place on July 2nd, from then on the 4th became the day that was celebrated as the birth of American independence.

The tradition of patriotic celebration became even more widespread after the War of 1812, in which the United States again faced Great Britain. In 1870, the U.S. Congress made July 4th a federal holiday; in 1941, the provision was expanded to grant a paid holiday to all federal employees.

Here in North America this is a “party weekend.

But where to party?

THE BEST BARS - Here a list of favorite Rink Rats watering holes from coast to coast.

-           “Durty Nelly’s Irish Pub”, Halifax, Nova Scotia

-           “Bar Ste-Angéle”, Quebec City, Quebec

-           “Real Sports”, Maple Leaf Square Toronto, Ontario

-           “Beachcomber in Wellfleet”, Wellfleet, Mass.

-           “Barking Dog Saloon”, Potsdam, New York

-           “Salt Shack”, Babylon, New York

-           “The Commissioner”, Brooklyn, New York

-           “Off the Record”, Hays-Adams Hotel Washington DC

-           “Bar Bar”, Savannah, Georgia

-           “Anchor Bar”, Detroit, Michigan

-           “Mitchell Street Pub”, Petoskey, Michigan

-           “The Beach Bar”, Clarklake, Michigan

-           “The Waterfront Café”, Chicago (Berger Park), Illinois

-           “Whiskey Bar”, Denver, Colorado

-           “Heroes & Legends Bar & Grill”, Claremont, California

-           “Frog & Beach Pub”, San Luis Obispo, California

-           ‘Sandbar Sports Grill”, San Diego Mission Beach, California

-           “The Pickle Room”, Santa Barbara, California

-           “Bourbon & Branch”, San Francisco, California

-           “Zig Zag Café”, Seattle Pike Place, Washington

There that should cover your thirst this holiday weekend. Please do not ask me how this writer knows of all these establishments. I will deny it all.

 

MARKET WEEK - It’s the final day of the second quarter, which has been a doozy.

Entering Thursday’s session, the S&P 500 was down more than 15% for the quarter — on pace for its biggest quarterly loss since 2020, when it lost 20%. The Nasdaq Composite was headed for its worst quarter since 2008, losing 21.4%. As for the Dow Jones Industrial Average, it was down more than 10% for the period — on pace for its worst one-quarter decline since 2020.

This quarter’s losses also put the S&P 500 on pace for its worst first half of a year since 1970, falling 19.9%. The benchmark tumbled into a bear market as well — dropping more than 20% from a record set in January.

There are a few, interrelated culprits for this horrible second quarter. One is inflation, which has led the Federal Reserve and other central banks to hike rates at a faster pace than previously expected. The Fed earlier this month hiked rates by 0.75 percentage point — its biggest increase since 1994.

This has led to the second factor, which is increasing fears that the economy will fall into a recession. “The Fed’s commitment to aggressive tightening is slowing economic growth faster than initially expected,” wrote Ned Davis Research’s Veneta Dimitrova and Joseph Kalish wrote in a note. “Although key economic indicators are not yet at recessionary levels, the risk of recession has been pulled forward to end of 2022/early 2023.”

Some on Wall Street are saying we’re already in a recession.  We were wrong on one thing and that was inflation being as sustained as it has been. Supply chain ... Can’t believe it’s taking more than two years and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine of course we couldn’t have seen that. Inflation has been a bigger problem, but it has set us up for deflation.

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Dan Aykroyd (70), Jim Brooks ….he cares about students, Tom Cruise (60), Marcia Godwin ….famous for quotes, Richard Lewis (75), Richard Petty (85).

 

HOLIDAY TRIVIA – RR holiday trivia will separate the real geography nerds from everyone who just relies on Google Maps for everything. We’ll give you two US interstate highways, and you must name the city in which they intersect.

 

90 and 93

80 and 15

35 and 94

25 and 40

70 and 71

Answer at the end of the blog.

 

HOLIDAY WEEKEND RINK RATS COCKTAILS – Some of our preferred holiday beverages.

-           Mello

Over crushed ice: one shot of Ketel One Vodka.

Three-quarters glass of cranberry juice.

Splash of lemonade.

Top with cherry juice.

Stir aggressively. Good night.

 

-           The Walloon

Place a handful (about 10-12) of raspberries in the bottom of a cocktail glass.

Add a teaspoon of honey, a few mint leaves, and a squeeze of lime juice to the glass. (Add more honey if you like sweeter cocktails...up to one tablespoon per cocktail.)

Muddle raspberries until coarsely pureed.

Add 1 1/2-ounce gin (or vodka if you prefer) to each cocktail glass.

Squeeze the juice of one lime into each glass.

Add crushed or cubed ice to the glass.

Top each cocktail with 8 ounces of Vizzy Raspberry Tangerine Hard Seltzer and stir.

Top with mint leaves and lime for garnish. Cheers!

 

-           Safe and Sorry

Remove 2 tablespoons zest from lemons. In a small saucepan, stir together 2 cups sugar, 1 cup water and the lemon zest. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Cover and chill lemon syrup 24 hours. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve; discard zest.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine blackberries and the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and 2 tablespoons water. Bring to a boil over medium heat; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, 15 minutes. Press through a food mill on the finest setting or strain through a fine-mesh sieve; discard pulp. Cover and chill syrup at least 1 hour.

Squeeze 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons juice from the zested lemons. In a pitcher, combine lemon juice, the 4 cups water and the lemon syrup. To serve, pour into ice-filled glasses and drizzle with blackberry syrup. Boring but tasty.

 

SUMMER DILEMMA – As summer arrives, the fact that hot dogs come in packs of 10 but hot dog buns only come in packs of eight once again existentially unbalances the barbecue season and life as a whole.

 

OUR FAVORITE HOLIDAY SNACK – Salsa Verde Deviled Eggs

If you know this writer, you know deviled eggs are a food group.

Ingredients

Ingredient Checklist

6 large eggs

¼ cup mayonnaise

3 anchovy fillets, rinsed, patted dry and finely chopped

1 tablespoon finely chopped shallot

1 tablespoon capers, rinsed, drained and chopped

1 ½ teaspoons lemon zest

½ teaspoon Dijon mustard

Freshly ground black pepper

4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh basil

4 teaspoons finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus extra for garnish

Directions

Bring a medium saucepan of water to a rolling boil; reduce heat to a gentle boil. Use a slotted spoon to lower eggs into boiling water. Cook, maintaining a gentle boil, 13 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a bowl of ice water. Immediately transfer eggs to the ice water; let cool at least 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together mayonnaise, anchovies, shallot, capers, lemon zest, mustard and a good grind of pepper. Stir in basil and parsley.

Peel shells from eggs. Halve eggs lengthwise; gently remove yolks and transfer to a plate. Mash yolks with the back of a fork; add yolks and 1 teaspoon water to herb mixture and gently combine. Spoon into eggs. Garnish with whole parsley leaves.

 

TOP FIVE – July 4 Holiday Movies

1). John Adams, HBO Series (2008)

2). Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

3). Independence Day (1996)

4). Jaws (1975)

5). Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)

 

BIG SIXTEEN? - The Big Ten may have just sparked another round of major conference realignment.

USC and UCLA are reportedly planning to leave the Pac-12 – and could do so by 2024, according to The Mercury News.

A deal could finalized by Friday, according to the Action Network, and the Big Ten could add additional schools. The report also noted that other Pac-12 schools could exit — Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, and Utah — could end up joining the Big 12.

USC and UCLA are two iconic members of the Pac-12, a league that has struggled in recent years to sustain its historic football prowess. The news comes just a year after the Pac-12 brought in George Kliavkoff as the new commissioner.

Big Implications -

The moves could also have major implications for media rights.

The Big Ten has been negotiating a new deal that could be worth $1 billion annually.

With the additions of major brand names like USC and UCLA, the numbers would likely be even higher.

Without schools in the Los Angeles market, the Pac-12 could be at a catastrophic disadvantage at negotiations for media rights, which are up in 2024.

There could be logistical financial concerns, however, as most Big Ten schools are in the Midwest. UCLA and USC would have to contend with significant travel costs. The Big Ten’s easternmost schools are Rutgers, Maryland, and Penn State.

 

ON THIS DATE - Hold your horses — literally. Today marks 370 years since the city of New Amsterdam — about a dozen years away from becoming New York City — got what’s thought to be the first speed limit law in what became the U.S. (or perhaps in North America).

 

ON THIS DATE PART DEUX - President Eisenhower tomorrow 1956 signed act creating Interstate Highway System, at that time called largest public works project in history:

 

THE SWAMI’S HOLIDAY WEEKEND PICKS –

MLB Game of the Week – Saturday 7/2, 4:15 PM (PDT), Fox: San Diego Padres (46-32) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (47-28). Padres are 2 ½ games back, now they take three of four from the Blue. Padres win this one 6 – 4.

Wimbledon Championship – Continues through July 10, ESPN: Men’s winner – Rafa Nadal, Women’s winner – Simona Halep.

British Grand Prix Formula 1 – Sunday July 3, 65:30 AM (PDT), ESPN: 1). Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes; 2). Max Vestappen, Red Bull; 3). Carlos Sainz, Ferrari.

Season to Date (14 - 9)

 

Next Blog: Figure It Out

Until July 11, 2022, Adios.

Claremont, California

July 1, 2022

#XIII-5-451

 

2,371 words, four-minute read

 

HOLIDAY TRIVIA ANSWER –

90 and 93 - Boston

80 and 15 – Salt Lake City

35 and 94 - Minneapolis

25 and 40 - Albuquerque

70 and 71 – Columbus, Ohio

 

THIS JUST IN – The White House has unveiled it’s official portrait for The Thing.

 

RINK RATS POLL – Ocean or lake?

____ Ocean

____ Lake

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEKEND – “Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone.”  – John Adams

Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations, predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada, South America and the United States.

Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010

Our Eleventh Year.

www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com

 

Clear and Present Danger

 Since our last blog (June 13) things have changed.

SCOTUS OVERTURNS ROE v. WADE - The constitutional right to an abortion in the US has been eliminated after nearly 50 years.

Friday, the conservative-majority Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a ruling that strikes down federal protections for abortion and punts abortion regulation to the states.

This ruling is unprecedented: The Supreme Court in history has never before granted a widely recognized constitutional right and then taken it back. This is historic in many ways.

We knew it was coming. Last month, a draft of the opinion was leaked to Politico, which caused shockwaves when it was published. The official opinion stayed close to the draft—in it, Justice Samuel Alito, writing for the majority, claimed that, “The Constitution makes no reference to abortion, and no such right is implicitly protected by any constitutional provision.”

Writing in dissent, the three liberal justices bashed the majority opinion. “Women have relied on Roe and Casey in this way for 50 years. Many have never known anything else. When Roe and Casey disappear, the loss of power, control, and dignity will be immense,” they wrote. “Casey” refers to a 1992 case in which the Supreme Court upheld Roe’s protections. That was also overturned yesterday.

The Supreme Court’s scrapping of Roe contrasts with the public’s view. Prior to the ruling, a majority of Americans (ranging between 60%–70% in two recent polls) said they didn’t want Roe v. Wade to be overturned. At the same time, less than 30% of Americans think that abortion should “generally be legal” after the first trimester, according to Gallup.

Abortion advocates say the overturning of Roe amounts to a radical assault on reproductive rights that sends the country backward.

National Nurses United, the country’s largest nurses’ union, said that abortions, a “vital medical necessity,” will still continue post-Roe, but will move underground, where they’ll be “more expensive, harder to access, and in many cases unsafe.”

Following the leaked opinion last month, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told lawmakers that overturning Roe “would have very damaging effects on the economy and would set women back decades.”

On the political front, many Republicans cheered the move, applauding former President Trump for appointing three conservative justices that pushed the court far to the right. Democrats are vowing to make it a top issue for the upcoming midterm elections. “This fall, Roe is on the ballot,” President Biden said, calling it a “sad day for the court and for the country.”

Here’s what the abortion landscape looks like now:

Abortions were banned in eight states yesterday, including Arkansas, Louisiana, and Missouri, and were already prohibited in Oklahoma.

Several more have similar “trigger laws” in place that will ban all or most abortions within the coming days and weeks.

Altogether, abortion is likely to become totally illegal or severely restricted in at least 20 states and has an uncertain future in an additional nine.

In response to the court’s ruling, abortion clinics closed, and Planned Parenthood locations canceled abortion appointments in Texas, Wisconsin, and other states that have already outlawed or are likely to outlaw abortion.

On the other hand, abortion rights are likely to remain protected in 21 states, 11 of which are actively expanding the scope of access by, for instance, making appointments easier to schedule and more affordable. Several states, including California and New York, aim to become safe havens; NYC Mayor Eric Adams tweeted, “To those seeking abortions around the country: you are welcome here” with a photo of the Statue of Liberty.

People in states with restricted abortion access will still have two legal avenues to receive abortions. US Attorney General Merrick Garland said yesterday that the Justice Department will protect the right to travel out of state for appointments and that the abortion pill mifepristone cannot be banned by states since it’s FDA-approved.

GUN RIGHTS - Within a span of 12 hours this past Thursday, US government institutions located less than .5 miles from each other charted completely different paths on gun rights at a time when the country is reeling from a wave of mass shootings.

Let’s start with the Supreme Court

Thursday morning, it struck down a New York law that requires people to demonstrate a specific need in order to carry a concealed weapon. The decision means that more Americans will have the right to carry weapons in public, particularly in major cities.

It’s the Supreme Court’s first big gun rights opinion in more than a decade. In two decisions in 2008 and 2010, it guaranteed the right of individuals to keep handguns in their homes.

How the vote went down: In a phrase that’s become almost cliche at this point, the case was decided in a 6–3 opinion, with the conservatives in the majority.

Writing for the majority, Justice Clarence Thomas argued that the Second Amendment shouldn’t be held to a different standard than any other in the Bill of Rights.

Writing in dissent, Justice Stephen Breyer noted that 45,222 Americans were killed by firearms in 2020, and this ruling makes it harder for states to keep citizens safer by restricting access to guns for some people.

At least five other states—California, New Jersey, Maryland, Hawaii, and Massachusetts—have laws similar to New York’s. This ruling opens the floodgates for legal challenges to those regulations.

But later that night on Capitol Hill…

The Senate approved gun safety legislation by a count of 65–33, with 15 Republicans voting in support. It’s a huge breakthrough, representing the most significant gun reform action at the federal level in almost three decades.

What’s in the bill? Enhanced background checks for young gun buyers, funding for school safety and mental health, and incentives for states to enact red flag laws.

The bill will head to the House today, where it’s expected to pass easily.

THE THING – He continues to haunt American democracy, he continues to lie, he continues to degrade fellow citizens who do not support his propaganda. The January 6 hearings have proven to all, The Thing presents a clear and present danger to our Republic.

This week’s hearings showed us that The Thing acted as if he thought he was a king, not a president subject to the same rules as the rest of us. The hearings featured extraordinary testimony about the relentless pressure to subvert the 2020 election that the former president and his allies brought against at least 31 state and local officials in states he lost, like Michigan, Arizona, Georgia and Pennsylvania. He or his allies twisted the arm of everyone from top personnel at the U.S. Department of Justice to lower-level election workers.

The evidence and the testimony offered demonstrate why Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Justice Department should convene a grand jury now, if it hasn’t already, to consider indicting The Thing for crimes related to his attempt to overturn the results of the election, before he declares his candidacy for president in 2024, perhaps as early as this summer.

The testimony from the hearings reveals a coordinated and extensive plot to overturn the will of the people and install The Thing as president despite Joe Biden winning the election by 74 Electoral College votes (not to mention a margin of about seven million in the popular vote). There was political pressure, and sometimes threats of violence, across the board. The Thing and his cronies hounded poll workers and election officials to admit to nonexistent fraud or to recount votes and change vote totals.

Wandrea Moss, known as Shaye, a former Georgia election worker, testified Tuesday about the harassment and violent threats she faced after The Thing allies accused her and her mother of election fraud. As The Associated Press reported, one of The Thing’s lawyers, Mr. Giuliani, pointed to surveillance video of the two women working on ballot counting and “said the footage showed the women ‘surreptitiously passing around USB ports as if they are vials of heroin or cocaine.’” The “USB ports” turned out to be ginger mints.

It is no wonder that election workers and election officials are leaving their offices in fear of violence and harassment.

What The Thing did in its totality and in many individual instances was criminal. If Mr. Garland fails to act, it will only embolden The Thing or someone like him to try again if he loses, this time aided by a brainwashed and cowed army of elected and election officials who stand ready to steal the election next time.

The Thing was the 45th president, not the first American king, but if we don’t deter conduct like this, the next head of state may come closer to claiming the kind of absolute power that is antithetical to everything the United States stands for.

 

BAD TEAMS – Major league baseball is becoming non-watchable. There are at least six bad teams in baseball, my Detroit Tigers are one. Cincinnati, Washington, and Chicago in the National league, Oakland, Kansas City and Detroit in the American league, are all unwatchable. I could include Seattle, Baltimore, Los Angeles Angels, Pittsburgh, Colorado, and Arizona as border line but for the sake of the game they have a chance.

Why unwatchable? One word greed. Like the rest of our world, the haves and the have nots and no one to properly control the game.

What has happened to leadership in this country? The state of baseball is another example of clueless, short sighted, no guts leadership. Let us hope our Gen Z (1997 – present) citizens can deal with this. We certainly cannot.

 

ALL IS NOT LOST - It could have been even better, but let's pause and consider the fact that nearly 20 million lives were saved by COVID-19 vaccines during their first year.

+ Congress just passed the first major federal gun safety legislation in decades.

+ "The upcoming iOS 16 will help battle the growing problem of spam text messages. The latest beta includes the ability to report SMS messages as 'junk' to the user's wireless carrier." More than half of my messages are spam. The other half are donation requests from politicians.

+ The World's Fastest Electric Ferries are Coming to Stockholm.

+ Spray-on plant coating could replace wasteful plastic food wrap. And this: Ontario grower is fixing the 'most complained about' produce item: plastic-wrapped cucumbers.

+ The world's lowest parachute jump attempt.

+ Lol, jaja, xaxa, and all the other ways people laugh around the world. (With you, not at you.)

+ An Indian man has gone viral for his creation of a solar-powered car, a solo project 11 years in the making. (Maybe this guy can buy Twitter...)

+ Finally, my golf index has not been this low in fifteen years (11.7).

Well, I tried.

 

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK – Birthday wishes and thoughts this week to Paul McCartney (80), Carly Simon (77), Brian Wilson (80).

 

MARKET WEEK - The S&P 500 fell into official bear-market territory, the week of June 13.

Bear markets aren't great predictors of economic downturns. But the plunge is yet another indicator the economy is likely to slow fast over the next year.

Other major reasons to worry about a downturn:

Soaring energy costs: Energy shocks have preceded 10 of the last 11 recessions.

Fed tightening: The Fed has embarked on a project of raising interest rates — pushing the brakes on the economy — in order to rein in inflation.

Strong dollar: A strong dollar can act as a headwind on the economy, by making our exports too expensive for foreign buyers and hurting manufacturing.

We have officially hit a bear market in the S&P 500 Index. As of last week’s close, the S&P 500 total return is down -21.3% from its highs at the start of this year, breaching the down -20% mark.

How’d we get here? Two words, in our view: stimulus and expectations.

Soon after Covid hit and the world stopped, the Fed jumped in to stabilize the foundation of our financial system (the bond market) with $4.5T of security purchases. It was followed by an additional $3.6T of US government money, first to businesses and then to the consumer directly through extra unemployment benefits, child-tax-credit payments, and checks in the mail.

Today, we find ourselves in a place where all that helpful stimulus money is unwinding. Since the start of the year, the market has been trying to find the correct expectations of the future.

So, while the ignition for this drop was Friday’s inflation report (+8.6% year over year for May), the greater driving factor is still a question centered on valuations.

The inflation report was a little higher than officially expected (by 0.3%), and with the benefit of near-term hindsight, it seems that unspoken expectations were for inflation to come in lower. So anything at the same level, or even mildly higher, was going to set off the stock market drop we got last week, following through to Friday.

The greater reference to valuation — the value the market agrees to pay today for a company’s future earnings — is that it’s trying to find what businesses should be worth in the future, knowing that the stimulus is gone, and inflation is here.

In terms of numbers, the 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio (P/E) for the S&P 500 Index is now about 16.5x, down from a peak of 23x last year. In a historical context, this is in line to above some of the historical averages: 10-year (16.9), 20-year (15.5), and 25-year (16.5).

So far, all of the fall in valuations this year have come from the drop in the “P” (prices), versus a fall in earnings expectations — the “E.” That’s because earnings estimate for this year and next are still at record highs.

Will the market continue to fall?

Anything is possible. Looking back to 1945, when bear markets occurred, 70% of the time they related to a recession, and the average return during a recession was -30%.

From here, further drops in the market depend more greatly on the “E,” as expectations for the next 12 months and for 2023 are high and likely need to come down. For context, aggregate earnings for the S&P 500 Index are expected to be +10% higher for each of the next two years. That seems inconsistent with rising costs and the related expectation of slowing growth. As a result, it’s reasonable that earnings may actually be lower than current expectations by 5%. Assuming this is about right, in our analysis, it could mean market levels would look closer to fair value if down further, by mid-single digits. Thus, the S&P 500 would come close to 30% down for the year, and in line with the average for a recession.

Will we have a recession?

It’s very possible — led by reassessment of corporate earnings while they cut their costs from higher expenses and softer demand. If that’s right, we are about two-thirds of the way through the market downturn (closer to the bottom than the top).

Could we be wrong about this? (Yes — and we sort of hope we are, to the upside.)

Evidence of better earnings growing, a quicker cooling of inflation than expected, and even ancillary events such as a true shift in Covid policy from China or a ceasefire in Russia’s war on Ukraine, can quickly shift expectations positively.

What does this mean for investors?

Diversification is often the answer to a lot of investing questions. It’s never a bad time to review your positions and your plan (or make one). When looking through your portfolio, consider the balance of holdings — higher-quality or lower-valued areas such as dividend stocks, and those in energy and healthcare can be attractive to some investors and can serve as a balance for riskier growth companies that may take longer than average to recover. In addition, depending on your personal situation and investing style, keeping funds available for a “dip buy” may also be prudent.

Volatility is higher these days but try not to let it trigger an investment reaction. Staying the course may be the right decision as equity markets have historically provided positive returns over the long term*.

*S&P 500 Total Returns:

10 years ending May 2022 14.37%

20 years ending May 2022 9.13%

30 years ending May 2022 10.10%

Rink Rats portfolio is down 12.51% for the last year.

MARKETS: YEAR-TO-DATE

 

            Nasdaq         11,607.62   -25.81%

            S&P    3,911.74      -17.93%

            Dow   31,500.68   -13.31%

            10-Year Treasury Yield   3.136%   +162.2 bps

            Bitcoin          $21,021.95 -54.60%

            Oil       $108.16       +43.82%

 

CHRONICLES OF HIGHER EDUCATION – The ongoing enrollment crisis at U.S. colleges and universities deepened in spring 2022, raising concerns that a fundamental shift is taking place in attitudes toward the value of a college degree — even as the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted operations for higher education.

The latest college enrollment figures released on Thursday by the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center indicated that 662,000 fewer students enrolled in undergraduate programs in spring 2022 than a year earlier, a decline of 4.7 percent. Graduate and professional student enrollment, which had been a bright spot during the pandemic, also declined 1 percent from last year.

Doug Shapiro, the center’s executive director, noted small gains in first-year, first-time students. However, he suggested that the numbers and the breadth of the declines indicate an underlying change, as students question whether college is the ticket to the middle class and a good-paying job.

Prospective college students may be weighing the relative value of jobs that require or expect a college degree against equally attractive opportunities that do not.

Overall, total undergraduate enrollment has dropped by nearly 1.4 million — or 9.4 percent — during the pandemic. When the pandemic emerged in spring 2020, many colleges moved to online instruction, and some students did not report to campus at all, changes that considerably altered the traditional college experience.

Even before the pandemic, though, college enrollment had been dropping nationally, with institutions of higher learning buffeted by demographic changes, as the number of college-age students leveled off, as well as questions about student debt. A highly polarizing immigration debate also drove away international students.

While elite colleges and universities have continued to attract an overflow of applicants, the pandemic has been devastating for many public universities, particularly community colleges, and tuition driven private universities, which serve many low- and moderate-income students.

Declines occurred generally across the country but were slightly more pronounced in the Midwest and Northeast.

How have universities changed their strategies due to the pandemic? By following the money: federal higher education recovery funds, private grants, more student debt, and cow tying to donors for funding of their agendas.

Here are five of the permanent changes to higher education because of the pandemic:

1). Testing will remain optional - Eliminating standardized testing increases the probability that the student population will be more diverse.

2). Online and hybrid learning will continue - One of the oldest challenges in higher education has been ever-increasing tuition costs. With universities already having been forced into shifting many classes online, there’s a very real possibility of fewer international students absorbing the expense of attending in person in the future. While online classes do not optimize the college experience for students—“Zoom university isn’t proper online learning,” said Sanjay Sarma, MIT’s vice-president for open learning, who emphasizes that learning must be a two-way endeavor—the fact that it had to happen at all and is continuing indicates that it isn’t going away.

3). Mastery of education technology - After the initial shock of being thrown into online learning by students and online instruction by teachers wore off, universal acceptance of technology as a permanent part of higher education became necessary. Over the past year and a half, it has evolved, and it will continue to do so—and mastery of learning management systems (Blackboard, Brightspace, Google Education and others) and distance learning software (Zoom, Adobe Connect, Teams, et al) became mandatory. Professional development going forward will include mastery of new technology by both faculty and students as it is developed and released in order to optimize efficiency and performance.

4). Value will have to be demonstrated - Colleges and universities will have to be more reflective about the value they offer in exchange for ever-rising tuition costs and whether families will be willing to pay for that perceived value, particularly with so much of the experience being online. By extension, going forward, both parents and students will want to know how successful the university is at launching graduates into prosperous careers—in other words, the questions will become harder and the “tires kicked more” before commitments to attend are made.

5). Elite colleges and universities will no longer be considered the gold standard - Poor records of admitting minorities and poor students and a lack of commitment to growing enrollments in non-traditional ways are expected to cause many universities once considered the crème de la crème of higher learning to be pushed further down the list of most-coveted to attend. Instead, public flagships and up-and-coming private schools that are more innovative, cost-effective, and student- and employer-centric will be more attractive.

 

TITLE IX - It took just 37 words to change the course of education for millions of women and girls in the United States. Yet the succinct language in Title IX, the landmark education law that was signed in 1972, has origins in even fewer characters.

“You come on too strong for a woman.”

That was what Dr. Bernice Sandler was told in 1969 when she applied for a permanent position at the University of Maryland, where she was already an adjunct professor. Three years later — after a class-action lawsuit on behalf of women in higher education and the sly maneuvering of a handful of lawmakers — women were given a means to ensure equal access to education for the first time in American history.

For its sweeping repercussions, Title IX passed with little fanfare, a notable whisper nestled between two other landmark provisions meant to bestow rights to women within a 12-month period: The Equal Rights Amendment and Roe v. Wade. Fifty years later, only one of the three remains standing.

The Equal Rights Amendment, which proposed an explicit guarantee for equal protection for women in the U.S. Constitution, was first proposed in 1923 and approved by the Senate on March 22, 1972. But not enough states ratified it within a 10-year deadline for it to be added.

Title IX was signed by President Richard M. Nixon on June 23, 1972.

Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion in the United States, was announced on Jan. 22, 1973. But the Supreme Court overturned that on Friday, eliminating the constitutional right to abortion after almost 50 years.

So, what has made Title IX so durable? An act of Congress and broad public support, for starters. But even though Title IX was intended to equalize college admissions, perhaps its most visible achievement has been the inclusion of women in interscholastic sports, leading to an explosion in numerous youth sports for girls.

The Equal Rights Amendment, Roe v. Wade and Title IX are all linked by their attempts to target gendered inequality in American society, but they differ in how they used law and policy to enact change.

The Equal Rights Amendment was an attempt to amend the Constitution, a process that is intended to be very difficult. Yet had it been ratified,  it would have been far more sweeping than any other single policy.

Roe v. Wade, conversely, was an interpretation of constitutional law, as a decision by the Supreme Court. It was overturned Friday with a 6-3 ruling.

DRIVING THE WEEK - All eyes are on the Fed, inflation, and the consumer.

While the Chairman Powell has been consistent in his stance the past several days testifying before the House and Senate Banking Committees, we will continue to hear from Powell and other Fed members the next several days in various forums.

Macro data continues to pour in on housing and consumer sentiment, but on a micro level we get a look at some consumer goods companies and what they are seeing in terms of demand.

An even closer look at supply chains and inflation, Micron Technology, Inc. reporting earnings on Thursday should help clarify the state of semiconductors and chip makers after what has been a volatile year for the sector and those they supply.

Tuesday … Economic Policy Institute virtual discussion on the “The Economics of Abortion” Tuesday … House Financial Services oversight subcommittee hearing on the housing market and private equity Tuesday …

Final first-quarter GDP data released Wednesday … Fed Chair Jerome Powell participates in a discussion with global central bankers at the European Central Bank Forum in Sintra, Portugal, Wednesday … House Financial Services hearing on long-term impacts of the hot housing market Wednesday. Personal consumption and inflation date released Thursday. California increases gas tax from 51.1 to 53.9 cents per gallon Friday.

Airlines scramble ahead of July Fourth: With the upcoming weekend expected to be the busiest for airports since the Covid pandemic began, airlines are working to limit the flight delays and cancellations that have clogged their customer services lines so far this summer. Simply nixing flights has become a popular strategy: US airlines have slashed their June–August schedules by 15% compared to their OG plans, according to Airlines for America.

Economy: Several retailers (Nike, Bed Bath & Beyond) will report earnings, and an inflation measure closely watched by the Fed drops on Thursday.

Wimbledon starts, with geopolitical undertones: The fancy-pants tennis tournament kicks off today on the London grass. Serena Williams will return to singles competition after a yearlong absence, but no players from Russia or Belarus (including men’s No. 1 Daniil Medvedev) will be playing—they were barred from competition over the war in Ukraine.

 

Everything else:

Ghislaine Maxwell is scheduled to be sentenced tomorrow after being convicted of a sex-trafficking scheme with former BF Jeffrey Epstein.

Canada Day is July 1 (Friday).

The Tour de France also starts on Friday.

 

Most Americans — anyone who wasn't an adult by the '70s — are getting a first taste of living with high inflation.

Prices are up for most of our favorite summer things:

Flying on a plane.

Sending kids to camp.

Booking a hotel room.

Lighting fireworks.

Renting a car.

Buying food for backyard barbecues.

The Consumer Price Index shows average prices rose 8.6% over the past year — a level last seen in the 1970s, an era known for such mood-dulling terms as stagflation and malaise.

Reality check: The unemployment rate is a low 3.6%. And Americans are doing substantially better than people in many corners of the world.

 

🕶️ The bright side: People who are already frugal (because of the pandemic) are certainly having a moment.

And you could spend your summer sipping AriZona iced tea and eating Costco rotisserie chicken and hot-dog combos — products with famously stable prices.

 

ASK RINK RATS – some questions from our readers.

 

What’s the best advice you ever received?

“Never forget that the toes you step on today may be connected to the ass you have to kiss tomorrow.”

 

What fictional person do you wish were real?

Atticus Finch.

 

What real person do you wish were fictional?

The Thing

 

If you were given a billboard in Times Square, what would you put on it?

“Keep calm and carry on.”

 

STANLEY CUP CHAMPS – The Tampa Bay Lightning’s reign at the top of the National Hockey League is over and a new one may well be starting, as the Colorado Avalanche became the 2022 Stanley Cup champions.

The Avalanche dispatched the two-time defending champions 2-1 on the road to win the series in six games.

Note: The Swami did predict the Avs to win at the beginning of the playoff season. Though their opponent was to be the Florida Panthers.

The Avs won 72 games this season, tying the 1976-77 Canadiens, 1983-84 Oilers and 1995-96 Red Wings for the most in NHL history. They are, quite simply, one of the best teams ever.

Season: 56-19-7

Playoffs: 16-4

Colorado dominated at times during these playoffs but also notched 10 come-from-behind wins, tying the 2009 Penguins for the most in a single postseason.

They're the fourth team in NHL history to post all four series-clinching wins on the road.

Now, they'll make up for those missed celebrations with the biggest party Denver can muster.

Cale Makar is the first player to ever win the Hobey Baker Award (best college player), Calder Trophy (Rookie of the Year), Norris Trophy (top defenseman), Conn Smythe Trophy (MVP of the playoffs) and a Stanley Cup. And he's only 23 years old.

One thing negative from the NHL playoffs, the performance of ESPN broadcasting the games. Time to steal a quality announcer from Canada, a football announcer does not cut it. Mark Messier and Chris Chelios do not cut it as well. ESPN has a quality off ice announcer in Leah Hextall in their employ, use her. The reporter they have now is weak. In the U.S. TNT has a better broadcast.

Clean this up over the summer ESPN.

The Swami Season to Date (14 - 9)

 

Next Blog: Summer holiday edition.

Until July 1, 2022, Adios.

Claremont, California

June 27, 2022

#XIII-4-450

 

4,980 words, eight-minute read

 

CARTOON OF THE WEEK – Drabble by Kevin Fagan

 

RINK RATS POLL - Do you think pineapple belongs on a pizza?

____ Yes

____ No

 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK – “I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet off our necks.” – Ruth Bader Ginsburg

Rink Rats is a blog of weekly observations, predictions and commentary. We welcome your comments and questions. Also participate in our monthly poll. Rink Rats is now viewed in Europe, Canada, South America and the United States.

Posted at Rink Rats The Blog: First Published – May 3, 2010

Our Thirteenth Year.

www.rhasserinkrats.blogspot.com