LANCASTER, Pennsylvania, Monday, November 14, 2016 - Even as the administration of Donald Trump begins taking form and substance, even as unanimous No. 1 Maryland savors, but only briefly, its Big Ten Tournament Championship, played in the heart of the Big Ten at Grand Park, Indiana, and its receiving of the overall Number One Seed in the NCAA Soccer Tournament, which begins play on Thursday, November 17, 2016 with 16 first round games; and even as intrepid Burnley surges into the Premier League Top Ten, the world - save for some heartfelt protestors off of the George "I Hate America" Soros payroll - moves forward with the hint of a smile in what is now, thankfully, a Post-Clinton World.
Fox News reported tonight that Rudolph Giuliai has emerged as the number one favorite for the Cabinet Position of Secretary of State in the in-coming Administration of Donald Trump, instead of Republican Favorite John Bolton, the Ambassador to the UN in the Administration of President George W. Bush. Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York and a former Justice Department Prosecutor, was a stalwart in the Trump campaign.
As the overall number one seed, the Maryland received a first round bye and will play Sunday, November 20 against the winner of Thursday's game between Providence and Delaware. The game will be played at the Terps' home field in College Park. Also in this post, this writer will report briefly from this idyllic town in south central Pennsylvania, where a weekend of perfect mid-autumn weather was taken full advantage of.
It was revealed over the weekend that the inimitable Raince Priebus and the conservative stalwart, Stephen Bannon, will play key roles, as equal partners in leadership, of the new Trump administration. Priebus, currently head of the Republican National Committee and a known close ally of House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, will be Trump's White House Chief of Staff, while Bannon, on leave from his position as CEO of the center-right Breitbart News, will be Trump's Senior Counsel. Although a few ultra leftists had trouble with the Bannon appointment, most praised both men as capable leaders and, like Trump, hardcore workaholics. Expect both to hit the ground running.
Other Trump appointments are expected soon. Among those almost certain to receive key positions are Newt Gingrich, the statesman and author who is also a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rudy Giuliani, the former Mayor of New York City who teamed with President George W. Bush in leading the USA and especially the ground-zero victims in New York City through the horrors of 9-11-2001, and Alabama Senator Jeff Sessions, the go-to expert on immigration issues among those right of center.
Trump continued to move with tremendous self-assurance. He and his entire family submitted to a lengthy interview on 60 minutes last night with leftist reporter Lesley Stahl (Ms. Stahl is one of the least-objectionable mainstream media reporters and her years of fairness and objectivity still shine through on many occasions). The interview touched on many subjects and Trump handled each with ease and forthrightness. In areas where he wasn't prepared yet to reveal his thinking he said so and stuck with it. One absolute key to dealing with mainstream leftist reporters is refusing to be browbeat - even with sugar - and, once a decision is stated, even if the decision is not to decide, never back away from it during that particular interaction. Trump was brilliant in handling the questions from Ms. Stahl pertaining to pending Supreme Court appointments. The prospect of an ultra leftist like Hillary Clinton getting to stack the high court with young ultra left jurists was a key factor in Trump's election win. He candidly told Stahl that all of his selections to the court will reflect his thinking on the abortion issue; that is, they will be pro-life jurists. When Stahl shifted the questions to the LGBT community, Trump said, frankly, his thinking on issues important to the LGBT community are irrelevant since law in the area is settled. And he resisted Stahl's efforts to wiggle around that answer.
Meanwhile, the Democrats continue with their confounding decision to make Minnesota Congressman Keith Ellison the next chairman of the DNC. Currently the five-term representative is the only openly Islamic member of Congress. He is not, however, the only ultra leftist Democrat in Congress. You can count those on your fingers, if you happen to have hundreds of fingers.
A Few Words on Sports: At Grand Park in Westfield, Indiana, D. J. Reeves and Sebastian Elney each scored first half goals, and a stout and determined Maryland Defense shut down a Wisconsin offense that led a late season Badger surge as Maryland won its third consecutive Big Ten Soccer Tournament by defeating No. 18 Wisconsin, 2-1. The Badgers had advanced to the final by getting by No. 5 Indiana on penalty kicks after the two teams drew, 1-1, after 100 minutes of Soccer on Friday. Maryland defeated Michigan State, 2-1, in its semi-final match.
Reeves, starting for the first time this season, took a long but beautifully placed pass from Defender Suli Dainkeh, then, somehow, ran past a defender, Matej Radonic, who appeared able to pinch him at the end-line. After beating Radonic, he flicked the ball ever so slightly off the end-line, then magically pulled it back as Badger Keeper Philip Schilling dove to the ground to grab it. Once past Schilling, Reeves had every player's dream, a completely abandoned goal with no defender in sight, and full possession of the soccer ball just three yards off the line. Reeves merely side-footed the ball to the back of the net.
Elney's goal was equally spectacular. Jorge Calix, who was only on the pitch for three minutes on Sunday, sent a Terp corner kick toward the Wisconsin goal, but the stiff wind knocked the ball down and it headed for the Earth at the corner of the 18 line to Schilling's left. With several defenders surrounding him and only just over a minute left in the first half, Elney leaped high and headed the ball on a downward trajectory toward the goal. An instant after he headed the ball, it ricocheted off the shoulder of a Wisconsin defender. The impact with the defender did not change the direction of the shot, only its altitude. Instead of a ball that was envisioned heading into the net at the same time it hit the ground, the ball flew into the upper corner of the net. It was Elney who sat out the start of the game in favor of Reeves and it was a very good feeling for the young man to prove he still was very important to the Terps as they head for national competition.
Three Maryland players were named to the All-Tournament Team: Goal Keeper Cody Niedermeier, Alex Crognale and Gordon Wild. Maryland will await the naming of its NCAA Tournament opponent, which will be announced along with the rest of the 48-team field, today at 1 pm. These proceedings can be monitored at NCAA.com.
Don't look now, but Burnley is on the move in the legendary Premier League. Thanks chiefly to a wonderful home mark of 4 wins, one draw and just two defeats, the Claret are upwardly trending and in 9th place in the 20-side league. How scary is legendary Turf Moor to the rest of the Premier? Liverpool is in first place, but they lost to Burnley, 2-0. On November 5, the last match before the 16-day national break, Ashley Barnes scored a late goal to propel Burnley past vexatious Crystal Palace, 3-2. The Claret have also beat back always powerful Everton, as well as Watford, on their home pitch. Like every other team in the league, Burnley isn't quite that dangerous on the road. Overall, the Lancashire side stands at 4 wins, 6 defeats and 2 draws. They have 14 points, just one point behind 8th place Watford. Burnley's record over its last three matches is 2 wins and one draw. The draw was at Manchester United.
Anything can happen, of course, but there are many reasons to think the Claret are in the Premier to stay. The major reason for this assertion is the fact that Burnley is moving up the standings. Moving up. Now that is a wonderful phrase. Their Keeper, Tom Heaton, is on the English national team, and Sam Vokes, who stunned the soccer world with his breathtaking score in Wales' 3-1 triumph over Belgium in the Euro 2016 Quarter-Finals last summer, is pushing life into the Burnley offense.. The Vokes goal and the Welsh win that summer day across the Channel in France, pushed long-suffering Wales into the Euro semi-finals.
Maryland's Basketball team won its opener over the weekend, beating back tenacious American University, 62-56. Melo Trimble led the Terps with 22 points, but outmanned American hung close throughout the game and had several second half leads.
The Ravens will travel to Dallas next weekend to play the Cowboys with at least a half-game lead in the AFC North Division. After the Ravens battered Cleveland on Thursday Night, they watched yesterday as the Cowboys did them a big favor by defeating the Steelers in Pittsburgh. The Bengals will have a chance to move past Pittsburgh into second place if they can defeat the Giants on Monday Night Football. Right now, the Ravens are 5-4, the Steelers are 4-5 and the Bengals are 3-4-1. A win for the Bengals tonight would put them at 4-4-1 and leave them one-half game behind the Ravens and one-half game ahead of the Steelers. The Browns are virtually eliminated with a record of 0-10.
Alas, it is now a post-Hillary world. The mean and angry one let it be known, officially, that she blames FBI Chief James Comey for her defeat. Naturally, she doesn't blame herself and her illegal money-grabbing activities. You earn a reputation that might live forever, but you cannot leave life with your money, purloined or not. Hillary has the opportunity to contemplate those facts for the duration.
A Weekend in Idyllic Lancaster, Pennsylvania: The Eastern Seaboard had some of the most wonderful autumn weather that could be imagined this past weekend. The nights were cold and the days were just shy of warm. A sweater was wonderful for both extremes, if you want to call them that. Lancaster is a beautiful small town in the land of the Amish. It's revitalizing downtown is clean and attractive. There are shops and places to eat and sleep. We stayed at the Lancaster Marriott at Penn Square, a stunning structure that has stood for over a century at the intersection of King and Queen Streets at the center of downtown. A historic statute of William Penn, atop a stunning marble column, stands in the middle of that intersection. Kind folk abound and it is hard not to be very happy here. Another special treat is taking Pennsylvania Route 896 on the way home. The winding road runs along ridge lines through beautiful Amish and Mennonite Farms. The stunning light at sunset made the landscape seem close to Paradise. That town is very nearby, really it is. And I've just noticed how many times I used "stunning." It is, however, stunning.
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