Reset. Stay Wealthy. Game 7. The Mystery Abroad. Arena Enhancements. Next Up. Cornhuskers.

Changing It Up. Don’t Just Give It Away.  Compelling Baseball?   Really, An Accident? The Revised Arena.  The National Team Dilemma.   Mid-America Tourism. 

Orlando City played a mid-week game and set a Major League Soccer record that no one is proud of……goals allowed in a season.  With that said their second 45 minutes on Wednesday showed glimpses of a team with fight and perseverance.  After today’s finale Orlando City must pivot and show their supporters, partners, and the media that they mean serious business.  Here’s to their ownership and management getting it done!  

Will you win the $1.7B Mega Millions jackpot?  I hope so and if you do come up the winner please donate the majority of your winnings to charities of your choice.  It is not about just ‘giving back’, it is about using your money wisely and not being one of many who have gone broke within a few years of winning the grand prize.  Financial analysts state that 70% of all lottery winners, within five years, declare personal bankruptcy.  Seriously.

If you are a baseball fan last night’s game seven between the Brewers and Dodgers was good fun. It’s really tough  to watch a three-hour baseball game but the World Series match up between the Red Sox and Dodgers should be a good one.

A journalist, a Turkish consulate, and Saudi Arabia.  Are you not sick and tired of listening to the Saudi’s insane rhetoric, posturing, and political positioning over the death of this journalist?  A man lost his life after supposedly being put in a choke hold.  That is called a homicide.  This is why I stay away from politics and religion – enough said.

Congrats to Steve Koonin and the Atlanta Hawks on the grand opening of the refurbished State Farm Arena (formerly named Philips Arena).  Now it is time for the club to make a statement on the court. 

I am a patriot….always been and always will be.  That is why I am still very interested with the decision the United States Soccer Federation needs to make in regards to their new national team manager.  The inability of our national team to qualify for this past summer’s World Cup exposed glaring issues with our team’s management, our player pool, and the youth systems who in essence should feed the player pool of the national team. This decision is paramount as the World Cup cycle and qualifying for Qatar 2022 will kick in sooner than we think.  (By the way, yes, I wrote Qatar 2022, a decision from #FIFA that will live in infamy).  The front runner for the job seems to be Gregg Berhalter, currently the manager of the Columbus Crew.  I am not qualified to tell you whether or not Berhalter is the right man for the job, but what I do know is that status quo in this search and selection should not be a part of picking the manager.  It is very, very unlikely to happen but here is my favored scenario:  Gerardo “Tata” Martino, the manager of Atlanta United, becomes the next manager of the United States National Team.  U.S. Soccer negotiates a deal with Darren Eales and Atlanta United to allow Tata to train the national team at Atlanta United’s beautiful training center AND to stay on board with Atlanta United in a advisory role.  Win-win as our national team finally gets a manager who can develop, train and prepare our player pool, Atlanta United hires a new South American manager who receives guidance from Tata, and the national team benefits from training at a world-class training facility.  Reality:  my plan goes down the drain after the MLS Championship game when Tata, who has not been approached by the U.S. Soccer Federation, takes the helm with Mexico’s national team.   Meh.

I love the state of Nebraska’s new tourism tag line: “Nebraska. Honestly, It’s Not for Everyone.”  My former college coach most likely disagrees with the new tag line as he once again is living and coaching in Omaha.  I have been to Omaha – a great town with great people.

Adios and Have a Funday Sunday!