Always Sunny

On To Philadelphia

The final stop on Pope Francis's trip to the United States is a two-day visit to Philadelphia. Fortunately, there hasn't been any snowfall recently, so the Pontiff won't have to dodge any snowballs.

The Pope's activities today included celebrating a Mass at the beautiful and historic Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

I am glad for the 1,600 or so worshipers who attended, and wish ardently that I could have been among them...

Things That Make Me Sad: Human Frailty Edition

My beloved Kansas City Royals hoisted their Central Division Championship flag before last night's game at Kauffman Stadium, then sent a line-up of almost nothing but bench players out to face the Cleveland Indians. Not surprisingly, Carlos Carrasco pitched a complete-game 1-hit shutout, beating the Royals 6-0. The only hit was a harmless single by Alex Rios, and it didn't come until there was one out in the 7th inning.

It isn't really surprising that Royals manager Ned Yost decided to give the regulars a day off after clinching the division title. Ned was unapologetic about it. Perhaps now we can get back to the business of beating out Toronto for home-field advantage in the playoffs.

"I gave it the best I had for as long as I could."

Almost lost amid all the celebrations was the somber news that closer Greg Holland's elbow injury would end his season and probably require surgery.

It is fair to say that the Royals would not have made the World Series last season or been division champions this season without Greg's contributions.

It's tough to feel too happy about all of this success when you lose such an integral part of the team. All Royals fans are pulling for a successful outcome for Greg...

Papal Blessing Needed

While he's in Philadelphia, the locals might want to try asking Pope Francis for an intercessory prayer on behalf of the city's sports teams:

• The Philadelphia Phillies, who have the worst record in Major League Baseball this season
• The Philadelphia Eagles, who have missed the NFL playoffs three of the past four seasons and are 0-2 on the current season
• The Philadelphia 76ers, who have finished in the bottom three of the NBA for the past two seasons
• The Philadelphia Flyers, who have missed the NHL playoffs two of the past three seasons

"Lord, please grant these good people relief from years of suckage."

Wordplay

H/T: Puns (@TheFunnyWorId)

Until Next Time...

One of the more difficult things to explain to young people who weren't around at the time is just how big a deal Michael Jackson was in pop culture during his heyday. People who only know him as a result of the miscellaneous personal failings and weirdnesses that made headlines and, ultimately, destroyed him can't quite wrap their heads around the unprecedented musical success he enjoyed.

On September 26, 1987 Michael's album Bad began a six-week run at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart. Since he enjoyed more creative control over this material than he had on his previous two albums, in a sense Bad was the purest expression of Michael's creative vision that we had gotten.

Today's send-off is my favorite song from the album, "Dirty Diana." This song has much more of a rock edge to it than most of Jackson's material, and he is working with veteran hard-rock guitarist Steve Stevens. Unlike some of Michael's famously elaborate music videos, this one is just a simple (if simulated) concert setting. Enjoy...