Sunday Morning Coffee — April 19, 2026 — Sunday Morning Scramble
By Roy Berger, New York, New York
Good morning from New York. A trip to Cooperstown with son Jason late last week for my inaugural visit to the Baseball Hall of Fame. More on that in SMC’s ahead. Then an Amtrak ride down the Hudson to NYC for a quick visit. First Yankee Stadium on an 85 degree afternoon. Like the old days you still can buy caps, tee shirts, bobbleheads, beer and water pre-game outside the stadium. However, in today’s new modern era of the world and baseball with the advent of replay and ball/strike challenges, you can also find vendors hawking pre-rolled joints before you walk into the ballpark. Who knew, but that would have been a wise acquisition watching the Yankees bumble their way to a 11-4 loss. Then dinner in Brooklyn at legendary Peter Luger’s with Jason and nephews Brian and Alex, a couple of fine lads. Followed by a 5 am car to JFK the next morning and back home to Vegas. I’m tired, but never too tired to Scramble:
From the ‘You can’t make this up’ department: Wednesday, April 15, was the 114th anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic. Chicago’s Volo Museum hosted a Titanic exhibit comprised of artifacts from the ship including art, fashion pieces and personal items from some of the ship’s 2,200 passengers. Chicago has had unseasonably heavy rains this spring, almost ten inches which is double the norm. On Wednesday the city got another downpour of two and a half inches stressing the roof at the Volo Museum. Heavy leaks ensued. The entire Titanic exhibit was flooded. Poetic.
Even SNL couldn’t script this one. We’ve always been told to ‘pick on someone our own size.’ Donald Trump stands 6’3”, 225 pounds on a non-Big Mac Day; maybe 235 with large fries. Pope Leo’s weigh-in stats are not part of his bio but estimates have him 5’9”, maybe 170 tops after a long shower. An unfair match-up in the ring. Nonetheless, this side of Ali-Frazier has there ever been a bigger heavyweight war of words than the president and the pope? If it wasn’t so disturbing these two world leaders, at the top of the top echelon, were verbally sparring it would actually be funny. Like Ali, the pope’s words are calculated — jab, jab, hook. Like Frazier, the president puts his head down and comes right at you — left, right, left, right. He absorbs blow after blow but keeps swinging. Come on boys, knock it off. Go to your corners—Trump in the red corner, Leo in the blue and take a timeout. We really don’t need this.
Before we leave the White House and another embattled occupant, let’s do some house cleaning first. If Melania is telling the truth, and there’s no reason to suspect otherwise, then I agree with her. The First Lady said last week that rumors linking her with Jeffrey Epstein are “individuals lying about me (and) are devoid of ethical standards, humility and respect.” What a novel approach civility might become. Especially if it starts at home. Just sayin.’
I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, I’ve been going to hockey games since JFK’s administration but never had seen a college game. That changed last weekend when I saw two as part of a hockey doubleheader. The Frozen Four, shinny’s version of the Final Four, was here in Vegas and what an entertaining and different experience. The atmosphere at sold out T-Mobile Arena was great; the four schools, Denver, North Dakota, Wisconsin and Michigan well represented; the building was alive with excitement; each school had their own pep band and jersey, or in hockey parlance, sweater colors galore. The skill level of course wasn’t NHL standard even though each team had multiple NHL draft choices on their rosters. Passing, shooting and stick handling lacked compared to NHLers. Interestingly, all four starting goalies were freshman, but it was the smallest of the bunch who stood the tallest. Michigan and North Dakota were the tournament favorites and got eliminated right away; Denver and Wisconsin played the championship game with the University of Denver scoring two late goals for a 2-1 win and the championship in front of over 18,000. It was their third in the last five years. Denver’s goalie, Johnny Hicks, was the player of the tournament and without him the Pioneers had no chance. Hicks is small, 5’10”, 157 pounds with catlike reflexes. The 20-year-old hasn’t lost a game since becoming a starter in January. Being undersized has hurt him with NHL teams but a goals against average of 1.12 and a save percentage of .958 this championship season will have Hicks on the draft board in June.
And if you are a hockey fan there is nothing better than the two months that lie ahead. The Stanley Cup Playoffs begin this weekend and without a doubt of all our major team sports the Cup playoffs are the most physical and difficult team playoffs to win. These guys are super athletes, the best in the business. The intensity of the regular season is charged even higher during the playoffs. Play is tight, one mistake can be fatal. Every goal matters. And there is no excitement that can match sudden death playoff overtime. Incredibly, the two-time defending Cup champion Florida Panthers didn’t qualify for the playoffs this season and are already on the golf course. Looking for a bet with some meat on the bone, I think a team from the West wins the Cup and I like Dallas at 14-1 while not sleeping on a resurgent Vegas team at 12-1.
Before we leave the rink, the PWHL, Professional Women’s Hockey League, is in its third season and struggling to gain traction on a busy winter sports menu. The New York Sirens played their home games in Bridgeport, CT, before moving to Newark this season. They made a pit stop at Madison Square Garden two weeks ago and by the time the first puck dropped there were no tickets to be had. A sold-out crowd of 18,006 cheered the Sirens to an overtime win against Seattle. It was the largest gathering to ever see a women’s hockey game in our country.
In case you were wondering, and I’m reasonably sure you weren’t, but a poll of Los Angeles County residents by Loyola Marymount University about their favorite sports teams was a runaway. The two-time defending World Series champion Dodgers getting 43% of the vote to 28% for the Lakers. The Rams were third at 7%, the hockey Kings at 5% and the Angels creeped into the chart at 4%. It appears nobody in LS gives a damn about the Clippers.
I just love this. The Wall Street Journal tells us that parents tired of hearing their kids campaigning for a phone are now buying internet-enabled landlines for their little ones. A Seattle start-up named Tin Can is producing a line of telephones by the same name and marketing the retro-1990s handset to parents for their kids. Of course, when the kids are told they are getting a phone and given a Tin Can instead of an iPhone they are not only disappointed but have no idea what to make of this strange looking contraption. They’ve never seen anything like it before. Some youngsters are warming up to it after the initial shock of getting something they never wanted. In fact, one mom says her daughter loves when the phone rings and the anticipation of not knowing who is calling. Then there’s nine-year-old Luna James-Martinez in Asheville, North Carolina, who complained that every time she picked up the phone it had a glitch. Mom had to explain what a dial tone was.
When Tevye sang ‘If I Were a Rich Man’ in Fiddler on The Roof he probably wasn’t envisioning living in Mississippi one day. But a recent study by SmartAsset, a finance reference database, tells us that a household income of at least $225,000 in the bayou classifies you as rich, the lowest of all 50 states. Conversely, the top of the ladder is Massachusetts where $420,000 a year makes you a mogul.
Take a look at your upcoming calendar. If you have a couple of days free and no rush to get back home try what David Olvera of San Luis Potosí, Mexico, did last week. With some downtime Mr. Olvera took a trip from Cozumel to Cancun. He couldn’t be bothered looking for good airfare; instead, the 31-year-old decided to throw on a bathing suit and swim. He went non-stop, all 53 miles, in just shy of 17 hours. Not sure how he got back.
Greece is taking a huge step to help mom and dad not be the bad guys. Starting next year, any kid under the age of 15 will be banned from social media. A bold step that no doubt will produce considerable pushback, it remains to be seen how enforceable it really becomes.
Speaking of those days, remember when our parents used to lecture us that our essay or term paper due tomorrow wasn’t ‘going to write itself?’ Well, that’s one expression now AI extinct.
It’s doubtful if anyone has any idea how much a first-class stamp costs and you’re wasting your time with a phone-a-friend for help. They won’t know either. The answer is 78 cents, but not for long. The U.S. Postal Service, void of significant tax dollars and fiscally dependent on the sale of their own products, is raising the cost to 82 cents on July 12. And those three-cent postcards we used to send as kids will increase to 65 cents. However, quit whining, the Postal Service says our rates are the best in the world and still a heck of a deal considering the cost of mailing a letter in the U.K. converted to USD is $2.42. Yeah, whatever you say.
And finally, as Rory McElroy put on the green jacket for the second straight year, it served as a stinging reminder to all of us Gang Green football fans that Rory has now won back-to-back Masters since the Jets have last had an interception.
I’m proud that Medjet is sponsoring Sunday Morning Coffee. I spent 20 wonderful years with Medjet in Birmingham, Alabama, and can tell you unequivocally they are the standard-bearer for medical assistance membership programs. A talented staff, who cares about its members, is at the forefront of the company’s success. Whether you are traveling for business or pleasure, domestic or international, a Medjet membership should be an important part of your travel portfolio before you leave home. Check out the Medjet website at medjet.com or just tap on the Medjet logo and you’ll be able to get a look at Medjet’s services, rules and regulations, pricing, and an overview of the organization. And remember, any opinions expressed in Sunday Morning Coffee content or comments belong to the author and not the sponsor. Safe travels with your Medjet membership! — Roy Berger
Good SMC... I enjoyed it.
Not exactly the Lakers but this weekend I will be at the initial match of the San Diego Growlers. Their first match is against Carolina in the brand new Ultimate Frisbee League!