Sunday Morning Coffee — August 9, 2026 — Sunday Morning Scramble
By Roy Berger, Los Angeles CA
Good morning. SMC is on the road this weekend, in Los Angeles, and with apologies to Taylor & Travis we’re at the social event of the year. The venue was the Harley Amphitheater, not Madison Square Garden, but just as, if not more, festive. Saturday was London-born granddaughter Harley’s first birthday soirée and a great time was had by all the guests who didn’t have to enter through a private driveway as the paparazzi were distracted by other Hollywood goings-on. The invitation was designed to be a Phish jam band poster knock-off by Harley’s dad Scott while mom Cayla just shrugged and went along. And what else could be expected as Scott saw Phish at MSG two weeks ago for the 195th time. That’s not a typo. Yesterday’s select guest list of 40, including ten of Harley’s daycare besties and her new beau Myles, were entertained not by Phish but The Beat Buds in the makeshift amphitheater on Harley’s Culver City front lawn. Myles and I had a pretty stern chat. Myles can’t talk yet but I know he understood every word about keeping his hands to himself and getting her home on time. The tears running down his cheeks told me that. Happy first birthday, kid!
Meanwhile as we Scramble, we can’t help but wonder — as funny as Larry David’s Curb Your Enthusiasm was, how could his new show Life, Larry and the Pursuit of Unhappiness on HBO be so bad?
Coming soon to a restaurant near you. On our LA breakfast bill was a 5% ‘Wellness Surcharge.’ When questioned about it, our server said, “Oh, that’s for employee health insurance.” Oh.
Good for Mom and Dad Franco. Austin Franco, the 19-year-old punk Cornell University student who back in June turned down a job offer because he wasn’t “Interested in working for a Jew” has been tossed from home. His parents, Alexander, a lawyer and Diana, a banking exec, told him he is no longer welcome in their Northern Virginia abode. So, in good ole nouveau American fashion Franco took to social media saying, “My parents do not share my view and it seems they no longer wish to provide me with a home to live in. Any support you can provide would be greatly appreciated.” Sadly, to date he has raised over $32,000. Cornell has turned a deaf ear and instead of taking a lead from the Francos, let the antisemite continue his education on the Ithaca, NY, campus. That’s a great big thumbs-down.
There is no love lost between Iran and Israel. That’s not new news. The bombing and hate continues. Iran refuses to recognize the State of Israel and has criminalized any contact with it. However, once inside the Iranian walls there is a fairly vibrant Jewish community. The Wall Street Journal reports there are approximately 20,000 Iranian Jews with 60 active synagogues throughout the country. There is also a yeshiva—a Jewish center of study. And even a Jewish deli. But, Iranian Jews are forbidden from contact with relatives or friends in Israel. Tehranian born Yehuda Gerami, 43, is the nation’s chief rabbi. He studied Judaism in Jerusalem and spent some time as a student in the States as well. He returned to his native Iran in 2011 and since has become the country’s rabbinic head. Practicing their religion inside the borders means the Iranian Jewish community must avoid politics, stay loyal to Iran and keep away from Israel. Iranian leaders welcome the Jews to follow their traditions including weddings, bar and bat mitzvahs and other rituals. Rabbi Gerami posts celebrations on his Instagram account for his congregants to see. Make no mistake; Iranian Jews are watched closely by their government, but there is Jewish life in the country. And if you find yourself in Tehran on holiday looking for a good Jewish kotlet or a Sosis Bandari and a doogh to wash it down, find the Mordechai Sandwich deli. We await the reviews.
LeBron’s decision to sign with Philadelphia must have exploded the NBA scheduling software. Throw out the anticipated models that he would go to Cleveland or Miami and start over with Philly. No schedule released yet but how could the opening game of the season in late October not be the 76ers in New York against the NBA champion Knicks. Let me write that one more time because it feels so good— the NBA champion Knicks.
Going out for a long walk. Chong, a small mixed-breed male, wandered away from his Lincoln, Nebraska, home five years ago. He was found two weeks ago via micro-chipping and social media at a truck stop 642 miles away in Indiana. He was dog-tired.
Presidential public swearing dating back to the Woodrow Wilson era has become very chic. In 1919 Woody stated to the press that he made a “conspicuous ass of himself.” People were aghast. Since that outburst, a researcher in Wales with very little else to do has documented US presidents using cuss words 692 times through and including this administration. Of those, 78% were recorded over the last ten years by Mr. Biden and Mr. Trump. By no means have we yet reached the ceiling.
The New York Post gives us one item we never contemplated—of the 3,615 serial killers documented to date worldwide, the USA has produced 66% of the beasts. Russia is second and the UK, with perhaps the most notorious in Jack the Ripper, was third. And here’s a wager you are guaranteed to win unless you make it with another SMC reader— proportionate to population we are most likely to encounter a serial killer in Wyoming than anywhere else, with 13.59 serial killers per million people or one for every 73,84 residents. New York was 48th while living in Minnesota just about guarantees you won’t encounter a Ted Bundy knock-off.
A tip of the cap to Grandma. Want some bloodlines that are tough to top: the New York Yankees on Tuesday called up 21-year-old shortstop George Lombard Jr., their top minor league prospect. He cooperated by hitting a home run in his second big league at-bat. His dad, George Sr., played for Atlanta, Detroit, Tampa Bay and Washington and retired in 2006. Dad is presently the bench coach for the Tigers. Jr.’s brother Jacob was the 14th player selected in the first round of this year’s MLB draft by the Marlins. Off the field it gets even better— Junior’s great grandfather taught at Harvard Business School for 41 years and became its former senior dean. Best of all might be his grandmother Posy Lombard, a white woman with three bi-racial children. She was a grassroots civil rights activist who marched along with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the Selma Bloody Sunday march and was immediately rewarded with a week in a Montgomery, AL, jail. Mrs. Lombard wasn’t finished — while attempting to integrate a local playground she stared down members of the Mississippi KKK resulting in more jail time for creating a public disturbance. But maybe her best civil rights credential was accumulating a 300-page FBI surveillance file for her activism. Mrs. Lombard died tragically at age 41 in a 1985 car accident in Massachusetts. The family’s success on the baseball diamond takes a back seat to the matriarch’s pursuits of rights for all Americans.
The Major League Baseball trading deadline was last Monday with a burst of last minute activity and players moving from team to team and city to city. The Dodgers made the biggest splash acquiring two-time Cy Young Award winner Tarik Skubal from Detroit. The Red Sox got stronger and they are playing like they’ll never lose another game. There were deals, deals, and more deals. It makes for great theater during the dog days of August. Baseball should try and maximize that attention and take a one-day break in the schedule on trading deadline day. It’s made for television for both ardent and casual fans. Or maybe that makes too much marketing sense.
Happy 73rd birthday to Butch Patrick — Eddie Munster of the 1964-66 classic. The only other Munsters survivor is Pat Priest, Marilyn, who is 90. And special candles for former Buffalo Bills head coach Marv Levy celebrating his 101st last Monday. A gentleman, Mr. Levy will always be a footnote as the first and still only NFL head coach to lose four Super Bowls. He got Buffalo there in 1990, ‘91, ‘92 and ‘93, a remarkable achievement. However, all four resulted in disappointing plane rides home.
If you followed the brutal slaying of the four University of Idaho students in 2022, you’ll want to watch the recently released The Idaho Murders: College Nightmare on Netflix. If nothing else, the three-part doc is a textbook of collaboration between local, state and federal law enforcement in the apprehension of a perpetrator. In other words, it was about 180 degrees opposite the way authorities handled the Mary Guthrie kidnapping and apparent murder in Tucson. Also on Netflix, if you liked Virgin River, you’ll love its soapy cousin Ransom Canyon, which just finished its second season and is headed for a third.
We’ve been advocating in this space for a couple of months how horse racing’s Triple Crown series needs to make changes to enhance public interest. The folks in Baltimore have been listening. The traditional format of running the Preakness two weeks after the Kentucky Derby doesn’t work anymore with the Derby champion more times than not missing the Baltimore race for rest. So, the Maryland Jockey Club just announced that starting in May 2027 the Preakness will be pushed back a week to a three-week interval between the Derby and Preakness giving the winner and all other starters an extra week of rest. That’s the good news. Not so good is that the Belmont will now be two weeks after the Preakness not the customary three. Hopefully Belmont brass follows suit and backs its race up at least one week, ideally two.
And finally, please indulge me one more time…
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