Sunday Morning Coffee — July 19, 2026 — Sunday Morning Scramble

By Roy Berger, Las Vegas, NV

Good morning. We are a little groggy today but not nearly as out of it as the 40,000 New Yorkers who went to the Jay-Z concert Sunday night at Yankee Stadium. Actually, their tickets said Sunday night, which quickly turned into Monday morning when unruly throngs of ticketless fans tried to storm the Stadium entrances to gain admission. The 8 p.m. start was delayed four hours with Jay-Z finally taking the stage at 12:15 a.m. Monday. Credit to him for doing his entire show despite the late hour. It was 3 a.m. when the encore ended and the subways filled.

Relatively, we are a bit tired today being out to 10:30 last night. The Happy Together tour was back in Vegas, and the date always gets a circle on our calendar. It’s the 42nd revival of the 1960s rock n’ roll throwback, but now, like us, the show is getting a little long in the tooth. The Turtles started the Happy Together show in 1984, 17 years after they released their hit song by the same name. That was January 1967 and two months later it was number one on the Top 100 Billboard charts. In May 1984, the first year of the Happy Together tour, I was looking for alternative revenue sources at the racetrack I managed in Tucson when we booked the show into our facility. The talent that year were The Turtles, The Association, Spanky and Our Gang, and Gary Puckett, sans the Union Gap. Last night at Vegas’ downtown performing arts theater, The Smith Center, there were eight acts from back in the day. Way back. The Cowsills, in the leadoff spot, with three of the original seven family members. Of course they sang Hair, which none of us could identify with anymore. We cherished two of the original six members of The Association; The Troggs, with one original and no longer much of a wild thing; Jason Scheff, who succeeded Chicago lead singer Peter Cetara was there and best in show; so was Ron Dante with both his career hits—Sugar Sugar when with the Archies, and Tracy with the Cuff Links. And of course Mr. Puckett, whose young girls are now old ladies. Two other acts rounded out the show—billed as the Fortunes and Vogues—but neither had any original members, making them glorified cover bands. The building sold out, with 2,200 staying awake for most of it, even through Puckett’s Lady Willpower. Happy together we oldies were, for almost three hours.

Sixty years later, at age 83, Gary Puckett still sounds a lot like Gary Puckett.

Today’s an especially good television day with a couple of strategic naps included. The British Open golf tournament winds up from Southport, England. Then at 3 p.m. Eastern the World Cup will conclude with Argentina playing Spain in New Jersey. The Cup was terrific theater for the last forty days and from the international reviews the United States was a very proud and gracious host.

Some of you, the same crew who remember the Happy Together playlist when they were charting, recall the NFL’s Runner-Up Bowl, later changed to Playoff Bowl. It was a game played for ten years beginning in 1961 between the losers of the respective NFL conference playoff games to theoretically crown the third-place team of that season. The players had no interest in the game, thus some dubbed it ‘The Losers’ Bowl.’ It was played the day before the NFL championship game at the Orange Bowl in Miami primarily to help fund the players’ pension plan. Mercifully, due to lack of interest and the merger with the AFL, the game was discontinued in 1970 in front of 40,000 empty seats when the Cowboys beat the Rams in a thriller 31-0. That’s not the case in the World Cup. The consolation game continues, in where else but Miami, seemingly runner-up host city. The air had to be out of the balloon between players and supporters by the time England and France played yesterday for third place. Both sides decided to leave their defense at the hotel and at the very least the meaningless match became entertaining with England holding on for a 6-4 victory to become third best in the world. That win and an Oyster card will at least get them a tube ride back home.

Sure, the World Cup was not without controversy but that comes with anything that is so high-profile. Americans really struggled with what seemed to be award-winning acting every time a player was bumped and knocked to the ground writhing in either real or phony pain. Now, in that spirit, you can head over to your closest Soccer-R-Us store and get the latest World Cup table game that just hit the market:

In the World Cup injury game whomever has the last player standing wins.

Good news for the airlines, not so good news for travelers. Jet fuel prices doubled in the weeks after the Iran war started, resulting in major fare increases to allegedly offset the higher cost of operations. A week ago, fuel dropped 40% from its peak in April, but don’t look for an equivalent reduction in air ticket prices primarily because travelers had no hesitancy to pay the higher fares. As Southwest CEO Bob Jordan said, “I’m actually very bullish that the industry will retain a much higher percentage of the fare increases.” Once again, we just take it.

Netflix is the unrivaled king of streaming. According to the Associated Press, Netflix accounted for 57% of all original content viewing followed by Prime at 11%; Hulu and Paramount 7%; Peacock and Apple 5%; HBO Max at 4% and Disney 2%.

Talking about subscription television, if you haven’t seen the new Chris Evert-Martina Navratilova documentary on Netflix cleverly titled Chris & Martina: The Final Set, give it a watch. A major portion of the film deals with their respective cancer battles and valuing their off-court friendship more than ever. Also, if you were an Earth, Wind & Fire fan, the doc on HBO Max is definitely worth a look. Maurice White was a heck of a musician but as a band manager and a friend, not so much. Anything Harlan Coben writes is good and his new I Will Find You, eight parts on Netflix, is no exception. If you want an edge-of-your-seat thriller, try the Martin Scorsese/Steven Spielberg produced Cape Fear, on Apple. Javier Bardem’s character, Max Cady, makes all of the ten episodes special. It’s a binge watch waiting to happen.

Maybe it wasn’t so politically egregious after all. Last month, while visiting the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, Vice President JD Vance said, “If (Watergate) happened tomorrow, it would be a 12-hour news story. The idea that it would have taken down a presidency is crazy.” Not so sure about that.

Happy 80th birthday to Linda Ronstadt. Also Ringo turned 86 two weeks ago and is still touring with his All-Starr band. And in Tennessee, Doc Severinsen celebrated number 99 on July 7, going strong and no doubt still tooting his own horn. And lest we forget the granddaddy of all amusement parks, Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, on Friday celebrated its 71st year as the “The Happiest Place on Earth.’

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the top choice by the Las Vegas Raiders in this past April’s NFL draft, has garnered incredible positive press here in the desert. On Wednesday, Mendoza won the ESPY for the top college football player last season leading Indiana to a surprise national championship. One local commentator said, “Have you ever seen a happier, more personable athlete?” Let’s hold that thought until he actually gets behind the Raiders offensive line. Then, after reality sets in, we’ll see how jovial he really is.

Wine consumption may be on the downturn but nonetheless the top selling brand in this country comes from the California winemaker, Josh, named for founder Joseph Carr Jr.’s dad. Josh Cellars winery, with eleven varieties, moves about 90 million bottles annually with a retail price point below $20. And it’s not bad.

How low can we go? According to the New York Post, fewer than half of all American adults read a single book in the course of a year. In fact, throw in reading an e-book, magazine, or newspaper, it was 28% in 2022, fell to 16% in 2023 and is still declining. A sad turn in our society.

The NBA Summer League here in Vegas winds down its 11-day basketball conclave today. All 30 teams participated with rosters comprised of rookie draft choices, free agents and some who have been in the league for a couple of years looking for more experience, playing time and to get noticed. Walk around the host Thomas & Mack center at UNLV and it’s a who’s-who of NBA executives, coaches and stars. One major experimental rule change for this year’s tournament, in an attempt to shorten games and put a premium on free throws: if a player is fouled in the act of shooting, one free throw is awarded— make it and it’s worth two points. Fouled in the act of shooting a three? One free throw worth three points. Make the basket and get fouled, one free throw, one point. When the fourth quarter clock reaches two minutes remaining and, in overtime, the conventional free throw rules are back in play to make the shorter game that much longer.

The NHL released its 2026-27 season schedule last week. Not the NBA, just yet. If there was ever a question about who’s the most marketable athlete in all of American sports, that debate ended this week when the NBA said they were delaying the release of next season’s schedule as long as they could awaiting LeBron’s decision where he will play to be able to schedule to showcase him on the networks. Now the league hopes that decision comes sooner rather than later.

And finally, before we take a SMC bye week, with NFL training camps getting ready to open in a few days all of us New York Jets fans took a collective sigh of relief that an alleged domestic abuse complaint against our train wreck quarterback Geno Smith on June 21 will not be filed. Whew. Now Geno can be rid of that distraction and be of clear mind and concentrate on what he does best—throwing the football to the other team.

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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