Rant #2,382: Bits and Pieces

Yes! Bits and Pieces has returned, and returned in all of its glory.

You must remember Bits and Pieces if you are a regular reader of this column. It is a Rant where we look at stories that perhaps do not deserve full Rant treatment, but do deserve at least a passing glance.

And that is what these stories get with Bits and Pieces.

So here goes--!

Massaro's Last Wish: It came out yesterday afternoon that Ashley Massaro, the former WWE wrester/Playboy model/Survivor contestant/local Long Island disk jockey had one last wish, that her brain be donated to science so it could be used in research devoted to concussions.

I don't know if she had a will or her family had something that stated Massaro's desire, but like some football players who have passed or who have committed suicide supposedly due to the after effects of numerous concussions, she decided that she would be part of such research.

It is a noble act, but one wished that she could have been studied while alive, but she took care of that possibility.

Also, wrestlers who had worked with her in the past have set up a GoFundMe page for her funeral, to pay the expenses and to help her daughter in the aftermath of her mother's suicide.

An overall sad ending to an interesting life, but at least Massaro's intentions after life were good.

"The Yankees Win--the Yankees Win!": Look, we know that the New York Yankees are the prime sports organization in North America, if not the world. They don't win the World Series every year, but they compete for that championship year-in and year-out, no matter what the situation.

And this year is simply just incredible, at least thus far.

The Yankees are in first place, the benefit of a generally rag-tag bunch of players, not even the second team, or the third team, but in some cases, the fourth team sparking them to the top of their division.

They lost their ace, Luis Severino, to injury, and they also lost sluggers Aaron Judge and Giancarlo Stanton to injury, and, in fact, they have had more than a dozen players out for extended periods on the injured list this season.

After a rocky start, they now sit on top of their division, and they continue to steamroll the competion with the likes of Luke Voit and Gio Urshela and Cameron Maybin leading the charge.

Regulars Gleybar Torres and Gary Sanchez--the latter himself a member of the injured list earlier this season--have also been on fire, and the Yankees continue to win, win and win some more.

Nobody--and I mean nobody--could have predicted that with all the longer-lasting injuries, that the Yankees would be this successful, and quite honestly, I am sure that people are waiting for the bubble to burst, but there seems to be a new hero every day with this team, which has become the most fun to watch team in baseball and thus far this season, MLB's biggest "feel-good" story of 2019.

Yes, it is great to be 62 years of age and be a life-long Yankees fan, it really is.

Porzingas Not As Nice a Guy As Many Thought He Was: The more we hear about former New York Knick and current Dallas Maverick Kristaps Porzingas, the more distasteful he appears to be.

The NBA player, who hasn't played in nearly two years due to injuries and was one of the cornerstones of the youth movement in the league, and seemingly a nice, intelligent player, has been involved in numerous altercations--both legal and illegal--over the past few months, and a lot has come out since he was dealt from the Knicks to the Mavericks.

He supposedly forced that trade because he didn't think the Knicks respected him enough, even though they gave him ample time to get better and gave him full access to the team facilities. He didn't think they were going anywhere, so he demanded a trade.

He has also been involved in several altercations, including being involved in a brawl where he was perhaps ambushed and another case where a neighbor in the building where he lives is accusing him or rape.

Now it comes out that when Porzingis was demanding a trade from the Knicks, he told them that if they did not trade him within seven days of his demand, he would go back to Europe, breaching his contract and causing what could have been an international incident.

For a team that went 17-65 last season and had numerous headaches because of that record, the last thing this team--which seems to perpetually under a black cloud--needed was a malcontent of this level, and they did trade Porzingis, seemingly just in time and seemingly before all this craziness came out in the wash.

It might stand as the best move the Knicks have made since they gained the No. 1 pick in the draft more than 30 years ago and drafted Patrick Ewing, who became the perfect NBA citizen, one of the best players of his generation.

Porzingis? He may never even play again, and now the tsuris that he is bringing to himself and the NBA is firmly in the seat of the Mavericks.

As a life-long suffering Knicks fan, all I can say is that, finally, "Congratulations! You did the right thing!"

Yes, this was more of a sports-oriented Bits and Pieces than normal, but let's face it: we are in May moving into June and the warmer months, and sports of all kinds heat up right now.

But tune back in tomorrow ... I am sure I will have what to say on something that might tickle your senses.

Me, I think today's Rant was a slam dunk, or a home run, or a 1-2-3 pin.

Now, back to the real world.