Rant #3,965: We Are the Champions

The parade ...

It went on as scheduled, and I watched much of it on television, which really was the best place to see all of the festivities.

And most of the reports are that people behaved.

There was trouble when some imbeciles became rowdy when they were turned away from the parade area because the area had reached its agreed-upon capacity.

There were some incidents where fans jumped atop vehicles and broke down barriers, and i heard that there was a slashing and some other fughts, and about two dozen arrests ...

But happily, the negatives were few and far between for the two million people that attended.

You can have fun without causing trouble.

There was one really funny incident.

Little-used Knicks guard Tyler Kolek was approached by police as he was running around in the street, and they briefly stopped him and asked him to go behind the barrier ...

Until they realized who he was.

i guess it is tough being the only white guy on the team--

Ha, ha, ha.

The mayor actually gave a decent speech during the City Hall part of the festivities--I am sure it was written for him, and it went on way too long--and everything seemed to go picture perfect.

Thank goodness!

And funny, I saw plenty of kids at the parade, so I guess those that attended the parade found a way to do it.

And the garbage stayed away, where they belong.

It's over.

Now onto other things ...

Yes, today is Juneteenth, so happy holiday to those who celebrate.

My son gets his first place bowling trophy on Saturday, and I am so proud of him and his team.

Coupled with the Knicks celebration, this is a pretty uplifting time for my family and I.

But the big celebration we have coming up is on Sunday.

That is Father's Day, which my father always said was the holiest day of the year.

It is not "Non-Gestating Parent" day, even though some here in New York--including our brain-dead governor--would want us to believe that.

It is Father's Day, and that is the way it is, and will always be.

We celebrate fathers and fatherhood that day, and it is always one of my favorite holidays of the year.

My son has to work on Father's Day, so my family and i will celebrate the holiday a little differently this year.

We will go out to breakfast, and later in the day, we will have a barbecue, and we will heat up the hot dogs and hamburgers and chicken for my son when he gets home from work.

So it will be a very low-key day, but it is kind of fitting this time around.

I have to tell you, there were times I doubted myself during the past few months, but my family helped me keep having confidence in myself.

So this Father's Day will be an extra special day for me.

So maybe everything will be going in the right direction during the second part of 2026.

I have lots of other challenges to surmount, but I feel that maybe I have turned a corner...

We shall see.

But this is a really good start.

Have a great weekend, have a great Father's Day, and I will speak to you again on Monday.

And come to think of it, this is the final Father's Day that I will only be a "father."

With my daughter getting married in October, not only will I be a "father" during the 2027 celebration, but I will also be a "father-in-law" when we celebrate the holiday a year from now.

Will I ever be a grandfather?

Stay tuned, same Bat time, same Bat channel for an answer to that question.

Rant #3,964: Don't Rain On My Parade

After Tuesday's procedure, I am feeling pretty good ...

Not perfect, but good.

I don't have any pain sitting, standing, or doing anything else.

I actually wore shorts for the first time since last year, when I didn't know what 2026 would bring.

I did my exercises for the first time in many weeks, as it was just too painful to do them before this procedure.

And I finally was able to take my vitamins; I couldn't take them prior to the procedure because they are considered to be blood thinners.

So everything is pretty good in Larryland right now, although I know that there are things that still have to be done to make me whole--

And those are things I will have to deal with sometime soon, but not right at this moment.

There really isn't much more to say about it--

I am kind of in a "watch" period now, and I will see how I really am by the weekend to determine whether I am really back together the way I should be.

And then I might be able to make some future plans.

But let's not put the cart before the horse.

I am better, but let me see what the level of "better" really is.

And today, New York City is having its parade for the Knicks, and it is full of controversy.

Why did they set it for Thursday, and not on Friday?

Kids have to take Regents exams and other tests today--

Why did they set the parade for today knowing that a lot of kids won't be able to show up because they have to take these tests?

Well, the answer is simple, but few want to say it out loud.

It is because tomorrow, June 19, is the Juneteenth national holiday.

You can't have the parade squarely on Friday, because it might impede Juneteenth festivities and celebrations.

And you have to get everyone together while the iron is hot, so Thursday was the logical day to have the celebration.

In addition, adults who decided to skip work today to attend the parade now have a tidy, four-day weekend to enjoy.

Sure, the kids are kind of being left out of this, but educational testing--a building block leading up to a successful future--is way more important than attending the Knicks parade.

And you can bet that thousands of kids will be there anyway; it's not like the millions of kids, in totality, in New York City and the surrounding areas, would be at the parade anyway.

Perhaps the hidden meaning to having the parade on Thursday is that it might just protect some kids from any idiotic behavior and violence that might ensue during the parade.

Nobody will say this, but I will--

What happened during the watch parties was absolutely horrendous, made New York City and its citizens look very bad to a worldwide audience, and put law enforcement in great danger.

Do you want that to happen during the victory parade?

Do you want any kid--or anyone--assaulted, hurt, or even worse--on this grand stage?

I think New York City got it right this time ...

Having the parade today is a godsend that people don't even realize.

Yes, the watch parties were at night, when some revelers were so inebriated that they did things that were unconscionable. 

But the city, obviously, doesn't want to take a chance that they could have a repeat during the day, and on a school day yet.

And that is why the parade is on a Thursday and not on Friday.

I doubt you will read this anywhere else but here, because people are so afraid to say the truth.

I am not.

Look, honestly, I wouldn't go, even if I was 1,000 percent healthy.

I haven't been to a New York City parade since my grandfather took myself and my sister to the Thanksgiving Day Parade more than 60 years ago.

I have witnessed other parades in person when I worked in Manhattan--the St. Patrick's Day Parade comes to mind--but it was a work day for me, and I worked right off of Fifth Avenue, so I saw it whether I wanted to or not.

I am not a big parades person, but I understand the significance of these parades, and the pride that they demonstrate, whether you are of a certain ethnic group or a fan or simply a spectator.

But parades are not for me, so no, I won't be at the parade today.

And, hopefully, others won't be at the parade who would turn a fun day into total chaos.

God help the NYPD during this day.

I hope that New York and its environs have a great, joyous day.

Me, I will probably watch some of it if I have the time, since every TV channel in the New York Metropolitan Area will seemingly be pre-empting their regular programming to cover it.

I just hope the parade goes as well as my recent medical procedure.

No hiccups ...

No stupidity ...

No nothing--

Other than fun.

Rant #3,963: Tattoo You

Yesterday was a big day for me.

In this seemingly never-ending odyssey to good health, I had something removed from my body that I didn't need anymore, and its removal has put me on the path to being healthy for the first time in months.

It was tortuous, but it was done, and maybe now--with a few things still in my way to total healthiness--I can get back to where I should be, and get my life back.

And as you see above, one of the ways I am trying to get my life back is to root for the Knicks and Yankees, and the Knicks winning the NBA championship was clearly the first step in doing this, and as I told you the other day, I was lucky enough to find a T-shirt that shows where I stand with the team being triumphant during the 2025-2026 season.

T-shirts are probably the easiest way to show your love for something, and is so much better than things like a tattoo to show your pride in your team or cause or whatever.

(Let me interject that i don't understand tattoos to begin with, and would never get one for any reason, but that is just me; my daughter has them, my nephews have them, other relatives of mine have them, but it is your skin, and you can do with it what you want, but it's my skin, and I have no need for them.)

I saw a couple of photos on Facebook about people who have completely gone overboard in their pride of being a Knicks fan--

With tattoos all over their faces signifying their love for this team.

And I mean all over their faces, with some of the tattoos being as big as the basketballs that the Knicks shot and won with.

This is just a game ...

Your body is way more important, and to mess up God's creation with tattoos all over you--and on your face yet--really is sickening.

Yes, these are young people who have not experienced the world yet.

Do they realize that these tattoos are, one day, going to stop them from being taken seriously?

I wouldn't hire someone who is "adorned" this way, and I don't think other people with more authority than I have would, either.

And what happens, heaven forbid, if the Knicks don't win for another 53 years?

By the time these people are in their 70s, that tattoo will look even more ridiculous than it does now.

Their only hope is if tattoo removal becomes commonplace in the next decades, and with so many people with these garish graffiti marks all over them, I think that this probably will happen.

The folly of youth, I guess.

So again, what is better than a T-shirt to demonstrate what team you love?

Put it on, like I did yesterday, take it off, like I did yesterday, wash it and and wear it another day.

A T-shirt isn't permanent; but it demonstrates happiness and fan loyalty.

And it isn't as garish as a ridiculous face tattoo, which can't come off so easily, if at all.

I have T-shirts of my favorite sports teams, concerts I have been to, places I have visited.

And I put them on, and take them off when I am done with them.

Yesterday, I wore a T-shirt that I picked up in Bermuda when my family visited there on one of our cruises.

We had fun there, and when I am done with the shirt, it comes right off, gets washed, and I can wear it again.

You have a tattoo like some of these people are getting, putting it all over their faces ...

Were they high, were they drunk, were they engulfed in Red Bull when they decided to do this?

And the tattoo artists ... I hope they tried to persuade these dolts to not get this done, certainly not on their faces--

But I guess they failed.

Me, I will take my T-shirts over tattoos any time.

The only ink I want to have anything to do with is when I see my work, and/or my name, in print.

Rant #3,962: Cloud Nine

I don't know about anyone else, but I am still relishing in the glow of the Knicks' run to the NBA championship ...

And couple that with my son's team's championship in their bowling league on the same day--

Well, I am on Cloud Nine right now.

Physically, I am feeling much better--and much more positive--about my health, too, and yesterday and today were important days in my recuperation.

On Monday, I had a KUB scan, to determine that what was supposedly removed from me is out of there.

And things appear to have looked good on that scan.

And today, I will have another procedure to bring me back to, hopefully, where I should be.

But the entire hoopla around the Knicks really has made me more positive in myself.

In fact, while I don't yet feel 100 percent, on Sunday, I went out, among a myriad of minor errands, to get a Knicks championship T-shirt for myself.

I had already ordered shirts for my wife and son online--they will get them sometime in July, as the demand is overwhelming what they have on hand--but I figured since I was out, I would drive over to a local sporting goods chain store to see what was available--

Or really, what was left.

I got there, the parking lot was full of cars, and I kind of knew there would be slim pickins, if anything at all, to purchase.

And I was correct in my assumption.

The store had one empty table after another of Knicks championship merchandise, and it wasn't just me that was looking--

Plenty of people in the store were looking for the same thing that I was.

I meandered about, and then I came to an area--not a set of tables--that had Knicks merchandise--

The operative word is "had," because it was just about all gone too.

But toward the back of the section, I saw three championship shirts hanging there.

Some people looked at them and walked away, but when I got there, I found gold.

The three shirts were the same, but were listed as XXL--extra extra large--and they were long-sleeved.

They had the requisite logos and everything else on them, so I picked one of the three and went with it ...

Knowing what a lot of people apparently don't, that "XXL" is not what it appears to be.

With so many items like this being made overseas, today's "XXL" is really nothing more than between a "large" and an "extra large," which is perfect for my body, even though I have lost nearly 25 pounds over the past couple of months.

So the shirt would be perfect for me, and I grabbed it, paid for it, and I was out of there, successfully.

I wore it on Monday, and it was as I expected, maybe at best an "extra large," and after it gets washed ...

I do expect shrinkage.

So I got what I came for, and it made me feel even better--

Although the prices are ridiculous, but that is another matter for another time.

And remember how in yesterday's Rant I bemoaned how Newsday treated the Knicks championship on the cover of its Sunday edition, pairing it with an X-rated topic piece that kind of made their cover a bit embarrassing?

Well, they atoned for their sins on Tuesday, with a four-page wraparound cover that was all about the Knicks.

I don't recall them ever doing that before, so I am sure that I wasn't the only one who was not happy with the Sunday cover.

See the photo above.

So right now, all is good, I am getting better myself, and if everything goes according to plan, I can put what ails me fully behind me and move on to something more positive.

Of course, the operative word is "if," but right now, the Knicks' win has forced myself to believe that anything is possible--

So maybe I, myself, can finally shoot a winning three-pointer and get my life back to where it should be.

Let me get through today, and we shall see.

Rant #3,961: Crazay!!!!!!!

Saturday, June 13, 2026 will go down as one of the craziest, most satisfying days I have spent in my 69 years on this earth.

As you know, I am just off a major operation, and have not been myself for the past week in particular, but really, I haven't been myself for months as i go through the horrors I have had to withstand to get back to good heath.

For the few days after my latest operation, I really didn't feel that great.

I had no energy, and quite frankly, I was scared to leave the house, so I didn't even go on our terrace to soak in the fresh air from Monday through Friday.

But each day, I felt slightly better, and on Saturday, I decided that my "houseatosis" period was over, and I was going to get out, no matter what.

I was--and still am--not feeling 100 percent, and I did not go to my son't basketball on Friday night nor his bowling on Saturday morning.

But I was determined to make Saturday my day of redemption, so to speak.

My wife took our son to both endeavors, and the day began swimmingly as my son and his bowling team won the championship of his league for the second time in four years.

They stumbled, they fell, but they inched into the championship by 1.5 points!

They will get their trophies next Saturday, and come hell or high water, I will be there.

When my wife and son came home, I told them that I was going to go out and get dinner for us, which I traditionally do on Saturday evening.

And I would take my son back and forth to work, which is another Saturday--and Sunday--ritual that I regularly do.

Now remember, I had not been outside at all--even on our terrace--since Monday, had not driven my car the entire week, and still was not well, but I figured that this would be the way to break the ice.

Before they came home, I actually shaved, after letting my beard grow for nine days, so I felt a bit refreshed.

After this declaration, later in the afternoon, I actually sat on the terrace with my wife for about a half hour--my first excursion outside since the Monday operation--and then I took my son to work.

When I got home from doing that, the Yankees game was on, and I pretty much watched the whole thing, a 3-1 nailbiter that ended up being the "cherry on top" for this exciting day.

I went out to get our food, and later, I picked up my son from work.

And yes, I watched the beginning of the Knicks-Spurs game on my phone in my car.

After getting home and getting settled, I watched the Knicks game at home, and for a guy who wasn't even making 9 p.m. on some days after my surgery, this time I wasn't the least bit tired.

The Knicks started off as sluggish as you can possibly be, but I even told my sister via text that even with this horrendous start, they would be fine.

I still believed that when the Spurs' lead went to double digits, and even into the second, third and much of the fourth quarter, when the Knicks--save Jalen Brunson--looked about as off as I had been for much of the past week.

I don't remember at what point in the game that I did this, but I asked my father for help to bring the Knicks the win.

My father died a few years ago. "Carl the Cabbie," as he was known on New York radio, was an absolutely huge basketball fan. He grew up on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, and basketball was the true city game for these first generation Americans whose parents had come here to escape persecution and to engage a better life in the New World.

Anyway, my father was a pretty good player, and he brought the love of the game to me, taking me to my first game at Madison Square Garden when I was eight years old--when you couldn't give Knicks tickets away for free.

Well, the Knicks were down by a few points, and out loud, I asked my father to help the Knicks win this game and the NBA championship.

"Dad, please help the Knicks win." I said ...

And I think he heard me.

The Knicks overcame their own horrid play--save Jalen Brunson, who was the Finals MVP--and the Spurs even worse horrid play, and they won the game by four points, 94-90.

And yes, I do believe my father nudged the Knicks a bit to get the trophy.

I don't even know what time it was, but the Knicks came out on top, and I was absolutely energized.

I sat through all the hoopla, and when I saw Jalen Brunson hug his dad, Rick Brunson--a Knicks coach and former Knicks benchwarmer--I kind of felt my dad and I hugging each other.

I stayed up until 1 a.m., when I called it a day and went right to sleep, not waking up until nearly 8 a.m. on Sunday morning.

Some other thoughts, and while I am trying not to be negative ...

Owner Charles Dolan asked Knicks fans--and primarily those attending those idiotic viewing parties across the city--to "stay safe" in their celebrations.

He should have asked his plea more clearly, as "stay safe" should have actually been "stay out of trouble," as there was chaos in the city that night, with numerous sub-humans ruining it all for the good people of the city, destroying things, getting into fights, and actually shooting off guns.

I put the blame for this squarely on the garbage that is in City Hall and in Albany  now, who are light on punishment, light on crime, and foments this type of behavior.

And, God help the NYPD, which is being unnecessarily put through all of this, and will have to go through it again on Thursday, when New York City has a parade through the Canyon of Heroes for the Knicks.

You can almost bet that there will be trouble there, but that is on the heads of the mayor and his lame and lax administration, and on Governor Hochul.

And then, on a lesser level, we have my local Long Island newspaper, Newsday--the same newspaper where a few Fridays back, I had my story published about how the Knicks and my bar mitzvah intertwined.

Look, I know that there are different print versions of the newspaper, and certainly, they held the presses for the version that I had delivered to me on Sunday morning.

This is a special newspaper, certainly a newspaper that I will not trash ...

But as you can see by the photo above, the cover highlighted an X-rated news investigation, with the Knicks championship kind of taking second fiddle to all of this.

So years from now, when I look for this newspaper, what I am going to see first is what I saw first today--

And it is a little dismaying.

Newsday has most recently been accused of milking the Gilgo Beach murderer story beyond belief, and now, when I want a keepsake for the Knicks first NBA championship in 53 years, I have to see this horror most prominently displayed on the cover.

Whoever put this together, what exactly were you thinking?

Anyway, these two things won't ever take the luster off of June 13, 2026 for me.

What a day!

And I have just one more thing to say:

"GO NEW YORK ...

GO NEW YORK —

GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Rant #3,960: Sound Asleep

I guess you can say that I am feeling somewhat better ...

But I am just not right yet.

I am stuck in the house--out of necessity, take it from me--for the next few days, and I hope to improve enough by then to get out of the house, even for a brief spell.

I have set Sunday afternoon as my goal--when I plan to drive my son to work--and if I can do that, I can pick him up later that day too.

But that is simply something to think about right now, because if I had to do it today, I don't think I could do it.

I am still recuperating from Monday's major surgery, and I am just not there yet.

Next week is a big week for me.

On Monday, I will have my KUB scan to see how the area responded to the surgery, and on Tuesday, I have to have another procedure--this one is minor ... I keep on telling myself--so that I can really get back to where I should be.

This stuff never ends, but I hope I am on the road to real recovery by the middle of next week.

Now, as for the New York Knicks ...

I mean, what can you say about them that hasn't already been said?

They put on a remarkable comeback in Wednesday night's Finals game, where they were down at the half by 27 points, it got up to 29, and then, they pulled off a history-making comeback, and won the game by one point to take a 3-1 lead in the series over the San Antonio Spurs.

And where was I during all of this hoopla?

Asleep in my bed, that's where--

And that is why I know that I am not right just yet.

I hope to be able to watch the game, in full, on Saturday night, but I won't make promises ...

I just had two major surgeries, plus some major procedures, in the past 90 days or less, and I am just not there yet.

The body has to heal, and it is knocking me out for a loop, it really is.

What happened is that at halftime of Wednesday's game, I just decided I could not stay up.

I am under a lot of medication, which is probably making me whoozy to begin with.

So I went to sleep at sometime after 10 p.m.

I woke up at about 2 a.m., and the first thing I did was to go on my phone, looked up the score and--

BAM!

I had to find out everything I could about the comeback, read a story, looked up the stats, the usual stuff ...

And I don't think I nodded off again until it was probably 3 a.m., and I didn't wake up again until past 7:30 a.m.--

Only to get my daily newspaper, which didn't have the final score in it.

That is my life right now.

I am doing the best I can, but I simply cannot stay up so late with all this stuff going on inside me.

Yes, it is frustrating, it is depressing, and most importantly--

It is not me.

I have had a hell of a 2026--with the key word being "hell"--and as we approach the midway point of the year, I just have to hope that things get better in the year's second half.

I can't think any other way.

Have a great weekend, hopefully the Knicks will close this thing out on Saturday--I predicted the Knicks in six games, by the way--and I will hopefully speak to you again on Monday.

I have one more thing to say--

Go New York--

Go New York--

GO!!!!!!!!!!

Rant #3,959: Bits and Pieces

Yes, I have returned!

I feel lousy, but more about that later.

I just felt it was time to come back, and bring back "Bits and Pieces" as I return to this perch.

As some of you know, I have been posting some things on Facebook since I had my latest surgery, and I can now post them here too.

So without further ado, here is the latest installment of "Bits and Pieces."

President Donald Trump Attends NBA Finals Game At Madison Square Garden: To those who are getting completely bent out of shape at the President's invite to the Knicks game, this is what I have to say to you:

If Obama and/or Biden was invited, you phoneys would say nothing, and probably applaud the gesture.

We know why you are so "aghast" at this invite, don't we now?

And before you imbeciles bring it up, I am not MAGA, did not vote for Trump, but what I am is a realist, and some of you are just so ignorant.

Trump was a Knicks fan before anyone knew who he was, so this is just whining.

And remember, Mayor Mamdani, a real, honest to goodness piece of garbage, was there too. 

What do you have to say about that?

Riot Ensues After Knicks Loss In NBA Finals Game At Madison Square Garden: What did anyone expect? 

This generation has no respect for anything, and when you get so many of them together, mix it with a loss, this is what can happen. 

We are better than this. 

And if the Knicks win it all, the NYPD will have their hands full. 

If this happens again, ban public watch parties, period.

[Note: The city banned the watch party at MSG for Game 4, which was the right call. Other watch parties around the city went on as scheduled.]

On the World Cup: The media has been falling all over itself to get the U.S. into soccer since the late 1950s.

It simply hasn't worked.

They are continuing to go head over heels for the World Cup since it is being played here, but really, most people don't give a hoot about this.

It is being directed at foreign nationals who live here now, who live here and yet root for their country of origin team over the U.S. team, and once it is over and done with, it will be like the Olympics; nobody will remember winners, losers or stars.

Soccer will always be a niche sport here, but the media is looking for the next bandwagon to jump on.

We don't need soccer here; it is a true mix of sports and politics, which should never mix to begin with, and it almost gives license to bullying, violence and anti-Semitic behavior.

We have enough of that over here already; keep it overseas.

My Health Situation: It really isn't too good right now, as after my latest surgery, I just don't feel like myself just yet.

This was a more involved surgery, because what they couldn't get out in the previous two surgeries they were hell-bent on getting out now, and they did it.

It has just left me feeling quite a bit out of sorts, hurting a little bit, and certainly not myself in the very least.

I am kind of stuck in the house for the remainder of the week, as I do not feel up to going out, nor should I in this condition.

My wife is doing most of the heavy lifting this week, and my son is "the man of the house" in my current condition.

I have to be patient, and I know it will be a couple of more days until I get back to somewhat normal.

So just please bear with me.

I might be in and out of here, I just don't know yet.

I have been doing work--in fact, I did some editing/writing after I returned home after the surgery--and that kind of takes me away from everything for a few moments.

I have been barely able to make 9 p.m., so my watching of the Knicks games has been severely hampered.

But if this is how I have to progress to retain my good health, then so be it.

So there it is.

I said what I said, and I don't take back anything I said, even if it isn't "Politically Correct" in the climate that we are in right now.

Someone has to say it, so I did.

And I have one more thing to say ...

Go New York ...

Go New York--

GO!