Merry Christmas to everyone! Or, if you’re not Christian (speaking as a Taoist/Buddhist), Happy Holidays! This time of year in the northern hemisphere is the darkest time of year, and there’s a reason every historical philosophy and religion holds a celebration of light around this time of year. If you’re down in Australia right now, where it is summer, hopefully the Pirates bring you light at the end of June.
My day will be spent watching basketball and Christmas movies. I’ve got the Knicks pulling the early upset over the Bucks; Nikola Jokic and the Nuggets breaking out of his slump against Steph Curry and the Warriors; and Luka Doncic and the Mavericks upsetting Kevin Durant and the Suns. My favorite games/teams to follow of the day are the Lakers and 76ers. I think Austin Reaves steps up and helps LeBron James and Anthony Davis lead the Lakers to a win. The 76ers are without Joel Embiid, but I think De’Anthony Melton assists Tyrese Maxey and Tobias Harris to a short-handed Sixers win over a banged up Jimmy Butler. I’ll be watching both wearing a 76ers sweatshirt and a pair of LeBron 8s.
Elf, Bad Santa, the first two Home Alones, Fred Claus, Four Christmases, Just Friends, Die Hard, Die Hard 2, Love Actually, White Christmas, Iron Man 3, and The Polar Express for movies. Baseball writing returns tomorrow.
LAST WEEK ON PIRATES PROSPECTS
P2Daily shifted focus last week, with three big paragraphs per day. Yesterday, I wrote about following the 76ers and the escape that a winning team can bring.
FEATURES
**MLB Rule Changes Include a Quicker Pitch Clock With Runners on Base. I looked at how this could impact a few pitchers on the Pirates roster.
**Williams: Curtate and Prolate Players in Baseball Development. I’ve been working on theories of baseball player development, after spending 15 years following things up close. This column taps into Geometry and Calculus to explain how I see the player development task at hand for each individual organization.
**Williams: The Battle of the First Overall Picks. The NBA has been my own sports escape this offseason. Recently I had a chance to watch the battle of two first overall picks from the NBA draft, and it had me thinking about the right approach for the Pirates to take with Henry Davis and Paul Skenes.
