Daily Dirt: A name is a name is name is a name? And how long until J.R. Smith hears from the NBA office?

Daily Dirt for Saturday, April 15, 2022

For the record, I have four children, whose names are Geoff, Sarah, Kaysi and Melissa. That will be more meaningful after comment No. 1 today. Welcome to Vol. 261 of The Daily Dirt and our customary three thoughts.

1. A couple in Belgium has named their first 11 kids using different combinations of the same four letters, and will continue the trend when child No. 12 arrives later this year.

Gwenny Banckeart and Marino Vaneeno have used the letters A, E, L and X to form names for all of their children — seven daughters and four sons: Alex, 13; Axel, 12; Xela, 11; Lexa, 10; Xael, 9; Xeal, 8; Exla, 5; Leax, 4; Xale, 2; Elax, 1; and Alxe, 6 months.

Though most have praised the couple, there have been some naysayers.

“They sound like Tesla models,” said one critic.

“Literally, what’s the difference between Xale, Xeal and Xael?” asked someone else.

There has been no word what child No. 12 will be named.

2. I recently started watching “Off Base,” a new afternoon program on the MLB Network. It’s worth a look. Don’t expect an Emmy nomination, but if you enjoy good, solid baseball talk — with some laughs and interesting observations — you might give it a try.

The host is Lauren Gardner, who rose to MLB Network prominence last year as one of the hosts of its nightly “Quick Pitch” recap of games. She works with Xavier Scruggs, Laura Albanese and Keith McPherson.

The well-spoken Scruggs’ resume includes brief periods with the St. Louis Cardinals and Marlins, plus stops in Mexico and South Korea. Both he and McPherson, who was hired away from WFAN in New York City, have a bright future. Each has excellent insights, but Scruggs tends to dominate conversations, however, and I would like to hear more of the affable McPherson. Albanese is a sports writer for Newsday and at present is probably the show’s weakest link, but she does have great sources. Hopefully, she’ll find her niche on what is still a developing format.

3. Probably the funniest thing I have come across all week involves former NBA guard J.R. Smith, who was (unintentionally?) discussing what may have been rampant drug use in NBA’s “bubble” season during the pandemic.

During an appearance on Matt Barnes’ and Stephen Jackson’s “All the Smoke“ podcast, Smith shared some insight on how NBA players operated inside of the bubble back in 2020.

“We was blowin’ it down in there,” Smith said. “You know what’s funny, though? That was the only way you could really function in that joint.”

I’m just guessing, but I imagine there will be some comment from the NBA hierarchy in the not-too-distant future.

Steve Thought Of The Day
Steve says his parents were torn between naming him Steve or Cosmo.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He claims his parents thought about naming him Cosmo, but doesn’t he seem more like a George?