Daily Dirt: From college basketball to Barkley to bullet ice, this is a great time of the year

Daily Dirt for Friday, March 18, 2022

This is one of those weekends when most wives are smart enough to leave their husbands alone. I think you know why. Welcome to today’s three thoughts and Vol. 237 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Now that world is somewhat back to normal — or at least getting close — we can enjoy and celebrate the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. It’s been awhile, but didn’t Thursday feel great?

This is one of the best weekends in all of sports: wall-to-wall basketball for four days, upsets, brackets and rarely having to move from the recliner from early Thursday until late Sunday night. Here are three quotes from famous college basketball coaches that best capture this time of year:

Gold medal: “Talent is God-given. Be humble. Fame is man-given. Be grateful. Conceit is self-given. Be careful.” — former UCLA coach John Wooden.

Silver medal: “A successful person never loses. They either win or learn.” — Kentucky coach John Calipari. (Judging by what happened Thursday night, it was a learning experience for Coach Cal.)

Bronze medal: “Basketball doesn’t build character, it reveals it.” — former Kansas coach James Naismith, who is credited with inventing the game of basketball.

2. It’s time for another dose of “Yay or Nay.”

Yay: The unheralded St. Peter’s men’s basketball team, which absolutely stunned mighty Kentucky in one of those crazy first-round NCAA Tournament games.
Nay: Kentucky men’s basketball team. Obviously, give St. Peter’s a ton of credit, but this is major embarrassment for Kentucky. Wonder how many brackets were busted by this game?

Yay: The No. 16 breakfast sandwich combo at Sonic’s. For the uninitiated, that’s a sandwich featuring a scrambled egg or two, plus sausage or bacon and cheese. I have them hold the cheese. It’s amazing.
Nay: The aforementioned sandwich with the cheese.

Yay: University of San Francisco basketball player Volodymyr Markovetskyy, who is from Ukraine and has family and friends caught in the crossfire of the human tragedy unfolding in his homeland. The hurt was so obvious in his eyes during an interview with CBS that was shown Thursday night.
Nay: Vladimir Putin. What a worthless scumbag this man is.

Yay: Charles Barkley, normally a college and NBA analyst for CBS Sports, took to the soapbox Thursday night laud the efforts of the Ukrainian people. “I can’t even imagine … ,” Barkley said. Basketball took a distant second place on this night. As pleased as we are to have the NCAA Tournament back in its full glory, on this night we were also reminded there are more important things going on in the world.
Nay: In case you missed it the first time: Vladimir Putin. What a worthless scumbag this man is.

Yay: Bullet ice. Combining a mouthful of this with your favorite cola can be soft-drink heaven. 
Nay: The traditional block ice. The familiar cubed ice is not bad, simply not as delectable as the bullet ice.

3. Maybe it’s due to staff shortages or the continued worry of some concerning social distancing, or simply to save money, but one of the key amenities that sets a hotel apart from your home may be coming to an end. A number of major hotel chains are doing away with daily housekeeping.

“The days of returning to a wrinkle-free duvet are likely gone,” writes Sally French of NerdWallet. “Forget fresh towels, and accept that your trash might never get taken out during your stay. The trend of no more daily housekeeping — while largely initiated by COVID-19 — has become the norm at many hotels.”

During the pandemic’s early days, when transmission was more of a mystery, many hotels cut housekeeping services to reduce contact between strangers, according to French. More than two years later, housekeeping still hasn’t returned. Here’s a sampling of the post-pandemic traveling world:

• Marriott’s policies vary by property, but housekeeping is usually offered only upon request, with all rooms cleaned automatically every sixth night.
• Hilton’s default is no more daily cleanings at most properties unless requested.
• Walt Disney World reduced service to light housekeeping every other day. That entails towel replacement and trash removal, but doesn’t necessarily include services you might expect, like getting your bed made.
• Hotel Solares in Santa Cruz, Calif.: Three-night stays or fewer don’t get service, while six-night stays or fewer are cleaned once. The hotel recommends you leave trash outside your door.

Steve Thought O’ The Day
Steve has an idea to offset this lack of general service at high-dollar hotels. Two words: Free. Meals. Seems only fair. If these businesses can’t figure out a way to at least clean your rooms and make your beds each day you are there, they can at least feed you for free. Can I get an amen?

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. A Coke over bullet ice while watching the NCAA Tournament in a freshly-scrubbed hotel room couldn’t make him any happier.