DAILY DIRT: Inflation, Joe and Troy and that scary flush in someone else’s house 

Seventeen days until edition No. 500 of The Daily Dirt, but who’s counting, right? … Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 483 of The Daily Dirt.

1. As 2022 winds down, let’s continue to look back at some of the most important items that have dominated our attention over the past 12 months.

Here’s my top three when it comes to day-to-day conversations: 

Gold medal: Inflation. The easiest way to get a grasp on the impact of inflation over the past 12 months is to compare checks you were writing a year ago against those you are writing today. Oh, and there’s the gas thing, too.

Silver medal: Covid. The Omicron variant just won’t let this nuisance go away.

Bronze medal: The disaster in Ukraine. I’ll be highly surprised if Putin is still in control of Russia by the end of 2023.

2. Our year-end awards presentations continue today with a look at our picks for some of the top broadcasting combinations:

NFL Broadcast Team of the Year:Joe Buck and Troy Aikman, ESPN. The former No., 1 team at Fox moved to the Worldwide Leader this season and not only was the transition seamless, the duo is better than ever. Aikman, in particular, has seemed to blossom beneath a new spotlight.

NCAA Broadcast Team of the Year: For football, hands down it is Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt of Fox. Johnson always refers to Ohio State as “the world famous Ohio State Buckeyes,” which, of course, warms my heart. Klatt is uber-knowledgeable and informative. Basketball-wise, my favorite broadcast tandem is Dave Pasch and Bill Walton. If you’ve ever heard them late night on some of those Pac-12 games it’s simply broadcasting gold. Walton was a great, great player, but he’s an even better analyst.

MLB Broadcast Team of the Year: Jason Benetti and Steve Stone for the Chicago White Sox form the gold standard. There’s not even a close second. Benetti and Stone enjoy the game, what they do and they do it with a marvelous flair and wit. 

NBA Broadcast Team of the Year:Mark Jones, Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy, ESPN. Jones is a tremendous play-by-play man, Jackson is a solid X’s and O’s guy (who relates well to the common fan) and Van Gundy is simply hilarious just being himself.

3. Here’s a holiday version of “Found on Facebook”:

• “You know you’re getting older when you start to notice little gray hairs in your children’s hair.”
• “The most terrifying moment in life when the toiled refuses to flush in someone else’s house.”
• “What do you call an elf who wins the lottery? Welfy.”
• “Sing Christmas songs at work until they send you home.”
• “I decided to eat in the streets. Just trying to curb my appetite.”

Steve Thought O’ The Day — I’ve actually done No. 4 in “Found on Facebook.”

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. He will be singing at the Muddy River Christmas/Holiday Party.