Daily Dirt: When it comes to olykoeks, the maple-frosted ones earn gold medal

Daily Dirt for Thursday, June 2, 2022

I had no idea Tom Jones was 82 years old. Welcome to today’s three thoughts that make up Vol. 301 of The Daily Dirt.

1. Friday is a big day for some, maybe many. I include myself in that select group.

Friday is National Doughnut Day, a celebration of the world’s finest pastry. Man’s best friend, if you will. The history of the doughnut dates to 1847, and at one time those small-scale circles of delight were known as olykoeks.

Through the years, we’ve seen all kinds of doughnuts introduced and a wide variety of toppings. Here are my all-time favorites when it comes to those little round mounds of wonderfulness:

• Gold medal: Maple frosted. Simple, yet quite poignant. A true delight for the palate.
• Silver medal: Glazed. That glaze cannot be melted, or you might as well pitch the doughnut. The glazed doughnut(s) must be eaten quickly before that thin layer of icing begins to get mushy. 
• Bronze medal: Chocolate frosted with coconut. Coconut is not the perfect accent for all doughnuts, just the chocolate. The coconut and chocolate is a match made in culinary heaven.

2. Birthday wishes this week go to:

• Former international heartthrob and pop star Tom Jones, who will be 82 on June 7. What’s new, pussycat?
• Actor Liam Neeson, who turns 70 on June 7. My favorite films of his are “Love, Actually” and “Taken.”
• Sportscaster Dick Vitale, who will be 82 on June 9. Many do not know about the philanthropic side of Dickie V. Beyond all of the yelling and hand waving is a man extremely concerned about others.
• Actor Johnny Depp, who turns 59 on June 9. Johnny’s been keeping kind of a low profile of late. Well, except for that court case.
• Former NFL quarterback Joe Montana, who will be 66 on June 11. I’m so old I remember when Joe played at Notre Dame.

3. This week’s rankings for the best and worst of MLB teams:

The top 5

• 1. New York Mets: If the Mets have a healthy Jacob DeGrom and Max Scherzer the second half of the season they might finish with 110 wins. 
• 2. Houston Astros: Right now, the only weakness/question mark is how dominant of a closer Ryan Pressly can be.
• 3. Milwaukee Brewers: The Brewers are now down two starting pitchers. Will they be able to adjust as well as the Mets?
• 4. Los Angeles Dodgers: Until the Dodgers find a bona fide closer and more consistency on offense, their stay in the postseason will be brief at best. Craig Kimbrel’s best bullpen days are obviously well behind him.
• 5. New York Yankees: The most misleading record in MLB.

The Bottom 5

• 1. Washington Nationals: Stephen Strasburg may be returning soon. It won’t matter.
• 2. Kansas City Royals: Bobby Witt Jr. is an exciting young talent. That’s about as nice as I can be to the Royals today.
• 3. Cincinnati Reds: Don’t look now, but the Reds have actually been respectable the past two weeks.
• 4. Colorado Rockies: Colorado still has a legit shot to be No. 1 by season’s end. The Rockies are in the midst of another one of their freefalls.
• 5. Oakland Athletics: Look for the A’s to unload pitcher Frankie Montas in the near future.

Steve Thought O’ The Day
I’m not certain, but I think I could probably pitch as well as Anibal Sanchez of the Washington Nationals.

Steve Eighinger writes daily for Muddy River News. When he enters his favorite donut shop and is asked for his order, he simply holds out his arms and says, “Yes.”