The Writer's Life 10/8 - Potpourri

An article in today's NY Post claims male fertility has dropped sevenfold recently. A spokesman for the study cites plastics, smoking and obesity as likely causes. The first two, especially the second, seem bunk. Wasn't smoking much more prevalent during the baby boomer era?

From Fox News, edited by yours truly: Adolf Hitler’s last surviving relatives have been living under-the-radar on Long Island for decades. His great nephews Alexander, Louis and Brian Stuart-Houston, the only living descendants on the paternal side, live quiet lives and fly American flags in their yards. They are the sons of Hitler’s nephew, William Patrick Hitler, who was born in the UK to the Fuhrer’s half-brother, Alois Hitler Jr.. Alois moved to the USA and joined the Navy during WWII. After the war, he moved to Patchogue with his German wife and changed the family name — first to Hiller and then Stuart-Houston. One of their neighbors who knows what's what said they’re “excellent people.”

The ease with which the Jets dispatched the Broncos yesterday was very surprising. I expected the Giants to lose on the road at Carolina, but not because of a last second 63-yard field goal. It's still too soon to evaluate this year's first round picks of New York's teams, but QB Sam Darnold and RB Saquon Barkley seem to have been wise choices... Mason Crosby has had a fantastic career as Green Bay's field goal career, connecting on almost 80% of his attempts since his rookie year of 2007. He suffered a nightmare yesterday, missing four of five and an extra-point in his team's eight-point loss at Detroit. Watching the highlights at youtube was painful. I bet he didn't get much sleep last night. Geez... Speaking of field goal kickers, the kid doing it for the Texas Longhorns has picked up a catchy moniker: Cameron Dicker the Kicker.

RIP John Gagliardi, 91, winningest college football coach in history. He spent 60 years as the head man at Division III St. John's College in Minnesota, amassing 489 wins. His teams qualified for the post-season 24 times and won four national titles. Well done, goombah. Here's a pic:

My thanks to the woman who bought a book in Russian, and to the gentleman who donated two large bags of books that included a lot of obscure sci-fi, Tom Clancy thrillers, and interesting non-fiction, more good stuff for the public to ignore.

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