Plug and Play

As ham radio operators go I am not very technically savvy. In fact, I'd say, if super duper hams are 10.0 on the sliding scale of technical acumen, I'm on the far side. 

That's not to say that the technology and the science behind it aren't fascinating to me. Far from it. But, the older I get, the know I get to know myself and one thing I've discovered is I know my limits. 

All that to say, when my friend Ed was advising me on decisions to set up my new K4KYN ham shack five years ago, I told him I didn't want any complications or frills. No drama. Plug and play. 

It occurred to me, recently, that most hams tell you about their set-up. So, with today's edition as a blank slate, there is plenty of room to tell you about K4KYN.  

So, consider yourself warned. If you're not into this topic, stop reading now. Come back tomorrow and we'll talk about something new. But...

If you do want to know about the equipment and the set-up and the gear that has powered nearly 22,000 contacts since September 2021, come on along. 

My rig (transceiver) is an ICOM IC 7300. I love it so much that I bought a spare. Same rig!

It's easy to use and quite robust. I don't run any extra power to it. I operate "barefoot." In ham-speak, that  means I do not use an amplifier. So with minimal wattage, I have sent my signal all over the world. My rig is powered by a Alinco power supply and my antenna is a modest vertical just outside the shack (which is actually no shack at all but, rather, the former bonus room in our basement). 

If I am talking (which, truthfully, is a very minimal percentage of my contacts, say, maybe 10%), I use the 7300's built-in mike. It does just fine.

On the other hand, for morse code, I have a variety of keys. At last count, I think I am now up to eight different keys, although I rotate through the four main ones that comprise the A Team.

For my participation in the Straight Key Century Club, I use mechanical keys, like a straight key (if you ever watched the 1960s program, "Hogan's Heroes," think of Kinch and his set-up). I have a roster of straight keys, bugs and cooties (sounds more dreadful than it really is!). 

When I am hunting foreign stations or participating in a contest, I use an electronic keyer known as an iambic paddle. 

I use a variety of electronic logging programs to keep track of my contacts. But I also keep a paper log for redundancy (and because old habits–in this case one that dates back 50+ years–die hard).

Like many hams, I have decorated my shack with a combination of maps, calendars, trinkets, QSL cards and logo items that feature my call sign. I bought my desk second-hand and it suits my set-up nicely. 
For a few accent pieces, I keep some equipment from yesteryear to create the vibe. 

All in all, it's quite comfy. And it needs to be. I spend a lot of time in that area. Our gray tabby, Scottie, has also been spending more time in the shack. 

It feels good to have a companion.

JG

I Voted

Late last week, I availed myself of the early voting opportunity in Knox County. 

But before go any further, lest you might think I would violate one of the basic #CoachJeff principles and go political on you. I will not.  If you want to talk politics, I am sure there are many more qualified people out there to engage and many election-related websites to provide fodder. 

Today, my purpose here, is merely to talk about the process. I will not tell you how I voted.  I will just, um, tell you how I voted. 

How we all did. The process.

The first time I went to the polls more than 40 years ago, I remember I went into a booth, pulled a curtain closed behind me and actually flipped a physical lever for each candidate of choice. Then, once I had flipped all the levers I chose to do, there was one big lever to finish the process. I remember pulling that big lever, hearing a bit of a grinding/groaning sound, and then all my selections disappeared. Or were recorded. I hope it was the latter.

Then, of course, in the year 2000, we heard all about chads - dangling, hanging, pregnant and otherwise. The infamous butterfly ballot prompted detailed discussions about election technology throughout the land. And, before you knew it, in Tennessee, we had a different system. 

And having just completed the process, I must say our approach is impressive. At my polling place, for instance:

• Sufficient volunteers to keep the process moving
• Way-faring signs and footpaths to keep the crowd moving
• Friendly and collegial voters sharing their thoughts about the impressive process

One woman even offered a band-aid to a fellow traveler who seemed to have developed a cut on her leg. Everyone present seemed impressed. 

Shared experience.

After you sign in and show your ID, you receive a ballot and off you go.

The physical process includes a color-in-the-lines effort. This is the challenge for color outside the lines folks like me.

Nontheless, poll workers give you a black ink pen and instructions to completely fill in the box for the candidates of your choice. You do so at small carrels labelled with the cheerful language stating, "I Voted."

Once you have finished making your selections (and checked over them one last time), you go to a scanning device. The voter slides her/his paper ballot into the machine. A few seconds later a "waving U.S. flag" appears on your screen. That tells you that your vote has been recorded and it is safe to leave the precinct.

But not before you receive a colorful "I Voted" sticker. 

Even though the polling place was packed on a mid-week, mid-day, I thought the lines shuffled quickly and the process moved apace. I wasn't there more than, say, a good half hour.

Thirty minutes to invest in participating in our democracy? Not a bad trade-off.

JG

Updates

For those of you who have been reading the blog for a while, you know I have written about some unique situations/observations over the last few months. Question: what happened next?

Today, as we close out another week on the blog, I am going to give you some updates about topics I've covered over the last six months.

Rocky and the Red Pepper Paste (August 20)
In late summer and into the early days of fall, a squirrel (or maybe multiple squirrels) started gnawing on one of the boards of cedar siding on our house. I applied a paste featuring cayenne pepper. After some initial success, the squirrels resumed gnawing. 

I was so distraught over that news, I called one of the local wildlife removal services (one that had previously helped us with other critter issues). But the poor young fellah who came to our house that day seemed flummoxed. "I'm not sure what to do. We could set some traps."

That didn't seem like the right approach. There are a bazillion squirrels within a one mile radius of our home. How would you know you got the right one. Or ones. And what would prevent someone else from taking up where the other left off. His last bit of advice to me was that if it happens again and just call back, and ask to speak to his boss. 

???

With no hope and a growing gnaw gash, I went back to the internet and found that, not only do squirrels hate cayenne pepper, they really don't like getting it on their feet. Maybe they lick their feet to keep them clean? Also, they're not fond of the odor.

Our house has a row of bricks that rings the house. The opportunistic varmints used it as a one-way gateway to all the wood they could chomp. 

So, to try to deter them, I coated the bricks with very red cayenne pepper. Honestly, the color wasn't that far off from the color of the bricks. So, in a way, it just looks like brick dust. 

And guess what? The gnawing stopped.

So, $5 for a can of pepper powder < a complicated prevention method from wildlife experts.

Call it a real win!

Kiss on my List (August 13)
In this edition, I told you about my old high school buddy Ben and his approach to singing 
(mumbling)  the old Hall and Oates hit, "Kiss on My List." He also liked the REO Speedwagon smash "Take it on the Run" (although instead of "Take it on the Run, baby," he sing "Take it on the run, Ben...").

Wouldn't you know I heard both songs, back to back, on his birthday last month?!? You can't make this stuff up. Well, I guess you could, but it wouldn't be nearly as interesting.

I do wonder where he is and how he's doing.

Dodger Blue (July 9)
With the Dodgers on the brink of being eliminated from postseason play, this one seems especially poignant.

In a few different posts, I told you about interesting encounters during my walks in the park - including the day I found an abandoned Los Angeles Dodgers cap on the bench.

One weekday mid-morning, recently,  I encountered two teams of guys playing Ultimate Frisbee in the center area of the track. It added to the atmosphere of the walk that morning.  

It did make me wonder if the young men were cutting college class? OR were they young workers on a team-building exercise? Or possibly their employer was closed for some reason that day.

More questions than answers. But a nice walk nonetheless.

Fresh Look 2 (April 27)
In the April 27 edition, I told you about our church's successful fundraising campaign. With the funds now coming in, the church has completed its first project (a refresh of our narthex). New flooring, some high top tables for short visits and other programming. Other projects are continuing.

Signs of progress everywhere!

JG

Ball = Money

I've often said, if I were coaching youth sports today, I'm not sure how well #CoachJeff would fare.

I think I also told you the story about how the young mother approached me during tryouts for one of our youngest rec baseball leagues many years ago and asked for advice about how to guarantee "Little Johnny" would "make it." She meant to the bigs. 

I don't think, by any means, she was the only parent with gold dust in their eyes. And I don't think she appreciated my somewhat dismissive reply. 

But I'm sure I didn't deter her efforts and, according to an article in from the Wall Street Journal earlier this month, parents are lining up more than ever to pay top dollar to chase the dream. Er, um, I mean for Little Johnny to chase his dream. 

From the details included in the article, it seems many modern parents are willing to pay top money for top ball. For them, Money = Ball. Ball = Money.

In other words, a far cry from when the Concord Choppers made our pitch with an economical approach to filling a niche between rec leagues and uber travel teams.

I'll spare you from a recitation of the article. If you'd like to peruse it at the link above, I would highly recommend it. Well written. Well research. Lots of illuminating details.

For historical reference, the Choppers team budget, ca. late 2000s, would have been a few thousand dollars. And that was mitigated by a couple sponsorships. Otherwise, we passed the hat and parents chipped in.

We shopped for less expensive tournaments and we didn't travel out of the area. I sometimes wish we had done that, at least once, for the experience. But I sure wasn't going to go back to the parents had in hand after we made our initial pitch.

Not so, in the modern era, says the author of this piece, it is not unheard of for modern parents to pay an averge of $6,000 each or even upwards of $10K to play elite travel ball. I know there has been inflation in the last 20 years, but...

Another point the author makes, and I definitely saw this from my coaching experience, is that many of these parents are pushing their kids into these uber programs as a status symbol or for a fear of being left out. Others, of course, are hoping Little Johnny cashes in for the benefit of the fam.

The stats I really wanted to share with you are similar to the ones I told Momma so many years ago. 

Quotes the WSJ reporter, Harriet Ryan:

Less than 3% of high school players will play (college baseball) Division I, according to NCAA data, and fewer still will receive an athletic scholarship and NIL. The chance of a pro career is even more remote, with only about 5% of college players at any level making the draft.

When I started rolling out those sorts of stats, that's when Momma grabbed junior's hand and whisked him away with a dismissive "C'mon Johnny. We're not getting anywhere here." I do hope they made it. Really I do. It seemed so important to Johnny ('s mom).

As an old coach looking at this from the 10,000 foot level, there are a few things that strike me as troubling beyond the basic premise that Little Johnny is guaranteed to make it if pop ponies up. 

Truly, these programs are excellent and they serve a good purpose for elite youth talent. I'm not disputing that. 

But for others: Are we pricing out lower income families from the game? What ramifications will that have 10, 20, 50 years down the line?

Also, what of the families who aren't looking for the big payoff and just want their child to be able to have fun, learn the game, experience teamwork and camaraderie in a low-stakes environment? Is there a point at which rec leagues struggle because of depleted numbers? I sure hope not.

Long before the Choppers were champs and long before we stepped up to a travel schedule, our's was a rec team. And if you go way far back, we weren't a very good one. 

Bad News Bears? Hardly. But few people cared about wins and losses then anyway. 

• Spending time with your 7-year-old buddies
• Having the team snack after the game 
• Then going to your pal's house for a playdate later on Saturday

That was the important agenda.

But, I did see glimpses of what was covered in the WSJ piece from time to time.

For instance, one weekend, an uber team rolled into town from the Atlanta suburbs. They brought a branded travel trailer that toted all their gear up I-75. The parents brought designer tents and wore matching jerseys and jackets. 

I asked the coach why such an uber team had come here to play in a low stakes tournament. He shrugged and said, in essence, they needed a change of scenery. 

My fear is that these days, there might be four or five such uber teams and very few Chopperesque clubs to face them.

I'm too far removed from the game to draw any conclusions from what I read (and what I've heard). But I think I experienced some of what was to come in that scenario and in a few others. 

I'm glad we finished when we did and that I didn't stick around to see what came next.

JG

A New Ham Radio Friend

There are so many things I love about ham radio. But, as an extrovert's extrovert, my favorite aspect of the hobby is the interaction with new people. 

In the 5+ years since I returned to the airwaves, I've met a number of people I now consider to be my friends. And among those folks, there is a smaller group with whom I have made a special connection.

Recently, I added to that select list. Or rather, a fellow ham radio operator read my QRZ.bio and thought "Man. Me and this guy have a lot in common. I really want to connect."

And a point of pride for me is that he has become a regular reader #CoachJeff's Blog. So, no names. But, he knows who I am talking about. 

We have had a number of on-air contacts over the past few years -- 11, to be exact. And, recently, we've even chatted via phone a couple times. I have a feeling, we'll do it again soon.

For those of you who have been readers of the blog for a while know these facts. But for the record, here are a few traits/interests that me and my new friend share.

• Travel
• Goal-Setting
• Photography
• Baseball

He and I could talk at great length about many topics. But, c'mon. #CoachJeff and baseball? As conversation pieces go, it's a winner. 

During one of our chats, we talked a great deal about Cooperstown. He has spent quite a bit of time there and, of course, my family thoroughly enjoyed our visit to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2007.

I could devote an entire post to our experience that day.

Recently, the two of us chatted via an instant messaging portal for a group of which we are both members. I complimented him on his very strong signal that night. He encouraged me, too, as I made the last contact with the coveted station before it signed off.

Camaraderie and collegiality. Two other factors I love about this hobby.

During another conversation, he asked me about my Atlanta Braves fan experience. I think he wondered why I picked the Braves. I noted that Tennessee is fully ensconced in Braves Country and Truist Park is a short drive down I-75 from my QTH.

About a week later, a prize pack arrived in the mail. The package included a number of baseball cards featuring various Atlanta Braves players. Talk about a sweet gift. And one that is greatly appreciated. 

Some folks may gripe about subtleties about our hobby. It's not as friendly as it once was. The old etiquette is gone. There are jerks around the airwaves. It's too impersonal. It's become too tech-friendly. 

I dismiss those comments. 

Where I come from, it's all about the people. And because of this great hobby, I've met many great people.

And the most recent is a New Yorker with the gift of gab, some great stories and a heart of gold.

JG

National Newspaper Week

Last week was celebrated as National Newspaper Week. 

It was the 86th anniversary of the observance which dates to 1940. The promotional website tells a bit about the event, the rationale behind it and why newspapers are still so important.

Personally, I think it is definitely true in smaller communities and rural counties. But it also holds true other places as well,

It has been many years since I have been employed in the newspaper industry. And true, I have long identified as a public relations practitioner. But before I worked in PR, I earned my stripes as a journalist. '

In fact, I am proud to say I was the first editor of the newspaper in my community, the Farragut Press. Not only did I help leadership get that start-up paper going, I got to do many unique stories and cover a number of interesting people in that role.

For instance, that was the year of the 1988 presidential election. We covered it. Additionally, we provided regular coverage of town government and the area schools. When we were without a sports reporter, for instance, I'd step in. I spent a number of Friday nights covering local sports teams.

We did a number of unique, full-page features in the Lifestyle section. I recall writing one piece about America's fascination with all things British. Must've been impactful if I remember it all these years later, right?

Another feature I produced was about Children's Hospital. Turns out, that experience helped me make professional connections that led to my jump from news to corporate communications. And once I made that move, I never looked back.

But I don't forget my roots. 

And just as it was with the paper, when you are writing promotional copy, a video script or an article for the company newsletter, the work is all about storytelling.  To inform. To enlighten. To entertain.

My years of producing copy on deadline taught me discipline and emphasized productivity. When you are on deadline, you can't get hung up on perfection. Likewise, if you are writing to fill a specific hole when the paper is about to go to press, you learn to be precise.

#CoachJeff's Blog doesn't impose those sorts of conditions but, still, it is fun and challenging to see what I can crank out four times a week, Monday through Thursday, to share thoughts and entertain/inform you folks who take a moment to stop by.

And it all got started when #CoachJeff was #ScoopJeff all those years ago.

JG

Tip of the Cap

The Los Angeles Dodgers won the 2026 National League Division Series last night. They defeated the Atlanta Braves to advance.

No snark here today. I told you what I thought of the Dodgers' advantages earlier in the summer. 

In this series, they made the plays they needed to make. Had a few more timely hits; slightly better pitching.  And in postseason baseball, doing the little things cleaner, better and more efficiently usually translates into victory.

So, a tip of the cap to them for winning the series.

But mostly, today, I wanted to tip my cap to my team. Last night, the Braves lost. Sure. They were eliminated from postseason play. Season over.

But, over the course of the last six months, they gave me, my friends and family and all the fans throughout Braves Country many hours of entertainment and enjoyment. They won their division; they won their first round playoff series last week vs. Philadelphia. 

The 2026 season had a full and rich highlight reel.

We all knew the Dodgers would be a tough draw. The Braves needed to play a near-perfect series and have a few breaks go their way. Sorry to say, it didn't work out that way.

Some years ago, I read a quote from former NFL QB Steve Young. Paraphased: A season ends in either a championship or train wreck. He's so right.

This morning, that feeling is raw and real. 

Of all sports teams, the Atlanta Braves have become my favorite sports team. There is no close second. And, it's going to be nearly six months until they are scheduled to play again. 

We'll miss them.

One of the melancholy realities about the end of a modern sports season is that you know the team will have a different look when next season begins. No matter what happens, there will be changes to the roster. Trades. Upgrades. Free agent departures.

I am hoping the Braves' brass will be more aggressive and make the needed upgrades they didn't make last offseason or at the MLB trade deadline in August.

But those are in-depth discussions for a later time.

For now, it's time to celebrate the season - and a great season it was.  And it is also time to take a moment to appreciate some of the big hits, great plays and highlights of a successful season and the staff, players and coaches that made it all possible.

Let it Fly.

JG

The Saints Are Coming

Last night was the 20th anniversary of the re-opening of the Superdome in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

To mark the occasion, the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints were scheduled to meet. There was a tribute to former Saints player Steve Gleason, who has battled ALS for a number of years,. It was moving and appropriate. He famously made a big play in that game 20 years ago known as the "Rebirth" Game. 

Indeed, the same two teams matched up Monday for the "Domecoming" game retrospective. But other than the names of the teams, it was clearly a different feel. Atlanta won this match-up in dominating fashion 45-24.

NFL.COM did a nice retrospective of that game 20 years ago. There was other coverage on a number news sources including local and national outlets. The Saints defeated the Falcons 23-3 in the Rebirth game.

After the pregame concert featuring U2 and Green Day and the hit song, The Saints Are Coming, and the crowd was so hype, I turned to my son, Paul, and said "I would hate the be the visiting team tonight." And of course, for us as U2 fans, that added an extra special element to the affair.

My thoughts turned to a a business trip to New Orleans I had taken. We drove right by the Superdome on the way from the airport to our downtown hotel. You could certainly feel the devastation that had been brought by that infamous and powerful hurricane. 

And, like so many other weather watchers, I remember watching the coverage of that storm and the devasting blow it dealt the Crescent City.

My mind shifted to many friends in the region. And I remember the many stories my grandfather told about his travel down the Mississippi to New Orleans as a part of his work.

But flash back to the energy in the dome that night. The crowd. The concert. And then the team.

It would have been hard to root against the Saints that night and, indeed, a few years later when they won Super Bowl XLIV. 

So many memories that came cascading back during the timely scheduling of that rematch.

JG

California Party

Ham radio's annual QSO party calendar took us to the west coast last weekend.

I know I have told you about QSO parties, previously, but I always enjoy participating in the California QSO Party. For one thing, the state is so large and diverse, there are lots of county targets "to collect." Secondly, it was the first contest I participated in after joining the Tennessee Contest Group a few years back.

And, finally, the distance from TN means there are various ham radio bands available during different dayparts.

For instance, at the outset of the party (Saturday afternoon), my favorite band (15 meters) was wide open. It is good for long distance contacts and I made a bunch of them to kick off the proceedings. It was a cool, rainy day in East Tennessee, so a perfect way to spend a couple hours until football and baseball games started.

Then, when I came back home after dinner, 20 meters (a good band for me for distance but also mid-range contacts) was open and it was open 'til late in the evening. At that point, signals were showing up on 40 meters. That means the band had "gone long." Or, in other words, the band that is usually good for close-in contacts had expanded. Signal propagation to the west coast was possible. So, I closed out my evening on 40 meters. And, to close out my efforts, I logged 10 more contacts early Sunday morning before church services.

In all, I made 120 contacts and in 43 different California counties.

One of my prized contacts was with a station in Del Norte County. If you look at your map of California, that is at the extreme northwestern tip, along the Pacific Coast. Turns out my friend from Seattle, Tim, was operating with his friend, Mark. I haven't confirmed the details with him yet, but if past practice is the case, they likely picked a picturesque spot to meet, set-up and participate remotely. Wouldn't be surprised to learn they likely operated from a park or scenic vista. 

Anyway, not only is it a more rare county than, say, San Francisco, San Diego or Los Angeles County, it was fun to "work" a friend. 

When I showed my colored map to Holly, she noted that we were probably in four different California Counties during our summer vacation last year - Los Angeles, Orange, Ventura and San Diego. And, in a like manner, we were in San Francisco and Alameda Counties during our earlier visit in 2012.  

For a lifelong East Coaster, those are names you've always heard about but rarely experienced up close. So to actually have your feet on the ground in those areas was pretty cool. And, of course, as I mentioned last month, Lisa and I started this year out in the Southwest. So, we covered more ground that is somewhat exotic to us from the east. Coincidentally, Arizona is next-up in the state QSO party calendar.

Then, the year wraps up with Pennsylvania, South Dakota, New York and Illinois. At that point, ham radio's "radio sport" turns it attention to a few big contests to close out the year and some to kick off the new year before another round of QSO parties begin in February.

JG

Crushing Losses

Last week, I started preparing myself for the possibility of my favorite baseball team losing to its biggest rival in the playoffs for a third time in the last five years.

As we now know, thankfully, that didn't happen. They even split the first two games out west in the NLDS, so more good stuff. 

In the process of preparing myself last week, I started constructing an idea for #CoachJeff about how the major losses really sting. They stick with you, in some cases more profoundly than the big wins. 

Anyway, as I often do, I bounced the idea off the folks at home and they suggested my attempt at catharsis was, perhaps, a bit like the Bill Buckner scene in the 2004 movie, Fever Pitch. While I respectfully disagreed with my consultants, I had to re-watch that scene. What a great picture!

Then, I reconsidered writing my crushing losses piece and, you know what? I decided to do it anyway. 

So here goes. Many crushing sports losses that still stick with #CoachJeff.

1996 World Series 
Since we are well into the 2026 post season, my first stop on this sadsack journey is the 1996 World Series. If you are in Braves Country, you probably remember Game 4. Braves out to 6-0 lead. Yankees chip away. Closer comes in. Hangs a slider. Boom! The series turns.

But for me, in person, the series started turning the night before. The Braves had won the first two games in New York and came home looking to close things out.

A grad school buddy and I were at Game 3 in Atlanta. The game was tight. It featured a great pitching duel. But the Yankees pulled away, late, and got their first win in the series, 5-2. They wouldn't lose again.

The only question remaining: In the pre-digital age, who is the guy on the left in that photo? We may never know.

Immaculate Reception (1972)
I mentioned this game in a blog post a few weeks back but I need to include it in this list. It is the first example of a devastating sports loss I can remember. If you don't know the play, follow the link and watch in disbelief. 

NBC play by play announcer Curt Gowdy calls it "a Christmas miracle." But just as it was a Christmas miracle for one group of fans, it was the Grinch steeling Christmas for the others.

Three Losses to Rivals
In the spring, I wrote about the rival teams of the Concord Choppers. We won a majority of the games we played against one of our rivals. But the other one, for some reason, beat us three times in a row. In each case, there was some moment that turned the game. After a while, the dynamic seemed to get in our guys' heads.

After they had beaten us early in one season, we faced them again in a rematch a month later. And, as usual, a weird play seemed to turn the game (in this case, it was a faux catcher's interference -- called by the second base umpire after the rival first base coach got somewhat dramatic).

I'll never forget the sight of one of our team leaders pulling the Choppers together late in the game and telling his teammates, emphatically, "I am NOT going to LOSE again to THESE guys AGAIN!" Whatever he said resonated. 

The guys put together a number hits and busted the game open late off the rival closer. They never looked back. We didn't lose to them again. 

Titans-Ravens
There is a reason the Baltimore Ravens are tied for being my least favorite NFL Team. In the early 2000s, I saw them play at the Titans three times and win all three games by a combined five points.

Of the three, nothing was more devastating than the January 2009 playoff loss 13-10. The Titans were the top seed and hosted the sixth seeded Ravens. Three costly Titan turnovers and a missed late delay of game call benefited Baltimore and they hit a late field go to seal the deal. 

Other losses
In the lede, I mentioned the 2022 and 2023 losses to the Phillies. There was also the Braves 1991 World Series loss. And so many playoff losses in the late 90s and early 2000s. And in addition to the Immaculate Reception loss to Pittsburgh, the Raiders lost another close one to the Steelers and, then, who could forget the 1978 AFC Championship loss to Denver. Clearly, I have not!

Then, there is the University of Memphis loss in the championship game of March Madness in 2008. I'll save that one for another time. That one cuts so deep that it should probably be the subject for an entire entry just to itself.

JG

Postseason Predictions (Part Three of Three)

Editor's Note - With this week being the start of MLB's Postseason, #CoachJeff will  focus on postseason baseball in Monday-Thursday editions. Today wraps up the four-part series. Next week, we'll resume our regular format and schedule. 

Back when the Phuds roamed the intramural softball diamond during my grad school years, we had a few rival teams. The mixed history/english department team (the referred to themselves as "The Unified Team" or the Unies) was one of our rivals. The second was a team from the university hospital (they called themselves "The Lifesavers"). And then, there was the team from computing. They called themselves "The Bytes."

The Bytes had a big, larger-than-life pitcher who wore a Milwaukee Brewers cap. I never introduced myself or got his name. So, I always referred to him to our guys as The Milwaukee Brewer. Since the Brewers have never won a World Series, I wonder what the former Bytes pitcher would think if this turns out to be their year. 

Hold that thought.

Certainly I wasn't thinking about that, either, during my visit to (then) Miller Park (now American Family Field) in Milwaukee. The Brewers stop came up fairly early in my tour of MLB Ballparks (4th of 30). In the early days of digital cameras, we were still shooting with film. Unfortunately, we didn't get a lot of good, representative photos that day.

Here's the best I could find in my files - me (ca. 2001) with Miller Park's interior as the backdrop.

Now, back to the picks.

But before we take a look at the final three predictions, let's review Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's posts. On Monday, #CoachJeff did a quick recap of the 2026 regular season. Then, on Tuesday, I made my postseason picks for the wildcard round of the playoffs (an update - they don't look so good). Yesterday, I posted my predictions for the divisional round.

Note - If #CoachJeff had been batting a thousand, the final four would be set. But they're not. 
I am only 1 for 3 in the Wild Card Round. A batter would be thrilled with .333 but a picker is not!

Ironically, the one remaining series is the one in which I have an emotional stake. I WISH I could be wrong about that pick (but fear I will not). 

That said, I still predict the higher seeded teams will win in the divisional round. Think it will be Guardians and Rays with the Rays coming out on top in the ALCS. 

American League Championship Series - #3 Astros #2 Guardians at #1 Rays 
National League Championship Series - #2 Dodgers at #1 Brewers

As I told you yesterday, there are no surprises in my postseason crystal ball. I'm picking the top seeds in each league to advance to the 2026 World Series. 

American League Championship Series - 
Here, I think the guile and postseason experience of the Astros reaches the end of the line.   Sub the name Cleveland here. Tampa Bay, with three sluggers and a line-up full of professional hitters takes then out. Rays rule in the AL. 

#CoachJeff Says - Rays 4-1

National League Championship Series - 
In the National League, I expect an epic series. There are so many big names on the Dodgers ballclub. So many opportunities for one of those superstars to make a big postseason play - a diving catch, a ball that splits the gap, a bit strike-out. 

That's exactly why I am flipping the script and predicting the BrewCrew will win in seven.

#CoachJeff Says - Brewers 4-3

As I let prediction that sink in, I would also be happy for the pitcher for the UTCC Bytes from all those years ago - the Milwaukee Brewer - even if I celebrated the Phuds beating his team for the 1996 summer intramural title. 

2026 World Series
I could see this going either way, but I'm a National League guy through and through so...

#CoachJeff Says - Brewers 4-2

I'm sure The Milwaukee Brewer says Win Our Way.

JG