Good morning or good evening, wherever you may be, across the nation and across the world. It is just past 8:30 a.m. in "The City" where the current temperature of 68° under partly-cloudy skies is also the lowest we got overnight. A slight breeze out of the west @ three mph makes the temperature feel like 68°. Today, the high temperature is forecast by the NWS to reach 78° under partly-sunny skies with an overnight low of 71°. Most of today, there is only a 5% chance for rain, but tonight, that chance increases to 35%. What will that mean for tonight's Coast Guard Festival fireworks? Stay tuned.

The sun rose this morning @ 6:42 a.m. and it will set later @ 8:58 p.m.

Today marks the and of the annual Coast Guard Festival  for Coast Guard City USA, Grand haven, MI. The scaled-down craft fair will once again be open in Central Park and the annual Grand Parade is scheduled to step off @ 11:45 a.m., weather permitting. Sadly, given the rising number of Covid-19 cases here in Ottawa County, MI, we will not be attending any of this year's events. We've come too far to risk any chance for infection. 

As always, people from all over MI and beyond will be here to watch the parade and the fireworks. Many locals have already staked out their spots for both, using tape, blankets, lawn chairs, and sometimes people to hold their viewing spots. 

Worthy of note, is that Mary is slightly redecorating our foyer after staring at the two tall vases with artificial flowers that had been located there for the last couple of years. She set them out at the curb, and within less than one-hour, someone had taken them home to become the new proud owners of those vases. A great way to repurpose rather than toss the vases and their contents. Oh, we had to move the table in the foyer about four inches to the right for balance.

In baseball news, the 52 - 59 4th place in the NL Central Cubs, fell to their crosstown rivals, that other, 64 - 46, 1st place in the AL Central team from Chicago, 6 - 8. Several newly acquired players contributed to a final score that was not as close as it first appears. But, with the addition of OF Greg Deichman, acquired from the As in the trade for pitcher Andrew Chafin, and the subtraction of OF Jason Heyward, who was placed on the 10-day IL with a hand problem, the Cubs are clearly trying to assess what they got in the various trades that gutted the 2016 World Championship team. 

In the case of Heyward, he hasn't been hitting his own weight this year and in spite of the huge salary owed to him for this year and next, close to $40,000,000 over two years, I believe that it is time to say buh bye to his great defense but weak-hitting self. Let's see what the young players can bring to the table, so to speak. The Cubs and that other team from Chicago play again this afternoon beginning @ 2:20 p.m. EDT, when RHP Adbert Alzolay, 4 - 11 tries to stem the tide. 

My beloved, 2nd place in the AL East, 64 - 47 Red Sox, were clobbered by the 4th place in the AL East, Blue Jays, with a 58 - 49 record of their own, 4 - 12. The Sox and the Jays play two today, the first @ 3:07 p.m. and the second @ 7:07 p.m. 

Good news. The Sox have RHP Nathan Eovaldi, 9 - 7. going in game one and young RHP Tanner Houck, 0 - 2 going in game two. Some baseball pundits liken Houck to Red Sox LHP Chris Sale, due to pitch his final rehab start today following Tommy John surgery, for the minor-league Worcester Red Sox, before he returns to the Major-League Red Sox early next week. He and Houck may be just the spark the Red Sox need for their playoff push.

The 3rd place in the AL Central, 53 - 59 Tigers, were left out in the cold in Cleveland, as the 2nd place in the AL East Indians, 53 - 54, tied the hands of the Tigers' hitters in a 1 - 6 loss for the Tigers. Tonight,. the Tigers and the Indians play @ 7:10 p.m.

The 39 - 42 White Caps split twos yesterday, losing the first game to the 42 - 39 Dayton Dragons, 5 - 7, but coming back to take the nightcap, 4 - 3. The Caps and the Dragons play again tonight @ 7:05 p.m.

Otherwise, it is time for more indoor chores, more crossword solving, more reading, more cooking, and more music. We will have to put the blinds down in the living-room, in hopes that Ginger will be quieter as the massive crowds walk by our window. Later, we'll put STWD in her Thundershirt™ when the fireworks will try to terrify her around 9:30 p.m. tonight. Ciao.