THE CHEAP SEATS with STEVE CAMERON: Kind of a 'nae well’ time in the sports world

The theme for today is “meh.”

Not quite down to gloomy, but certainly not up in the thrilling category.

Although.

We’ve got one very neat item, courtesy of reader John Miranda — but I’m saving that for the end, so we can all wear smiles as we get on with our weeks.

So, stay tuned for that.

Meanwhile, why are things feeling cloudy at the moment, and I’m not talking about the weather.

When I lived in Scotland several years ago, I learned the usual greeting when you passed a friend on the street.

You hear: “Fit like?”

(“How are you doing?”)

You reply: “Nae bad.”

(“Not bad.”)

Unfortunately, today my answer might be: “Nae well.”

There’s a physical issue here, for one thing.

I just enjoyed a dental visit that included drills, jackhammers, pick axes and several other fun items.

They always tell you the discomfort (in other words, pain) shouldn’t last long.

Right.

So, anyway, I feel like I just took a hockey puck to the teeth, and the ref isn’t even stopping the game to see if I survived.

OK, moving along.

NEXT UP on my menu of gloom is the behavior of those fans at Gonzaga who chucked every object available on to the court Saturday night.

Hey, there was a bad call.

I get it.

Saint Mary’s got a huge break when Aidan Mahaney stepped out of bounds, the officials didn’t see it, and the resulting pass turned into a game-clincher.

So, another close loss for the Zags, who very well might miss the NCAA tournament for the first time in Mark Few’s 26 seasons.

There are two issues here.

First, the Zags probably deserved to lose because they are, literally, “The Gang That Couldn’t Shoot Straight.”

Don’t believe the statistics, which say that the Zags are shooting a fair (but not great) 33 percent from 3-point range as a team.

Unfortunately, most of their swished 3-balls have come in 40-point wins over Little Sisters of the Poor.

In all six of their losses — including WCC setbacks at Santa Clara and home to the Gaels — the Zags have looked like guys who couldn’t throw the ball in the ocean from a pier.

But, hey, losses are losses.

It’s not the end of the world — and it’s damn sure no cause to begin heaving cups, bottles and everything else on the floor because of one bad call.

This kind of hooligan stuff is NOT what I’d expect at Gonzaga.

Honestly, it seemed like the kind of thing that would come from a spoiled fan base that’s used to non-stop winning — and suddenly has a team that is just ho-hum.

Get over it.

Grow up.

I’ve been proud to cover Gonzaga, and my friends around the country always sound jealous when we talk about it.

But.

The calls have been completely different the last few days.

Let’s hope this was a one-time embarrassment.

THE ZAG fiasco probably tops my “downer” list (if we don’t count this dentist with a bulldozer), but there are a few other little items on my mind.

Let’s see.

I think so-called NFL fans who resent the presence of Taylor Swift in their world are, to quote Charles Barkley: “Morons or idiots. Take your pick. A or B.”

Retired star J.J. Watt can’t understand the fuss.

“I think it’s great,” Watt said of Swift’s public romance with Chiefs star Travis Kelce. 

“I can’t understand why people are so upset about it. I mean, they show celebrities at games all the time. Don’t act like we don’t show male celebrities at games all the time. 

“I don’t really understand why it’s caused such an uproar.

“I mean, she’s literally there supporting her significant other, and that’s what you should do as a significant other,” Watt continues. “So, I think that it’s great.”

Yes, it is.

The ugliness that’s come foaming out from a gang of losers, though, is almost scary.

There are some strange people in this world.

RECALL, please, that I said there was one upbeat item today, and that I’d save it for last.

I’m hoping just to make you (all of us, really) feel a little better as we wander about our days.

This is about an event that happened on Sunday, and maybe you’ve already seen or read about it.

Still, it’s very, VERY special to me — and a cool note from John Miranda helped me enjoy a part of my life all over again.

OK, here’s the thing: Sunday was 2/4/24.

If you know anything about baseball (and especially about the Giants), you surely know that Willie Mays wore No. 24.

Fortunately, that coincidence didn’t go unnoticed, and the city of San Francisco celebrated “Willie Mays Day” with many of the area landmarks lit up in orange and black.

Mays, now 92 and the oldest living Hall of Famer, showed his appreciation for the honor, and said, “The game of baseball has been great to me, and not only was I given the opportunity to play, but I was also given the opportunity to help kids all around the world.”

See, I was one of those kids.

Since we lived just outside San Francisco and I had the thrill of seeing Willie play, I can only repeat what so many have said.

The greatest of all time.

Oh, and for Sunday’s celebration, the city added a special hash tag online.

#SayHey.

You know what?

Now I feel better.

Email: scameron@cdapress.com

Steve Cameron’s “Cheap Seats” columns appear in The Press four times each week, normally Tuesday through Friday unless, you know, stuff happens. 

Steve suggests you take his opinions in the spirit of a Jimmy Buffett song: “Breathe In, Breathe Out, Move On.”