Social media has made too many of you comfortable with disrespecting people and not getting punched in the mouth for it. –Unknown

Welcome to “Thursday Numbers!” In case you’re a first-time visitor, this is the weekly column where I take a look at the numbers that are in the news (in descending order) and provide commentary sometimes sprinkled with sarcasm, humor, and bluntness.

This week’s topics include Sanders, Harris, and O’Rourke fundraising, ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, unemployment, Russell Westbrook, tax phone scams, NBA playoffs, Trump’s tax returns, the Senate’s nuclear option, Spurs’ coach Gregg Popovich, and much more!

18,200,000

Sen. Bernie Sanders’ campaign raised $18.2 million in campaign donations in the first quarter, according to campaign manager Faiz Shakir, who spoke with reporters in a conference call Tuesday. (CBS News)

It was a big week for fundraising – I must have received a hundred or more emails from candidates wanting donations. They got nothing! 

12,000,000

California Sen. Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign has raised $12 million from more than 218,000 individual contributions in the first quarter of 2019. With the average contribution totaling $28, the Harris campaign said that over 99 percent of her donors can contribute again. (CBS News)

I am impressed by Harris’ fundraising…

10,000,000

Stephen A. Smith is in line to become the highest-paid on-air person at ESPN by potentially boosting his salary to $10 million per year, according to people with knowledge of the upcoming negotiations. (NY Post)

I don’t think he is worth $10 million…

9,400,000

Beto O’Rourke’s campaign announced that the former Texas congressman raised $9.4 million from 218,000 contributions made during the first 18 days of his grassroots campaign for president. (CBS News)

O’Rourke is doing well in the fundraising department.

202,000

That’s how many people filed new claims for unemployment last week. (USDOL)

20-20-21

Russell Westbrook of the NBA’s Oklahoma City Thunder made history on Tuesday night by becoming just the second player in NBA history to record at least 20 points, 20 rebounds, and 20 assists in a single game. During the Thunder’s matchup against the Lakers, Westbrook finished with a 20-20-21 stat line. (SI.com)

That was impressive.

20

A recent study found tax phone scams spike in the month or so leading up to Tax Day, and also concluded that Montana is near the middle of the pack for states at risk for such cons. The study conducted by the website All Area Codes ranked Montana 20th among U.S. states in terms of being targeted for robocall tax scams. (GF Tribune)

As for robocalls, it would be nice if the Montana Department of Justice did something about them.

16

The NBA regular season ends on Wednesday, April 10. There will be 16 teams in the playoffs which start Saturday, April 13. (NBA.com)

There are a total of 30 NBA teams.

6

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal formally asked the IRS Wednesday for six years of President Trump’s tax returns and set a deadline of April 10 to get the documents. (Roll Call)

If anyone in authority actually obtains Trump’s tax returns, I predict Trump will be impeached.

2

The Republican-led U.S. Senate on Wednesday changed its procedures to speed up the confirmation of President Donald Trump’s nominees for some lower court judgeships and sub-Cabinet level positions. It’s called the “nuclear option” and it will shorten debate on such nominees from 30 hours to two hours. The move was resisted by Democrats but they could not block it because Republicans hold 53 seats in the 100-seat chamber. (Reuters)

Senate Republicans are probably thinking Trump is a one-term President and they want to get his judges confirmed quickly to their lifetime jobs.

1:03

San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich was ejected from the game Wednesday night after just 1 minute, 3 seconds. (ESPN)

If the NBA playoffs started today, the Spurs would be the eighth seed and play the Golden State Warriors in the first round. Popovich is a great coach, but I think his time in San Antonio is just about up.

 

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