Worth Noting
The happiest place on Earth isn't Disneyland ...
Since 2012, the Gallup World Poll, Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network have asked one question of about 1,000 people in 147 countries: “Please imagine a ladder with steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top. The top of the ladder represents the best possible life for you and the bottom of the ladder represents the worst possible life for you. On which step of the ladder would you say you personally feel you stand at this time?”
Researchers then calculate the three-year average of the responses, add in some additional data and then develop an annual World Happiness Report. This year’s happiest country, for the ninth straight year, is Finland, followed by Iceland, Denmark, Costa Rica and Sweden. Rounding out the top 10 are Norway, The Netherlands, Israel, Luxembourg and Switzerland. Among major English-speaking countries, Australia is 15th, the United States ranks 23rd, Canada is 25th and the United Kingdom is 29th.
Costa Rica, which was 23rd just three years ago, is the first Latin American country to rank in the top 5.
Deeper research finds that Finland and other “happy” countries have systems in place that make life less stressful, including tuition-free higher education, parental time off, health-care coverage and an overall sense of community. Laura Hall, a Copenhagen-based journalist and author, told the BBC: “It’s not about wearing a big smile and laughing. It’s really about trust in society, trust in each other and the belief that everyone is working together for the common good.”
The late Benjamin Radcliff, a longtime Notre Dame political science professor who passed away in 2024, conducted research for some two decades that offered empirical evidence supporting the findings of the World Happiness Report. The bottom line: People are happiest in places that offer subsidized health care, education, unemployment protection, retirement income and labor unions that improve wages and working conditions.
In a 2016 Notre Dame Magazine story, Radcliff said his research pointed to a “simple and unequivocal” conclusion: “Happier people live in countries with a generous social safety net, or, more generally, countries whose governments ‘tax and spend’ at higher rates, reflecting the greater range of services and protections offered by the state.”
He acknowledges that government social programs are “obviously expensive,” but adds, “especially in the Scandinavian countries, people live longer lives, healthier lives and happier lives. Sounds like a good deal to me.”
The Finns, Swedes, Danes and others all seem to be doing something right. Perhaps we Americans should take a page from their happiness playbook.
More on Radcliff’s research is available in his book The Political Economy of Human Happiness.
As I said in a short Facebook post on Wednesday, happy start of the baseball season to all who celebrate. I know many think the 162-game season is too long (I do, too … 154 would be just fine with me), and find the game boring. It isn’t. As a 100 percent accurate saying goes: “It’s OK if you think baseball is boring … it’s kind of a smart person’s sport.”
So, now that I’ve offended many of you, here are my thoughts on the new season:
American League East
As I’ve written before, I have one favorite team and many others that I like and follow. My team for 65 years is the Yankees, who enter this season with much the same lineup that won 94 games last year and tied with Toronto for the AL East title. The significant difference this year is that they will get their No. 1 pitcher, Gerrit Cole, back from Tommy John surgery in late May or early June. I like their chances, but Toronto is just as good as last year, when they barely lost to the Dodgers in the World Series, and Baltimore, Boston and Tampa are all very good. And, as I’ve also written, I’ll be cheering for one Red Sox player, third baseman and my fellow Washington University alum Caleb Durbin.
American League Central
Detroit is probably the team to beat, but Kansas City and Cleveland are solid and will make things compelling. The most interesting thing about the division may be whether the Tigers decide to trade or keep pending free agent Tarik Skubal, the best pitcher in the game. I also think and hope the White Sox can show some improvement after three straight seasons of more than 100 losses.
American League West
I like Seattle in the West, though I don’t think catcher Cal Raleigh can duplicate his 60-homer season of a year ago. As a member of the U.S. team in the recent World Baseball Classic, Raleigh didn’t play well. But other Mariners looked good, including Julio Rodriguez (Dominican Republic), Randy Arozarena (Mexico) and Josh Naylor (Canada). The Rangers and Astros are the main competition for Seattle, but both have weaknesses — the Rangers on offense and the Astros on the mound.
National League East
Like the AL East, the NL East is stacked with the Phillies, Braves and Mets all legitimate contenders. Philadelphia’s pitching, with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo is superb, and the offense of Bryce Harper, Trey Turner, Kyle Schwarber and others is likewise, though they’re aging quickly. The Mets have Juan Soto in year two, as well as Francisco Linder, at the plate, and good pitching led by newly acquired Freddy Peralta and young Nolan McLean. The Braves will hope Ronald Acuna Jr. and company can stay healthy.
National League Central
The Cubs, Brewers and Reds all made the playoffs last year and could do so again in 2026. Chicago has replaced Kyle Tucker with Alex Bregman, an upgrade in my view, and seem to have quality across the board. Milwaukee will be hard-pressed to repeat with the best record in baseball, but the Brewers always punch above their weight. The Reds need Elly De La Cruz to overcome injury issues and be the player everyone thinks he can be.
National League West
It’s the Dodgers’ world and we’re just living in it. From Shohei Ohtani to Freddie Freeman to Will Smith to now Kyle Tucker, there’s no reason to think LA cannot win a third straight World Series title. And that’s not even mentioning the pitching, which will feature Ohtani for a full season, along with Tyler Glasnow, Roki Sasaki, Yoshinobo Yamamoto and Blake Snell, when he returns from injury in late May. The Padres can put pressure on LA, but will need career years from Fernando Tatis Jr., Manny Machado, Xander Boggarts and Jackson Merrill, as well as pitchers Nick Pivetta, Michael King, Walker Buehler, Mason Miller and, if/when he returns from the injury list, Joe Musgrove.
The story I mentioned last week about former USC quarterback Matt Leinart rejecting — in no uncertain terms — the notion of un-retiring his number 11 reminded me of one of the few complaints I have about the Yankees.
They’ve retired too many numbers.
Most of the 24 players whose numbers have been retired are deserving. They had Hall of Fame careers and/or stand out in a special way that should be recognized. The no brainers are Derek Jeter (2), Babe Ruth (3), Lou Gehrig (4), Joe DiMaggio (5), Joe Torre (6), Mickey Mantle (7), Yogi Berra and Bill Dickey (8), Whitey Ford (16), Casey Stengel (37), and Mariano Rivera (42). Two others who deserve the honor because of their New York accomplishments are Roger Maris (9), who broke Ruth’s single-season home run record in 1961, and Elston Howard (32), who broke the Yankees’ color barrier. Another honoree, catcher Thurman Munson (15), had his All-Star career cut short in a plane crash and is deserving of the tribute.
Then there are nine who were outstanding in their own right but, in my mind, are just short of all-time status — Billy Martin (1), who managed the team for all or parts of eight seasons and was a controversy waiting to happen the entire time; Phil Rizzuto (10) a scrappy shortstop and longtime announcer; catcher Jorge Posada (20); outfielder Paul O’Neill (21); first baseman Don Mattingly (23), who is right on the cut-line for me; outfielder Reggie Jackson (44), who only played with the Yankees for five years; pitchers Andy Petitte (46) and Ron Guidry (49), also close calls; and outfielder Bernie Williams (51).
Still to come in September, new Hall of Fame pitcher CC Sabathia will have his No. 52 retired. An 11-year member of the Yankees, he deserves the recognition. And some years down the road, there’s no doubt Aaron Judge’s No. 99 will be retired.
The team with the second-most retired number is St. Louis, with 15.
Many of us spend a few minutes each day with New York Times games. For me, I take on the mini and midi crosswords, Connections and Wordle. I like to do them early in the day to get the mind working, especially when I’m going to be writing.
There are three other games that may not be as well known that are a part of the newspaper’s weekend package:
The News Quiz drops on Fridays and tests your knowledge of that week’s news with 11 multiple-choice questions. If you read The Morning, a daily newsletter from The Times, you’ll be well-informed and able to correctly answer at least eight or nine of the questions. I’m pretty unhappy with myself if I don’t get at least nine.
Flashback is a challenging test of history. The quiz gives you the date of one event in history — the start of World War I, for example — and then you have to place in chronological order seven other events. It’s tough and I usually get six out of eight.
The Hunt is a harmless diversion. After reading about the wants of a couple or individual that is looking for a new house/condo/apartment, you’re then presented with three of the options they considered, including price, square footage, amenities, location, and other factors that homebuyers might consider. After reading through the possibilities, you can then select the home you would pick, and then guess at the one they decided on. There’s no winning or losing, it’s just pure escapism.
For the second straight year, the final 16 teams in the NCAA men’s basketball tournament are all from major conferences. The days of Cinderella stories — teams like Valparaiso, Butler, Loyola-Chicago and others — may be over in this age of portal transfers, revenue sharing and NIL.
That’s a shame. The David slaying Goliath story lines were the madness in March Madness. The tournament is still compelling, but it’s definitely lost a little of its charm.
My bracket has Arizona, Michigan State, Houston (now out) and Michigan in the Final Four, with Arizona winning it all.
On the women’s side, a Notre Dame team that was floundering a bit during the first half of the season seems to have found its way and will play Vanderbilt on Friday in a Sweet Sixteen matchup of academic powers. If you haven’t seen 5-foot-6 Irish guard Hannah Hidalgo (above), be sure to check her out. She’s dynamic on both ends of the floor and was the player of the year and defensive player of the year in the Atlantic Coast Conference.
A few odds and ends to wrap things up:
Based on the positive reviews, I know I’m in the minority when I say that I thought the new Ryan Gosling film Project Hail Mary was just OK. I liked the space exploration aspect of the story, but I’m not a sci-fi guy, so that component did nothing for me. If you choose to see it, I recommend reading or watching a summary of the plot. Otherwise, you’ll be lost … in space.
The Notre Dame men’s and women’s fencing teams won their respective national championships this past week. They’ve won 16 national titles — more than any other Irish program — and six of the last eight. As dynasties go, they’re right there among them. The program also has produced numerous Olympians, including U.S. medalists Lee Kiefer, Marial Zagunis, Kelley and Courtney Hurley, Gerek Meinhardt and Nick Itkin.
Despite the criticism leveled at higher education from multiple quarters, a new survey by Gallup and the Lumina Foundation found that employers still prefer to hire workers with college degrees. According to the survey, 76 percent of employers prefer candidates who have a four-year degree and 78 percent prefer those with at least a two-year degree. And, as a reminder, college graduates earn an average of more than $1 million in their careers than those with just a high school diploma.
That’ll do it for this week’s edition of Worth Noting. As always, comment are welcome, and have a great weekend.
Dennis Brown is the retired spokesman and assistant vice president for issues management at the University of Notre Dame. His weekly Worth Noting column is — usually — a compilation of notes, quotes and anecdotes on “stuff” happening in his bubble and around the nation and world.
Credits: Notre Dame Magazine, Yellora Overseas Services, Baseball Prospectus, ESPN, Hoops HQ, The New York Times
Love your love for Caleb. That’s two of us checking the Red Sox box scores. As for happiness, and living in Switzerland, I get it.
You know I usually love your writing, but no love for the Cardinals. This is the year we aquire an ace and get back to winning.