"Batting leadoff, in center field. Corey Patterson!"
The End.
31 March 2008
26 March 2008
You cannot be Serious!
The five-year anniversary of the Iraq war has given us a media tide of Serious Liberals tut-tutting how they never could have predicted how things could have gone son wrong. But rarely, as Glenn Greenwald explains, does anyone bother to acknowledge those antiwar voices who were right all along.
A Tiny Revolution finds Jeffery Goldberg assuring us in October 2002 that things were going to go down smoothly.
Of course, Glenn. You see, every Serious Person knows that the filthy hippies only opposed the war because they Hate America. That they happen to have been right about how the world operates in this case was surely just an unfortunate stroke of luck.
So when Charlie Rose arranges a five-year anniversary discussion of Iraq purportedly involving American foreign policy experts on "both sides," it completely excludes any Americans who unequivocally opposed the war in the first place -- i.e., it completely excludes those who were right and offers only those who were wrong. As always, unadorned war opposition is mutually exclusive with Foreign Policy Seriousness, and those who are unequivocal in their opposition to the underlying premises of the war (rather than its tactical execution) are almost never heard from in media discussions -- still.
A Tiny Revolution finds Jeffery Goldberg assuring us in October 2002 that things were going to go down smoothly.
There is not sufficient space...for me to refute some of the arguments made in Slate over the past week against intervention, arguments made, I have noticed, by people with limited experience in the Middle East (Their lack of experience causes them to reach the naive conclusion that an invasion of Iraq will cause America to be loathed in the Middle East, rather than respected)...The administration is planning today to launch what many people would undoubtedly call a short-sighted and inexcusable act of aggression. In five years, however, I believe that the coming invasion of Iraq will be remembered as an act of profound morality.
Schwarz goes on to detail how Goldberg ended up at The Atlantic, the American bastion of gelatinous Seriousness. One imagines is was not so much out of his wisdom as his acceptable conclusions.
22 March 2008
20 March 2008
Then we came to the end
What's the significance of saving the South Regional for last? Into the homestretch now, so things are going to get even shorter....
SOUTH Region
1 Memphis vs 16 Texas-Arlington
No one runs up the score quite like Memphis, so if you've got a pool for largest margin of victory, take this game.
8 Mississippi State vs 9 Oregon
Worth it to eyeball itty-bitty Ducks guard Tajuan Porter. Mississippi State survived a tornado, they can survive a very fortunate Oregon squad.
5 Michigan State vs 12 Temple
Michigan State teams of recent vintage always seem to be underachieving. Still, I think they have enough to see off a streaking Temple team. Now that John Chaney has departed the scene, though, I wouldn't mind an Owls win so much.
4 Pittsburgh vs 13 Oral Roberts
It was revealed last year that the Roberts family which runs ORU has been pocketing sums of university donation for use on, among other things, a $30,000 "evangelistic" plane trip to the Bahamas and a $39,000-a-year tab at a clothing store. Also, the wife of the university president ran up $800 phone bills sending early morning text messages to underage boys. Thank you Jesus, for blessing us with televangelists.
6 Marquette vs 11 Kentucky
Kentucky turned around an abysmal start to squeak into the tournament (being Kentucky helps), However, they are without the main catalyst for their second-half revival, freshman center Patrick Patterson was lost to injury. Marquette is baffling, but Kentucky is weak tea.
3 Stanford vs 14 Cornell
If this battle of Vaguely Red Colors is tied after regulation, in lieu of an overtime period the teams will decide the outcome by comparing dissertations on the Stoic philosophers.
7 Miami vs 10 St. Marys
The Gaels have the pipeline down under, with no fewer than four players from the land of Oz on the roster. They've stumbled lately after a great start, but I feel so attached to them.
2 Texas vs 15 Austin Peay
Adolescents everywhere rejoice at the possibility of the dream Oral Roberts vs. Austin Peay Sweet 16 matchup. If only Longwood College and Ball State were around to fill out the All-Giggles Final Four.
1 Memphis vs 8 Mississippi State
4 Pittsburgh vs 5 Michigan State
3 Stanford vs 6 Marquette
2 Texas vs 10 St. Marys
1 Memphis vs 4 Pittsburgh
3 Stanford vs 2 Texas
2 Texas vs 4 Pittsburgh
Final Four
Texas vs UCLA
Georgetown vs North Carolina
National Champion: UCLA over North Carolina
Just a WAG, really, but isn't everybody?
SOUTH Region
1 Memphis vs 16 Texas-Arlington
No one runs up the score quite like Memphis, so if you've got a pool for largest margin of victory, take this game.
8 Mississippi State vs 9 Oregon
Worth it to eyeball itty-bitty Ducks guard Tajuan Porter. Mississippi State survived a tornado, they can survive a very fortunate Oregon squad.
5 Michigan State vs 12 Temple
Michigan State teams of recent vintage always seem to be underachieving. Still, I think they have enough to see off a streaking Temple team. Now that John Chaney has departed the scene, though, I wouldn't mind an Owls win so much.
4 Pittsburgh vs 13 Oral Roberts
It was revealed last year that the Roberts family which runs ORU has been pocketing sums of university donation for use on, among other things, a $30,000 "evangelistic" plane trip to the Bahamas and a $39,000-a-year tab at a clothing store. Also, the wife of the university president ran up $800 phone bills sending early morning text messages to underage boys. Thank you Jesus, for blessing us with televangelists.
6 Marquette vs 11 Kentucky
Kentucky turned around an abysmal start to squeak into the tournament (being Kentucky helps), However, they are without the main catalyst for their second-half revival, freshman center Patrick Patterson was lost to injury. Marquette is baffling, but Kentucky is weak tea.
3 Stanford vs 14 Cornell
If this battle of Vaguely Red Colors is tied after regulation, in lieu of an overtime period the teams will decide the outcome by comparing dissertations on the Stoic philosophers.
7 Miami vs 10 St. Marys
The Gaels have the pipeline down under, with no fewer than four players from the land of Oz on the roster. They've stumbled lately after a great start, but I feel so attached to them.
2 Texas vs 15 Austin Peay
Adolescents everywhere rejoice at the possibility of the dream Oral Roberts vs. Austin Peay Sweet 16 matchup. If only Longwood College and Ball State were around to fill out the All-Giggles Final Four.
1 Memphis vs 8 Mississippi State
4 Pittsburgh vs 5 Michigan State
3 Stanford vs 6 Marquette
2 Texas vs 10 St. Marys
1 Memphis vs 4 Pittsburgh
3 Stanford vs 2 Texas
2 Texas vs 4 Pittsburgh
Final Four
Texas vs UCLA
Georgetown vs North Carolina
National Champion: UCLA over North Carolina
Just a WAG, really, but isn't everybody?
19 March 2008
Go West
Gotta get this finished so I can go back to more important things, like offending squeamish white folks. Yes, it's so easy even I can do it!
WEST Region
1 UCLA vs 16 Mississippi Valley State
MVSU wins the Best Player Name award with backup guard Stanford Speech. Still, he's no Scientific Mapp. and that's not enough to give them much hope, I'm afraid.
8 BYU vs. 9 Texas A&M
Mormons or Farmers? These two schools seem made for each other, and, unfortunately for the Aggies, that includes being perfectly foiled by the efficient Cougars.
5 Drake vs 12 Western Kentucky
A perennial MVC doorstop, Drake came out of nowhere to have the school's best season ever buoyed by an arsenal of perimeter snipers. Drake shares a common bond with many of their mid-major colleagues: they're lacking in size, and they could make a Sweet 16 run if they could avoid getting exposed too quickly. Unfortunately for Drake, they're likely to get smushed by Connecticut. It's a frustrating refrain.
4 Connecticut vs 13 San Diego
As if on cue, here is San Diego, who won't give significant minutes to a player taller than 6'8". Little more than a nuisance for UConn's enormous 7'3" center Hasheem Thabeet. The Toreros (great mascot!) are only here because of a great run through the WCC tournament. Would that it could continue.
6 Purdue vs 11 Baylor
A battle of gritty overachievers. Baylor may be the story of the tournament, its program on the brink of extinction after being ripped apart in a tawdry scandal by former coach Dave Bliss, possibly one of the worst people alive. The Bears were brought back from the precipice by former Valparaiso assistant Scott Drew, who was on the sidelines for one of the greatest finishes in tournament history 10 years ago this week. I've gotten myself so worked up I think I have to advance them now. I don't really believe it, though.
3 Xavier vs 14 Georgia
Georgia won only four games in the SEC this year, then slipped through the backdoor by winning the meaningless conference tournament, which included being interrupted a tornado and playing three games in two days. Xavier knows the feeling; they were in the same position two years ago, also as a 14 seed. Naturally, sportswriters are already whining that no Big Six school should be dissed with being the equivalent of Cornell or Cal-State Fullerton. May we all take our Thursday-morning piss in their corn flakes.
7 West Virginia vs 10 Arizona
Two teams going in opposite directions, which means they'll obviously turn it around in time for the postseason, right? As an Indiana fan, I wish it worked that way. Bob Huggins, however, has never stopped sucking.
2 Duke vs 15 Belmont
I regret to inform you that the annual duty of beating Belmont has unfortunately fallen to Duke this year, but still, it has to be done, and if you have to hold your nose and make unseemly alliances to do the dirty work, then you do what you must. Memo to Atlantic Sun teams: Just because Belmont students are facing a soulless future of making and selling manufactured Christian pop music, doesn't mean you need to show them any mercy.
1 UCLA vs 8 BYU
4 Connecticut vs 5 Drake
3 Xavier vs 11 Baylor
2 Duke vs 7 West Virginia
1 UCLA vs 4 Connecticut
3 Xavier vs 7 West Virginia
1 UCLA vs 3 Xavier
WEST Region
1 UCLA vs 16 Mississippi Valley State
MVSU wins the Best Player Name award with backup guard Stanford Speech. Still, he's no Scientific Mapp. and that's not enough to give them much hope, I'm afraid.
8 BYU vs. 9 Texas A&M
Mormons or Farmers? These two schools seem made for each other, and, unfortunately for the Aggies, that includes being perfectly foiled by the efficient Cougars.
5 Drake vs 12 Western Kentucky
A perennial MVC doorstop, Drake came out of nowhere to have the school's best season ever buoyed by an arsenal of perimeter snipers. Drake shares a common bond with many of their mid-major colleagues: they're lacking in size, and they could make a Sweet 16 run if they could avoid getting exposed too quickly. Unfortunately for Drake, they're likely to get smushed by Connecticut. It's a frustrating refrain.
4 Connecticut vs 13 San Diego
As if on cue, here is San Diego, who won't give significant minutes to a player taller than 6'8". Little more than a nuisance for UConn's enormous 7'3" center Hasheem Thabeet. The Toreros (great mascot!) are only here because of a great run through the WCC tournament. Would that it could continue.
6 Purdue vs 11 Baylor
A battle of gritty overachievers. Baylor may be the story of the tournament, its program on the brink of extinction after being ripped apart in a tawdry scandal by former coach Dave Bliss, possibly one of the worst people alive. The Bears were brought back from the precipice by former Valparaiso assistant Scott Drew, who was on the sidelines for one of the greatest finishes in tournament history 10 years ago this week. I've gotten myself so worked up I think I have to advance them now. I don't really believe it, though.
3 Xavier vs 14 Georgia
Georgia won only four games in the SEC this year, then slipped through the backdoor by winning the meaningless conference tournament, which included being interrupted a tornado and playing three games in two days. Xavier knows the feeling; they were in the same position two years ago, also as a 14 seed. Naturally, sportswriters are already whining that no Big Six school should be dissed with being the equivalent of Cornell or Cal-State Fullerton. May we all take our Thursday-morning piss in their corn flakes.
7 West Virginia vs 10 Arizona
Two teams going in opposite directions, which means they'll obviously turn it around in time for the postseason, right? As an Indiana fan, I wish it worked that way. Bob Huggins, however, has never stopped sucking.
2 Duke vs 15 Belmont
I regret to inform you that the annual duty of beating Belmont has unfortunately fallen to Duke this year, but still, it has to be done, and if you have to hold your nose and make unseemly alliances to do the dirty work, then you do what you must. Memo to Atlantic Sun teams: Just because Belmont students are facing a soulless future of making and selling manufactured Christian pop music, doesn't mean you need to show them any mercy.
1 UCLA vs 8 BYU
4 Connecticut vs 5 Drake
3 Xavier vs 11 Baylor
2 Duke vs 7 West Virginia
1 UCLA vs 4 Connecticut
3 Xavier vs 7 West Virginia
1 UCLA vs 3 Xavier
18 March 2008
One blunder down, more to come
As an anonymous commenter points out below, I got my Capels mixed up. Jason Capel is the one I remember; Jeff's playing career actually was before my memory. Complicating matters further is that their father, also named Jeff, was a college coach as well. Anyway, I shouldn't trust my memory to be a fact-checker, but what fun would there be if it weren't unreliable? Next I plan to confuse my Unsers.
MIDWEST Region:
1 Kansas vs. 16 Portland State
I'll reiterate my thrill-killing pessimism that a 16 seed will ever beat a top seed, but, just for giggles, this is the best chance for it to happen this year. Portland State, making it's inaugural appearance, is a respectable outfit, and Kansas is Kansas. Still, not gonna happen.
8 UNLV vs 9 Kent
Kent played Indiana in back to back tournaments in 2001 and 2002, once in the first round, once in the Elite Eight. They have a dangerous team again six years later, though likely without any future NFL All-Pro tight ends. Second of the four Butler Law games; I'll give it to the Flashes in a toss-up.
5 Clemson vs 12 Villanova
'Nova is an old favorite of mine, and having the ACC team lose would really piss off Billy Packer, never a ill-gotten motive. Otherwise, zero interest in this game from me. Would it have killed them to give us Clemson-Western Kentucky and Drake-Villanova instead?
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 Siena
A trendy upset pick, this one, but I can't get enthused. Yes, Vandy is maddeningly inconsistent, like many SEC teams this year, but a 10-loss team from a mediocre minor conference? So they beat Stanford in November. Big deal. Siena has only one senior in its rotation, though, so they could well return for another go next year.
6 USC vs 11 Kansas State
I had believed that the NBA's new rules creating the one-and-done player would primarily benefit the traditional powerhouse programs, but so far, that's not really happened. There's a risk-reward element to them that old-money teams aren't willing to take on, but less-renowned major conference schools will gladly accept. Witness Ohio State, out of the tournament this year after Greg Oden and Mike Conley took them to the national championship game while passing through Columbus. I'm skeptical of teams relying too much on superstar post players, so I'll score this one for USC.
3 Wisconsin vs 14 Cal State-Fullerton
Last year I put the hex on Donkey's Wisky Badgers, so perhaps it'll make him feel better to know I like them more this year. Or perhaps it won't, given the overall gravity of this guessing game of mine. The Titans (love that nickname) are a four-time NCAA baseball champion who like to run it up and down the floor (they average 83 a game). Alas, they got a lousy draw. Wisky will bore them to death, if all else fails.
7 Gonzaga vs 10 Davidson
I'm almost skipping with glee at the prospect of watching Davidson carve up Gonzaga on a platter. They gave Maryland a tough out last year, when guard Stephen Curry first broke onto the national scene. Curry exploded this year, and carried the team to 22 straight wins. I'll look silly, but there are fewer first-round games I feel more confident about. I'd have them beating Georgetown, as well, but I fear they can't handle the Hoyas size.
2 Georgetown vs 15 UMBC
For whatever reason, UMBC doesn't like its athletic teams to be called "Maryland Baltimore County." I suppose there's some beauty in simplicity there, but it doesn't quite spark the mind quite like "UCLA" or "Cal Poly SLO," which is, I think, just "Cal Poly" these days. And Kent State is now Kent, and Southern Cal doesn't like to be called Southern Cal because it taints them by association with Silent Cal Coolidge, America's least verbose president, if nicknames meant anything.
1 Kansas vs 9 Kent
4 Vanderbilt vs 12 Villanova
3 Wisconsin vs 6 USC (changed my mind!)
2 Georgetown vs 10 Davidson
1 Kansas vs 4 Vanderbilt
2 Georgetown vs 6 USC
1 Kansas vs 2 Georgetown
MIDWEST Region:
1 Kansas vs. 16 Portland State
I'll reiterate my thrill-killing pessimism that a 16 seed will ever beat a top seed, but, just for giggles, this is the best chance for it to happen this year. Portland State, making it's inaugural appearance, is a respectable outfit, and Kansas is Kansas. Still, not gonna happen.
8 UNLV vs 9 Kent
Kent played Indiana in back to back tournaments in 2001 and 2002, once in the first round, once in the Elite Eight. They have a dangerous team again six years later, though likely without any future NFL All-Pro tight ends. Second of the four Butler Law games; I'll give it to the Flashes in a toss-up.
5 Clemson vs 12 Villanova
'Nova is an old favorite of mine, and having the ACC team lose would really piss off Billy Packer, never a ill-gotten motive. Otherwise, zero interest in this game from me. Would it have killed them to give us Clemson-Western Kentucky and Drake-Villanova instead?
4 Vanderbilt vs 13 Siena
A trendy upset pick, this one, but I can't get enthused. Yes, Vandy is maddeningly inconsistent, like many SEC teams this year, but a 10-loss team from a mediocre minor conference? So they beat Stanford in November. Big deal. Siena has only one senior in its rotation, though, so they could well return for another go next year.
6 USC vs 11 Kansas State
I had believed that the NBA's new rules creating the one-and-done player would primarily benefit the traditional powerhouse programs, but so far, that's not really happened. There's a risk-reward element to them that old-money teams aren't willing to take on, but less-renowned major conference schools will gladly accept. Witness Ohio State, out of the tournament this year after Greg Oden and Mike Conley took them to the national championship game while passing through Columbus. I'm skeptical of teams relying too much on superstar post players, so I'll score this one for USC.
3 Wisconsin vs 14 Cal State-Fullerton
Last year I put the hex on Donkey's Wisky Badgers, so perhaps it'll make him feel better to know I like them more this year. Or perhaps it won't, given the overall gravity of this guessing game of mine. The Titans (love that nickname) are a four-time NCAA baseball champion who like to run it up and down the floor (they average 83 a game). Alas, they got a lousy draw. Wisky will bore them to death, if all else fails.
7 Gonzaga vs 10 Davidson
I'm almost skipping with glee at the prospect of watching Davidson carve up Gonzaga on a platter. They gave Maryland a tough out last year, when guard Stephen Curry first broke onto the national scene. Curry exploded this year, and carried the team to 22 straight wins. I'll look silly, but there are fewer first-round games I feel more confident about. I'd have them beating Georgetown, as well, but I fear they can't handle the Hoyas size.
2 Georgetown vs 15 UMBC
For whatever reason, UMBC doesn't like its athletic teams to be called "Maryland Baltimore County." I suppose there's some beauty in simplicity there, but it doesn't quite spark the mind quite like "UCLA" or "Cal Poly SLO," which is, I think, just "Cal Poly" these days. And Kent State is now Kent, and Southern Cal doesn't like to be called Southern Cal because it taints them by association with Silent Cal Coolidge, America's least verbose president, if nicknames meant anything.
1 Kansas vs 9 Kent
4 Vanderbilt vs 12 Villanova
3 Wisconsin vs 6 USC (changed my mind!)
2 Georgetown vs 10 Davidson
1 Kansas vs 4 Vanderbilt
2 Georgetown vs 6 USC
1 Kansas vs 2 Georgetown
17 March 2008
Now for a "the blind leading the blind" joke...
I knew there was a bit I'd forgotten to mention about the Spitzer resignation, so here it is (before I forget again). David Paterson, the lieutenant governor who officially replaced Spitzer today, becomes the first legally blind governor in the nation's history.
As Kurt Vonnegut would say here, hooray for our team.
As Kurt Vonnegut would say here, hooray for our team.
That time o'year again
With every year that goes by, I'm increasingly unable to deny the obvious that the NCAA tournament is the best American sports has to offer. In three weeks I'll go back to feeling guilty over the way big-money sports exploits athletes and academic institutions, but for now I plan to sit back and enjoy it.
I'll try to keep my write-ups shorter this year, if for no other reason than having fewer smart things to say as the years go by. At the very least, I'll say fewer dumb things. Judge for yourself. I'm also much less confident going into the tournament than last year, when I felt Florida was head and shoulders above the rest of the field. This year is much more wide open, and I honestly haven't seen many of the top contenders play more than a few minutes of ball all season.
With 5.1 Dolby Nostalgia Where Available. (winners in bold)
EAST Region:
1 North Carolina vs 16 Mount St. Marys OR Coppin St.
Mount St. Marys has been out of the tournament since the retirement of legendary coach Jim Phelan. Unfortunately, they haven't quite made it this year either, as they still have to play the silly-as-all-hell play-in game. If there's going to be a play-in game, let it be between the last two at-large teams. It wouldn't be any more arbitrary. These teams should get their reward by playing in the real show.
8 Indiana vs 9 Arkansas
A curious side effect of Tradition Cults is how they tend to restore balance to the competitive force. Take a storied basketball program--Indiana, let's say--inject a dose of rich old yahoos screeching to turn the clock back to 1976 and voila! The rest of your conference now has a chance to win. Wait, this didn't happen to your school? Who knew? The Alma Mater's season has come unglued after coach Kelvin Samspson was sacked in an illegal phone-call row, dashing alumni hopes of a Final Four run. Enjoy the tournament, Hoosier fans; it'll be the last one you see for a while, and you'll have a short stay.
5 Notre Dame vs 12 George Mason
Mason has two starters remaining from that improbable Final Four run two years ago in Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell. Alas, the supporting cast isn't quite as deadly this time around, and a repeat performance is unlikely. I'm contractually obligated to hate Notre Dame, and thoroughly enjoyed their ouster to Winthrop last year, but they have the pieces to make a nice run this year. However, they just may be streaky enough to keep this interesting...
4 Washington State vs 13 Winthrop
Wikipedia says Winthrop is one of South Carolina's finest academic institutions and has twice as many women students as men. All this really means is that I would've stuck out twice as hard there. They've also got quite a dynamic men's hoops program, making their fourth straight appearance and being very competitive in the prior three. Unfortunately, they've lost several of the principals involved in the afore-mentioned win over Notre Dame, including the head coach. So why am I picking them here? Tactics. On my first pass of the brackets, I realized I don't have any 4's or 5's losing. Given the improbability of that happening, I have to start looking for the most likely outcome. I think WSU's methodical pace and relative lack of athleticism could keep Winthrop around long enough to cause trouble.
6 Oklahoma vs 11 St. Joseph's
First crotchety old-guy moment: I remember OU head coach Jeff Capel when he was a player at North Carolina. And it doesn't feel like that long ago. I loves me some St. Joe's, but picking my way through this team there doesn't appear to be much worth getting excited over. Hope I'm wrong. I don't even know why. I hate Philadelphia! (Maybe I just hate Temple more...)
3 Louisville vs 14 Boise State
No, Boise State's basketball team does not play on a blue court. And, no, Indiana folks, their coach is not that Greg Graham. Perhaps if these problems were rectified the school would make more frequent trips here. This is their first since 1994.
7 Butler vs. 10 South Alabama
They did it again. After my griping one year ago over the Butler-Old Dominion first round matchup, the tournament committee has assigned two cuddly mid-major powers opposite each other rather than let each of them take a swing at an overripe mid-table grapefruit from one of the power leagues. And now they're rubbing our nose in it; there are three other similar first-round games. But we still have to snore through Villanova-Clemson. Butler had an even better year than last season's Sweet 16 run and their reward is a drop of two seeds. They should handle South Alabama easily, and could terrorize Tennessee in the second round. This could, alas, be the last such run for awhile; much of the team's rotation is made up of seniors.
2 Tennessee vs 15 American
American's debut is against the ever-chaotic Vols, who could make a brilliant run or collapse in terrific fashion, and perhaps both in the same game. They won't enjoy their second round opponent.
Playin' it out
1 North Carolina vs 9 Arkansas
5 Notre Dame vs 13 Winthrop (oh, tempting!)
3 Louisville vs 6 Oklahoma
2 Tennessee vs 7 Butler
1 North Carolina vs 5 Notre Dame
3 Louisville vs 7 Butler
1 North Carolina vs 7 Butler
I'll try to keep my write-ups shorter this year, if for no other reason than having fewer smart things to say as the years go by. At the very least, I'll say fewer dumb things. Judge for yourself. I'm also much less confident going into the tournament than last year, when I felt Florida was head and shoulders above the rest of the field. This year is much more wide open, and I honestly haven't seen many of the top contenders play more than a few minutes of ball all season.
With 5.1 Dolby Nostalgia Where Available. (winners in bold)
EAST Region:
1 North Carolina vs 16 Mount St. Marys OR Coppin St.
Mount St. Marys has been out of the tournament since the retirement of legendary coach Jim Phelan. Unfortunately, they haven't quite made it this year either, as they still have to play the silly-as-all-hell play-in game. If there's going to be a play-in game, let it be between the last two at-large teams. It wouldn't be any more arbitrary. These teams should get their reward by playing in the real show.
8 Indiana vs 9 Arkansas
A curious side effect of Tradition Cults is how they tend to restore balance to the competitive force. Take a storied basketball program--Indiana, let's say--inject a dose of rich old yahoos screeching to turn the clock back to 1976 and voila! The rest of your conference now has a chance to win. Wait, this didn't happen to your school? Who knew? The Alma Mater's season has come unglued after coach Kelvin Samspson was sacked in an illegal phone-call row, dashing alumni hopes of a Final Four run. Enjoy the tournament, Hoosier fans; it'll be the last one you see for a while, and you'll have a short stay.
5 Notre Dame vs 12 George Mason
Mason has two starters remaining from that improbable Final Four run two years ago in Will Thomas and Folarin Campbell. Alas, the supporting cast isn't quite as deadly this time around, and a repeat performance is unlikely. I'm contractually obligated to hate Notre Dame, and thoroughly enjoyed their ouster to Winthrop last year, but they have the pieces to make a nice run this year. However, they just may be streaky enough to keep this interesting...
4 Washington State vs 13 Winthrop
Wikipedia says Winthrop is one of South Carolina's finest academic institutions and has twice as many women students as men. All this really means is that I would've stuck out twice as hard there. They've also got quite a dynamic men's hoops program, making their fourth straight appearance and being very competitive in the prior three. Unfortunately, they've lost several of the principals involved in the afore-mentioned win over Notre Dame, including the head coach. So why am I picking them here? Tactics. On my first pass of the brackets, I realized I don't have any 4's or 5's losing. Given the improbability of that happening, I have to start looking for the most likely outcome. I think WSU's methodical pace and relative lack of athleticism could keep Winthrop around long enough to cause trouble.
6 Oklahoma vs 11 St. Joseph's
First crotchety old-guy moment: I remember OU head coach Jeff Capel when he was a player at North Carolina. And it doesn't feel like that long ago. I loves me some St. Joe's, but picking my way through this team there doesn't appear to be much worth getting excited over. Hope I'm wrong. I don't even know why. I hate Philadelphia! (Maybe I just hate Temple more...)
3 Louisville vs 14 Boise State
No, Boise State's basketball team does not play on a blue court. And, no, Indiana folks, their coach is not that Greg Graham. Perhaps if these problems were rectified the school would make more frequent trips here. This is their first since 1994.
7 Butler vs. 10 South Alabama
They did it again. After my griping one year ago over the Butler-Old Dominion first round matchup, the tournament committee has assigned two cuddly mid-major powers opposite each other rather than let each of them take a swing at an overripe mid-table grapefruit from one of the power leagues. And now they're rubbing our nose in it; there are three other similar first-round games. But we still have to snore through Villanova-Clemson. Butler had an even better year than last season's Sweet 16 run and their reward is a drop of two seeds. They should handle South Alabama easily, and could terrorize Tennessee in the second round. This could, alas, be the last such run for awhile; much of the team's rotation is made up of seniors.
2 Tennessee vs 15 American
American's debut is against the ever-chaotic Vols, who could make a brilliant run or collapse in terrific fashion, and perhaps both in the same game. They won't enjoy their second round opponent.
Playin' it out
1 North Carolina vs 9 Arkansas
5 Notre Dame vs 13 Winthrop (oh, tempting!)
3 Louisville vs 6 Oklahoma
2 Tennessee vs 7 Butler
1 North Carolina vs 5 Notre Dame
3 Louisville vs 7 Butler
1 North Carolina vs 7 Butler
13 March 2008
Chris Hedges
I admit I wasn't a huge fan of "American Fascists", but I hope this book turns out well, because it's an important and overlooked dimension to this argument. Regardless, it's guaranteed to be a much more eloquent postulation of the rudimentary arguments I've posted here. And, of course, it'll be fun to watch his former friends in the liberal blogosphere queue up to crucify him.
Throw in this as well, and it means I'll have to check out some of Hedges' earlier work.
Throw in this as well, and it means I'll have to check out some of Hedges' earlier work.
Fer Pete's sake
Why are the Reds looking for the franchise's first winning season this decade? Could it have something to do with the Cincinnati press being snow-barking crazy?
Fire Joe Morgan has already done a number on this bulbous sack of idiocy from Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer, but here is a sample in all it's unspoiled glory.
You know, it's easy to dismiss Daugherty as another decomposing corpse waving the kids off his lawn with his last ounce of energy before drooling this column into his typewriter, but that can't be possible. Because no one over the age of twelve could find that final sentence to be a crippling rejoinder Daugherty thinks it is. (His rejected closer, apparently, was "Dusty Baker is rubber and Bill James is glue!1!11!")
I fear for the future of the franchise. Seriously, Homer Bailey and Joey Votto for Joe Blanton? It's no wonder Billy Beane is a genius; if people like Daugherty were running big league ballclubs I could be one, too. Of course, people like Daugherty obviously are respected sportswriters for big-market publications apart from all reason, giving hope that no-rate hacks like me could still make it big one day.
Ken Tremendous in FJM comments points out that Daugherty is also of the "global warming is a hoax because it snowed outside ZOMG1!!111!nerds!" school. How unsurprising.
See also Joe Posnanski.
Fire Joe Morgan has already done a number on this bulbous sack of idiocy from Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer, but here is a sample in all it's unspoiled glory.
....Baseball's cerebral side involves numbers. While I believe in baseball-card wisdom - you are who the back of your card says you are - it's just a little piece of the whole. When some of us (OK, me mostly) advocated dealing, say, Votto and Homer Bailey for Oakland pitcher Joe Blanton, the Statboys came out flame-throwing numbers:
Blanton's a creation of his spacious home ballpark! Look at his ERA, home and away! Blanton's a flyball pitcher! Check out his ratio of groundballs to flies!
If you shot back that Blanton has won 42 times in the last three years - and that he went 7-5 at home last year and 7-5 on the road - if you suggested that no number matters but Games Won, you were dismissed as an illiterate.
If Votto takes fewer first-pitch strikes, his run production will improve.
And so on. Here's a stat: Wins as manager: Dusty Baker, 1,162; Bill James, 0.
You know, it's easy to dismiss Daugherty as another decomposing corpse waving the kids off his lawn with his last ounce of energy before drooling this column into his typewriter, but that can't be possible. Because no one over the age of twelve could find that final sentence to be a crippling rejoinder Daugherty thinks it is. (His rejected closer, apparently, was "Dusty Baker is rubber and Bill James is glue!1!11!")
I fear for the future of the franchise. Seriously, Homer Bailey and Joey Votto for Joe Blanton? It's no wonder Billy Beane is a genius; if people like Daugherty were running big league ballclubs I could be one, too. Of course, people like Daugherty obviously are respected sportswriters for big-market publications apart from all reason, giving hope that no-rate hacks like me could still make it big one day.
Ken Tremendous in FJM comments points out that Daugherty is also of the "global warming is a hoax because it snowed outside ZOMG1!!111!nerds!" school. How unsurprising.
See also Joe Posnanski.
12 March 2008
Spitzer swallows*
*Apologies to Jon Stewart, it was too good not to steal.
I can't find myself getting too excited one way or another on this Spitzer deal, nor do I see exactly why it's such an all-encompassing national story. The press loves them a salacious sex scandal, so naturally there's been more coverage of this already than the entire Abramoff affair or any other non-kinky government corruption.
I think Stephanie Mencimer at MoJo has the best take I've read. Spitzer was a dedicated foe of Wall Street, and every dough-nosed suit'n'tie in the city had a three-kegger to celebrate his downfall. And that's too bad, but there's not much you can say for him. Anyone with such powerful enemies should be more careful. Of course, that Republicans were threatening impeachment if Spitzer didn't resign (which he now has), is especially delirious; the right will impeach at the drop of a zipper, but you can't get Sensible Democrats to say the word despite Bush's own involvement in child prostitution.
Interesting historical note: Some outlets are reporting that Spitzer could be prosecuted under the Mann Act, an archaic, ad hoc legislation designed primarily to nail Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion who was fond of running with white women much to the dismay of the white establishment.
I can't find myself getting too excited one way or another on this Spitzer deal, nor do I see exactly why it's such an all-encompassing national story. The press loves them a salacious sex scandal, so naturally there's been more coverage of this already than the entire Abramoff affair or any other non-kinky government corruption.
I think Stephanie Mencimer at MoJo has the best take I've read. Spitzer was a dedicated foe of Wall Street, and every dough-nosed suit'n'tie in the city had a three-kegger to celebrate his downfall. And that's too bad, but there's not much you can say for him. Anyone with such powerful enemies should be more careful. Of course, that Republicans were threatening impeachment if Spitzer didn't resign (which he now has), is especially delirious; the right will impeach at the drop of a zipper, but you can't get Sensible Democrats to say the word despite Bush's own involvement in child prostitution.
Interesting historical note: Some outlets are reporting that Spitzer could be prosecuted under the Mann Act, an archaic, ad hoc legislation designed primarily to nail Jack Johnson, the first African-American heavyweight boxing champion who was fond of running with white women much to the dismay of the white establishment.
Meet the new bosses
Pepe Escobar on the resolution to the Columbia-Ecuador flare-up of two weeks ago.
You've probably noticed the widget on my sidebar for The Real News, the start-up global news network from Canadian filmmaker Paul Jay. They're still in a "beta" talking-heads phase, but if they can achieve their goals it could be a huge breakthrough for progressive journalism on a global scale. I realize, to adapt a phrase, that a progressive idealist and his money are soon parted, and there are no shortage of worthwhile organizations out there begging for your support, but if you have any spare change lying around, you can go watch their mission video, then head to the donation page.
10 March 2008
You can say this for our Dear Leader..
...he has a refreshing knack for candid self-indictment.
(via)
We're in a battle with evil men -- I call them evil because if you murder the innocent to achieve a political objective, you're evil.I realize picking on the Preznit at this point is like hitting off a tee, but, like the war cheerleaders who can never be reminded enough of how desperately, catastrophically wrong they were, you can never shame the moon-faced suckers who enabled this charlatan in two different elections. It's why I can appreciate the skepticism some observers have about Obama. Even though I certainly don't find him comparable to Bush, voters have to be encouraged to take a more critical approach than the media's Beer Test.
(via)
Sunday sermon--Carl Sandburg on Billy Sunday
YOU come along … tearing your shirt … yelling about Jesus.
Where do you get that stuff?
What do you know about Jesus?
Jesus had a way of talking soft and outside of a few bankers and higher-ups among the con men of Jerusalem everybody liked to have this Jesus around because he never made any fake passes and everything he said went and he helped the sick and gave the people hope.
You come along squirting words at us, shaking your fist and calling us all dam fools so fierce the froth slobbers over your lips… always blabbing we’re all going to hell straight off and you know all about it. 5
I’ve read Jesus’ words. I know what he said. You don’t throw any scare into me. I’ve got your number. I know how much you know about Jesus.
He never came near clean people or dirty people but they felt cleaner because he came along. It was your crowd of bankers and business men and lawyers hired the sluggers and murderers who put Jesus out of the running.
I say the same bunch backing you nailed the nails into the hands of this Jesus of Nazareth. He had lined up against him the same crooks and strong-arm men now lined up with you paying your way.
This Jesus was good to look at, smelled good, listened good. He threw out something fresh and beautiful from the skin of his body and the touch of his hands wherever he passed along.
You slimy bunkshooter, you put a smut on every human blossom in reach of your rotten breath belching about hell-fire and hiccupping about this Man who lived a clean life in Galilee. 10
When are you going to quit making the carpenters build emergency hospitals for women and girls driven crazy with wrecked nerves from your gibberish about Jesus—I put it to you again: Where do you get that stuff; what do you know about Jesus?
Where do you get that stuff?
What do you know about Jesus?
Jesus had a way of talking soft and outside of a few bankers and higher-ups among the con men of Jerusalem everybody liked to have this Jesus around because he never made any fake passes and everything he said went and he helped the sick and gave the people hope.
You come along squirting words at us, shaking your fist and calling us all dam fools so fierce the froth slobbers over your lips… always blabbing we’re all going to hell straight off and you know all about it. 5
I’ve read Jesus’ words. I know what he said. You don’t throw any scare into me. I’ve got your number. I know how much you know about Jesus.
He never came near clean people or dirty people but they felt cleaner because he came along. It was your crowd of bankers and business men and lawyers hired the sluggers and murderers who put Jesus out of the running.
I say the same bunch backing you nailed the nails into the hands of this Jesus of Nazareth. He had lined up against him the same crooks and strong-arm men now lined up with you paying your way.
This Jesus was good to look at, smelled good, listened good. He threw out something fresh and beautiful from the skin of his body and the touch of his hands wherever he passed along.
You slimy bunkshooter, you put a smut on every human blossom in reach of your rotten breath belching about hell-fire and hiccupping about this Man who lived a clean life in Galilee. 10
When are you going to quit making the carpenters build emergency hospitals for women and girls driven crazy with wrecked nerves from your gibberish about Jesus—I put it to you again: Where do you get that stuff; what do you know about Jesus?
Elections...somewhere
In Spain, the incumbent Socialist Party (PSOE) has maintained control of the government and extended the term of prime minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero, though they failed to win a majority of parliamentary seats and will have to seek a coalition with one of the smaller parties. The PSOE initially came to power in 2004 after the Madrid train bombings inflamed popular opposition to the conservative Popular Party's complicity with Bush's Iraq adventure.
Last year, many people around the world closely followed the gripping French presidential race between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal. Though Sarkozy won the presidency, of course, early returns from the latest local elections are hinting at a setback for his ruling UMP party.
Last year, many people around the world closely followed the gripping French presidential race between Nicolas Sarkozy and Segolene Royal. Though Sarkozy won the presidency, of course, early returns from the latest local elections are hinting at a setback for his ruling UMP party.
08 March 2008
Saturday song
I really enjoy this from Dengue Fever, a Los Angeles based surf-and-psychedelic band crossed with Cambodian pop.
06 March 2008
I feel like I've seen this before
I'm reading Ray Ginger's 1949 biography of Eugene V. Debs, The Bending Cross, which got a reissue from Haymarket Books last year, and you never know quite who you'll bump into at the turn of the 20th century.
Here's Ginger describing a scene at the 1896 Democratic convention. Debs and Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld were trying to upend the party from the pro-corporate Grover Cleveland era, but were upended by an upstart congressman from Nebraska.
Here's Ginger describing a scene at the 1896 Democratic convention. Debs and Illinois Governor John Peter Altgeld were trying to upend the party from the pro-corporate Grover Cleveland era, but were upended by an upstart congressman from Nebraska.
This would not be the last time Bryan and Darrow would be seen together, of course, they are unfortunately more famous to modern audiences as the legal combatants in the Scopes trial. During this tine, though, Darrow was a key labor lawyer who had defended Debs and other leaders of the American Railway Union in the aftermath of the Pullman strike.
Although Altgeld had dictated the platform, he was unable to dictate the Presidential candidate. Ineligible because of his foreign birth, Altgeld tried to win the nomination for Senator Richard Bland of Missouri, a lifelong advocate of silver coinage. But a young, ex-Congressman from Nebraska, William Jennings Bryan, with a rich, beautiful voice and a true orator's stance, upset the plan. Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech voiced in unforgettable prose the inchoate thoughts of the delegates. When Bryan finished, the revolting workers and farmers went crazy with enthusiasm. They marched in snake dances about the hall, through their hats high in the air, pummeled each other and screamed "Bryan, Bryan, Cross of Gold!" The Boy Orator of the Platte had just won a chance at the nation's top office. And John Peter Altgeld, realizing that he had lost, turned "his weary face and quizzical smile" to Clarance Darrow and said: "It takes more than speeches to win real victories. Applause lasts a little while. The road to justice is not a path of glory; it is stony and long and lonely, filled with pain and martyrdom. I have been thinking over Bryan's speech. What did he say, anyhow?"
I would never have guessed we'd be involved in that sort of thing
The previously sober and serious publication Vanity Fair (!) has a great article documenting the US government's efforts to undermine the elected Hamas government and ferment a Palestinian civil war.
Somebody give that man a pony!Vanity Fair has obtained confidential documents, since corroborated by sources in the U.S. and Palestine, which lay bare a covert initiative, approved by Bush and implemented by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy National Security Adviser Elliott Abrams, to provoke a Palestinian civil war. The plan was for forces led by Dahlan, and armed with new weapons supplied at America’s behest, to give Fatah the muscle it needed to remove the democratically elected Hamas-led government from power. (The State Department declined to comment.)
But the secret plan backfired, resulting in a further setback for American foreign policy under Bush. Instead of driving its enemies out of power, the U.S.-backed Fatah fighters inadvertently provoked Hamas to seize total control of Gaza.
...
The botched plan has rendered the dream of Middle East peace more remote than ever, but what really galls neocons such as Wurmser is the hypocrisy it exposed. “There is a stunning disconnect between the president’s call for Middle East democracy and this policy,” he says. “It directly contradicts it.”
05 March 2008
Do the hokey pokey
From McCain's victory speech:
And the Iraqis? Ah, fuck'em, who cares? Of course, McCain's quote could just as easily been uttered by any calm, reasoned Sensible Liberal who believe nebulous "national interests" are good enough charge to launch imperial wars, and only bother to repeat the number of dead American soldiers as an indictment of the war. Americans want lower gas prices! Americans need lower gas prices! And by God, if some brown people have to die to get them, well, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
Speaking of which, the bad news about Hillary Clinton's wins on Tuesday is that it will only encourage her to show more of that Sensible side, though the infamous Red Phone ad urging Americans to FEAR! looks a touch hypocritical when you consider what Bubba said in the past. She's also responded to the recent spillover of the ongoing Columbian civil war by blaming it all on ol' Hugo, which is sure to play well with the good patriots. The Columbian government, of course, is one of the last US proxies in the region, and every good Sensible knows that such puppeteering is not at all illegitimate, and sometimes you gotta break a few of someone else's eggs to make an omelet. What are you, some kinda hippie? However, none of this is relevant; I only oppose Clinton because I represent the hard left sexist vote.
I will defend the decision to destroy Saddam Hussein's regime as I criticized the failed tactics that were employed for too long to establish the conditions that will allow us to leave that country with our country's interests secure and our honor intact.
And the Iraqis? Ah, fuck'em, who cares? Of course, McCain's quote could just as easily been uttered by any calm, reasoned Sensible Liberal who believe nebulous "national interests" are good enough charge to launch imperial wars, and only bother to repeat the number of dead American soldiers as an indictment of the war. Americans want lower gas prices! Americans need lower gas prices! And by God, if some brown people have to die to get them, well, praise the Lord and pass the ammunition!
Speaking of which, the bad news about Hillary Clinton's wins on Tuesday is that it will only encourage her to show more of that Sensible side, though the infamous Red Phone ad urging Americans to FEAR! looks a touch hypocritical when you consider what Bubba said in the past. She's also responded to the recent spillover of the ongoing Columbian civil war by blaming it all on ol' Hugo, which is sure to play well with the good patriots. The Columbian government, of course, is one of the last US proxies in the region, and every good Sensible knows that such puppeteering is not at all illegitimate, and sometimes you gotta break a few of someone else's eggs to make an omelet. What are you, some kinda hippie? However, none of this is relevant; I only oppose Clinton because I represent the hard left sexist vote.
04 March 2008
From Texas to Ohio
(h/t Damien Jurado)
On the flip side, I did appreciate Obama's response to the charges that he and his wife Michelle are insufficiently patriotic. It's for from ideal for me, but is much better to the typical Democratic response to call a press conference and hump the flag for two hours whenever a right-winger calls their loyalty to the Fatherland in question.
This primary race refuses to end. After it appeared Obama may salt things away by capturing Texas and drawing in Ohio, a late surge in the polls show Clinton has drawn even in Texas and re-established a solid lead in Ohio. Should it play out that way it seems increasingly likely there won't be a winner until the convention.
I'm being reassured by Democrats on the web--reassuring themselves more than anyone else, I think-- that this battle between Clinton and Obama isn't as bloody and traumatic as some in the press have claimed. We'll see how long that lasts; the fire is still a flicker, and it has a long time yet to turn into a blaze. And there are still land mines along the way.
On the flip side, I did appreciate Obama's response to the charges that he and his wife Michelle are insufficiently patriotic. It's for from ideal for me, but is much better to the typical Democratic response to call a press conference and hump the flag for two hours whenever a right-winger calls their loyalty to the Fatherland in question.
02 March 2008
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