I'm only going to say this once, etc.

A reminder, should you talk to or otherwise correspond with me in any way in the next three weeks: I DON’T CARE ABOUT YOUR F-ING BRACKETS!

As you were.

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I’m glad my girlfriend doesn’t live in New Jersey:

“The painful Brazilian wax and its intimate derivatives are in danger of being stripped from salon and spa menus if a recent proposal to ban genital waxing is passed by the state’s Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling.”

I love Instapundit’s lines: “READ MY LIPS: No new waxes!” and “New Jersey Politicians Support Bush.”

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Gee, here’s a shocking development: “European countries that have offered to help the Obama administration close the detention center at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, have begun raising questions about the security risks and requirements if they accept prisoners described by the Bush administration as ‘the worst of the worst,’ according to diplomats and other officials.”

Closing a prison that holds hundreds of the world’s worst mass murderers and war criminals, what could possibly wrong there?

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A sad truth from John McWhorter: “When you’re black and 14, often you have a choice between doing well in school and having black friends.”

The notion that a kid who reads a book or tries in school is “acting white,” pushed by hip hop culture and assorted other black racists, is doing untold damage to black youth. Let’s hope that the election of Obama will start to turn that tide, but I suspect that eradicating black racism will be even harder than eradicating white racism proved to be. White racists had far fewer enablers in the media and academia.

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From a Rasmussen poll: “American workers are far more likely to belong to the investor class than a union. Just 9% of non-union workers would like to join a union.”

Which begs the question…is it good politics for the president to push a massive transfer of wealth from the investor class to unions, even if Big Labor thinks that it has already bought that level of influence?

It’s clearly not good for workers or the country as a whole, so the only remaining question is whether it is good politics.

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Interesting contrast between how big media covered the Iraq antiwar protests of the past (multiply the number of participants by 10, put it on the front page) with how they are covering the current rash of “tea party” protests. Or rather, how they are not covering them.

They hide, hoping you won’t decide.

NBA tidbits

I've been taking it easy following a recent surgery, so blogging has not surprisingly been pretty low on my list of priorities. But that doesn't mean that the NBA has escaped my attention:

The Lakers’ choke one point loss to Indiana was their first game this season decided by fewer than 7 points. The 2001-02 Mavericks were the last team to have their first 15 games decided by 7+ (they ended up at 17).

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Speaking of Indiana, that game began what has to be the most brutal stretch of games I’ve ever seen, as they played the Lakers, Celtics, Cavaliers and Celtics again in a season when those teams are head and shoulders above the rest of the league.

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Maybe the most remarkable stat I’ve seen this year: the sum of the ages of the Grizzlies’ starters is exactly the same this season as the sum of the ages of the North Carolina (college) starters.

Which explains a lot about how each team is going to fare this season.

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Devin Harris and Vince Carter are averaging 24.8 and 22.3 point per game, respectively.

Only two backcourts since 1981-82 have both scored 22+ PPG. The TM of the 1990-91 Warriors’ Run TMC were Mitch Richmond (23.9) and Tim Hardaway (22.9), and the 2004-05 Wizards featured Gilbert Areans (25.5 and Larry Hughes (22.0).

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While on the subject of Harris’ amazing season, he is getting to the line so much that he’s among the leaders for the record for guys 6’4” and under should he keep it up:

Player FTA/G, Season
Jerry West 12.4, 1965-66
Jerry West 12.3, 1961-62
Allen Iverson 11.5, 2005-06
Lloyd/World B. Free 11.2, 1979-80
Devin Harris 10.9, 2008-09

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David Thorpe’s response to a chat question is priceless:

Gerry: (Indy): Does Jamaal Tinsley have value?

David Thorpe: Only to his family.

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John Hollinger’s player comment on Jarron, the lesser of the offensively-challenged Collins twins, is also worth noting:

“As with his twin brother, this Collins is a slow-moving defensive specialist who scores once every lunar eclipse and doesn't rebound much more often. Among centers, Collins ranked second-to-last in PER, third from the bottom in rebound rate and fourth from last in usage rate; those ranks would be first, second and third if he'd been an only child.”

Other lousy NBA centers must send Mrs. Collins Mother’s Day cards every year.

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Fun with box scores:

Playing for Seattle against Cleveland on January 13, 2004, Calvin Booth put up a 2 point, 0 rebound, 10 blocked shot effort in 17 minutes.

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Fun with stats:

Sam Cassell now has more technical fouls (2) than minutes played (0) this season.

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I loved Harlan Schreiber’s description of the Knicks’ salary dump trades:

“For Knicks fans, this is a partial Isiah-enema.”

I think a colonic is still needed.

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Proving that you can never pile on the Knicks too much, Kelly Dwyer had this to say in one of his great Behind the box score recaps:

“The Knicks are best when they aren't thinking, you don't want those sorts of basketball IQs having to decide much…”

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I’ll give the last word to Phil Jackson, on how to crack down on flopping: “I think if you fine them in euros, you’d find that it would really end quickly. There are some American-born players that flop, but it has come to a rather weird state in our game where it’s beginning to look more and more like European soccer.”

I’m convinced that soccer is the root of all of the world’s evil.

A big announcement, etc.

I’ve made it clear I’m not an Obama fan, and I’m not enamored of McCain either, so even though it’s late I’ve decided to take the plunge.

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At least he’s honest. Barney Frank, in the news lately as a habitual Fannie/Freddie apologist and enabler, and thus as one of the primary villains in the mortgage crisis, lets us know that his economic ignorance is not limited to housing: "I think at this point there needs to be a focus on an immediate increase in spending and I think this is a time when deficit fear has to take a second seat . . . I believe later on there should be tax increases.”

Fire, meet gasoline.

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I can take this college basketball player off the dribble and score at will, while shutting him down so you’ll think his half of the scoreboard is broken.

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Random envirofact: US greenhouse gas emissions are falling (EPA source document linked). They were lower in 2006 than in 2005, and are expected to be lower in 2007 than in 2006 when official figures are released next spring, And it’s hard to imagine that they would not be droping in 2008, given the significant decrease in gasoline usage.

I’m not claiming any significance, as I think that solar cycles overwhelm any human contribution to climate, just throwing out a truth that will be inconvenient for the global warmist movement. Now the next time you read that US emissions are increasing, you will know the source is lying.

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Socialism 101:

Despite having some of the world's largest energy reserves, Venezuela is increasingly struggling to maintain basic electrical service, a growing challenge for leftist President Hugo Chavez.

The OPEC nation has suffered three nationwide blackouts this year, and chronic power shortages have sparked protests from the western Andean highlands to San Felix, a city of mostly poor industrial workers in the sweltering south.

[…]

The problem suggests that Chavez, with his ambitious international alliances and promises to end capitalism, risks alienating supporters by failing to focus on basic issues like electricity, trash collection and law enforcement.

As Glenn Reynolds notes, “Too much wealth-spreading, not enough wealth-creation and maintenance.”

They say that to keep trying the same failing action over and over, hoping for a different result, is an illustration of insanity. So it is with collectivist economics and their 100% historical failure rate, but you can bet that these Utopian fantasies will keep destroying lives for another century or three.

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Great story that captures the very essence of Castro (this is real, not a joke): after losing a 1962 round to his strongman, mass murderer Che Guevara, Fidel eliminated the nation’s golf courses, turning them into schools and resorts, among other things. For some reason, one nine-hole course in Havana was spared the tyrant’s wrath, but with his death, err I mean illness (wink, wink) it appears that developers will bring the sport back to the island.

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Having secured the endorsement of Hamas months ago, Obama has now added an endorsement from Iran to his column. Et tu, North Korea?

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Michael Barone reports on hate mongering as campaign rhetoric:

Here's insight into the thinking of some Democrats. In Ohio, they're attacking state Rep. Josh Mandel for having fulfilled his military obligation to serve in Iraq. As Joel Mowbray tells the story, Democrats are saying that Mandel neglected his constituents in favor of "serving George Bush." In these Democrats' view, the war in Iraq is evidently a purely partisan cause, not one sanctioned by the U.S. Congress and ordered by the U.S. president. These people want the United States to prevail only if there is a Democratic president and take delight in American defeat if the president is a Republican. I've seldom seen such a disgusting display of partisanship over country.

Rapid punches

This time it's an homage to Junior Miller instead of Blackie Sherrod.

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There is no need for me to eulogize William F. Buckley, as there so many touching tributes from his friends and colleagues. But I would be remiss if I did not thank him for his influence on me and on this country. I was introduced to him on early editions of Firing Line, which began just as I was really becoming interested in politics and history, and he was an inspiration to me over the years. To one of the intellectual giants of the 20th century…RIP.

CORRECTION: Firing Line debuted in 1966, earlier than I had thought - I'm not quite that old.

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The perfect illustration of the politically correct mindset is captured in this headline from London’s Daily Mail:

“Government Renames Islamic Terrorism As ‘Anti-Islamic Activity’ To Woo Muslims.”

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Speaking of PC idiocy, the fascists at the NCAA have strong-armed another yet team into changing their name, Arkansas State plays their last home game as the Indians tonight. Apparently white liberals would rather them honor indigenous animals than indigenous people.

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From John Hollinger’s analysis (no free link) of the Primoz Brezec-Juan Dixon trade:

“The Euraptors were crestfallen when they acquired Dixon at the deadline last season and found out he was American. Exchanging him for Brezec fixes that nagging problem.”

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Every time I hear of the “scientific consensus” vis-a-vis global warming, I’m reminded of an Albert Einstein quote which I read in a Jay Nordlinger column.

In the 1930’s, 100 “Aryan” scientists signed a letter attacking Einstein and saying his Theory of Relativity was a Jewish hoax. Asked for a response, Einstein said “If what they were saying were true, one signature would have been enough.”

Indeed.

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John Hinderaker on the reeling New York Times: “[I]f a newspaper devotes its resources and its inherited goodwill with the public over a period of decades to advance the interests of one of our political parties, sooner or later people will notice.”

The paper has never quite caught on to the fact that, with the elimination of the Fairness Doctrine in the late ‘80’s and the explosion of the internet in the late 90’s, dissenting points of view can now be heard and thus partisan spin is no longer accepted uncritically. Now it’s too late for the once great newspaper to regain its dignity.

Lest you think it’s only newspapers, recall Dan Rather and CBS running a fake story in an attempt to swing the 2004 presidential election to their preferred candidate.

The old media are so desperate to see a Democrat elected that there's no telling what kind of shenanigans we'll see in the coming months. It's only February and they're already in full campaign mode before they even have a candidate!

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Did you catch Jesse Jackson’s take on the Super Bowl?

"Look at the Super Bowl last Sunday, New England vs. the Giants. They were able to transcend race because the playing field was even. The rules were public and the goals were clear, and there was inherent justice in the competition.''

Who knew Jackson was such an opponent of “affirmative action?”

Scattershooting

Scattershooting while wondering whatever happened to Chuck Nevitt:

Trivia I would never have been able to answer: Name the only two NCAA Division I colleges who have won a national championship in football (mythical, since the NCAA does not crown a champion at the highest level), basketball or baseball in each of the last four decades.

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Bob Novak brings us the sad story of how the Democrat leadership in the House, when forced to make a choice between saving US lives or increasing billable hours for trial lawyers, chose…well, you can guess.

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If the Lakers are invited to play Celebrity Jeopardy, it might be a good idea to leave Lamar Odom at home. After their February 6 loss in Atlanta Phil Jackson said his team was disjointed. When asked if he agreed with that assessment, Odom said “I don’t even know what disjointed means.”

Given Lamar’s past, he probably guessed it means it’s time to re-up.

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Have you noticed that every mass shooting happens in a “gun-free zone” – schools, post offices and the like? And that on those rare occasions when they are stopped it’s because they run into somebody else with a gun? There’s a lesson in there somewhere…now what could it be?

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Jason Kidd will be happy to get back to Dallas for so many reasons, but don’t overlook the fans. Earlier in the season, when asked why the Nets play harder on the road he replied "Maybe more people in the seats?"

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It was nice to see activist Bob Geldof effusively praising President Bush and our policies in Africa, a reminder that the wailing about how the perception of the US has dropped throughout the world is based more on the success of anti-American propagandists getting their message out than on reality. Usefully illustrating the point, major American papers ignored the story (as they do with pretty much any news that reflects positively on the US and/or the president), with only Investor’s Business Daily in addition to the linked Washington Times article even mentioning it.

Thankfully, there is a thriving alternative media out there. The bad news is that you have to work a little to find it, with most passively having their worldview shaped or at least influenced by anti-American elites.


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One more reason college basketball is a joke: Drake beat Iowa in Iowa City for the first time in 40 years due in no small part to the fact that Iowa shot 0, that’s zero/zip/nada, free throws.

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Trivia answer: Oklahoma (1974-75-85 football, 1994 baseball, 2000 football) and Cal State Fullerton (1979-84-95-2004 baseball).

The world's least prolific blogger returns

I send out my best wishes to Greg "The Hammer" Williams. Hang in there buddy, we're thinking about you and we miss you.

Lest you think the world’s bookmakers are all-knowing, on November 14 lines were dealt and bets taken on a college hoops game (741-742 on published schedules) between Cornell and Drake. Betting was eventually suspended and refunds issued when they figured out that the Cornell in question was not the Ivy League Cornell Big Red but the Division 3 Cornell Rams from Mount Vernon, Iowa and the always powerful Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference.

I can’t remember why I’m posting this link.

The college football game between North Texas and Arkansas State was moved from Saturday 11/17 to Thursday 11/15 so as not to interfere with the start of deer season in Arkansas. I had always wondered how folks like the Clintons could come to power, now it’s suddenly making sense to me.

Fun fact: There are currently 32 closed-circuit TV surveillance cameras located within 200 yards of the flat where 1984 author George Orwell lived.

You would have guessed that the Patriots were the most overachieving football team of this season, but Kansas was 10-0 against the spread leading into their showdown with Missouri. And doing it with much more class, I might add.

I don’t know whether to credit or blame my friend Joe Duffy for this, but…Does Ann Arbor get a new Carr with Les Miles?
Rock me!

Anybody who's ever thrown out that idiotic "Every game's a playoff game" line in defense of college football's indefensible system of determining a mythical champion without playing games, say congratulations to Hawaii, who has already won the national championship by your criteria.

It's awesome, baby...

Some fan spent some quality time with their TiVo to come up with this list of 156 people and teams that had nothing to do with the Louisville-UConn game he was calling, pretty funny stuff. I personally don't really mind Vitale much, but then again I care almost nothing about college hoops - complaining about a guy overhyping the sport is like complaining about a soccer guy being too boring, an irony overload of epic proportions.

Not to Rain on their Parade, but…

The NCAA basketball tournament is still great theater, terrific competition and drama. In fact, probably even more so these days, with the really dominant college-aged players already in the NBA pushing the top teams even closer to parity than they already had become with the explosion of TV money.

And I am very happy that North Carolina won it, my heartiest congratulations go out to their players, coaches and fans. They are my favorite college team, given that my Aggies have only just begun to discover the concept of the large round ball. And the whole thing certainly worked out well for me financially this year.

But more than ever I find myself disenchanted with the game itself. Not basketball, which is a beautiful game, the ultimate example of incredible individual athletes interacting as a unit. The problem is fundamental to the college game itself.

And the problem is a simple one – you should not get three points for a midrange shot. It cheapens the game and makes it much less pleasing aesthetically. The three pointer, as a concept, is fine – giving a premium for a very long shot. It is a fine example of the kind of high-risk, high-reward strategy that can allow a weaker team to have a fighting chance to overcome a superior opponent in any sport. But when the high reward comes with very little risk, the whole structure of the game is distorted.

Let’s move the line back to the current NBA distance (and perhaps move the NBA distance back a foot or so too while we’re at it) and turn the college game back into basketball instead of a modified version of h-o-r-s-e.

And, once again, congrats to the Heels!