Billy Packer

In Day 2 of his running diary, the Sports Guy shares some thoughts on Billy Packer:

CBS switched us to Georgia Tech-UNLV. Our announcers? Jim Nantz and Billy Packer! "(BLEEP) YOU!" House screams at the TV. Well, then.

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House on Packer-Nantz vs. Raftery-Lundquist: "You know what the difference is between the broadcasts? Raftery and Lundquist actually like basketball." Hey, I didn't say it.

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With UNLV winning by 11, Billy Packer describes Georgia Tech's offense as "directionless." That's a nice way of saying, "What the hell is their coach doing?"

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Packer is dissecting this UNLV game with the giddiness of Dr. Michael Baden walking us through an HBO autopsy. Billy, loosen up! It's a good game! It's March Madness! Could somebody pour some Patron in his sparkling water please?

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A UNLV player named Michael Umeh (pronounced "oooh-may") makes a jumper to extend their lead to seven, leading to this exchange:

--Nantz: "Ooooh-may ... yes! (Two-second pause while he debates whether to engage Packer.) You know what Dick Enberg would say for Umey?"
--Packer (monotone): "Oh, my?"
--Nantz: "Oh, my."

(Three seconds of awkward silence.)

And some other random thoughts:

North Texas leads by five. Meanwhile, we just spent the last few minutes trying to figure out where else in life the possession arrow could work. JackO thinks they should use it in the Middle East. "The possession arrow for the Gaza Strip points to … Israel!"

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Four minutes of the UNLV-Georgia Tech second half elapses before they remember to switch us back to the game on the UNLV-Georgia Tech channel (they were showing the Memphis game for some reason) … and, of course, they're in commercial. This seems like a good time to mention that I'm paying $69.95 to see every minute of every game of March Madness. "Greg Gumbel just squatted on us like Azamat," House says in the Borat voice.

(If you're a DirecTV & Mega March Madness subscriber, I'm sure you can feel the Sports Guy's pain.)

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Clark Kellogg tells us that G-Tech "has the horses" to catch up to UNLV. "Too bad they don't have the jockey," House says. He's on fire this morning.

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Here's our script for the next OnStar commercial: "Hey, I'm trying to find somebody's house ... it's a girl I just met online ... I need to get there soon because her parents are out for three hours ... I have a 12-pack and two joints with me ... can you use your satellite technology to make sure Chris Hansen isn't there?"

NCAA, Day 2

Winthrop pulled out a win against Notre Dame (74-64), which is probably an upset in seeding only (11 over 6). The past two years, as 14 & 15 seeds, Winthrop lost by a combined 12 points, including last year's loss at the buzzer to Tennessee.

Albany, however, wasn't so fortunate. A year after battling 1 seed Connecticut in the first round, the Great Danes ran into a buzzsaw named J.R. Reynolds. The Virginia guard made his first 7 shots, including his first four 3-point shots. The Cavaliers raced out to a 21-4 lead and never looked back, winning 84-57.

In the first 5 vs. 12 game, Tennessee only has 107 points with 4 minutes left, holding a 25 point lead over Long Beach State. Meanwhile, 2 seed Wisconsin found themselves down 10-0 four minutes into their game against 15 seed Texas A&M-Corpus Christi. Down 25-7 at one point, Wisconsin still trails, 40-33, with 14 minutes left.

Day 1 Recap

North Carolina survived a bit of a scare against Eastern Kentucky. The Tar Heels raced out of the gate, scoring the first 7 points. Eleven minutes into the game, UNC held a 39-12 lead. However, Eastern Kentucky rebounded and outscored UNC 32-9 over the next 12 and a half minutes spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half, pulling within 4 points at 48-44. Fortunately, Carolina responded, scoring the next 7 points and finishing the game on a 38-21 burst, pushing the final margin to 86-65.

So day one is over, 16 games have been played, and the only upset of any note was VCU over Duke. Only 2 games were decided by fewer than 9 points, both with identical 79-77 final scores - VCU's win over Duke and Xavier's win over BYU, where BYU scored at the buzzer to cut the margin from 4 to 2.

Some thoughts from the Sports Guy's running diary of day one:

Today's early games: Davidson-Maryland, BC-Texas Tech and Stanford-Louisville. We're watching the Maryland game because (A) House is a Terps fan, and (B) Davidson has a starting guard named Max Paulhus Gosselin (sounds like the star from the Dutch version of "Saved By The Bell").

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JackO: "Wouldn't it be excellent if Darryl Strawberry wandered onto the court during this Maryland game like Dennis Hopper in Hoosiers?"

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Gus tells us that Louisville's Derek Caracter missed 16 games this year due to "off-court issues." Sounds like some Caracter problems. Thank you, thank you very much. I'll be here all week.

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CBS is showing these "learn about the schools" graphics -- for Stanford, the famous alum was Sandra Day O'Connor. For Louisville, it was Wes Unseld and Johnny Unitas. "I hope it's Jeffrey Dahmer for Marquette," JackO says.

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Tech cuts BC's lead to five with 1:41 remaining. Meanwhile, JackO is rambling about the fact that we were watching "SportsCenter" last night and they showed scores from the Women's NIT: "The Women's NIT? Did we really need a Women's NIT? Would you even hang that banner up in your school's gym if you won the title?"

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Actual postgame question from Dan Bonner to Rick Pitino after a game in which Louisville had a 26-point lead by halftime: "Rick, first of all, congratulations, it appeared to me your team played awfully well, particularly in the first half. What's your assessment?" Can we take Dan's microphone away?

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Just argued whether Dick Enberg actually thinks Patrick Ewing the dad is playing in this Georgetown-Belmont game. I say yes, House and JackO say no. It's almost more fun NOT knowing.

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Well, VCU's pressure is finally wearing down Duke -- they've cut it to 28-23 and Greg Paulus is heaving like Rick Majerus during a pilates class right now.

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Classic Duke moment: Clock running down, end of the half, Paulus gets trapped near the VCU bench and has to throw up a three-point heave ... and they call a touch foul on VCU. Even Coach K seems embarrassed. Really, we have to rig games for a team everyone hates? That's what we've resorted to? I need a break. Back in around an hour.

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All right, the officiating has been so one-sided in the VCU-Duke game that (A) the fans are booing the refs after every call even though the game's being played in a neutral site, and (B) House just logged online to check out the total fouls. What a disgrace.

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It's getting chippy in the VCU-Duke game -- Paulus just got fouled hard twice and even exchanged a couple extracurricular bumps with Eric Maynor, followed by the obligatory shot of Coach K. carrying on like the VCU players just went after Paulus with a chainsaw or something. I have to say, it's fun to have Duke around. They're fun to hate.

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Here's a sentence that Chad Ford needs to add to his draft profile for Josh McRoberts in the "weaknesses" section: He's the kind of guy who flops for a foul while screaming "ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" at the same time.

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We're all stunned that McRoberts has a 21-11 right now. Tie game, 1:30 left. If he's one of the top-20 draft prospects in college basketball, I demand a recount. He's like a homeless man's Darko Milicic, only if he spent the last seven summers at Bill Laimbeer Summer Camp.

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Classic McRoberts: Duke missed a jumper and McRoberts drew a loose ball foul by reacting to a bump under the basket like he'd just been shot. Fortunately, he's about to miss one of these free throws ... and there it is! Thank you, Josh McRoberts. "Coach K. should have spent his summer recruiting instead of coaching the U.S. in the World Championships," House jokes.

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And we're back! Still reeling from the fact that there's an Ainge on BYU (Danny's son Austin). If Danny signed Brian Scalabrine to a $15 million contract, what would he give his own son? $30 million? $40 million? Let's hope we never find out.

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It's Indiana 20, Gonzaga 17, eight minutes to go in the first half ... shouldn't there be cameras in Josh Heytvelt's dorm room right now? He's probably staring at his ceiling and wondering why it keeps turning into a gypsy.

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Jacko thinks Derek Raivio should have one name -- "Raivio" -- like he's Fabio or something. Intriguing idea. Meanwhile Raivio just turned into a giant lizard on Josh Heytvelt's TV.

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One silver lining today: No Billy Packer.

"That means we get him tomorrow though," JackO points out.

(The room falls silent.)

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Newsflash to Indiana: You don't have to keep wearing your warmups from the Kent Benson Era. You can get new ones.

Day 2 starts in less than 12 hours - 16 more games featuring potential upset specials in (6) Notre Dame vs. (11) Winthrop and (4) Virginia vs. (13) Albany, along with three 5 vs. 12 matchups.

Way To Go, VCU!

We have our first upset of the NCAA Tournament, thanks to Virginia Commonwealth. VCU guard Eric Maynor scored 6 of his 22 points in the final minute and a half, including the game winning jumper with 1.8 seconds left, giving the 11th-seeded Rams a 79-77 victory over 6th-seeded Duke. The win ended a rough day for the 11 seeds. After Stanford fell to Louisville, George Washington was pounded by Vanderbilt, 77-44.

NCAA Tourney

Three games down, no upsets. And although one game doesn't mean as much as some "experts" would have you believe - if you win, it doesn't automatically justify your inclusion in the tournament, and a loss doesn't necessarily mean you shouldn't have been included - Stanford tried to show that they didn't deserve to be invited to the dance. It's never good when you lose by 20 and it can be said that the game wasn't nearly as close as the score indicates. Less than 15 minutes into the first half, 6th-seeded Louisville was leading Stanford, the 11th seed, 41-13. Ouch. Louisville led by as many as 33 in the second half.

Go Away!

I love hearing celebrities criticize the country that's allowed them to become celebrities. The latest is actor James Cromwell, who currently plays Jack Bauer's dad on "24."

"I can't handle living in the United States of America when I know the last two elections were rigged, and that we were denied our right to vote, where we live in a country where 32 percent of the people vote and even those people's votes don't count, and the people who should really have a stake, kids, don't have any say at all – people of color, very little to say, unions, practically nothing any more … we're losing our jobs. …"

I can't believe there's nothing in there about the government planning and executing 9/11.

Candidate for Scumbag of the Year

From the New York Post:

Melanie Lidle lost her husband last Oct. 11 when Yankee pitcher Cory Lidle crashed his plane into 524 E. 72nd St. Christopher Lidle, 6, lost his father.

But celebrity dentist Dr. Larry Rosenthal and his wife, Sandra, say they lost their clothes and furniture when the plane struck the high-rise building 13 floors below their 43rd floor apartment - and they want Lidle's estate to pay for them.

"A wing of the airplane went through their window," their lawyer, David Jaroslawicz, explained to Page Six.

Rosenthal - who is as expert at extracting cash from insurance companies as he is with impacted molars - has sued Lidle's estate for $5 million in compensatory damages, plus $2 million for their "mental anguish and distress."

While the Rosenthals' suffering might be minimal compared to that of Lidle's widow and her grieving little boy, Jaroslawicz said, "There's the nuisance of being thrown out of your apartment, having to go out and buy clothes. It's an inconvenience."

This Rosenthal guy is such a winner that he actually sued himself in 2003, and made $85,000 in the process. The Post story gives some details, if you'd like some motivation to bang your head against the wall.

Overall, I like the "inconvenience" argument. Well, yeah, she lost her husband, and they boy lost his father, but my clients had to go out and buy new clothes!

Hate Mongers

From WorldNetDaily:

A ruling from the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has concluded that municipal employers have the right to censor the words "natural family," "marriage" and "family values" because that is hate speech and could scare workers.

A More Inconvenient Truth

I found this at GlennBeck.com:

Let the Madness Begin

I love March.

I'm hoping this year's tournament ends like 2005's:

In case you're only familiar with the Luther Vandross version of One Shining Moment that CBS has been using in recent years, the version in this video is the song's writer and original artist, David Barrett. (Check out OneShiningMoment.com or DavidBarret.com, where I just found out that he's a fan of C.S. Lewis and wrote the music for the PBS special "The Magic Never Ends: The Life & Works Of C.S. Lewis.") I can't hardly listen to this song without getting goose bumps.

Here's the first One Shining Moment montage, after Indiana's 1987 championship (I enjoyed seeing Kevin Gamble in here):

Aging (or Ancient?) Centers

The Sports Guy had these gems from his running diary of last night's Rockets vs. Celtics game. First, he touched on 51 year old Moses Malone, who retired in 1995:

9:22 -- Tonight's Legal Sea Foods trivia question: Who's the only person who won consecutive MVPs playing for two different teams? That's easy: Moses Malone. I own the Legal Sea Foods question. Which reminds me, what about Henry Abbott leaving Moses off his top-10 centers ballot on ESPN.com this week and inadvertently setting the blog movement back 10 years? I know I abstained, but regardless of the scoring system, no Moses in the top 10???? Is there an explanation forthcoming? I'm deleting True Hoop from my favorite places until we get one. (Note: You can read Moses' angry response to Henry on Moses's blog at www.mmmbdgshhbshhmmmmvsbbbsmm.com.)

Next up was 40 year old Dikembe Mutombo, who's in his 16th season:

9:32 -- With the Rockets leading by 29 in the final 10 minutes, Powe accidentally tumbles into Mutombo's knees; poor Dikembe goes down in a heap and can't get up. See, this is why I'm not allowed to announce NBA games -- I'd be talking in the Cookie Monster voice right now: Ahhhhhhhhhh ... my knee hurts ... ahhhhhhhhhhhhh ... me don't like when my knee hurts ...

And, finally, for good measure, Yao Ming, who moves like he's 40, but is actually 26:

9:42 -- Coming out of commercial, we see a replay of Yao's finger getting bent back on a rebound and Yao screaming in pain, followed by Gorman reporting that Yao went to the locker room to get it checked out, then Tommy joking, "That was his chopstick finger, too, he may not be able to eat anymore!" and Gorman changing the subject as fast as humanly possible. (The lesson, as always: It's never dull when anyone older than 70 is allowed near a microphone during a sporting event.)

Funding Terrorists?

Does this story make any sense?

Israel today raided a military headquarters of Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party and arrested Fatah militia members wanted for carrying out terror attacks against the Jewish state.

Most of the terrorists arrested in today's raid were members of Fatah's intelligence unit, which received U.S. weapons shipments in recent months and was slated to be infused with funds from a pending $86 million American grant ...

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Together with the Islamic Jihad group, Fatah's Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigades has taken responsibility for every suicide bombing in Israel the last two years, including a bombing two weeks ago in Eilat and an attack in Tel Aviv last April that killed eight Israelis and American teenager Daniel Wultz.

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The Fatah intelligence unit, for which the militants arrested in today's raid worked, previously received arms from shipments of U.S. weapons sent to Fatah in recent months, including a shipment of 7,000 assault rifles delivered in January, Palestinian security sources told WND. The sources said no American weapons have been received since Fatah signed a unity agreement with Hamas last month.

The intelligence branch was also slated to receive funding from an $86.4 million grant the Bush administration had pledged in January to strengthen the Fatah security forces. The grant was put on hold last month by Congressional leaders who asked the State Department to clarify whether Palestinians terror groups might receive some of the funding.

Playing Politics?

I previously posted on the non-binding resolution that passed in the U.S. House of Representatives. It it, I questioned whether or not these people who were "sending a message" to the President would ever actually vote to cut funding and bring our troops home, like they said they wanted to do.

Boy, did they show me. Check this out, from Yahoo! News:

In a direct challenge to President Bush, House Democrats are advancing legislation requiring the withdrawal of U.S. combat troops from Iraq by the fall of next year.

Hmmm, the fall of next year. Fall - that would be like October & November. And this is 2007, so next year would most likely be 2008. Is there anything else going on in the fall of 2008? Like on November 4, perhaps?

I would say I'm surprised, but then I would be lying. I'm really disgusted that these politicians continue to play politics with the war. I've said this before, and I'll say it again: IF YOU WANT TO END THE WAR, END THE WAR!!! Don't mess around with the lives of our soldiers. Either give them the support and resources they need to win, or bring them home.

(Side note, your honor - has our youth sports league policy of not keeping score or caring who wins really spread up to our Congress?)

This seems to be a pretty clear statement that the Democratic leadership of the House just disagrees with (I would say "hates," but it's an awfully strong word) the President, but wants him to be responsible for whatever happens. They're saying, "You need to end this war and bring our troops home, or else your party will lose the election in 2008."

John Owen

From the newly redesigned (by Tim Challies) Monergism.com:

To suppose that whatever God requireth of us that we have power of ourselves to do, is to make the cross and grace of Jesus Christ of none effect.
- John Owen

Beef, It's What's For Dinner

(random, obligatory link to recipes at www.beefitswhatsfordinner.com)

PETA is challenging Al Gore to be committed to the cause:

“The single best thing that any of us can do to for our health, for animals, and for the environment is to go vegetarian,” says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. “The best and easiest way for Mr. Gore to show his critics that he’s truly committed to fighting global warming is to kick his meat habit immediately.”

PETA points out:

• The effect that our meat addiction is having on the climate is truly staggering. In fact, in its recent report “Livestock’s Long Shadow—Environmental Issues and Options,” the United Nations determined that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all the cars and trucks in the world combined.
• Researchers at the University of Chicago have determined that switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Toyota Prius.

I Don't Want To Miss A Thing

NASA Scientists: We Don't Have Money to Track Killer Asteroids

Oh come on, we don't need money. We've done this before. I'm sure Ben Affleck learned all he needs to know from Bruce Willis.

Private Eye

Just when I was wondering what was going on in the case, Glenn Beck had a link to a little more news concerning Jose Compean & Ignacio Ramos:

A private investigator who was hired by former U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos during his trial on allegations he fired at a fleeing drug smuggler says he doesn't think prosecutors made any significant effort to find the smuggler, later identified as Osvaldo Aldrete-Davila.

Freddie Bonilla told WND that his investigation of the Feb. 17, 2005, incident was straight-forward, and led him quickly to Aldrete-Davila's identity, and he believes the federal government should have been able to do the same thing.

Here's where Bonilla's investigation started, Aldrete-Davila's abandoned van:Surely that amount of drugs doesn't really mean anything. Just a little weed to take the edge off.

I Confess - I'm Innocent!

Why is it that you can confess to murdering your wife, dismembering her body and then depositing the body parts in a park, and then plead not guilty?

(HT: J in the UK)

Hate Is A Strong Word

The Sports Guy responds to some feedback from his rant about Coach K, which he ended by stating that he hates Duke:

The Duke grads are riled up because I wrote that I hated Duke. You're right, bad choice of words -- I should have written "disliked," "loathed" or even "abhorred." "Hate" is a strong word. Anyway, I feel like everyone has to pick sides in the UNC-Duke thing (much like with sodas, fast food, coffee and TVs as mentioned above), and I'm partial to UNC because I have multiple friends who went there and they've all brainwashed me to root against Duke. Which I do. Also, I think Coach K is a sniveling ninny. So I guess there's that. I don't feel like a true basketball fan should be allowed to remain neutral on this -- either you're against Duke or you're against UNC. It's one or the other.

Bullying

Iowa Governor Chet Culver signed a bill into law today that bans bullying in schools. According to the Des Moines Register:

Senate File 61 requires all Iowa schools to have policies by Sept. 1 that prevent and punish bullying or harassment of any student. Currently, 77 of Iowa's 365 public school districts have anti-bullying policies that include sexual orientation.

The bill (sf61) contains the following language:

b. "Trait or characteristic of the student" includes but is not limited to age, color, creed, national origin, race, religion, marital status, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, physical attributes, physical or mental ability or disability, ancestry, political party preference, political belief, socioeconomic status, or familial status.

Is there anything that they left off the list? How about "favorite sports team"? Or "favorite food"? Or are those acceptable grounds for bullying? I don't get why such a distinction is necessary - or why such a state law is necessary. Are there really schools out there that condone creating "an objectively hostile school environment" for their students?

If you really want to go deep into this, what about subject material of different courses? What about the 16 year old Nazi skinhead who has to sit through his history teacher talking about Hitler and the Holocaust in a negative way? What about the Christian who has to listen to her science teacher speak of Darwinian evolution or the Big Bang as absolute fact?

But back to the issue at hand, namely the definition of "protected classes." Surprisingly, the Register's article included a quote from Bob Stouffer, superintendent of Des Moines Christian School:

"The bottom line should be that bullying should not be tolerated for any reason," Stouffer said.

Hansbrough Video

For those of you who haven't seen the play, here's how it played out on CBS. Listen to as little or as much of Billy Packer as you can handle:



Here's an interesting angle. Pretty shaky camera work, but it sure doesn't look like Henderson's making a "basketball play:"



And one more for good measure, from CNN Headline News:

Greek Life?

From the Mason City Globe Gazette:

Some student groups will not participate in an annual blood drive this week at Iowa State University to protest federal rules that prevent some gay men from donating.

Up to 500 blood donations are expected to be lost as a result of the decision by Greek Week officials, said organizers of the Ames blood drive, the largest student-run blood drive in Iowa.

The loss of that much blood comes at a time when Iowa blood banks are already seeing supplies run short because of recent storm-related cancellations of blood drives and fewer walk-in donors.

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U.S. Food and Drug Administration rules prohibit men who have had sex with another man since 1977 from giving blood.

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The FDA says research shows that men who have had sex with men are 60 times more likely to be infected with the AIDS virus than the rest of the general public.

I wouldn't want a little thing like HIV to stand in the way of people donating blood. While we're at it, why don't we let intravenous drug users who share needles donate?

Broken Nose

From ESPN.com:

Tyler Hansbrough will probably play in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament despite breaking his nose during the blood-filled final seconds of No. 8 North Carolina's victory over 14th-ranked Duke on Sunday.

Read the whole article and you get to this line:

[North Carolina head coach Roy] Williams also said that Hansbrough injured a tooth earlier in the game and will probably need a root canal after the season ends.

Yeah, that was likely from the first "inadvertent" elbow/forearm Hansbrough took to the face.

I love the Sports Guy's take:

4. I don't mean to pile on Billy Packer here -- OK, maybe I do -- but when you're already considered to be one of the biggest apologists on the planet for Duke basketball, is it really a good idea to keep making excuses for a Duke player after he just threw a malicious elbow at Carolina's best player with 15 seconds remaining in an 12-point game? That was one of the strangest sequences I've ever watched in a televised basketball game. Here's a rough transcript (I'm doing it from memory):

(We see a replay of Gerald Henderson measuring Hansbrough, flying over from six feet away, then delivering a Macho Man Savage-type elbow into Hansbrough's face one second after Hansbrough had already been stripped of the ball.)

Packer: "Yeah, he was going for the ball ... that was NOT intentional."

(We see another replay of the same thing from a different angle -- this time, it looks like Henderson could potentially be arrested for what just happened.)

Packer: "See, from that replay, there's NO QUESTION that Henderson was going for the ball ... that was definitely an accident.)

(Jim Nantz thinks about mentioning that Hansbrough had already been stripped of the ball before Henderson even raises his elbow, realizes that he has to announce games with Packer for the next four weeks, doesn't want it to be awkward, decides against saying anything at all, starts day-dreaming about the Masters.)

Packer: "Nope ... no way. He was going for the ball."

(Cut to a replay of Hansbrough walking off the court with his face broken in half.)

Packer: "Jim, if anything, that was probably Hansbrough's fault for going after Henderson's elbow with his face ..."

You get the idea. We have media criticism rules at ESPN, so I have to tread carefully here ... but have you noticed that Packer somehow turns himself into a major story before EVERY NCAA TOURNAMENT? As I wrote a couple of years ago, I was watching an Indiana State Final Four game from the '79 tournament and they made a big deal before the game about how Packer had publicly attacked Indy State's credentials for the entire tournament, and now they were in the Final Four and he was eating a little crow -- they even showed an awkward interview with him and Larry Bird after the game. This was 28 years ago!!!!!! What chain of events needs to happen for CBS to replace him with a more palatable, more enjoyable, agenda-less lead analyst? Does 100 percent of the country have to band together and say, "We're tired of this guy?" Or are we good at the current number of 97 percent?

And then:

Congrats to Coach K for questioning why Hansbrough was still in the game and inadvertently using Isiah Thomas' "he was asking for it" defense. And the Duke fans wonder why everyone hates Duke. If the roles were reversed, and this had happened to McRoberts, Coach K would have shown up for the news conference covered in McRoberts's blood, fighting back tears, urging for the offending UNC player to be suspended for the entire ACC tournament and basically looking like Jackie Kennedy in Dallas after the JFK shooting. God, I hate Duke.

Bleeding Carolina Blue

From Adam Lucas of TarHeelBlue.com:

With the Smith Center's foundation shaking and referees huddling and the blood vessels on your temple popping and Roy Williams and Mike Krzyzewski meeting at midcourt and what had been a bit of a ho-hum finish exploding, Tyler Hansbrough said exactly what you thought he would say.

He was standing in the Smith Center training room with his father, trainer Marc Davis, a dentist, and sports information honcho Matt Bowers. The first move was to have him cough into a trash can, which send blood streaming. Finally, the blood stopped streaming from his nose. The front of his jersey, from the neck to the waist, was covered in bright red blood. Hansbrough's blood. And this is what he said:

"I want to go back out there. Like this."

Imagine if that had happened. Imagine if Hansbrough had walked back onto the Smith Center court with his jersey covered in blood, a plug in each nostril, and a menacing glare.

(Photo courtesy of ESPN.com)

The above image is the result of a hard foul by Duke's Gerald Henderson in the closing seconds of UNC's 86-72 win over the Blue Devils on Sunday. Whether or not Henderson meant to injure Hansbrough, it looked like he was definitely trying to deliver a hard foul - you don't generally see people go after a blocked shot with their elbow/forearm. That wasn't the first time in the game that Hansbrough received a hard (if not cheap) shot to the face.

After the game, Coach K had the audacity to drop this quote, which Adam Lucas follows up nicely, with some sarcasm and cold, hard facts:

"The game was over before (the foul)," Duke's Mike Krzyzewski said. "The outcome of the game, let's put it that way. It's unfortunate those people were in the game."

So the Blue Devils had given up. That's why, when Bobby Frasor toed the free throw line with 18.7 seconds remaining, Duke had Gerald Henderson, Josh McRoberts, DeMarcus Nelson, and Jon Scheyer still on the floor. Greg Paulus had just left after fouling out.

For the record, Henderson, McRoberts, Nelson, Scheyer, and Paulus played 167 of the game's 200 minutes (40 minutes times 5 players). Hansbrough was still in the game because, as opposed to Coach K's comments, Duke had not given up. They were still fouling and trying to make a comeback.

In case this hasn't been clear enough, yet, let me be completely transparent. Coach K - "those people" were in the game because of your decision to draw out a game that you readily admit "was over."

On a lighter note, you've got to love the camaraderie on the Tar Heels:

When Hansbrough eventually returned--just in time to enjoy the senior speeches by [Dewey] Burke, Wes Miller, and Reyshawn Terry--it was Frasor whom he asked, "Does my nose look normal?"

Hansbrough asked this while dried blood remained on his face and two plugs were sticking out of his nostrils like a walrus's tusks. Even the deadpan Frasor couldn't resist a small smile.

"Yeah, Tyler," he said. "You look really normal."

NBA All-Star Weekend Fallout

It's been a couple of weeks since the NBA's All-Star weekend, but I'm just now taking some time to vent. Much was made in various media reports about the numbers of arrests and violent incidents in Las Vegas over the weekend, and nearly all the reports/stories I read/heard blamed the NBA and it's "hip-hop culture." Give me a break. I'm pretty sure there weren't any NBA players involved in those arrests, and I'm pretty sure there wasn't anybody in Vegas doing anything "arrest-worthy" because it was All-Star weekend. Anyway, I finally read a fair take on the weekend, courtesy of ESPN.com's Sports Guy:

The NBA was unfairly blamed for the general craziness of the weekend, with the Pacman Jones incident getting the most play ... like it was the NBA's fault that an NFL star caused the biggest riot of the weekend. The NBA didn't screw up; Vegas screwed up. The city failed to stack the Strip and the surrounding parts of the city with enough cops and security guards, and they made the mistake of hoping everyone would act appropriately.

For any other weekend, that was a reasonably sound game plan. For a weekend in which the NBA All-Star Game was the THIRD biggest event behind Chinese New Year and the Fashion Convention? Not a good idea. If you owned a car and resided within driving distance of Vegas, you needed only to find a space in a garage and you were good to go for the weekend, even if you didn't have a place to sleep. Contrary to public belief, New Orleans won't be as chaotic an All-Star destination because the city will flood downtown with cops -- no way the Big Easy makes the same mistake as Vegas did -- and because out-of-towners won't be able to cruise into the city and park downtown without any trouble. Over everything else, that's where Vegas screwed up.

The other ridiculous fallout from Las Vegas is the number of people already saying that the NBA shouldn't hold next year's All-Star weekend in New Orleans. The Houston Rockets' Tracy McGrady, for one, said he doesn't think New Orleans is the "right city to have this type of event right now" and that "If I don't feel that I'm going to be safe, if I am on that team, I will look into probably not even going."

You know what, Tracy? You're probably right. I'm sure the city that hosts Mardi Gras is incapable of hosting the NBA All-Star game.

3=5?

The All England Club announced this week that Wimbledon would now pay out equally for the men's and women's tournaments. Their new policy matches those of the Australian and U.S. Open, where the men and women are paid equally throughout the tournament. The French Open differs in that it only pays the winners equally.

Venus Williams was among the people who lauded the decision:

From this moment forward, Wimbledon will be treating the women equally to the men. ...

It’s an historic moment for women’s tennis and for the players, from pioneer Billie Jean King to the stars of today, who have always believed and never given up in the struggle for equality. ...

Equality is a principle and it is a cause. More importantly for women, it is a mindset. The decision by Wimbledon is significant because it will positively impact that mindset in young girls and send the right message to all corners of sport and all of our society, that women and men merit equal treatment. ...

Equality, huh? What about the fact that the men play best of 5 set matches, while the women play best of 3? So the men's champ has the potential to play 35 sets over the "fortnight" while the women's champ could potentially play 21. Roger Federer, who won last year and dropped just a single set, played 1 more match than a women's champ could possibly play. (Last year's women's champ Amelie Mauresmo played 17 matches.) So much for "equal pay for equal work."

If I were a woman, I'd be embarrassed. This is groundbreaking for the equality of women? To be paid the same as men while working less? That's equality?

Talking heads on sports TV and radio have been looking back to a previous "win" in the fight for equality in tennis. On September 20, 1973, Billie Jean King beat Bobby Riggs (6-4, 6-3, 6-3) in the "Battle of the Sexes." King had this to say about the match: "I thought it would set us back 50 years if I didn't win that match. It would ruin the women's [tennis] tour and affect all women's self-esteem."

At the time, King had won 10 career Grand Slam singles titles, with 2 more to follow. Riggs, meanwhile, was the #1 ranked men's player ... in the 1940s. Earlier that year, on May 13, Riggs had defeated the top ranked women's player, Margaret Smith Court, 6-2, 6-1. Court won 3 Grand Slam singles titles in 1973, and 24 for her career.

I find it sad that King thought that "all women's self-esteem" would be affected by a tennis match between a nearly 30-year old woman and a 55-year old man. Actually, I'd find it sad if she would have thought that about an evenly paired match.

I'm sick of empty rhetoric of "equality." Who cares that Maresmo won "only" $1,117,000 for winning Wimbledon last year? (Compared to Federer's $1,170,000.) Is that really a major battleground for equality in our world? $53,000 for playing a sport? What a joke. Aren't there actual problems with equality out there? Or was Wimbledon the final frontier?

Reason #1,500,945 Why I Hate Politics: Arrogance

From Hillary Clinton:

“President Kennedy said he wanted a man on the moon by the end of the decade. I want universal health care coverage by the end of my second term.”

Give me a break. So many questions, so few answers. What does health care coverage have to do with JFK? Why is anybody talking about their second term? Don't you have to be elected to serve a first term first? And don't you (in general) have to win the party nomination first? And isn't the caucus/primary season still nearly 11 months away? Will there be a single candidate who stands up for what they believe is best for our country instead of saying what they think will win them an election?

Another Real Border Patrol Story

This past week, Glenn Beck shared the story of former U.S. Border Patrol agent David Sipe. An editorial from Wednesday's Washington Times explains:

On duty in April 2000 near Panitas, Texas, Mr. Sipe, his partner and two other agents responded to a disrupted motion sensor to find between 12 and 15 illegal aliens crossing the border. Most of the illegals followed the agents' instructions and surrendered, but several attempted to flee, running into a patch of tall dense reeds. What happened after Mr. Sipe pursued three men into the reeds is, as court documents note, disputed.

In the course of making the arrest, Mr. Sipe struck one of the border crossers, a Mexican national named Jose Guevara, in the head with his flashlight. He said it was necessary, but the U.S. Attorney's office said it wasn't. In 2001, Mr. Sipe, who had no previous complaints against him, was convicted for using excessive force, and dismissed from the Border Patrol. The story doesn't end there, and when the conduct of the prosecuting attorney's office came to light Mr. Sipe was tried again and acquitted.

It turns out that three illegal aliens who testified against Mr. Sipe -- that is, Mr. Guevara along with two others who had fled into the reeds -- received a very nice gift package. The Washington Times reported Monday that the three illegals got Social Security cards, witness fees, travel expenses, living expenses and the use of government telephones to call relatives in Mexico, and were allowed to travel to and from Mexico and to North Carolina. The government offered everything to the three who had broken the law, all to obtain testimony against an agent who had enforced the law.

The U.S. Attorney's office, moreover, covered up the generous benefits it had handed out. It failed to disclose the fact that all three illegal aliens had been living together in the months preceding the trial. Nor did prosecutors reveal that when Border Patrol agents stopped Mr. Guevara, again traveling with illegal aliens, they let him go when he flashed the "get out of jail card" he got from the prosecutors. "His arrest with illegal aliens was evidence that he was a transporter," wrote the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in ordering a new trial, "as well as evidence of the extent of the government's support accorded him in order to obtain his testimony."

Mr. Sipe's felony conviction has been overturned, and despite the way he was treated he is working to rejoin the Border Patrol. But the repercussions of such zealous and aggressive prosecution go well beyond his case. The message to Border Patrol agents, who are assigned to the difficult and dangerous job of protecting our borders, is to worry less about the execution of their duties and more about how things could be made to look in court. Agents, like the rest of us, are not above the law, but government prosecutors must not lose sight of who the criminals are.

Adoption Discussion

There's been a lot of discussion the past few days on my previous post on adoption, in which I posted John Piper's "similarities between what God did in adoption and what happens in a Christian adoption today."

Call for Mistrial

The attorney for U.S. Border Patrol agent Ignacio Ramos is calling for a mistrial, arguing that the prosecution violated the "Jencks Act requirement," which "requires prior statements of a witness be turned over to the defense before the defense begins cross-examination." The defense for Ramos was never shown a Department of Homeland Security memo by Special Agent Christopher Sanchez, which may have served to prove the agents' innocence.

As previously reported by WND, the memo lists seven Border Patrol agents and two supervisors who were on the scene of the Feb. 17, 2005, shooting incident for which Ramos and Compean are now in federal prison, sentenced to 11 and 12 years respectively.

Mary Stillinger, the attorney for Jose Compean, adds:

"What the Sanchez memo proves is that if Ramos and Compean were guilty that day, then the other Border Patrol agents who were there and their two supervisors were equally guilty."

"At the trial, the prosecution acted like it was the most ridiculous thing in the world for my client to have assumed the other agents heard the shooting. Yet here you have a DHS special agent investigating the shooting, and Christopher Sanchez came to the conclusion Ramos came to."

Resolutions vs. Bills

Here is an explanation of the difference between resolutions and bills. There are three types of resolutions, one of which serves the same basic purpose of a bill as far as actually having the "force of law." The current nonbinding resolution, that was just passed in the House, is a concurrent resolution, which "must be passed in the same form by both houses, but [it does] not require the signature of the president and [does] not have the force of law." The resolution failed to pass in the Senate today. Needing 60 votes to "pass," the vote was 56-34.

Border Update

More news about lying:

Osbaldo Aldrete-Davila, the Mexican drug smuggler given immunity to return to the United States and testify against two Border Patrol agents, was involved in smuggling a second load of marijuana into the United States after he was given court protection, records have confirmed.

As part of his immunity, Aldrete-Davila received a "multiple-use border pass signed by Homeland Security Special Agent Christopher Sanchez." He then apparently lied about his drug smuggling escapades during the trial that sent agents Jose Compean and Ignacio Ramos to prison.

Evidently perjury and drug-smuggling were not violations of his immunity deal?

Reason #1,500,944 Why I Hate Politics

Bear with me for a moment. This may be my longest post yet, at least in regards to the number of lines. First off, I want to share a list of U.S. Representatives. I'll explain why after I finish listing these 246 individuals:

Neil Abercrombie
Gary Ackerman
Thomas Allen
Jason Altmire
Robert Andrews
Michael Arcuri
Joe Baca
Tammy Baldwin
John Barrow
Melissa Bean
Xavier Becerra
Shelley Berkley
Howard Berman
Marion Berry
Sanford Bishop
Timothy Bishop
Earl Blumenauer
Dan Boren
Leonard Boswell
Rick Boucher
Allen Boyd
Nancy Boyda
Robert Brady
Bruce Braley
Corrine Brown
G.K. Butterfield
Lois Capps
Michael Capuano
Dennis Cardoza
Russ Carnahan
Christopher Carney
Julia Carson
Michael Castle
Kathy Castor
Ben Chandler
Yvette Clarke
William Clay
Emanuel Cleaver
James Clyburn
Howard Coble
Steve Cohen
John Conyers
Jim Cooper
Jim Costa
Jerry Costello
Joe Courtney
Bud Cramer
Joseph Crowley
Henry Cuellar
Elijah Cummings
Artur Davis
Danny Davis
Lincoln Davis
Susan Davis
Tom Davis
Peter DeFazio
Diana DeGette
Rosa DeLauro
William Delahunt
Norman Dicks
John Dingell
Lloyd Doggett
Joe Donnelly
Michael Doyle
John 'Jimmy' Duncan
Chet Edwards
Keith Ellison
Brad Ellsworth
Rahm Emanuel
Eliot Engel
Philip English
Anna Eshoo
Bob Etheridge
Sam Farr
Chaka Fattah
Bob Filner
Barney Frank
Gabrielle Giffords
Wayne Gilchrest
Kirsten Gillibrand
Charles Gonzalez
Bart Gordon
Al Green
Gene Green
Raúl Grijalva
Luis Gutiérrez
John Hall
Phil Hare
Jane Harman
Alcee Hastings
Stephanie Herseth
Brian Higgins
Baron Hill
Maurice Hinchey
Rubén Hinojosa
Mazie Hirono
Paul Hodes
Tim Holden
Chris Van Hollen
Rush Holt
Mike Honda
Darlene Hooley
Steny Hoyer
Bob Inglis
Jay Inslee
Steve Israel
Jesse Jackson
Sheila Jackson-Lee
William Jefferson
Eddie Johnson
Henry Johnson Jr.
Tim Johnson
Stephanie Jones
Walter Jones
Steve Kagen
Paul Kanjorski
Marcy Kaptur
Ric Keller
Patrick Kennedy
Dale Kildee
Carolyn Kilpatrick
Ron Kind
Mark Kirk
Ron Klein
Dennis Kucinich
Nicholas Lampson
James Langevin
Tom Lantos
Rick Larsen
John Larson
Steven LaTourette
Barbara Lee
Sander Levin
John Lewis
Daniel Lipinski
David Loebsack
Zoe Lofgren
Nita Lowey
Stephen Lynch
Tim Mahoney
Carolyn Maloney
Edward Markey
Jim Matheson
Doris Matsui
Carolyn McCarthy
Betty McCollum
Jim McDermott
James McGovern
Mike McIntyre
Jerry McNerney
Michael McNulty
Martin Meehan
Kendrick Meek
Gregory Meeks
Charles Melancon
Michael Michaud
Juanita Millender-McDonald
Brad Miller
George Miller
Harry Mitchell
Alan Mollohan
Gwen Moore
Dennis Moore
James Moran
Christopher Murphy
Patrick Murphy
John Murtha
Grace Napolitano
Richard Neal
James Oberstar
David Obey
John Olver
Solomon Ortiz
Frank Pallone
Bill Pascrell
Ed Pastor
Ron Paul
Donald Payne
Nancy Pelosi
Ed Perlmutter
Collin Peterson
Thomas Petri
Earl Pomeroy
David Price
Nick Rahall
Jim Ramstad
Charles Rangel
Silvestre Reyes
Ciro Rodriguez
Mike Ross
Steven Rothman
Lucille Roybal-Allard
Dutch Ruppersberger
Bobby Rush
Tim Ryan
John Salazar
Loretta Sanchez
John Sarbanes
Jan Schakowsky
Adam Schiff
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Allyson Schwartz
David Scott
Robert Scott
José Serrano
Joe Sestak
Carol Shea-Porter
Brad Sherman
Heath Shuler
Albio Sires
Ike Skelton
Louise Slaughter
Adam Smith
Vic Snyder
Hilda Solis
Zachary Space
John Spratt
Pete Stark
Bart Stupak
Betty Sutton
Linda Sánchez
John Tanner
Ellen Tauscher
Mike Thompson
Bennie Thompson
John Tierney
Edolphus Towns
Mark Udall
Tom Udall
Fred Upton
Nydia Velázquez
Peter Visclosky
James Walsh
Timothy Walz
Maxine Waters
Diane Watson
Melvin Watt
Henry Waxman
Anthony Weiner
Peter Welch
Robert Wexler
Charles Wilson
Lynn Woolsey
David Wu
Al Wynn
John Yarmuth

So besides being U.S. Representatives, what do these people have in common? They all voted for a nonbinding resolution this afternoon:

This measure expresses the House's disagreement with President Bush's planned troop buildup in Iraq. The nonbinding resolution pledges support for U.S. personnel serving “bravely and honorably in Iraq”' but says Congress “disapproves”' of the president’s plan to add more than 20,000 combat troops.

While the 95-word resolution has no legal weight to force the president to change his course in Iraq, it marks a first key showdown between the White House and the new Congress controlled by Democrats.

I'm definitely no political expert. It may be common for Congress to pass such nonbinding resolutions before voting on actual binding legislation. But what it tells me is that these 246 people are candidates for spine transplants.

I actually read an article that claimed that debate over funding of the war "would have been unthinkable even six months ago." Really? Six months ago puts us back in the middle of August of last year, as campaigns for the mid-term elections were heating up. I remember being repeatedly told that those elections would be a "referendum on the war." It took me all of five seconds to find this article from August 8 that used that exact phrase.

After the elections were over, I was told that "the people had spoken." They were against the war. Our troops would be coming home soon. So 3 months after the elections, and a month after Democrats took control of Congress, we get this? Whatever happened to standing up for your convictions? Um, never mind. I forgot for a moment that I was writing about politicians. It will be interesting to see if any of these jellyfish vote to cut funding and actually end the war, as they promised in their campaigns, or if this is just more political posturing so they can say, "We're against the war," while still bashing the President as the war continues.

John Amaechi

ESPN.com basketball Chris Broussard shares his take on John Amaechi, the former NBA player who reveals his homosexuality in his new book. Some excerpts:

Where he stands:

I'm a born-again, Bible-believing Christian (no, I'm not a member of the Religious Right). And I'm against homosexuality (I believe it's a sin) and same-sex marriage.

But before you label me "homophobic," know that I'm against any type of sex outside of marriage between a man and a woman. That includes heterosexual fornication (premarital sex).

On LZ Granderson, an openly-gay writer for ESPN The Magazine:

I know he's gay, and he knows I believe that's a sin. I know he thinks I get my moral standards from an outdated, mistranslated book, and he knows I believe he needs to change his lifestyle. Still, we can laugh together, and play ball together.

That's real diversity. Disagreeing but not being disagreeable.

On "progressive" or "enlightened" morality:

Since Amaechi came out, I've read lots of columns about being "progressive." The implication -- or outright assertion -- is that anyone who believes homosexuality is wrong is not progressive or enlightened.

That's where this thing becomes problematic, because those who hold to that view are saying I must change my entire belief system/religion because of your belief system.

Where's the diversity in that?

Those folks don't want diversity. They want everyone to agree with their "enlightened" opinion.

Look, I'll accept your right to have your own belief system and to live as you please, but I'm not changing mine. Diversity is not just accepting alternatives to what has long been perceived as normal, but it's accepting the significant number of people who hold to long-standing "traditional" beliefs as well.

Millions of Christians who follow the Bible -- and Muslims who follow the Koran and Jews who follow the Torah, as well as many nonreligious Americans -- believe homosexuality is wrong.

That doesn't mean they're unenlightened. That just means their moral code doesn't fluctuate based on society's ever-changing standards. As long as we're not being violent toward one another, as long as we can be civil, everything should be fine. We don't have to agree.

And please don't compare being homosexual to being black. I consider that insulting to blacks for a number of reasons. The fact that some blacks make the comparison themselves only shows how crushed our racial esteem has become because of America's oppression (witness our insistence on calling ourselves the n-word).

You can't hide your skin color, choose your skin color, change your skin color or switch your skin color back and forth. Some argue that you can't do that with your sexuality either, but there are many scientists on both sides of the genetic debate, and I believe a truly objective person would admit the biological evidence for homosexuality is far from definitive.

Broussard's bottom line:

If I can accept working side-by-side with a homosexual, then he/she can accept working side-by-side with someone who believes homosexuality is wrong.

If an NBA player can accept playing with a homosexual, then the homosexual must accept playing with guys who don't agree with his lifestyle.

Believe me, when the ball goes up, his sexual preference isn't going to matter.

(HT: Tim Ellsworth)

The Name Above All Names

For a couple years while I was in college, I met weekly with 3 other friends to memorize Scripture. The first passage we memorized was Philippians 2:1-11:

     If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

     Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:

     Who, being in very nature God,
          did not consider equality with God something to be grasped,
     but made Himself nothing,
          taking the very nature of a servant,
          being made in human likeness.
     And being found in appearance as a man,
          He humbled Himself
          and became obedient to death – even death on a cross!
     Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
          and gave Him the name that is above every other name,
     that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
          in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
     and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
          to the glory of God the Father.

I've been reminded of this passage recently (along with Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."), when hearing a new Phillips Craig and Dean song, titled "Your Name." The song, which was written by Paul Baloche, features the following lyrics:

As morning dawns and evening fades
You inspire songs of praise
That rise from earth to touch Your heart
And glorify Your Name

Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
'Cause nothing has the power to save
But Your Name

Jesus, in Your Name we pray
Come and fill our hearts today
Lord, give us strength to live for You
And glorify Your Name

Your Name is a strong and mighty tower
Your Name is a shelter like no other
Your Name, let the nations sing it louder
'Cause nothing has the power to save
But Your Name

You can listen to different full versions of the song at the artists' respective myspace pages: Phillips Craig and Dean or Paul Baloche. Click on the "Your Name" link in the song lists to the right side of the pages.

He Knows My Name

We sang this "simple" song, written by Tommy Walker, to close our Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) Sunday morning:

I have a Maker
He formed my heart
Before even time began
My life was in his hand.

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call

I have a Father
He calls me His own
He'll never leave me
No matter where I go

He knows my name
He knows my every thought
He sees each tear that falls
And hears me when I call

For the story around this song, go here.

Border Update

From this WorldNetDaily article:

The Mexican Consulate played a previously undisclosed role in the events leading to U.S. Attorney Johnny Sutton's high-profile prosecution of Border Patrol Agents Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean, who are serving 11 and 12 year sentences for their role in the shooting of a drug smuggler

...

In the case of agents Ramos and Compean, WND has obtained notes made by a congressional staff member who attended the Sept. 26, 2006, meeting with three investigators from the Department of Homeland Security's Inspector General's office.

The staff member's notes indicate the Inspector General's office briefed the congressmen that the Mexican consul had also intervened in the Ramos and Compean case.

According to the notes obtained by WND, the congressmen were told:

Several weeks later (after the February 17, 2005
event near Fabens, Texas), the Mexican Consulate
contacted the U.S. Consulate in Mexico saying that
they have a person who claims to have been shot
by a Border Patrol agent. On March 4, 2005, the
U.S. Consulate contacted the U.S. attorney.

DHS investigative reports filed by Special Agent Christopher Sanchez document that March 4, 2005, is the date on which DHS initiated the Ramos-Compean investigation.

WND can find no evidence the Border Patrol, DHS, or U.S. Attorney Sutton had started any investigation of Ramos or Compean concerning the events of Feb. 17, 2005, prior to March 4, 2005.

(HT: Glenn Beck)

Funny Irony

You can't make this stuff up:

The Subcommittee on Energy and Air Quality hearing scheduled for Wednesday, February 14, 2007, at 10:00 a.m. in room 2123 Rayburn House Office Building has been postponed due to inclement weather. The hearing is entitled “Climate Change: Are Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Human Activities Contributing to a Warming of the Planet?”

(HT: Drudge)

Adoption

This past Saturday John Piper gave a message on adoption, titled "Adoption: The Heart of the Gospel." He shared 8 similarities between God's adoption of Christians and Christians' adoption of children:

1. Adoption was (for God) and is (for us) costly.

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. (Galatians 4:4-5)

2. Adoption did (for God) and does (for us) involve the legal status of the child.

When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:4-6)

3. Adoption was blessed and is blessed with God’s pouring out a Spirit of sonship.

Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” (Galatians 4:6)

You did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. (Romans 8:15-16)

4. Adoption was (for God) and is (for us) marked by moral transformation through the Spirit.

All who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Romans 8:14)

5. Adoption brought us, and brings our children, the rights of being heirs of the Father.

Because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. (Galatians 4:6-7)

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. (Romans 8:16-17)

6. Adoption was (for God) and is (for us) seriously planned.

He chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. (Ephesians 1:4-6)

7. Adoption was (for God) and often is now (for us) from very bad situations.

We . . . were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (Ephesians 2:3)

8. Adoption meant (for all Christians) and means (for Christian parents) that we suffer now and experience glory later.

The whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:22-23)

(HT: Between Two Worlds)

Border Patrol Update

I previously wrote (here and here) about two U.S. Border Patrol agents who were sentenced to prison for shooting a drug smuggling illegal alien in the butt. The whole story sounded extremely fishy, including the Department of Homeland Security giving the drug smuggler immunity to testify against the agents.

I thought there must be something more to this story. Today I found out that there is more to this story, only it wasn't anything that I expected to hear.

Last September 26, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Inspector General's office met with four Republican congressmen from Texas to discuss the case and DHS's investigation. Accoring to WorldNetDaily (see here), the following evidential claims were made at that meeting in regards to the Border Patrol agents, Ignacio Ramos and Jose Compean:

• Ramos and Compean confessed to knowingly shooting at an unarmed suspect. Again – they claim the two agents knew he was unarmed when they fired their weapons.
• Ramos and Compean stated during the interrogation that they did not believe the suspect was a threat to them at the time of the shooting.
• Ramos and Compean stated that day they "wanted to shoot a Mexican."
• Ramos and Compean were belligerent to investigators.
• Ramos and Compean destroyed evidence and lied to investigators.

Yesterday, DHS Inspector General Richard L. Skinner testified before the Homeland Security Subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee (see story here). Texas representative John Culberson was questioning Skinner about the September 26 meeting with DHS officials. When Culberson asked Skinner about the investigative reports to back up their claims, which supposedly included eye-witness accounts and signed affidavits, Skinner admitted that DHS in fact did not have any such reports:

"The person who told you that misinformed you," Skinner reportedly replied.

It took DHS four months of failing to produce the reports for the congressmen before ultimately admitting that the reports never existed. You can be sure we haven't heard the last of this, especially with this news coming on the heels of a report of agent Ramos being assaulted in prison by illegal aliens. The story is still fishy - why would DHS go to such extremes to prosecute these men and lie about evidence? What's the story with the drug smuggler? Why would DHS grant him immunity to testify against two U.S. Border Patrol agents for shooting him in the butt?

I Love Lovie

From this article about Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith:

“God is the center of my life. It controls all that I do. I hope I don’t have to spend my time telling my players I’m a Christian. I hope they see it in my life every day,” Smith said.

(HT: Tim Ellsworth)

Extremists

Extremely sad news from the country of Burma, where Christians are being targeted in an apparent ethnic cleansing program. The culprits belong to the official state religion, of which 89% of the people are a part of, according to the CIA's World Factbook. The religion? Buddhism. I'd never heard of "Extremist Buddhists" before, but I guess this just goes to remind us that people are sinful, regardless of their religion.

(HT: Vitamin Z)

Super Bowl Coaches

This might be the best article I've ever read on ESPN.com, courtesy of Michael Smith. Speaking about Chicago Bears head coach Lovie Smith and Indianapolis Colts head coach Tony Dungy, the first black head coaches to ever coach in a Super Bowl, Smith says that "It's character, not color, that separates Smith, Dungy." Here's some excerpts, but I encourage you to read the whole thing.

For Dungy and Smith to get their teams here had nothing to do with where their ancestors originated. Just as a person's ethnicity, ideally, should have nothing to do with ... well, anything.

So, then, why are we wasting so much (air) time talking about the colors of these men's skin?

I've been guilty of it for six paragraphs, but no more. It distracts us from what's really important: what's inside these men. And, trust me, it would do people good to see more of that.

Dungy and Smith are role models, not just for coaches who look like them or men who look like them, but for all coaches and all men. They live their lives the right way, and as a result they do their jobs the same way. Their priorities are, in order: faith, their families and football. The outcome of the Super Bowl or any game does not define them. They personify words such as class, grace, dignity, honor and integrity. We all can draw inspiration from men such as these.

...

Dungy and Smith are Christian men who serve the Lord first and spend nearly as much time serving their communities. Doesn't prevent them from winning. And often. In just three seasons Smith, last season's Coach of the Year, has helped build the Bears into a league power. Dungy has won more regular season games than any coach since 1999. Where does color factor into that?

...

On Jan. 15, the nation celebrated the life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. We could honor his dream by celebrating Dungy's and Smith's achievements not because of the color of their skin, but the content of their character.

There's a lot of talk about hoping for a day when black coaches in the Super Bowl won't be a big deal, when we won't find it necessary to refer to a coach as a "black coach" (or any person by their race, for that matter).

What's wrong with that day being today? Dungy and Smith have made history, and we happily acknowledge it. As for our practice of categorizing NFL head coaches, let's make that history, too.

Reason #1,500,943 Why I Hate Politics

From Charles Gibson's interview of Hillary Clinton:

Gibson: Would you take a pledge to sign a bill that would not raise taxes?

Clinton: I'm not going to take any pledges on any issues because I want to be in a position to bring people together and figure out the best ideas to solve our problems and not get locked into this partisan ideological debate that's been so sterile so many years.

...

Gibson: Is Barack Obama qualified to be president?

Clinton: Well, he's a terrific guy and we're going to have a great group of talented competitors in this contest and I'm looking forward for everybody putting out their qualifications and let the voters decide.

Gibson: That's something of a dodge. In your mind is he qualified to be president?

Clinton: You know Charlie, this is such an intensely personal decision that voters make.

We're all going to get out there, we're going to say what we believe in, put our experience out there before the voters and that is what is so great about our system, all of the people watching you tonight are going to make that decision — about me and everybody.

Seriously, Hillary. Answer a freaking question or get off my TV. (Okay, so she wasn't really on my TV - I actually heard this on the radio today.) I understand if you don't want to pledge to not sign a bill that would raise taxes. But just say so. To respond the way that you did just reinforces why so many people are afraid of you - you don't stand for anything! And I'm pretty sure Gibson wasn't asking who was going to win the Democratic nomination, just whether you thought Obama was qualified for the job. And you don't have an answer? No, "Of course he's qualified," or "I don't know," or "Of course not, he's more of a crazy liberal than I am!"?

This Is Abortion

From Justin Taylor at Between Two Worlds:

On January 22, 1973 the Supreme Court issued its ruling for Roe v. Wade.

As Richard John Neuhaus recently wrote, it was "the most consequential cultural and political event in American history in the past half century," establishing "an unlimited abortion license that wiped from the books of all fifty states any legal protection of unborn children."

This video shows some of what that decision has wrought.

Somebody want to try and explain to me how that is the better "choice"?

On to Miami for Super Bowl XLI

Bears 39, Saints 14!!!! Time for me to break out the greatest music video in the history of the NFL:

By His Wounds

I heard a new song on the radio today, and it pretty much instantly became one of my favorites. If you had told me several years ago that Steven Curtis Chapman and Backstreet Boy Brian Littrell would collaborate on a song, I would have called you crazy. But this song features both of them, in addition to Third Day's Mac Powell and Casting Crowns' Mark Hall. The song is called "By His Wounds" and is taken from Isaiah 53:5. It appears on a CD called "Glory Revealed: The Word of God in Worship." Find out more about this CD here. Without further ado, here are the lyrics:

He was pierced for our transgressions
He was crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

He was pierced for our transgressions
He was crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

We are healed by Your sacrifice
And the life that You gave
We are healed for You paid the price
By Your grace we are saved
We are saved

He was pierced for our transgressions
And crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed

We are healed by Your sacrifice
And the life that You gave
We are healed for You paid the price
By Your grace we are saved
We are saved

He was pierced for our transgressions
He was crushed for our sins
The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him
And by His wounds, by His wounds we are healed
By His wounds, by His wounds

What can wash away my sin?
Nothing but the blood of Jesus

A high quality download of the full song is available here. (HT: Sporadical)

In The Navy No More

A while back I wrote about a Navy chaplain who faced a court-martial for praying "in Jesus' name." WorldNetDaily now reports that the chaplain was dismissed by the Navy.

"This fight cost me everything. My career is over, my family is now homeless, we've lost a million dollar pension, but Congress agreed with me and rescinded the Navy policy, so chaplains are free again to pray in Jesus' name," Chaplain Gordon Klingenschmitt told WND. "My sacrifice purchased their freedom. My conscience is clear, the fight was worth it, and I'd do it all again."

There's an interesting twist in this story, one that at first made me wince, but then seemed to have a point:

He's also launched a legal battle that he said he hopes eventually will result in his reinstatement, alleging the Navy assembled a "civic religion" by ordering its chaplains to pray in a certain way.

"There's a Unitarian system of religion that's aimed at Christians," John Whitehead, founder of the The Rutherford Institute, told WND. "It boils down to that. We're seeing it all across the country, with council prayers, kids wanting to mention Jesus. What's going on here is it's generally a move in our government and military to set up a civic religion."

"I think the Supreme Court's going to have to look at the idea of can the government in any of its forms tell people how to pray, set up a basic religion and say you can only do it this way," he said.

Whether or not that's what the Navy or the government as a whole is trying to do is debatable, but I think it's a conversation worth having. That's exactly what the Establishment Clause and the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution are for - so that the government can neither establish & mandate a specific religion nor prohibit the free exercise of a religion.

Weather Bulletin

(I got this in an email today - can't verify the info, but thought it was worth posting nonetheless.)

From Denver, Colorado:

Up here, in the "Mile-Hi City," we just recovered from a Historic event - may I even say a "Weather Event" of "Biblical Proportions" - with a historic blizzard of up to 44 inches of snow and winds to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists in lethal snow banks, closed ALL roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to 10's of thousands.

FYI:

• George Bush did not come.
• FEMA did nothing.
• No one howled for the government.
• No one blamed the government.
• No one even uttered an expletive on TV.
• Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.
• Our Mayor did not blame Bush or anyone else.
• Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else, either.
• CNN, ABC, CBS, FOX or NBC did not visit - or report on this category 5 snowstorm. Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.
• No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.
• No one looted.
• Nobody - I mean nobody - demanded the government do something.
• Nobody expected the government to do anything, either.
• No Larry King, No Shepard Smith, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.
• No Sean Penn, No Barbara Streisand, No Hollywood types to be found.
• Nope, we just melted the snow for water.
• Sent out caravans of SUV's to pluck people out of snow engulfed cars.
• The truck drivers pulled people out of snow banks and didn't ask for a penny.
• Local restaurants made food and the police and fire departments delivered it to the snowbound families.
• Families took in the stranded people - total strangers.
• We fired up wood stoves, broke out coal oil lanterns or Coleman lanterns.
• We put on extra layers of clothes because up here it is "Work or Die".
• We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for 'sittin at home' checks.
• Even though a Category "5" blizzard of this scale has never fallen this early, we know it can happen and how to deal with it ourselves.

He's Back!

The Fire is Blazing once again.

Arizona

I've shared Glenn Beck's "Real Story" with you before, but Thursday he featured a pair of stories that I thought were quite interesting. Both touched on national security and/or illegal immigration, two huge issues facing our country that have barely been mentioned since the November elections.

The first story is about the city of Phoenix. Turns out there have been more than a handful of terrorism-related stories that came out of or point to Phoenix. Here's part of the story:

First, remember that FBI memo from right before 9/11 that caused a huge political uproar because it supposedly had documented the idea that Osama bin Laden was sending terrorists to flight schools in the U.S.?

Guess what -- it's actually called "The Phoenix Memo" because it was written by the Phoenix FBI. It reads, in part, quote, "Phoenix has observed an inordinate number of individuals of investigative interest who are attending...civil aviation...colleges in the State of Arizona."

Hmmm, interesting.

And when the 9/11 report was finally issued, it contained 59 references to terrorist activity in Arizona and mentioned, for the first time, the existence of a highly classified FBI/CIA report titled, "Arizona: Long Range Nexus for Islamic Extremists." That report has still not been made public.

Nothing to see here people, move along.

Now, fast forward to this past November. A guy is stopped by Detroit police and is found to be carrying $80,000 in cash, information about cyanide, nuclear power plants and suitcase bombs, along with newspapers commemorating the 9/11 attacks. And just in case you think all of that is coincidence, he also had a hand-written note that said:

"This community is angry. Something is going to happen. We are going to see justice. This is a powder keg waiting to go off."

Oh, one other thing I forgot to mention...he was arrested in the airport on his way to, yes -- Phoenix.

Now, move ahead another couple of weeks. Remember those six Imam's who were kicked off a flight after acting suspiciously like the 9/11 terrorists? Yeah, you guessed it, they were also headed to Phoenix.

But here's the best part...Despite all of those incidents, and despite the fact that Arizona sits right on our unsecured border with Mexico, and the fact that Arizona's been called, quote, "the most important nexus for international jihad outside of...Pakistan and the Middle East," the city of Phoenix lost 60% of their homeland security funding last year -- that's more than any other urban-area.

Maybe those are coincidental, isolated incidents. But it seems like at least enough circumstantial evidence to keep Homeland Security from taking away that much funding - that 60% cut was from $10 million to $4 million. Phoenix is now in the process of seeking up to $17.6 million in "Urban Area Security Initiative" (Or UASI) grants. (Data collected from this story in The Arizona Republic.)

The other story is about our friends to the south and Social Security. What does Mexico have to do with our Social Security system? Well, it turns out that illegal immigrants may soon be eligible to collect Social Security benefits. Here's Glenn's take on this "Totalization" agreement:

After breaking into the country and using fake documents to secure work, an illegal may soon be able to actually claim social security benefits! A new agreement, if signed by the President, would allow an illegal alien who subsequently becomes legal, to claim benefits for the work they did prior to becoming a citizen. Put another way -- we'll ignore how you got here and how you got your job, as long as you do it the right way later.

Are you outraged yet? Well what if I told you that while most Americans need ten years of work to qualify for benefits -- Mexicans would qualify with as little as 18 months of work! NOW are you getting that rage back? I hope so, because our leaders have once again proven that the only way this insanity will end is through the will of the people.

This deal with Mexico isn't exactly unprecedented, but it is relatively unparalleled. The United States currently has totalization agreements with 20 countries. However, most of them are more "developed" countries with economies and systems much more like ours than Mexico's. An article from WorldNetDaily explains:

It's not the first such agreement; the U.S. already has nearly two dozen other agreements with other nations. They are intended to eliminate dual taxation for people who work outside their country of origin. But the other agreements are with developed nations with economies similar to that of the U.S., the league said.

For example, a worker who turns 62 after 1990 generally needs 40 calendar quarters of coverage to receive retirement benefits. Under the cross-country agreements, workers can combine earnings from both countries in order to qualify for benefits in the U.S.

The agreements generally provide that workers need only 18 months of coverage in the U.S. to qualify.

However, the league said Mexico's retirement system is "radically" different from other nations, the group said. "There, only 40 percent of the non-government workers participate in the system, as opposed to 96 percent of America's non-government workers. Additionally, the U.S. system is progressive, meaning lower-income workers get back much more than they paid into the system. But in Mexico, workers get back only what they put in, plus interest."

According to the article, a Washington Post story reported that, "The Bush administration reached an agreement with Mexico that would permit illegal aliens, after they are granted amnesty in the future, to claim Social Security benefits for the work they performed while in the U.S. illegally, even if they committed felonies by using fraudulent Social Security documents."

The way I see it, there are two HUGE problems with this. One is the apparent rewarding of illegal immigrants for falsifying documents so they can obtain jobs here. And the second is the added drain on our Social Security system. Again, from the WorldNetDaily article, "at the end of 2003, the Social Security System owed retirees and current workers benefits valued at $14 trillion, with assets of only $3.5 trillion." Now we're going to add the strain of people from Mexico putting in only 18 months of work to qualify for benefits while the rest of people - whether American citizens or immigrants from other countries with totalization agreements - need a combined 10 years of coverage under the system to qualify for its benefits.

Glenn's current Real Story can be found here. There is a bar of links to the "Real Story Archive," along with links to "Research Articles" used in putting together the Real Story.

Hall of Fame

The Sports Guy writes about the Baseball Hall of Fame; in particular about Mark McGwire's inclusion on the ballot for the first time. I especially enjoyed his conclusion:

If we really want to do the right thing, let's vote in [Pete] Rose and McGwire as soon as possible, then inscribe on Rose's plaque that he's a dirtbag who bet on his own team, and inscribe on McGwire's that he almost definitely used performance enhancers and wouldn't answer questions about it under oath. And if that information is too sobering for your kids, well, don't take them to Cooperstown. Take them to Disneyland.