Goodbye, winter. Okay, we haven’t been able to kick you out yet– you’re still putting on your coat and asking if you can use the head before you leave — but turning the calendar from February to March always induces hope. Now, where’s my SPF 45 sun-block?
Starting Five
1. Remember when only juries were sequestered? Well, sequester has now replaced fiscal cliff as the Beltway buzz-term that translates to “Our economy is screwed.” In August of 2011 Congress gave itself a deadline to cut the budget or else. Well, guess what? That deadline date and the “or else” is now here. The cuts will not be immediate or dramatic and judging by the relative lack of bleating in D.C., both sides of the aisle were happy to do nothing and let these cuts take place (this way, when reelection time comes, no one can be blamed for DOING SOMETHING. Because why would anyone want a
Sequester: 535 Angry Men
political leader to, you know, lead?).
Anyway, I do wish there were a Schoolhouse Rock episode to make this entire unwieldy issue explicable in one minute or less, but alas, the funding for that was most likely cut. Funny or Die has volunteered to fill in and take a shot at explaining it all.
2. Men on a mission outlast Men who’ve been on a mission, as No. 2 Gonzaga edges BYU in Provo, 70-65. Interesting note: BYU’s home court, the Marriott Center, seats nearly 21,000 (and was full). The West Coast Conference’s next largest arena, Gonzaga’s McCarthey Athetic Center (a.k.a. The Kennel) seats about 6,000. Also, Cougar fans taunted Zag guard David Stockton with chants of “Who’s Your Daddy?” whenever the son of the Utah Jazz legend went to the free throw line. Suggestion for Gonzaga fans: When BYU next visits, return the favor with chants of “Who’s Your Mommy?”
Come Monday, Kelly Olynyk will be the best player on the nation’s No. 1 team. And he red-shirted last season because he knew he’d get few minutes.
3. The only way to improve upon this Sneering Coach K Face moment would be if another Wahoo fan had made a “Screaming Mickie Krzyzewski Face” and held it aloft about two rows behind. Unranked Virginia upset No. 3 Duke, 73-68, behind Joe Harris’ 36-point effort. By the way, it was the third consecutive night that a Top 5 team had lost to an unranked opponent (No. 1 Indiana fell at Minnesota and No. 4 Michigan lost at Penn State). The field is WIIIIIIIDE open this season.
Now, afterward, Coach K, 66, was irritated about the lack of security provided during the court storming at the John Paul Jones Arena (you have to admire a school that names its arena after a member of Led Zeppelin. But when the levee breaks, Krzyzewski seems to be saying, the Dookies are put in an untenable position. Hard to disagree with anything that Coach K says here, and in fact we wholeheartedly endorse his “burn benches” suggestion.
Coach K’s comments should not incite a fuhrer…um, furor.
We are approaching the day when, in this type of situation, a visiting coach will call a timeout with 10 or so seconds left and just walk his team off the floor. And who would blame him?
4. State television in China broadcasts the final pre-execution moments of four convicted drug traffickers who murdered 13 Chinese fishermen. There’s a line in the story that notes “China executes about 4,000 people each year, more than all other countries combined. Even more than Texas!” Okay, maybe we added that second sentence.
Meanwhile in China, their newspaper is probably running a story about how American television has a program in which celebrities leap from a high dive. Honestly, which is worse?
5. You make the cover of Time magazine with the word “Man” attached, and there’s a chance that you have done something extraordinary. Well, Oscar Pistorius is no one’s Man of the Year, but he has done something out of the ordinary. Here he is on this week’s cover under the heading “Man Superman Gunman”. Here’s the full story by Alex Perry , because who is dumb enough to actually pay for journalism any more?
Also, we should mention — and so we do — that this week Time turns 90. Columnist Joel Stein wishes his employer a happy birthday, and I’m glad I read this piece if for no other reason than to learn that 90 year-old Norman Lear has twin 18 year-old daughters. All in the Family, indeed.
Reserves
Kobe Bryant scores 33 points in 32 minutes as the Los Angeles Lakers sweep the leg on the Minnesota Timberwolwed, 116-94…Joakim Noah of the Chicago Bulls goes for a triple double (21 points, 20 rebounds, 11 blocked shots) in a win against the Sixers… The most fascinating nugget to be unearthed from the Warrior-Pacer fracas is that Warrior guard Klay Thompson’s paychecks are sent directly to his parents (dad Mychal was an NBA player), who then give him an allowance. If only the Thompson parents had control over every NBA player’s finances…
We can’t just put a reference to The Alarm in today’s hed and not provide the video, now can we? There was a time in the early ’80s where you could have surmised that this band was headed to a U2 future. Instead, it was closer to Big Country.
“This is a good company… for me to Groupon!” Outgoing GroupOn CEO Andrew Mason writes a letter that is funny and self-deprecating.
In Texas, the Duncanville High girls basketball team goes for a second consecutive 5A state championship this weekend. So? Well, Duncanville (40-0) has the nation’s longest win streak, 68 games. Also, tomorrow is Texas Independence Day, so that’s a nice dovetail.
Remote Patrol
Oklahoma City Thunder at Denver Nuggets
ESPN, 10:30 p.m.
When Manimals Attack
Two of the league’s top three scoring teams meet in the Mile High City. The Thunder have won their last three games by an average of 30 points per, but have lost eight of their last 10 in Denver. Pepsi Center games are never dull, thanks to Nuggets such as kinetic Kennet Faried (The Manimal), Ty Lawson and Andre “Night of the” Iguodala (pardon the Bermanism). If leading scorer Danilo Gallinari (bruised thigh) plays, even better.
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