Post your picks in the Comments below, please. I’m taking Gonzaga today.
So far…
Michael Z: Vanderbilt
Ruth R.: Iowa State, Creighton
Susie B.: Maryland
Gene B: Gonzaga, Kansas
Lorraine W: Butler, Purdue
Fawn L: Butler, Oregon
Jim O: Duke, Oregon
James D.: Gonzaga ?
Brian R.: Florida State, Baylor
Jacob: A: Virginia, SMU
Sean S.: Purdue, Baylor
Brian C.: Virginia, Baylor
Jeff P: Butler, Oregon
by Michael DePaoli
This is just a partial list of Trump lies. He lies so often that we are becoming anesthetized by the sheer number. We need to remind ourselves:
He lied about having a plan to defeat ISIS.
He lied about having a health plan that would cover everyone.
He lied about not taking a salary as President.
He lied about the size of his inauguration crowd.
He lied when he claimed that Barack Obama wiretapped Trump Tower.
He lied when he invented a phantom terror attack in Sweden.
He lied when he said he had the biggest Electoral College win since Ronald Reagan.
He lied when he said that illegal immigrants are responsible for a significant amount of the crime problem in Chicago.
He lied when he claimed full credit for saving $700 million on the F-35 fighter.
He lied when he took full credit for General Motors investing in new plants.
He lied when he said he was against the Iraq war from the beginning.
He lied when he said that the USA knows nothing about the refugees that we accepted under Obama.
He lied when he said there were millions of illegal voters who voted for Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election.
The answer is that you do not allow Americans to die from curable diseases. What is so hard about that? There is plenty of money to heal the sick. It is just a question of priorities. Do you want to round up millions of non-criminal illegal immigrants and deport them, or do you want to heal the sick? Do you want to build a great big useless wall on the border, or do you want to heal the sick? Do you want to increase spending on the military in order to fight a war that does not yet exist, or do you want to heal the sick? Do you want to give tax breaks to millionaires and multinational corporations, or do you want to heal the sick?
The court is too small for the level of talent that is on the floor. You can pick the lowest-seeded team (men or women) in any bracket of the NCAA Tournament, and watch the players on the floor, and you will see that all of them are well-schooled in the fundamentals of basketball. The scores of some of the games might be lopsided, but the talent is always amazing in modern college basketball.
by John Walters
Designated Survivor: Everyone except Mike Zacher (“Vanderbilt”) and unofficial player and MH’s No. 1 Unknown Fan, Susie B., (“Md”) survives and advances. My pick for today: UCLA.
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Fisher-Davis: Not every moment shines
The Wildcats never played an NCAA tournament game before yesterday and now have the all-time best winning percentage in tournament history (1-0, 100%) after defeating fellow Dean’s List school Vanderbilt, 68-66.
Thursday’s only memorable game saw the Commodores take a 66-65 lead with under :20 to play only to have guard Matthew Fisher-Davis grab and foul Northwestern’s best free throw shooter, Bryant McIntosh, who drained the winning foul shots. Fisher-Davis was Vandy’s leading scorer with 22 points, but that’s not what anyone will remember.
If Devin Cannady hits this shot in the final seconds, Notre Dame-Princeton becomes the only truly memorable March Madness moment of Day 1
Other than that and Princeton missing a potential game-winning three against Notre Dame, Thursday was rather mundane. Fourteen of 16 higher seeded teams won, and the two “upsets,” Middle Tennessee State over No. 5 Minnesota, and Xavier over No. 6 Maryland, hardly seemed it.
There were no buzzer beaters. It should heat up today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dMLuNmKhpBE
The Sean Spicer Show was Extra Spicey on Thursday. You can pretty much skip ahead to the 10:00 mark.
How low has President Obama gone to tapp my phones during the very sacred election process. This is Nixon/Watergate. Bad (or sick) guy!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) March 4, 2017
Meanwhile, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Richard Burr, House Speaker Paul Ryan and Attorney General Jeff Sessions (all Republicans) have denied that at present there is any evidence to support Trump’s claim. His claim has been roundly debunked. Absolutely no bunk.
Beginning April 15 and for its final four episodes of its 42nd season, Saturday Night Live will air live coast-to-coast. In other words, it will be impervious to Twitter. When Melissa McCarthy hosts on May 13 and revives her Sean Spicer impersonation, you’ll be seeing it live in New York at 11:30 p.m. and live in Gordo, Alabama, at 10:30 p.m. and live in Glendale, Montana, at 9:30 p.m., and live in Coos Bay, Oregon, at 8:30 p.m.
There’s one more SNL that will be done the usual way (April 8, with host Louis C.K.) and then the final four with hosts Jimmy Fallon (April 15), Chris Pine (May 6), McCarthy and The Rock (May 20) will be done live coast-to-coast.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7rSSduA_r8M
You say “volcanic eruption.” I prefer LAVALANCHE.
A BBC crew and some tourists were a little too close to the mouth of Mount Etna’s volcano when it blew yesterday in Sicily. Nobody got injured but we did get to say, “Magma” as if we were Dr. Evil, so that was worth it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5NH-Smkiyw
p.s. I’ve know a few volcanic Sicilians who could really spout off in my life. This was nothing.
Pouring one out for Ed Whitlock, the Canadian distance runner who waited until his eighth decade to become a true marathon legend. Whitlock, who died last weekend at the age of 86, ran a sub-three hour marathon (2:54) when he was 73 and a sub-four hour marathon (3:15) in his eighties and those are world records for that age group, literally and figuratively by a mile. So, as Outside suggests, maybe those are the greatest running achievements of all time.
Whitlock was a serious running in college in England where he was born and raised, then moved to Canada and did not take up running again until his 40s. Just last October 16 he ran a 3:56 marathon at the age of 85. I plan on running a marathon later this year and, though 35 years younger, I’ve got fingers crossed that I’ll beat that time.
Farewell, Ed. You’ve finished the greatest race of them all.
“We were the wretched refuse on the teeming shore,” Irish prime minister says with Donald Trump in the room. pic.twitter.com/7jEfTVvIzE
— Barry Malone (@malonebarry) March 17, 2017
Anyone else notice how many prime ministers understand American far better than the current administration does?
Up
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cn5bXmowHiA
For St. Patrick’s Day, here’s the moment from the Dublin-based 2016 film Sing Street where you realize this movie is going to stick with you. I’m still annoyed that no tunes from this film—written and directed by John Carney, who also did Once—were nominated for Best Song at the Oscars. I can’t embed the scene in the film that corresponds to the song, but here is the link.
March Madness, Day 2
Noon CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV
Best bets: Michigan-Oklahoma State (12:15, CBS), USC-SMU, (3:10, Tru), Rhode Island-Creighton (4:30 TBS) and Wichita State-Dayton (7:10 p.m., CBS)
or
The Quiet Man
9:30 p.m. TCM
Because John Wayne dragging Maureen O’Hara halfway across Inisfree is as much a St. Paddy’s Day tradition as are car bombs.
by John Walters
Trump only wants Bluebloods to be able to enter the country, but Thomas Magnum and friends say no
Earlier this month: President Trump takes an unprovoked shot at Hawaiian native Barack Obama. Yesterday: Hawaiian judge Derrick Watson issues a worldwide restraint on Trump’s travel ban. “Aloha” means “Try again, Donald.”
Not sure if Leaf danced, but how great if he did…
I love this story. Former Washington State QB/Guy-Drafted-Right-Behind-Peyton-Who-Was-A-Bust Ryan Leaf found humanity and redemption in prison by watching Ellen.(transcript of the interview in that link). I can see this. Ellen Degeneres is smart and funny and warm. Leaf was serving jail time for burglary and would watch her show on his 13-inch television in his cell.
You get TV access in jail in your cell? I’ll think twice about not committing that jewel heist next time.
Nerd alert at the March 14 Colorado Rockies game as the team figured out their own special salute to Pi Day. In case you want to check the Rockies’ math….
Of course you can trust this man
Now the president tells Tucker Carlson of FOX News that “Wiretap covers a lot of different things.”
No, it doesn’t. It covers wiretapping, which your own dudes, Devin Nunes and Jeff Sessions, say there is no evidence of. What you did, Donny, is create “Fake News” with your tweet.
People wonder whether we should take Trump’s tweets literally or figuratively. I insist that you take them OPPOSITELY. Whenever Trump accuses someone of something, or makes a strong statement, it either means that he is the one DOING IT or the opposite of what he says is exactly what will happen. Stay tuned.
Crean took the Hoosiers to three Sweet 16s in nine seasons. In Bloomington, that’s not good enough.
The minute the NCAA tournament’s FIRST round began (as opposed to the play-in games), Indiana fired famous Jim Harbaugh brother-in-law Tom Crean. We’ll have to wait and see whether Crean hopes everyone there dies. Washington also fired its coach, Lorenzo Romar, who had what many consider to be the best player in college hoops (Markelle Fultz) and failed to get to the Dance.
Related: Chino Hills High, which featured LiAngelo and LaMelo Ball, lost in the CIF southern sectional semis to Bishop Montgomery, a school that can now lay claim to being “Ball Busters.”
The Game
“Everybody’s got their own good reason/Why their favorite season is their favorite season…” This 1987 Echo and the Bunnymen song sounded like the ideal tune for the first day of March Madness, i.e. the de facto first day of spring….
March Madness
CBS ALL DAY
Why are you still reading this?????
by John Walters
Almost forgot: The Medium Happy Knockout Designated Survivor Pool begins tomorrow but you’ll probably help everyone’s cause if you submit your team TODAY. In this Comments section.
Rules: Submit your FULL NAME in the comments. No nicknames, no first names only. Your FULL NAME (e.g. Wayne Tracker).
Then, pick a team that you think will win on Thursday. Remember, you can only use each team once so you’ve gotta balance wanting to win early versus possibly eliminating your choices when we get down to the Elite Eight, etc.
No cost to enter. Grand prize: $100. It’s not too soon to do it now.
p.s. I’m only playing for fun (I can’t win money) and my pick for Day 1 is West Virginia.
Why the 2005 tax returns only? Why to David Cay Johnston? Who leaked them to him? And does Rachel Maddow deserve the criticism she’s receiving this morning for the slow reveal?
To answer the last question first, No. For those of us who watch her frequently, we know she loves to provide context. Also, maybe she figured she could use that A block to educate first-time viewers about the Russian oligarch connection that she has spoken about before. Also, it was obvious there was not a lot of there there, and Maddow knew it—yet she still had a scoop, of sorts, so there must have been a lot of pressure to promote it.
Which leads me to believe, if I had to guess, that team Trump leaked these PARTIAL 2005 tax returns themselves. Brilliant move. Notice how there hasn’t been a single Trump tweet about it? Yes, he paid about $38 million in taxes on $153 million in income.
The man who leaked the tax docs?
One thing I’ve always wondered about federal income tax brackets (and this may surprise you): Why do the wealthy not only pay far more in taxes in actual money and also a far higher percentage? If we all paid a flat rate a wealthy person would still pay far more than you or I (unless you read this blog and earn more than $467,000 per year, in which case, DUDE, you can contribute to the Medium Happy poor writers’ fund). But on top of paying more if, say, we all paid 10%, someone earning more than $467 K was, last year, paying nearly 40% of his income to Uncle Sam.
Folks if I wanted to see a Rachel tease a doc I’d watch the first season of friends
— NCAA Insider Grimace (@trillballins) March 15, 2017
I can see why that would make someone a little salty. Don’t have the answers, but it seems we should severely simplify taxes and I’d lower tax rates for the wealthy while also creating at least one or three more brackets for those who earn $500K and above. It seems weird that we have the same tax rate—39.6%—for someone who earns $470K as we do someone who earns $150 million.
The only Tapper truly bugging the president….
You know what the Trump tax return “dump” (more like a small plop) did? It took away the focus from the fact that one day earlier Salty Spice told the press corps that his boss didn’t exactly mean “wiretapping” when he tweeted that Obama had wiretapped him.
Oh.
“Can you say affirmatively that whenever the president says something, we can trust it to be real?” Peter Alexander of NBC News asked Spicer at the daily press briefing on Monday.
“If he’s not joking, of course,” Spicer replied with a chuckle.
Also on Monday, the White House gave the House Intelligence Committee a “dog ate my homework” excuse as to why it couldn’t produce evidence and asked for more time, which the HIC gave it. “We’re taking it up a notch!”
Yes, they have two solariums.
This may be the first SNL skit of the Trump era that the White House actually liked. Loved the chihuahua line: “If Poquito is here legally, he has nothing to fear. We are a nation of laws.” Also, news out that “Weekend Update” will have a four-episode run as a half-hour stand-alone primetime show this summer. Michael Che and Colin Jost are a solid team, but they’ll want Kate McKinnon and Pete Davidson on as frequent correspondents.
How insanely gifted is Edward Cheserek? The Oregon senior won two of the three individual events he entered last weekend at the NCAA Indoor Championships (the 5,000 and the 3,000) and it almost feels like a letdown. Cheserek, who was born in Kenya and was raised in Newark, finished second in the mile.
He now owns 15 individual NCAA titles and two more in the relay. No college athlete has ever amassed more individual championships and only swimmer Jenny Thompson, courtesy of 10 relay events, owns more overall. If you want to call the 5’6″ middle-distance runner the greatest NCAA track athlete of all time, go right ahead.
Cheserek lost in the mile to New Mexico RS freshman Josh Kerr, a native of Scotland, by the way.
Bruce bought this car off a kid working at a Carvel stand for $6,000. No lie.
Currently reading Bruce Springsteen‘s memoir, and as a fellow son of Monmouth County (My Hometown) whose parents moved west in their early forties (“We gotta get out while we’re young…”), I’m truly enjoying it.
Reading the news that Bruce sold his Rumson home, which I’ve driven past a few times, for $3.2 million earlier this week got me to thinking about a moment in the book when he had far less liquid and/or material assets. This, I believe, is 1971 or ’72. His manager at the time, Mike Appel, has landed Bruce a solo audition at CBS Records in midtown Manhattan. The time is non-negotiable so Bruce has to get there the next day (“Word is out this is our last chance….”).
So Bruce, living in Atlantic Highlands, I think, at the time, borrows a buddy’s car (he doesn’t own one and barely drives). He’s got barely enough money for tolls and when he arrives at the Lincoln Tunnel, to pay the $1 toll, he hands the lady 100 pennies. She says she can’t take that. He says it’s all he has. She does not lift the gate, but instead counts the pennies.
At last she tells Bruce that he’s one penny short as she hands him a Canadian penny he had given her. So, as cars honk their horns, Bruce opens up the doors to his borrowed cars and scrounges under floor mats and seats in search of one last cent. Eventually, he found one and handed it to her.
Then he drove into Manhattan, nailed the audition, and the rest is history.
Ah Leah!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wFBt6QTgcPY
The coolest thing about Donnie Iris is that he knows he’s not cool. But man do the guitars shred on this 1980 hit that reached No. 29 on the charts. This is a song that I bet Van Halen heard and wished they had written. Iris would have one more hit after this and that was really it for him, but there are junior high kids in garages all over North America who are more than grateful that this Pennsylvania native wrote this one. My friends and I saw him play at a Cleveland rib festival on Memorial Day weekend 1997 (?) and he rocked.
Annie Get Your Gun
TCM 8 p.m.
A good 1950 musical (and an even better Squeeze song) starring Betty Hutton, who replaced Judy Garland, who was fired a month into shooting. Songs by Irving Berlin, including “There’s No Business Like Show Business” (like no business I know). What do you want from me? I don’t feel comfortable pushing play-in games….
Also, I gotta apologize. TMC aired a terrific 1975 detective noir film last night, Night Moves, starring Gene Hackman, James Woods, lovelies Jennifer Warren and Susan Clark (the mom on Webster and wife of Alex Karras) and no kidding, a 16 year-old Melanie Griffith who shows a criminal amount of skin (“There oughta be a law” “There is”). It’s the kind of film that could’ve been made in the mid-Seventies but you’d never see today. If you ever get a chance to see it, MH recommends. Think The Rockford Files meets Against All Odds. It’s very Hackman-y.