by John Walters

Starting Five

1. City of F(r)ight

So here’s your toxic mixture: 1) An enemy whose combatants clearly don’t care whether they live or die, 2) a society that espouses freedom and thus allows its citizens to move about freely, to gather in large groups to attend concerts, sporting events, etc. and 3) a free and uncensored media that will not only provide your acts of terror all the attention you want, but will thrive on the ratings they provide.

Former CBS correspondent John Miller, who once interviewed Osama Bin Laden face to face (pre-9/11) and who now works in counterterrorism for the NYPD, said this to Charlie Rose last night: “The terrorists after 9/11 tried to out-do one another. They tried to do something more spectacular. With Charlie Hebdo and now Paris, they’ve finally figured it out: bullets and simple bombs can wreak havoc and paralyze a city with fear. They finally got it: Keep it simple, stupid.”

Last night Paris police and security forces took down 7 terrorists just a mile from Stade de France, killing two.

Meanwhile, the United States remains the softest of targets with lax gun laws and a frothing-at-the-mic cable news media. And I understand that taking in refugees is the Christian thing to do, but then Jesus probably didn’t ever lay out $598 billion in a year for military defense spending, either. Jesus probably didn’t order an atomic bomb to be dropped over Nagasaki.

Yesterday a favorite sports journalist of mine chided the governor Massachusetts on Twitter for not wanting to accept Syrian refugees. “Is someone going to tell the governor of Massachusetts the story of Massachusetts?” he tweeted. And I thought: Maybe he already knows it: within two generations all of the Native Americans who welcomed the Pilgrims were either murdered or moved off their lands.

And while that wouldn’t happen here with Syrian refugees, governors are correct to at least question why taking in refugees is the solution, as opposed to repatriating them in their own home land.

ADDENDUM (Two post-shower thoughts): 1) The son of a Syrian immigrant created what is now the largest-cap company in the world, Apple. So, yeah, it’s never THAT simple of an equation. 2) In times of national defense strife, America must always remember that its two greatest allies are the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean.

2. Latvian Legend

It’s early in his career, but so starved are New Yorkers for hoops hope that we’ve already embraced Kristaps Porzingis as  the next…well….Jeremy Lin. The 20 year-old Latvian had 29 points and 11 boards last night as the Bockers of Knick improved to 6-6 with a defeat of Lin’s Hornets.

Remember last June when Carmelo Anthony reportedly told a teammate on the night the Knicks selected Porzingis fourth overall, “We have to wait three years for this guy?” Turns out it was more like three weeks.

3. “Labissiere!” “Labissiere!”*

*The judges will also accept “The Skal’s The Limit”

Did you not enjoy listening to Dan Schulman say the Kentucky freshman freak’s name over and over again last night? I felt as if I were at a Truffaut film festival (related: I’ve never attended a Truffaut film festival).

Labissiere only scored 7 points in 13 minutes of action before fouling out, but with that wingspan and those springs, look out world. The Haitian Sensation is going to be an SEC nightmare. No. 2 Kentucky beat Duke, 74-63.

4. No Change At The Top

Clemson, Alabama, Ohio State and Notre Dame remained the top four teams in the Selection Committee’s opinion. The next three, in order: Iowa, Oklahoma State and Oklahoma.

Here at MH we want to to provide you with the upsets most likely to happen between now and December 6, in the order of likelihood. Here goes: 1) Florida loses to Florida State, 2) Notre Dame loses at Stanford 3) Oklahoma State loses to Oklahoma 4) Ohio State loses at Michigan 5) Iowa loses at Nebraska 6) Clemson loses to North Carolina in the ACC title game 7) Oklahoma State loses to Baylor 8) Ohio State loses to Michigan State 9) Alabama loses at Auburn 10) Ohio State loses to Iowa in B1G championship game.

5. Simmons Meets POTUS (Again)

Last month Bill Simmons sat down with Barack Obama and asked surprisingly few sports questions during a one-hour interview for GQ. Near the end of their chat, though, the guy who attended undergrad in Boston attempted to cajole the world leader who attended law school in Boston to take a shot at a man who earns more (and may wield more influence) than the two of them combined: Roger Goodell.

“You’re not going to drag me into your fights, man,” said the Prez. “Come on—I’ve got enough fights of my own. [laughs] This is between you and Roger.”

Music 101

Get Together

In 1967 The Youngbloods wrote one of the most enduring and emblematic songs of the Sixties peace movement. Then they went on to star at defensive end and outside linebacker for the Los Angeles Rams. It was a truly amazing time in America. This song peaked at only No. 62 in ’67 — I know, crazy– but made the Top 5 after re-release two years later. Maybe people began taking its simple message more seriously then.

Remote Patrol

Western Michigan at Northern Illinois

ESPN2 8 p.m.

In which media darling P.J. Fleck (WMU) gets his ass handed to him by relatively underrated Rod Carey (NIU), who is 30-8 in his third season with the Huskies. It’s MACtion, and NIU holds the inside slot for the MAC Championship game because they beat Holy Toledo –who won the Maumee Dearest Classic last night against Bowling Green last night — a week ago.