by John Walters

Starting Five

Hello, May I Take Your Executive Order?

Another Day Of Trump: Angry Australians, Irate Iranians, Miffed Mexicans and a very good chance that our president has no idea that slavery abolitionist crusader Frederick Douglass is no longer living:

“Frederick Douglass is an example of somebody who has done an amazing job and is being recognized more and more, I notice”

Douglass died in 1895. Oh, by the way, he escaped slavery, traveling incognito from Baltimore to New York, and avoided extreme vetting.

By the way, if it seems as if every time you turn around, President Trump is signing an executive order in Sharpie and holding it up for show-and-tell, it’s not unusual. He actually signed fewer executive orders (18) in his first dozen days in office than his predecessor, Barack Obama (19), did.

2. Hello, Harbinger

 

Bet Steph didn’t expect that #FatherKnowsBest (via @CSNWarriors) pic.twitter.com/wVR6No1zLJ

— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) February 2, 2017

Before last night’s game between Charlotte and Golden State, a Warrior player playfully tossed a ball at a Hornet broadcast who was not looking and standing next to the scorer’s table near mid court. The tosser was Stephen Curry and the target was his pop, former NBA player Dell Curry. Dell calmly picked up the ball, took a step or two toward his son, then banked the ball in from at least 30 feet out.

How did Steph respond, besides laughing? He went out and buried eight first-half threes and 11 in all in the Dubs’ 126-11 win. Curry finished with 39. The Dubs are fun to watch for one quarter, when they really care. They were up on Charlotte 41-21 after one. Maybe the Hornets need to bring back Dell.

3. Meet Rocky Lombardi

While the rest of College Football Recruiting Twitter was going nuts over 6’7″, 280-pound OL Kobe Buffalomeat (How had no one ever heard of him before yesterday?), and rightfully so, I found myself drawn to Michigan State quarterback signee Rocky Lombardi. Are there two more iconic single names in sports than “Rocky” and “Lombardi?” I mean, sure, you can go find a kid named Muhammad Rockne or Babe Jordan, but for now, I’m sticking with this. Also, you’ve gotta love that unabashed Golden Boy look, no?

His pop, a former high school football coach who was let go after a few verbal abuse complaints by parents (damn liberals and their safe spaces! Suck it up, snowflake!), named him after Vietnam vet/Notre Dame alum/Pittsburgh Steeler Rocky Bleier. Also, Lombardi may be the best high school wrestler in the state of Iowa, which is not unlike being the best surfer on Oahu’s North Shore (maybe he should be playing on the other side of the ball?).

By the way, Michigan State finished 3-9 last season and had a pretty awful recruiting day. This is a program that made it to the College Football Playoff just two years ago.

4. That’s 51!

I’ve never been to Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, but I have been to Allen Fieldhouse in Lawrence and I urge you to make at least one trip before you take your last breath, particularly if you love college hoops. Unless you’re the coach of a college basketball team.

Last night the No. 3 Rock Chalks took down No. 2 Baylor, 71-68, for their 51st consecutive home win under Bill Self. Granted, it’s not as if they’ve won 96 in a row overall, as the UConn women did last night with a 97-69 win at Temple, coached by former Geno assistant Tonya Cardoza. The Huskies have won 35 straight on the road, by the way.

5. Intolerable Cruelty

The protesters at Berkeley got it SO WRONG. If you want to champion the rights of the oppressed and fight the Alt-Right, you have to champion the First Amendment. And if you’re going to do that, you have to peacefully protest the thoughts/words of someone (Milo Yiannapoulos) with whom you vehemently disagree (“I strenuously object!” Thanks, Lieutenant Commander Galloway). You don’t burn stuff and break stuff and pepper-spray people.

You can’t be intolerant while championing tolerance. That makes you a rube.

Granted, I’m not sure why any institution of higher learning, and of all places the birthplace of the college protest movement, Cal-Berkeley, invites Milo. Even Twitter permanently banned him last year.

Reserves

Bey To Have More Bey-bies

I like the Queen Bey. Rode my bike from Manhattan to Citi Field last June to scalp a ticket to see her show. And good for her about the news: she and Shawn Carter are expecting twins. This photo, though? That’s straight outta Walmart photo studio.

Music 101

Joy & Pain

This is what they mean by “old school.” Harlem hoppers of hip Rob Base and DJ EZ Rock hit it big in 1988 with an album whose first two songs were “It Takes Two” (currently on heavy rotation on an ESPN promo) and this one, which samples heavily from a song of the same name by Maze and Frank Beverly. This song hit No. 2 on the dance charts and No. 68 on the Billboard Hot 100.

Remote Patrol

Groundhog Day

AMC, 7 and 9:30 p.m.

AMC is airing this 1993 Bill Murray classic on a continuous loop today, which is at least two levels of meta. First, because today is of course Groundhog Day and second, of course, because consider the theme. This is a true American classic, not just as a comedy but as a deeply spiritual study of the nature of man. If only they’d hired a better actress than Andie MacDowell, this would have been an all-timer. I mean, it still kinda is. I’m going to go watch it with Ned Ryerson.