by John Walters
Send Liars, Guns and Money
Times like this, I’m happy to remind people that not only are Jon Stewart and I homphones (it’s 2023; get over it) but that we have both called Middletown, N.J., home for more than a decade at some point in our lives. And that we both love Bruce Springsteen…and pretty much there the similarities end.
By the way, how many times has the person opposing you in a political discussion retreated to “That’s your opinion” in an argument since Donald Trump declared his candidacy in 2015? It’s maddening and something I’ve dealt with often. And my reply is exactly what Stewart’s is here, but we both know that the person across from us isn’t listening. They’ve got no interest in enlightenment. Just in holding onto their precious beliefs. Hyprocrisy does not shame them in the least.
Send Liars, ESG Bills and Money
I’m not a Democrat. Really. It’s just that how come every time I see a politician lying, it turns out to be a Republican? The coup de grace here is when Becky Quick says, “So you know Schumer’s biggest donors, but you don’t know yours?” Game, set, match.
Have Mercy
Antoine Davis’ chase of Pete Maravich’s NCAA career scoring record was always fraught with qualifiers. First, Pistol Pete never played as a freshman at LSU because in the 1960s frosh were not eligible to play varsity (blah blah blah acclimate to college life yada yada yada interest of the student’s welfare blah blah blah). Second, the 6’1″ guard from Detroit-Mercy is in his FIFTH full college season, due to Covid rules.
Third, he’s played in 144 games compared to Maravich’s 83.
Fourth, made 588 three-pointers to Maravich’s zero.
Fifth, played with a shot clock.
Sixth, played his entire career in the Horizon League, not the SEC.
Still, former Indiana coach Mike Davis’ son needed just 26 points last night in the conference semifinal versus Youngstown State (the Penguins!) to break Pete’s record (and three to tie). Or he needed his team, which has a sub-.500 record, to win so that they’d play at least one more game.
Davis and the Titans fell just short. Trailing by three in the waning seconds, Davis launched a three that missed. Detroit Mercy would lose, 71-66, as Davis finished with 22 points. The Titans are now 14-19.
That keeps them out of both the NCAA and NIT tournaments. Would they pay the $27,500 entry fee just for Davis, who is leading the nation in scoring at 28 points per game, to find those four points he still needs? An already compromised record reaching yet another layer of compromise?
My former student and friend, SportsBrain, did point out that we nearly had (and may still have) both the NBA and NCAA career scoring records, marks that each have been around more than 33 years, broken in a one-month span. Wild.
Shots and Shots and Shots
Something’s happening here/What it is/Ain’t exactly clear….
But let’s pay attention anyway, okay, kids?
—Arizona State defeats Arizona last weekend (above) on a past-halfcourt jumper at the buzzer (as SportsBrain noted, Arizona should have missed its second free throw; what difference did a one- or two-point lead make when you know the Sun Devils’ final shot is gonna be a three?).
—Philadelphia nearly defeats Boston on a Joel Embiid three-quarter court shot that splashed through the net, but was released a fraction of a second too late.
— Then Paul George and the Clippers nearly defeat the team with the NBA’s best record, Denver, on a similar shot that goes through the hoop. The refs correctly point out that the shot was released late while conveniently ignoring, as they always do with All-Stars, that George traveled.
—By the time we reached Sunday afternoon, Caitlin Clark’s buzzer-beater three for Iowa over No. 2 Indiana seemed like child’s play (How do you let the best ‘baller in college hoops get the ball going to her strong side!!!????).
The point? Could it be that because players are practicing threes so much more often than they ever used to that range in general is improving? Or are these random anecdotal moments with no connection whatsoever? We report. You decide.
Kind Of A Strong Take
Dollar Quiz
- What individual is identified with victory at the Battle of Hastings?
- What is the connection between the first NCAA basketball championship game and the first college football playoff championship game?
- Who scored the most points in an NCAA tournament game (one person)?
- If a solution has a pH of 13, is it an acid or a base?
- Supply a Wordle answer that has no vowels (and is not a plural).
I mentioned this on your Twitter post, but I give credit to the guy for going up against Jon Stewart. He remained calm, didn’t lose his temper, didn’t resort to name calling, etc. Liked that JS, right from the start, mentioned he isn’t against the 2nd amendment.
That said, my big takeaway is just how far away from the point of government that we’ve gotten. It seems much less about serving the public, or protecting the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Where are common-sense solutions? Hell, what ever happened to compromise? Compromise was a huge topic in my social studies classes in grade school. We’ll let you have this, if you let us have that. Solutions that both parties gain and both parties lose at the same time.
I say this because, in the interview I liked some of those very common-sense solutions that JS recommended. Namely, using technology to help identify and track guns to their owners.
Lastly, I’m curious if the interview subject is just as pro-gun in the inner cities as he is in the suburbs and rural areas.
As for the $ quiz … I have no idea. Without the aid of Google, I might only get #4 right because I’d have a 50/50 shot at it.
1. William the Conqueror
2. Oregon and Ohio State played in both
3. Austin Carr
4. Base
5. Crypt
Brian C for the Win!
As for Micah’s good questions, see the 2nd item today. Being a politician is big $$$ plus crazy perks. If it were actually public service, most would never submit to that job.