Drilling and the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy

In the the late-80s/early 90s, Michael Franti fronted a rap group called the Disposable Heroes of Hiphoprisy.  One of their best songs was "Music and Politics."  In that vein, it's back to the internet!


DRILLING


Depressing news on the spill, as the top kill failed to cap the well this weekend.  Don’t expect anything to work until BP drills a relief well in August. This is the second major oil spill in the last 10 months. In both the Gulf of Mexico and the East Timor Sea last year, the companies that drilled the wells made things worse by NOT having a back up plan in place in case of a blow out.  And in both cases, neither company had a relief well handy; in both spills it seems to take 3 months to get a relief well in place.


There are many tragedies to this spill, and it will likely get worse as the oil keeps flowing towards Florida’s coast. Or worst of all, if a hurricane develops between now and August and brings oil on shore. If that occurs we could see a biblical catastrophe – an ON shore oil spill caused by OFF shore drilling. 


POLITICS


Since this is a Carolina-Hellenic blue blog, I’d like to point out that Rand Paul is a Dukie and J.D. Hayworth is an NC State grad.  Makes sense that two of the tea bag standard bearers are barbarians trying to destroy civilization nurtured and advanced in places like Chapel Hill and Greece.


In the wake of the spill plenty of tea bag types are whining about the Obama Administration. Of course, there’s no federal role for oil spill clean up.  If tea baggers want the government to clean up this corporate-created catastrophe they need to fund a new federal agency, or expand the authority and training of existing entities like the Coast Guard.


Expecting intellectual – or ideological – consistency from the tea baggers is a waste of time.  I’ve said before, will say again: you cannot be anti-government/anti-taxes and pro-military/pro-social security.


But I think there are bigger problems with tea baggers like Paul. His complaints about the Civil Rights Act forcing private businesses to serve customers they don’t like, for instance, makes me wonder if he actually understands democracy. 


Democracy doesn’t simply mean elections. Democracy, at least the way we envision it, is THE corner stone of a civilized society that values each citizens’ rights.  In fact, democracy is a human right as much as a system of government.


Unfortunately, Ron Paul and his fellow tea baggers don’t trust the public so they don’t trust democracy. They are right wing nuts first, small d democrats second.  Their distrust of the public, of their fellow citizens considered equal by a democratic society, is one reason why they don’t believe in choice (either reproductive or sexual or whatever), and why they love guns – they’re surrounded by potential killers! How can you build a real democracy – trusting the public with the right to vote – when you don’t trust them with your life, and need to carry a gun?  


Again, expecting them to be consistent is unrealistic, but you would think tea baggers and other wing nuts would at least believe in the concept as well as the practice of democracy.


MUSIC 


For the record, I picked Lee DeWyze as the next American Idol three months ago.  Though we were rooting for fellow diabetic Chrystal Bowersox it was fitting to see Lee win.  


For a little more than a year and a half - roughly coinciding with the election – there was (for me) a lot of great new music. I particularly enjoyed records from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, U2, TV on the Radio, Santogold, and singles from MGMT and others.  But then a drought (at least for me) set in.  


That new music drought has happily ended with new releases from Sharon Jones and the Dap Kings, and especially LCD Soundsystem.  Like most really good records, it has taken a few listenings to really get into it, but I am weary the figurative grooves of the new disc “This is Happening.” 


Finally, I also downloaded “Empire State of Mind” by Jay-Z featuring Alicia Keys.  I like a little Jay-Z, though he’s way too boastful and apolitical for my tastes.  The funny part of downloading the song was my kids saying YOU like hip hop? I had to remind them that hip hop and I go way back, and that the genre wasn’t invented by Jay-Z.  So the download resulted in a good song on my iPod AND a teachable moment.

Of course, everyone knows once you stop thinking about music and politics you go to sports.  Look for that blog post soon.

American Idol, American Poverty

So tonight was the annual 'Idol Gives Back,' a kind of telethon. According to Simon Cowell, 'IGB' raised $15 million for a number of worthy causes, mainly projects sponsored by Save the Children.  


For me - and Ariadne - the show was half impressive - $15 million is a lot of cheese - but half embarrassing.  Tonight's show focused on Kenya, Congo and other third world places that lack everything.  But IGB also focused on Appalachia, the inner city, and rural parts of Mississippi and Arizona.  It was an embarrassing display of poverty and neglect in the wealthiest country the world has ever seen.   


The low point had to be the teacher in southern California - a married public school teacher with a house, mortgage and two kids - who has to depend on a local food bank.  A working American serving his community that has to rely on a hand out, on free food, to fight off hunger.  Is there anything more embarrassing - or damning - than that?


The plight of these Americans looks even more stark when compared to a glitzy show - on Fox no less - like 'American Idol.'  But at least they are giving back, buying thousands of bed nets to fight Malaria in Africa, books in Appalachia, and sponsoring mobil health clinics in rural parts of the United States.


It also makes one wonder how we as Americans can put up with so much poverty?  The tea baggers whine about being taxed too much when we have teachers - whose salary is paid by taxes - dependent on free food in order to teach our children.  


Want to complain about taxes - complain about them being so low that a teacher can't afford to feed his family.


More Idol

• One odd sight and sound was Mary J. Blige singing 'Stairway to Heaven.' She did a pretty good job with that song, as she did with 'One' by U2.  She usually oversings when performing her trademark shlocky and overproduced modern R&B but Blige shows some restraint and more range when singing rock and roll.  
• Ellen Degeneres is funny.

NBA Playoffs

Hard to get that excited about the NBA playoffs.  The Wizards demise caused me to stop paying attention to the league months ago. And unlike the NCAAs, with a one-and-done format guaranteed to produce upsets, the NBA playoffs are the opposite. Hard to hide flaws in a seven-game series, and harder to find upsets.


As usual, the east playoffs look unappealing as we wait for the inevitable match up of Vince Carter's Orlando Magic and Antawn Jamison's Cleveland Cavaliers in the conference finals. The other six teams in the east playoffs each have serious problems: Boston is too old, Atlanta very weak at the point and a few years away in terms of maturity; Milwaukee could have made some noise if Bogut was healthy but he's not and they won't; Charlotte is a less-talented version of the Hawks but with even less playoff experience and a big whole in the paint; Miami has one great player and no one else.  


The one intriguing team outside of Orlando and Cleveland is Chicago.  When healthy they feature some great young talent.  Injuries caused them to settle for the 8th spot opposite Cleveland so their trip to the playoffs will be short, this year.


The conference final will go seven, but it's hard to pick against LaBron James - especially with help from Antawn Jamison - so expect Cleveland to make the NBA Finals.


The west will be a slightly different story with at least 2 teams, Brendan Haywood's Dallas Mavericks and George Karl's Denver Nuggets, and perhaps everyone's sleeper team the Phoenix Suns, capable of giving the Lakers an honest run for their money.   


Like the east, don't expect any early upsets.  But unlike the east, the west WILL feature some compelling first round match ups such as the Spurs-Mavs and Nuggets-Jazz, and an entertaining one in the Lakers versus Kevin Durant's Oklahoma City Thunder.  


The conference semi-finals will be even more entertaining featuring a final four of the Lakers vs the Nuggets and the Mavericks taking on the Suns.  Every one of those games will be worth watching.  


I like Chauncey Billups taking down the erratic Lakers and go with Haywood and Caron Butler over the Suns.  Like all lefties I want to root for Steve Nash but the Mavs are too deep; that team features Nowitzki, Kidd, Marion, and Butler. 


I'm sticking with the Mavs to win the conference final, too, so it will be a Tar Heels AND Wizards reunion as the Cavs meet the Mavs in the Finals.


Break Up The Nats 


These are the glory days for our hometown Nationals.  At 7-6 it like 2005 again!  Except for Jason Marquis the Nats have actually gotten good starting pitching lately, especially from Livan Hernandez but also from John Lannan and tonight from Craig Stammen.  Only 83 more wins this season and it's on to the playoffs! 

Accountability

Lots of things to mull over regarding accountability in today's Sunday papers, both in Greece and here in the US.


Regarding Greece, accountability has never been a virtue at least in modern times.  Ancient Athens did hold folks accountable. Every year they would vote on among other things who they wanted to expel from the city.  Names were written on a broken piece of pottery - that's what 'ostracism' means, broken pottery - and who ever got the most votes had to leave Athens.


But in modern Greece accountability is very weak.  After the doomed invasion of central Asia Minor after World War I - Greece was given northwestern Asia Minor including Smyrna in recognition of ethnic Greek majorities there and for being on the winning side of that war, but overdid it by invading central Turkey and getting their butts kicked and expelled, with many civilians massacred - members of the military were held accountable but not the royalist rulers who ordered the invasion.


After the Nazi's withdrew from Greece at the end of World War II, the collaborators who governed the nation were never prosecuted or even fired.  The Greek resistance was led by the left, including many Communists.  The collaborators who worked with the Nazi's told the Brits and Americans who entered the newly liberated Greece that they should be kept in place to fight the Communists.  The US and UK said okay, and a civil war took place when the left (resistance) and right (collaborators) could not work out a political agreement.


I think Greece is the only country in Nazi-occupied Europe that did not prosecute or at least disqualify from running for office Greek quislings.


That legacy is alive in well in Greece, and you see it in everything from the comical way Greeks park on the side walk, knowing that they can't get towed (the streets are too narrow) and there are no consequences for not paying a ticket. 


And there are serious problems for the state when thousands if not millions of Greeks fail to pay income taxes. The low payment of income taxes - some estimate that 40 percent of Greeks do not file income tax returns - severely hurts a country famously trying to solve a serious economic crisis and pay their bills, obligations and fund their generous pensions.


That lack of accountability and the belief that not everyone is playing by the rules is one reason Greeks are so cynical about their own nation, and why Greece is in serious financial trouble.


Here in the US we face some similar issues with Wall Street. Frank Rich talked about the need for more accountability for Wall Street and the Fed today in the NY Times.  In his column Rich does not relate the problems with both to Hellenism, but he does point out that guys like Alan Greenspan sound very Greek: none of this is my fault!


One reason accountability is important is to get history right.  If no one is held accountable for their actions the bad guys will try to spin their way out of the blame, witness what Greenspan and Robert Rubin told investigators last week.


And look at Virginia declaring April 'Confederate History Month' without talking about slavery.  The apologists for the Civil War keep talking about states rights instead of slavery - or the more elemental fact that the south did not want to be part of the US, the nation of the Declaration of Independence and Constitution. They chose to defend and fight for slavery and reject the two greatest documents and ideals ever put to paper, the ideals that define the United States.


But even if slavery never existed, does it make sense to celebrate taking up arms against the American flag and Constitution?  No matter what you were defending, doing that makes you one thing, a traitor.  Why does Virginia (and other states like South Carolina) want to celebrate that?


During Reconstruction the U.S. did hold ex-Confederates accountable; Jefferson Davis for instance was arrested and served two years in prison.  He and other former Confederates where prohibited from running for office or joining the US military.  After 12 years Reconstruction ended (in part to settle the deadlocked presidential election of 1876).  Once Reconstruction ended - and US troops left - the south quickly moved to enact Jim Crow laws and disenfranchise ex-slaves.  Public sentiment in the north was indifferent, so they got away with it.  The U.S. government just gave up on Reconstruction, so I guess in addition to accountability you need persistence.

Planes, Trains, but Mainly Airports

So after weeks of not blogging – too much drill baby drill work, Easter and holy week, spring break, my aunt’s funeral, college basketball, opening day, etc. – my recent odyssey in Chicago has prompted me to post again.

It was a weird 24 hours. I arrived at Washington’s National Airport – ironically our most convenient airport – at 2 pm Eastern Time to catch a 4:30 flight to Chicago on my way to the Bay Area for the Western Wilderness Conference. I will finally arrive (I’m typing this on my flight from Chicago) at the airport in San Francisco 29 hours later.

Here’s my itinerary.

I arrived at National early to do a conference call at 3 pm. But even before getting to the airport my ridiculous trip was interrupted by something serious. While waiting for a Yellow Line train at the Gallery Place Metro stop I learned that a women had been stuck by a train at Mount Vernon Square station in an apparent suicide attempt. She survived and was pulled out from under the train (last I heard) but of course trains were not moving through Gallery Place.

I decided to grab a cab to the airport, and was reminded once again how easy it is to get to National. From Gallery Place it took 11 minutes, so I had plenty of time to go through security – which was hassle free - with time to make my conference call.

The call ended at 4 and boarding for my 4:45 United flight was supposed to start at 4:15 but when I went to the gate it was a mob scene. Due to thunderstorms and winds in Chicago, United’s hub, everything was backed up. We finally boarded our flight around 6 pm, taxied onto the apron of the runway then waited another hour and a half for skies to clear in Chicago. Yadda yadda yadda, I didn’t arrive in Chicago until 9 pm central time, 10 minutes after the last flight from O’Hare had left for San Francisco. Our Sierra Club travel agent rebooked me onto a 6:40 am flight – that I changed to an 8:30 flight - and recommended the airport Hilton. 

But as I tried to change my seat assignment at 7:30 am this morning I learned that that flight was cancelled. After calling United I found out the next direct flight to SFO that had seats was at 2:00.  I was given another center seat, but after saying ‘after all I’ve been through I have to sit in the center?’ the United staffer gave me an aisle seat.

She also gave me a ticket to stand by on a noon flight, a flight I later found out was so overbooked I was 72^nd on the stand by list even though I had checked in almost 5 hours ahead of time.

But the 2 pm flight is working out great. In addition to an aisle seat I was given a ‘Premier’ boarding pass so was able to board with Zone 1 right after first class, and I got to watch ‘Crazy Heart’ as my movie.

Here are some more random musings about this trip:

• On par, O’Hare is not a bad airport to be stuck in. The one huge downside, both of the airport and the airport Hilton, is no free Wi-Fi! Having to pay for Wi-Fi in an airport or hotel is simply an injustice (speaking of injustice, Duke winning the national championship in another one.  Butler deserved to win that game and close out a storybook NCAA tournament, but instead the big, bad right-wing school killed Little Red Riding Hood).

• My iPhone made the lack of Wi-Fi doable. As for O’Hare, some of the terminals themselves are interesting; I like the neon light show in the tunnel between terminals B and C, and there is some nice public art between the United and American terminals, too. There’s also a children’s museum and a nice display about Medal of Honor winner and pilot John O’Hare, the airport’s namesake.  As you can tell, I killed time between breakfast with four works calls and a very long walk around O’Hare.

• Food wise I did okay, too.  Last night there was only a Starbucks open but I found a nice chicken-cheddar sandwich and an excellent granola-blueberry-strawberry yogurt parfait there for dinner. This morning I had an egg and cheese sandwich with hash browns from the Billy Goat Tavern in the ‘Jazz Food Court.’  The Billy Goat is the Greek-owned establishment made famous by John Belushi (cheeburger cheeburger cheeburger, no coke Pepsi), and I got to eat while listening to Miles Davis’ ‘Kind of Blue’ in the background.

• I went back to the ‘Jazz Food Court’ for lunch at the Zoot Diner. I had a decent turkey sandwich but enjoyed my desert of chocolate covered raisins from ‘Nuts on Clark’ better. I’m hoping that both Zoot and Nuts are local, Chicago businesses.

• Oddly enough, when I asked for peanuts or pretzels on the flight to San Francisco they said ‘no.’ Are you allowed to take off without those two foods? Does the FAA know that?

• It’s the midwest so it makes sense, but everyone I talked to at the airport, particularly the United employee who gave me the aisle seat but also the security people to the cashier at Zoot who happily gave me another copy of my receipt, were incredibly nice.

• This may be especially true at a large facility like O’Hare but you seem to run into every single type of human being at the airport. Every continent is represented, you hear dozens of languages, you bump into the abled and disabled, young and old, etc.  The only people I didn’t run into were assholes. 

• One thing that struck me at the ‘Jazz Food Court’ was how many ethnic Chinese were eating the Chinese food. There was a flight leaving for Beijing near by, so by Chinese I don’t mean Chinese-Americans. I kind of assumed Chinese food in the U.S. is a little dumbed down but at least today real Chinese were loving it; maybe it’s more authentic here than I thought.

• As I mentioned I had a ‘Premier’ boarding pass but I still had to board after first and business class.  First class passengers get to walk on an actual red carpet when they board, which seems a little excessive.  First class on a westbound flight seems different. On the east coast, first class is full of serious folks in suits. On this flight there are a number of fat dudes in jeans and sweat pants in first class, many sporting van dykes and sloppy hair cuts.

This trip, along with our problematic flights to and from Athens via Paris last summer, is another reminder to avoid connecting flights whenever possible (which I’m doing on my return flight). So even though National is our most convenient airport I think next time I fly to the ‘fat-guys in first class’ coast I’ll use Dulles (BTW, Alaska Airline has a non-stop to Seattle from National, the Ted Stevens Memorial flight).

Despite all the delays and hassles, I still like to travel. I also finished watching ‘Up in the Air’ on this trip.  At one point George Clooney opines that things like family and responsibility slows you down, and if you slow down you die faster.  Of course, that is completely wrong.  Family, and especially kids, speed up time. And as I found out today traveling like he does in that movie can make time stand still.

One more time

For what it's worth, I do not think Gilbert Arenas should go to jail for a momentary lapse into knuckleheadedness.  Arenas is not a thug, just someone who made a terrible decision.  Today's accusations of a cover up, while unsavory, do not change my opinion.

If anything, Arenas has shown a consistent pattern of being foolish and immature, but not violent or bad.  A jail sentence is not merited.

I also think it's worth ready today "DC Sports Bog" about Arenas' support for area teams and families.   

His donations and immaturity are the yin-yang that define Arenas, not thuggery or conspiracies.

Socrates and March Madness

Socrates famously said "Why do you think I should drink hemlock?"  


He also said 'all I know is I know nothing.'  That is certainly appropo for me and the NCAA Tournament.  I thought this would be a pretty boring tournament but Thursday was anything but (of course, since Carolina is not in this year I didn't watch much of it, but I read it was a terrific day).  


Friday, yes, was boring, with the inevitable wins by number 1 seeds and the continued frustrations of Clemson and Florida State.  Oliver Purnell has yet to win an NCAA tournament game at Clemson, and they should have defeated a mediocre Missouri team.  And FSU is FSU, and perhaps always will.


For me the biggest upset - bigger than Murray State beating Vanderbilt, a game Obama called on ESPN - was the ninth best team in the MAC dominating Georgetown.  The Hoyas, who's system has been predicated on tough defense since John Thompson built the program in the late 1970s, gave up 97 points in 40 minutes to Ohio, a team that had a losing record in the Mid America Conference.


As a whole the Big East took a beating in the first round, and it should have been worse since Villanova did NOT deserved to defeat Robert Morris. 


But enough looking back.  Here is my quick look at this weekend's games (these picks are not intended to be the basis for any wagering; but if you remember Socrates' take on my picks why would you?):



Kansas will get a very tough game from UNI and everyone's favorite Iowa-born Iranian-American Ali Faroukmanesh. 


Michigan State should have lost in round one, and Maryland looked good but not flashy against Houston and will take down the Spartans.


Ohio vs. Tennessee is a toss up, but I don't think Ohio will play as well and Tennessee will not play as bad as in round one so I'm picking the Vols.


Ohio State looks Final Four worthy with the kind of dynamic leader in Evan Turner that often leads to good runs in the NCAA tournament.  Georgia Tech has it's hands full, but at least Paul Hewitt won an NCAA tournament game.


Syracuse will swamp Gonzaga.


This will be an interesting game as methodical Butler takes on athletic Murray State.  Butler handled a similarly athletic UTEP in the first round  and I think they will do the same and advance to their second sweet 16 in three years.


A semi-upset as the A-10s Xavier knocks off a Pitt team that limped into the post season.  That said, Jamie Dixon may be the coach of the year; Panthers lost almost as much talent as Carolina did but recovered to have a very good season. 


BYU over K-State is a real upset, but I'm not impressed by the Wildcats but am by Jimmer Whatshisname.  Any other year he would have the best name in the field but Jimmer has the unfortunate luck of playing in Faroukmanesh's shadow.


Why some, including my main man Hubert Davis, think a Dino Gaudio-coached team can upset Kentucky is beyond me.  If Wake Forest upsets the Cats I will eat my hat (note: I am not wearing a hat; offer not valid in areas without Congressional representation).


I wanted to pick Cornell over Temple but went with the A-10 for some reason.  This is a legit team that barely lost to Kansas in Lawrence this season.  Plus, Wisconsin plays at Cornell's pace so look for them to out badger the Badgers. 


My new dark horse is Washington and their dude Poindexter. Look for an easy win over an overrated New Mexico.


Can't believe Missouri beat Clemson, but West Virginia will send them home a day later than expected.


Duke should avenge their 1993 lose to Jason Kidd's Golden Bears but this will be tight game for the Devils.


Texas A&M will win a game no one cares about.


My sleeper final four team, Baylor, will have an easier time with the Monarchs than they did with Sam Houston State.


I compete my upset picks with taking St. Mary's over an overrated Villanova team.  The Gaels, despite have TWO girls names, are big inside - a weakness of the Wildcats.


So there you have it - either you heard it here first or 'all I know is I know nothing.'

Not very satisfying

To say the least, today was NOT a very satisfying day of basketball.  

The 'best' news of the day - and boy is THAT a relative term - was Carolina qualifying for the NIT.  The Heels play William and Mary on Tuesday night.  Hard to get excited about that, even with the nostalgic return to Carmichael. Pretty interesting imagery; Carmichael signifies a return to an era of less hoopla and hype, but also is an acknowledgement that though not actually going back in time the 2010 season was a step back for the program. 

Speaking of going back in time, interesting to juxtapose Carolina's recent national success with Duke's recent run at the ACC tournament.  Their win today gave Duke 18 ACC titles, one more than Carolina; the Devils really piled up the wins during the Guthridge-Doherty era but have also won the last two championships.  I think it is the only major hoops category where the Heels trail the Devils.  

That's not the only role reversal.  In the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Duke went to 7 Final Fours in 9 years, many commentators and fans opined that Krzyzewski and Duke had broken with tradition and were emphasizing national success over ACC success.  I remember Dean complaining at the time that though the Heels were winning 3 ACC championships during that span everyone thought Carolina was slumping.  

But as you know, that has now flip-flopped.  Duke has won 9 out of the last 12 ACC tournaments but has only been to the Final Four three times in that span (not counting this year), and have not made the Final Four since 2004 (haven't made it past the sweet 16 actually). Carolina has been to the Final Four three times just since 2004, and has won two National Championships in the last 5 years. And during that 12-year ACC run Carolina has been to more Final Fours, 5 to 3, than Duke.

So Duke has done well regionally but Carolina much better nationally, with more Final Fours and National Championships - both in the last 12 years and overall - than the right-wingers from Duke.

Duke's lack of success in the NCAA tournament - despite nice runs in the ACC tournament - may also be a testament to how weak the conference has been since coaches like Dean Smith, Bobby Cremins, Jim Valvano and even Jeff Jones have left, and since football expansion.  Except for Gary Williams, the ACC has been an easy conference to dominate post-Dean - that is until Roy showed up. 

Pretty lackluster day for the NCAA tournament, too.  It looks like a fairly boring bracket; there are too many weak teams like Utah State, Minnesota, and Florida in this year's field, and it would NOT be a big surprise to see the top 2 seeds in each regional advance to the elite eight.

And not to sound too Duke obsessed, but they got a very easy bracket.  A second-round game versus Louisville could be difficult, and Baylor is supposed to be tough. But the Waco-based hoopsters might not make that far, having to play Notre Dame and Villanova for the right to take down the Devils (an enticing prospect for a Baptist school).  That said, I expect Duke to lose in the second or fourth round due to fatigue.

The bad news for Syracuse is they will have to go west, through Salt Lake City, to reach the Final Four.  The good news is the long flight to Utah may be their biggest inconvenience.   The west regional looks pretty tame, with an overrated 2 seed, Kansas State, and slumping 3 and 4 seeds (Pitt and Vanderbilt, respectively).  Perhaps Butler will give the Cuse a game, but that may be it.

The other brackets are much tougher, especially the midwest. Kansas should advance in the Midwest, but could be tested by UNLV in the second round and by either Ohio State or the winner of Georgetown-Tennessee.  To me, Tennessee if one of the few intriguing teams in the tournament, and I'll be rooting for ACC/neighbor Maryland to make some noise in that region.

Kentucky may have the toughest bracket.  They have to deal with either Temple or Wisconsin, both potential giant killers in the round of 16, then may have to take on West Virginia in the battle of "States that want the US to continue with our 19th century energy policy." 

So my final four are: Kansas, Syracuse, West Virginia, and my crazy wild card pick, Baylor.

Random NCAA Notes:

• Virginia Tech got hosed. The third-place team in the ACC is one of the best 65 best teams in the country - period.  Case closed.  But especially when compared to moops like Utah State and Florida.
• A sentimental favorite is Notre Dame, with Ben Hansbrough at the two guard spot.  Can the Hansbroughs make it back-to-back Final Fours?
• Temple is one dark horse pick for the sweet 16.  The A-10 is a quality mid-major, and the Owls defeated Villanova this year and have a good draw (though Cornell is a tough out). 
• Besides Duke the ACC teams have challenging draws.  Maryland will likely get Michigan State in the second round, with Kansas waiting.  
• Tech will probably defeat Oklahoma State but gets Ohio State as a reward.  The Yellow Jackets match up well with the Buckeyes but that will be a tough foe.
• Florida State gets Gonzaga then perhaps Syracuse.  No way the Noles win more than one game in the tournament.  
• Texas and Wake Forest meet in a 'man are we in a slump' first-round game.  Texas finished 7-9, with Wake one game better in their last 16 games at 8-8.  Hard to have any faith in Wake, but luckily they play a team playing just as bad as they are.  Either team will likely get run over my Kentucky in the second round.
• Clemson should give Oliver Purnell his first NCAA win over Missouri (another undeserving team) before probably bowing out to West Virginia though the Tigers will give the Mountaineers a game.  That will be in interesting second round match up.

Have To is better than Want To

This morning in church, Father Steve’s sermon focused on the cross. I won’t give a complete review of his homily, but one of his core messages was “often times we need to do what we have to do rather than what we want to do.” And by doing so, we will be more fulfilled and happy and accomplished. 


A good lesson for our entire congregation, but of course I can think of three other bloggable topics from Father Steve’s sermon.


First of all, that old Hellenic bugaboo – Turkey. I have no patience for Greeks who reflexively blame or condemn Turkey. I’m not happy that they have Constantinople, but history is history. And like most Greeks, at least Greeks in Greece, I hope that one day Turkey joins the European Union.  


But if they want to join the EU, Turkey has to admit that the Armenian genocide happened, guarantee religious freedom, recognize the government of Cyprus and withdraw Turkish troops, among other things. 


I’m picking on the Turks because this week the Turkish government officially protested the House Foreign Relations committee passing a resolution condemning the Armenian genocide. The official Turkish government policy is that the genocide never happened. Of course, there is no legitimate debate on the first genocide of the 20th century, one the dissolving Ottoman Empire got away with. 
  
Implicit to joining a union of European states is that you give up some of your sovereignty in order to conform to the European – and western - standards.  But Turkey’s ultra-nationalism (to say nothing of European misgivings about including a Muslim country in its ranks) seems to make EU membership impossible. 


A few months ago 60 Minutes profiled the petty and mean-spirited restrictions on the Orthodox Ecumenical Patriarch in Istanbul. The EU charter prohibits that kind of religious persecution, but the Turkish government continues to keep the Patriarchate under its thumb despite the consequences for EU membership.


They want to keep acting like blind nationalists, but to make Turkey better they have to acknowledge the genocide, appreciate the history of the Patriarchate in Constantinople and guarantee religious freedom for non-Muslims, and recognize the government of Cyprus (which, after all, is an E.U. member).


Two, the elected officials and others who keep harping on the size of the deficit, if they are serious about this issue, need to either raise taxes to increase revenue or stop talking about this issue.  


I’ve blogged this before, but discretionary spending on so-called big government programs is only 3 percent of federal spending.  A catch phrase for hypocritical deficit hawks is “I want a government small enough to drown in a bath tub.”  Well, unless the bathtub is the Pacific Ocean that’s not happening. The only way to fit our government into a metaphorical bathtub is to undertake unrealistic and dramatic cuts in defense spending and Social Security/Medicare, or stop paying interest on the debt.  


Getting people back to work – and paying them unemployment insurance – is more important than deficit reduction. It’s also a way to shrink the debt long term since unemployment insurance spurs spending, and in America’s service economy consumer spending leads to jobs.  Jobs lead to more taxes and revenue, and revenue leads to deficit reduction.  


Deficit hawks want to shrink government, but to really reduce the deficit they have to support more government spending on job creation. 


Finally, as the entire world knows Greece’s economy is in crisis. But despite some protests in the streets – and let’s face it, Greeks will protest anything; when Jesus comes back they’ll protest that – polls show more than 70 percent of the public supports the long-overdue cuts to Greek government spending (FYI, the Greek government sold $7 billion worth of bonds last week, so others seem to support what the government is doing, too). 


So it appears Greece, of all people, is doing what they have to as opposed to what they want to.

Marcus Ginyard Karma

For whatever reason - actually the main reason is blind, Carolina-bred optimism - I like our chances as the Heels head to Durham to take on the right-wingers from Duke tonight.


There is lot of karma on both sides, but I think we have more: our four-game winning streak at Cameron, our own modest two-game winning streak, giving classy seniors Ginyard and Thompson a great way to go out (Ginyard said winning at Duke would be akin to April's national championship for him), Duke overconfidence and pressure to finally give their senior's a win over Carolina at Cameron.


All that could add up to a win.


But more importantly the Heels are playing better.  Ginyard seems healthy, Thompson showed some toughness in the win over Miami, Drew is making better decisions, and though rusty at least Tyler Zeller is back.


Last night, ESPN Classic reran the 2006 win in Cameron that started the current winning streak.  It was great reliving that game, and fun to watch Tyler Hansbrough dominate one more time, a fast Bobby Frasor making plays and clutch free throws, David Noel being David Noel, Rey-Rey's rebounding, key contributions by Byron Saunders, and Danny Green foreshadowing him big play-making with key plays late.


But I was most excited to remember how well Ginyard played in that game.  He finished with 11 points off the bench - Carolina's starting lineup was Hansbrough, Terry, Noel, Frasor and Wes Miller, with a pretty talented bench; what a team - including a back-breaking coast-to-coast lay up off a missed free throw.


So I'm placing my faith in Marcus Ginyard tonight.  I'm even about to visit his hometown, Alexandria, Virginia, this morning for a visit to the Toyota dealer.  That's just too much karma for the Heels, and will hopefully be too much for the Devils tonight, too.


As always, GO HEELS!

Quick ACC blog

Interesting games last night in the ACC.  


The marquee game was Duke at Maryland.  I'm not a big General Greivis fan but late in the game, after Duke had asserted itself and taken a second-half lead, he made play after play to lead the Terps to their 12th win in the conference.  


Gary Williams has a right to feel pretty smug.  Two seasons after alums were screaming for his firing and the Post ran a 5-part series about how far Maryland has fallen he's got a team that looks average on paper (of course, games aren't played on paper, they're played on ESPN) in first place in the ACC.  It's easy to forgot how much success he's had in College Park.  


If Carolina doesn't win the ACC tournament I won't mind rooting for Maryland in the NCAA tournament.


Duke, on the other had, seems poised for yet another late season swoon, one I hope picks up momentum on Saturday night against the Heels. One weird feature of Duke basketball lately - since the Shane Battier-Jason Williams juggernaut - has been Krzyzewski's inability to develop any quality depth. As a result Duke teams of recent years always look gassed late in the year.


That seemed to be on display late in the game versus Maryland, where John Scheyer and Nolan Smith missed open shots that they had knocked down earlier in the game. Despite having decent size - Lance Thomas, Brian Zoubek and not one but TWO Plumlees - the Blue Devils continue to be a jump-shooting team. And if you have tired legs it's hard to be a good jump shooting team. 


The Plumlees, who seem to be athletic and skilled, only played 22 minutes last night. Seems like you should give them, and back-up point guard Andre Dawkins, more time especially when you consider that Singler played 40 minutes and Scheyer and Smith each played 38.  


Finally, one underreported story that obviously hurts Duke's depth has been the number of transfers lately. I'm assuming most of those are due to Krzyzewski being a demanding task master.  Just in the last 2 seasons Duke has lost 3 players - Elliott Williams (Memphis), Taylor King (Villanova) and Firstname Thompson (Northwestern) - who are contributing at schools playing big time college basketball.


ACCents:

• Add my voice to the chorus of critics who think football-driven expansion has hurt ACC basketball. Last night fewer than 4,000 fans showed up for Virginia's game at Boston College. It was spring break and Boston is a pro-sports town, but still, 4,000 fans?  BC should not be in the ACC.
• Miami made more sense in that the conference already had one Florida member, but they continue to draw flies for basketball, both in Coral Gables and on the road. Miami's game in Chapel Hill was not a sell. That's not the U's fault, but they do not generate ANY basketball buzz and probably never will.
• The only school that made sense to add was Virginia Tech. A geographic fit, natural rival for Virginia, and they have a hoops fan base. Last night they had a sell out for NC State, and almost all the fans stuck around last weekend when a water main break delayed the start of their game versus Maryland by 3 hours. 

Two

The night of the number: 2 thousand wins for the Heels, 2-game winning streak (hey, we'll take what we can get this year), and 2 seniors going out as winners.


Though it was - at best - an uneven game tonight's 69-62 win against the U does allow classy seniors Marcus Ginyard and Deon Thompson to go out on a high note.  Both played great, actually played as we expected and hoped they would the entire season.  That didn't happen this year, but it did tonight.


Both Ginyard and Thompson stepped up (along with help from Wil Graves and the rising John Henson) when the Heels needed them to.  In the first half, after Miami has cut into a 16-point lead Ginyard led a mini-run to give Carolina a 10-point cushion at half. 


Ginyard and Henson also led a spirited charge coming out of halftime to give the Heels an 18-point lead.  After that margin was winnowed down to one, Graves and Thompson hit huge shots.  Thompson's gutty turn around jumper that gave Carolina a three-point was inspirational, coming seconds after he got back on the floor from visiting the locker room to treat a strained back.  And it was nice to see Ginyard help ice the game late; his free throws not only provided the final margin of victory but also gave him his first career double-double.  


This game was a reminder of the good times and grand careers of Thompson and Ginyard, but it was also a reminder that this team has not gotten much better as the season has progressed.  Against the Canes the Heels continued to turn the ball over, get complacent with a lead (a pattern that started against another Miami team, FIU, as the Heels bookended an uneven season with games against schools from America's Casablanca), and miss a lot of bad shots, shots a normal Carolina team would know not to take.


There were times - the start of each half, and the last four minutes of the first half when Henson simply took over - when the offense flowed.  But this uneven game mirrored an uneven season.


But at least the seniors won, we are no longer in last place, and we have momentum as we travel to Durham in hopes of sneaking out of Cameron with a fifth-straight win at Duke.  GO HEELS!


A few random notes, then to bed:

• The recent play of John Henson has been fantastic.  He's even blocking shots better, keeping two in play today to start fast breaks.  He still makes some mental mistakes, but this guy is progressing rapidly and will be a star next season.  
• Graves hit two big Danny Green-esque threes tonight to kill Miami's momentum.  He and Henson are by far the best stories of this year, and they've been are best players since Ed Davis got hurt.  Graves rebounded pretty well tonight, too.
• Speaking of Graves, perhaps THE play of the game was Thompson's inbounds pass to the Greensboro junior with 35 seconds left. Both Drew and MacDonald (he and Strickland were horrible tonight, completely clueless) came open first, but Thompson held the ball long enough for Graves, an 80 percent free throw shooter, to get open. Graves hit both shots to give us a working 5 point margin.  Smart play by the senior Thompson, the kind of trademark Carolina play that has been missing much of the season. 

Everything is better

Everything is better when Carolina wins.  George Will once said his friends who were Cardinals fans grew up to be happy, optimistic and liberal, and his friends - like him - who were Cubs fans grew up to be unhappy, cynical and conservative.  


Being a Carolina fan is like the Cardinals fans in Will's quote - to be a Tar Heel is be happy and optimistic. You knew Carolina would play a certain way - smart, feeding the post, getting good shots and making good decisions - and be extremely successful as a result.


This season has been more Cubs, but today's win was pure Cardinals.  For a day at least, Carolina looked like Carolina.  They rebounded, they fed the post and attacked the basket relentlessly thus generating good shots, and they played smart and excellent defense. 


Putting up a wall on defense - not taking a charge but stopping penetration or redirecting the ball where you want it to go - is a Carolina trademark, and today against the Deacons the Heels excelled. Carolina's walls repeatedly cut off penetration and forced them to become a jump-shooting team.  As a result the Deacons, who are not a good shooting team, had a tough day on offense.  


And when Heels like Deon Thompson or Tyler Zeller or Will Graves were not putting up walls, John Henson was blocking shots.  He was magnificent in the first half on defense.  


Capping off the great walls and shot blocking was the clutch defense of Leslie Macdonald, who drew two big charges. Macdonald was Henson's equal in the magnificence department.  


It was a yin-yang performance by the freshmen. Henson was great in the first half; Macdonald especially good in the second. Henson was a force on defense blocking shots and rebounding; Macdonald was an aggressive and confident and clutch hoopster on the offensive end, almost Danny Green-esque. 


Not only was it a great win, on the road, snapping a losing streak, and hopefully leading to some momentum in the last two games of the regular season and going into the ACC tournament but it also gave one hope for the future, both the rest of this season and the next. It's exciting to think about how players like Henson, Macdonald, Drew, Zeller and Strickland could explode after a year of adversity and seasoning. 


Best of all, for the first time since the win at State, Carolina looked like Carolina again.  The Heels rebounded, ran the floor, fed the post, consistently made the smart play, and played great defense for 40 minutes in Winston-Salem.  I've said it before and I'll say here one more time - losing is bad enough, but what made this team difficult to watch was the way they lost.  This team consistently made un-Heel like plays: bad passes, questionable effort, quick shots, you name it.  


But tonight? Pure Carolina


And when this team was pressed and the game tightened up late, the Heels responded like . . . well, Tar Heels.  They didn't panic, they didn't get the 'woe is me' thing going that Roy has talked about, they didn't choke. 


Instead, the 2010 Heels made plays.  Tough, big-time, plays.


Whether we're talking about: big three-pointers, two by Graves and one by Larry Drew II late (at one point the Heels were 7 of 9 on threes in the second half; the game is a lot easier when you shoot it well); a great double team by Drew and Graves in the corner to force Wake to burn their last timeout; Macdonald's charge late; or Graves' big rebound with about a minute left, the Heels made plays.


No play, however, was bigger than the one Macdonald and fellow freshman Dexter Strickland made with just under a minute left.  Wake had cut the lead to 3.  Instead of worrying or calling time out, the Heels performed like Heels.  As the Deacons were still celebrating their made three-pointer freshman Strickland, in the game due to Drew's brain lock at the free-throw line, quickly pushed the ball ahead in the mode of Felton and Lawson, and fed Macdonald for a quick and easy lay up.   


Then on the ensuing Wake possession a wall put up by Deon and Marcus Ginyard led to Macdonald sliding his feet and taking his big charge that sealed a great and satisfying win.  


And everything is better when the Heels win.


A few random notes:

• It was a great team win.  Everyone who played contributed.
• Kudos to Larry Drew, who had his best game since the Michigan State win in December.  He was aggressive and tough, and did not get down after a rough start to the second half.  His three late was huge, though his free throw woes were almost hugely bad. 
• Our point guards did a great job guarding Ish Smith today.  In Chapel Hill, Drew did a horrible job containing him, but tonight was the opposite.  Drew played Smith to drive, and let the notoriously iffy outside shooter bomb - and miss - from the perimeter. 
• Will Graves really stepped up in the second half.  His shooting was big time, but he also was choice on defense and the boards.  Like all the Heels, he made plays all over the floor tonight, but none bigger than his two threes late.
• It is not a coincidence that the Heels have looked better now that Zeller is back. He's a talented and gifted player who also knows how to play.  He is better than Deon or the Wears at getting position and asserting himself down low.
• Deon did not shoot it well, but his defense in the second half was great. Ditto Marcus Ginyard, who did not force anything on the offensive end and combined with Thompson and Graves for numerous walls and stops. 
• Like I said, it was a total team effort led by the magnificent play of Macdonald and Henson.  Both not only excelled and led their team to victory, they were having fun out there tonight.  Great to see, and great to win.

GO HEELS!

February Hates CHB

Good thing it's the shortest month of the year, because February has been really cruel to all things Carolina and Hellenic.  It goes on today, with the Post taking a break from it's front page coverage of Greece's economic problems long enough to run an article chronicling the decline of blue-blood basketball programs like Carolina, Arizona, UCLA and Connecticut. 


Good riddance to February; I'm tired of talking about the problems with the two stales of my non-family, non-enviro life - hoops  and Hellenism (and it's not just Carolina; our hometown Wizards also had a horrible month).  


Hoops and Hellenism is a pretty good name for a blog, but I probably could not stand the competition for the Greek/basketball blogosphering public.


Finally, March will not be much better.  Just found out the Greek Prime Minister, Berkeley-born, American-bred George Papandreou, will be in D.C. for meetings with President Obama and others on March 9th, and of course a central part of the initial March Madness coverage will be reminders of the collapse of the defending national champs.


More hoops and Hellenism:

• When the Wizards traded Brendan Haywood then Antawn Jamison I decided to give up on our hometown team.  But the new look Zards, led by of all people Andray Blatche, are 3-3 including a win over Ty Lawson's Denver Nuggets.  Evan is no longer interested, but I'm thinking about giving this team another shot - and tickets on StubHub are pretty cheap.  Besides, they are only 8 1/2 games out of the eighth play off spot!
• NBA favorite player Haywood is thriving in Dallas. The Mavs are 6-0 in games he has started, and his numbers - though similar to the ones he put up in DC - are nonetheless impressive. In the six games he's started B-Hay is averaging 12 points, 11.5 boards and more than 3 blocks. His defense could make a team known around the league as soft a force in the playoffs.  Pretty ironic stuff for a guy once derided by know-nothing Wizards fans as 'Brenda' Haywood.   
• Seeing Haywood or more likely Antawn Jamison win an NBA championship this year with their new teams would take some - only some - of the sting out of this bad college hoops season.
• But my main rooting interest for the rest of this year will be the Charlotte Bobcats, led by second-favorite NBA player Raymond Felton. It looks imminent that Michael Jordan will purchase the Bobcats from do-thing black Republican Robert Johnson so they better make a run now before he screws up that franchise. The Cats are in 9th place in the east, in a tight race with Jerry Stackhouse's Milwaukee Bucks for the final playoff spot.
• Speaking of MJ, I received Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, as a what-I-believe-to-be-sincere Valentine's Day present from Alison. I've been listening to it, especially disc one, a lot. That guy is really like Elvis, with a brilliant career that eventually choked in it's own vomit.  Disc one has three all-time great American songs by the Jackson 5: I Want You Back, ABC, I"ll Be There. The intro to I Want You Back, with the piano riff that quickly blends into a scratchy guitar part, is the ultimate Motown fanfare.  The rest of that disc includes Dancing Machine, Off The Wall, Shake Your Body, and Don't Stop Til You Get Enough. But like the rest of the four-disc set, each one is a mix of brilliance - those songs, plus Billie Jean, Bad - and absolute dreck - Ben, She's Out of My Life, and his song to his chimp Bubbles.  But it's worth wading through the dreck to listen to Wanna Be Starting Something.
• In college I had a great mixed tape that had an excellent segue from Wanna Be Starting Something to Flashlight by Parliament, FYI.
• My admission of affection for Michael Jackson may be as shocking to some (though I grew up with The Jackson 5) as last year's blog about American Idol.  But this week I was reminded once again of one of the main reasons I watch AI (besides Simon Cowell):  an excuse to engage and talk to our kids about something they like, something especially important now that Ariadne is a full-fledged teen. On Wednesday night Evan went to bed early, so it was just me and my daughter watching TV. We sat there talking, discussing each performance, having a real conversation, goofing off during commercials, etc.  And when I came home from my Greek Language MeetUp on Thursday night she gave me an update on who had been eliminated on her way to bed.  Ariadne and I fight a lot more now than we ever have, but those casual conversations and happy moments - in this case spurred by American Idol - are pretty cool.

Final answers

There were a number of questions heading into this Carolina basketball season. The defending national champs were talented, but there were three main questions.

Is Larry Drew ready - and seasoned enough - to run Roy Williams' Carolina offense?

Though inexperienced in the back court, can Carolina's long and talented front line replace the scoring provided by Tyler Hansbrough, Wayne Ellington, Ty Lawson, and Danny Green?

Can Dean Thompson and Marcus Ginyard lead a young team the way David Noel and Tyler Hansbrough did in 2006?

The clear answers, writ large tonight in another embarrassing home loss this time to FSU, are no, no and no.  That's been evident all season, at least this calendar year, but it saddens nonetheless.

Against FSU tonight Larry Drew looked clueless, seemingly unaware that his number one job is to push the ball up court and get the ball down low.  But in addition to initiating Carolina's offense, a Tar Heel point guard is supposed to disrupt the other team's offense.  Drew was horrible at both tonight (as was his back up, Dexter 'Sloppy' Strickland).

Our most reliable low-post scorer, Dean Thompson, barely touched the ball and ended up only taking 6 shots.  Deon should assert himself more, so it's not completely Drew's fault.  But after almost a full season at the point he still seems incapable of regularly initiating Carolina's offense.

Carolina's injury-depleted front court was overmatched by a more physical opponent again tonight. In the first half Drew did feed the post a bit, but mainly to John Henson and Tyler Zeller.  Unfortunately, Henson was routinely manhandled by the Seminoles front line and Zeller must have run out of gas as he played limited minutes in the second half.  Without Ed Davis, our most talented player hands down, and the Wear brothers our front court is literally thin - and thin.

I thought he would, but Deon has not established himself as the go-to player for the Heels this season. And Ginyard seems to lack the talent - perhaps due to his multiple injuries - to lead this team.  Our two senior leaders have struggled to lead this team ever since the loss to Texas in Cowboys Stadium.

No, no, no.

To make matters worse, with the exception of Will Graves and Zeller the Heels played as if they were going through the motions tonight.  Most of the team acted as if the season was already over despite the fact that winning four in a row, though improbable, could have gotten the Heels to 7-9 and probably into the NCAA tournament.  Winning against FSU would have meant the team still had some fight left, perhaps enough to run the table - again improbable -  at the ACC tournament.  Or at least stay out of a last-place tie with NC State.

The lack of effort was most pronounced on the defensive end, where FSU easily moved the ball on offense and seemingly got any shot they wanted.  

So still no answers, no wins, and another loss in Chapel Hill.  Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, it did.