Post-debate, Pre-Hurricane Blog

I thought Obama did well last night, but had to rate the debate a tie. But I think Obama wins in general on a tie. McCain had a terrible week - suspending his campaign, getting called out by both David Letterman and Haley Barbour, calling for the debate to be canceled, generally NOT looking presidential - so had to hit a homer last night. He didn't.

I'm kind of surprised by the reviews that focused on Obama's deference - or more to the point gentlemanliness - and McCain's snarkiness. I don't think either were that big a deal last night. But again, in the context of the week each candidate had - Obama reacting with cool and calm to the worsening financial news, and McCain acting confused and unfocused and in the end silly for flying to DC and sitting on his hands - I guess their demeanor is news. Last night's debate reenforced one of Obama's strengths - his practicality and levelheadedness - and one of McCain's biggest weaknesses - impetuousness and a lack of understanding on the economy.

I wonder if the tone and tenor of the debate in William Faulkner's home town will influence the vice presidential debate. Will Palin - who was very snarky and snide in her acceptance speech at the convention - tone it down against Biden? Or will she reenforce the case that she and McCain are simply rude and condescending and mean and etc.? It seems silly, but remember that Gore and Kerry were hurt by their condescending tone with Bush in their debates.

And will or CAN Biden - who I thought was confident and comfortable and cool last night spinning the debate - take pains to be as nice as Obama was, toning down his attack dog tendencies?

Heels at the U

Big road game for the Heels today at Miami. Would be a tough game regardless, but winning will be even tougher without injured quarterback T.J. Yates. Interesting to see if Butch Davis, on his return to Miami, goes with Paulus or Sexton. Paulus was a big recruit two years ago, but Saxton has started before.

Nats lose 100th game

The Nats dropped their 100th game last night in Philadelphia. The Nats had rallied a fews ago to sweep the Dodgers and take a series from the Phillies. But they followed that streak by getting swept by the last place Padres and are limping to the finish line.

Fans responded to the team more than the stadium as the Nats had the lowest attendance of any team playing in a new stadium, to go along with terrible television ratings.

And to make matters worse, the team stunk in a stadium that the city built for $600 million.

I think DC is still a good baseball town, and there is a good grassroots baseball infrastructure in town. But Stan Kasten overpriced too many seats, something you didn't think they would do while trying to build a solid fan base (especially with a team that Kasten and Bowden knew would stink). The cheap seats - $5 or $10 - almost always sold out, but the outfield seats - seats that cost around $15 to $20 in Baltimore but cost $25 to $30 in DC - usually did not. Ditto the empty seats behind home plate.

As the season limped to the end, Boswell wrote two very critical columns about the Lerners, Kasten and Bowden in the Post. Bottom line: the honeymoon for DC baseball is over. The Nats' brain trust needs to improve this team in the off season or risk weakening a fan base that has eroded despite having a brand new stadium.

Tar Heel Football - yes a football - blog

Carolina looked pretty good taking down Rutgers 44-12 on Thursday night.  I started watching that game around 9pm courtesy of one of the greatest inventions of all time, the digital TiVo box.  I breezed through every commercial, Lou Holtz studio segment, time out, fair catch, etc but managed to watch all the action.  TiVO, and 44 points on the road, made for some quality Carolina television.

Two things stood out about Carolina's performance.  On defense, the Heels kept Rutgers from converting a single first down.  All game long Carolina stopped the Scarlet Knights a few yards short on third down, and that was without Danny Green!

Two, no turnovers on offense while putting up 37 points (minus the interception return).  The offensive line looked a little shaky the first two series, but the whole offense played with confidence the rest of the game.  

Finally, Brandon Tate had another great game, scoring on a 69-yard pass and a 12-yard end run.  If the season ended today he's be the Heisman Trophy winner.

Despite their success, I'd be happy if the season ended today.  I'd rather focus on the baseball pennant races and playoffs, and the run up to basketball season. Especially here in DC, but also on ESPN, etc., football is like some kind of science fiction virus - eating up column inches and taking up oxygen. That is made a bit more palatable when our home town Washington Offensive Nicknames stink and the Heels are good, so this season we may have antidote for the virus!

ACC Football

Carolina's win - on the road versus a Big East team - is one of the ACC's few good out of conference wins this young season.   Wake Forest - basically a school the size of Davidson that is in the ACC because of basketball - is the marquee FOOTBALL team of the conference and the only one ranked.  Other ACC teams have already lost to the likes of Middle Tennessee State (Maryland), Northwestern (Duke), and East Carolina (Virginia Tech), in addition to losing games that were supposed to bolster the conference's reputation; NC State got blown out by South Carolina, Virginia got waxed by USC, Florida dominated the U, and Clemson was never in it against Alabama.

I guess Carolina's win must have inspired other ACC teams, since Maryland beat Cal today and Duke upset Navy.

Baseball Update

Still on the Rays bandwagon, so much so that I stayed up until midnight on Wednesday to watch Tampa Bay defeat the Sox in 14 innings.

Though I'm on that bandwagon, I'm still hoping that the Nats win at least 7 more games to finish with 63 wins and therefore with fewer than 100 losses.  Not impossible when you consider they have 10 more home games, including three against the last place Padres next weekend in Nationals Park.

Favorite News Item of the Week

My favorite headline of the week had to be PALIN FAMILY SHOCKERS: WHAT SARAH'S REALLY HIDING! from the National Enquirer.   I also liked the grilling McCain received on The View.

I also think the interview with Charlie Gibson was significant in that once again, as she was in her acceptance speech, Palin was incredibly snarky and smug.  If that continues to be her style, I don't think that will play well with swings, to say nothing of her hard right views on church and state, abortion, etc. and her lack of experience. She's just not good with the swings in general.    

Though McCain has picked up a Palin-induced bounce, I'm still confident that she will not put him over the top. As we get closer to November 4th, the focus will increasingly go back to McCain and the celebrity status of Palin will fade.  Once that happens, I think the electorate will remember that a first term of the McCain-Palin administration will be the third term of the Bush-Cheney administration.  Finally, once the focus is back on Bush-McCain-the last 8 years, Obama will win.

Todd wins celebrity poll; appears on Meet The Press to tout win

As expected, Chuck Todd impressively won the 'biggest celebrity' poll, garnering an out right majority of the votes (8 of 16).   No comment yet from Chuck on his big win.  

Sarah Palin did not impress the dozen readers of Carolina Hellenic Blue blog, finishing with just 1 vote.  Let's hope that holds until November.  George Pelecanos rode a late 'wave' of Greek support to overtake neighbor Thomas Frank for second place, 4 to 3. 

For the record, Chuck was NOT on MtP today.

Electoral College, plus Ellas, Nats, Rays.

I watched more of the Republican National Convention than I thought I was.  Initially, I planned to check out Palin's speech but skip McCains, but ended up watching both.  Palin was charismatic in a red-meat kind of way, and will keep the R base motivated until November.

But the base won't be enough this year.  I think the bottom line is an inexperienced, hard-right conservative - who could serve with a 72-year old president - will not help with swings in key states like Colorado or places like northern Virginia.  Palin may help turn out the base enough to win semi-swings states like Missouri or my home state of North Carolina (though Zogby had Obama up 7 in late August; I image Palin will eat into that lead, which was too good to be true anyway).  

And no matter how fired up she makes the base, swing voters - like most voters - vote for the candidate running for president, not vice president.  Finally, I doubt a significant number of Hillary voters will go to Palin out of clitorisolidarity.

Obama will win it with turnout and new voters, and more importantly as a result of Bush/GOP fatigue.  

I've been spending lots of my free time at 270towin.com, playing with various electoral college scenarios.  My conservative estimate has Obama narrowly winning the electoral college vote 273 to 265.  That scenario has him winning all the New England states - MD/DE/DC north to ME - the 4 Pacific states, the reliably Democratic Big 10 states - MI, WI, IL, MN, IA - and two crucial western states in New Mexico and Colorado.  This scenario is intriguing in that he wins without Ohio or Virginia.  

I think it's very likely that Obama wins Virgina (13 electoral votes), and is up by a few points in recent polls (conducted prior to both conventions) in Ohio (20).  He'll win at least one or both of those states, so could finish with anywhere from 286 to 293 to a landslide-like 306 electoral votes.  And Obama could pick up other states in play, for instance Nevada (5).

That said, my final pick is Obama at 293.  That basically is my original conservative scenario but with Ohio plus holding Colorado and New Mexico.

Hard to believe isn't it - Joe Biden will be vice president!

One last political note: word in some Hellenic circles is that if Obama wins, Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich (the only Eastern Orthodox governor in America, he's Serbian; Florida's Charlie Crist is a third-generation Greek Cypriot but somehow ended up a Methodist) will appoint Illinois state Treasurer Alexi Giannoulis to fill his Senate seat. 

Greece Beats Luxembourg

Greece's quest to qualify for just their second World Cup ever got off to a good start today with a 3-0 win over Luxembourg in Luxembourg (city?).   Charisteas scored, as did my main man Fanis Gekas.  I thought Gekas would lead Greece out of the first round of the EURO 2008 championships.  But he didn't play much or that well in Euro 2008, so I'm particularly glad to see that he scored today.

The other significant item from today's win was the shut out by goalie Constantine Chalkias, who plays for PAOK in Thessaloniki.  Chalkias replaced legendary keeper Antonis Nikopolidis who retired after EURO 2008.  Nikopolidis was magnificent in EURO 2004 when Greece won the championship, but played terribly in EURO 2008.   He was especially bad in Ellas' second game, a critical 0-1 loss to Russia

Coincidentally, Gekas and Chalkias are both from Larissa, Greece.

 

Nats have stopped hitting

After playing great baseball - and really hitting - the Nats have gone to Atlanta and reverted back to their July selves. Zimmerman has hit against the Braves but Guzman and Dukes - those three led the hit parade against the Phillies and Dodgers as the Nats won 7 in a row and 8 of 9 - have not.

For a while Evan and I entertained the notion that the Nat could sweep the 4th-place Braves, keep this roll going for the next month, eventually catch Atlanta, and therefore avoid finishing in last place.   But after dropping the first two games in Atlanta it is almost a certainty that Washington will once again be 'first in war, first in peace and last in the NL East."

Rays Bandwagon

I'll spend the rest of the baseball season rooting for the Tampa Bay Rays.  Nice to see a small market team succeed, but also impressive to see a recent expansion team win what Sports Illustrated calls the toughest division in professional sports.

Two Palin clips

Looks like the media is digging the digging into Palin and her track record.   It's a pretty good list - troopergate, pregnant teenage (still) unwed daughter, advocate of earmarks as Mayor and Governor, for the Bridge to Nowhere before she was against it, and now her slashing of the budget for a teenage mother support program in Alaska.

For one more article on Bristol's pregnancy, check out Ruth Marcus in today's Post.

First Cheney, Now Palin

I don't have much to say about Bristol Palin's pregnancy.  Actually, I have two things to say.   One, is it just me or does it seem inappropriate for any parent to run for Vice President when they have a five-month old baby - with Down's or not - AND have a pregnant seventeen-year-old daughter who - if Palin is to believed - is also planning her wedding?  Not exactly putting her family first here, but I guess Mr. Palin is a HELL of a guy.

And two, Americans probably already do this, but we should always assume that holy rollers like Palin are hypocrites. First we had Cheney, who helps preside over a party that gay bashes every chance they get while having a lesbian daughter.  Now we have back to back vice presidential hypocrites with Palin's daughter vividly demonstrating that abstinence does not work.  As irresponsible as it is to go on the road campaigning while your country song lyrics family is at home,  it's almost more irresponsible to allow a 17-year-old carry a baby to term. 

Hellenic Football Update

Now that the Olympics are over I can finally concentrate on Hellenic football. Greek soccer teams, both the national team and Panathinaikos, will try to restore some Hellenic pride after the very disappointing Olympics. Fortunately, the path to redemption can start as early as this Saturday, when Greece plays Luxembourg in a World Cup qualifying match on September 6th. Four days later, Greece travels to Riga to play Latvia on September 10th. Greece is in a relatively weak group, with Switzerland and Israel their main rivals. Though Greece didn't play that well in Euro 2008 they did play well in qualifying, so should win their group and advance to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  I think that would only be Greece's third World Cup, and first since coming in last place in the 1994 World Cup played here in the U.S.

Panathinaikos has qualified for the UEFA Champions Cup, the only Greek - but not Hellenic - club to do so. Olympiacos has been a mainstay of European club football, but was upset by Anorthosis of Cyprus in a qualifying match. Unlike the national team, Pana is in a tough group led by InterMilan and Werner Bremen, along with Anorthosis. Their first match is September 16th versus InterMilan at 2:30 eastern time. That game may be televised since it involves a traditional power in InterMilan.

Finally, it's not to late to mark your calendars for the weekend of September 26-28 and St. Sophia's Greek festival (or the Agios Baklavas Festival, as my dad calls these festivals). My kids and I will once again work at Grill II on Sunday making feta burgers, to hot dog, souvlakia and calamari. Feel free to come by on Sunday.

Labor Day Update

Between the Olympics (I think I was one of the few people who did not like the opening ceremony; too much 'people are cogs in a totalitarian-regime here in China' imagery for me), our great vacation to the Outer Banks, the Democratic National Convention, and working to stop new off shore drilling, my blogging has suffered.

Here is a quick, all purpose dump:

• I was impressed and moved by Obama's acceptance speech on Thursday, especially the second half.   Great to see him challenge McCain and lay out what he was for.  And to pull off a great speech in front of 80,000 plus folks in a football stadium was impressive.  
• Equally impressive was a speech that stole the show from many compelling speeches in Denver.  I will always love Ted Kennedy (in my first election, the 1980 Democratic primary in North Carolina, my parents and I were the three Kennedy voters in our precinct; our hometown paper printed the results precinct by precinct, and in ours it was Carter 61 - or something - Kennedy 3) and was impressed by his turn at the podium.  But I was even more impressed by Hillary.  She was funny - the Bush-McCain twin line is pure gold - and pitch perfect.  Rhetorically, I really liked the 'are you in this election for me, or for the mother without health insurance or the returning veterans who need our help' turn of phrase.   Very impressive. Sign me up for 2016, when Hillary will be a young 68 (and Ariadne will be eligible to vote)!
• Odd that some, namely Dana Millbank of the Washington Post, critiqued Obama standing in front of Greek columns.  Gee, I wonder what they're supposed to represent?  What makes the critique from Millbank even odder is that he lives in DC, the most Greek-looking city in America this side of Astoria (or Tarpon Springs).
• Check out my Facebook page - or YouTube - for a great Greek-American music video in support of Obama. It may be the only prObama video that features a bouzouki and an anti-McCain rap in Greek.
• One last Hellenic Obama hook.  I've also posted a video of Obama discussing issues of interest to the Greek American community.  One interesting item is that Obama - along with Greek American Olympia Snowe and my man Bob Menendez - is a cosponsor of a Senate resolution calling on the State Department to not use the name Macedonia for the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.  FYROM is used by the UN and it more proper, especially when you consider that Yugoslav Macedonia is an invention of Tito to keep that region part of Yugoslavia when it rightfully should be split between Albania and Bulgaria (the modern 'Macedonian' language is a dialect of Bulgarian, and for centuries those folks considered themselves Bulgarian).  
• I agree with those who say the Palin pick is one born of desperation. They needed some buzz and succeeded in stealing some of the energy from the Democratic convention.  Over time, I don't think she will wear well with swings and undecided voters.  It hurts McCain in two ways - one is it undercuts his 'experience gap' but also undercuts his main theme: this is a dangerous world and we need someone like McCain at the helm.   How can anyone justify having someone like Palin - who two years ago was mayor of a town of 6,000 people - a heartbeat away from the presidency when we are in a dangerous world and the president is 72?  Ruth Marcus' column in The Post tills the same ground here.
• Palin, as a hard-right Pat Buchanan-style Republican, does help solidify the base.  On Alaska issues she, in contrast to McCain, actively supports drilling in the Arctic but did work with us on trying to get ExxonMobil to pay damages owed after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.  We even did a press conference with her in DC.  She and I spoke together and were on the same dais, and after the press conference I sought her out for a thank you and a handshake.   I don't think Palin wanted to be seen with me, but we did exchange pleasantries.
• Finally, my two favorite signs from the convention were: Obama and the Tampa Bay Rays: Two Underdogs Who Will Win in All in 2008, next to a Chuck Todd for Prez poster.

Baseball Update

• Break up the Nats.  They've won five in a row thanks in part to the return of injured players like Zimmerman and Dukes.  There is a glimmer of life for DC baseball in a core of young players like Flores, Lannan, Balester, Snell, Bonifacio, Guzman, Zimmeran, Dukes and Milledge.  Except for Guzman, all those guys are under 25 so who knows.  It would great for this team to acquire a middle of the order first baseman or outfielder in the off season.
• That said, Bowden continues to make odd moves.  After signing Guzman to an extension they've traded for two more shortstops, and they're traded pitching to get these utility utility players. Which one is it, get down on the floor or freeze?
• We went to two of the wins over the Dodgers.  The highlight had to be watching Guzman hit for the cycle two nights after watching Zimmerman win a game with his glove.  Despite the atrocious team it's still fun to go to the ballpark.
• Another highlight was watching Manny Ramirez.  He went 5 for 10 in the two games we attended with a home run.  He looks effortless hitting. Great balance and such a quick bat.  It was as if he was taking batting practice.  When you look at him or CC Sabathia, who is leading the Brewers into the playoffs, it makes you wonder, is going from the AL to the NL like going from the majors to AAA?  It seems as if every AL player who has been traded to the NL starts to dominate as soon as they switch leagues.  That doesn't seem to happen in the other direction.  Griffey is doing okay with the ChiSox, but Randy Johnson struggled in New York but has been successful in the two years back in the NL.
• Speaking of the ChiSox and Obama, I saw an interesting Obama interview with ESPN's Stuart 'Holding Us Back' Scott. One, Obama defeated Scott in a one-on-one basketball game.  Two, Scott asked him who he would root for if the Cubs played the White Sox in the Series.  Without any hesitation he said the Sox. So instead of pandering about how great it would be for the city of Chicago BLAH BLAH BLAH coming together BLAH BLAH BLAH he stayed true to this favorite team, and dissed the Cubs while he was at it.  For the record, I'd root for the Cubs due to Ernie Banks and Jerry Reinsdorf.  Three, when asked which sports figure would have made a good Vice Presidential pick, his first response was Walter Peyton (note to Obama, Sweetness would have been a good pick but alas he is dead) but his second response was Jordan.

Olympic Wrap Up

• Not too much to say about Olympic basketball.   The U.S. played great the entire tournament and deserved to win.  The final against Spain was a great game to watch.  I've really come to respect Kobe Bryant this year, and he took over down the stretch against Espana.  On the world stage he showed who the best hoopster on the planet was.  No way the U.S. wins the gold without him.
• In addition to Bryant, LaBron James was equally phenomenal in Beijing.  It's easy to take him for granted since he's been surrounded by so much hype since he was a junior in high school, but he will become the next Jordan.  Remember, it took Jordan a few years to dominate the NBA and we are on the verge of watching James do the same.   Nothing that guy can do, or will do in the near future, will surprise me - including eventually winning three or four NBA championships.  
• Actually, one thing that would surprise me is if James signs with Olympiacos for $50 million when his Cavs contract expires.  Another thing that impresses me about James is his head and smarts.  Leaving the NBA would not be smart, at least until he wins a few championships.
• Greece did not make the medal round, losing to Argentina in the quarter-finals.  They had a shot, but Vasilis Spanoulis missed a three-pointer with four seconds left that would have given the Hellenes a one-point win.   They played well in the tournament, but in the end it was too much Manu Ginobili, who made a number of Manu-esque plays on both ends of the floor for the win.
• In general it was a very disappointing Olympics for the motherland.  Four years after winning a record high of 17 medals, Ellas slumped to 4 medals in Beijing.  They were even mocked by Jacques Rogge for leading the games in doping disqualifications, with 12.  Almost 10 Greek weightlifters were disqualified, but so was Fani Halkia, the defending 400-meters women's hurdles gold medalist.  Halkia's win in Athens was one of the best moments for Greece in 2004, so to see her DQed was especially disappointing.
• Also disappointing - seeing a totalitarian capitalist state stage the Olympics four years after Athens. For my money, the Olympics should stay in Athens forever.  The games are so big and expensive that only rich countries can afford them, so it's not like you're disenfranchising developing world cities like Johannesburg or Mumbai, cities that better things to do with their money than help Coca-Cola sell more soda.

That's enough now.   Have a good weekend.

Tar Heels

Opening Ceremony

I had a hard time watching the opening ceremony last night.  It certainly was spectacular in the Vegas-meets-Broadway sense of modern entertainment.  But I'm too much of a lefty to enjoy an opening ceremony hosted by a totalitarian capitalist state.

Two quick points.  One, it's one thing to celebrate the Confusion ideal of 'harmony' - I'm down with harmony - but harmony in modern totalitarian China is another.

Besides harmony, another value celebrated last night was 'openness.'   In fairness, the director of the opening ceremony is a Chinese filmmaker who wants to push his native land.  According to the New York Times he wanted to highlight periods in Chinese history when the nation was open to outside influences.  But today, the interaction with the west is a one-way street dictated by a totalitarian state.  Again, it's one thing to engage the west - and multi-national corporations - in the Olympics and another to continue to monitor and censure the internet, ban international newspapers, etc.   Ironic that the ceremony highlighted for the world that China is open to the world, but I doubt that message will reach the Chinese public.  

At least for me, watching a Chinese-produced ceremony highlighting harmony and openness is like watching a ceremony produced by apartheid-era South Africa highlighting brotherhood and equality.

I enjoyed the parade of nation for the expected reasons: watching Greece (and their tainted athletes) march in, and then seeing Lopez Lomong carry the US flag into the stadium.   On Greece, I didn't spot any of the basketball players.  Since we are in a hotel room in Elizabeth City (a brief stop on our way to the Outer Banks) I didn't have TiVO so could not pause the screen.  

More irony when Greek-American Bob Costas noted that the Olympics has gone from the smallest nation ever to host the Games - Greece - to the most populous in four years, ignoring the political-historical and liberty-chasm between the two countries.

Maybe I expected too much, but I thought NBC would make a bigger deal about Lopez Lomong.  That guy is THE story for me, not all the China red-washing.  He didn't get enough screen time for me.

OK - time to leave the hotel for the Outer Banks.  

Lopez Lomong

I'm so happy and proud of Team USA for voting Lopez Lomong to be the flag bearer in the opening ceremony that I have to blog about it one more time. Great to see the team - and by extension our nation - make such a profound and poignant statement. I hope Lomong's story inspires others during the Games.

Even without China's involvement in Sudan, the vote for Lomong would still be a moving one. I'm obviously biased, but nothing is more American - other than speaking out, of course - than the immigrant success story.

Now if we can only get Joey Cheek into China. And to show the influence this blog has, President Bush did call on China to offer my fellow Tar Heel a visa.

Olympic preview

For all it's commercialism - and this year the pollution and totalitarian politics associated with China - I'm still planning to watch plenty of Olympics the next two weeks.  I hope that the US wins more medals than China, that the Chinese government is embarrassed by the air pollution, and that at least a few athletes protest or at least speak out while in Beijing.

The Post has featured some good articles in the run up to the opening ceremony, especially Sally Jenkins' piece on Sunday.   They also ran a front page story today on activist and fellow Tar Heel Joey Cheeks being denied a visa to visit Beijing during the Games.  Even their generally lame blog, usually entitled DC Sports Bog (bog, get it!) has been re-christened the DC Sports Smog.  

A lot of the press has focused on Tibet (an over blown story; the Dalai Lama is basically a hippie Ayatollah who does not believe in elections, etc., and doesn't even support a Free Tibet, just an autonomous one that is still part of Communist China) but I wish the press would cover the more mundane fact that people can't vote and there is no freedom of the press, etc. in China.   It seems that Tibet gets more ink then the fact that 1.2 billion people have none of the democratic rights we take for granted.   

But despite that complaint, I think the press is doing a good job.  I doubt NBC will honestly report on the environmental and political problems associated with a totalitarian-capitalist state hosting the Olympics.  But I hope the print media will be more aggressive.   There may be hope for broadcasters other than NBC pointing out problems; my man Justin found an article at ESPN.com on the NBA and USA Basketball pressuring LaBron James, who is apparently becoming involved in Darfur, to stay silent during the Games about China's support for Sudan.  Nice to hear the right-wingers like Colangelo and Krzyzewski silencing athletes with a conscience. 

Speaking of which, it would be nice for President Bush to intervene on behalf of Joey Cheeks and his visa.  After all, I believe President Bush wants to spread democracy in Asia.   I'm sure he'll say something when he speaks in Thailand on Thursday.

The cases of James and Cheek remind me that in addition to the media, I really hope a few athletes stand up and say something about the lack of freedom, democracy and clean air in China.  There is nothing more American than speaking out, and you would think that China being a Communist country would make speaking out a no-brainer for folks on the left and right.  

One very positive sign from Team USA is the vote by team members to select Lopez Lomong, a former Lost Boy of Sudan, to be the flag bearer during the opening ceremony parade.  Great to see an immigrant selected, one who overcame so much to make it to America, let along the team. But also a great finger in the eye of Sudan's ally.

But as usual, money is more important that values or democracy, and the money involved and the pressure that comes with it will probably result in far fewer athletes speaking out that one would hope.  

A few more Olympic thoughts

• Americans have a special responsibility to speak out during the Olympics, but so do Greeks.  I hope Greek athletes aren't cowed by their privileged position at the front of the parade of nations enough to stay silent. What could be more un-Hellenic than a silent Greek!? Come on Stavro, say something about liberty and freedom while you're in Beijing!  We invented those two, also!
• Shocked to see the US women's soccer team lose today to Norway.  They should still advance to the medal round, and Norway is a very good team, but in the run up to the Olympics the American women had seemed to have worked out the kinks left over from their disappointing showing at last year's Women's World Cup.  
• As you know, I'm rooting for Greece to win the gold medal in men's hoops.  Mark your calendars: Ellas plays Krzyzewski's squad Thursday, August 14th at 8 am in group play.  I think both teams will advance to the medal round regardless of this tilt.  Finally, don't forget to vote on who you think will win the men's gold medal in hoops.

 

Some oil drilling, but mainly Base and Basket ball blogging

Been way too busy defending the existing moratorium on off shore drilling to blog much - actually at all - in the last few weeks.  I think the drilling ban will survive, mainly due to the personal interest and involvement in maintaining the moratorium by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and to a lesser extend the great messaging from Barack Obama and T. Boone Pickens.  If we make it to August 1st - the day Congress goes on recess - without a vote I think we'll survive. 

My hope is that between the Olympics, the Democrat and Republican conventions, and the end of the summer driving season, the hysteria fueling calls for more drilling will subside.

Now, on to the blog!  I've missed quite a few blog opportunities in the last two weeks, including:

BASEBALL

• the All-Star game, which I thought was a great game to watch.  Lots of action, defense, plays at the plate, etc. I'm glad I stayed up and watched the entire game.
• For me, the three most interesting stories of the first half had to be: Chicago, where the Cubs and White Sox lead their division - the Cubs stayed on top despite lots of injuries, and Guillen has the ChiSox playing over their heads; the Rays, who are coming of age sooner than anyone expected, and are a fun bunch to watch; and finally Josh Hamilton, a pretty powerful story of redemption and taking advantage of second chances.  What a phenomenal display at the Home Run Derby, and pretty inspirational too.
• Evan recently asked "how much worse can the Nats get?"  I wish I knew.  That line up, even with Zimmerman back, is Double A quality.  With a little more hitting our home town team could be decent; four of the Nats starters have ERAs below 4.25. 
• The bull pen has been almost as bad as the hitting; short term things will get worse with Rauch traded to Arizona.
• Long term, the Nats could be good in two years.   They have Lannan and Bergman as starters, with decent arms at Triple A and Double A, and Milledge (CF), Dukes (RF), Flores (C), and Zimmerman (3B) are all under 23.  Add the second baseman they acquired from Arizona in the Rauch trade, and the Nats could be solid up the middle.  Let's hope these guys develop into legit major leaguers, Stan Kasten fires Bowden, and hires a GM who can lure one or two power hitters here as free agents.

HELLENIC HOOPS

• For a while, this blog was not the ONLY spot for Greek basketball news.  The biggest splash was made by Josh Childress' decision to spur the Hawks and the NBA and sign with Olympiacos.  The signing put Hellenic hoops in the sports pages and on ESPN for two or three straight days.  In the course of the Childress coverage the Greek basketball league was acknowledged to be one of the top leagues in Europe, and Athens came out looking good too.  Though Olympiacos plays in Pireas not Athens, at one point Childress was quoted as saying he was unsure whether to go through with the deal - worth $21 million after taxes - until he visited and liked Athens.
• The oddest part of the coverage - at least for me - was the coverage itself.  Who knows who Josh Childress is? Greek hoop fans are pretty knowledgeable about the NBA, but I bet you would be hard pressed to find a more anonymous NBA player - in the US or Greece - than Josh Childress.   Despite that anonymity, the coverage of the signing was extensive.  
• Of course, most of that was due to the prospect that a weak dollar may lead to a larger exodus of NBA talent to Europe and a handful of players with similar talent, sixth men such as Carlos Delfino, Bostan Nachbar, etc., have signed with European teams.  But none of the players going from the NBA to Europe were front line players, so why make a big deal about it? I know I'd take $21 million to move to Greece.
• The Childress signing was not the only Hellenic hoops news to make it into the sport pages.  For the two days prior to the signing, Greeks hoops made into the American press for qualifying for the Olympics and then being placed in the same group as team USA.  
• Greece was one of three squads to qualify, along with Germany and Croatia, after playing in the Olympic tournament in Athens the week of July 14th.  Teams that did not qualify from their continents were invited to the tournament, with the top three making it to Beijing.   Greece routed Lebanon, Brazil and Puerto Rico in the tourney.
• Greece, the reigning world silver medalists, are grouped with the US, Spain (the world champs), China, Angola and Germany.  Greece, Spain and the US are three of the four best teams on the planet, so it will be a tough group.
• I remember watching the US play Greece - in the 2004 Athens Olympics - in the PIRG conference room. Although I was the only Greek-American in the office, I'm pretty sure I was the only person rooting for the US.  No big whoop; I always root for the US when they play Greece, and that team had fellow Tar Heel Larry Brown on the bench.  In addition, that team featured guys I like such as Tim Duncan, Allen Iverson and Shawn Marion.  But no one, at PIRG or anywhere else, liked that team.  I think that team was hamstrung by a roster with no outside shooters, and by bad/anti-American officiating.  Ironic that refs called lots of fouls on Tim Duncan, a classy player and great ambassador for American hoops, as opposed to 'less savory' players like Carmelo Anthony and Iverson.
• Childress, the qualifying tournament, and the announcement of the Olympic groups kept Hellenic hoops in the media four straight days.
• Finally, as most of you know, I rooted for Greece to defeat the US in the 2006 world championships, and will do the same in the Olympics due to Mike Krzyzewski and his right-wing running buddy Jerry Colangelo (BTW, Colangelo in Greek roughly translates into 'colon/butt angel').  Without a doubt, I am a Tar Heel first, so even when coaching the American team playing the American game, I can not root for a Dukie.  Having the motherland as a rooting option makes it a no brainer.
• That said, I think the US will win the gold medal.  I can't see a team with Kobe Bryant, Carmelo Anthony and LaBron James losing, even WITH Krzyzewski on the bench.  
• However, the one thing that should give the US pause is our lack of size.  Chris Bosh and Dwight Howard are the only big men on the roster, and they're skinny big men at that.  The international game is more physical than the NBA version, so watch if the US gets pushed around much on the boards.  If that happens, even with a team of all-star wings, the US could lose a game in the medal round.  Finally, watch the US at the point.  Krzyzewski should play Chris Paul more at the point; if he stubbornly sticks with a rapidly aging Jason Kidd the U.S. could stumble.  But both of those are ifs, and I expect the US to win our first gold medal in hoops since the 2000 Vince Carter Olympics [greatest dunk of ALL TIME! If you disagree, check out KG's reaction].
• I'm kind of conflicted about the Olympics.  I genuinely get hyped up for watching the summer games, but am not enthusiastic about China hosting.  I've said it before, but nothing can be more cynical than going from the cradle of democracy and individual rights to a totalitarian/hyper-capitalist state in four years.  

Finally, one semi-political sports note: Lance Armstrong is a cheater.  There are so many cheaters in that sport that it seems incredibly unlikely that a guy rehabbing from cancer could be clean.  I used to give him the benefit of the doubt but am now convinced that everyone in that sport cheats.  And on top of that, Armstrong is shilling for John McCain.  Perhaps the only thing more cynical that going from Athens to Beijing in four years is my attitude towards a cancer survivor who used to dominate the Tour de France.

Arenas and Guzman

A couple of DC-centric sports stories to blog about.

One is the Wizards signing Gilbert Arenas to a six year contract for $111 million, roughly $15 million less than the maximum the team could have offered.  The Wizards also resigned Antawn Jamison, so the good news is the core of a team that is talented enough to make it to the Eastern Conference finals is coming back next year.

Arenas, who negotiated his own contract without an agent, agreed to less money so the team could sign Jamison and have more money to spend on a free agent, perhaps a power forward like Elton Brand. He was famously quoted as saying 'there's nothing I can do for my family with $127 million that I can't do with $111 million,' an interesting quote when it's coming from an athlete.   Countless fans say the same thing about every free agent signing, especially for stars who leave a team after years of service for a few more million a year (i.e. Johnny Damon).

The other good news is that Arenas is an elite player and personality, someone who creates buzz for the Wizards and unlike Chris Webber (who I really liked) has been able to sustain that buzz for a few years.  Arenas made the Wizards a big time team, both in DC - a great hoops town with deep and real hoops roots - and in the NBA by being talented but more importantly winning games and leading his team into the playoffs.  And with Butler and Jamison, along with an improved Haywood, this is a very good team and one that is generally fun to watch.

Of course, there is another shoe; 'this is a good team' . . . when healthy.  And Arenas has not been healthy for two years now.  Washington is taking a huge risk on a player whose knees have given out on him in consecutive seasons.  Even if he is healthy, as Michael Wilbon pointed out in today's Post, for that kind of money a team expects a championship.   

Who knows, stranger things have happened in sport, but I doubt this Wizards team can win a championship.   But with Jamison turning 31, and Butler and Arenas each having injury problems, the pressure is on this team to win now (or at least soon).  And that's the rub here; the Wizards had no choice but to sign Arenas: he's their best player, the face of the franchise, and a marquee talent.  

But when you look at his history of injuries, and the likelihood of this current team winning a championship, the signing of Arenas to a $111 million contract seems like a mistake (even if the team saved $15 million).   

Christian Guzman is an all-star

Not sure if this is a sign of the apocalypse or not, but you have to hand it to Christian Guzman for making the All-star team.  Granted, there was no one else on the team remotely resembling a star player; Guzman is the only starter hitting over .300, and though John Lannan has an All-star team worthy E.RA his lack of run support has left him with a losing record.  But Guzman is currently riding a 14-game hitting streak, has a respectable .340 on base percentage, and has batted .328 for the last month, so he kind of earned it.

Folks probably remember that four years ago Guzzy had one of the worst seasons at the plate in the modern era. He was hitting below .200 for 5 months before a late surge raised his average to .219 for the year.  He lost a year due to injury, but hit .328 last year in 50 games before getting hurt again.  You have to hand it to him for coming back from two injuries and a dreadful 2005 to become an All-star.

This season has prompted Jim Bowden, the Nationals' hopeless GM, to offer Guzman a two-year contract extension.  There is no way the Nats should resign Guzman; he's 30 years old and doubtful to get better.  And .340 is not that respectable for an on-base percentage.  But bottom line, this guy is not going to get better.  Save the money and sign a legit power hitter this off season.

He's been good, but you also need to be lucky, and Guzman would not be an All-star if he wasn't lucky enough to play for such a bad team.  Things are likely to get even worse for the Nats with Elijah Dukes and Lastings Milledge hurt, and Jesus Flores in a dreadful slump.  But at least those guys - along with Ryan Zimmerman, Lannan, Chad Cordero, and other young pitchers - are all under 25.  Ideally, those five or six players will lead the Nationals to the playoffs within the next 3 or 4 years.    

Hopefully, Stan Kasten will fire Bowden, and hire a GM who knows how to put together a legit major league roster, not one full of Expos-era rejects.  This team has money to spend. More importantly, the Nationals play in a weak division.  One or two smart free agent signings ideally of power hitters, coupled with the continued development of their starting pitching - which has actually been pretty good - and the young talent this team has could land them in the playoffs.  

Hey, if Christian Guzman can make the All-star team anything is possible.

Quick Wimbledon Note

I watched the end of the Nadal-Federer final today, and it was pretty good stuff.  A five-set match is usually pretty epic, and this one was.  To play that hard for that long is impressive.

Tennis players are underrated athletes.  It is hard to do what they do, and when you look at Nadal and Federer in particular, those guys look like line backers or A-Rod.   Big time athletes.

Finally, a great fortnight for Spain: a Wimbleton champ and the Euro 2008 championship.  I would type a lame Spanish phrase here, but will fight the temptation.

Blog Dump

We didn't have free Wi-Fi at our hotel in San Francisco so I stayed on line via my Treo and 'journaled' a bit instead of blogging. Here's all I came up with in seven days:

July 3, 2008 (on plane to Atlanta)

Independence Day thoughts

• I like our flag; looks good when it waves. But like most folks would be happy to change our national anthem to either: America the Beautiful: This Land is Your Land; The Bill of Rights Song (still unwritten); or my dark horse: Roll Over Beethoven;
• I wish we would declare independence from fossil fuels, at least in my kids’ lifetime;
• I am tired of talking about gas prices and drilling. The November election can’t get here soon enough for me.

July 1, 2008 (hotel room in San Francisco)

Just got back from watching the Giants defeat the Cubs 2-1 at AT&T Park. Impressive performance by Matt Cain, who struck out 11 in 8 shut out innings. Brian Wilson made it interesting in the ninth when he gave up a lead off triple to Derrek Lee and left two more on before he finally got the third out.

Many consider AT&T the finest of the new parks, and it’s hard to argue after our visit today. First and foremost, it is impressive how they fit that park on such a small parcel of land. AT&T is wedged in between the water and the Embarcadero in downtown San Francisco. That alone makes it one of the most authentic of the throwback parks. 

Wrigley and Fenway – and parks like Shibe Park in Philly or the Ebbetts Field and everyone other old time park – are quirky in part because they are squeezed into a cityscape or crammed into one or two city blocks.  It's like Fenway in that if you were walking down the street you would have no idea that there was a ball field behind the outer wall (at least the one that faces the Embarcadero. The other side of the Green Monster is the same; from the street it looks like the wall of a warehouse or factory, at least to me).  AT&T is as small as those two classics, and intimate does not do it justice. I felt like we were ON the field from our seats in the 18th row down the third base line. 

For being on such a small strip of land the stadium doesn't feel steep or crammed in, either. From our seats it felt like we were at eye level with the players in the Giants bullpen a few yards in front of us.

We were hoping to see Manny Burress, the first DC native in 30 years to make it to the majors, a DC Little League alum, and graduate of Wilson High School, play but he never got off the bench.   Even though Omar Vizquel is hitting a Nats-like .180 Burress did not play.

A few more impressions:

• San Francisco has always been a great baseball town. Even when they played at Candlestick and did not draw well – mainly due to the weather – television ratings were always high. AT&T has proven that San Francisco is a great baseball city; they continue to draw without Barry Bonds and with a fairly lackluster team. Bengie Molina is their clean up hitter and they have no marquee players on that squad but are on pace for 3 million fans.
• Ran into some great fans at the game. I wore my Cuban X-Giants Negro League jersey and received three unsolicited compliments.
• The concourses are narrower than the ones at other new parks I’ve been to, and there were lines for the MEN’S ROOM!  What, I ask you, is up with that?
• The Giants pull it off even though there is almost no parking around the park. To compensate there are three trains that service the area near the stadium, and tons of folks walk down the Embarcadero water front to the game from other parts of downtown.  The Nats should take note on how the Giants do it.
• Good selection of food and beer; at the Say Hey sausage stand you can chose from Italian, Bratwurst, Spicy Louisiana, Lemon Chicken, or a Kosher hot dog. There were some local restaurants stands offering things like garlic chicken, a ravioli bowl, churros, etc.

• And despite cheesie elements like the giant Coke bottle in left, it’s a gorgeous stadium. It’s like Camden Yards with it’s brick, iron and green seats, but has nice unique touches such as palm trees, McCovey Cove, and an open right field fence where you can watch the game for free (obstructed view, but still free). I’m a sucker for that style, and prefer the brick and green seat style to the more modern and sleek look of Nats Park.

If I had to rank all the stadiums, new and old (existing parks only), that I’ve been to it would be:
1. Wrigley
2. Fenway
3. Camden Yards
4. AT&T Park
5. PNC Park in Pittsburgh
6. Tropicana Field in Houston
7. Nationals Park
8. Ballpark in Arlington, Texas
9. Jacobs Field in Cleveland
10. Joe Robbie in Miami*
11. Shea Stadium*
12. New Comiskey*

* Kind of hard to rank these since they all stink; special dispensation goes to New Comiskey for building such a terrible park in the modern, supposedly more enlightened era.

A final AT&T Park note - at the end of the game, a great win with the crowd way into it, they played "I Left My Heart in San Francisco" by Tony Bennett.  Now I love Tony Bennett, but that is a very sedate song, so it was odd to hear it after such an excited game and finish.  Where 'New York New York" is an energetic song that fits in after a win or a loss, "ILMHISF" is too mellow for a post-game song.   I'd go to the East Bay and play "I Fought The Law and I Won" by the Dead Kennedys after a win.

One last baseball note: check out the Fire Jim Bowden page at Facebook, courtesy of Stephen Biel @ http://www.facebook.com/groups/edit.php?gid=18696068003&members=1#/group.php?gid=18696068003

June 25, 2008 (plane to San Francisco)

EURO Final Four

When you look at the Final Four of Euro 2008 you see nations that did not have a great 20th century. All four have quite a bit of baggage, to say the least. You can take your pick from a depressing slate of human tragedy, from fascism (Spain, Germany), totalitarianism (Russia), genocide (Turkey, Germany), and of course crazy nationalism (Russia, Germany, and Turkey). Of course, things have gotten better in at least 2 of those countries, but that foursome is hardly Greece, France, Holland and the Czech Republic. [That second foursome is not based on the 20th century history, rather than historic contributions to liberty and liberalism.]

Even though the Hellenes did not earn a point in defending their title, in retrospect they had a decent tournament when you compare them to the final four. Greece outplayed Russia but lost due a terrible goal given up by Nikopolidis and a bad off sides call, led Spain for most of their contest, and during qualifying marched into the city and defeated Turkey 1-0 in Constantinople.

On to the World Cup! If I win the lottery between now and the spring of 2010 the kids and I are off to South Africa to watch the United States, who should qualify, and hopefully Greece.

Carolina Baseball

The Tar Heel baseball season ended very much like the basketball season did – a loss in the Final Four with a nagging feeling that the best team did NOT win. Against Fresno State on Sunday Carolina looked worn out, at the plate and on the mound. Nonetheless, a third straight trip to Omaha is hard to do, so by any stretch it was a very successful season.

That said, it still stinks to lose so close to the championship.

No Heels in Draft

With Lawson, Ellington, and Green withdrawing from the NBA draft, anything less than the national championship in 2009 will be seen as a disappointment for Carolina.

The good news is if anyone can handle that kind of pressure and expectations, I think it’s Roy Williams. The only player not returning is Alex Stephenson, who is transferring to a school closer to home in California to be near his ailing father.

The expectations going into this season will be very similar to the ones placed on the 2005 team (and the 2007 Florida squad). There were lots of comparisons between the 2005 and the 2008 teams. Those comparisons will only increase this season.

As always, Go Heels!