And now for Something a Little Different

Is it time to talk a little hoops…? Rumor has it that the NBA is back in session (read here about some thoughts we had concerning the NBA in the wake of the referee gambling scandal) but that has not yet been confirmed.

Shoot, who are we kidding? In regards to the NBA and more specifically, the Lakers, we are like an abused spouse…… we know we should just walk away but because of all the time invested or the fleeting memories of better times gone by or the self-delusional hope that ‘things will get better’… we keep coming back. And the Laker’s teasing 2-2 start that includes wins over Phoenix at Phoenix and Utah only deepens the dysfunctionality.

So maybe a better sub-topic would be some college ball and specifically, West Coast Conference hoops. WCC? Who are they? One word: Gonzaga. Oh, that WCC. Attached article here out of the San Diego U-T documents how the 8 Catholic schools stretching from Washington in the north down to San Diego here in the south have ramped up commitment to their respective basketball programs.

Back in the day we were big fans of the Big West Conference. Good teams, colorful coaches, nasty rivalries and gyms (some band-box in size) with cool names (‘The Thunder Dome” – UCSB, “Grant’s Tomb” – Fresno St., “The Pit” – New Mexico, “The Shark Tank” - UNLV) filled with rabid fans. With the conference calling-card program and league bully UNLV playing Gonzaga’s part it was the B-movie/slasher version of the WCC. Trust us, Ashley Judd, a regular at Kentucky hoops games, would’ve never been in the stands but we think Woody Harrelson may have been the conference commissioner.

So these nice, polite, academic-oriented Catholic schools are attempting to step it up and play with the big boys? As the article points out the increased coaching turnovers and the potential of relaxing academic standards are the drawbacks. However, if one's goal is to raise the profile of one's conference and in turn, that of the individual schools, outside of football, basketball is the best way to do it. We are reminded of the admissions office at George Mason university reportedly receiving about twice as many applications as in previous years immediately after their Final Four run a couple of years ago.

The University of San Diego and their new coach Bill Grier, former Zags assistant, will be playing San Diego St. at the Jenny Craig Pavilion (“the Slim Gym”) on November 19 for the city championship. We hope to be there.

B-Daddy Drops Presidential Bid

B-Daddy here. I wanted to reward the faithful readers of this blog with the scoop that I am ending my campaign for the Presidency. I had promised to conduct a "front-porch" campaign in the traditions of such grand GOP stalwarts as Warren G. Harding and William McKinnley (hey I am Ohioan by descent). Despite this, Mrs. Daddy was not too thrilled at the prospects of increased media attention. Also, my attempts to get on the Republican primary ballot in California were thwarted by the fact that I am not actually registered as a Republican. Gee, I hope the publicity of my failed bid doesn't adversely affect my book deal.

Aaawwww..... Do We Have To?

Like doing taxes or scheduling that long-overdue dentist appointment, we suppose we’ve procrastinated long enough in addressing the Republican field of Presidential candidates and coming up with one to our liking.

Its still early and there is a lot of courting to be done a year out from the elections but thus far our speed-dating has not got our hearts aflutter over anyone in particular. We tried KT’s Presidential dating service a few weeks back and John McCain wound up at our front door, flowers in hand. Thanks, no.

Here is the problem as we see it right now: Each one of these guys bring something to the table that we are attracted to but there appears to be at least one fatal flaw in each that makes it a deal-breaker.

We like Mike Huckabee’s conservative chops…. but, he’s got a soft-spot for illegal aliens.

We like Ron Paul’s “constructionist” interpretation of the constitution and by no means are we into leather, however, we do find his libertarian kink to be exciting….. but, he’s a full-fledged member of the Iraq surrender caucus.

We really like Duncan Hunter…. but no one has heard of the guy and being the shallow types we are, we’ll cop to desiring a bit of arm candy for ourselves.

We admire John McCain’s service to his country and his steadfast support of the President and this nation in the War on Terror and the War in Iraq….. but, we just don’t know if we can trust the guy. He’s on the right side of the fence, currently, on illegal immigration (sorry, couldn’t resist) but who’s to say he might not flop back over once he’s in office. Oh, and have we mentioned how much we love the McCain-Feingold Campaing Finance Reform Act?

We like Rudy’s leadership ability and he has a very high AbH (Anybody but Hillary) score …. but, dammit… at the end of the day he’s another Northeastern, Rockefeller RINO and we’re not sure we want to hand the reins of the Party back over to the very people (or more precisely, the mentality) that put the Republicans in the minority with what Barry Goldwater referred to as “me-too” Republicans trying to ape their Democrat counterparts. We're so over the country-clubbers!

And we are guilty as charged with the same geographic bias for being suspicious of Mitt Romney. He’s from Massachusetts, afterall. Look no further than our own Governor who allowed his precious bodily fluids to co-mingle with a Kennedy and as a result he has the entire right side of the political spectrum here in California over the barrel while he’s doing and proposing all manner of “centrist” non-sense because, in return, he has pledged to veto any driver’s licenses-for-illegals bill that comes across his desk. Great. What do we do with this guy considering our alternatives? (And now an important statement regarding Mitt's Mormonism: "Ahem........ We don't care. Thank you." As the late Rev. Falwell so aptly put it: "We're electing the Commander-in-Chief, not the Sunday School Teacher-in-Chief.").

And Fred….? We just don’t know how serious this guy is. What was that whole bit at the end of the summer where he was campaigning (sort of) without officially declaring? And read this. We want someone whose in it for the long haul and we have reason to believe that Fred is a tad commitment-phobic.

As stated earlier, its early and perhaps someone will distinguish themselves from the pack but as of right now we’re not about to go steady with any of these guys.

Feminist says Hillary plays the victim.... will vote for Hillary anyway.

Yeah, we added the last part above – first part is title of article here on the dominant theme thus far in the Democrat primaries. We’re going to continue to cover this angle because its fun but we’re here to tell you, it isn’t going to amount to a hill of beans.

The feminists are going to turn out for Hillary and you can take that to the bank. Want proof? Take a look here at the N.O.W. (National Organization of Women) website and here at Emily’s List, America’s foremost defender of the constitutional right to abortion on demand (yaah!) and decide for yourself.

If these same people couldn’t bring themselves to offer up one iota of criticism towards the other President Clinton regarding his pattern of abusive behavior towards women (including his own wife) through the years, why would anyone think that they are going to abandon Hillary because she is merely playing a (shrewd) political card?

Me Thinks Ye Doth Protesteth Too Much

Last week we posted a piece here where we used the term “hard-working, family-oriented” 4 separate times to parody the insistence of the pro-illegal alien crowd that us racists and nativists were unfairly targeting these people as law-breakers.

After reading this article on extreme right-wing hate groups in Israel, it appears our efforts to parody based on quantity of repetitive terms has fallen way, way short.

In an article much shorter than our post, the author feels compelled to beat you over the head using the term “extreme right-wingers”, “right-wing activists” or similar no less than 5 times (including the title of the article). And the term “right-wing activist” should be the first clue that the author is operating with an agenda as everyone knows that “right-wing activist” is the very illustration of an oxymoron.

And what evidence is presented other than having to accept the author’s good word that these people are indeed “right wing”? Do they favor free-markets and supply-side economics? Are they firm supporters of property rights and the rule of law? Are they against judicial activism and moral relativism?

As written about here, you as the reader are never presented with any information provided by answering the questions above that would help you come to an independent assessment as to whether these folks are indeed right-wing or more apt to be, as we have found, left-wingers.

'08 Beijing Olympic Update

(One in an occasional series provided during the run-up to the ’08 Summer Games in Beijing, China).

Nearly 3,500 Chinese abortion survivors have been given the name “Aoyun”, which is Chinese for “Olympics”. According to the article, here, these names are a matter of pride with the Chinese who will be hosting the 2008 Summer Games.

There are also more than 4,000 Chinese that share a name with one of the “Five Friendlies”, the Chinese Olympic mascots (one of which is pictured at right – we’ve been told he’s the “shy, quiet” one of the 5).

And because so many Chinese share the same names, the article explains, “Chinese have increasingly turned to unique names as a way to express a child's individuality.”

Yes, nothing like naming your kid after one of Chi-com Incorporated’s Olympic mascot to set the little tyke apart from the rest of his school chums. But hey, who are we to criticize…? Hollywood actors here are seemingly mandated to give their kids goofy names so why shouldn’t the Chinese have the right to have their kids get beat-up at the playground, as well.

Bye Week #2

As you are all aware, we do not hide our disdain for the “smarter than everybody else” mentality of head coaches and coordinators. Having said that, no amount of coaching would’ve prevented the 35-17 beating that the Chargers took today against the Minnesota Vikings because it appeared that the players awarded themselves another bye week and didn’t bother showing up.

Adrian Peterson (who, at this writing, is still breaking Charger arm-tackles) set the NFL single-game rushing record with 296 yards. Peterson is a rookie. Peterson, a rookie, set this record against what is supposed to be one of the most physical defenses in the NFL. At one point in the 2nd half we were wondering why the Charger coaches weren’t stacking 8 men in the box as the Vikes had their 3rd string QB in and it was obvious that Peterson was the Viking offense. Not that it would’ve mattered – the Chargers could’ve put 15 players in the box and Peterson would’ve run right through, around and by them.

Peterson, the Vikings No. 1 draft pick out of Oklahoma, has over 1,000 yards rushing through 8 games and it should be more. He wasn’t starting early in the season because of some non-sense about learning the playbook, or paying his dues as a rookie…. coach-speak non-sense all.

The lone bright spot for the Chargers was defensive back Antonio Cromartie. Cromartie, himself, set an NFL record for longest scoring play (109 yards… actually 109 yards and 10 inches) by returning a missed field goal for a touchdown at the end of the half. That was Cromartie’s 3rd TD in 2 games. For years, we’ve had a secret man-crush on defensive backs from the state of Florida. Deion, Sean Taylor, Ed Reed, Devin Hester…. there just seems to be a “play-maker” gene that is part of the make-up of DBs coming out of that state. We love their attitude and we love how they play the game. And now the Chargers have one! We have our very own Floridian bad-ass in the backfield…. sometimes. Sometimes, because Cromartie doesn't start, backing-up the fantastically inept Drayton Florence.

We haven’t heard the lame excuses for why Cromartie doesn’t start (not sure if anyone has asked) but were sure the reason the Charger’s most dynamic athlete on the roster (outside of LT) is not on the field more will be similar to the coach-speak nonsense from the Vikings as to why Peterson was not on the field more at the start of the season.

(This post is dedicated to our friend, Kells, who thought we might have something to say about the Charger's execution, today.... which we are in favor of).

How Sweet It Is

Just had to say how good it felt to see Navy end 43 years of frustration against Notre Dame with today's triple over time win. Full disclosure: I have loathed Notre Dame football ever since a 1978 game in which an undefeated Navy team got plastered by Notre Dame. It wasn't the loss that upset me, but the deliberate way that Notre Dame set out to injure smaller Navy players. That injury depleted team lost their next two games, before recovering to beat Army and win the inaugural Holiday Bowl over Brigham Young 23-16.
Anyway, today's win was very sweet, considering how long it was in coming. The midshipmen struggled defensively, but came up with two big plays at the end of the game to win. Paul Johnson, their coach, was all class after what I considered a bad interference call that gave Notre Dame a second try for a two point conversion at the end of the third overtime. He just smiled and shook his head and got back to the business of coaching his team. Navy then proceed to stuff a run off tackle to win the game. Mrs. Daddy heard the yelling and wondered what all the commotion was about, but I am just still smiling.

There's Just Something About Massachusetts

One of the cool things about being “friends" of other blogs is that you can post stuff you found on their site and feel like you’ve done some actual work.

KT over at the Scratching Post had this video which is a campaign video of sorts for Mitt Romney and which was put together by Slate using material from Romney’s own campaign site. Video can (hopefully) be viewed at link provided below.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271557392/bctid1184432033

Its a parody.... we think. And if it is, it had an odd charm about it. The boy-ish good looks, the playful kidding around, the New Englanders lost-in-Iowa cluelessness, the sports... err, golf.... Were these the Romneys or the Kennedys?

...and You Were Expecting....?

We didn’t watch the Democrat primary debates a couple nights ago (B-Daddy did and provided this thoughts here) but in reading the post-game reports the dominant angle is that Hillary was on the defensive from the “attacks” of her fellow Democrat challengers.

Clinton Inc. has responded to this in two seemingly incongruous ways. On one hand they are playing the victim card in hoping to appeal to the women voters that poor lil’ ol’ Hillary was being beat-up by a pack of (nearly) all-white, (nearly) all-male bullies. On the other, they were playing Hil’ as a tough old broad who could hold her own in the brass-knuckle world of politics. (Read about both here and here).

But its not as much cake-having and eating as it would seem. Clinton’s gender and oddly enough, her low “like-a-bility” quotient makes it possible to play the victim and the tuff-chick card at the same time.

We were a little perplexed, though, at Clinton Inc.’s surprise at these debate broadsides. It should have come as no shock that Hillary would be the one with the target on her back at these debates. Afterall, don’t all incumbents have one?

Wonderous Health Care Plans and the Little Red Hen

Despite all the moaning and whining from our libertarian friends, it appears this country’s inevitable march to socialism has hit a few bumps in the road of late. We’ve commented before both here and here on the apparent demise of the “popular” SCHIP bill and now it looks like our Govern-ator’s plan to provide health insurance to 6.5 million uninsured California residents may be DOA. Article from U-T can be read here.

And why is this $16 billion dollar plan not going anywhere? Well, if the article is to be believed then negotiations have stalled because the most important question that should be asked when dealing with these monstrous programs does not have a satisfactory answer, and that is: Who the hell is going to pay for this?

The hospitals said that they would kick in 2 bil but of course that leaves a balance of $14 billion. With a 2/3rds majority needed to raise taxes, it is unlikely that the Assembly has the votes to pawn this off on the public and a ballot initiative effort doesn’t seem likely because, according to this article, the public is somewhat averse to raising their own taxes. No?

So for the time being, it looks like we can chalk up another smallvictory for the cruel-minded, un-compassionate and heartless among us. Kind of makes us all warm and fuzzy inside.

(Oh. Almost forgot. The story of the Little Red Hen was brought to mind when we read this article and the parable is applicable for quite a few things, particularly, when it concerns massive government spending programs).