Wednesday, May 14, 2003

IT AIN'T THE KNIFE THROUGH THE HEART THAT TEARS YOU APART. . . . . . it’s just the thought of someone stickin’ it in.                      --Graham Parker, Protection   Well as Dennis Miller used to say, let’s see who sold it and who ate it today. We’ll start with the lighter stuff.   According to the NY Times (OK you can all stop laughing now) the university presidents of the A.C.C. moved closer to adding three teams, while Big East officials were ready to dissolve their conference in an effort to keep Miami. An official press release at the Big East’s website read as follows: PROVIDENCE -- "We have been monitoring the news surrounding the ACC and expansion.  I will take John Swofford at his word that the ACC Presidents have not formally voted.  I will also take Paul Dee at his word that Miami intends to take its time in reviewing its options.  I am anxious to meet with our conference members in Florida and am prepared to do whatever it takes to preserve the 24-year history of the Big East Conference.  This is a conference that is worth preserving and we should all look forward to the challenge."   --Michael Tranghese, Big East Commissioner I don’t think I can say it any better than RUNJ did at the Rutgersfan message board:  Tranghese sounds like Chamberlain after Hitler gave him his word that all he wanted was a couple of acres in Czechoslovakia. Looks like they’ll be setting up the deck chairs on the Titanic soon.     The Matrix Reloaded is out and according to a review in (yes again) the NY Times, “the action sequences are viciously elegant, but there is a dispiriting more-of-the-same aspect to the first ‘Matrix’ sequel.” OK genius, what did you expect? It’s not Shakespeare is it? Nowadays in the movies if you’ve got a winning formula you beat it to death until you end up . . . well . . . with Star Trek Nemesis. Speaking of Star Trek check out the Top 10 Things That Piss Me Off About Star Trek. It’s hilarious.   The NY Times also reports that workers throughout the public sector in France walked off the job to protest the government's plan to overhaul the country's pension system. Excuse me if I don’t shed a tear Pierre but I’m busy pouring the rest of my overpriced overrated Beaujolais down the toilet. Maybe your friend Günter can lend you a hand.   Now on to some more serious stuff. Nobody should be surprised by the recent terrorist bombing is Saudi Arabia. Outraged yes, but surprised no. For more than two weeks before Monday's bombings, officials had grown increasingly alarmed by intercepted communications (referred to as “chatter”). The U.S. ambassador to Riyadh criticized our “friends” the Saudi’s for failing to respond swiftly to earlier U.S. demands for tighter security at the housing compounds for foreigners which the attackers stormed on Monday, killing at least seven Americans. Saudi Arabia has terrorists inside its own country and it’s no secret that these organizations would be crippled without the ability to access money from that kingdom. These people are not and never have been our friends. They are probably a bigger supporter of terrorism by their intentional indifference (except for the usual lip service – followed of course by their denunciations of Israel) than Iraq or any other country.   Finally on a more personal sad note for me, Dave DeBusschere, a Hall-of-Famer who won two National Basketball Association championships with the New York Knicks, died at the age of 62. Dave was a great defensive player and was the missing link that pushed the Knicks over the top to the championship. I can only imagine how many points he and Bill Bradley would have scored if they had the 3 point shot in their day. We’ll all miss you Dave. He was a stand up guy in a business where that’s pretty rare.   File under Current Events.  8:25:56 PM    Go ahead, make my day  []