Friday, January 17, 2003

Disservice With A Smile Tim Pawlenty is amiably engaging fellow who doesn't need to affect the mien of an earnest surburban prole paving the road to hell with good intentions--that's exactly what he is. When I've gone to him as a source for various stories at the Capitol, the rapport was easy to establish and I've always come away with a good feeling. But when it comes to governmental stewardship, the new Guv is more responsible than anyone for the sorry state of our state budget. It was Pawlenty, as a member of the Republican leadership, who forged the "big fix" with then-Governor Ventura two years ago (over the protests of DFL-ers) that effectively raised the property taxes of middle class homeowners while forcing public schools to beg local taxpayers for new referenda in order to adequately fund education. And it was Pawlenty who brokered a cynical budget deal with fellow gubernatorial candidate Roger Moe last year (over the protest of Ventura) that used nearly every budget trick and rainy-day fund dollar available so that both men didn't have to countenance big tax increases or spending cuts in the middle of their campaigns. It took two to tango under our unique, "tripartisan" system when Jesse was in the Governor's office. Pawlenty was the pivotal dance partner on two horrible policy plans that are now wrecking havoc with the state's bottom line. But hey, he's a pretty fair hockey player, with a wife who is uncomfortable in the limelight (or so we were told in a recent page one, above-the-fold headline in the Pioneer Press) but still managed to get herself appointed as a district court judge. They're just a humble, easygoing John and Jane Doe, willing to endure the indignities and encroachments of public service in duty to their state. God bless them. God help us. 5:04:59 PM    comment []

Prediction Postmortum If I was a betting man, I’d be brown-bagging my lunch for the next week. Let’s tote up the miscalculations. The Clips didn’t beat the Wolves as I predicted on Wednesday; they got stomped by 31 points. Obviously the team has quit on coach Alvin Gentry and their dipshit owner Donald Sterling. Andre Miller, who tortured the Wolves even when he toiled for the lowly Cavs, played a putrid, totally uninspired game. The Wolves’ strategy of challenging the perimeter with a big man (usually Garnett or Marc Jackson) to disrupt Miller’s rhythm and get the ball out of his hands worked to perfection, and the Clips compounded the problem by launching ill-advised, errant three-pointers at nearly every opportunity. Brand and Odom never got untracked, and another guy I touted as being primed for a big game, Quentin Richardson, was strictly an afterthought. I predicted that Wally Szczerbiak would score a lot of points. He managed to get six, his lowest total since returning from an injury. I said the Olowokandi-Rasho matchup at center would be a wash. Rasho totally outclassed the Kandi man. Like a blind pig rooting up an acorn, I did correctly predict that Marc Jackson would have a big game, although 11 points and active defense in 19 minutes of action is hardly earth-shattering. Even Iggy Rakocevic, so rudely castigated in my last piece, did his best to show me up, turning in his best performance in a Timberwolves uniform, a statement that damns him with the faintest of praise.. A couple more games like that and we can start referring to Iggy as the next Will Avery. Okay, no more flippant predictions off the top of my head. Instead, I’ll posit myself as a “big picture” guy and repeat my contention that the Wolves should deploy Anthony Peeler as a point guard on occasion. I noticed this morning that AP currently has the second-best assist-to-turnover ratio in the NBA, which means that he makes pretty good judgments when handling the ball. I’ll also try to proofread these little blog ditties more thoroughly when I copy them to the CP website. (Surfers will note that my latest Hang Time entry runs twice. It’s always good to repeat yourself when making boneheaded predictions.) That’s all for now, except to say that the Wolves will beat Golden State by eight points tonight. Consider the source and bet accordingly. 4:23:33 PM    comment []

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