Looks like I have to root for the the Illini tonight, even though they might beat the last ACC team. How I loathe Pukies. It's hard to believe that State did so poorly. I can understand Wake and Maryland losing (they went as far as could be expected), but State . . .

I guess I have Tech to root for . . .

I just heard on the radio that "Dr. Rice" is going to have to wear the jacket and talk to the 9/11 commission. Too bad it won't be in public like everyone else . . .

If I were R. Armitage, I'd think about switching parties (or at least get a raise) for being hung out to dry like that.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/nation/columns/kurtzhoward/

Always a must read, Kurtz reflects the media's look at the events of the day. This Clarke/al Qaeda thing willl generate a media theory: The higher the rank of the fighter, the truer the facts. Hence, when a high level cabinet level spokesman like Condi Rice is counter-punching, the facts that Clarke is talking about must be pretty true.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A19165-2004Mar23.html

Kinsley makes a good point. I especailly like the Powell Doctrine reference. Not sure why Kerry (surogates more likely) have started calling Bush him a liar. It would be something that would shine the mirror on the intentionally deceptions of the Bush/Cheney years. Tying the administration to the lies of Hallibuton and Iraq can only reflect the true nature of their policies.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A9218-2004Mar19.html

The last line explains everything. Feinstein is the worst sports writer in America (including HS newspapers). His lack of preparation and inability to do minimal research is a sign of how bad the Post has gotten. The least he could have done is call up Dean Smith for this column. Pure laziness and ineptitude.

On a happier note, the tourney is going great guns and there have been enough good games to make the days fly by. Today will be a tough challenge for the Terps. Hopefully Thursday's game woke them up so that they will play with a vengence against 'cuse.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61605-2004Mar15.html

He's certainly good at capturing the anger/disappointment of Turtle fans. They're ready. I'm not sure that they will go that far, but the ACC tournament victory was enough. If they do go far, it's just gravy.

For all you naysayers about how Maryland got a 4 seed . . . They beat Wisconsin, Florida, UNC, NC State before the ACC tournament. In Greensboro, they beat the 1, 2, and 3 seeds (All in the top 25, all three in the top 20 RPI) on a "neutral" court (all three teams are less than 2 hours away from Greensboro) in three days. Any way you cut it, that's not easy and I can't think of a team that has done the same this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A54338-2004Mar12.html

Even though he is a big part of the "sportscycle" Kornheiser does make a good point. If people are so offended by Janet's breast and Bertuzzi's punch, the news org should stop showing it. I thought the sports folks would have learned after Theismann's leg, but violence is back.

A novel idea might be that the FCC require news orgs to show something only 25 times. After that it would require extraordinary circumstances. I know that folks might think this is censorship, but at the same time they are invading our air space with sensationalist garbage in a blatent attempt at ratings. If they are "news" orgs, they should be better and know the difference.

Not much to write about. I've been off the radar with work so not much to say in general. It is intersting to see how the mediascape has gotten its panties in such a twist over the Jayson Blair book. The new new thing is all about basketball and the upcoming tournament. I'm excited about it, but wish my beloved Terps would have a better chance.

One thing to say about the Kerry "Lying" thing, if he really feels that way, he should take responsibilty for it and go after Bush. Lying may be to harsh, but he has got to go for the jugular. I don't understand why he is keeping his powder dry, when Bush has alread begun to attack his "Indecisiveness." He should be saying at every event, every opportunity, that he was in combat and that he's never lied to the public. That would keep the reasons why people are suspicious of Bush on the front burner.

http://www.jsonline.com/news/editorials/feb04/210863.asp

Really fabulous article on the media and its separation from the rest of America (Maybe it's the separation of the educated vs. uneducated?). Maybe it's more John Edwards and his Two Americas than anything else, but I'm glad that someone wrote it.

http://economist.com/World/na/displayStory.cfm?story_id=2446951

Similarly, the Economist wrote a story last week about a similar issue. While it seemed to beleive that job churn was good for the economy and that globalisation creates more/better jobs, I don't think it even commented on the main issue. It's more the uncertainty of the future than the actual future that is so difficult. More importantly, while implying that all the new jobs will be as software engineers, it didn't even consider the possibilty that service jobs mean different things to different people. To some it means that they are accountants, investment bankers, and consultants. However, to others, it means "would you like fries with that?" It's specific mention of Walmart begs the question, would the author of the article be ok if his/her child had a career in a WalMart?

Funny thing I saw on Sportscenter today. In their Sex and Sports series, Jeremy Schapp was interviewing how ESPN objectifies women yet at the same time sounds indignant about the various rape trials and all that. I'm not sure what they are talking about. ESPN origianally stood for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network (now it doesn't stand for anything).

What does that mean? I think that ESPN does a great job of showing sports, however when Sporstcenter is involved there is a conflict of interest. I assume that there is a Chinese Wall between the news and the entertainment divisions, but sometimes I'm not so sure (Coors Light Silver Six Pack, Budweiser Hot Seat). Would the CBS nightly news (or even Fox News) have a sponsored opinion program? Maybe, but it would probably be less integrated.

The other point is that SportsCenter is used to promote ESPN's other programming. While that doesn't seem so bad, isn't that a major no-no in the journalism world? I understand that sports by definition is entertainment, but what about the presumption that SportsCenter is news (it certainly looks like it with all those desks and live onsite interviews)? Just a couple of questions.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17751-2004Feb29.html

The BCS adding another game is good for college football. The folks that want to have a playoff will be put off till for another TV contract. I personally think that the BCS is fine and that the playoff would be a disaster for the sport (mainly for personal selfish reasons). The jist of my reasoning is that College football is the only major sport that has no playoff. The every game in the regular season matters. If you're playing either Michigan or Akron, they count. Of course this matters more for the teams in the major conferences, but the teams in the SEC (maybe minus Vandy) are better than teams in the Mountain West. As Americans we want to have a fair play provision for the the underdog and I think this game will help move toward that. Go Horned Frogs.

Another weekend down the drain . . .

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17641-2004Feb29.html

I love Boswell, but I think he misses a larger point about the Caps and the NHL. The bigger point is that there are too many teams that are too expensive for the buying public. There are way too many teams, not enough talent, and alternative diversions.

What are you going to do with that kind of market? If the NHL were "widgets" in a perfect market, people would stop selling it because they would not be making a "profit" (I'll use that loosely, meaning that the owners may get some sort of utility and prestige from owning a professional franchise). Since the market is sticky and there are all sorts of reasons why teams can't leave the market, it causes many inefficiencies. There are many examples of teams dying a slow death, and the Caps are just one of them.

The consequences for Major League Baseball are similar in that there is way too much competition and that baseball does not offer a good value to its customers. Outside of five or six cities, where does baseball make economic sense? I don't think that the imbalance of the major TV markets is necessarily wrong or bad for baseball (It's been going on for a longtime), but that there is such a dilution of talent, that the game's integrity is hurt.