Archive for UK Basketball
The Mass Exodus of the UK basketball Team
Posted by: | CommentsHello again to my loyal gathering of readers. As much as I expected it to happen, I was not happy about the mass exodus of the UK basketball team. I can’t remember when any team lost as much from one year to the next as this team is going to lose. While they do have capable replacements coming in, two things stand out. At present they have no capable backups at guard. Do we really want to rely on Polson as a backup? A bigger issue is leadership. This year’s team has Lamb and Miller to provide examples at practice and take charge in close games. Who will provide that next year? I foresee many early season losses and a much more difficult time cultivating team play without upper class experienced leaders. I guess time will tell.
I think the Reds may have shot themselves in the foot with the moves they have made. They have literally gutted their triple A team here in Louisville to the point there is no help except maybe Hoover in the bullpen. They also have no bench because they have no money left for a bench. Same with 2 or 3 pitchers in the bullpen that were signed on the cheap. Will the big salaries lead to dissention or complacency? What will they do about 3rd base and LF, CF which is giving very little production? Why do they stick with good guys who are over the hill and physically talented players who can’t learn? Beyond the Reds there are many other surprises in baseball this year. The Washington Senators have sprung strong from the gate with outstanding pitching. On the flip side, the Los Angeles Angels have flopped after spending big money on Albert Pujols hitting .232 with zero home runs and currently reside in last place.
How many people are buying Obama’s class warfare on millionaires as a way to improve the economy? The extra taxes he proposes are just a blip on the radar compared to the egregious spending taking place. On the state level, blame should go where it is due for the extra legislative session. Gov. Breshear attempted through vetoes at the last minute to control a large part of the budget for his preferences. This is not a function of the executive branch to decide how the budget is spent!
I read where more car companies including Ford are now or plan to produce cheaper cars to sell exclusively in China. Why should we be ripped off for higher prices by our own companies while foreigners get the benefit of cheaper products? This is unconscionable. We have been allowing drug companies to do this for years. This has to stop. We should be able to buy the same products at the same prices as anyone else. Stop the socialistic capitalism!
Lastly, in another show that history seems to no longer matter, the latest movie of the 3 stooges now shows a false origin of the act. People are not entitled to their own history despite what the schools now teach.
Until next time, Doc.
Nerlens Noel Will Be a Wildcat
Posted by: | CommentsHello again to my loyal assemblage of readers. Kudos to the Wildcats in landing Nerlens Noel, the best young big man this side of Anthony Davis. Still, the Cats need to land a good power forward and hope at least one starting guard returns to school. I would prefer Lamb. That would give us a solid 7-8 men rotation for next year. As it stands right now, they only have 7 total scholarship players for next year plus whoever decides to return, if anyone. We like to live on the edge, but some year injuries will kill us at this rate.
The Reds are off to a slow start and, as usual, Dusty Baker has already blown one game and almost blown another by leaving his starter in until the 7th inning. The bullpen, so far, leaves a lot to be desired. Only Bray, Marshall, Ondrusek, and Chapman have been effective. Homer Bailey still can’t cut it and Rolen, Stubbs, and Ludwick are giving them nothing. Let us hope all the big money contracts don’t make the team complacent.
Two stories in the news I would like to comment on, the Supreme Court healthcare case and the new state insurance law. Since when are judges that uphold the constitution considered activist? Media types point to Medicare as an example of mandated insurance, but a constitutional amendment was passed to allow this, not a partisan congressional note. Also, the media are all up in arms concerning no longer allowing health insurance companies to set the fees for items they don’t cover. This is no more than fair. This would be like me taking money from you and then telling your plumber he can only charge you $50 to install your toilet. Whatever happened to free enterprise? Healthcare professionals are not going to spend years in school and invest in their businesses to be slaves to the government and the insurance companies!
Until next time, Doc.
Final Four Showdown
Posted by: | CommentsHello again to my loyal faction of readers. I apologize for taking the last two weeks off. The news has been slow and I have been busy. I now plan to blog every other week with the hopes of being more in depth and varied. Having said that, I am leading off with my favorite topic, sports. All the buzz is about the final four. While I respect what the Cardinals have achieved this post-season, they are simply no match for the Wildcats. UK has all the weapons and only poor officiating can stop them. However, I wouldn’t put it past having questionable calls due to how universally Calipari is despised by the NCAA powers that be. For some reason, parity remains absent from the women’s game. All four #1 seeds are now in the final and none of the regional final games were even contested as the games were decided by 12, 15, 19, and 31 points. With 6’8” Griner on the floor, Baylor will be all but impossible to beat. Lastly in the sports world, I feel it is a slap at the U.S. for major league baseball to be opening the season in Japan. That honor should always belong to our country.
Noted with interest the article in the religious column in the Saturday Courier. It spoke of the change in membership of various religions between 2004 and 2010. The Lutheran, Presbyterian, and Episcopal churches have suffered significant losses while the Assemblies of God, Mormons, Jehovah Witness, and the Black Baptist churches have gained. I believe this is because the churches that have lost are slow to embrace change and have expressly embraced keeping their churches smaller. The biggest surprise was that many of the churches that have gained have done so by the Hispanic population. I have never pictured Mormons as Hispanic. I guess my bias is showing.
One of the other big topics in the news has been the Trayvon Martin death in Florida. Long before any true details were known, the “race profiteers” were on the band wagon. It sickens me to see people such as Jackson and Sharpton become wealthy simply from promoting controversy. The media is also far less than honest by using a picture of the victim when he was 12 years old to attempt to evoke more sympathy for him. This is a play they have used repeatedly in the past to attempt to influence public opinion. I believe we should all wait for the facts before rushing to judgment and send the “race baiters” packing.
Until next week, Doc.
