31 July 2008

Obama's empty promise(s)


Senator Obama visited his father's village in Kenya in 2006 amid great fanfare. While there, he promised to "provide some assistance in the future to this school..."

The school in mention is the Senator Obama Kogelo Secondary School, built on land donated by Obama's paternal grandfather. The school is typical of what you'll find in central Africa: no running water or electricity, dirt floors, no supplies to speak of.

After Obama was elected to the Senate, the school changed its name in his honor.

Faced with such respect, and standing on the ground his fathers walked, Obama was moved to make the above promise.
"Hopefully I can provide some assistance in the future to this school and all that it can be." He then turned to the school's principal, Yuanita Obiero, and assured her and her teachers: "I know you are working very hard and struggling to bring up this school, but I have said I will assist the school and I will do so."
What a great story. Obama returning to the land of his forefathers and promising to make things better. Many successful individuals have done this, and great improvements have been made in places that otherwise would still be in trouble.

Oh, but wait! According to the Evening Standard, Obama has failed to send "even one shilling" to the school. Over two years after making his promise, nothing.

Now, to be fair, Obama did use the word "hopefully." Hope and change, hope and change.

Michellemalkin.com picked up on this story today and has started raising funds for the school to fill in where Obama has failed. If you're interested in helping, follow the link.

28 July 2008

Detmer's biggest win


Ty Detmer. Not the biggest guy, not the strongest arm, but his guts and winning attitude took him far at BYU.

He's the only Cougar to ever win the Heisman trophy, and BYU vs. Miami in 1990 is a major reason he did. Miami started off with a preseason #1 ranking. The game in Provo was their first of the year, though BYU had beaten UTEP 30-10 the week before.

My family moved back to Utah the summer of 1990. Though I personally didn't care about football at this point in my life (I was seven), I later came to discover how big this game is in BYU football history.

One note is that Miami was really good this year. They weren't a bad team given a #1 preseason ranking because of their "legacy." The Hurricanes went on to finish 10-2, with a #3 national ranking.

BYU finished 10-3 after losing games to Oregon, Hawaii and Texas A&M (a brutal 65-14 loss in the Holiday Bowl where A&M's linebackers destroyed Detmer).

But in this game, BYU showed it could hang with and beat schools from bigger conferences. Here's hoping the Cougars can do so again in 2008. Beating Washington and UCLA in the second and third games of the season will go a long way to establishing the program under Bronco.

Anyway, here's the highlight. Detmer's scrambling ability, better-than-average arm and willingness to take a big hit if it meant a great pass make him pretty awesome in my book.

Of course, having receivers like Matt Bellini and Andy Boyce didn't hurt much.

26 July 2008

NBA video of the week is Dream Team 1992

This week we have some footage from the original Dream Team at the 1992 Olympics in Barceolona, Spain. I know the music is cheesy and annoying, but it's better than rap.



This was the single most impressive collection of basketball talent ever on one team, in my opinion. No other U.S. Olympic squad will have that kind of success ever again, and here's why:

1. They shared the ball. Almost every player was a good passer. Obviously they had Magic and Stockton, but Jordan, Pippen, Bird and Malone weren't too shabby at creating assists, either. This team has Paul, Deron, Kidd and LeBron. The rest of the guys aren't too hot at moving the ball around.

2. The other teams were in awe of them. Opposing players asked Dream Team members for their autographs after the game. These days, other teams know America isn't bulletproof, and come out with guns blazing to take down Goliath.

3. The worldwide talent level in basketball is rising. Just look at Argentina for proof of that.

4. Opposing teams know how to get back now. Note how every single highlight on that clip is a fast break. Defenses now get back faster, preventing Team USA from constantly scoring quick buckets in transition.

That said, I expect this team to win the gold in Beijing next month. Outside shooting concerns have been addressed with the inclusion of Michael Redd, and I think Boozer and Bosh are better suited for the international game than Duncan was.

Go USA!

25 July 2008

Jazz match offer for Miles


The Deseret News is reporting the Jazz have matched Oklahoma City's offer of $15.8 million over four years to restricted free agent guard C.J. Miles.

What does this mean?

Apparently it means the Jazz aren't so high on Morris Almond. I admit I was disappointed with his performance in the two Rocky Mountain Revue games I attended in person earlier this week. He's a great guy, but his shooting wasn't as consistent as I thought it would be and he got most of his points at the free-throw line. That will fly in a summer league, but he's not getting the same calls in the NBA.

To be fair, he was much better in Thursday's game against Atlanta, where 20 of his 29 points came on 10-of-19 shooting from the field. So maybe he's better than I think, but it appears the Jazz agree that the future is Miles. And again, we're talking summer league, where people like Nate Robinson can score 30 at any given time.

C.J. has had to deal with a lot of inconsistency during his three years in the NBA. Little game time (and when he has played, it's been in four- or five-minute chunks), sitting out entire games on a regular basis, dealing with the mind games of Jerry Sloan... word on the street is that when Miles refused to play in last season's Revue (when he was not under contract), he angered Sloan, and when the Jazz resigned Miles anyway, the coach refused to play the shooting guard out of spite.

I don't know that this is true, but it does kinda sound like Jerry.

Miles did do well in the 11 minutes per game he played last season, shooting 48% from the field and 39% from the 3-point line. If he can do that with increased minutes, I'll be happy. Plus, at 6 feet, 6 inches and 220 pounds, he's got the size to play the 2-spot in the NBA.

I really, really hope Miles gets good minutes this season... something in the 20-30 minutes a game range. He's only 21, so I'm not expecting 20 ppg or anything, but I don't think it's unreasonable to expect 14 points and a couple 3-pointers per game from the kid.

There is some historical evidence that Miles would thrive if given extended, consistent minutes. On March 31 of this year, the Jazz played the Wizards. On the road, and with Brewer and Andrei sitting out, Sloan was essentially forced to play Miles, giving the youngster 30 minutes to work with. Miles finished with 29 points on 12-of-17 shooting from the field including 4-of-6 shooting from the 3-point line. He also had five assists and four rebounds with zero turnovers in the effort.

Can't ask for much more from the shooting guard position, in my opinion. It remains to be seen if he can consistently perform when given the chance to, but I believe the Jazz believe he can, at least.

Now if Jerry will only play him.

The Book of Obama


(This is entirely lifted from a column by Gerard Baker, writer for www.timesonline.co.uk)


And it came to pass, in the eighth year of the reign of the evil Bush the Younger (The Ignorant), when the whole land from the Arabian desert to the shores of the Great Lakes had been laid barren, that a Child appeared in the wilderness.

The Child was blessed in looks and intellect. Scion of a simple family, offspring of a miraculous union, grandson of a typical white person and an African peasant. And yea, as he grew, the Child walked in the path of righteousness, with only the occasional detour into the odd weed and a little blow.

When he was twelve years old, they found him in the temple in the City of Chicago, arguing the finer points of community organisation with the Prophet Jeremiah and the Elders. And the Elders were astonished at what they heard and said among themselves: “Verily, who is this Child that he opens our hearts and minds to the audacity of hope?”

In the great Battles of Caucus and Primary he smote the conniving Hillary, wife of the deposed King Bill the Priapic and their barbarian hordes of Working Class Whites.

And so it was, in the fullness of time, before the harvest month of the appointed year, the Child ventured forth - for the first time - to bring the light unto all the world.

He travelled fleet of foot and light of camel, with a small retinue that consisted only of his loyal disciples from the tribe of the Media. He ventured first to the land of the Hindu Kush, where the

Taleban had harboured the viper of al-Qaeda in their bosom, raining terror on all the world.

And the Child spake and the tribes of Nato immediately loosed the Caveats that had previously bound them. And in the great battle that ensued the forces of the light were triumphant. For as long as the Child stood with his arms raised aloft, the enemy suffered great blows and the threat of terror was no more.

From there he went forth to Mesopotamia where he was received by the great ruler al-Maliki, and al-Maliki spake unto him and blessed his Sixteen Month Troop Withdrawal Plan even as the imperial warrior Petraeus tried to destroy it.

And lo, in Mesopotamia, a miracle occurred. Even though the Great Surge of Armour that the evil Bush had ordered had been a terrible mistake, a waste of vital military resources and doomed to end in disaster, the Child's very presence suddenly brought forth a great victory for the forces of the light.

And the Persians, who saw all this and were greatly fearful, longed to speak with the Child and saw that the Child was the bringer of peace. At the mention of his name they quickly laid aside their intrigues and beat their uranium swords into civil nuclear energy ploughshares.

From there the Child went up to the city of Jerusalem, and entered through the gate seated on an ass. The crowds of network anchors who had followed him from afar cheered “Hosanna” and waved great palm fronds and strewed them at his feet.

In Jerusalem and in surrounding Palestine, the Child spake to the Hebrews and the Arabs, as the Scripture had foretold. And in an instant, the lion lay down with the lamb, and the Israelites and Ishmaelites ended their long enmity and lived for ever after in peace.

As word spread throughout the land about the Child's wondrous works, peoples from all over flocked to hear him; Hittites and Abbasids; Obamacons and McCainiacs; Cameroonians and Blairites.

And they told of strange and wondrous things that greeted the news of the Child's journey. Around the world, global temperatures began to decline, and the ocean levels fell and the great warming was over.

The Great Prophet Algore of Nobel and Oscar, who many had believed was the anointed one, smiled and told his followers that the Child was the one generations had been waiting for.

And there were other wonderful signs. In the city of the Street at the Wall, spreads on interbank interest rates dropped like manna from Heaven and rates on credit default swaps fell to the ground as dead birds from the almond tree, and the people who had lived in foreclosure were able to borrow again.

Black gold gushed from the ground at prices well below $140 per barrel. In hospitals across the land the sick were cured even though they were uninsured. And all because the Child had pronounced it.

And this is the testimony of one who speaks the truth and bears witness to the truth so that you might believe. And he knows it is the truth for he saw it all on CNN and the BBC and in the pages of The New York Times.

Then the Child ventured forth from Israel and Palestine and stepped onto the shores of the Old Continent. In the land of Queen Angela of Merkel, vast multitudes gathered to hear his voice, and he preached to them at length.

But when he had finished speaking his disciples told him the crowd was hungry, for they had had nothing to eat all the hours they had waited for him.

And so the Child told his disciples to fetch some food but all they had was five loaves and a couple of frankfurters. So he took the bread and the frankfurters and blessed them and told his disciples to feed the multitudes. And when all had eaten their fill, the scraps filled twelve baskets.

Thence he travelled west to Mount Sarkozy. Even the beauteous Princess Carla of the tribe of the Bruni was struck by awe and she was great in love with the Child, but he was tempted not.

On the Seventh Day he walked across the Channel of the Angles to the ancient land of the hooligans. There he was welcomed with open arms by the once great prophet Blair and his successor, Gordon the Leper, and his successor, David the Golden One.

And suddenly, with the men appeared the archangel Gabriel and the whole host of the heavenly choir, ranks of cherubim and seraphim, all praising God and singing:

“Yes, We Can.”

23 July 2008

Jazz get rid of Hart (oh and pick up Brevin Knight)


The Jazz traded backup point guard Jason Hart today for Clippers backup\sometimes starter point guard Brevin Knight. I don't expect a whole lot from Knight, but the important thing here is that we got rid of Hart.

That guy was terrible. Sure, he only played ten minutes a game, but those ten minutes were usually in the last couple minutes of the first quarter or similar situation. And in these situations, he would more often than not help the opposing team make up a deficit or put the Jazz in a hole. He rarely held on to a lead or increased one.

His field goal percentage for the year? 32%. That's worse than Derek Fisher's 39% when he was here. Worse than Derek Fisher. And if you've read my blog, you know how much I hated Fisher in Utah.

So good riddance, Jason. Now, Knight isn't a deadeye by any stretch of the imagination, shooting 40% from the field last season in L.A. But he averaged 4.4 assists per game and less than one turnover in 22 minutes. That's a pretty good assist-to-turnover ratio. If he can take over for Deron and give the Jazz some solid play at the point, I'll be very happy with this trade.

Carroll shines in loss to Jazz

(This article originally ran in the July 23 edition of the Post Register.)

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tuesday's Rocky Mountain Revue NBA summer league game at Salt Lake Community College between the Jazz and Nets featured several big names.

Utah State's Jaycee Carroll, Jazz second-year player Morris Almond, 10th overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft Brook Lopez and Jazz 2008 first-round draft pick Kosta Koufos all played significant minutes.

But in the end, the virtually unknown Tyler Brazelton was the key to

Utah's 87-79 win. Brazelton didn't play a single minute in the first half but scored 12 points in the fourth

quarter to help the Jazz pull away from New Jersey and secure the victory.

The 6-foot point guard from Western Kentucky dazzled the crowd with an array of offensive moves. His reverse layup with 1:31 left in the game gave the Jazz an 82-77 lead and effectively quashed any hopes for a New Jersey comeback.

Local favorite Carroll finished with 22 points on 9-of-17 shooting, far outshining his two-point outing in Monday's game against Golden State.

His steal, layup and free throw with 40 seconds to go in the first half gave the Nets a 45-32 lead and drew raucous cheers from the crowd.

"I had a lot of fans, friends and family come support me," Carroll said. "It was good to see all of those people."

Almond led all scorers with 24 points, but he shot only 4-of-11 from the field. He made up for it by going 14-of-18 from the free-throw line.

Lopez struggled offensively most of the game and shot only 2-of-11 from the field.

Lopez helped his team in other ways by pulling down 11 rebounds and playing effective interior defense against the Jazz big men.

"I just didn't finish well tonight," Lopez said. "But this is a learning experience, and I just need to cherish every game and take full advantage."

The Nets jumped out to a 22-13 lead after one quarter, as the Jazz shot 26 percent as a team and turned the ball over five times.

The Jazz kept it close through the second quarter, and trailed 45-35 at the half.

Utah center Kyrylo Fesenko seemed lost at times and was unable to secure easy defensive rebounds on at least two occasions. He finished with four points and five rebounds in 18 minutes.

The Nets next play Dallas on Friday, while the Jazz will face Atlanta later that same day.