The "E" Word

So, I'm currently in Constitutional Law class and I've just come to the understanding you must be an absolute retard to ever argue one could teach any sort of religious theory in opposition to evolution (there I said it, the "E" Word).

Science, by definition, is explicitly limited to observable phenomenon that can be tested by hypothesis and through repeatable means. Then, how the fudge could anyone ever argue religious theories should be taught in school? First, you're a retard if you make this argument, but I suppose one could say pastactions of Jesus and miracles are/were "observable," but all you have to counter with is, "repeat it."

How are our school boards dumb enough to have ever been doped into teaching religion? Do they very leaders of our education system not understand what science is? Yikes.

G-State Ballers - Five Games, Five Thoughts Good and Bad

I just concluded a mammoth research paper, so I’m going to try to cover some ground briefly on G-State basketball (briefly.. ha!).

The G-State Ballers are 2-3 through five games. Already my Panthers have given me many reasons for optimism and concern. It’s early. I know. But, it’s never too early to evaluate (and poorly, with few correct predictions, if done by yours truly).

Through five games, here are five comments (in no particular order, cause I'm lazy like that) on the good and the bad;

Good:

1) Minus our two biggest players (scant minutes from 6’9’’ Devin Dickerson and an ineligible 6’8’’ Justin Billingslea, who could be State’s best player if he could manage to grab 7 boards a game like he should, if not more … he averages below 3 for his career I believe) we’ve rebounded well, which is a traditional State problem. Also, without DD and JB, State has shown flashes offensively with sparing post play.

2) Sophomore Rashad Chase is rounding into a stud, as he current leads the CAA in rebounding (8 per game) and gets to the free throw line seemingly at will. He’s scoring 15 per game and is shooting a smoking .57 percent from the field.

3) Lance is legit. Perique, like Chase, seems to get to the line any time he elevates towards the hope. And, although he has been rightfully dubbed, Lance “No Pass” Perique, he puts the ball in the iron. The 6’7’’ small forward is averaging 18 points per game.

4) Larris and Goldston are on point, as the two new guards are ballin’. While neither has really impressed me with their passing skills, each can score adequately and Trae looks like an intriguing talent with speed and a quick, accurate trigger. Coach Perry has already experimented with two points simultaneously, as he often ran with Copeland and Favors. I just like em’ both.

5) The Panthers played right alongside two quality mid-major programs, but fell to both in close decisions, Charlotte (reamed by refs) and Charleston (inconsistent offense, gave up crucial boards). But, it was apparent State could possibly beat either on any night.

Bad

1) The Panthers should have beat Charlotte and Charleston. Either would have been a resounding roar of, “We’re climbing back,” after sinking to pre-Lefty like performances in the past two years. If only we could have scored a few more, either would have been a rallying win for a team with little chemistry.

2) We should be scoring more. We always win when we have high-scoring affairs (80+) and it fits Perry’s run-‘n’-gun (pass the ball around until someone feels like jacking up a three – open or not – or driving and fast break off steals). We should have dumped Winston-Salem by 20, crushed Alabama State by 30 (but, we still have one more chance, Dec. 16) and played more aggressive against the two C schools.

3) Brandon Cartwright won’t shoot. Everyone disagrees with me on him, but I love the kid. I think he could be a good bench option at the 2 for Mendez, but everyone seems to think he’s a 3. You don’t have to be a three-point shooter to be a 2, and this kid has an offensive game and hits his shots. But, he always defers to someone else, EVEN WHEN HE IS OPEN!!! It drives me crazy because he makes those shots. Score more Cartwright. Six per game is unacceptable.

4) No assists (44 in five games). Sign of a motionless offense. I want some screens, pick-n-roll, back-door cuts. Give me motion and get me assists.

5) Devin Dickerson is breaking my heart. DD is nice, smart kid with a bright smile and come game time he’ll dominate … when he plays and that’s not often. After being told he would be ready to play this season, Devin is playing sparingly, but more of late. When he’s in he’s awesome. He needs to brush off some rust. But he’s struggling with some asthma. I’m just hoping he can get healthy because the kid can alter a game on both ends of the floor.

That said, this team, with the addition of Justin Billingslea can be competitive in the CAA. A healthy DD would only help more. And under those circumstances, fifth place or even forth is a lofty, yet possible goal.

So, assuming we get JB back and he plays well and DD contributes 10+ minutes through Jan. and upwards of 20+ mins after, here are some predictions for the next ten games;


Previous Games (2-3):

Chrls – L, 66-72 -- could have won it, inconsistent offense and gave up crucial offensive rebounds

@GT – L, 74-103 -- we got smoked, not many positives, but Chase and Perique banged down low

Wins-Sal – W, 94-87 -- we won after being down by 10 late to a team we should have smoked yikes!

Ala St – W, 70-59 – we should have smoked them, but we played poor D at times

@Char – 63-72 – the refs killed us, just go look at the free throw numbers


Predictions (6-4):

Sav St – W, 90-70 – somewhat of a statement spanking against an improved team

@Hofstra – L, 70-61 – good team on the road, too early in season for inexperience State

Fla St – L, 72-69 – I really just want an upset, and I don’t want to jinx it by picking it since I’m always wrong (did this just jinx it?)

@Ala St – W, 76 – 60 – strong road performance against team with less talent

@Iowa – W, 76-74 – I’m not afraid to pick this upset, because I’m really liking the matchup. Iowa lost big talent and isn’t big or athletic. State may be more athletic and quicker. Could be best chance for a big upset. JB could be back.

@Clem – L, 65-61 – JB definitely is back and we hopefully play well, but this is a seasoned ACC team.

Drexel – L, 70-67 – Coin flip if we’re playing well, but no fans because of bad scheduling give me a bad feeling.

Towson – W, 80-74 – Another coin flip, still bad schedule, but you lose one you win one, right?

Bill & Mary – W, 82-73 – They suck. Offense rolling by this point. Win. Perhaps some flare.

@NE – W, 78-76 – They suck this year (no Barea). I’m feeling good about the offense.


So there you have it. Through 15 we're 8-7. I’m feeling kinda sexy like Miss Cleo now after al those predicitions (CALL ME NOW!!! and that was in my best hearty female island accent). Let’s see if they players can make me look good, because in hindsight, those are some lofty predictions.

Alright, I’m posting this and passing out. No fancy conclusion. Bite me. CALL NOW, THE CARDS DON'T LIE!!!

Georgia State Blows Out Clark Atlanta (kind of), The Hawks are Rollin’ (sort of) and Voting Matters (just not in my district)

Last evening I had a sensation exploration into my two favorite subjects, sports and politics.

Despite massive personal disappoint (see; car accident, voting in a uncompetitive district, recent traffic ticket, all below), I spent my Tuesday night thrilled by the victories of the Georgia State’s men’s basketball team and the suddenly-surging Atlanta Hawks, and afterwards enthralled by the modern-democratic extravaganza that is the United States’ election process and the media circus that surrounds it.

I spent Tuesday morning feeling disillusioned by the current voting system and how a majority party can redistrict to suit their electoral needs, essentially guaranteeing their reelection and continued power. I was certain “Sonny-Do” was set to retain the governorship and Democrats would sweep Fulton County (not to mention, I have no clue how any candidates really feel about any issue as they spent all their commercial time bashing each other).

I was intent on skipping the election until a friend badgered me into voting after work (and then my guilt-tripping amiga skipped the process herself, citing yesterday’s veritable monsoon as a deterrent).

At this point I’m feeling pretty chipper about myself. I’m doing the right thing. The American thing. I’m going to share my voice and vote. And in the rain at that!

I get to the electronic ballot and start poking the screen. All is well and then I get to the first near full page of unopposed Democrats running in Fulton. And then a second. And later a third page of unopposed judges.

You have to love the Democratic process and all the choice we really have.

So I leave the Antioch Baptist Church and it’s ballot o’ choices behind and head to the Georgia Dome, when only moments later a jack hole has second thoughts on running a red light, slams on their brakes in the rain and causes eight damn cars to rear end each other in the monsoon … and I’ll give you one guess who the eighth was. (And this comes only two days after getting a ticket for not having a current insurance card in my car at police “bake sale,” a.k.a. traffic stop. I produced three different old cards for the bastard, but he refused to look up my policy in his computer, thus sending me to court in two weeks.)

Anyways, I made it to the Dome for the Georgia State game against Clark Atlanta and the Panthers won easily, 68-49. Although I’m pleased with a 19-point victory, we should have won handily by 40. We’re an inexperienced team and it just seemed we lacked the killer instinct to put Clark Atlanta away. (Read about the kinda almost beat down here.)

Positives in the game included; 1) senior forward Lance Perique, who was dubbed Lance “I Ain’t Passing” Perique (although one must admit, he really didn't need to as hard as he was balling, but he did take some tough shots), had 25 points on 10-of-17 shooting, 2) senior guard/forward Brandon Cartwright made the most of his shots by scoring 14 points on eight field goal attempts and showed his defensive prowess with three blocks, and 3) freshman point guard Trae Goldston is a baller, a whirling dervish of a player (see; three nasty spin moves in the game) who can push the break and has no hesitation to pull the trigger himself (see; 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting, of which many were beautiful high-arching runners in the lane).

There were certainly disappointments as well, including defensive lapses, inconsistent offensive spurts and no Justin Billingslea (ineligible) or Devin Dickerson (recovering from injury, but he's limited by pain much too often), but the team looked better than I had expected (but expectations were quite low).

Already pleased by State’s result, I was quite enamored to return home to see my Hawks successfully battling the LeBrons. Down two points with seconds left, T-Lue pushed the ball up court, gave a hesitation step at the three-point line and dropped in a floater (a la Goldston) to force overtime. In OT the Hawks beat down the Brons to the tune of 14-5, including back-to-back Joe Johnson treys to seal the deal.

Am I in weirdo world, or are the Hawks really 3-1? (Read about weirdo world here.)

(The Hawks out of nowhere are already way over hyped, see; former-NBA player on ESPN’s NBA Shootaround saying, “The Hawks are for real,” and Chris Dimino claiming Johnson is better than Shaq.)

After being shocked by my Hawks (you have to love the rhyme), my roommates and I flipped the channel to weirdo world number two, the land of politics. After watching CNN and the angry-Republican channel (Fox News) for hours I had a few thoughts; 1) I wish I could vote in a state where politics are actually competitive, 2) the face Brit Hume made when it was obvious the Dems had won back the House was classic, like someone dumped on the hood of his Mercedes, and 3) the Senate-a-Tron 3000 (the flat-panel touch screen CNN had where you could press the Senate seat on the screen to see the respective candidates from a state and their vote totals) was the coolest must-have invention of recent time, can you imagine playing Keno or Bingo on a HD flat-screen Senate-a-Tron, or watching your favorite movie after checking last year’s vote totals from Virginia (after the recount)? “Fun,” says I.

(To top the Senate-a-Tron 3000, before the next election CNN or Fox will release the Poli-Scent-o-Vision television set in cooperation with Philips. The scent sensation will broadcast the pungent scent of zoo elephants and donkeys for the respective party’s representatives while on screen.)

I’m currently watching the Sacramento Kings play the Detroit Pistons and noticed Shareef Abdur-Rahim is still playing well in the NBA. Has everyone forgotten the Hawks traded one 7-foot baller Pau Gasol for Abdur-Rahim. How’d that work out for you Hawks? Only set the franchise back about five years. Well done.

Well, despite all the excitement I had last night, I’m depressed after thinking about my pathetic Hawks. I’m going to go sulk in NBA action.

Tsk Tsk

Oh what a punk I am for not updating ye' here blog.

Tsk Tsk to me.

We'll see what I can do about this.

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