randomness ... again ...

Another "let's see what random thoughts are floating around in Steve's mind" post ...

* I was (and still am) beyond ecstatic at the beatdown Duke put on UNC last night. When Plumlee slammed home Singler's miss with about 6 and a half to go to break the tie, and then Scheyer followed that up with a beautiful three pointer, I couldn't stop cheering. Seeing poor Roy on the sidelines, clueless at how to stop the debacle, it brought tears of joy to my eyes.

* And I love how the national media is now saying "well, looks like UNC is headed for the NIT". Uuh, guys? You gotta finish at least .500 to reach the NIT. UNC is 13-11, and still has roadies at Wake, Boston College, Georgia Tech, and Duke to go. The home schedule looks manageable, hosting Miami, FSU, and NC State. But the margin for error is literally zero if they lose all four on the road. I still remember, I think it was 1997, might have been 1998, but after MU got blown out at the Field House, the student section for KU started chanting "NIT! NIT!" at Norm and his team as they left the court. To which Norm replied "hell, I don't think we're good enough for the NIT". They weren't. This UNC team isn't either. Let that sink in, those of us who hate UNC and / or hate Roy. This team is a 50/50 bet to just be NIT eligible. One more screw-up at home, and they're not good enough for the NIT. I freaking love it. To haul out a blast from the 2008 past, "Yes You Can!" miss the NIT, Tar Heels! Si Se Puede!

* After last night, I think Duke answered any questions about if they're going to fade down the stretch. That was a gut check victory last night. When Scheyer's on, they can beat anyone. If both Scheyer and Singler are on, and Plumlee's delivering a 10/8 performance in the paint, they're playing in Indianapolis come the first weekend in April. Speaking of which ...

* My Elite 8 as of right now: KU, Syracuse, Purdue, Michigan State, Duke, New Mexico, Texas A&M, and Temple. My Final Four, I'd take KU (homer pick), Syracuse (homer pick), Duke (really, really impressed me last night, again, on the road, your hated rival's season on the line, and they just DOMINATED that last seven minutes. Remember that come mid-March), and ... Texas A&M. I've really liked what I've seen in those guys the last few games I've watched. Turgeon's a helluva coach to boot.

* Noticably absent from that list? Kentucky. Not buying it. The cracks are starting to show. Call me crazy, but when the coach and the star player start getting into a media b*tchfest over playing time, that's not a good sign.

* Also noticably absent? Texas. They're done. That was a disgraceful performance on Monday night, to quote the great Jim Mora. Disgraceful.

* Now that football's over and I'm getting back into college hoops, let's head west, to the wierdest major conference race I have ever seen. The Pac 10. Six of the ten teams are within a game of the lead. Which is neat. What's really wacky though, is that none of these teams have even a shot at an at-large bid at this point. The Pac 10 is staring at the reality of being a one bid league. How? How does this happen to a BCS conference other than the SEC? Arizona is one game out of first, and is 12-11. UCLA is one game out of first, and is below .500! UCLA! Below .500! How does this happen?

* Speaking of wacky conference races, the Big 10 (plus one) looks to be shaping up as a doozy. A three way tie at the top thanks to Illinois' resurgence, with Purdue half a game back and Wisconsin only one game back. Unfortunately, I will not be paying attention to this race in any way, shape or form. Partly because any league in which a Bruce Weber coached team is tied for first, has serious issues. That guy couldn't outcoach a park bench, yet he's the frontrunner at this point for Big 10 (plus one) Coach of the Year. Ugh. But also ... because Big 10 (plus one) basketball sucks ass. NOBODY wants to watch crappy hoops. The Big 10 (plus one) is the benchmark for crappy hoops. First team to 50 wins. That's not basketball, that's a Packers / Cardinals playoff game.

* Bucks split their games this week, losing in embarrassing fashion at home to Detroit, then blowing out the Nets on the road in front of 1,098 fans. Its like the ABA never folded! Not even 1100 people show up to watch a NBA game! (Yes, I know: New Jersey got 14 inches of snow last night. But still.)

So Milwaukee hits the break at 24-27, a game behind Chicago for the final playoff spot. Hollinger's Playoff Odds give Milwaukee a 69% chance of making the postseason (ahead of Chicago's 53%), and project the Bucks to open against the Cavaliers. A first round playoff matchup against LBJ and the Cavs? Yeah, I could be talked into a quick road trip back to the land of Beer and Bloody Mary's for that one ...

* Its trade deadline week as well. I don't expect the Bucks to do anything. The team they've got now is below the luxury tax, and is good enough to at least back into the eight seed. But the two teams I'm watching the most are Boston and Dallas. Boston is fading fast, and they've got to do something to avoid not only blowing the Atlantic Division to a surging Toronto squad, but still keep within shouting distance of the Big Three in the East (note: who would have ever thought the day would arrive when the freaking Atlanta Hawks are a legitimate Finals contender? Oy.)

But Dallas, that's the team I'm most intrigued by. Mark Cuban is one of (if not the only) owners in the league that will happily go above the luxury tax threshold if he thinks it can lead to a title. He did it to get Jason Kidd two springs ago. He did it to get Shawn Marion this offseason. I fully expect he'll do it again over the next week, if only because he has to realize that the Mavs might be the only threat to the Lakers in the West right now. The Nuggets are good, but they aren't physical enough to hang with LA. The Spurs are a mess. The Blazers haven't progressed like I thought they would. The Rockets are screwed by injuries. Phoenix, Utah, even Kevin Durant's team, all are nice teams and might win a game or two in the first round against LA, Denver, or Dallas, but they ain't winning the series. Cuban could steal a championship with a bold move at the deadline. (Like LA nearly did two years ago, getting Pao Gasol for nothing. Completely turned the West upside down, and got LA to within two games of the O'Brien Trophy). Cuban's in the same spot that LA team was two years ago -- good enough to get out of round one, maybe even reach the Conference Finals, but needing a sh*t ton of breaks to get any farther. If I was the Mavs, I'd target Marcus Camby. He gives you another body inside, to take pressure off Dirk. Camby also gives you a shut down defender, to neutralize the West's big men (RJ, Gasol, K Mart, David West) that tend to destroy the Mavs. Anyways, moving on.

* Seems my least favorite State Senator is at it again. (Its been a while ... so let's hop back on board the "Steve Comes Unhinged Over News Item" express!!! Choo Choo!!!)

Senator Matt Bartle (R-Lees Summit) once again is attempting to once again decide what acceptable behavior is for his constituents, as his anti-fun bill passed the Senate this morning 29-2. Bartle's bill basically destroys the adult entertainment industry in Missouri. No more nude strip clubs. Patrons can't drink in said clubs, and must be six feet away from all dancers at all times. Clubs have to close at midnight, and can't operate with 1000 feet of anything considered to be a home or business.

Basically, if this thing passes the House (and its an election year in one of the reddest of the red states, you can bet your ass it will pass), the adult industry in Missouri is dead. Which, of course, is Mr. Bartle's sole intention with this abortion of a bill. This bill isn't about "decency", or "increasing enforcement codes", or "cleaning up the neighborhood". Its about a misguided zealot shoving his outdated world view down everyone's throat simply because (waa) he doesn't like certain things in society. Namely, that sex isn't only for making babies anymore.

Look it, I have no issues with regulating the adult entertainment industry. Certainly, strip clubs shouldn't be within a certain proximity of an elementary school, or a residential neighborhood, or a house of worship. I also don't have a problem with regulating hours of operation, amazingly enough, because generally speaking, nothing good happens at a strip club after midnight. Nothing.

And, as I've always said, "other than flyovers, strip clubs are the biggest waste of money known to mankind". I can see hitting up an establishment a few times a year. In fact, I do. But what do you get for your money? A dry hump that leaves you just short of satisfaction if you're lucky? You aren't paying for sex, she's not going home with you when the club closes, and even if by some miracle of God she did decide "you know what, you're hot, you're here, and you have a condom -- let's get it on!" ... do you REALLY want to tap that? You really want to get into the drug, disease, crime, daddy, and emotional stability issues these chicks bring to the table? Trust me, you're much better off responding to a casual encounters ad on Craigslist. (Um, not that I ever have. Let's just move on.)

Having said that though ... this bill is awful. This bill just stinks. Its one misguided kook destroying an entire legitimate industry simply because he doesn't like the product. Funny, I thought that conservatives fought for freedom? In this one heinous bill alone, Mr. Bartle whizzes on the First Amendment (free speech), takes indecent liberties with the Fourth Amendment (freedom from government search and seizures), and craps on the Eighth Amendment (ban on cruel and unusual punishment).

Even worse than the blatant shredding of the Constitution and common sense that this bill achieves, is the fact that this bill doesn't do one damned thing to solve the REAL problems facing Missouri! The state has a billion (with a b) budget deficit it has to fund. The schools are underfunded. Our roads are the worst in the nation. People are fleeing the two urban bases for the suburbs in frighteningly high numbers, to escape crime, poor schools, bad roads, sh*tty city services, and the E-Tax. And rather than deal with the true issues facing the state, the primary piece of legislation getting rammed through is ... a bill DESTROYING a legal, tax paying industry? How does this make sense?

I've ripped the Kansas Legislature a new one time and time again over their ridiculous causes. But I have to give the current group over there a ton of credit. They're actually attacking the real problems facing the state. Trying to find ways to balance the budget without raising taxes in a crippling recession or cutting needed social services. The work being done in Topeka is, for once, commendable. (Save for the K2 bill). This heinous, un-Constitutional bill getting rammed through in Columbia, though, is insanity.

(And yes, there is ZERO doubt this is un-Constitutional. Its already been struck down by an Appeals Court once, in 2007, after Bartle tried to (literally) sneak this thing through on an appropriations bill that had to pass. You know the adult industry will (correctly) file a lawsuit the second this thing becomes law. And what happens then? An already bankrupt state has to waste millions of dollars defending a bill that has zero shot of being upheld in the Courts! So not only is Senator Bartle destroying a legal industry that raises revenue for the state, he's going to further cost the state money by having to waste resources defending this bad boy in court!)

Plus, let's play devil's advocate, and say this bill passes, the governor signs it, and every appeals court upholds it after a 12-15 year legal battle. What does Senator Bartle think is going to happen, that the adult industry will just go away? Hell no! They're gonna move across the river to Kansas and Illinois, or across the border to Iowa and Arkansas! The adult industry isn't some fly-by-night operation that will crumble and die at the first sign of trouble. Does Senator Bartle really think he can bring an industry that's been around since the beginning of time to its knees? Come on. All that this bill will accomplish is (a) target a legal industry for destruction, (b) further depress state revenues, (c) push those revenues across the border, and (d) further reinforce the notion that the red states are run by the dumbest people walking the planet. Congratulations Senator. You've accomplished a lot with this catastrophic piece of legislation.

The logic of conservatives truly baffles me sometimes. "We demand freedom from tyranny! Unless that tyranny is a sexy 20 year old dancing naked, then we demand the masses be denied the freedom to watch!" "We demand fiscal responsibility! Unless we have a chance to sue a legal business out of existance, then we demand blowing state tax revenue defending an undefendable position!"

My head hurts just thinking about the abject stupidity of my elected officials. Let's move on.

* Rick Pitino as the Nets head coach? This has potential. No, it won't work, because Pitino's an awful pro coach. But we already know he'll bang anything in a dress if she's in an Italian restaurant. Imagine turning the Rickster loose in North Jersey! As Dave Armstrong would say, WOW! (Or is that J-WOWW! It is north Jersey, after all.) He might be coaching a team of little Pitinos someday if this move happens.

* Winter Olympics start tomorrow! Sweet! I've always liked the winter games better than the summer. For starters, the hockey tournament is the best two week tournament in sports. (Emphasis on "two week tournament" -- the World Cup is hands down the best tournament in sports, but it lasts a month. And March Madness lasts three weeks, not two). If this next sentence makes me gay, so be it ... but I love watching the women's figure skating. I even tuned in a couple Saturday's ago to watch the trials for the ladies. Say what you want, but no straight male my age didn't have a huge crush on Katarina Witt back in the late 80s. Smoking hot foreign chicks in revealing dresses performing in freezing temperatures. I'm excited just thinking about it.

(To say nothing of the comedy of Scott Hamilton announcing this thing. If you thought Rowdy Gaines was a revelation in Beijing, just give Scotty H a listen for an hour or two.)

Plus, the oddball sports are better in winter than in summer. That speed skating thing is just vicious. Its like Roller Derby, only people pay attention. You gotta love the bob-sledding. And all the X-Games type sports, the gravity-defying sh*t, its neat.

* John Mayer commenting on Jessica Simpson's bedroom habits ... is a comment I really didn't need to hear. Thanks for that visual, pal.

* I liked episode two (or is it three?) of "Lost". I've never cared for Kate, so Kate-centric episodes I tend to just watch because, well, its "Lost". What surprises me the most about this season though ... is that I'm loving the flash-sideways storyline far more than the Island storyline. Maybe its because nobody loves the "what if" game more than me, but the flash-sideways stories are much more compelling, much more interesting to me. Reading folks thoughts at The Fuselage, apparently I'm in a very small minority. But oh well. Being hip, cool, and in the majority are not things I'm often accused of.

I mean, I totally dug last season's goofy time traveling. Totally dug it, because you got to see the history of the Island ... as it was happening. It wasn't some flashback or "Ben cryptically referring to "The Incident" or "The Purge"" type of story. The characters lived the experience. I totally loved that.

This year on-Island though, its ... for lack of a better phrase, boring as hell. Sure, the Smokey reveal was neat. I actually teared up a little bit when Sawyer dug up his hidden package in Dharmaville the other night and showed it to Kate. But other than those two moments, not one thing on-Island so far has interested me. The reason the Island struggles worked for four years (five if you count the time-travel year when not much action / fighting / struggling happened, but a ton of drama did), is because we were invested in the characters involved in the struggle. Now? Its MIB possessing Locke's body vs a dead Jacob whose followers we're just now meeting. Its stupid. I'm not invested in Japanese dude or his sidekick Lennon, and I'm not going to be, because there is no tomorrow so to speak. There is no next year, since the show is done in three months. There's no real payoff there, no redemptive arc or huge payoff or huge reveal. The only huge moment pending (as I see it) on-Island at this point is "who the hell is Richard Alpert". But again, we've been set up for four years to find out this answer. Not set up for four weeks.

Plus, and I hope I am dead, dead, dead, dead wrong about this ... isn't it a little obvious where this on-Island adventure is heading? Again, under the "whatever happened, happened" motif that guides the show, we can reasonably assume that Jughead exploding was "The Incident". The last major moment prior to Desmond not punching in the numbers, and causing the 815 crash, is ... The Purge, right? Is this what we're headed for, our heroes being wiped out and a new group of Others taking over? God I hope not. But that seems logical at this point. Which is yet another reason I'm not digging the on-Island activity: I don't want "Lost" to be logical. I want it to be "Lost". Like ...

With the flash-sideways scenes! The "what might have been" moments (or more accurately, the "what did happen because Jughead exploded" moments), are riveting to me. I've been with this show since the beginning. I love the subtle changes from season one to season six. I love seeing the alternate reality, that these characters are still connected to each other, even without the crash experience. I loved, freaking loved, the scene where Claire was at the hospital last week. I'm thrilled that scene didn't leak in the spoilers. It was such a shout-out to those of us who've been there since day one, have wrapped our minds around the idea that "whatever happened, happened", regardless of WHERE it actually happened. Great, great moment.

I'm also loving the Locke / Jack interaction in alternativeville. That scene in the lost baggage area in the season opener was one of the series' best ever.

If you aren't watching "Lost", you're missing out. Yeah, its an intellectual exercise. Yes, you will bash your head against the wall at times at the leaps of logic and faith the storyline requires you to take. But take them. Its so freaking worth it.

* Speaking of TV I love, only one season left of "Friday Night Lights". Well, technically two; season four airs starting after the Olympics, and season five next spring. But man, that stinks. I'm not sure I want to live in a world without Coach and Tami. And Matt Saracen pulling wins out of thin air.

* I don't get why Republicans are balking at President Obama's offer to sit and discuss health care reform in two weeks. Its a no-lose situation for the far right, I think. If they show up, then the nation will see they're at least playing like they're serious about solving the problem. If they show up and Obama is serious about putting all options on the table, then maybe they get some of their agenda through (and some Republican ideas are very good and should be implemented, such as cross-state insurance and medical malpractice reform). If they show up and its a rigged deck, its all for show, they can say "hey, we tried. We showed up, willing to deal, and they wouldn't listen", which will just fire up their base even more to show up and boot the Pelosi House to the curb in November. The ONLY way this doesn't work to their advantage is if they don't show up. Then Obama and Pelosi can use the "hey, we tried, they just don't care" card and ram through the Senate bill (which is so god awful and completely useless to solving the problems, that the fact its still on the table is an outrage). Show up guys. If only to save us from Harry Reid's monstrocity.

* Some really fun voting options at nba.com for "Best of the Decade" stuff. The current poll is "Best Individual Playoff Series". Sadly, Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore aren't nominated for their rigged officiating in the 2002 Kings / Lakers Western final. (My vote went to D Wade in the 2006 Finals. Yeah, more sh*tty officiating, but to rally from down 0-2, and clinch on the opponents floor, that's a pretty solid achievement. Even if our "good friends" Dick Bavetta and Bennett Salvatore were involved.)

* Mikey Waltrip hit the wall! Thank you Jesus! He's out for Daytona! (entire field breathing huge sigh of relief, as driver safety now is at least 12% improved over where it was yesterday).

* Finally caught an episode of "American Idol" last night. I got duped -- they said it was "Hollywood Week". I should have remember, "Hollywood Week" is still a trainwreck. One more week until I'm back in, once we get down to 24.

* I did enjoy Ellen as a judge though. I didn't think I would ... but I like her smart ass sarcasm.

* Just a few more random thoughts before powering down for the day.

* Speaking of things I didn't need ingrained in my head: John Edwards Sex Tape. Ugh. At least it wasn't with Elizabeth.

* Cool new site: probasketballtalk.com Its about time the NBA gets a constant rumor mill site up and running.

* I'm still not even remotely excited about Royals season.

* Or the first Chiefs ticket renewal payment hitting my account on Monday. At least I get a brick out of the deal though. "Yeah, Stevo, we know you paid to sit through a decade of heartbreaking defeats, constant underachieving, and the last three years, outright embarrassment and humiliation. And we know we're raping you on the cost of your seat. But hey! You can have a personally inscribed brick in the new plaza area for your troubles!" The sad thing is ... I'm pumped about my brick ...