Stuff I Read Today
Lamest post title ever, I know. Unfortunately, with my pea-sized intellect I couldn't come up with anything better. And I should probably be ashamed that three of the following five articles are from amateur lefty webzine Slate, but I'm not.
- Dahlia Lithwick, a law school graduate, senior editor of amateur lefty webzine Slate, and apparent simpleton, epitomizes "begging the question" in this recap of the oral argument before the Supreme Court in the case of Georgia v. Randolph. At issue is whether an occupant of a home may consent to a search over the objection of the home's co-occupant (in the case, a husband and wife). Here is her conclusion:
To my mind, this is not a hard case—and for the same reason O'Connor keeps hammering at this morning. Of course I accept that my expectation of privacy in my home was somewhat diminished the day I married my husband. But his "right" to invite the cops to search my underwear drawer can't possibly be as forceful as my constitutionally enshrined right to keep them out.
Emphasis mine. What "constitutionally enshrined right to keep them out?" The whole point of the case is to decide whether such a right indeed exists. And for this kind of analysis, Slate pays her the big bucks. What a joke.
- Sports Illustrated has a terrific article about Brady Quinn in the Nov. 14 issue. I almost crapped my pants when I read this revelation contained in the article:
Quinn threw for 2,200 yards and 21 touchdowns his junior season, leading the Rocks to the state semifinals and thrusting himself onto the radar of Division I coaches across the nation. By the end of what Robin calls "his world tour" the following summer -- she chauffeured him to football camps at Ohio State, Michigan, Tennessee, Louisville, South Carolina and Kentucky, among others -- he had fielded dozens of scholarship offers.
It rankled him that none of the offers came from South Bend. Quinn's go-to receiver at Dublin Coffman was Chinedum Ndukwe, whose older brother, Kelechi, graduated from Notre Dame. Several times Quinn had accompanied the Ndukwes to the campus for football games. The school had worked its magic on him, but his affection was unrequited.
That changed in July 2002, when Chinedum and his parents made an unofficial visit to South Bend. (Chinedum would be offered a scholarship and is now a defensive back for the Fighting Irish.) Toward the end of the visit Chinedum's father, Stephen, offered a suggestion to then coach Ty Willingham, "You need to get Brady Quinn up here."
If, after reading that, there is any doubt that Tyrone Willingham was terrible head football coach, there is nothing more we can say to each other. Brady Quinn was highly touted by the recruiting services. He wanted to come to Notre Dame. He played in the Division I (biggest schools) state semifinal in a talent-rich state. Willingham was recruiting Quinn's No. 1 wide receiver in Ndukwe. How did Willingham not notice the guy who was throwing Ndukwe the ball? Basically, Willingham needed a recruit's parents to point out the guy who will eventually hold every meaningful passing record at ND, and likely become ND's first
top-5top-6 draft pick since Tim Brown.
- My buddy and frequent commenter Adam H. sent me this great link to a two-paragraph announcement that Tommy Caldwell has become the second person ever to free The Nose route on Yosemite's El Capitan in a day. He redpointed every pitch but one. And while he may not have done it first, he did it with a surgically-reattached index finger. He's a true hardman, and would have more than held his own among the legendary climbers who called Yosemite's Camp 4 "home" during the '60s and '70s, considered by many (mainly those who lived it) to be the golden era of wall climbing. And that's high praise indeed.
- Daniel Gross, writing for contrarian amateur fanzine Slate, posits that Las Vegas tourism is slowing because there are plenty of casinos nationwide, so there is much less reason to travel to the desert. Personally, I think tourism is slowing because people generally don't like to get nickled-and-dimed to death, which has become the norm at every hotel on the Strip. Either way, I hope growth continues to slow so maybe I could afford to visit more than once a year.
I've long held that best way for airlines to become instantly solvent would be to divert 80% of their flights to Vegas, and cap ticket prices at $200 round trip. If, as Gross writes, Vegas hotels are feeling a pinch, why doesn't one of them (or all of them) work together with the airlines to subsidize fares and bring the cost of the ticket down? If I can save $100 on my ticket, besides being a huge incentive to go to Vegas in the first place, that's $100 more I have to lose at the casino. How is this a bad idea?
- Finally, Tommy Craggs, a staff writer for SF Weekly and guest contributor to amateur lefty contrarian e-zine Slate, eloquently and humorously explains why I hate horseracing so much: The Myth of the Working-Class Racehorse. The second paragraph is quite funny, and the illustration of a horse carrying a lunch pail is giggle-worthy by itself (probably due to the look on the horse's face -- okay, I'm a goofball).
UPDATE (11/11/05): For whatever reason, I just assumed that Tim Brown, a Heisman Trophy winner, would be drafted in the top 5, so I didn't check. I checked this morning; he was the sixth pick. Loose shit on my part, and I apologize.
In case you're curious, here are the five players drafted ahead of Brown: Aundray Bruce, Neil Smith, Bennie Blades, Paul Gruber, and Rickey Dixon (by the Bengals, natch). Way to go, Atlanta and Cincinnati!
