Sunday Recap (A Day Late)

I would like to argue that I postponed this post to wait on the result of the US Open and Game 5 of the NBA Finals, but that would be similar to what Stephen Colbert termed "truthiness."

I woun't go into great detail, as the death of one of the last advocates for accountability cast a pall over the weekend. However, here is my take on the week that passsed:

1. US Open: I am not much of a golf fan, but with a gimpy knee, Tiger won his 14th major tournament (the record is 16) in sudden death on Monday- and I watched! Ridiculous. He is the most dominant athlete of my generation, more so than Gretzky or Jordan or Sampras or Armstrong. At 80% (or worse- he winced in pain after drives!), Tiger managed to beat the field. Again. Impressive.
2. Speaking of impressive, the Netherlands advanced to the quarterfinals of Euro 2008 on the strength of a 3-0 victory over Italy and a 4-1 thrashing of France. Under the direction of former Dutch star Marco Van Basten (my favorite plater from the 80's), Holland plays a fluid, attacking style that is a joy to watch. If you like to watch world-class football, watch the Orange.
3. I will freely admit I despise Kobe. He is the best player in the world, but is a horrible teammate, and trys too hard to "be like Mike." One of the good things to come out of this series is the collapse of the argument of Kobe v Jordan. Jordan would never have let his team give up a 24 point lead in ANY game, let alone a Finals game AT HOME. So, for all you Kobe lovers, it's done. Stop.
4. I find my self rooting for the Celtics, not only becasue I hate Kobe and love KG, but because I like the way they play. In a series that pits two very flawed teams for the title, the C's have shown more heart, more hustle, and more determination. The Lakers constantly wait around for Kobe to do something. I saw this kind of behavior first hand the year the Steve Franchise played at Maryland. I didn't like it then, and I don't like it now. So, despite my desire to depreive Boston fans from winning anything else, I am unabashedly rooting for the Celtics. Maybe it's the tie to Bias in me.
5. Unfortunately, Marcus Vick was arrested again on Friday in Norfolk. I wanted the Vick brothers to succeed. Oh well. They are the Anti-Mannings.

In politics, everything was overshadowed by the death of Tim Russert. Earlier in the week, all the pundits blabbed on about how Hillary lost the nomination. Yet none of their reasons included her vote authorizing Bush to go to war. Duh! That vote is what gave Obama his opening, and Americans are war-weary. In the mid-term elections, GOP lost seats and gave back majority control to the Dems. Not that the Dems can do anything productive (you really need 60 vote to do anything in the Senate), but it is noteworthy that Bush was rebuked in an election that he didn't rig or was appointed. The fact that corporate media refuse to acknowledge that Americans are against the war is best illustrated by this omission.