An Iranian Victory

No matter how much the United States and Israel have degraded Iran's offensive capabilities, the war must be considered a victory for the Islamic Republic if the Mullah regime remains in place. At the end of the conflict, if an Ayatollah is still leading an Islamic Republic, America, the Jewish State, and most of all,  the Iranian People will have lost.  Not that it was up to Trump to affect regime change, but if religious fanatics remain in power to rebuild and continue to be the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, it does not matter what particular zealot is in charge or if the Islamic Bomb (nuclear weapons that is) does not immediately obliterate Tel Aviv, it is still a win for the forces of evil because the mentality will be in control of Tehran that eventually will destroy the West. 

A Generational Talent

Arkansas star Darius Acuff Jr. is the best collegiate point guard in decades. I would rate him better than his coach John Calipari's last great point guard Derrick Rose who managed to become an NBA MVP for a season. If he remains healthy, Acuff may duplicate that feat or even exceed it with multiple MVP awards. Acuff has been unstoppable with any single defender he has faced, despite a nagging injury throughout much of the season. He will be a very early pick in the NBA draft, if he goes pro after the NCAA Tournament as is expected. Any general manager who does not select Acuff will regret their choice. 

Dreaded Shaker Phobia

Let us say the Shaker faith suddenly enjoyed a revival, but a heretofore unknown brand of Shakers decided that they must use any means including violence to bring folks to their flock. Pretend for the sake of argument that this portion of believers even made human bombs of themselves in populated spaces to enforce conversion by every means. Would it then be a "phobia" to want to avoid Shakers? Thank goodness no religious practice on earth today does anything involving force to increase its number of adherents. 

Georgia Let Down

Bulldog basketball showed the SEC is not quite perfect, playing so badly against St. Louis that they would have had a hard time beating a rec league team. They could not defend plays that teams were running in the fifties, and their offense was virtually no hits but plenty of misses. The sad thing is that most of the Georgia team seemed to give up, and when that happens, the head coach is squarely to blame. Either the "leader" did not have his "troops" prepared, or he has lost their confidence, and they are not listening to him. Either way, he should be on a mighty short leash with the sports administration at UGA next season, as a head coach can't be allowed to bring shame on a great university that should have championship caliber sports programs. There is no reason the basketball Bulldogs should not be just as competitive as the football one, except that the coach falls well short of the abilities of Kirby Smart. 

Miami for Real

Miami of Ohio is a competitive basketball team. They shoot the three pointer well and run hard backdoor cuts. Their defense is underrated. They will not be an easy team for Tennessee or anyone else to knock out. The Vols know how to defend such opponents, and unlike Alabama, Miami does not have a Labaron Philon, who breaks down defenses off the dribble, generating his own offense, and must do more with spacing, quick passes, screens, and sharp cuts to create scoring. Oddly enough, the coach who put Tennessee men's basketball on the map, Ray Mears, attended Miami of Ohio, so there is some unusual connection between the programs. 

South Eastern Dominance

Does anyone remember that the defending men's national champion in basketball is Florida from the SEC? This former "football conference" has started with two victories in the postseason tournaments. The league may well clinch another title this year. 

Saint Patrick's Lament

Hugh went down to the river, a bit downrange from town, saw the typically blue water a vibrant shade of green, and wondering if it was food dye or a green beer dump on this famous day, could not resist scooping up a swig. Only after he placed his parched lips in his palm did he detect the slimy texture. That night the local news noted that it was a very inopportune day for the sewage treatment plant to break down and be forced offline.