The Truth

17

Five for Friday

This week has been a bit relentless. Tons of work and not a lot of sleep on my end, at least. Same goes for the rest of the LSWTF.com crew. So, apologies. Without further ado, my Five for Friday.

First, if you're an woman attorney, I think the last thing you might want to hear at a deposition is, "Respectfully, I think he's just referring to the fact that he can see your breasts."

Next, if you're David Stern, you can't make this NBA ref game-fixing story go away fast enough. Apparently former NBA ref (and, as Stern points out, convicted felon) Tim Donaghy has some dirt on other refs fixing games, including a playoff game from 2002. Now other refs are getting accused. For once, in my opinion, the NBA actually has its atrocious refereeing going for it. As my good friend the Tenacious Mr. Lee put it, "I don't even know what a foul in the NBA is anymore." It's that bad. Now, I ask you this, how are you going to prove that a ref called a foul intentionally? How are you going to prove intent to rig a game, when there are dozens of borderline calls per game? I think the NBA gets away from anything really bad, like game-fixing, but has to fix its officiating system, or fans are going to walk away.

Third, keeping with the NBA theme, Game 4 last night featured the greatest comeback in NBA Finals history, and it has the C's within one game of their 17th championship. Honestly, I turned the game off after the first half. I hadn't slept well in days, was falling asleep, and badly needed a shower. My buddy, Tenacious Lee, called at the start of the fourth, asking if I could believe the comback. I had no idea what he was talking about. I officially suck, a lot.

Fourth, your semi-weekly dose of Krugman: it's about time we stopped living in our laissez faire dream world, and actually got to business making sure our food is safe. Reminder, don't eat any tomatoes for a while.

Fifth, and last, Boumediene v. Bush, yesterday's habeas corpus detainee case. Split 5-4, the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Guantanamo detainees have the right to seek review of the legality of their detentions in federal court, striking down as unconstitutional parts of the Military Commissions Act and the Detainee Treatment Act. You can get the full opinion, with the dissents, here (via Scotusblog). I haven't had the chance to fully read this one, but needless to say, with the Court's focus on the Suspension Clause, this election year is going to be huge. Congress may well take another crack at creating legislation to suspend habeas for detainees. This case, along with the decision in The DC Handguns case, will set the tone for this election cycle.

Three for Thursday

First, about the Celtics 106-102 win at home in Game 5 last night, there's really only one thing to say: Ubuntu! I purposefully avoided watching most of the game last night, because like a good contingent of Boston sports fans, any time I watch, my team loses. I brought work home last night and sat in my kitchen while the game was on in the other room. I finally swallowed my fears and watched the last six minutes, only to see the lead shrink to one. I nearly had a heart attack when Garnett rattled his first free throw in with 3.4 seconds left. But all is well, and they won.

But, still, leave it up to the anti-Boston media to take a big, steaming dump on the C's after they held on against a very, very good Detroit team. How many times can they say something like "With all due respect to Boston..." and then basically call them the worst team to get this far in the history of everything, ever? It sucks.

You know what else sucks? Studying for the bar. I spent last summer in inexplicably sweltering South Royalton, Vermont studying. There wasn't much to do for fun. We did have a couple of risque moments (booze + stressed guys and girls + heat + river = you figure it out), but we never did anything quite like this.

In a nearly unrelated note, I'm proud to introduce you all to The Hoary Marmot, which is your #1 Source for Gross Generalizations and Unsubstantiated Conjecture Regarding Life in Fairbanks, Alaska. LSWTF.com will remain your #1 source for gross generalizations about life in Vermont and unsubstantiated conjecture about the quality of baseball in San Francisco.

Cheers!

Scoop Jackson...feels...sad?

If you've read much Scoop Jackson, you've certainly puzzled through his muddled articles. But, today he writes about how if Kevin Garnett wins a title in Boston, Jackson can't...I dunno...feel good about it? You can find this puzzling piece of work here. Can anyone make it out?

Happy Patriots' Day!

I'd like to wish everyone a Happy Patriots' Day. Make sure you celebrate the 233rd anniversary appropriately. It's been a hell of a weekend for sports in Boston and in northern New England. A little run down:

First, there's the Boston Marathon. I know nothing about it. Let's move on.

Second, Bruins are in Montreal tonight, looking to seal their comeback from a 3-1 deficit. This is absolutely bonkers, considering that les Habs had owned the Bs going into this series. There's no love lost between these teams, and the apt Red Sox-Yankees comparisons are going to be flying around tonight. I don't follow hockey, and I know this one is going to be a dogfight.

Third, the Cs dismantled the Atlanta Hawks last night to open their playoff run, 104-81. The Hawks kept it close for a minute, but I knew that the game was over when, with about a minute left in the 2nd, the color guy on Fox Sports New England warned the Cs, mildly, to not let the Hawks think they could make it close. This series might already be over (knock on wood). One other note: the irrational hatred of all things Boston/New England must be have infected basketball, or at least we can forever dispel any notion of an East Coast bias with respect to basketball. The Cs are an acknowledged threat to win the NBA Finals this year, but there's not a ton of coverage nationally. I'm kind of confused.

Lastly, the Sox. Damn. I saw the Rangers go up 5-0 off Wake by the 6th, and my roommate and I decided to take advantage of the unseasonably warm weather up here and hit the driving range. By the time we got back, Paps was closing out the save. I've learned my lesson (again). Sox take on the Rangers again today with the traditional Patriots' Day morning game at 11:05.

Enjoy your Patriots' Day!