2013 Update
It's been 2 years since I posted something on my blog. First, I won the 2011 NCAA College Basketball Family Bracket competition. Very exciting!
I had brain surgery in July of 2011 to remove a benign tumor on the acoustic nerve in my ear. Then I had a ton of complications and got spit out of the medical machine in early November of 2011. I spent the rest of 2011 all of 2012, and the first part of 2013 recovering and rehabilitating from all of that. I feel the best that I have felt since the surgery. It has been a long, challenging, difficult road but I made it with alot of help from my amazing daughter and the rest of my "village." So, blogging was definitely not on my mind.
What has really been on my mind of late is the jury's decision in the George Zimmerman case. Mr. Zimmerman's actions led to the death of 17 year old Trayvon Martin in Florida. Zimmerman walked free--the jury found him not guilty under Florida law. So far, two jurors have shared their experiences with CNN--B37 and B39 (I can't remember the other one's number.) I have truly enjoyed the trial commentary offered by fellow blogger Frederick Leatherman (frederickleatherman.com) and Anderson Cooper's interesting panel of legal pundits--most notably defense attorney Mark Geragos, former federal prosecutor Sunny what's her name, Danny Cevallos, Jeffrey Toobin, Marcia Clark and others.
Geragos, building on Sunny's adjectives describing the Florida prosecutors in the Zimmerman case as McDreamy and McBrilliant, called the prosecutors McLosers when the jury result came in.
That's what we all are in this case--McLosers. Fortunately, the NAACP has led a nationwide effort to obtain signatures to the petition they have sent to Eric Holder, the United States Attorney General asking the DOJ to initiate an investigation into the case for violation of Mr. Martin's civil rights. Mr. Holder and our President Barack Obama, both men of color have made public comments about this case indicating that the problems the case presented clearly resonate with them.
There has been so much racism, whether direct or veiled in the national conversation since Obama was elected President. Trayvon's death at the hands of George Zimmerman (wait! he was found not guilty so can I really say that?) has brought attention to the continued racist tendencies present in the US even in the jury deliberations of the Zimmerman trial. White people may be racist or exercising racial bias without even knowing it. Juror B37 best exemplifies this in her comments about what happened during jury deliberations.
The great tragedy of the situation is that Trayvon lost his life. His parents, family and friends have to live with that loss forever, long after the furor dissipates. They are committed to making sure that Trayvon's life mattered and keeping the flame alive for making meaningful changes so that this won't happen to someone else. I share and am in solidarity with their vision.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Friday, March 18, 2011
Thursday March 17th Recap
An audio recap of Thursday's NCAA action on opening day courtesy of NPR.
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134646284/NCAA-Mens-Tournament-Update
http://www.npr.org/2011/03/18/134646284/NCAA-Mens-Tournament-Update
Thursday, March 17, 2011
God Doesn't Pick Favorites
Fr. Craig Hightower this morning told the Gonzaga University basketball team and assembled reporters at a press conference that "God only desires that we use our God-given abilities to the glory of the Lord. In other words, he doesn’t pick favorites – even in the 'Big Dance.' "
However, the Jesuits like to win when they play sports. I've always said that they have God on their side which doesn't hurt.
Has God smiled upon on my bracket choices? So far, I've been way wrong --not picking either Richmond or Morehead St. in the Southwest bracket, or Butler in the Southeast. I'm in good company--President Obama also picked Louisville to beat Morehead St. At this writing Gonzaga is beating Saint John's (at the half) so I could go down in flames on that pick because I favored Saint John's rather than hometown darlings Gonzaga. (Sorry Fr. Hightower and David Stockton.)
In the East, I was right about Kentucky (though just barely, Princeton nearly won--which surprises me because the gentlemen from Kentucky are beastly!). Right about Temple too.
The family bracket has alot of ties right now. Last I checked, Grandma Beverly was winning. She's a pretty and smart bracketologist.
However, the Jesuits like to win when they play sports. I've always said that they have God on their side which doesn't hurt.
Has God smiled upon on my bracket choices? So far, I've been way wrong --not picking either Richmond or Morehead St. in the Southwest bracket, or Butler in the Southeast. I'm in good company--President Obama also picked Louisville to beat Morehead St. At this writing Gonzaga is beating Saint John's (at the half) so I could go down in flames on that pick because I favored Saint John's rather than hometown darlings Gonzaga. (Sorry Fr. Hightower and David Stockton.)
In the East, I was right about Kentucky (though just barely, Princeton nearly won--which surprises me because the gentlemen from Kentucky are beastly!). Right about Temple too.
The family bracket has alot of ties right now. Last I checked, Grandma Beverly was winning. She's a pretty and smart bracketologist.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Reflection Monday
That was the headline that greeted me on my Blackberry Monday morning. I thought it was one of the Jesuits asking for prayers and thoughtful reflections as Lent begins.
Boy was I wrong! Another round of analysis/paralysis commentary about all of the NCAA tournament picks. And, perhaps a chance to get out your pencils and erase any picks that you slept on and can't live with.
Welcome to the world of bracketology!
I'm a student who has not taken Joe Lunardi's online course at Saint Joseph's college. Here is more on my foray into bracketology--
On Becoming a Bracketologist
Published on March 13, 2011 at http://cforjustice.org/2011/03/13/on-becoming-a-bracketologist/
I find it conspicuous that none of the college basketball pundits are women or somebody’s mom like me. It’s about time.
By Mary Harvill
It took me a while to fall in love with basketball. When I grew up in Seattle, we were skiers, not basketballers, and that meant I was usually in the mountains on weekends, not in the bleachers. While I enjoyed weekday high school basketball games, it wasn’t until my stepdaughter played high school basketball for Saint George’s School in Spokane that I had a basketball awakening, so to speak.
The Superfans. Mary with her daughter Lesley earlier this season.
There is nothing like sitting in the stands at a basketball game. You can cheer the kids you know based upon their interactions with your kids, chit-chatting with other parents, meeting that guy sitting next to you, giving the other red-faced guy, whose veins are popping out of his neck, a dirty look because his cheering is getting out of control. The basketball bleachers are where the business of parenting and other things get done. Everything in the world stops for those 45 minutes (including half-time.) Hard work, hope, disappointment, joy and sorrow all happen in the gym.
Ultimately, what really drew me deeply into basketball world is my relationship with my daughter, Lesley. Lesley doesn’t play basketball, but she has lots of friends who do. She transferred to Gonzaga Prep (whose boys team just won the 2011 Washington state championship) at a time when both the boys and girls teams were ascending towards the top of their brackets. I entered this phase with Lesley as her chauffeur, transporting her to the games for her duties as the manager of the boys and girls teams at Saint George’s, then as a Super Fan when she transferred to G-Prep.
Lesley became a Super Fan for Ryan Nicholas, the G-Prep star player who now plays basketball for the University of Portland. Lesley also attends the University of Portland now and, thus, has continued her Super Fan relationship with Ryan. She would want you to know that her relationship with Ryan is “strictly business” and it involves a lot of creative work. She designs sparkly, colorful Super Fan shirts, makes cookies, provides Gatorade and other healthy snacks (Ryan is a health nut) and attends all of the Pilots’ home games to cheer him on. Ryan plays outstanding basketball and tells Lesley her cookies are his favorites. He’s also very polite, respectful, dedicated, hard working and a good student. As Lesley’s mom and a basketball fan, strictly business or not, why wouldn’t I love Ryan?
The part of me who is a committed basketball fan feels like I’ve graduated from high school too, because so many of my favorite high school players have moved on. Ryan at Portland, David Stockton (one of Ryan’s teammates) is now the go-to point guard at GU, and former Ferris star DeAngelo Casto is a rising star at WSU. Sean Fischer, a sharp shooter for G-Prep has shamefully languished on the bench at Eastern Washington University (EWU). The Eagles’ coach was fired a couple of weeks ago, so maybe Sean will see more playing time next year.
I did get down to Portland for a basketball game this year. Lesley cheerfully provided me with her “Purple Pride” t-shirt, I got to sit with her in the student section and the Pilots won the game. It doesn’t get any better than that.
But now comes March Madness. As I write this, Selection Sunday is only hours a way and I’m preparing my grid.
“I’ll leave it to you to decide whether this is obvious sexism is quaint or repulsive, but I should point out that the leading male basketball pundit, Dick Vitale (who does ridiculous TV commercials for “Hooters,”) is anything but eye candy. ‘Yeah, baby.’”
Okay, I can see that confused look on (most of) your faces. Chances are, unless you’re a guy, or the rare woman like me who follows NCAA basketball, you have no idea what I’m talking about.
Well, let me dribble you through it. Unlike the BCS college football championship (which is so screwed up that I can’t possibly explain it) the NCAA basketball championship is decided in what, this year, will be a 68 team tournament.
It is seeded like a big tennis tournament, so that the teams with the best records can avoid each other until the Final Four, assuming they all win their games. Conversely, teams with the least impressive records (they are frequently described as “on the bubble” as March Madness approaches) can expect to be pitted against one of the nation’s stronger teams. If you’re not into basketball you can completely miss the ritual triumphs and heartbreaks of a day on which bubble teams gather to watch large television screens, to see if they’re in and, if they’re in, who they play and in what corner of the country.
Along the way the games are marked by the milepost–the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Final Four and then, of course, the championship game between the remaining two teams. The major brackets are assigned to four regions of the country, but it’s noteworthy that the distribution of the teams to the regional “brackets” is not regional–rather the system is used, as much as anything, to mix things up so that, say, conference rivals like Gonzaga and St. Mary’s would be sent to Atlanta or Philadelphia to play, say, Georgetown, or Butler. It’s not very eco-friendly, but it makes the host city very happy to have a chance to see a team from Spokane, Washington or Dubuque, Illinois.
I have decided that this year I’d like to start my journey toward becoming an accomplished bracketologist. It is one way I can pursue my personal interest in these teams (not only Portland, but the other teams on which my favorite players play) if only from afar.
You’re still looking at me funny. (I can tell.) But let me explain.
Bracketology is the science of having an astute opinion as to where teams ought to be seeded in the round of 68. It goes on from there. An astute bracketologist will not only have a thoughtful, seemingly educated opinion on who should be in and who should be out, but who will do well (or not well) against teams they are likely to play in their bracket. There is even a course taught at Saint Joseph’s University by the creator of bracketology, Joe Lunardi, who is ESPN’s resident bracketologist. Hours of television alone are taken up by these bracketology discussions.
I find it conspicuous that none of the college basketball pundits are women or somebody’s mom like me. The female, on-the-court interviewers for ESPN and the like are young, attractive, preferably with blonde hair like Erin Andrews. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether this obvious sexism is quaint or repulsive, but I should point out that the leading male basketball pundit, Dick Vitale (who does ridiculous TV commercials for “Hooters,”) is anything but eye candy. “Yeah, baby.”
I have a blog http://maryharvill.blogspot.com (with 2 followers) though I don’t blog regularly. I watch the games. I have opinions. I participate in the national game of completing a NCAA bracket, bemoaning teams that lose screwing up my bracket. I also compete with other members of the Harvill family in our own league during the tournament, to determine who is the smartest and most savvy college basketball champion in picking the team that ultimately wins the NCAA tournament.
My sister-in-law works for the University of Maryland, so I learned early on to cheer for the “Terps” (it’s short for Terrapin, which is a small, edible, fresh water turtle) and to “fear the turtle,” replete with yearly t-shirts. Maryland won the national championship the day before my wedding to Linda’s “bro.” That certainly started our marriage off on the right footing, the basketball gods smiling broadly upon us.
As I write this, in the days leading up to Selection Sunday, we bracketologists are trying to predict which teams “on the bubble” will ultimately be picked for the first and second round games of the tournament. Conference champions automatically have their “tickets punched”—meaning that they are automatically in the tournament. There’s lots of terminology to learn and I figure it’s okay to ask “what does that mean?” rather than pretending to understand when I hear unfamiliar terms. I’m trying to figure out which bubble teams I think will be selected, just for an amusing parlor game while I wait for the real picks.
Last year I watched the picks from local watering hole Jack and Dan’s thinking the bar would be packed with Gonzaga fans awaiting the results. Sadly, there were very few people there, though a KREM-2 news crew and photographer from the Spokesman-Review arrived to interview and take pictures of fans and get “man in the street” color commentary for the evening news broadcast. These people probably looked more like bracketologists than I do. When I asked the photographer where everybody was, he said they were likely at a post-pick press conference at the Arena. I thought maybe the team was over at Coach Mark Few’s house as was customary in the past. The GU students were assembled in the SUB in front of their jumbo-tron TV ready to cheer for Gonzaga when their selection was announced and the news crew cameras were turned on.
I have my grid. In offices across America, including law firms, everyone will be contributing to the office pool, cheering for their teams, secretly watching games live online, stealing bandwidth from computer networks and maintaining lower productivity, all to keep up on the latest turn of events in THE tournament.
There will be plenty of discussion among the men. Sometimes women like me who follow the tournament will be included, sometimes not. So I select the location of my lunch break carefully, selecting restaurants with a nice bar atmosphere and TV tuned to the games so I can quietly follow along, the men be damned.
As my career in bracketology is new I have only the family competition to think about. If I win the family competition, all the t-shirts come to me. Everyone else wants to win, so they will get a Gonzaga t-shirt from me (t-shirts are the grand prize). This year, I want a University of Portland t-shirt.
It’s a modest start, I know. But I’m shooting for the moon, setting my goal to get some serious face time on CBS and ESPN as America’s first Mom of Bracketology. Alaska had a “First Dude”so why not a First Mom of Bracketology? I probably gotta get some “street cred”so I don’t end up as an amusing sideshow with the media corps.
But, hey, bring it on. When I squint and touch my nose on camera, that will be my little hello signal to all of you who’ve read this.
Boy was I wrong! Another round of analysis/paralysis commentary about all of the NCAA tournament picks. And, perhaps a chance to get out your pencils and erase any picks that you slept on and can't live with.
Welcome to the world of bracketology!
I'm a student who has not taken Joe Lunardi's online course at Saint Joseph's college. Here is more on my foray into bracketology--
On Becoming a Bracketologist
Published on March 13, 2011 at http://cforjustice.org/2011/03/13/on-becoming-a-bracketologist/
I find it conspicuous that none of the college basketball pundits are women or somebody’s mom like me. It’s about time.
By Mary Harvill
It took me a while to fall in love with basketball. When I grew up in Seattle, we were skiers, not basketballers, and that meant I was usually in the mountains on weekends, not in the bleachers. While I enjoyed weekday high school basketball games, it wasn’t until my stepdaughter played high school basketball for Saint George’s School in Spokane that I had a basketball awakening, so to speak.
The Superfans. Mary with her daughter Lesley earlier this season.
There is nothing like sitting in the stands at a basketball game. You can cheer the kids you know based upon their interactions with your kids, chit-chatting with other parents, meeting that guy sitting next to you, giving the other red-faced guy, whose veins are popping out of his neck, a dirty look because his cheering is getting out of control. The basketball bleachers are where the business of parenting and other things get done. Everything in the world stops for those 45 minutes (including half-time.) Hard work, hope, disappointment, joy and sorrow all happen in the gym.
Ultimately, what really drew me deeply into basketball world is my relationship with my daughter, Lesley. Lesley doesn’t play basketball, but she has lots of friends who do. She transferred to Gonzaga Prep (whose boys team just won the 2011 Washington state championship) at a time when both the boys and girls teams were ascending towards the top of their brackets. I entered this phase with Lesley as her chauffeur, transporting her to the games for her duties as the manager of the boys and girls teams at Saint George’s, then as a Super Fan when she transferred to G-Prep.
Lesley became a Super Fan for Ryan Nicholas, the G-Prep star player who now plays basketball for the University of Portland. Lesley also attends the University of Portland now and, thus, has continued her Super Fan relationship with Ryan. She would want you to know that her relationship with Ryan is “strictly business” and it involves a lot of creative work. She designs sparkly, colorful Super Fan shirts, makes cookies, provides Gatorade and other healthy snacks (Ryan is a health nut) and attends all of the Pilots’ home games to cheer him on. Ryan plays outstanding basketball and tells Lesley her cookies are his favorites. He’s also very polite, respectful, dedicated, hard working and a good student. As Lesley’s mom and a basketball fan, strictly business or not, why wouldn’t I love Ryan?
The part of me who is a committed basketball fan feels like I’ve graduated from high school too, because so many of my favorite high school players have moved on. Ryan at Portland, David Stockton (one of Ryan’s teammates) is now the go-to point guard at GU, and former Ferris star DeAngelo Casto is a rising star at WSU. Sean Fischer, a sharp shooter for G-Prep has shamefully languished on the bench at Eastern Washington University (EWU). The Eagles’ coach was fired a couple of weeks ago, so maybe Sean will see more playing time next year.
I did get down to Portland for a basketball game this year. Lesley cheerfully provided me with her “Purple Pride” t-shirt, I got to sit with her in the student section and the Pilots won the game. It doesn’t get any better than that.
But now comes March Madness. As I write this, Selection Sunday is only hours a way and I’m preparing my grid.
“I’ll leave it to you to decide whether this is obvious sexism is quaint or repulsive, but I should point out that the leading male basketball pundit, Dick Vitale (who does ridiculous TV commercials for “Hooters,”) is anything but eye candy. ‘Yeah, baby.’”
Okay, I can see that confused look on (most of) your faces. Chances are, unless you’re a guy, or the rare woman like me who follows NCAA basketball, you have no idea what I’m talking about.
Well, let me dribble you through it. Unlike the BCS college football championship (which is so screwed up that I can’t possibly explain it) the NCAA basketball championship is decided in what, this year, will be a 68 team tournament.
It is seeded like a big tennis tournament, so that the teams with the best records can avoid each other until the Final Four, assuming they all win their games. Conversely, teams with the least impressive records (they are frequently described as “on the bubble” as March Madness approaches) can expect to be pitted against one of the nation’s stronger teams. If you’re not into basketball you can completely miss the ritual triumphs and heartbreaks of a day on which bubble teams gather to watch large television screens, to see if they’re in and, if they’re in, who they play and in what corner of the country.
Along the way the games are marked by the milepost–the Sweet Sixteen, the Elite Eight, the Final Four and then, of course, the championship game between the remaining two teams. The major brackets are assigned to four regions of the country, but it’s noteworthy that the distribution of the teams to the regional “brackets” is not regional–rather the system is used, as much as anything, to mix things up so that, say, conference rivals like Gonzaga and St. Mary’s would be sent to Atlanta or Philadelphia to play, say, Georgetown, or Butler. It’s not very eco-friendly, but it makes the host city very happy to have a chance to see a team from Spokane, Washington or Dubuque, Illinois.
I have decided that this year I’d like to start my journey toward becoming an accomplished bracketologist. It is one way I can pursue my personal interest in these teams (not only Portland, but the other teams on which my favorite players play) if only from afar.
You’re still looking at me funny. (I can tell.) But let me explain.
Bracketology is the science of having an astute opinion as to where teams ought to be seeded in the round of 68. It goes on from there. An astute bracketologist will not only have a thoughtful, seemingly educated opinion on who should be in and who should be out, but who will do well (or not well) against teams they are likely to play in their bracket. There is even a course taught at Saint Joseph’s University by the creator of bracketology, Joe Lunardi, who is ESPN’s resident bracketologist. Hours of television alone are taken up by these bracketology discussions.
I find it conspicuous that none of the college basketball pundits are women or somebody’s mom like me. The female, on-the-court interviewers for ESPN and the like are young, attractive, preferably with blonde hair like Erin Andrews. I’ll leave it to you to decide whether this obvious sexism is quaint or repulsive, but I should point out that the leading male basketball pundit, Dick Vitale (who does ridiculous TV commercials for “Hooters,”) is anything but eye candy. “Yeah, baby.”
I have a blog http://maryharvill.blogspot.com (with 2 followers) though I don’t blog regularly. I watch the games. I have opinions. I participate in the national game of completing a NCAA bracket, bemoaning teams that lose screwing up my bracket. I also compete with other members of the Harvill family in our own league during the tournament, to determine who is the smartest and most savvy college basketball champion in picking the team that ultimately wins the NCAA tournament.
My sister-in-law works for the University of Maryland, so I learned early on to cheer for the “Terps” (it’s short for Terrapin, which is a small, edible, fresh water turtle) and to “fear the turtle,” replete with yearly t-shirts. Maryland won the national championship the day before my wedding to Linda’s “bro.” That certainly started our marriage off on the right footing, the basketball gods smiling broadly upon us.
Last year I watched the picks from local watering hole Jack and Dan’s thinking the bar would be packed with Gonzaga fans awaiting the results. Sadly, there were very few people there, though a KREM-2 news crew and photographer from the Spokesman-Review arrived to interview and take pictures of fans and get “man in the street” color commentary for the evening news broadcast. These people probably looked more like bracketologists than I do. When I asked the photographer where everybody was, he said they were likely at a post-pick press conference at the Arena. I thought maybe the team was over at Coach Mark Few’s house as was customary in the past. The GU students were assembled in the SUB in front of their jumbo-tron TV ready to cheer for Gonzaga when their selection was announced and the news crew cameras were turned on.
I have my grid. In offices across America, including law firms, everyone will be contributing to the office pool, cheering for their teams, secretly watching games live online, stealing bandwidth from computer networks and maintaining lower productivity, all to keep up on the latest turn of events in THE tournament.
There will be plenty of discussion among the men. Sometimes women like me who follow the tournament will be included, sometimes not. So I select the location of my lunch break carefully, selecting restaurants with a nice bar atmosphere and TV tuned to the games so I can quietly follow along, the men be damned.
As my career in bracketology is new I have only the family competition to think about. If I win the family competition, all the t-shirts come to me. Everyone else wants to win, so they will get a Gonzaga t-shirt from me (t-shirts are the grand prize). This year, I want a University of Portland t-shirt.
It’s a modest start, I know. But I’m shooting for the moon, setting my goal to get some serious face time on CBS and ESPN as America’s first Mom of Bracketology. Alaska had a “First Dude”so why not a First Mom of Bracketology? I probably gotta get some “street cred”so I don’t end up as an amusing sideshow with the media corps.
But, hey, bring it on. When I squint and touch my nose on camera, that will be my little hello signal to all of you who’ve read this.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Basketball Update
It's the first weekend of March which means lots of post-season basketball tournaments. My favorite teams and conferences this year include the Washington State Reunited State B tournament held in Spokane, WA for 2A and 2B teams, the Washington State 4A Boys and Girls tournaments held in regional locations with Elite Eight games in the Tacoma Dome and the WCC with my favorite teams, the University of Portland Pilots and of course, the hometown team, Gonzaga University.
First, the WCC. Portland was eliminated last night by Loyola Marymount much to the chagrin of loyal Pilot faithful. LMU is a much better team than would be indicated by their win-loss record. Portland beat them both times during the regular season, one game at the Chiles Center in Portland was a double overtime win. It was awful to lose after such a great year and especially knowing that the other first round game was USD (San Diego) vs. Pepperdine, both basement dwellers most of the season, though USD surprised everyone in the league by beating 1st place St. Mary's--same for Portland. That put both teams and the WCC in particular higher on the media radar.
UP vs. Santa Clara (senior night, Feb 2011)
Not sure who to root for now, I really liked USF, St. Mary's is as inconsistent at Gonzaga and maybe LMU is peaking at the right time. I'd just like to see the best representative of the WCC go to the "dance" so the conference has a solid representative that can advance past the first or second round. Everyone likes a Cinderella story, and UP was Cinderella for me this year, with outstanding play from its seniors Kramer Knutson, Luke Sikma, Jasonn Hannibal and Jared Stohl. The freshman lineup were darlings too--especially since my daughter is also a UP freshman, particularly Tim Douglas (who was sidelined with a stress fracture in his foot, which didn't help), Ryan Nicholas (who I absolutely adore since he's a graduate of Gonzaga Prep and classmate of my daughter), Tanner Riley and Riley Barker. The other freshman include Korey Thielke and redshirt freshman Farmer John Bailey, ready for Center or Post duties next year.
Thank goodness for the Internet, permitting fans to access the games and content they want, whether near or far. Special kudos to Bill Johnson, the "voice" of UP basketball for 18 years and accesible online through KDPQ, Portland and special kudos to BYUtv for providing live video feed of the LMU vs. Portland; Pepperdine vs. USD game. BYU will be joining the WCC next season and what a delightful group of fans they are! Apparently they have had to endure alot with their current media outlet, The Mountain from the chatter during last night's games via Facebook connected with BYUtv.
http://www.byutv.org/
Now for the best news--Gonzaga Prep's boys are playing for 1st or 2nd in the State of Washington tonight at 9:30 pm against Curtis, avenging their loss in 2010 to Federal Way. Prep beat Kentridge and Garfield, Seattle in two of the Elite Eight games to play Curtis tonight in the finale. Hopefully they will give a shout-out to their former teammate and UP Pilot Ryan Nicholas at the end of the game who helped start this traditional trek to Tacoma for Gonzaga Prep.
The "reunited" State B tournament is well underway in Spokane, WA with the final games tonight at the Arena. The WIAA in their infinite wisdom decided 5 or so years ago to split the B's into two leagues, 1A and 1B, 2A and 2B, trashing a highly successful and extremely well-attended, long standing B tournament that was a yearly economic boost to Spokane. The WIAA's explanation was to make the tournament more revenue friendly (translation, they really hoped to bilk money in two locations in the State, holding one part of the tournament at the Yakima Sundome, the other remaining at the Spokane Arena.)
One look around the Spokane Arena year one was enough for even Stevie Wonder to question the intelligence and wisdom of the WIAA. This year, the seats are slowly filling back up. The WIAA deflects criticism by pointing out that their entire organization votes yes for these hair brained schemes including their newest bright idea to hold first round state tournament games at regional locations, then only advancing the Elite Eight to the biggest booby prize of all, games in the Tacoma Dome. Two years and a full house at the Toyota Center in Kennewick for the 3A and 4A teams (2009 and 2010, respectively) wasn't sufficient in gate receipts, causing the move for at least G-Prep's 2011 first round game to the gym of Richland High School. The Bombers, it should be noted, filled the Toyota Center to the hilt during the 2010 Regional games. Go figure.
One blog comment suggested somebody frame up Mike Colbrese, head of the WIAA to discredit him in some way so he can be removed as Executive Director of the WIAA. I'm not sure that would help, althought if women were collectively in charge, I'd bet dollars to donuts, things would be quite different for the student athletes, coaches, parents and fans who have to drive to and fro with kids and their teams playing first round games in two different cities on the same day. Hopefully the relatives can help cover those games.
The weekend rolls on and new champions will be crowned.
Next stop--the NCAA tournament picks on Selection Sunday, March 13th.
First, the WCC. Portland was eliminated last night by Loyola Marymount much to the chagrin of loyal Pilot faithful. LMU is a much better team than would be indicated by their win-loss record. Portland beat them both times during the regular season, one game at the Chiles Center in Portland was a double overtime win. It was awful to lose after such a great year and especially knowing that the other first round game was USD (San Diego) vs. Pepperdine, both basement dwellers most of the season, though USD surprised everyone in the league by beating 1st place St. Mary's--same for Portland. That put both teams and the WCC in particular higher on the media radar.
UP vs. Santa Clara (senior night, Feb 2011)
Not sure who to root for now, I really liked USF, St. Mary's is as inconsistent at Gonzaga and maybe LMU is peaking at the right time. I'd just like to see the best representative of the WCC go to the "dance" so the conference has a solid representative that can advance past the first or second round. Everyone likes a Cinderella story, and UP was Cinderella for me this year, with outstanding play from its seniors Kramer Knutson, Luke Sikma, Jasonn Hannibal and Jared Stohl. The freshman lineup were darlings too--especially since my daughter is also a UP freshman, particularly Tim Douglas (who was sidelined with a stress fracture in his foot, which didn't help), Ryan Nicholas (who I absolutely adore since he's a graduate of Gonzaga Prep and classmate of my daughter), Tanner Riley and Riley Barker. The other freshman include Korey Thielke and redshirt freshman Farmer John Bailey, ready for Center or Post duties next year.
Thank goodness for the Internet, permitting fans to access the games and content they want, whether near or far. Special kudos to Bill Johnson, the "voice" of UP basketball for 18 years and accesible online through KDPQ, Portland and special kudos to BYUtv for providing live video feed of the LMU vs. Portland; Pepperdine vs. USD game. BYU will be joining the WCC next season and what a delightful group of fans they are! Apparently they have had to endure alot with their current media outlet, The Mountain from the chatter during last night's games via Facebook connected with BYUtv.
http://www.byutv.org/
Now for the best news--Gonzaga Prep's boys are playing for 1st or 2nd in the State of Washington tonight at 9:30 pm against Curtis, avenging their loss in 2010 to Federal Way. Prep beat Kentridge and Garfield, Seattle in two of the Elite Eight games to play Curtis tonight in the finale. Hopefully they will give a shout-out to their former teammate and UP Pilot Ryan Nicholas at the end of the game who helped start this traditional trek to Tacoma for Gonzaga Prep.
Chris Sarbaugh, Shane Schmidlkopfer, Ryan Gregory and Max Gruber Celebrate at State
The Gonzaga Prep Girls also qualified for the Washington State Tournament first round games for the first time in 17 years (or something really incredible.) Props to the entire girls team including Seniors Hannah Murray, Tia Presley and the Largent twins, Ashley and Taylor.
One look around the Spokane Arena year one was enough for even Stevie Wonder to question the intelligence and wisdom of the WIAA. This year, the seats are slowly filling back up. The WIAA deflects criticism by pointing out that their entire organization votes yes for these hair brained schemes including their newest bright idea to hold first round state tournament games at regional locations, then only advancing the Elite Eight to the biggest booby prize of all, games in the Tacoma Dome. Two years and a full house at the Toyota Center in Kennewick for the 3A and 4A teams (2009 and 2010, respectively) wasn't sufficient in gate receipts, causing the move for at least G-Prep's 2011 first round game to the gym of Richland High School. The Bombers, it should be noted, filled the Toyota Center to the hilt during the 2010 Regional games. Go figure.
One blog comment suggested somebody frame up Mike Colbrese, head of the WIAA to discredit him in some way so he can be removed as Executive Director of the WIAA. I'm not sure that would help, althought if women were collectively in charge, I'd bet dollars to donuts, things would be quite different for the student athletes, coaches, parents and fans who have to drive to and fro with kids and their teams playing first round games in two different cities on the same day. Hopefully the relatives can help cover those games.
The weekend rolls on and new champions will be crowned.
Next stop--the NCAA tournament picks on Selection Sunday, March 13th.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Civil Legal Aid in Trouble - Again
As tiresome as this topic is, the fact remains that significant numbers of people all across America are without resources to address their civil legal issues. In the criminal law realm, if you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed to represent you, at no cost. No dice on the civil side of the legal house.
Though the New York Times points out the deficiencies for legal help for people in the throes of foreclosure, lack of low cost legal assistance can be seen on the local level in Washington state where, in the family law arena, increasing numbers of pro se clients seeking divorces, assistance with out-of-wedlock child custody, child support and parenting plans have flooded the court docket. These individuals, some indigent, some not, have "just said no" to hiring a lawyer. Unfortunately for the courts, the practical reality is that court staff has had to be augmented with Family Court Facilitiators to help the pro se's navigate civil procedure and keep the wheels of justice turning efficiently. Do It Yourself resouces are plentiful on the Internet.
What the world doesn't need are more lawyers. What it does need and has available are skilled paralegals that can help the pro se'ers. Problem is that jealous lawyers threaten paralegals with prosecution because they are trying to protect their turf, their monopoly, their cash flow. A paralegal is not permitted to give legal advice. The lawyers argue that assisting a person with the check box on standard forms required by the court constitutes giving legal advice.
This growing legion of "do-it-yourselfers" weren't going to hire a lawyer, period. So, it isn't as though the lawyers would be losing revenue. The pro se crowd needs procedural help that falls on the back of the court staff because a paralegal must have their every "t" and "i" approved by a lawyer. The court staff is likewise precluded from giving legal advice. Only trained lawyers can provide legal advice. So, why aren't they stepping up to the plate and helping in greater numbers without regard to the payment?
New York Times Editorial - October 14, 2010
Need a Lawyer? Good Luck.
Across the country, programs that provide legal representation in civil cases to low-income Americans are so cash-strapped that they are turning away numbers of people. Hard-pressed Americans fighting foreclosure or seeking protection from domestic violence or access to medical care or unemployment benefits must often navigate the judicial system on their own or give up.
For much of its financing, civil legal aid has relied on the interest earnings from escrow accounts that private lawyers often hold for clients. That has all but disappeared as interest rates have dropped. At the same time, deficit-plagued statehouses are cutting support, while federal dollars are not taking up enough of the slack.
The chief judge of New York State’s highest court, Jonathan Lippman, has begun a campaign for expanded state support. At recent public meetings, business, political, and bar leaders, judges and litigants described the high cost, to all New Yorkers, of denying such assistance to the poor.
Beyond basic moral and ethical concerns, they argued, the rising volume of self-represented litigants is causing court delays that impose financial burdens on opposing parties with lawyers. Foreclosures that might be avoided drive families into shelters, further straining local budgets and disrupting lives. Hospitals operating at the financial brink are hurt when poor people can’t obtain Medicaid payments for their treatment.
A special commission named by Judge Lippman is readying a report that will assess the unmet needs for civil legal services and suggest cost-effective steps to meet them. Even in hard times, progress should be possible. New York’s State Legislature already has approved a measure that would allow borrowers who prevail against banks in foreclosure actions to recover their attorneys’ fees. Gov. David Paterson needs to sign it.
After the election recess, Congress must approve the extra financing to provide legal services for struggling homeowners authorized in the financial reform law. It must also approve a substantial budget increase for the federal Legal Services Corporation, which helps finance these critical programs, and ditch senseless restrictions hampering its mission.
Fred Armisen as Gov. David Patterson on Saturday Night Live
Though the New York Times points out the deficiencies for legal help for people in the throes of foreclosure, lack of low cost legal assistance can be seen on the local level in Washington state where, in the family law arena, increasing numbers of pro se clients seeking divorces, assistance with out-of-wedlock child custody, child support and parenting plans have flooded the court docket. These individuals, some indigent, some not, have "just said no" to hiring a lawyer. Unfortunately for the courts, the practical reality is that court staff has had to be augmented with Family Court Facilitiators to help the pro se's navigate civil procedure and keep the wheels of justice turning efficiently. Do It Yourself resouces are plentiful on the Internet.
What the world doesn't need are more lawyers. What it does need and has available are skilled paralegals that can help the pro se'ers. Problem is that jealous lawyers threaten paralegals with prosecution because they are trying to protect their turf, their monopoly, their cash flow. A paralegal is not permitted to give legal advice. The lawyers argue that assisting a person with the check box on standard forms required by the court constitutes giving legal advice.
This growing legion of "do-it-yourselfers" weren't going to hire a lawyer, period. So, it isn't as though the lawyers would be losing revenue. The pro se crowd needs procedural help that falls on the back of the court staff because a paralegal must have their every "t" and "i" approved by a lawyer. The court staff is likewise precluded from giving legal advice. Only trained lawyers can provide legal advice. So, why aren't they stepping up to the plate and helping in greater numbers without regard to the payment?
New York Times Editorial - October 14, 2010
Need a Lawyer? Good Luck.
Across the country, programs that provide legal representation in civil cases to low-income Americans are so cash-strapped that they are turning away numbers of people. Hard-pressed Americans fighting foreclosure or seeking protection from domestic violence or access to medical care or unemployment benefits must often navigate the judicial system on their own or give up.
For much of its financing, civil legal aid has relied on the interest earnings from escrow accounts that private lawyers often hold for clients. That has all but disappeared as interest rates have dropped. At the same time, deficit-plagued statehouses are cutting support, while federal dollars are not taking up enough of the slack.
The chief judge of New York State’s highest court, Jonathan Lippman, has begun a campaign for expanded state support. At recent public meetings, business, political, and bar leaders, judges and litigants described the high cost, to all New Yorkers, of denying such assistance to the poor.
Beyond basic moral and ethical concerns, they argued, the rising volume of self-represented litigants is causing court delays that impose financial burdens on opposing parties with lawyers. Foreclosures that might be avoided drive families into shelters, further straining local budgets and disrupting lives. Hospitals operating at the financial brink are hurt when poor people can’t obtain Medicaid payments for their treatment.
A special commission named by Judge Lippman is readying a report that will assess the unmet needs for civil legal services and suggest cost-effective steps to meet them. Even in hard times, progress should be possible. New York’s State Legislature already has approved a measure that would allow borrowers who prevail against banks in foreclosure actions to recover their attorneys’ fees. Gov. David Paterson needs to sign it.
After the election recess, Congress must approve the extra financing to provide legal services for struggling homeowners authorized in the financial reform law. It must also approve a substantial budget increase for the federal Legal Services Corporation, which helps finance these critical programs, and ditch senseless restrictions hampering its mission.
Fred Armisen as Gov. David Patterson on Saturday Night Live
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Another book to consider
Inspired by my sister-in-law Robin and mother-in-law Beverly, here is a new book worthy of consideration. I especially like the title.
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