Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Justice, the Grizzlies and Tiger Football

It's rather tempting to comment about the Justice Department US Attorney firing idiocy, but it won't satisfy anything but my need to vent. I've long since relinquished any hope for basic decency in the current administration, but their lack can easily be applied to any grouping of politicians or, as George Orwell put it, those who seek power for its own sake. No one in politics has clean hands and our society needs a thorough hand-washing or, to paraphrase Al Gore's newest book, a return to reason. I'm not surprised, but I don't think the US Attorney scandal is anything terribly new.
Without a good transition, I sunk into a measure of despair when I found out that the Memphis Grizzlies got the fourth pick in the upcoming NBA draft. The Griz had the worst regular season record and had the best chance to get the first overall pick, but ended up getting the slot we had to get: God knows where the Griz's ping pong balls landed in the NBA bin. As a Memphian by feeling, I think it all but nuts that Nashville can have an NFL and an NHL team, but Memphis can't land anything outside a transplanted NBA franchise. Jerry West did the best he could and Hubie Brown coached the team to the playoffs, but the current ownership seems determined to remain mediocre or--worse--a replay of the Sacramento Kings of 20 years ago (bad, bad and always bad).
In a more hopeful note,--at least until the season starts, when anxiety and no doubt some frustration will ensue--Memphis Tiger football begins in less than four months. If we can find a consistent offense,--an effective running game would help--I have hopes for about a 7-5 season and a return to a bowl game. Much of our season also depends on our quarterback from last year, Martin Hankins, discovering that completing passes to players wearing uniforms similar to his own tends to result in favorable outcomes. He had good season statistics, but he was--politely--inconsistent and not much of a presence in key moments. If Hankins doesn't get off to a good start, Coach West might hear rumblings to replace him with our red-shirt freshman from Oxford, Mississippi, Matt Malouf (spelling?). That would put a lot of pressure on a 19 year old without one down in major college action--a prescription for a lot more trouble. To paraphrase my cousin's comment about his school (Georgia) last year: heaven help the offense. Well, at least the Dawgs went to a bowl game--

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