Sunday Morning Coming Down

The Miami Heat played one of their best games of the playoffs last night and closed out the championship run of the OKC Thunder.  The defense was good and the Heat's shooting was beyond belief, balanced, and timely.  The Thunder got as close as five down but two quick three point buckets by the Heat made the spread eleven and really demoralized a good young team that is going to be around for a while if they don't lose players to free agency. Lebron James played a great game and had a triple double of points, rebounds, and assists.  This doesn't happen very often in the playoffs and that it happened with six players in double digits scoring is pretty amazing.  You could say positive things about everybody and the starters got their due and the bench got some time that will be reflected in the permanent record of the box score. I think Dwayne Wade will be happy playing on a team that will be lead by Lebron James for the next few seasons.  I thi...

I'm pleased with the actions that the Obama Administration took suspending deportation activities for  undocumented youth between the ages of 16-30 if they have been good citizens and are in school or serving in the military.  I'm happy that they can apply for work authorization which is not free.  This is just making obvious what they have been doing for a long time.  They would like to spend their time deporting convicted criminals which might have a positive impact on public safety. Others will dismiss the action as a bald faced political act.  Most things the government does has a political component along with other consequences, some intended and others not intended.  I believe that the government does a reasonable job of keeping the non citizens from voting and this administrative decision does nothing to launch a new path to citizenship and is not amnesty.  I don't think it is a game changer electorally either. Until otherwise demonstr...

The Miami Heat have my full attention these days.  Ever since Lebron announced that he was coming to South Beach I've had a renewed interest in NBA basketball Miami style.  The expectations for this team are over the top and actually even I think nothing less than another world championship will be enough.  (In just about any other sport reaching the playoffs would satisfy me and make the season a success.) Along with high expectations comes a level of scrutany that has made the team the subject seem like a soap opera where each players foibles are reviewed and the result is too much information.  I really don't care about the player's parents, their love life, divorces, girl friends.  I just want the team to win.  I don't gamble on basketball but I do follow the injury reports as a measure of understanding the way the team is playing.  The Miami Heat however could probably use a psychiatrist along with their coaching staff.  Like it or not I'...

Union Rags won the Belmont Stakes on Saturday.  He had been my choice for the Kentucky Derby but had some bad racing luck and never got into the race.  Sadly he never had another chance to meet I'll Have Another.  This tarnished his victory a little bit.  Skipping the Preakness also tarnishes his victory a bit but that seems to be the way in the Triple Crown races these days.  Good horses that don't win the Derby are given some time off and then sent out to beat whoever won the Derby and or the Preakness. Michael Matz has a good horse and I hope he runs at Saratoga and is able to run in the Breeders Cup races this fall.  He felt that I'll Have Another might have over trained for the Belmont leading to the injury that cut his career short.  Horses aren't motorcycles and maybe he did over train but I feel his connections did the right thing by scratching him rather than risking further injury or a really bad race. Given the amount of money invol...

There are many contradictions in the political world.  Contradictions are not limited to partisan issues either.  Winning seems to be all important and yet the very act of making winning the most important thing makes compromise on public issues much more difficult than it needs to be. I am amused by the political class complaining about the lack of certainty.  The Congress keeps kicking the can down the road.  The new health care bill does not really come into effect until after the November elections.  And even that is a maybe situation because the Supreme Court has decided it will decide constitutionality issues soon.   The Debt ceiling comes up as an issue after the elections without a plan to deal with that has much support in Congress.  Meanwhile the economy is not doing very well.  There are plans for government to do more things to support the economy but they cost money.  Money we don't have presently, but money ...