Instead of writing such a long column, we're going to try and pass on a few thoughts from the day prior to the 10 p.m. newscast, though there's no doubt some nights, it will be while Conan's on. Or Jay. Or Jimmy. Or Carson (Is he still on?). Or SNL. Or Andy and me.
Let's get started.
- USA Today ranks Ames #4 in the nation. Think about that. There's no real way to know if Ames is that good, but the Little Cyclones have sure looked it. Any team with Harrison Barnes is going to be good, but he's surrounded by talented players. It's a real team.
- Iowa basketball players are feeling good. They should feel good. They beat the snot out of Indiana in Bloomington. Wednesday the Hawks host Ohio State and Iowa has about 47 promotions going to try and get you to the game. Are any working? My hunch is football players signing Orange Bowl posters will do the trick.
- Ranking the men's college basketball teams in our state right now, if you go be heat, it's 1) Drake 2) UNI 3) Iowa 4) Iowa State. I expect UNI will cool Drake off Wednesday night. Shawn Terrell will be there.
- It was great to see Seneca Wallace over at Des Moines East today, even if he was sponsored by Visa. Wallace had a good message: save your money. Seneca told Chris Hassel the high school students made him feel old because they don't remember him as a Cyclone, they know him as a Seahawk. Has it really been that long?
- Finally, I linked this column by former Cyclone Paul Shirley on Twitter (keithmurphy13). Paul says he doesn't think he'll give a dollar to Haiti and explains why. The column has upset a lot of people. Though I don't agree with Paul, I know some people do, and I give him credit for being honest. Check it out and let me know what you think. http://tinyurl.com/y9q42ym
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4 comments:
I read Shirley's article. Agree or not, he does have some good points. I especially liked the New Orleans - Katrina reference. As much of a tragedy as it was, I never really understood why I should donate (or use my tax dollars) to help rebuild a city that 1) is below sea level, 2) is right next to said sea, and 3) is in a major hurricane zone. Doesn't make too much sense to me. If you want to live below sea level, do it on your own dime.
That said, donations to help the people short-term such as food, shelter, etc. are obviously a good thing.
I disagree with Shirleys assessment of helping in Haiti, or anywhere else that NEEDS our help. I am not a native Iowan, I moved here 18 years ago and I LOVE Iowa, why?? Because Iowans roll up their sleeves and become a community of help when help is needed. All you have to do is recall our floods and how Iowans simply and quietly went to work helping those who needed it, or the communities devastated by tornadoes each year. Perhaps Shirleys college education did NOT include reviewing something called the theory of relative deprivation. Yes, I believe that helping people help themselves is the RIGHT way to assist some in moving forward with their lives, but if you start with nothing, nowhere is where you are going to go. Shirley needs to get his nose out of the air and learn something about these people and many others in this world who have nothing. I learned this lesson in Vietnam 40 years ago seeing people who lived in cardboard shacks that were destroyed by typhoons almost every year, and sometimes several times in a single year, because that is all they had and all they knew. We ARE our brothers keepers.
The fact that Haitian government officials have done nothing to improve the nations infrastructure is where blame lies here.....the same as MANY, MANY other 3rd world countries. Let's continue to help those who need us, but let's also help by working on their leaders to become responsible too.
I read Paul Shirley's book "Can I Keep My Jersey?" a year or so ago, and I have to say I'm not all that surprised by his recent comments. It was a good book, very insightful about a lot of things on and off the court, but he definitely has some opinions that not everyone would agree with (obviously). At least he is willing to share his opinion, even though he knew he would be in the minority. Not many would.
Great posts, Keith.....
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