Hoops, 2008, and Life Cycle Analysis

I have been watching a little mens and women hoops in the last few weeks. UGA's Dawgs and Lady Dawgs have both seen their seasons come to an end. Overall, I would say that both had successful seasons. Georgia's men continued to improve under Coach Dennis Felton. The number of wins went up to 19 against a schedule rated in the teens in terms of strength. That's a positive step up from last season's 15 wins against a weaker schedule. Coach Felton wins and does things the right way.

Add to that fact that Georgia competed in the SEC east which sent 4 of 6 teams to the NCAA tournament. Each of the 4 teams won at least one round with 3 of them advancing to the Sweet 16. Tennessee and Vanderbilt, both, came oh so close to reaching the Great 8. Vandy got a rotten travelling no call at the end of their game that may have altered the outcome against Georgetown. But if there's any team left in the tournament capable of springing a big upset at the Final 4 in Atlanta, it might just be the Hoyas. Perhaps destiny is calling?

Coach Andy Landers' Lady Dawgs made their usual Sweet 16 appointment. His teams have made an incredible 24 of 26 NCAA tournaments, reached 17 Sweet 16's, 5 Final 4's, and 2 national title games. If there's any justice in the world, one day he's going to win the big one. At any rate, Coach Landers will be inducted into the Womens College Basketball Hall of Fame this year.

Poor Jon and Amy ended up slightly disappointed. Both of their teams went far into the tournament. But when you're a Kansas fan (Jon) or a North Carolina fan (Amy), your standards are a lot higher than most. Don't worry guys. Both of your programs are strong and in good hands. I'm sure you both will be struttin' your stuff with yet another Final 4 appearance soon.

On the 2008 Democratic Presidential front, John Edwards has decided to remain in the race despite his beloved wife's cancer returning. One of the bright spots of 2004 was being exposed to Elizabeth Edwards, a truly lovely woman both inside and out. She's passionate about her family, her husband, and her belief that her husband will do a wonderful job as America's next president. I wish her and her family a lot of strength and the best of luck in fighting that fight.

However, Katie Couric sure tried to make Edwards look bad for not dropping out of the race to concentrate solely on Elizabeth. Both Edwards went on 60 Minutes with her to explain why they are staying in the race.

Couric' tone was surprisingly judgemental considering her own experience with her late husband's cancer. Sadly, he passed away. But Katie stayed busy through that terrible time. It probably helped her. And it probably eased the mind of her husband. I know she's a big fan of Hillary. After all, Katie is one of the few journalists that Hillary turned to when she was feigning ignorance of her husband's affairs back in the 90's. Perhaps that's why Katie decided to play the hypocrite?

It's not just me that noticed this. Dave Sirota noticed too.

Meanwhile, Hillary is rolling right along. She picked up the endorsement of Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who was previously in the race, but dropped out. Tom Baxter tells us about Barrack Obama's successful trip to Georgia. And Al Gore heated up Washington last week with his testimony on global warming. Rumors of a 2008 run still persist.

Speaking of global warming, Don over at Life Cycle Analyis, has some interesting entries on both that topic and the new unrest in Kinshasa. It's good stuff, so check it out.