- There are few guarantees when it comes to the NCAA tournament,
but the Gonzaga Bulldogs are one of them. The Zags are seeking the
school's 18th consecutive NCAA tourney berth this year and have gone from the
mid-major program all other mid-majors want to emulate to a team that has
transcended its mid-major status to become a legit top program in college
basketball. Gonzaga rules the West Coast Conference the way the United States
owns Germany in world wars and that’s why HBO has decided to give the Bulldogs
their own five-episode reality series chronicling their bid for a return to
March Madness. "Gonzaga: The March to Madness" will debut Feb. 16 on the
premium cable network, with the finale set to air on March 15, the first day of
the NCAA Tournament. It will follow the team during the entire season,
beginning in November and spanning its West Coast Conference games and
everything in between. There will be behind-the-scenes access to the team,
which is coming off its best season in school history, having gone 35-3 under
coach Mark Few one year ago. Not only does Gonzaga get the premium cable
treatment, but it gets to have its season narrated by actor Liev Schreiber. It
will be HBO's first sports reality program featuring a college team, as the network
typically focuses on professional teams and athletes, most prominently its NFL
training camp series, “Hard Knocks.” There should be slightly less profanity
this time around, but unlike NFL teams profiled by HBO, Gonzaga is a virtual
lock to make the postseason and win a game or two once there……..
- Maybe it’s time for C-SPAN to stop airing those lames in the
United States Senate and House of Representatives and start broadcasting
sessions of the Wisconsin Assembly. While charisma-less slugs like Mitch
McConnell and Orrin Hatch drone on and on in Congress, delivering the equivalent
of Sominex in human form, the Wisconsin Assembly is getting after it in
impressive fashion and no one is delivering straight fire more than Rep. Bob
Gannon (R-Slinger). Gannon found himself in a verbal skirmish with Senate
Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) regarding a news release Gannon issued last week
complaining about Milwaukee’s homicide rate and how more homicides occur in
black neighborhoods with high unemployment rates. Barca, no lounger unwilling
to go to battle, came at Gannon and Gannon lived up to the name of the place he
represents by slinging an obscene gesture toward his adversary. That rankled
Democrats, whose shocked leader demanded that Gannon be reprimanded. A clearly
flustered Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, a Republican, hurried out of his office
and whispered to Gannon, who then tucked tail and weakly apologized for
making what he called an improper gesture in the heat of battle. “It is a truly
sad day for the state of Wisconsin. Today, a Republican legislator made an
obscene gesture on the Assembly Floor,” Barca said afterward. “While I accept
Rep. Gannon’s apology, his racially tinged rhetoric and disrespect for the
institution are reprehensible.” Disappointing? Reprehensible? My man, wrong
perspective. You should be applauding and thanking this man for getting people
to give a damn about the Wisconsin Assembly, not trying to cast him as
some blight on your esteemed legislative body. For at least one day, people
care about y’all and that’s more than we could have said yesterday……….
- What do you do with success? It’s a question that vexes folks
from all professions and walks of life and tells much about a person’s heart
and character. It’s the query facing Laura Ricciardi, one of the filmmakers behind
hit Netflix documentary series “Making
A Murderer.” The show has become a cult favorite and is getting rave reviews
from many, creating plenty of chances for Riccardi and Moira Demos to do
more projects. None of those are likely to be as unique as “Murderer,” which
they filmed over a 10-year period to detail the murder trial and conviction of
two men in Manitowoc, Wisconsin, but there are only so many tales like that of Steven
Avery and Brendan Dassey. So what is it that Riccardi and Demos want to do
next, with doors opening all around them? Not find two men currently serving
life sentences after being convicted in 2007. No, Riccardio revealed during an
appearance on “The Late Show with
Stephen Colbert” that what she wants to do is a documentary on rockers Florence
And The Machine. "I would love to follow Florence + The Machine, but
I haven't reached out to her yet,” Riccardi said of what she wants to take on
next. Well, she’s reached out now and if her work on “Murderer” is any
indication, she would do a great job telling the tale of the female-fronted
rock band, which is creative and unique in its own right. Working with a rock
band is rarely less stressful than anything to which you could compare it, but
this might be the first exception to that rule………
- Oh Serbia, you had best know what you’re doing when you
provoke that big, vodka-chugging bear to the east. Sure, it’s tempting to tell
Russia to eff off because Russia is an overbearing Neanderthal lumbering through
the global political scene, invading nations behind a shirtless leader on
horseback who has the tact of a chainsaw in need of a tune-up. Still, having
your deputy
prime minister has denounce her Russian counterpart for suggesting Serbia
should be careful about its European Union membership bid is technically on
point, but asking for trouble. The drama began when Russian deputy premier
Dmitry Rogozin said during his visit to Serbia this week that if it aligns its
foreign policies with the EU during the bidding process, "you will have
another Cologne here." That was a not-at-all-subtle allusion to New Year's
assaults against women in the German city that have been blamed largely on
foreigners, suggesting that Serbia would be flooded with the same sorts of
foreign troublemakers who have flooded Germany during the ongoing migrant
crisis. It’s a rare pissing match between Russian and Serbian officials, one Serbian
deputy premier Zorana Mihajlovic fueled the following day when she tersely
insisted that Rogozin "should take care of his own country and we will
take care of ours." What’s Russian for, “Mind your own damn business, ass
hat”? Serbia and Russia are typically allies, but Serbia’s continued quest for
EU membership has become a point of contention both with Russia and from
Kremlin-backed nationalists. It’s good to see someone fire back at Vlad Putin
and his crew, but it also makes you wonder how long it will be until Russia
decides to invade/annex a portion of the country……….
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