Weekend watchdog

Tiger Woods missed last year's Masters.

He's missed the past two months of the PGA tour.

Will he make it to the weekend this year?

Tiger has four green jackets in his closet, but he stands nine strokes off the lead after Thursday's first round.

ESPN has coverage Friday at 3 p.m. and  CBS has the weekend action, starting Saturday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 2 p.m.

The latest green jacket awaits in Butler Cabin.

The Orioles have their home opener Friday at 3 p.m. on MASN against the Blue Jays, then continue the homestand Saturday and Sunday.

The Nationals visit the Phillies for the weekend on MASN2.

FoxSports1 offers the Red Sox facing the Yankees Saturday at 1 p.m., and the Royals meet the Angels at 9 p.m. The Red Sox and Yankees close out their series on ESPN Sunday at 8 p.m.

Southern Mississippi faces Western Kentucky on Comcast Sunday at 1 p.m.

It's the final weekend of the NHL season, and the Capitals and Rangers gear up for the postseason Saturday at 12:30 p.m. on Comcast.

NBC offers the Sharks-Kings and Wild against Blues Saturday at 3 p.m.

Tampa Bay hosts Boston Saturday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.

Boston hosts the NCAA's Frozen Four, with Providence facing Boston University in the final Saturday at 7:30 p.m.

Let your hair hang down and watch the NASCAR race on Fox Saturday at 7 p.m. The Xfinity drivers hit the track Friday at 8:30 p.m. on FoxSports1.

NBC Sports network has the Chinese Grand Prix Sunday at 1:30 a.m., with qualifying Saturday at 2 p.m.

The IndyCar circuit visits Louisiana this weekend, with the race Sunday at 3 p.m. on NBC Sports network. There's qualifying Saturday at 5 p.m.

The Wizards visit the Nets Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Comcast and host Atlanta Sunday at 6 p.m.

In Arena Football, Las Vegas visits the LA Kiss Saturday at 10 p.m. on ESPN2.

D.C. United battles the Red Bulls Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast. ESPN has Portland's trip to Orlando Sunday at 5 p.m. and Seattle takes on the Galaxy Sunday at 7 p.m. on FoxSports1.

Swansea City meets Everton Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network. Queens Park Rangers battle Chelsea at 8:30 a.m. followed by Manchester United-Manchester City.

Tennessee takes on LSU in college softball Saturday at 5 p.m. on ESPN.

ESPN2 has action from the Family Circle Cup tennis tournament, with play Friday through Sunday at 1 p.m.

The top women's bowlers gather for the NCAA championships Sunday at 4 p.m. on ESPN. The PBA has its league semifinals at 2 p.m.

How about a "liberal privilege" board?

Campus Reform notes a "Christian privilege" board that went up at Appalachian State.
And went back up after being defaced.
Liberals get the privilege to annoy all the time.
The defaced board was trying to note that privilege.

The parent trap

Lileks looks at the run of stories of childless people - trying to say they are on the frontlines of societal change.

“Don’t you sit there watching a school band concert, listening to everyone beat poor Sousa to death with their artless bleating, and wish you were engaged in a great historical experiment that put you at the vanguard of existential truths?”

 “Depends how long the concert is.”

“I suppose, yes. But look at me. I made a choice, and it’s forced me to face a naked question.”

“You face a lot of those when you’re a parent, too, and it’s usually whether you have enough wipes.”

You can say your choices matter.
When you make sure you have enough diaper wipes, your choices really matter.

Do NFL teams matter?

Twenty years ago, St. Louis had the nice new indoor stadium and lured the Rams from Los Angeles.
Today, that dome isn't among the best.
The team wants a new home, and eyes a return to Los Angeles without a new deal.
St. Louis spent tons of money and prestige to get back in the NFL after the Cardinals left in 1988.
The dome they built hosted a Super Bowl championship season and several big basketball tournaments.
Some economists doubt sports teams bring that much positive impact.
Then why is Los Angeles spending so much to lure the Rams back?

Deal for disaster

Powerline outlines the continuing problems with President Obama's potential deal with Iran.
Iran is providing us with a road map of its future non-compliance (whether explicit or masquerading as a dispute about what was agreed to). By continuing to negotiate as if a meaningful framework were in place, Team Obama is providing Iran with confirmation of its indifference.

Lessons for years to come

The first person to raise flags offers a detailed analysis of the Rolling Stone article and its review.
The summation?
“A Rape on Campus” is fashioned on selective presentation of material, the use of bogus or discredited statistics, quotes that are either fabricated or taken out of context, unconfirmed allegations, anonymous sources, the deliberate exclusion of evidence contrary to the author’s thesis, and material that is either fabricated or presented in a way that is so profoundly misleading it can only be evidence of incompetence or dishonesty. (The multiple verses of a UVa fight song, for example, that nobody at UVa has actually heard.)

Against "haters of mankind"

Rand Paul can no worse than saying he will defend America against "haters of mankind."
But everyone knew he was against "haters of mankind."
He's a Republican, going against Democrats.

Their safe space is Lane Stadium

Virginia Tech football players are getting criticism for their behavior at a "Take Back the Night" event.
"They disrupted our safe space."
You can blame the players. But if they were mandated to attend, you must understand they were not in their safe space.
Barring a class conflict, the players were required to attend, said Associate Director of Athletics Communications Jimmy Robertson on Wednesday.

Robertson said approximately 105 players attended and were required to wear team-issued sweatsuits.

“Coach Frank Beamer wanted to show support of the cause and the group, while also using the event as an opportunity to educate our players on one of the many diversity and inclusive events sponsored by Virginia Tech,” he said.
Hopefully the athletic department has learned its lesson.

Bad from both sides

I enjoy Blue Virginia's rants about "both sides" coverage at the Washington Post and other media.
They bemoan presenting both sides of an issue, since they disagree with the other side.
Then comes the Rolling Stone fiasco.
What's the angle from Blue Virginia?
Both sides mess up.
The Washington Post missed on Iraq in 2003, so they can't talk about Rolling Stone today.
Who cares what the Post did a decade ago?
They got this right - and found Rolling Stone wrong.

Romney beats Obama

Did you think Wisconsin would meet Duke in tonight's national championship game?
Mitt Romney did.
Barack Obama did not.
Guess he shouldn't be asking the Iranians for basketball picking help.

Blaming the victim

Who's the person that made the Rolling Stone story fall apart?
Rolling Stone points to the source.
They are skeptical now, after being exposed after publication.
Too bad they weren't skeptical during the reporting.

Protect us from crazy liberals

The Wall Street Journal shows the real reason to back religious freedom laws - to protect people from zealous liberals.
To the extent anyone is offering a good-faith criticism, it seems to apply to the narrow exceptions of sole proprietors in the wedding industry, such as florists, bakers, photographers and singers. Our view is that their speech and conduct is protected by the First Amendment, but do liberals really now believe that the very few vendors who object to working at same-sex weddings should be forced to participate in what they believe to be a moral wrong?

Not understanding the eternal concept

Easter - the day Christians believe Jesus rose from the dead and showed the way for eternal life for all.
Lots of concepts there to trip up an atheist.
Recently, there appears a total misunderstanding of eternity on this side.
They see eternity as a horrible monotony. All the problems of our current lives, stretching out forever.
That's misunderstanding the concept.
Our problems of the world don't follow us to heaven.
Jesus wipes away our tears.
Of course, the confusion over the nature of eternity comes because they can't prove there's no afterlife.
Just because they believe it doesn't make it so.
If you make afterlife the same or worse as life on Earth, then their argument to focus on the here and now makes some sense.
Reading this guy's column sounds like sour grapes - I didn't get the spiritual experience I sought with Christianity, so it must be bad.
The Bible says all of creation cries how about God's work in creation.
If only this guy and others had ears to hear.

May the State compel you?

Sarah Hoyt provides a list of questions.
Emphasis on May, not Can.
The questions provide the battlefields we've been through, and those to come.

There's no there there

Later today, Columbia Journalism Review will release its report on the Rolling Stone/UVa story.
Emphasis on story.
They had a concern.
Rolling Stone thought they had the perfect example of the problem.
The reality didn't meet the story they wanted.
This review is a story they really didn't want.

He'll be gone and we'll still be there

Smitty notes how Samuel L. Jackson assumes racism on the part of the Tea Party.
Because, obviously, the Tea Party is only against President Obama because of his race.
January 21, 2017 and on are times to prove him wrong.
Barack Obama will leave office.
The Tea Party will continue it's political quest - unfortunately with eight years of debt and bad decision to fight.

Make college an alcohol-free zone

C-Ville weekly enters the debate on the drinking age - and leads me to believe it should be raised.
Or banned at college.
Having the drinking age at 21 means some college students can partake and some can not.
That leaves two choices.
Reduce the age to 18, before people enter campus, or raise it beyond the age you should graduate - 22.
(You say many don't graduate in four years? Another reason to raise the age.)
The article also tries to debunk the link between drinking age and car accidents involving alcohol.

For UVA student Ken McDaniels, 20, with the Libertarian group Students for Individual Liberty, the drinking age law “instigates some violence as a trade-off for having those under 21 not drink.” It also violates a sense of privacy, giving the ABC the right to “terrorize” those it suspects of underage drinking, he said.

McDaniels rejects the argument that the 21 drinking age prevents underage drunk driving. “At UVA, everyone is walking everywhere,” he said. “And people are drinking anyway.”

Not all 18-20 year olds were admitted to UVa. Some have access to cars.

But there's been lots of bad news nationwide on college campuses.

Some due to alcohol use.

If colleges want to make themselves safer by banning guns, why not ban alcohol there?

Let those who fight for their country at age 18 drink.

Those who fight for party invites can wait a few years.

Walker - Smart shopper

Could Scott Walker get a sweater at Kohl's for just a dollar?
Politifact had to check it out.
The nation learns about Kohl's cash.

Hear the bells ringing

Time to hear Keith Green's Easter Song.

How much hate for your ancestors?

As the backlash against attacks against Memories Pizza grows, we're trying to find the point where the mob comes to its sense.
How about this?
The DNA of people who disapprove of same-sex marriage flows through your body.
It might be grandparents.
Or great-grandparents.
Or someone who lived in the 19th century.
Their opinion on the subject is the same as the Memories Pizza woman.
Do you want to attack them like you attack her?
You didn't know them - they died before you were born.
But you share a closer connection to them than the woman in Indiana.
You must denounce your own body.
It contains traces of what you consider hateful speech.

Saturday song

I remember this song being turned into "Puckeater" while I did an internship at Baltimore's ice hockey team.
Instead, Hall and Oates tell of the Maneater.

Facebook quote of the week

I'm robbing Peter to pay Paul and working at least 10 hours of OT each week, to make ends meet and have good health insurance. Where can people like me get some EBT?????? I could have used the 3 bucks for some gas

Go dry up

Victor Davis Hanson checks out the real reason for California's current water woes - not thinking ahead.
We’re suffering the ramifications of the “small is beautiful,” “spaceship earth” ideology of our cocooned elites. Californians have adopted the ancient peasant mentality of a limited good, in which various interests must fight it out for the always scarce scraps. Long ago we jettisoned the can-do visions of our agrarian forebears, who knew California far better than we do and trusted nature far less. Now, like good peasants, we are at one another’s throats for the last drops of a finite supply.

Stay down and fight hard

At Ace, a celebration of the fundraising in support of Memories Pizza.
The old model of the Outrage Brigades was to pick a target, call in the mob and hound the target out of polite company. Think of Justine Sacco. Well, a new model may develop from the Memories Pizza fiasco....the left still tries to destroy an innocent person who has the temerity to express an unapproved thought but instead of being destroyed by the lynch mob, the target is supported and literally enriched by the experience.
This isn't the way it's supposed to go and now the hatemongers are upset. Naturally they aren't reexamining their tactics or beliefs, they are doing what insane people always do...delve into deeper and deeper into comforting fantasies about how their victims are really powerful oppressors engaged in a complex conspiracy.

Weekend watchdog

Can Kentucky complete the 40-0 run?
The Wildcats take aim at college basketball history this weekend, facing Wisconsin Saturday in the second semifinal at the Final Four.
TBS has coverage of Saturday's contests, starting at 6 p.m. when Duke battles Michigan State.
CBS carries Monday's final at 9 p.m., finishing with the cutting down of the nets and a new edition of One Shining Moment.
The women hold their Final Four Sunday, with four top seeds taking the court. South Carolina clashes with Notre Dame at 6:30 p.m., followed by Maryland-Connecticut. The women's championship contest will be Tuesday.
ESPN has a boys high school championship game Saturday at noon, after semifinals on ESPN2 Friday at 3 and 5. The best girls teams play Saturday at 10 a.m. on ESPN2.
Oklahoma City battles Memphis on ESPN Friday at 8 p.m., with Trail Blazers-Lakers as the nightcap.
The Wizards meet the Knicks Friday at 7 p.m. on Comcast.
The Thunder take on the Rockets Sunday at 1 p.m. on ABC, followed by Bulls-Cavaliers.
With the Wrigley Field bleachers under construction, the Cubs and Cardinals open the season Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPN2.
The Orioles and Braves get ready for Opening Day with a contest Friday at 6 p.m. on MASN, while the Nationals host the Yankees Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Capitals hit the road this weekend, visiting Ottawa Saturday at 7 p.m. on Comcast before meeting Detroit Sunday at 5 p.m.
Comcast offers Flyers-Hurricanes Saturday at 1 p.m. and NBC has the Flyers' battle with the Penguins Sunday at 12:30 p.m.
The Blues battle the Blackhawks Sunday at 7:30 p.m. on NBC Sports network.
Arsenal tangles with Liverpool Saturday at 7:45 a.m. on NBC Sports network, followed by Manchester United-Aston Villa. Burnley battles Tottenham Hotspur Sunday at 8:30 a.m. and Newcastle United takes on Sunderland at 11 a.m.
San Jose takes on Real Salt Lake Sunday at 5 p.m. on ESPN2 and Philadelphia meets Kansas City at 7 p.m. on FoxSports1.
There's an international women's friendly between the United States and New Zealand Saturday at 4 p.m. on FoxSports1.
The PGA tour gears up for the Masters at the Houston Open this weekend, with NBC coverage Saturday and Sunday at 3 p.m.
NBC Sports network has the road to the Kentucky Derby with the Wood Memorial and Bluegrass Stakes Saturday at 5 p.m.
Arizona meets Las Vegas in Arena Football Saturday at 10:30 p.m. on ESPN2.
ESPN2 offers the men's semifinals of the Miami Open Friday at 1 and 7 p.m. with the women's championship Saturday at 1 p.m. The men's crown will be decided Sunday at 1 p.m. on ESPN.
FoxSports1 has Villanova against Denver in college lacrosse Friday at 8:30 p.m. \
Oregon takes on UCLA in college softball Sunday at 3 p.m. on ESPN2.

Terror in Kenya

Are you worried about possible mild inconvenience in Indiana?
Or wholesale slaughter in Kenya?

How did inspections work in Iraq?

The Obama administration claims a win in negotiations with Iran - just trust the inspections.
The “framework” codifies the Obama administration’s cave-ins but casts them as thrilling reductions in Iran’s capacities rather than what they are—a pie-in-the-sky effort to use inspections as the means by which the West can “manage” the speed with which Iran becomes a nuclear power.
We had years of inspections in Iraq.
If you think there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, the inspections we had then never showed that.
If you think there were weapons of mass destruction - or just Saddam thinking he did - the inspections never answered the obvious question.
We've moved on from chemicals in a defeated country to nuclear plans by a country with plans for regional domination.
What hopes do inspections have to protecting the world?

The courageous conservative way

DaTech Guy looks for reasons that Ted Cruz has surged in the Republican primary polls.
Bottom line, leaders lead. Ted Cruz is leading from the front and in the face of unrelenting pressure from media and leftist activists and Republicans voters are taking notice.

An idea to become rich

A prank on the Outer Banks just might work.
Beginning June 6, 2015, the very first high-speed car-carrying hovercraft ferry service will begin for the Outer Banks.
Right now, it can take four hours to cross the last 40 miles to your vacation destination on a summer Saturday.
How much would some people pay to ride across the water and enjoy more time at the beach?
Now if they could figure a way to get your cars across easily.

What will you be watching?

It's the weekend for the men's and women's college basketball championships.
Three top seeds reached the men's Final Four.
All four top seeds reached the women's Final Four.
Did you even know who's in the women's tournament?
No matter what Geno Auriemma thinks, the men will get the fans and women only a few people not watching baseball's opening week.