Heh: “A judge declared a mistrial Tuesday in a medical malpractice case brought by Notre Dame football coach Charlie Weis after a juror collapsed and several doctors — including the two defendants — rushed to his aid.”

Yeah, I can see how that might result in jurors making a decision based on something other than the evidence presented… LOL. (Hat tip: Chris, via ND Nation.)

It’s Fat Tuesday, which means that: 1) I wish I was in New Orleans right now (next year, dammit), and 2) Lent starts tomorrow. In view of which, a question for my blog readers: what, if anything, are you giving up (or pledging to do differently, etc.) during Lent?

Myself, I’ve never been much for the whole “giving stuff up during Lent” business, probably because there aren’t many things that I do regularly which I regret or feel guilty about (which may help explain why I’m not much of a Catholic… hehe), and also because I have no will power and am all about instant gratification. :) However, in view of my recent slow-but-steady transformation into a “skinny fat guy” (I was dreadfully thin when I started college, but I’ve gained half of my own body weight since then, which is a good thing except that the last 20 pounds or so have gone directly to my gut), I think perhaps I’ll give up Cheetos for Lent.

On the other hand: Cheetos are so yummy… how long is Lent again? ;)

For her part, Becky advocates making “Lenten resolutions” instead of necessarily “giving things up.” Maybe I can kill two birds with one stone by setting some concrete research goals for myself and declaring those to be Lenten resolutions. I’ll need to be in good shape with both of my papers by Easter Sunday, so that wouldn’t be a bad idea. And this way, if I fail, I’d be courting not just the wrath of Mayer or Kaveny (or Becky), but the wrath of God… hehe.

Anyway, enough about me… what are y’all doing for Lent, if anything?

Briandot sends in the following report via e-mail:

I’ve been having a hell of a time trying to read irishtrojan lately. I can only seem to see it one out of every, say, five or six times. It’s incredibly slow and I often get a 503 error. Anything up?

I’m not having any such problems, and I haven’t received any other complaints (aside from the comment error that I fixed yesterday), but… is anyone else having similar problems to what Briandot is reporting? Please leave a comment or shoot me an e-mail (bloy[at]nd.edu) if so. Thanks!

[UPDATE: You can now read all three “BracketBusters Experience” posts, from start to finish, here.]

After being rescued by Butler coeds from a snowy vehicular doom, and after soaking in the majesty of Hinkle Fieldhouse and the glory of front-row seats, it was time to play some basketball.

Actually, before I start talking about the game itself, here’s a nifty pregame video — which I should have included in “Part II,” but I didn’t think of it — to set the scene. First you hear the Salukis cheering section chanting “S-I-U” as their team takes the floor, but they’re quickly drowned out by Butler fans’ boos… which are in turn quickly replaced by wild cheers as the Bulldogs enter the arena. And then comes a clip of the Butler player introductions.

Pretty cool.

Really, though, the video doesn’t do it justice. As Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star wrote:

Being at Hinkle on Saturday was not a job, really; it was an honor. The place was hot, old Boston Garden hot, and it was hopping, filled to the top with Butler’s first sellout since 2003. There was an undeniable Cameron Indoor Stadium feel to the place, except for all the visiting team’s fans filling the corner of the old barn.

The absolutely electric atmosphere in that place is the biggest reason why I ended up “switching sides” and rooting for Butler (having arrived with my loyalties split maybe 55% to 45% for SIU). Early in the game, I was torn about who to root for, but I realized that if it came down to a final possession and Butler was going for the win, there was no way I wouldn’t root for the result that would cause the “Dawg Pound” at Hinkle Fieldhouse to go completely crazy… because that would just be so awesome. So, about midway through the first half (with the Bulldogs trailing by 6 points or so), I decided to jump on the Butler bandwagon right then and there.

Anyway… coming in, my fear was that the game would be so defense-oriented as to be painful to watch. Kyle Whelliston had predicted “the best 35-33 game ever,” and Andy Glockner had mused that the matchup might induce comas in casual viewers. But it quickly became apparent that those fears were exaggerated. These teams were, as advertised, very good at playing defense — it was, as SIU star Jamaal Tatum told SI’s Luke Winn, “the blue-collar matchup in college basketball” — but they also knew how to score points, even against the other’s suffocating “D.”

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I blogged yesterday about the death of Dermot O’Reilly, the Newfoundland folk singer who wrote and sang the poetic ballad West Country Lady, one of the favorite songs of my childhood. I was immediately saddened to learn of his passing because that song has always had such a special place in my heart, but until I started reading the various online eulogies, I had no idea of the profound influence that O’Reilly and his band, Ryan’s Fancy, had on the Newfie music scene.

This video from the 2004 East Coast Music Awards — a Ryan’s Fancy retrospective narrated by Great Big Sea, and also featuring a singer from another one of my favorite Canadian bands, the Barra MacNeils — does a good job of explaining it:

(Hat tip: Mandolin Jen, who also links to this video of O’Reilly recently performing live. She appears to have gotten both videos from RyansFancy.com.)

GBS member Bob Hallett, who just last month penned a lengthly paean to the profound influence that Ryan’s Fancy had on Newfoundland folk music, is prominently quoted in this article about O’Reilly, prominently featuring some lengthy quotes from Hallett says:

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It’s his Senior Night, and he still looks like he’s about 12 years old.

Gonzaga beat Portland 87-67 on Senior Night yesterday, and San Francisco lost to St. Mary’s 92-83. As a result, the Zags clinched no worse than a #2 seed in the WCC tournament, which means they’ll get the automatic double-bye into the semifinals, and will need to win only two games to earn an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.

Gonzaga is 9-3 in conference, one game behind leader Santa Clara (10-2). San Francisco is alone in third place at 7-5. Even if the Zags lose both of their remaining games — one of them at San Fran — and finish tied with the Dons at 9-5, they’d win the tiebreaker, as explained previously, because Gonzaga is 1-1 against Santa Clara whereas San Francisco is 0-2 against the Broncos.

P.S. The WCC semifinals are on Sunday, March 4, and the title game is on Monday, March 5. All the games are in Portland, Oregon, and all will be televised on either ESPN or ESPN2, I believe. I’ve added March 4 to the countdown sidebar at left.

The Morris/Chloe subplot is killing me.

Ugh.

That is all.

Senator John McCain was heavily critical of former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, specifically in regards to his handling of the war, saying “I think that Donald Rumsfeld will go down in history as one of the worst secretaries of defense in history”.

When Rumsfeld resigned last November, McCain was more civil, pointing out that they didn’t always see eye to eye but asking people to respect the Sec. Def’s. years of public service.

(Hat tip: Sandy Underpants.)

The second of the Class of 2007’s every-ten-days parties leading up to graduation is tonight, starting at 9:30, at the famous (or perhaps infamous) “frat house” that’s home to a dozen wild and crazy 3Ls. That’s at 534 Carroll Street, and all the cool kids are going. :) I’ll probably at least make an appearance. The organizers ask that you bring refreshments. The theme is “Monday is so close to the weekend that it’s all good to be tired on Tuesday… or something.” Personally, I would suggest the alternative theme, “We’re 3Ls, who the f*** cares?” ;) As always, all classes are welcome.

I’m rarely shy about saying “I told you so” when a blog prediction comes true, whether it’s about USC kicking Notre Dame’s ass, Bradley reaching the Sweet 16, the Big East being a good football conference, John Kerry being a bad candidate, or anything else. So, in the spirit of accountability and honesty, I ought not shy away from “I told you otherwise” moments when they arise. As such, it’s time for to eat some crow.

On November 25, hours after then-unranked Butler won the Preseason NIT by handing then-#23 Gonzaga its first loss of the season, a commenter named Josh wrote: “Gonzaga sucks anyway, so beating Gonzaga isn’t a huge challenge. Gonzaga will lose 10-15 games this year.” (Emphasis added.)

I responded scathingly:

LOL! To whom? What 10-15 teams on their schedule are going to beat them? … Are you insane?

I concluded by calling Josh a “dumbass.”

Um, yeah. Gonzaga lost its tenth game Saturday to Memphis. Apparently Josh wasn’t such a dumbass after all.

That said…

Despite the unimpressive record, Gonzaga has enough quality wins, and enough of their losses are to good teams, that Joe Lunardi still has the Zags as one of the “last four out” of the NCAA Tournament. Their impressive performance against Memphis, albeit in a losing effort, established that they can still play ball with the best teams in the country, even without Josh Heytvelt. Memphis coach John Calipari certainly thinks they belong in the Dance:

“If you know basketball and you watched this game, they’re an NCAA tournament team,” he insisted. “Stop. They’ve beaten four ranked opponents. Somebody will say, ‘Hey, they did that with (Josh) Heytvelt.’ Well, they didn’t have him today and right now they’re trying to figure out how to play without him.

“They’ll probably win every game out from here on in, but even if they don’t win their tournament, they should be in. If not, it’s a travesty. The RPI? Stop. Watch the game. Don’t do it by numbers. Watch them play and tell me there’s 35 teams better than that team. Stop. It’s not happening.”

It’s still hypothetically possible that the Zags could get an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament if they win out until the WCC title game and if the bubble is sufficiently “soft” — i.e., lots of other bubble teams play their way out of bids, and there aren’t a lot of conference-tournament upsets — but that’s an awfully long shot. In all likelihood, Gonzaga’s only route to the Big Dance is winning the WCC tourney, and that necessitates looking closely at the conference standings to figure out what their seed will be.

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For the first time since late November, none of my three favorite teams are ranked in the new AP poll out this morning. USC, previously #22, dropped out of the Top 25 after handing Arizona State its first conference win last night after an 0-14 start. The Trojans are now effectively #26, first in the “others receiving votes” category because #25 Alabama edged them by seven votes. Notre Dame is effectively #35. Gonzaga received no votes.

On the other hand, the coaches’ poll, which has been substantially more fond of Notre Dame than the AP poll for several weeks now, has the Irish ranked #23, with USC effectively #28. Again, Gonzaga has no votes.

The big story in the polls is that, with Florida’s drop from #1 to #3 after losing to Vanderbilt, Ohio State and Wisconsin are now neck-and-neck for the #1 spot, with the Badgers ahead by 19 points in the AP poll and the Buckeyes ahead by 16 points in the coaches’ poll. So this Saturday’s huge battle at Columbus between UW and tOSU will be not just #1 vs. #2, but in a sense, #1 vs. #1. :)

Also worth noting: Butler didn’t fall too far after losing to Southern Illinois, from #13/12 to #15 in the both polls. The Salukis moved up to #13 in the AP poll and #14 in the coaches’ poll. Both are behind #11/10 Nevada, the nation’s highest-ranked mid-major. Other ranked mid-majors: #14/13 Air Force and #21/22 BYU. Winthrop is effectively #31 and #29, respectively, in the two polls.

I’m with the New York Times on this one:

A disturbing recent phenomenon in Washington is that laws that strike to the heart of American democracy have been passed in the dead of night. So it was with a provision quietly tucked into the enormous defense budget bill at the Bush administration’s behest that makes it easier for a president to override local control of law enforcement and declare martial law.

The provision, signed into law in October, weakens two obscure but important bulwarks of liberty. One is the doctrine that bars military forces, including a federalized National Guard, from engaging in law enforcement. Called posse comitatus, it was enshrined in law after the Civil War to preserve the line between civil government and the military. The other is the Insurrection Act of 1807, which provides the major exemptions to posse comitatus. It essentially limits a president’s use of the military in law enforcement to putting down lawlessness, insurrection and rebellion, where a state is violating federal law or depriving people of constitutional rights.

The newly enacted provisions upset this careful balance. They shift the focus from making sure that federal laws are enforced to restoring public order. Beyond cases of actual insurrection, the president may now use military troops as a domestic police force in response to a natural disaster, a disease outbreak, terrorist attack or to any “other condition.”

Changes of this magnitude should be made only after a thorough public airing. But these new presidential powers were slipped into the law without hearings or public debate. The president made no mention of the changes when he signed the measure, and neither the White House nor Congress consulted in advance with the nation’s governors.

There is a bipartisan bill, introduced by Senators Patrick Leahy, Democrat of Vermont, and Christopher Bond, Republican of Missouri, and backed unanimously by the nation’s governors, that would repeal the stealthy revisions. Congress should pass it. If changes of this kind are proposed in the future, they must get a full and open debate.

I’m not certain the law — or some portion of it — isn’t necessary. But things like this certainly shouldn’t be passed in the dead of night without any debate or discussion. That’s just indefensible, and it’s an excellent example of why public mistrust of the Bush Administration and the Republican ex-leadership in Congress is not simply a consequence of MSM propaganda and “Bush Derangement Syndrome.” There are those who suffer from BDS, and there is corrosive bias in the MSM, but there are also some very real reasons to mistrust this president and his party.

Three of my classmates and good friends, Toni Mardirossian, Kevin Moot and Jimmy Paulino, won the Region 8 championship of the National Trial Competition in Champaign, Illinois over the weekend. Congrats to them!! Couldn’t have happened to nicer trio of future lawyers. They’ll be heading to Houston next month for the national championship, from March 28-31. Good luck!

Also: I forgot to post about this previously, but law-school intramural team “Tainted Fruit,” led by Captain Meg Tierney (another fellow 3L and friend of mine), won the Women’s Indoor Soccer championship last week with an 17-11 victory. (I guess indoor soccer is a bit higher-scoring than regular soccer… heh.) In addition to Meg, the team members are: Meghan Brown, Erin Groeber, Kate McGinn, Kim Carpenter, Lauren Galgano, Sarah Moore, Jessica Laux, Danielle Loss and Kirsten Walker. Congrats to them, too!

UPDATE: And another thing! As noted in comments, 3Ls and regular blog readers Emily Chang and Seth Carmack (a damn nice guy, despite the fact he’s a Bruin :) won the Region 7 championship of the ABA Client Counseling Competition. They, too, advance to the national championship, also next month, also in Texas (but in this case, Dallas).

All hail NDLS! :)

Britney Spears appars to be pretty much falling apart.

After getting stuck in the snow and rescued by a trio of Butler fans, then having to brave the cold in an unexpectedly long walk from our eventual parking spot, just getting inside Hinkle Fieldhouse was a relief. But it soon became apparent that this was much more than just a warm building, and for that matter, much more than just a basketball arena. There was something special about this place, and there was going to be something special about this game.

Hinkle Fieldhouse veritably oozes history. According to Wikipedia, it was built in 1928, and was the largest basketball arena in the United States until the late 1950s. For decades, it hosted the Indiana state high-school basketball championships, and it’s where the climactic game of the movie Hoosiers was filmed — and where the actual game on which the movie was based took place. And of course, it’s where the Butler Bulldogs, who have a pretty respectable recent history themselves, play all their home games.

But Hinkle had never before played host to a matchup between two ranked teams, and had rarely if ever seen the sort of national attention that was descending upon it as gametime approached Saturday afternoon. And you could sense it in the air, somehow. It felt like exactly what it was: a national spotlight of unprecedented intensity focusing on a venue that had never really seen anything like this before, but was very much up to the challenge. Luke Winn described the scene well:

The atmosphere was nothing short of idyllic, as fans packed a 80-year-old basketball oasis in the middle of a Midwestern blizzard. They were standing in the balconies, which were adorned with advertising for establishments as Ray’s Trash Service and Hillyard: 1st in gym floor finishes. The sun poured in through the massive fieldhouse windows on the East side, illuminating the crowd, which was predominantly blue, but speckled with maroon pockets of boisterous Salukis fans.

Even in defeat, Butler coach Todd Lickliter appreciated the majesty of his surroundings: “Having this game created an atmosphere that was incredible. When you saw this crowd, when you saw the environment, when you felt it, you got to feel Hinkle Fieldhouse the way Hinkle should be. And you got to see it on national TV.”

Not just “the way Hinkle should be,” I’d add, but the way college basketball should be. Of course, you have to understand my perspective: most of the college basketball games I’ve seen in person have been at either the Sports Arena or the Joyce Center, both of which have all the disadvantages of an oldish facility without an ounce of Hinkle’s charm, and the others have been at soulless corporate venues like the Staples Center (Pac-10 Tournament), America West Arena (NCAA Phoenix Regional) and the Savvis Center (MVC Tournament). Although I grew up a UConn fan, I’ve never attended a game at Gampel Pavillion, and I certainly haven’t been to the sport’s legendary venues like Cameron Indoor, Assembly Hall, Allen Fieldhouse, etc. So the idyllic scene and electric atmosphere at Hinkle Fieldhouse were a revelation for me. Yeah, I’ve seen exciting games before, and yeah, they’ve involved teams that I cared more about. But this… this was college basketball.

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