The Chicago Bulls are looking pretty good after defeating the Atlanta Hawks last night in Georgia. MVP Derrick Rose had another balanced game, scoring 33 points, and dishing out 9 assists. On the upside was that forward/center Carlos Boozer finally looked like he was worth the millions that the Bulls showered on him, with a double-double (11 points – 12 rebounds).
On the one hand, many NBA fans are glad to see Kobe’s Lakers sent home in dramatic fashion – swept by the Dallas Mavericks. The final game wasn’t even close – the Lakers lost by over 30 points and all they could do in the fourth quarter was give a couple of hard fouls that led to ejections and penalties from the league.
(By the way, when did Detroit Pistons circa 1989 style basketball make a reappearance? The Pacers played basketball like mixed martial arts against the Bulls in the first round; and now the once proud Lakers looked like the were out to hurt someone. There was no place for that style back when the Pistons were winning championships, and there’s no place for it now.)
The Mavericks will play the winner of the Cinderella Series – Memphis and Oklahoma City; both young teams with up-and-coming stars in small markets. The series is currently tied at 2 games apiece with Game 5 tonight in Oklahoma City.
Back in the East, the Bulls may be facing the Heat unless the Celtics can get their act together. Most people thought that momentum was on the Celtics side for game 4 despite the Celts being down 2 games to 1. They had defeated the Heat in Boston decisively in Game 3 in Boston, and many expected tonight’s Game 5 to be tied at 2 games apiece. But, for once, the Heat showed up in the late stages of the game. LeBron James scored some big baskets, as did Dwayne Wade and the team everyone outside of Miami wants to lose, is now one game away from the Eastern Conference Finals.
I’m not even an NBA fan anymore, and I want to see the Heat lose, and so, the Celtics MUST win tonight or their season is over. No matter who wins that series, it would be great to see the Bulls win another championship, the first without Michael and Scottie. But it would seriously suck if the “Three Amigos” – James, Wade and Bosh, could show that you can win an NBA Championship.

The Indignant Family spent last weekend in New Orleans at the Jazz and Heritage Festival, and we had a great time – warm weather, terrific music, good food, run drinks; the zoo and aquarium for the kids. It was a good time to be away. Now, back to the world…

In our hotel room last Sunday night, I saw on my iPhone that President Obama was making a surprise message to the nation at 10:30 PM. Well, I had been out with the family at Jazz Fest all day, so I didn’t make it, so I didn’t hear about the death of Osama bin Laden until much later..
We didn’t get a newspaper under the door Monday morning, and kids programs were on television, so it was a text from my old college roommate Levi Moore that let me know what happened. He asked whether I though the President’s reelection chances were improved as a result, and I said I did, but then I went online and read what had happened, and when I saw that bin Laden had been killed in a fire fight, but that U.S. forces, after taking DNA evidence, had buried bin Laden in the sea in accordance with Islamic rules.
The first thing I wrote back was that the birthers will not believe bin Laden’s death, and that many critics will say – “who cares about Islamic law? Bring him back and have him strung up for all to see.” (Visions of the pictures of blacks hanging after lynchings with bemused white people standing around the body came creeping into my mind.)
But the President batted 1.000 on this one. First, he order bin Laden to be hunted down, and when more solid intelligence became available last year, it was kept under wraps. Then, when validated, the President kept the information from Pakistan (where bin Laden had been hiding all this time) and sent in the Navy SEALS.
Afterward, he addressed the American people with the news, and has made the correct decision not to publish photos of the dead terrorist, in part because bin Laden had been shot in the head, and the pictures would be gruesome. Also, as Mr. Obama said, there was no need for a victory lap with the evidence. Even though our baser nature might want to counteract the images of Arabs on Al-Jazeera dancing in the streets over American dead, we have to take the high ground.
Now, some are saying that bin Laden was unarmed and should have been captured; that only one person killed was actually armed. Michael Moore, which whom I usually agree, has said told CNN’s Piers Morgan that, while he is glad bin Laden is gone, America “lost something of [its] soul” in killing him without putting him on trial. Moore and some of the conspiracy theorists might come around to the idea that the reason the pictures are being kept secret is that bin Laden was assassinated, maybe even shot in the back of the head execution style.
I’m sorry, but I don’t care. While I have never agreed with the “War of Terror,” we are in a state of war with Al Qaeda, and in war, people die. And why delay the inevitable – bin Laden was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, millions of dollars were going to be spent on a trial, lots of emotions would have resurfaced, bin Laden would have used the news media to spread more of his 14th Century philosophy. I’m a Liberal and I’m glad he’s gone, and I don’t care that we didn’t go in and arrest him.
As most people on all sides of the political spectrum have, I have disagreed with the current administration on issues, but this administration is still much better than a McCain or worse, another Bush Presidency. But this time, President Obama has made every move correctly.

Long time readers know that I pay little attention to the NBA and haven’t for over a decade. The current play bores me. But with the Bulls surprising everyone, not by being good – everyone figured they’d be good, but for amassing 60 victories, even I had to take notice.
They had a tough time with the Pacers, which is not surprising to me because Indiana played like a mix of the old Bad Boy Detroit Pistons of the 1980s and mixed martial arts fights. They elbowed people in the throat, generally hacked and tripped.. The Bulls went on to lose the first game to Atlanta and as always, the locals got crazy. Maybe it’s our years of losing, but Chicago fans do not react well to adversity.
The Bulls came back to even the series and game 3 is tonight. The Bulls are the better team, and if they play solid defense, they should be able to win.
Elsewhere in the league – there’s lots of fun and a little angst. First, the fun. The Spurs have already been knocked out, and while one must give them credit for being so good for so long. Duncan and company are boring, especially as personalities. Better yet, the Lakers are down 2-0 to Dallas. I have no great love for the Mavericks especially due to cry baby, dot com billionaire owner Mark Cuban, but even a former Laker fan like myself is tired of them winning. I’m tired of Kobe, and while I appreciate the “Zen Master,” Coach Phil Jackson, I hope the Mavs can finish them off and send Jackson off to retirement.
I must say that I’m happy for Oklahoma City and Memphis, each of whom are small market teams who moved from elsewhere and are having their best postseasons ever. Either team is worthy of advancing.
On the angst side, seeing the aged Celtics sweep the Knicks, I thought that the Heat would be toast, but Miami has a 2-0 lead. As I said above, I haven’t cared about the Nba in a very long time, but even I witnessed the LeBron James travesty last summer and hate the Heat. As a sports fan, you cannot just buy a championship, even if you’re the late George Steinbrenner. The Celtics need to send LeBron home – all they have to do is get ahead and he will shrink like he did last year.

Despite the Blackhawks being eliminated, I still care about who wins the Stanley Cup. The first thing that I do is pick out who I don’t want winning, and at the top of that list are the dreaded hated Red Wings. I hate them as the top of the site shows, and they face the same problem that the Hawks showed in the first round of this year’s playoffs, losing the first three games. Let’s hope that the Red Wings don’t show the Hawks’ resiliency by coming back to win three straight to win a Game 7.
But the Red Wings are playing San Jose, and every year they have a collective heart attack in the playoffs – either losing in the first round, which they didn’t do this year, or gag as soon as the going gets tough (like last year against the Blackhawks). Let’s hope they keep the pressure on Detroit and end this early. They only drawback is that the Sharks have Stanley Cup goaltender Annti Niemi and already, stupid hockey writers are saying that this was part of the reason the Hawks lost. Corey Crawford played exceptionally well, and Niemi wasn’t the difference.
Next, I have to root against Vancouver – they knocked out the Hawks, and it has developed into a tidy little hatred/rivalry. I know they had the most points in the league, and there is the argument that there is something to losing in seven games to the eventual Stanley Cup Champion, but it hasn’t done anything for Nashville this year, who gave the Hawks all they could handle last year (although the series did not go seven).
The other team I don’t want to see win is Philadelphia. They were dirty in last year’s final and while they have another 2010 Blackhawks Kris Versteeg, I don’t want them to win, and they are down 3-0 to the Bruins. Last year, of course, the Flyers lost the first three to Boston and came back to win the series. I don’t think that will happen again.
The Cinderella team is Tampa Bay. They knocked out the number 1 seed, the Washington Capitals in four quick games after having surprised the Sidney Crosby-less Pittsburgh Penguins. They have Steven Stamkos, the best goal scorer in the league not named Ovechkin or Crosby, and they still have two proud veterans who remember when Tampa Bay won the hardware – Vincent Lecavlier and Martin St. Louis. It’s good to see them back contending after so many years.
So, reading back over what I just typed, I guess I’d be happier with either Boston on Tampa Bay winning Lord Stanley this year. Works for me!

The Huffington Post reported today that Charlie Gilmour, son of Pink Floyd guitarist David Gilmour has pleaded guilty to participating in a rampage during student protests that included an attack on a royal convoy last December 9th.
Thousands of students demonstrated against rising university tuition fees, with some protesters having broken away from the main demonstration attacked cars accompanying the Rolls-Royce of Prince Charles and his wife, Camilla.
Judge Nicholas Price warned the 21-year-old Gilmour that he could face jail, but he was granted bail until July to give him time to complete Cambridge University exams. The guilty plea to a violent disorder charge, he did not admit any specific act. Prosecution and defense lawyers will agree on the specifics by June 10. Honestly, however, he probably won’t go to jail unless they can prove that he did something specific.
Now, if Gilmour was protesting the plight of less fortunate students, then I’m proud of him. It’s not like he cares about money – his old man generated billions of dollars in his career with Pink Floyd (and honestly only needs to mount another tour to make millions more). If however, he was doing it just to blow off steam; or in a bout of youthful rebellion, then it’s harder to care.
It reminds me of when Bryan Ferry’s son got into trouble for protesting a ban on fox hunting. It was a spoiled kid protesting when told he can’t participate in his barbaric sport anymore.

My apologies to the readership. Travel, work and the Indignant Family have kept your friend and humble narrator away from the site. Back with a vengeance now.