Action/Reaction

BEVERLY HILLS (MI) –- It’s a law of physics: “For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.” My reactions to what’s happening might not always be ‘equal and opposite’ but what the heck, let’s get physical:

-- Flyer Fans everywhere had to be proud of the effort put forth by 2010 recruit Juwan Staten of Dayton Thurgood Marshall HS in the D-2 State Championship game. Juwan put up 28 points and dazzled the crowd with his scoring and playmaking in a losing effort vs. Akron SVSM HS, including #23 who offered him some advice after the game in this DDN video:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/m/con...id=17906133001

Well done, Juwan.

-- Congrats to former Flyer Anthony Grant, the new Head Coach at Alabama. Here’s an in-depth profile on him from the Tuscaloosa News:

http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/articl...89954&tc=yahoo

I assumed that there were 2 phone calls that preceded AG’s decision: one to Billy Donavan and another one to Don Donoher. But according to Andy Katz at ESPN.com, Grant never spoke to Donavan and he made his mind up to accept the Crimson Tide job before Billy Gillispie got the ziggy at Kentucky.

-- I am an admitted “Matrix” junkie. Loved all 3 of the movies…bought into the whole farfetched scenario hook, line and sinker, just like I did the entire Jedi culture in the “Star Wars” flicks.

I do have one question, tho. There are a lot of very intelligent folks in the trilogy: Morpheus, Smith, The Oracle and certainly The Architect –- hell, he built the whole enchilada, right? If they were all so smart why didn’t they know that Neo was “The One?” Nobody in the entire three movies walked up to Keanu’s character and said “Dude, did you know that if you rearrange the letters in your name, it spells “One?”

Just sayin’.

-- While driving to pick up Chinese food in Erie, PA over the weekend I went past one of the many motels that serve the summer vacation crowd there and it had a small wooden sign in front of it saying “Salesmen Welcome.” As someone who has been in sales all of my life, it gave me pause. I would imagine that it is an old sign, harkening back to the day when salesmen weren’t necessarily welcomed everywhere. I guess the motel is to be commended for opening their doors to salesmen when others might not have, but is this sign really necessary in the 21st century?

You tell me.

-- When I saw this story I just had to chuckle

http://www.sportsbybrooks.com/girl-f...dventure-23044

It reminded me of something eerily similar to this that happened when I was a kid. A bunch of us were playing in my backyard out by the clothesline when Tommy Carter who lived next door suddenly started sinking into the ground! Tommy was a bit of a chunk, but he wasn’t that fat! Turns out he stepped onto the top of an old weakened septic tank and it started to cave in. His screams and the terrified look on his face as the Earth gobbled him up were straight out of the 1950’s B horror movie “The Mole People”:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TjoZybJoatw

I guess you had to be there.

-- And yes, if you must know, I did walk out to the mailbox on Monday and look for my morning Detroit Free Press, only to find the box empty. Monday was the first day of the no-home-delivery/newsstand-only Detroit papers and I had already decided that this deal sucks and now I have proof. And as far as I can tell, there ain’t no goin’ back, either. If anything, I’m willing to bet that Gannett will eventually eliminate home delivery altogether before they ultimately take the Freep and the News out behind the barn and shoot ‘em both.

It sucks I tell ya.

-- I was fortunate enuf to learn the game of golf at a fairly early age from my dad and to develop a repeatable swing that keeps me on the short grass most of the time. Watching Charles Barkley’s golf swing on “The Haney Project” on The Golf Channel is just painful, there is no other word to describe it. I don’t know who to feel sorry for the most: Charles for having to live with the ridicule that comes from his abominable swing; or Haney for having to face the unenviable task of trying to fix it. Here’s the before and after:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FrQQH4ZcuhY

The sad part is that Chuck used to regularly shoot in the ‘70s.

-- “Son of Slick Rick” aka John Calipari to UK for megabucks. I can’t think of two parties who deserve each other more: the overly entitled, living in the past, Kentucky fans and the ultimate egomaniac head coach. Get ready for the massive stockpiling of players in Lexington to begin.

Two words for UD fans: Alex Carmona. ‘Nuf said.

-- Ironically, UD will be playing in Carmona’s native land during the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic. Gotta like the field so far:

http://www.daytondailynews.com/o/con...ers_in_pu.html

Notice that Doug Harris posted this blog item at 10:26PM. 46minutes later at 11:12PM, some troll chimes in with his disparaging opinion. Give it a rest, will ya.

That’s it “From the Swamp.”
You can email me at: swampy@udpride.com