whether or not I will liveblog the national championship game tonight.

Why?  Well I'm tempted to take a trip up to Franklin Street in Chapel Hill.  If I do, and the Tarheels win, I definitely won't be here.   And you probably won't hear from me again until Tuesday night (a brother gotta recover).

I probably won't make the decision until the last minute.  Just check in anyway.

I mean, can you really blame me for not missing out on this kind of fun?


(Photo:  WRAL Channel Five)

I didn't think so.

And folks, that was only Saturday, when they came out 7,000 strong in a span of a half hour after UNC whored Michigan State.  They're expecting 20,000 plus for the victory party tonight.

*nods*  I think I'mma have to go.  Yeah.

(Photo:  Yahoo's The Contender Page)

First, I want to apologize for the last two weeks.  I haven't covered this show like I did at the beginning.  I watched Sergio vs. Najai, which was a decent contest, yet I was away from home refereeing a basketball tournament.  I completely missed last week's Peter vs. Miguel competition.  Although I saw the fight online, I didn't think it was right to write up a show that I didn't see.  Oh well.

The ironic thing about my reviewing absence was that there wasn't any kind of drama, as Ishe vs. Ahmed (which got me quite a few visitors, I might add.  Thanks for coming) was climatic, and Ahmed's defeat ended the drama for those two weeks.  No matter, because the drama got turned up a notch this week.  More on that later.

We start the show off with reactions to the returned Peter Manfredo's victory over Miguel Espino last week.  Peter's win marked the first victory for the East Coast, and that gave him and his teammates a boost going into this week.

We find out this week that the fighters had already met and had decided the matchups for the six remaining fighters who haven't fought.  Anthony Bosante didn't object to his predetermined opponent, Jimmy Lang, right in front of the guys, but during interview time he did have a problem with it.  He didn't think it was right that every other boxer was trying to decide his fight for him.  He promised a surprise if the West team won the mission and he had to make the decision.

With Peter's win, the East Coast gets their first reward, and it was to go to NBC Studios in Burbank to see the Tonight Show with Jay Leno.  Gallagher, the gym manager, took them to the show and to hang out with Leno afterwards.  The West Coast didn't like that, as it was the first time they had to stay home, and they had nothing to do.  All Jesse did was lay on the bed and complained about how boring it was.  Ishe said the reward was going to be a booster for the East Coast so they could continue to win.

This week's mission was the medicine ball race.  Set up on an overpass at a California Dam, the teams had to roll the medicine balls over to a spot just above the overpass, fill the nets with the balls, then use a rope to lift the balls up to the overpass to be stacked onto a pickup.  The team who stacks all of their balls into the pickup first wins.

The West started out REALLY shaky in this one, as they lost a lot of time when they would drop the net, because they had to climb up the dam's shield in order to get their net all the way down to refill.  The East had a pretty huge lead at the beginning, but they wouldn't place enough balls in the net each time, which means more trips.  That allowed the East to catch up, and the deciding factor was the last trip, as one of the East's medicine balls fell out of the net.  That gave the West Coast another victory.

Now it was drama time, as the official challenge was made.  Anthony stepped up from the West Coast to make the challenge, and everyone expected him to challenge Jimmy as they all planned.  However, Anthony challenged Brent instead, which angered both Jimmy and Anthony's West Coast teammates.  Jimmy walked off, accusing Anthony of betraying him.  Anthony responded to both teams, saying he feeds his family and so he makes his own decisions. 

In doing this, Anthony pretty much alienated everyone.  Jimmy, Jesse, Ishe and most of the guys publicly rooted for Brent to win the fight.  Jesse called Anthony a coward and accused him of fighting what they considered the easier fighter in Brent.  Jimmy was a pretty tall guy with a long reach that would give Anthony problems.  That night, everyone went out to the bar while Anthony stayed home to keep his mind on the fight.  A number of them told Brent to knock him out.  Later on in the press conference, a number of guys called Anthony out again for ducking Jimmy, particularly Ishe.  Anthony responded, saying Ishe wasn't his promoter and he decided the fight based on what he felt was the best for his family.

Did you buy that?  I didn't either.

So the fight was Anthony Bonsante vs. Brent Cooper.  Anthony was from Shakopee, Minnesota while Brent is from Hermitage, Tennessee.  Both were journeymen, and had lost before.  They were two of the older ones in the competition, as Anthony was 34 and Brent was 31.  Anthony was a single dad with two kids, Brittany and Derek.  Brent is married but doesn't have any kids.

The next morning Ishe and Brent held a small bible study session, and Brent talked about his faith and how everything he does was through God's will.  He was confident that God wanted him to win the fight and to eventually be the winner of The Contender.  I found it interesting that he knew what God actually wanted, but anyways...

Anthony meanwhile, was a homesick man, as he was breaking down everytime he talked about his kids and talked to them on the phone.  As he was in his locker room during pre-fight his mom had surprised him by bringing the kids with her to see him fight, and he immediately broke down once he saw them.  It was truly a touching moment.  Anthony promised to win the fight.

Many celebrities were at the fight, as usual.  Vin Diesel, Burt Reynolds, and Mario Lopez were all on hand to see this one.  Stallone tries to make every fight a star-studded affair, which is a plus.  When Anthony came out of the dressing room for the fight, both teams stayed quiet and didn't say a word or move a muscle.  You could tell who they were rooting for.  His kids cheered, which was the only ones that really mattered for him.

Previously, Sugar Ray Leonard hyped up Brent's handspeed, as he sparred with him earlier.  He was right; Brent had good handspeed, but the problem was he was only hitting air.  Anthony's punches were right on target, however, and he came after Brent with straight jabs that he never blocked.  I wish I could see the CompuBox numbers, because it seemed like Anthony landed about 60% of his punches, and they all were power punches.  At one point in the first round it looked like Anthony would stop Brent quickly, but Brent finished with a bit of aggression at the bell, which got Jesse's approval.

With the way Brent finished the round, Leonard thought Anthony may have punched himself out.  Brent came out to Round 2 pretty strong, getting a couple of hooks that knocked Anthony off balance.  He stood toe to toe with him for a few seconds until Anthony stepped back and circled the ring.  Once again Leonard felt Anthony was fatigued and Stallone thought he could lose the round due to his stalling.

That's when it happened.  Anthony counterpunched Brent by unleashing a straight left jab that completely tore open Brent's eye.  From that moment on it was Anthony's round, as he unleashed a fury that eventually closed his eye, and was sure to impair Brent for the rest of the fight.

The writing on the wall was clear, and Brent's wife nor Ishe could help Brent for what was coming, as Round 3 was all Anthony.  Anthony threw hooks and jabs that hurt Brent, and it was obvious that he couldn't defend himself early into the round.  Many people called for the ref to stop the fight, which he eventually did.  It was the first ref stoppage of the show, and it was pretty brutal.

Ishe and Jesse, who have been outspoken throughout the whole show, didn't like it one bit.  Jesse told Stallone that it was an example of someone taking the easy way out.  Ishe was steamed, and he now wanted a piece of Anthony to avenge Brent's loss.

Brent was hurt, both physically and mentally, but his faith wasn't.  He just rationalized it as something that wasn't in God's plan.  Stallone talked to him and wished him well, and afterwards he hung up his gloves.  Anthony celebrated in the ring

Next week, the drama continues, as I'm sure Anthony will have problems with the rest of the fighters.  They've teased a big confrontation, and I wouldn't be surprised if we see Stallone bend the rules a little and let two fighters that have already fought get into the ring.  Anthony vs. Ishe perhaps?

We'll see what happens.

My Other Contender Posts:

1.  The Contender Quarterfinals:  Ishe vs. Sergio
2.  The Contender, Episode Eight:  Jimmy vs. Joey
3.  The Contender Episode Seven:  Juan vs. Tarick
4.  The Contender Episode Six:  Anthony vs. Brent
5.  The Contender Episode Three:  Ishe vs. Ahmed

On April Fools Day (how ironic) Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich signed an "emergency rule" (aka royal decree) ordering pharmacies to provide contraceptives for women:

"Our regulation says that if a woman goes to a pharmacy with a prescription for birth control, the pharmacy or the pharmacist is not allowed to discriminate or to choose who he sells it to or who he doesn't sell it to," Blagojevich said. "The pharmacy will be expected to accept that prescription and fill it ... No delays. No hassles. No lectures."

Fernando Grillo, head of the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation, said the emergency rule clarifies an existing requirement.

"This rule is in response, a very affirmative and strong response, that we will not tolerate pharmacies and drug stores in the state of Illinois not meeting their obligation to the women of this state in providing them good health care," Grillo said.

Of course, Grillo is spinning, because it isn't clarifying anything that wasn't already clear to begin with.  Blago wrote a law that expanded the existing rule to the pharmacies, and placed the burden of a woman's sexual responsibilities onto the pharmacist.

This rule was in response to a case in Chicago where a pharmacist refused to provide birth control pills to two women at the Osco Pharmacy in downtown Chicago.   According to the Chicago Sun-Times, the pharmacist didn't deny them the contraceptives outright; he only stated that he personally wouldn't sell the contraceptives to them, and asked if they would come back when another pharmacist was on duty.   Osco and the American Physicians Association defended the pharmacist, saying that he had a right to evoke the state's "conscious clause".

Blago however stated that the "conscious clause" only counted towards doctors, not pharmacists (as if pharmacists aren't medical personnel as well?), and evoked an order that forced every pharmacist to provide contraceptives whether they liked it or not.

But the decree didn't stop there.  The national media (AP, Washington Post, etc) didn't report this:

Under the emergency rule, if the contraceptive is not in stock, the pharmacy must order it or transfer the prescription to another local pharmacy of the patient's choice, Blagojevich said. If the pharmacist does not fill the prescription because of a moral objection, another pharmacist needs to be available to fill it without delay.

Hence, the woman's responsibilities are placed onto the pharmacist, despite his moral or religious objection.  If he isn't able to provide them the pills, he then has to find it for them.

It shouldn't be surprising that at the press conference announcing this mess (real player required) Blago was huddled around several members of the so-called women's rights and special interest groups from Illinois and Washington were all there to celebrate this declaration.  After all, Blago's their boy. 

And Blago also announced a probe into the incident, which could result in a heavy fine for Osco or possibly result in the store being shut down...all because of some broads who felt entitled to get birth control pills there and no where else.

Don't get me wrong; I'm for contraceptive use.  In fact, I wish people would use it more often, because there's enough bad ass kids in this world with terrible parents.  But I also believe in a business's right to reject a patient because of moral beliefs. 

Chicago's a big city.  You mean to tell me Osco was the only pharmacy to get what she wanted?  She couldn't wait for another pharmacist to get there to fill the prescription?  Businesses shouldn't be forced by the government to sell something because the governor wants to rub noses with the feminists.

Sexual responsibility lies with the two (or if you're a freak like that, more) people that are engaging in the sexual activity.  Period.  If you don't have protection, then don't have sex.  I don't see what's so hard to understand about that.  Instead, we're being led to believe that people are like some jacked-up rabbits that can't control themselves and get knocked up on impulse.  I'm not buying that. 

And the imposition of several state governments and the federal judiciary - forcing businesses to provide contraception, forcing insurance companies to include contraceptives in their medical coverage - isn't helping a thing.  In fact, it's hurting the medical industry more than it's helping, because that's more costs you're placing on companies and more stress you're placing on people in the medical field.  People may see this as a little thing at first, but little things have a way of manifesting into big things.

It's no surprise that every two-bit leftist is advocating socialist health care, and more than likely if a Democratic president enters the White House, that will be their first major domestic goal.  If that happens, I can see a major exodus of people out of medical school and out of the health care profession entirely.

This is one of the issues that will make or break that goal.  Someone in Illinois needs to stand up to Blago and the feminist groups and tell them to get lost.  Hopefully it will be the pharmacist they have tried to do a job over.  I would like to see this go to the Supreme Court.

It's time.  Winner takes on Illinois.

Carolina must neutralize MSU's speed and athleticism by playing tough perimeter defense against their backcourt.  MSU needs Paul Davis to have the game of his life, and force McCants and Felton to have a tough night from the field.

Tipoff will start in about another half hour or so.

8:53:  Tipoff starts, and Carolina's already got two fouls in the game.  However, Michigan State seems a little off balance at the defensive end, and if that happens throughout, Carolina will score 90 tonight.  Tied at four.

9:00:  MSU's quickness is getting the best of Carolina on the offensive end, but their post game so far isn't working.  Meanwhile, May hasn't been able to establish anything yet in this game, and it's important to get him started early, just like he did against Wisconsin in the Elite Eight.  8-6 MSU.

9:03:  North Carolina at it's finest:  making plays that no other team can possibly make.  A huge alley by McCants wakes up the crowd.  Next time down court (after a block forces the turnover), Felton gets a great pass to Noel for a nice dunk.  Maybe they can deal with MSU's athleticism.  The only problem I see so far is that they're allowing MSU more attempts under the basket than they should.  13-12 UNC.

9:12:  If you like an athletic contest, this will be the game for you.  Beautiful plays by both teams.  Sean May hit a basket in the paint and gets the foul, but misses the ft.  He's still a bit rusty, and takes a break on the bench.  A McCants three makes it a four point lead with less than 10 left in the half.

9:21:  MSU's rebounding is dogging UNC, which I'm sure surprises a lot of people.  Just as soon Carolina gets some kind of leverage, MSU comes roaring back and starts hitting.  Sean May also seems fatigued by the pace of the game.  A 7-0 run puts MSU back on top, 27-25 with 5:39 left in the half.

Let get things started.

Louisville's bringing in the better coach and better front court, while Illinois is bringing the nation's best record and the best backcourt in the nation.

Tipoff's in a few minutes.

6:12:  Illinois starts out doing what they do best; working the perimeter.  In fact, they never feed it inside the arc in the first two possessions.  They hit their first two threes, but Louisville gets an inside layup and a three as well.  8-5 Illi.

6:20:  Louisville's plan is clear:  work the paint.  Play the post game, and control the boards.  The problem is, they're leaving themselves open the fast break transition, and Dee Brown made them pay for it with a three on the baseline.  13-9 Illinois.

6:31:  Illinois goes on a scoring drought, but Louisville simply can't capitalize.  The Cards are trying to execute too many complicated baskets in the paint, and can't hit anything outside.  They get within two, but Illinois's fast break once again gets them a basket.  Before that score Illinois went three minutes without one, but still maintained the lead.  19-15 Illinois with 9 minutes left in the half.

6:37:  Illinois is dead cold now, and they can't get anything going.  Meanwhile, Louisville still controlling the boards on both ends.  But they are getting a little too aggressive, and are racking up the fouls.  An O'Bannon three ties this game at 22 with 6:39 left in the half.

6:45:  Dee Brown is hot, and Francisco Garcia isn't.  In fact, Garcia is 1-7 from the field, which is hurting Louisville.  Dee Brown hit another three to regain their lead.  Louisville answers, but here's another three by Illi's Jack Ingram to lead by four with less than four minutes to go in the half.

6:53:  If Louisville ever starts hitting baskets, they'll take control of this game, because they're able to keep grabbing rebounds.  Lucky for them, the officials are calling the game their way. 

Luther Head gets wide open for a three, which gives Illinois their biggest lead.  Louisville gets a three point play on the other end, but other than that there isn't any considerable execution on either end.

Halftime.  Illinois 31, Louisville 28.  Louisville can't hit only one from the field in six minutes and expect to win this game.

7:25:  Both teams come out blasting, as O'Bannon comes out of the locker room with a three, and follows that with two fts to give Louisville their first lead of the game. 

But the spotlight then turns to Illi's Roger Powell, who hits a three, then comes back the next possession and dunks an offensive rebound off of a three pter he missed, and then hits another basket in the paint.  Someone btter get a hold of him.  Louisville is still hanging tough, though.  Illi leads 38-37.

7:31:  Powell keeps blasting, as he's hit Illinois's last 12 of 14 points.  I'm sure no one saw that.  I'm starting to like the offensive pace of both teams in this half.  Luther Head comes alive with a three.  Louisville needs to step up their perimeter defense.  48-44 Illinois with 12:08 left.

7:40:  Louisville isn't as effective on the boards with this zone as they were in the first half.  A few times there wasn't anyone under the basket trying to grab a rebound, and Illinois has had more sucess in the interior.  Louisville improves their shot selection, and can slash the boards.  Roger Powell is dominating the second half though.  52-49 Illini.

7:45:  Luther Head comes alive, hitting back to back from downtown.  Petino takes a timeout.  Methinks that's the last time we'll see a zone from Louisville in this game.  Illinois has their biggest lead, 58-49 with less than seven minutes left in the game.

7:51:  The clock is now running out on Louisville, as they have went scoreless in the last four and a half minutes.  This isn't a team that can put points on the board in a quick amount of time.  That's what they might have to do in order to get out of this margin.  61-51 Illinois with 5:17 left.

8:00:  Luther Head is turning the lights out, but Louisville isn't giving up hope yet.  It will take a strong defensive presence for them from here on out to come back from this deficit, and that's something we really haven't seen from them today.

If it was up to me, no college basketball team would ever play zone in the NCAA tournament.  I haven't seen an effective one yet.  Illinois leads comfortably after leading by as much of 13, 64-55 with 3:11 left.

8:07:  Well, you can't go on scoring droughts throughout the game like Louisville did and think you're going to win a basketball game of any kind.  It wasn't like Illinois put a ton of points on the board, or that they played great defense.  Louisville just couldn't put the ball in the hole.  Just way too many off shots throughout the game.

Meanwhile, Illinois stepped up and made adjustments, and that allowed Roger Powell and Luther Head to control the second half.  Once the 10:00 mark came, Louisville should have just walked out of the arena, because their performance was simply awful.

End of the game, and Illinois advances to the National Championship Game, 72-57.

North Carolina vs. Michigan State is next.  Click here to go to that post, which will be liveblogged as well.

I will be all over it.

So if you're at work but near a computer, stop on by.  More than likely I'll update every ten minutes after tipoff.  Even if you're watching it, stop in and take a look after the game to see how I called it, and don't be afraid to comment whether you agree or not.

I'll be ready.  Will you?

(Source:  AP/Yahoo)

I'm not a Catholic, but I haven't known another pope in my lifetime.  In fact, I was born four months before he became pope.

He is more than just a religious leader.  He is one of the most influential leaders of global politics, and he's traveled all over the world.  He stood up against Communism in his native country, Poland.  Of course, there's several times he's disagreed with American policies, but he's always been a man of principle and of conviction.  Just as I stated when Ronald Reagan died, this is a man who's lived a full life and deserves all of the blessings that are to be bestowed upon him in the afterlife.

When you look men like these, it can make you feel guilty, because those men oftentimes have done more good in one day than most of us do all of our lives.  The people they touch, the hope they've brought to the hopeless is unparalled.  You see thousands of people around the world holding vigils for the Pope, and then you say to yourself, "What have I done today?"

There have indeed been some men that aren't deserving of the praise they get in life or death.  But Pope John Paul II isn't one of them.  May his pain be light as he ends his majestic journey through life.

I was going to add this as an update to my previous Berger post, but this was too important to go unseen on my front page.

The Washington Post has the inside scoop of Sandy Berger's criminal act.  As part of the plea bargain, Sandy Berger admitted this:

Rather than misplacing or unintentionally throwing away three of the five copies he took from the archives, as the former national security adviser earlier maintained, he shredded them with a pair of scissors late one evening at the downtown offices of his international consulting business.

The document, written by former National Security Council terrorism expert Richard A. Clarke, was an "after-action review" prepared in early 2000 detailing the administration's actions to thwart terrorist attacks during the millennium celebration. It contained considerable discussion about the administration's awareness of the rising threat of attacks on U.S. soil.

Archives officials have said previously that Berger had copies only, and that no original documents were lost. It remains unclear whether Berger knew that, or why he destroyed three versions of a document but left two other versions intact. Officials have said the five versions were largely similar, but contained slight variations as the after-action report moved around different agencies of the executive branch.

The question is, how different were the variations?  Something interesting had to be on those documents for Berger to shred them.  Of course, we won't know what that is.  So much for it being an "honest mistake".

And what will Berger get for all of this?  A slap on the wrist:

Under terms negotiated by Berger's attorneys and the Justice Department, he has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine and accept a three-year suspension of his national security clearance.

Not surprised, but very disappointed.  Berger should be behind bars, and should never receive national security clearance ever again. 

I don't see why the Justice Department accepted a plea to begin with.  Berger was obviously guilty, and they were never going to see those missing documents again.  So what did the government get out of this?

I suppose Hindrocket's rant last night was right on the money.

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UPDATE:  I've been Instalanched.  Instapundit readers - or if you're being referred from somewhere else, as I've done quite a few trackbacks this morning - welcome, and I hope you'll click the "home" link at the bottom of the post and look at some of the other posts I've written this week.  Maybe some of you will become regular readers.

Previous posts:

1.  Sandy Berger is busted.

Well, at least there is one bright thing to happen in an otherwise sad day.  Clinton's former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger will plead guilty to taking classified documents from the National Archives.  He's expected to appear in federal court Friday.

I discussed this story last summer (see "Sandy Berger is busted" from my best posts on the sidebar).  Even to this day Berger has not brought back some of the materials that he stole from the National Archives last summer.  Berger took the notes and documents and placed them into his pockets and pants, which bore the name of the scandal, "TrouserGate".  At the time, Berger was an advisor to John Kerry.

Now I'm not stupid; it's very doubtful that Berger ever serves a lick of time in jail.  I want to know exactly what he took, however.  According to the AP, Berger took information "related" to a 2000 report on how the Clinton Administration reacted to terrorism prior to the millenium bombings.  I've always thought there was more to this story than we were being told.

Finally, the AP snuck this little tidbit in:

Many Democrats, including former President Clinton, suggested politics were behind disclosure of the probe only days before the release of the Sept. 11 commission report, which Republicans feared would be a blow to President Bush's re-election campaign.

Of course, this was nothing but a hollow accusation, but why should that stop the AP from mentioning it anyway?