Government Shutdown is the Wrong Move

Tea Party Express chairman Amy Kremer argued against a government shutdown as members of Congress try to reach agreement on a federal budget for the final six months of the fiscal year.

The 87 new members of the House Republican caucus are split on whether to accept a budget measure that cuts government spending by less than the $61 billion that the Republicans approved in February. Some who are aligned with the tea party movement are calling for a partial government shutdown rather than agree to something closer to the $33 billion in budget cuts being offered by Democrats.

At a Monitor sponsored breakfast for reporters on Tuesday, Ms. Kremer said a shutdown is not the right path. “I don’t think it is a good thing to shut down our government. But I do think they need to do what they said they were going to do. They [Republican members of Congress] said they were going to cut $100 billion” in federal spending, she said. The $100 billion reduction target was for the fiscal year that ends Sept. 30.

Later in her comments, Kremer added another cautionary note about a shutdown saying, “But shutting down our government, defaulting on our debt interest rates will go up, that sort of thing. I don’t think that is the right thing to do.”

Rabbit Out Of a Hat

It may be a bit early to call it the Miracle of the Racing Rain, but credit Auto Club Speedway president Gillian Zucker and her staff for pulling a rabbit from a hat over the weekend.

Years from now, it could very well be said that Sunday's crowd at the Auto Club 400 estimates of which range from 75,000 (ours) to 88,000 (NASCAR's) saved racing in Southern California.

Zucker and ACS put together an aggressive marketing program to stem the dwindling numbers at Fontana. What made the number even more significant was the improvement over that of the last race at the track about five months ago.

There was no doubt Zucker and the track were on the hot seat. NASCAR and track owner International Speedway Corp. had already agreed to pull one date from the facility, and there was a question as to whether major-league racing could thrive in the market.

Well, the answer is yes. While Sunday's crowd won't compare with those at NASCAR strongholds such as Daytona, Talladega, Bristol or Michigan, it will rank higher on the list than many others. That should silence the critics who've relished in bashing the West Coast for its lack of attendance at Sprint Cup races.

Of course we excluded Las Vegas from the list. Much like the open wheel Long Beach Grand Prix, is it about the racing or the opportunity to have a great time?

As much as we, or even you, hate to admit it, perhaps Kevin Harvick has been right all along. The winner of Sunday's close finish, Harvick has long maintained that tracks should be held accountable for their attendance, that there should be a demand for a second race rather than follow traditional habits.

Harvick, who just might be angling for a shorter or more diverse schedule, believes that a track should sell out one race before adding a second. In this economy, that's solid thinking. And, to his credit, Harvick put his back into the ACS efforts with various promotional activities centering around his native Bakersfield.

But before we all get swept away by the euphoria of Sunday's attendance, let's remember that it was just one race. Along Harvick's line of thinking, the speedway is now faced with the challenge of attracting more for the 2012 race.

Will it result in the return of a second date any time soon? That's to be determined by NASCAR sometime in the future, but Sunday's effort was a great start.

It was with a certain amount of sadness to understand that Mike Sweeney has decided to end his Major League Baseball career. We have been fortunate to see Big Mike Sweeney's son play the game since 1987, give or take a year, and the deposition rarely changed over the years.

Sweeney enjoyed playing the game, regardless of the level. He carried himself with a tremendous amount of grace that rubbed off on others, and he never forgot his roots just ask the fans who won a Sweeney autographed baseball at a Fan Appreciation Day game at Ontario High School.

And that swing he learned from his father: it was a beauty to watch.

Whether Sweeney makes the Hall of Fame, he'll always be recognized as a man of honor, conviction and character. We'll wish him well in his retirement.

It went unnoticed by many, but certainly not in the running world, that Cal Poly Pomona's Daniel Rojas was among the leading U.S. performers at the recent L.A Marathon. Rojas, who ran at Mt. San Antonio College before transferring over the hill to Cal Poly, posted an impressive time of 2:20.12 to finish 10th in his marathon debut.

We have, on previous occasions, been rather harsh on Cal Poly Pomona athletic director Brian Swanson about the merry go round of head coaches in the women's basketball program.

He wants it to stop as well. Therefore, he removed the interim tag from Danelle Bishop's title Monday. Not exactly a bad move, since she took the Broncos to the Elite Eight this season.

Now, all the pressure is squarely on Bishop's shoulders, as it should be. It's her program to run, her team to build, her games to win. Perhaps the move will bring tranquility to a program with rich history.
It won't be official until the Angels say so, but Upland High School graduate Michael Wing is apparently headed for San Bernardino. At least that's what dad Damon Wing is hoping for. The younger Wing is beginning his fifth season of pro ball, being drafted out of Upland in 2007.

Auto Club Speedway, part 2: The crowd was certainly a story, but so was the effort by the operations crew from the speedway and NASCAR.

Those arriving early never figured the race would get off on time when they were greeted by a steady drizzle. The wet stuff stopped at 10 a.m., though, and within two hours the track was dry enough to race.

That was crucial, considering "weepers," water seeping through the racing surface, were an issue Friday. It was good work by those involved.

James Campbell, a Korean War veteran, is the example of good things coming to those who wait. At 79 years and 6 months, Campbell rolled his first perfect game recently at Victor Bowl in Victorville, part of a 139-300-181 series.

Campbell makes the commute to Victorville from Barstow, where he resides at the veterans home. Reportedly, he's told friends he'll continue to make the 80-mile round trip as long as gas is under $5 a gallon.

A 10 year Navy veteran, Campbell was a gunner on an aircraft that flew off the USS Princeton in Korea. He's averaging 174 in the Hesperians League and 185 in his Saturday League, down from the 202 he averaged when he was 69.
So Jim Tressel's paper trail at Ohio State indicates he might have been loosely playing with the truth, again. Wonder when the full story will eventually leak out?

If I were running the NCAA, and I'm glad I'm not, I would tack on another five Big 10 games to the five that Ohio State already suspended Tressel. The governing body chased Jerry Tarkanian for years, but it was never proved that he lied to them at all.

David Climer: Bruce Pearl Carried too Much Baggage

This is pure damage control. By firing its most successful and charismatic men's basketball coach in the last 30 years, the University of Tennessee is attempting to minimize sanctions against the school.

Pearl, 51, and members of his Vols coaching staff were responsible for 10 alleged major rules violations uncovered by a 22-month NCAA investigation. Foremost among those alleged violations was Pearl's lying to investigators and then attempting to influence others to give misleading information.

If Pearl remained at UT, heavy punishment from the NCAA was all but certain. With Pearl out, UT is banking on less sweeping sanctions.

What's next? The list of potential candidates to succeed Pearl is all over the map. It includes everyone from Butler Coach Brad Stevens to Boston Celtics assistant Lawrence Frank (a former UT assistant under Kevin O'Neill) to Belmont Coach Rick Byrd, a UT graduate.

Other college coaches whose names are being mentioned include Chris Mooney of Richmond, Buzz Williams of Marquette, Shaka Smart of Virginia Commonwealth, Mark Turgeon of Texas A&M, Chris Mack of Xavier and Cuonzo Martin of Missouri State.

Tennessee has plenty of company among schools that are looking for coaches. There are openings at such high-profile programs as Arkansas, Oklahoma, Georgia Tech, North Carolina State and Providence.

Program has improved

Even with the likelihood of a loss of scholarships or a postseason ban, Pearl leaves the job much better than he found it in March 2005. Due in large part to his work, the men's basketball program is no longer considered a second-class citizen on campus.

Facilities have been greatly upgraded on his watch. Pearl has proved UT can pursue and sign top-tier recruits. His two signees from the early recruiting period this year, Chris Jones and Kevin Ware, are ranked among the top 100 prospects in the nation by most recruiting services.

Even with the NCAA residue he is leaving behind, Pearl is a tough act to follow in terms of success and personality. He took UT men's basketball to unprecedented heights — a No. 1 national ranking in February 2008, six straight NCAA Tournament berths and a run to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2010. Along the way, Pearl generated interest in the program with his personality and salesmanship.

He promoted UT in ways seldom seen in big-time college athletics. He appeared at a Lady Vols game with his bare chest painted orange. He paid homage to legendary Vols Coach Ray Mears by donning an orange blazer for games against rival programs Kentucky and Vanderbilt. He orchestrated impromptu pep rallies before big games.

Vols fans came along for the ride. With season-ticket sales mushrooming, UT initiated a $19 million renovation of Thompson-Boling Arena and added the $16 million Pratt Pavilion practice facility alongside.

He had it all success, a lucrative contract, popularity. And he threw it all away by lying about a relatively minor rules violation.

He misled investigators

On June 14, 2010, an NCAA investigator asked Pearl if basketball prospect Aaron Craft had attended a cookout at Pearl's home during an unofficial visit to UT on Sept. 20, 2008. Pearl told the investigator that Craft had not attended.

In fact, the NCAA had possession of a photo of Pearl and Craft that had been taken at Pearl's home. It was proof of a rules violation because prospects who are on unofficial visits are not allowed to have off campus contact with members of the coaching staff.

Pearl later requested and received another meeting with NCAA investigators at which time he acknowledged providing false information and corrected his testimony.

But the damage was done. And it was compounded when John Craft, the recruit's father, told investigators he believed Pearl had tried to influence his statements to the NCAA enforcement staff.

Even so, UT officials initially stood behind Pearl. At a Sept. 10, 2010, news conference, UT Knoxville Chancellor Jimmy Cheek and Athletics Director Mike Hamilton voiced support of Pearl and indicated he would remain Vols coach even if the NCAA suspended him for a year.

But things changed when the NCAA notice of allegations cited Pearl and associate head coach Tony Jones for the secondary violation of having a two- to three-minute conversation with basketball prospect Jordan Adams during Adams' junior year in high school.

Now comes word that Pearl continued to play by his own rules. On Monday, Cheek issued a statement saying "several instances have occurred that have caused us to change our position."

In his statement, Hamilton noted that there has been a rules violation this month, as well as "a number of more recent non NCAA related incidents" that ultimately led to Pearl's firing.