NBA DIARY:
Dallas 89, Charlotte 84: the Mavericks have now won 8 games in a row. They're playing with a lot of confidence, and they're playing defense, and those are key. Again, there's no question that the additions of Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood through The Trade have added both those things. Key stats from last night: Dallas trails by 12 in the 3rd quarter. But they hold Charlotte to 31 points in the second half, and Jason Terry scores 13 of his 20 points in the 4th.
NCAA HOOPS DIARY:
But in sadder news, it was the UConn women 76, Notre Dame 51: UConn is just head and shoulders above everyone else, both offensively and defensively, and the Irish are no match for them. But then, no one is women's college hoops is, apparently. Everyone else is playing to be #2...to make it, at least, to the Final Four. And the Lady Irish still have a chance to do that, if they can put these losses behind them and focus. They battled in this game. But the 5 Irish starters at one point were 2 for 27 from the floor. UConn's defense is that good.
Can the Irish regroup, hope the NCAA tourney selection committee puts them in a different region than UConn, and still fight to achieve a trip to the Final Four? That's the question.
POLITICS AND ISSUE UPDATES:
Health care reform--Thomas Sowell today nails one of the big problems with the supposed "reforms" out there:
"What is the biggest complaint about the current medical-care situation? “It costs too much.” Yet one looks in vain for anything in the pending legislation that will lower those costs. One of the biggest reasons for higher medical costs is that somebody else is paying those costs, whether an insurance company or the government. What is the politicians’ answer? To have more costs paid by insurance companies and the government. Back when the “single payer” was the patient, people were more selective in what they spent their money on. You went to a doctor when you had a broken leg but not necessarily every time you had the sniffles or a skin rash. But, when someone else is paying, that is when medical care gets overused — and bureaucratic rationing is then imposed, to replace self-rationing."
Bingo. I see no reason to believe that any of these reforms will stop people from seeking any and all tests, no matter how unnecessary, nor that medical professionals will cease providing them--as long as someone else is paying for it.
