Althouse: "The hated Blue Devils win a national championship, and literally the only thing written by Slate is how this teenager looks like Ted Cruz?"

April 7, 2015

"The hated Blue Devils win a national championship, and literally the only thing written by Slate is how this teenager looks like Ted Cruz?"

"Wow. Maybe time to find a new sportswriter who is not so propelled by this irrational hatred of a successful team (with the highest graduation rate of any other team in the Final Four), coached by the most successful individual of all time, from a university that does great things for the community where it is situated. And has he not watched any other basketball game to see nearly every player who ever dunks a basketball celebrate? Time to move on. Hate to break it to you, but Duke is NOT the hated program it was a decade ago. I know people who have stopped reading Slate because of the negativity. Tempting..."

Comment at an incredibly stupid Slate article titled "Duke Wins NCAA Championship Thanks to Heroics of Ted Cruz Look-Alike."

60 comments:

Euno844 said...: What, no
"You're watching the NCAA Championship game all wrong" article?; 4/7/15, 11:40 AM
David said...: The only place to find a really good Cruz look alike is a wax museum.; 4/7/15, 11:42 AM
Anonymous said...: Comment at an incredibly stupid Slate article...

"...but I repeat myself."; 4/7/15, 11:42 AM
Bob Ellison said...: ...a successful team (with the highest graduation rate of any other team in the Final Four...

They introduced three freshmen, one sophomore, and one senior in the starting five for Duke last night.

I don't think that's going to translate into the highest graduation rate. They're doing some funny math over there.; 4/7/15, 11:46 AM
Wince said...: Just imagine the reaction if Cruz wins the presidency.; 4/7/15, 11:46 AM
dreams said...: I like coach K, he seems like a nice guy and his record is proof that he is a great coach. Also, I like that he leans right politically which I found out this morning but I didn't want Duke to win and I agree with Bo Ryan that the refs were very bad. Basketball is very hard to officiate fairly and it seem to be getting harder.; 4/7/15, 11:47 AM
Mick said...: "Incredibly stupid" and Slate is belaboring the point. After all it is Usurper campaign headquarters.; 4/7/15, 11:48 AM
Left Bank of the Charles said...: The Wisconsinites get beaten by a Ted Cruz look-a-like. That's a bad omen for Scott Walker.; 4/7/15, 11:49 AM
Patrick said...: Everything You Know about Duke Basketball is Wrong, and Here's Why.; 4/7/15, 11:54 AM
Bob Ellison said...: Maybe they're using Stanford rules.; 4/7/15, 11:57 AM
Ann Althouse said...: This article is saying the kinds of things you say when you're watching at home. I understand the urge to say things like this. I frequently blurt out my opinions about who the different people look like, but I wouldn't consider writing an article about it unless I was making fun of myself.; 4/7/15, 11:58 AM
Sebastian said...: "irrational hatred of a successful team"

Pretty much sums up Prog writing about America.

"I don't think that's going to translate into the highest graduation rate. They're doing some funny math over there."

Indeed. D-III or the pros: everything else is a farce. Duke just does farce better. $6+ million can soothe anyone's conscience, but I do wonder what coach K really thinks.

Perhaps I heard more than he intended, but I thought coach K thanked Indianapolis a bit more emphatically than he had to.; 4/7/15, 12:00 PM
MadisonMan said...: "He thought he was watching a basketball game...and then he saw something incredible!"

(Click here!); 4/7/15, 12:03 PM
Julie C said...: I actually did make that comment about this kid to my husband last night.

I almost never watch basketball but watched this game to root for the Badgers solely because of my affection for Althouse.; 4/7/15, 12:05 PM
Sigivald said...: He wins a basketball game with one weird trick, and you'll never guess what happens next!

(Remember when Slate could even pretend to not be worthless?); 4/7/15, 12:05 PM
Anonymous said...: dreams said...
I like coach K, he seems like a nice guy and his record is proof that he is a great coach. Also, I like that he leans right politically which I found out this morning but I didn't want Duke to win and I agree with Bo Ryan that the refs were very bad

Whether or not you root for Duke, Coach K is both a great coach and does far better than most any of them in balancing BBall with character building and academics.

He comes from Catholic blue collar roots, educated at Catholic schools and West Point.

Both, I think provide a good explanation for his techniques, success and the quality of his program...; 4/7/15, 12:07 PM
m stone said...: If the three starting freshmen at Duke jump to the NBA after one year as reported in the Washington Post, Duke's graduation rate will take a hit.; 4/7/15, 12:11 PM
B said...: Those are all good things, but what about that time the Duke lacrosse team raped a stripper? That totally happened. Slate and everyone else told me so.; 4/7/15, 12:12 PM
Anonymous said...: They have to hate on Ted Cruz. Its going to be relentless now. They will hate on him in Sports Illustrated, women's magazines, nighttime drama television shows, etc. They must. It can't just be news outlets. It has to be regular tv like late night talk shows. The low information voter meme begins now.

Republicans like Ted Cruz and Sarah Palin need to figure out a way to combat this.

I like Instapundits idea of buying these things up but most of us don't have that kind of money.; 4/7/15, 12:19 PM
NorthOfTheOneOhOne said...: coached by the most successful individual of all time

Have they forgotten Dean Smith that fast?; 4/7/15, 12:24 PM
virgil xenophon said...: I would demur here somewhat about Coach K. Yes, he has all the positive attributes that all here have already mentioned, but he has one HUGE negative that, to my mind, as the son of a Hall of Fame BB coach and an ex coach as well, cancels out most of his positive attributes. To wit? He is a vicious ref baiter. He works the refs unceasingly from the initial tip-off until the buzzer sounds. John Wooden was the same. They wore refs down until, by the end of the game, almost all calls go their teams way--especially in key situations. Don't believe me? Chart the calls the next time Duke plays a team of its own calibre..

I cannot respect someone who uses such tactics..Such tactics go waaay beyond mere "gamesmaship"..they are out and out bullying beneath someone of Coach K's stature..; 4/7/15, 12:33 PM
traditionalguy said...: The game was fixed in the second half by the Refs refusing to call fouls on the Duke defenders blocking the Badger
Offense cutting through to set up shots.And then there was the 5 intentional wrong calls given to Duke to make their coach happy, all after he ordered it done at the end of the first half.

Everybody saw that. I have never seen it befor outside tha NBA.; 4/7/15, 12:46 PM
Big Mike said...: Grayson Allen looks like Ted Cruz? I guess all white guys look alike to Jeremy Stahl. Aside from similar chins, similar haircuts, and white skins, they aren't much alike. And Allen's skin is definitely lighter than Cruz's.

(Yes, I know Stahl is white. Doesn't matter.); 4/7/15, 12:53 PM
robother said...: You're all misreading the subtext -- this article is evidence of a Strange New Respect by Slate for Ted Cruz (and I would urge Scott Walker to point that out on the campaign trail--it's the Belt Way!).; 4/7/15, 12:59 PM
rehajm said...: Out of 11.57 million brackets filled out in ESPN.com’s Tournament Challenge, Romney is in 25,485th place -- good enough for the 99.98th percentile.

He could have been your current president.; 4/7/15, 1:02 PM
Wilbur said...: " I frequently blurt out my opinions about who the different people look like, but I wouldn't consider writing an article about it unless I was making fun of myself."

I share your reluctance about snarking on people's appearances, but couldn't help myself after the fashion post last week about that Leibowitz woman (I forget her first name).; 4/7/15, 1:04 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: coached by the most successful individual of all time

Have they forgotten Dean Smith that fast?

This puts Coach K halfway to tying the great John Wooden's record at Ucla.

Dean who?; 4/7/15, 1:06 PM
Beorn said...: @ Anne
but I wouldn't consider writing an article about it unless I was making fun of myself.

Unintentional, self-beclowning...that pretty much sums up our current media.; 4/7/15, 1:07 PM
TosaGuy said...: "He is a vicious ref baiter."

And so is Bo Ryan. He is called Bo Cryin' for a reason.; 4/7/15, 1:09 PM
TosaGuy said...: Bitching about refs is for losers.

Duke's top two players sat for significant periods of time with foul trouble -- providing ample opportunity for UW take advantage, but they didn't.

Also, Duke switched to a zone towards the end of the first half because of foul problems and UW with its sharpshooters could not take advantage.

UW had a difficult time with athletic guards the entire season and last night was a repeat of the matchup between the two teams earlier in the year.; 4/7/15, 1:15 PM
Big Mike said...: I like coach K, he seems like a nice guy

He isn't

... and his record is proof that he is a great coach.

He is, and his teams are always ready to play, plus they always have backup weapons. Force their tall stars into foul trouble, and their guard play kills you. But virgil xenophon is right -- Krzyzewski really knows how to work the refs.; 4/7/15, 1:19 PM
Roughcoat said...: Working the refs is part of the game. All coaches do it, some better than others. Coach K is a master at it and so is Coach Bo. And bad calls are part of the game too. Bad calls are very much a part of every game and how and whether one can overcome them is also a part of the game. There is no perfection. The Badgers got beat because they were the second-best team on the court not because of bad calls. I'm a Badgers fan, but there it is.; 4/7/15, 1:25 PM
Kevin said...: "Slate"...?

Is that still a thing?

I think my grandparents read it. But they're dead now.; 4/7/15, 1:26 PM
Mark O said...: Wisconsin had a great team.

Duke played better at the end of the game, largely on the back of a bench player who drove to the basket and picked up clear fouls on Wisconsin.

In the first half, Wisconsin had only 2 fouls but 2 of Duke's best players were on the bench with 2 each. Duke's phenomenal center spent most of the night on the bench, but managed to come back to save the game for Duke.

Charles Pierce, the man who made his reputation by printing a story that Tiger Woods thought was off the record, also complained about the refs.

Who doesn't?

Nevertheless, it takes special ignorance and overweening ideology to make even the National Championship Game about Ted Cruz.; 4/7/15, 1:53 PM
Ignorance is Bliss said...: Kevin said...

I think my grandparents read it. But they're dead now.

The fact that your grandparents read it and are now dead does not prove that reading slate killed them.

But why take a chance?; 4/7/15, 1:58 PM
sane_voter said...: I saw the Ted Cruz resemblance immediately. Maybe foreshadowing next fall?

I wonder if any of the CBS announcers had thought or heard of the resemblance, but purposefully didn't raise it during the broadcast.; 4/7/15, 2:01 PM
Jaq said...: It's a derangement syndrome. Simple as that.; 4/7/15, 2:07 PM
Brando said...: Not being a college basketball fan, I don't really understand the Duke hate (my wife as a Tar Hell alum of course hates Duke, but that's understandable from nearby rivals). Is it the normal desire to see consistently successful teams taken down a peg (such as the New England Patriots)? Is it a mix of former players who have been particularly bastardly? Is it a fan base that is insufferable (e.g., the Red Sox)?; 4/7/15, 2:38 PM
TosaGuy said...: Brando,

People hate Duke because of Christian Laettner, Dick Vitale and the Cameron Crazies.; 4/7/15, 2:46 PM
TosaGuy said...: ...and because their team is usually beaten by Duke.; 4/7/15, 2:46 PM
lgv said...: Bob Ellison said..

"They introduced three freshmen, one sophomore, and one senior in the starting five for Duke last night.

I don't think that's going to translate into the highest graduation rate. They're doing some funny math over there."

They really don't use graduation rate, they use academic progress as a comparative stat. Players who leave early for the NBA don't can't, hence Kentucky's very high rating. Duke players who don't go early almost always get their degree.; 4/7/15, 2:55 PM
The Godfather said...: The sad thing is that 20 years from now, there'll be a big news story (in whatever medium will deliver news in that day) about how Grayson Allen has become the youngest CEO of a Fortune 50 (mergers, you know) corporation, or has been appointed to the Supreme Court, or has discovered a cure for terminal stupidity, and someone will find that old Slate piece, and everyone will say:

"Who was Ted Cruz?" and "Did he really look like Grayson?"; 4/7/15, 3:15 PM
cassandra lite said...: "coached by the most successful individual of all time..."

John Wooden coaches Duke? I didn't know.; 4/7/15, 3:30 PM
Austin Hendrix said...: Rick meagher and Danny Ferry are why people hate them.; 4/7/15, 3:59 PM
furious_a said...: Who knew Ted Cruz had a 37-1/2 inch vertical leap? Not bad for a White Hispanic.

The Capital One commercial with Sir Charles driving Samuel L and Spike to Annapolis by mistake was a scream.; 4/7/15, 4:20 PM
retired said...: Duke had a deeper bench.

I don't like the one and done part of the game which Duke is now embracing. But the duke lacrosse scandal and the 88 faculty who signed the petition illustrates a much bigger problem with colleges than Div. 1 sports.

No one sane reads salon/slate. Aren't the the same?; 4/7/15, 4:21 PM
furious_a said...: He comes from Catholic blue collar roots, educated at Catholic schools and West Point.

...and later apprenticed under Bobby Knight at Army.; 4/7/15, 4:26 PM
Mike (MJB Wolf) said...: Brando: I reflexively dislike east coast teams in most every sport. Hate is a little strong. And I'm not sure why the Slate guys tagged them "hated" like that. But several years ago there was a rival coach who -- during the sweet sixteen phase I believe -- lamented the fact that Duke had a lot of fans because they were, in his words, "On TV more than 'Leave it to Beaver,'" which he pronounced like a Kennedy: BEE-vuh. This short "drop" was replayed endlessly on the old Jim Rome radio show, helping to make Duke and any reference to Duke a giggle line around the MJB Wolf household.

So we were rooting for Wisconsin last night too. Did I mention we don't hate Duke?; 4/7/15, 5:10 PM
Drago said...: furious_a: "...and later apprenticed under Bobby Knight at Army."

That explains why he is easily unnerved when chairs are "moved".; 4/7/15, 5:52 PM
Michael K said...: "I wouldn't consider writing an article about it unless I was making fun of myself."

This makes me think of the NY Times twerp who wrote a whole article about his girlfriend's abortion.

The weirdest part was where she didn't want wine with dinner because it "might hurt the baby' she was going to kill in the morning. I really wondered at that article. This one is not as bad but it is foolish and hard to explain why someone would pay for this.; 4/7/15, 5:59 PM
Yancey Ward said...: Where was Ted Cruz about 19 years ago?; 4/7/15, 8:18 PM
Yancey Ward said...: The foul discrepancy wasn't huge, but it should have been- if Ryan complained about it, he was right to do so. Duke, starting basically with the tournament, started employing a strategy of holding both the man who sets a pick and the player attempting to use the pick. That alone is why Duke's defense made such a miraculous recovery in March/April. If you can hold on any pick and cut, you are going to be hard to beat.; 4/7/15, 8:22 PM
Yancey Ward said...: And Coach K learned this strategy from Bobby Knight 40 years ago. And, to be clear, I don't blame him for utilizing it- he gambled that NCAA officiating really isn't committed to the stated policy of stopping hand-checking (and arm-checking to hold up the player attempting to go around the screen). He won that gamble.; 4/7/15, 8:25 PM
Unknown said...: ---Charles Pierce

Is a befuddled, brain damaged idiot.; 4/7/15, 10:06 PM
mccullough said...: The game was poorly officiated against both teams. Duke made the adjustments with Grayson and Jones. Jones is a phenomenal player and the Badgers had no answer for him with Jackson not being at full capacity to cover him. The Badgers front court was very good and outplayed Duke's front court bigh the Blue Devils back court far outplayed the Badgers. That was the difference.

Slate is not for sports fans.

Another thing about Coach K is that he has done a phenomenal job coaching USA basketball. The NBA stars love the guy. And he won national championships 24 years apart.; 4/7/15, 11:58 PM
Unknown said...: Please note that Coach K always wears his West Point ring on his left hand. He was two years behind me at the Academy--And yes Bobby Knight was the team coach who took the cadets, always outmatched, to several NIT berths..Coach K was a good player and has matured into a great coach. I am proud to have him as a member of our long grey line.; 4/8/15, 1:32 AM
Curious George said...: "furious_a said...
The Capital One commercial with Sir Charles driving Samuel L and Spike to Annapolis by mistake was a scream."

You mean "...Laurence Fishburne and Spike..."; 4/8/15, 7:13 AM
JAORE said...: Izzo (my second favorite coach) made, essentially the same comment on the refs. He said I have to recruit differently. He was referring to allowing drives to the basket where the man with the ball could push defenders with their forearm either gaining a path to the basket, drawing a foul or both. It as been a problem all year in BBall. Much worse in the tournament. The NCAA needs a group of professional refs.
And, yes, K works the refs more than anyone else I know.; 4/8/15, 7:18 AM
Curious George said...: "JAORE said...
Izzo (my second favorite coach) made, essentially the same comment on the refs. He said I have to recruit differently. He was referring to allowing drives to the basket where the man with the ball could push defenders with their forearm either gaining a path to the basket, drawing a foul or both."

Sam Dekker gives the old arm bar to any defender that gets close to him. Wisconsin has nothing to bitch about.; 4/8/15, 7:54 AM
Tibore said...: Really, Bo Ryan is one of the last people who should be crying over in-game contact, but that's a digression. The main point is the utter inanity of that Slate article. It's ridiculous how that idiot of a writer/editor felt the need to pander to this whole stereotype of Hated Duke Player as well as Hated Republican Politician, but it's just been par for the course for Slate writers over the last decade.

I guess their editorial stance is that being hateful and stirring up resentment is okay in certain circumstances. Which is what makes writers like Stahl so contemptible.; 4/9/15, 7:39 AM