Sunday 12/1
Schlitz, Germany, photograph by Michael Probst/AP, posted at theguardian.com:
RIP basketball lifer Lou Carnesecca, 99, whose career spanned more than 40 years. Born in Manhattan to Italian immigrants, he spent three years of WWII in the Coast Guard. He graduated from St. John’s in 1950 and went to work at his high school alma mater St. Ann’s, which eventually became Archbishop Molloy. In eight years he did not have a losing season and won two championships, his final campaign 32–0. He then served as an assistant at St. John’s until ’65 when he became head coach. In his first five years he averaged more than 20 wins per season, made three appearances in the NCAA tournament and two in the NIT, the runner-up in the latter in ’70. He then coached the Nets in the ABA for three seasons, leading the team to the championship round in ’72, a loss to the Pacers. He returned to St. John’s and had another successful run until his retirement in ’92, qualifying for the post season each year, winning the NIT in ’89, reaching the Final Four in ’85. His teams won five Big East regular season championships and two Big East Tournaments. He was UPI Coach of the Year in ’85 and Big East Coach of the Year three times. He is a member of the New York City Basketball Hall of Fame, the Basketball Hall of Fame and the College Basketball Hall of Fame. In his long run he suffered only two losing seasons, both with the Nets. His record at the H.S. level is 205–34, at the collegiate level 526–200, pros 114–138. Blessed with an ebullient personality, he was loved, affectionately known as “Looie.” He was married from ’51 until his death and was a father of one. Well done, goombah. Photo from Google Images:
Not good news, headline from nypost.com: “‘Desert’ warfare: Tens of thousands of Ukrainian soldiers have deserted, hampering battle plans.” I wonder if they expect a negotiated settlement in the near future.
There have been headlines that predict a meltdown of the Chinese economy. They may have been premature. Headline from foxnews.com: “Largest gold deposit in the world worth $83 billion found in China.” I wonder if it was unearthed by slave labor. The NBA and other entities have another aspect in which to invest.
I’ve always thought of the land down under as a bastion of freedom. From FN: “Australia bans social media for everyone under 16.” How in the world will that be enforced? Big Brother?
This morning I added another excerpt to a short story in the By the Numbers collection, which is still short of 25,000 words. I won’t do a print version until it reaches 27,000. I just hope I haven’t bloated rather than enriched the pieces I’ve expanded. I was surprised at the latest, as it seemed a natural fit.
Given the lack of sunshine, it was probably stupid to do the Anti-Inflation Book Shop on this cold day, but I dreaded staying home, so I ventured out and got lucky. My thanks to The Lady Eve, who settled her tab, and to Lynn, who bought Nursery Treasury by Miles Kelly Publishing; and to the young man who purchased The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne and the beautifully illustrated Catwoman: The Life and Times of a Feline Fatale by Suzan Colon and Adam West; and to Sophie, who gave her husband Wolf a lift, and he wound up taking home six hardcovers in Russian. I closed shop an hour early to be on the safe side. Here’s a panel from one of the aforementioned:
