The 2019 College Basketball postseason is underway in the divisions covered here at Balladeer’s Blog! As usual the NAIA’s Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference tipped things off with Round One of their Conference Tournament last night.
TOP SEED FALLS – The 8th seeded UNIVERSITY OF SAINT FRANCIS (IL) FIGHTING SAINTS took on the CCAC’s top seeded OLIVET NAZARENE UNIVERSITY TIGERS. The Fighting Saints showed they were in it for the win, playing hard enough for a 34-33 edge at Halftime. The teams put up 47 points each in the explosive 2nd Half as USF emerged with an 81-80 Upset. Cole Micek led the victors with 24 points.
FOUR OVER FIVE – In the 4 spot the ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY LAKERS (shoutout to a regular reader of Balladeer’s Blog who went there) welcomed the 5th seeded ROBERT MORRIS (IL) UNIVERSITY EAGLES. The Eagles put the Lakers on Upset Alert at the break with a 31-28 advantage but Roosevelt U came roaring back for a 79-70 victory. Kevin Day’s 23 points led the Lakers and his teammate Grant Gibson notched a Double Double with 15 points and 10 rebounds. Continue reading
Just when you thought the Nathan Phillips hate-hoax debacle would have taught Democrats to stop with their insane, paranoid fantasies about people in MAGA hats we see Jussie Smollett’s claim of being attacked by men in MAGA hats allegedly falling apart. 
Democrat race-baiters in politics and the media jumped to conclusions YET AGAIN and fanned the flames of race-hatred when this looked like a white-on-black attack. Now that Smollett’s story has come under more and more scrutiny those same Democrat worms are falling back on “let’s wait til all the facts come in” LIKE THEY SHOULD HAVE DONE WHEN SMOLLETT’S CLAIMS FIRST CAME TO LIGHT. 
Balladeer’s Blog’s examination of the Justice Society’s World War Two-era stories continues. FOR PART ONE CLICK 
ALL STAR COMICS #22 (Fall 1944) 
Synopsis: A mystical female figure who embodies “The Conscience of Man” summons the Justice Society of America. 
NJCAA (National Junior College Athletic Association) 1. VINCENNES UNIVERSITY TRAILBLAZERS ### 2. FLORIDA SOUTHWESTERN STATE BUCCANEERS ### 3. COFFEYVILLE COLLEGE RED RAVENS ### 4. RANGER COLLEGE RANGERS ### 5. NORTHWEST FLORIDA STATE RAIDERS ### 
6. SHERIDAN COLLEGE GENERALS ### 7. SOUTH PLAINS COLLEGE TEXANS ### 8. ODESSA COLLEGE WRANGLERS ### 9. CAPE FEAR COLLEGE SEA DEVILS ### 10. SOUTHEASTERN (IA) COLLEGE BLACKHAWKS ### 
As another Presidents Day wraps up here’s a take from a true working class heroine. Mary Harris Jones, the legendary labor organizer from the 1890s onward, also known as “the Miner’s Angel” and “Mother Jones,” spoke to Balladeer’s Blog yet again, despite being dead since 1930. 
BB: I admit the stench from Washington, DC is amazing. “Draining the Swamp” as Trump calls it, is demonstrating the depth of corruption and outright criminal activity the Democrats and Republicans are responsible for. It took a de facto Third Party President like Trump to take the first necessary steps. 
MJ: First off, President Trump is like Franklin Delano Roosevelt. FDR was looking out for the working class and the poor, so rich fat cat scum tried to destroy him like they’re doing with Donald Trump. They even tried the VERIFIED Businessman’s Coup plot against FDR. 
THIRD, President Trump is like that Robert Redford fella when he played Brubaker! Like Trump, Brubaker was trying to clean out a virtual sewer of corrupt officialdom. Even if the scumbags fighting Trump oust him, it will be like the ending of Brubaker, when the prisoners – or American citizens in Trump’s case – gathered around to pay him respect. 
MJ: FOURTH, President Trump is like Serpico. The real-life Serpico, not the weak sauce movie version of the man. Like Frank Serpico, President Trump is the only one refusing to play business as usual and just get bought off. 
HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY! What better way to poke through the undeserved air of reverence that often clouds this holiday than by taking a look at the Five Most UN-qualified people who rose to the presidency. And remember, this list is not a reflection of their subsequent performance as president, just on their qualifications prior to taking the office. 
NUMBER 5: ULYSSES S GRANT 
Happy Presidents Day Weekend! Balladeer’s Blog’s seasonal posts continue with this look at the presidential election of 1912. 
DEMOCRAT: Woodrow Wilson, the victor. To this very day many Republicans blame Wilson for starting the country on its path toward all the things they don’t like. 
PROGRESSIVE: Former Republican President Theodore Roosevelt had come out of retirement to run again because he was thoroughly disenchanted with his hand-picked successor, incumbent Republican President William Howard Taft. 
KNOCKING OFF NUMBER TWO – Yesterday the 15th ranked UNIVERSITY OF JAMESTOWN JIMMIES played host to the number 2 team in the nation – the MORNINGSIDE COLLEGE MUSTANGS. The Jimmies put the Mustangs on Upset Alert with a 45-37 Halftime lead and then carried through with an 88-75 triumph. Kevin Oberweiser’s 25 points led the way for the University of Jamestown. 
NUMBER THREE TAKES A TUMBLE AS WELL – In this game the number 10 OREGON TECH HUSTLIN’ OWLS took the court against the visiting 3rd ranked COLLEGE OF IDAHO COYOTES. At the break the Hustlin’ Owls were chasing the Coyotes 35-30 but in the 2nd Half Oregon Tech turned it on for a 75-72 comeback win. Mitchell Fink tossed in 23 points to lead the victors.
OTHER UPSETS IN THE TOP TWENTY-FIVE – The (11) MARIAN UNIVERSITY KNIGHTS toppled the (5) INDIANA WESLEYAN UNIVERSITY WILDCATS 94-84 ### Meanwhile the SAINT FRANCIS (IN) COUGARS downed the (6) MOUNT VERNON NAZARENE UNIVERSITY COUGARS in an 86-74 catfight ### And the JOHNSON & WALES (FL) TIGERS won a 74-70 Instant Classic over the (16) WARNER UNIVERSITY ROYALS. 
This examination of the Justice Society’s World War Two-era stories continues. FOR PART ONE CLICK 
ALL STAR COMICS #21 (Summer 1944) 
Synopsis: Lab assistant Joe Fitch has volunteered to be a guinea pig for experimental medicine but winds up dying. To reward the man for his selfless contribution to science the Justice Society of America is called in (talk about overkill) to act on Joe’s request to make amends for his secret criminal past. 
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