While every other U.S. newspaper has been printing feel-good pieces about all the father-son connections at G’town, leave it to the Times to be critical. Friday’s sports section has an excellent and surprising piece about GU Assistant Coach Kevin Broadus’ (recently hired to coach Binghampton) recruiting of Marc Egerson. Egerson withdrew from G’town in December, in the middle of his sophomore season. According to the piece, he got 12 ‘F’s in high school and became a father in February. Egerson’s recruitment is a glaring contradiction to what Georgetown basketball says it stands for, and makes me and my friends on the Ed Board look bad for writing that the Hoyas are all business and focused on the classroom.

However, the article is unfair to Broadus—he bears the blame while his boss, JT III comes out largely unscathed. Broadus and Thompson should have never recruited Egerson, but the article may go a bit far by questioning Broadus’ qualifications for the Binghampton job. I’m sure plenty of assistant coaches have made poor recruiting decisions.

Posted by Keenan Steiner, Editorial Board Chair

In light of Georgetown’s Sweet 16 run, an article discusses Craig Esherick’s feelings about the success of Jeff and Roy, who were actually his recruits. He says he is proud that his boys are doing well. He also mentions that he knew they were talented and coachable when he recruited them, and “they’ve obviously received good coaching.”

But Green and Hibbert were on the way. And even during recruiting, Esherick thought that Green could be a Big East player of the year.

“That’s going to sound crazy, but I’m going to answer the question honestly: Yes, I did,” Esherick said. “When I first saw him play, I thought this kid could be a star.”

But be careful not to become an Esherick-lover. The article also mentions that JT III had to re-recruit these three and convince them to play with him. Often when a coach leaves his post, his recruits defect to another school (Scottie Reynolds accepted a scholarship to Oklahoma, but then Kevin Sampson moved to Indiana and he ended up at ‘Nova) or they follow the coach to his new school (JWall went with JTIII from Princeton to G’town). So, it seems that Jeff Green was attached to Georgetown more than he was to Esherick. Oh, and not to mention that Esherick was 13-15 my freshman year and we didn’t even make the NIT.

Another interesting nugget: Esh is apparently working as the VP of Athletic Relations for CSTV, but “considered pursuing another coaching position after he was fired.” This isn’t exactly true - he did more than think about re-entering the coaching world. In Feb. 2005, less than a year after being sacked, Esh applied for the head job at New Mexico State, saying, “I think, clearly, I wanted to get back into coaching.”

“I’d be a heck of a coach for them,” Esherick said. “But that’s not my call.”

Yea, I bet you woulda been awesome.

Posted by Keenan Steiner, Editorial Board Chair

If you weren’t planning on voting because you don’t give a shit about GUSA, now you have a reason to: You can learn about other countries’ electoral systems. GUSA is now using an instant runoff system – also known as the Alternative Vote - used most famously in Australia and Ireland. What kind of Georgetown student doesn’t get all excited over that?
Well, it excites me.
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Last night, I dreamt that I encountered a fat, human-sized rat in Village A, where I live. I don’t remember the details of the dream, but I do know that rats scare the shit out of me. Every time I pass one, I halt, cringe, scream and then warn those behind me. They then look at me like I’m crazy. Maybe I’ve got rataphobia, the real scientific term for which I am too lazy to google.

Still, after dusk, squirrel territory turns into a rat’s haven. There are 2 rat hot spots: the pathway along Copley Hall (between Red Square and Healy) and the heart of Village A. At night, I avoid these hot spots. The rats are most active in the middle of Village A. If you walk near New South, the library, or on Prospect street, you’re probably OK. However, be careful on Prospect street, as I recently spotted a fox (yes, a fox, in a major city) roaming the street at 3 am.

Dude, why can’t we just have pigeons.

Posted by Keenan Steiner, Contributing Editor

A day after calling President Bush the devil at the UN General Assembly, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez called him an “alcoholic” and a “sick man” at a church in Harlem, according to the Washington Post.

He got a round of applause from a crowd that included activists, supporters and Danny Glover.

Chavez announced that Citgo, the US-based refining arm of Venezuelas’s state-run oil company, is going to more than double its sales of discounted heating oil to America’s poor this winter.

But Bush-haters shouldn’t be Chavez-lovers.

Today, the Venezuelan populist is entertaining because he antagonizes President Bush. He calls him names like “El Diablo” and “Mr. Danger.” He hosted the “Anti-Summit” of the Americas in Argentina last November to protest Bush and a hemispheric free trade zone.

But Chavez has been eroding his country’s democratic institutions since he came to power in 1998. He supports the dangerous Iranian regime and is trying to economically and politically pull the Western Hemisphere apart.

He’s not only bad for President Bush – he’s bad for the United States as a whole. He shouldn’t be invited to U.S. churches. He should just shut his trap.

Posted by Keenan Steiner, Staff Writer