Media qualms
While 7000 fans watched the Tigers take on the Pennsylvania Quakers at Jadwin Gym, I had to depend on Dan O'Brien and the guy from the Tiger Sports-line for the score and highlights from the game. The game was not on ESPN or the Deuce, and I couldn't even pay to watch it on ESPN's Full Court. The powers that be deemed the game of no interest to the television viewing public.
Princeton-Penn may not be Duke-Carolina (Duke-Carolina turned out not to be "DUKE CAROLINA" as Antoine Jamison had his way with WoJo, Lanning and the rest of Coach K's crew), but it is an important game that deserves national television coverage. To ESPN's credit, no one could have predicted the Tiger's unprecedented rise to a national powerhouse status, but ESPN did know that Princeton and Penn have, in recent years, dominated the Ivy League and that the League championship is often decided when the two teams meet.
Ah yes, but the Ivy League is a "small conference" that should not even get an automatic bid to the big dance. I think the Tigers destroyed this fallacy with the woulda-coulda-shoulda-won First Round match up against Zo and Georgetown Huskies.
In fact, during my four years at Old Nassau, the Ivy champs went to the second round of the NCAA tournament twice (Penn beat the Kansas in '94 and the Tigers, of course, beat the defending national champs, UCLA in '96), and both teams broke into the top 25 at various times.
The Ivy League has made a decent showing in the NBA as well with Penn's Jerome Allan and Matt Maloney. Ivy players have also made their mark on the grid iron –Keith Elias will return to the NFL after a year off and Jason Garrot has been a dependable backup to Troy Aikman, even starting a few games (and staying out of jail – a formidable task indeed for a Cowboy). Cornell and Harvard regularly graduate players headed for the NHL. I'm sure if sports such as crew, squash or lacrosse ever gain major league status, Ivy men and women will lead the pack. The Ivy League may not be heading for the Rose Bowl anytime soon, but this isn't the Patriot League either.
If I cannot make a difference with the networks, I appeal to the powers that be in Princeton to lobby for real television coverage.
It is time that the country see how true student-athletes play. They do not drop out after their sophomore year, they do not accept free suits from agents, they do write theses, they do go to T.I. late Saturday nights, they do play good ball (and sometimes they also serve short stint in the US Senate).
But alas, last night, I was stuck depending on Dan, Keith and Tiger Sportsline. But when March Madness starts, as long as the Tigers get the East, I'll be watching from Greensboro Coliseum while most of you lucky 7000 fans lament about the bad television coverage. Kelly Karapetyan '97
Questioning facts
I would like to take issue with Rizwan Arastu's guest column about U.S. policy towards Iraq. While he is entitled to his opinion on this issue – and he obviously holds a very passionate opinion (albeit one that I believe is misguided), he should at least try to get his facts straight before sounding off to the world.
His rather bizarre reference to "shells composed of 'depleted uranium' that vaporized upon explosion, imbedding radioactive particles in the lungs of millions of Iraqi people" is a case in point. Not only is this statement completely false, but it also exposes Mr. Arastu's ignorance.
First of all, depleted uranium is not radioactive (U.S. soldiers pick them up with their hands, after all), and is not used in explosive shells, but rather in penetrator rounds –solid chunks of uranium fired by tanks or by an A-10's Gatling gun – to destroy tanks and other armored vehicles. These rounds are of little use against other targets because they do not explode; they simply slice through armor by virtue of their kinetic energy.
Given this technical knowledge, Mr. Arastu's assertion that millions of Iraqis are suffering from radiation exposure is evidently foolish and groundless. The only Iraqis who even saw uranium munitions were in tanks that were hit.
I suggest that Mr. Arastu do a little research on basic facts before flinging out "truths" like these based on an overactive imagination. Then at least he can participate in an informed and intelligent discussion of the issues. Better luck next time, Mr. Arastu. Lucas Cadena '98
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