Sailing School

This weekend I am going up to a sailing school in the San Juan Islands. Should be fun. I hope I can remember how to tie all these different knots!

V. Tech and Gun Control Debate

I am very angry about what happened at Virginia Tech. Horrible, horrible tragedy and my prayers are with the victims and their families.

Unfortunately, it takes an event like this to happen before certain issues are brought back to the forefront of people's mind. The gun control debate is back in the headlines. It amazes me how divergent the views are on this issue and how passionately people defend their stance. Some people believe that every American should be carrying a gun and others believe no one should be.

I respect that people have the right to own and possess guns, but I believe there is truly something wrong with the current system when it is easier to purchase a gun than to obtain a drivers license. I don't know the figures, but it would be interesting to see what the key reasons are for people to buy a gun. Lets say the following are the key reasons for the majority of gun purchases 1.) hunting 2.) defense 3.) sport (target shooting) 4.) collection

How many Americans who own guns fall into 1,3, and 4 (gun enthusiasts)? How many into 2? Of those people who buy a gun for defense, how many have actually had to use it? How many accidents occur among that group of the population? Does that group have a higher probability of hurting themselves or their children hurting themselves by having a gun in the house rather than actually using it for protection? An interesting study for Freakonomics 2nd edition.

The one statistic I have heard is that last year in Britain, 59 people were killed due to gun violence. In New York City alone, 579 people were killed due to gun violence. Something is certainly wrong with this picture and I don't believe the right answer is more guns in the hands of more people.

I have friends who hunt and own guns. I have no problem with responsible gun ownership. However, more restrictions should be in place to ensure that those individuals who decide to purchase a gun can handle and understand the responsibility that comes with it. Personally, I don't like guns and will never own one.

Despite the Ups and Downs, Zags Made Strides

After everything the Zags went through this season I don't feel too bad about the loss to Indiana. I certainly wish they had played harder and I'm completely perplexed as to why Micah Downs only played 19 minutes. Seriously, the second leading scorer after the loss of Heytvelt... I hope Mark Few takes some notes from Tony Bennett at WSU on how to play defense. GU is such an offensive powerhouse that if the team could even turn it up a little more defensively it would make all the difference.

That being said I'm happy for this years Zags and they made significant strides as a team at times when it would have been easy to quit. A lot of positives to look at for next year. Pendo is an absolute beast. As I was discussing with some fellow GU alum, Pendo has made it into my top five all-time favorite Zags. He truly embodies what the program is all about and will make an excellent senior leader on next years team.

GO ZAGS!

Its a shame...

The Zags season has been turned upside down by the drug charges against Josh Heytvelt and Theo Davis. Its really unfortunate to see Gonzaga's name dragged through the mud. Hopefully, Josh and Theo will be alright and they will be able to put this all behind them.

As far as the Zags season goes this year, its certainly up in the air at this point. The team has to use this experience to bring them closer together. Big game against Memphis this weekend. I kind of like seeing the Zags being back as underdog. Also, wanted to mention that I was very impressed with Santa Clara the other night. They are a very good basketball team and its unfortuante to see Dick Davey being pushed out as head coach.

Go Zags!