A case of mistaken identity has entangled a small family-owned Des Moines company in union protests and led to a death threat.
Angry callers are mistaking Koch Brothers, a Des Moines office supply firm, with the brothers who own Koch Industries, the global energy conglomerate. Billionaires Charles and David Koch have fought Wisconsin unions, financed the tea party and opposed climate change rules.
Mr. Taranto notes, sardonically, that death threats seems to be "a way of life" for "union thugs" and blames Paul Krugman, who earlier in the column was noted to have written a couple of columns arguing against civility in political discourse.
I think a couple of other questions are worth asking. First, reading between the lines, is the Des Moines Register inferring by omission that had the threats been directed against the global conglomerate Kochs rather than the local office supply Kochs they would have been understandable, perhaps even acceptable? Second, are violent leftists so stupid that they can't figure out in advance who they want dead?
The Huskies finished the Big East regular season with a conference mark of 9-9, losing twice each to Notre Dame and Louisville, and once each to Pittsburgh, Syracuse, St. Johns, West Virginia and Marquette. Yes, all seven teams were in the NCAA tournament. And they were undefeated outside the league, including wins against Texas in Austin, Kentucky and Michigan State in Maui, and Tennessee in Storrs. And yes, those four teams all made the tournament as well. But they also lost four of their last five (Louisville, Marquete, WVU, ND) and limped to finish as the postseason approached.
Then the tournaments. First up, the Big East. By now everyone knows the remarkable story of five wins in five days, featuring All-American guard Kemba Walker's remarkable play and the emergence of freshman Jeremy Lamb. I was in Madison Square Garden for my 20th consecutive Big East tournament, and was merely hoping that by the time I arrived, on Day 3 of the tournament, that UConn would still be playing. They were, beating top-seeded and third-ranked Pittsburgh on Walker's ankle breaking stop-and-go move on Gary McGhee.
How the 6-10 McGhee wound up isolated on the mercurial Walker at the top of the key is a question only Pitt coach Jamie Dixon can answer. The next night Syracuse fell. After that, Louisville. You kept waiting for the team to tire, but heck, I was probably more tired from watching all that basketball. Each of those three wins avenged conference losses.
Unlike President Obama, when it came time to pick the NCAA bracket, I didn't go with the chalk. I put UConn in the Final Four, winning the tournament. I'd witnessed what they could do, and looking at where they were slotted and what they'd been through there weren't going to be too many teams that would surprise them. Last night Butler found out just how hard it is to get open shots against a Jim Calhoun defense that makes the right switches and hedges and challenges the shooters with both length and quickness. Penetration not allowed, layups not allowed, open looks not allowed.
Why did Butler make more threes than twos? Because that's where the open space existed, beyond the arc. And then only sometimes. Remember, a team that shoots 35% on threes is actually doing quite well; Butler shot 27% on threes last night, acceptable most nights and minimally down from their season mark of 289 for 822 on threes, or 35.2% overall.
Oh, but those two point shots. They did miss a few that they should have made, but every college team will do that, particularly with the pressure on. But they also had 10 shots blocked and umpteen more challenged like they hadn't been challenged all year. Alex Oriakhi, Roscoe Smith Jeremy Lamb and Charles Okwandu were longer, and quicker jumpers than the Bulldogs usually faced, moreso than any team they had faced in the tournament, including Florida and Pitt. Florida blocked 3 shots on Butler, Pitt none. UConn blocked 10. What it added up to was 3 for 31 on shots inside the arc. Ugh. The headlines all say Butler shot poorly. Exactly. But the other guys had a lot to do with it.
They won the title with a defensive showing for the ages, holding Butler to 12-for-64 shooting. That's 18.8 percent, the worst ever in a title game.
It was short on aesthetics but full of tough-nosed defense, an old-school game, the kind of game a coaching lifer such as Jim Calhoun could love.
"Butler really plays defense," Calhoun said. "I mean, they really play defense. And we really play defense, and I think eventually our quickness and length got to them, but from a purist standpoint, if you really like defense, take a clip of this game."
So the Bulldogs return to Indianapolis disappointed again, but they'll be around for years to come, causing havoc with brackets and threatening to go all the way with regularity, much like Gonzaga. They now have both name recognition and a coach who wants to be there and wants to take them on a wild ride each and every year. I like Brad Stevens a lot, his low key style and how he coaches the game. Players will like him also, and Butler will do better with recruiting and continue to play hardnosed, intense defense.
And Calhoun's UConn Huskies have now won three national championships in the last 12 years. Eventually they'll need to replace the 68 year old Calhoun, and they'll need a coach who preaches defense first. Say, there's a young kid coaching a Horizon league team in Indianapolis that might fit the bill.
