The ‘Cats’ Meow: It’s big weekend for Villanova
A look at the week that was, the issues and people who made headlines, and a few darts and laurels for those who deserve them.
LAUREL: To Villanova. The Wildcats are back in the Final Four for the second time in three years - and in the hunt for another national title. They face off against Kansas tonight in San Antonio for the right to play in the national championship Monday night.
DART: To an 8:30 start time on Saturday night. Somebody call the deadline doctors. No long timeouts, guys, especially in those seemingly endless final few minutes.
LAUREL: To Jay Wright and the Villanova men’s hoops programs. The Main Line crowd has now firmly established themselves among college hoops’ elites. Consider these numbers over the past four years: 134 wins over the past four years; six Sweet 16s under Wright; three Final Fours since 2009; 1 national championship in 2016; 420 total wins under Wright, most in team history. Sounds like the Wright stuff to us.
LAUREL: To Aston Police Officer William Mack. This week he was named a Carnegie Medal winner for his efforts in saving a disabled woman from her burning township home. The Carnegie awards are handed out to those who risk their lives “to an extraordinary degree” in saving the life of another. Sure sounds like Mack to us. LAUREL: And a big thumb’s up to his partner that night as well. Officer Colleen Joyce assisted in the rescue. Mack was only more than welcome to share the honors. Good for them. DART: To a sad note in the loss of another member of the thin blue line. Newtown Township Sgt. Clinton Cunningham suffered a fatal brain hemorrhage while working out. He was only 37 and leaves behind a wife and four young children. LAUREL: To Vietnam veterans. Thursday the nation paused to note Vietnam War Veterans Day. We hope you took the time to offer thanks to the men and women who served in the nation’s most controversial war. The wounds – both physical and mental – from Nam continue to fester in America. DART: To the treatment accorded too many Nam vets when they returned from Southeast Asia. Far from the welcome accorded veterans in many other wars, those who fought in an unpopular conflict often found themselves ridiculed instead of lauded for their service.
LAUREL: Speaking of soldiers, a huge thumb’s up to all those who turned for a great welcome home celebration for Sgt. Louis DeVito, who had just completed nine months in Afghanistan. Well done. Welcome home, soldier.
DART: To U.S. Rep. Ryan Costello. We don’t normally take sides in these kinds of things, and the incumbent Republican was certainly within his rights to not seek reelection. But his timing certainly left Republicans in a bind. Costello has been mulling the decision for weeks, but did not notify the state to remove his name until it was too late for the party to get a replacement. Many in the party are not especially happy with Costello.
LAUREL: To the comments Costello made after his decision, expressing the frustration we bet a lot of GOP reps down in D.C. are experiencing. It’s not easy getting anything done – or focusing on important policy and issues – when you’re bracing for the next tweet storm from the White House.
LAUREL: To the residents who continue to beat the drum in opposition to Sunoco Pipeline LP’s massive Mariner East 2 project. After several key victories, the pipeline foes suffered a big setback in court this week, when the state Commonwealth Court upheld a lower court ruling rejecting a move by several Middletown residents to block construction. The court relied on a similar ruling made based on the PUC ruling the granted the company public utility status. At the same time, several residents in Chester County filed a new class-action suit to stop the project, based on several sinkholes in their neighborhood and damages to walls, sidewalks and driveways they claim are linked to pipeline construction. LAUREL: To the Widener students who this week took part in the special ‘Courage Day’ activity designed to effect positive change on the campus and the community. The campus was awash in signs that were planted in the middle of the night to greet students in the morning. Special ‘courage’ keys that they could hand to someone who needs a boost.
DART: While the latest gerrymandering debate is resolved for the moment, with a new map in place and Delaware County under one roof in the newly minted 5th Congressional District, don’t fool yourself. The problem is not going away and will not until Harrisburg takes this crucial task out of the hands of politicians who have an insatiable desire to bend the results in their own favor.
LAUREL: To all those who hit the streets of Drexel Hill last Sunday to keep the memory of Nicole Gallo alive. The young woman was killed when a car went out of control and slammed into her on the sidewalk outside Delaware County Memorial Hospital. The Nicole Gallo Bubbles and Sunshine and Bubbles 5K has raised thousands of dollars for scholarships for students to attend her alma mater, Monsignor Bonner and Archbishop Prendergast. LAUREL: To all those young people, both here in Delaware County in Rose Tree Park, and who made the trek to Washington, D.C., to demonstrate their concern about gun laws in the nation in the wake
of the latest mass school shooting. LAUREL: To the Media Film Festival. The growing show is back this week with the best in locally produced films. Get your popcorn ready! LAUREL: No, the weather still does not feel like spring. But baseball – and the Phillies – is back. And that’s enough for us to break out in a serious case of spring fever. Now if we could just get the temperature to rise about 25 degrees before the Phils arrive home for their opener in Citizens Bank Park next week.
LAUREL: Somebody break up the Sixers. The hottest team in the NBA is send a clear message to the rest of the league: They will be a force to be reckoned with in the playoffs. And now they are getting No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz back just in time for the playoff push.
DART: Then again, The Process is now going to have to survive at least a few weeks - and possibly the first round of the playoffs, without star center Joel Embiid. He will need surgery to repair a fractured orbital bone in his eye, courtesy of a collision with Markelle Fultz.
DART: To Fultz. Sorry, but the No. 1 pick in the entire draft does not get to sit out almost the entire season, return to the court, and then after the game decline to discuss to shoulder injury that supposedly kept him on the sidelines. The fans – in particular those who bought tickets to see him play, deserve better.