Ben Carson apparently is throwing his hat into the ring for president.  So we will have another black Republican candidate in 2016!  Carson is obviously a lot smarter than Herman Cain who ran in 2012.  For one thing he is a retired pediatric neurosurgeon.  But more importantly he is a  U. of Michigan alumnus.  Cain cannot match those credentials.  But like Cain, Carson's candidacy is bound to fail.  For one thing he considered himself an independent until recently even though he worked for Fox News.  He has not held any political office.  In the past he has come out against assault weapons and admitted that affirmative action had helped him.  Those things will be attacked by factions within the party.  It is easy for Republicans to embrace him to make them look more diverse.  It is another thing to embrace him to be their leader.  Carson is capable of doing a lot better than Herman Cain but he will not be the Republican nominee.

Whenever someone mentions about black neurosurgeons, only one other name is mentioned along with Ben Carson.  That is Keith Black.  Interestingly, Black is also a graduate of U. of Michigan Medical School.  He is head of the dept. at UCLA.   While Carson is a perfect example of affirmative action doing good, Keith Black is someone who shoots down the idea that minorities always need affirmative action.  Black made it into Michigan's prestigious 6 year undergraduate/medical school program.  This means he only took 6 years to get his BS and MD which most people take at least 8 years.  You cannot get in if your scores and maturity are not way up there coming out of high school.  So who knows?  Maybe if Carson makes a decent run, he can open the way for another neurosurgeon in politics in the future.

I have a complaint about Steve Nash.  Some people are mad that Nash, having declare himself out for the season, is shown on Instagram hitting a golf ball.  I know that hitting a golf ball is not anywhere the same as playing in an NBA game.  So I don't have problem with that.  But I am disappointed that while he has time to play golf, he has not been showing up at practice and games to support his teammates.  He is still being paid while not playing so at least he can do is contribute SOMETHING to the team.  Young guards like Jeremy Lin and Jordan Clarkson sure can use his teaching.  So how about trying to be the highest paid coach in the NBA for this season, Steve?

My last blog before going on vacation!  China wins chess Olympiad with India finishing third.  China becomes the first Asian country to win what is essentially the world team championship in chess.  It is also the first time two Asian countries medal in the same Olympiad.  This has to be very frustrating to Russia as it finishes fourth and has failed to win the championship for 4 straight times!  Russia in chess is like the U.S. in basketball.  Their number 5 player is better than most teams' number one.  Sure a Bobby Fisher can beat any Russian but in a team competition over 11 rounds of play, you would think they cannot lose.  In fact China did not send 3 of its top 5 players, including their number 1.  So Russia's number 5 is ranked higher than Wang Yue, who played first board for China in this championship.  India is also missing its top 2 players, including its former world champion!  So how did this happened?  I have no idea.  But with this result, you can bet there will be a surge in chess in China, India and maybe other places in Asia.

First night on the NBA schedule:  Houston at Lakers.  I did not know that the NBA wants to give Jeremy Lin a chance at revenge so fast!  Well, Lin vs Rockets is not the top story line here.  How about Kobe vs Dwight after they parted ways last season?  Or Kobe vs Harden since Kobe is upset that people are saying Harden is the best SG in the NBA. Looking forward to opening night on TNT!

Now that the Tigers have traded for Price and Soria, they just need couple more starting pitchers and couple more relievers and they can maybe catch the Royals!