This week's winners and losers
The bomb - UA women's basketball's home winning streak. At 23 games, it's the second-longest in the country. No wonder coach Joan Bonvicini is on the good side of UA administrators, who are in the process of extending her contract. Life isn't all roses for the Wildcats, though - they've got a split record on the road and will meet up next in McKale with conference leader Stanford.
A bomb - Dean's Iowa primary concession speech. It looks like the Vermont governor's reaction may have hurt him even more than the loss. Stripping, screaming and punching the air, Dean looked more primate than president.
The bomb - UA chemical and environmental engineering associate professor Anthony Muscat, who was recently named to Scientific American's "50 Leaders of the Year" list. Muscat's award, given for his research on semiconductor technology, is a reminder that outstanding research is still taking place at a university with serious space and retention issues.
A bomb - Bush's Tuesday night State of the Union address. Everything he said sounded reasonably good ... the first time we heard it, a year ago. Perhaps it's just that he has nothing but the upcoming election on his mind, or perhaps the man in charge is fresh out of fresh ideas. Either way, maybe it's time they consider changing the name of the speech to the "Restate of the Union" address.
The bomb - ResLife's lift of the on-campus housing cap. Though only a temporary exception to a long-term rule, the lift means students who've lived on campus for four semesters can return to the dorm life, at least for another year. It postpones another Tucson college tradition: the experience of searching for a tiny, expensive apartment off-campus.
A bomb - Posers at the Student Recreation Center. We're tired of the lengthy lines caused by the flood of pre-spring breakers trying to EFX-off their beer guts. The only solutions? Join a private gym, or get ready to duke it out with a sorority girl wearing makeup and booty shorts.
The bomb - The UA Museum of Art's appropriate solution to its space shortage. It seems that the museum is intent on keeping its best works - which include some by Rothko, Picasso and Pollock - under wraps in protest until it gets a facility worthy of, and big enough, for them. It's a shame students are losing out on some great artwork, but we have to admire the museum's creativity in sticking it to the administration that keeps cutting its funding.
A bomb - The proposed statewide bar smoking ban. It's not really a question of whether we support smoking - rather, it's a question of whether we support the business owners' right to set rules for their private property. Don't like barroom pollution? We recommend you go elsewhere. Besides, we're not ready to let the phrase, "He smells like a bar," get forgotten in the annals of history.