Tuition at Duke will run about $36,000 next year. Throw in room and board, food, stripper expenses, etc., and you’re looking at $50,000 a year. For that cost, you expect a full-service organization that is able to call on all kinds of external forces to get you exactly what you need to succeed at all times.
(Now that’s service: Thor, the god of thunder, is a Dukie.)
Case in point: when Clemson went ahead of Duke’s baseball team Sunday on a two-run homer in the top of the 11th, a Duke team official rushed onto the field with a text message claiming lightning nearby. The game was delayed and then suspended when rain eventually fell. Because Duke never batted, the home run came off the board. The game ended in a tie.
Oddly, the text message came from Wichita, Kansas. No lightning was ever actually spotted. Also, Duke officials refused to pull the tarp onto the field due to a technicality, letting the field become a soggy mess. In another coincidence, this keeps Clemson only a half-game ahead of Duke for the final ACC Championship tourney spot.
Thankfully, Duke kept the young men of both teams safe from harm, including that caused by the shame of falling another half-game more behind in the race for the final slot. You get what you pay for, right?
2:56 pm on April 21st, 2008
There were actually 8-10 respectable lightning bolts by the time the storm reached us east of Durham. Nothing too serious, but more than the sprinkling of rain the source makes it out to be.
3:27 pm on April 21st, 2008
JJ Redick is: The Giver
Coming this fall.
3:39 pm on April 21st, 2008
Thanks, sdianis. I’m sticking with my “God of Thunder matriculated from Trinity College” theory, then.
4:05 pm on April 21st, 2008
My younger brother plays for Clemson, and said that there was absolutely zero lightening bolts within the area of the stadium. They didn’t even hear thunder, and as they all tried to put the tarp on, the Duke players were ordered by their coach not to get up from the dugout. All I can say is karma is an important part of the game of baseball. Disrespect the game and it will come back to bite you. Very classless of Duke.
4:14 pm on April 21st, 2008
Duke: The karma chameleons of college sports.
3:00 pm on April 22nd, 2008
The worst part was that there is a manditory 30 minute delay that follows lightning warning. Now, campuses like clemson and duke are both equipped with lightning warning systems, and no alarm went off. Also, what is up with the grounds crew being gone, yes gone, for the game, when they knew that water might be on its way.
Point is, Duke is classless, and the umpires not checking on the validity of the information might cost clemson a postseason berth. The university athletic program should be sanctioned for this farce.
7:57 pm on April 22nd, 2008
Is it the Thorguard system?
(No, seriously. There’s a Thorguard lightning detection system. I would link to the page, but it screams at you at full throttle. I assume this is meant to warn you to shop elsewhere.)