Issue 107, Volume 76

life+arts

Helms is hilarious in 'Cedar Rapids'

C-USA dominance in sight for Cougars

sports

t h e o f f i c i a l s t u d e n t n e w s pa p e r o f t h e u n i v e r s i t y o f h o u s to n s i n c e 1 9 3 4

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Issue 107, Volume 76

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March 4, 2011 Read. Recycle. Repeat daily.

STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS

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Lecture to focus on evolution, challenges of modern medicine The UH Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering will be holding the Alkiviades C. Payatakesa Memorial Lecture at 2 p.m. today in lecture hall L2-D2 of the Cullen College of Engineering.

The featured guest speaker will be Nicholas A. Peppas, a University of Texas professor widely renowned for his extensive work with molecular and cellular biology combined with engineering.

The lecture will detail the challenges and innovations associated with the successful targeted delivery of pharmaceutical drugs, with a discussion of its evolution in modern medicine and the future developments in the field.

For more information, visit the department’s website at chbe. egr.uh.edu/. — Julian Jimenez/The Daily Cougar

Optometry insights focus of weekend on-campus expo The UH Eye Institute will be hosting the Houston Area Insight Expo from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday at the UH College of Optometry.

The event will feature keynote speaker Franklin I. Porter from the Lighthouse of Houston.

“Faculty from the center will give presentations on the role of vision rehabilitation and highlight specific programs relating to bioptic telescopic spectacles for driving and assistive technology,” said Stan Woo, director of the Center for Sight Enhancement in a press release.

The event is $5, which includes a raffle ticket for door prizes and lunch. To register, visit stx.albinism.org/events/havinconference. — Julian Jimenez/The Daily Cougar

Anna Gallegos

THE DAILY COUGAR

UH students attended the Walk for Choice on Saturday in Montrose, and also held a petition drive on campus to educate students on pro-choice matters. | Courtesy of the Student Feminist Organization

The Student Feminist Organization is taking on national efforts to cut funding for abortions and Planned Parenthood through education on campus and throughout the city.

The organization attended the Walk for Choice at Cherryhurst Park

in Montrose on Saturday.

“It was very successful and a great political event,” said Amanda Williams, president of SFO. “There were about 150 people there — a mix of men and women. We just all got together and encouraged each other; it was empowering.”

The Walk for Choice rally was part RALLY continues on page 3

LAW SCHOOL

Review enters top echelon of journals Publication aims to foster intellectual discourse Ayesha Mohiuddin

THE DAILY COUGAR

CORRECTIONS J

In the opinion story “UH beats Rice in all-around value” that ran Thursday, we gave pricing statistics for both UH and Rice tuition. Both figures included the cost of on-campus housing.

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EVENTS Symphonic Band Works The Moores School of Music is presenting Symphonic Winds Symphonic Band Works by Sousa, Grainger, Mackey and more. The event will be from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. General admission is $10, $5 for seniors and students.

Steve Miller Band The School of Theatre & Dance is sponsoring the show, which is from 8 to 10:30 p.m. in the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center. Tickets are $10.

FOR MORE EVENTS, CHECK OUT thedailycougar.com/calendar

The Houston Law Review has been ranked number 39 by the Washington & Lee rankings, placing it in the top 3 percent of all legal scholarship journals worldwide.

The Houston Law Review is a scholarly journal written by University of Houston Law Center students. The publication publishes legal studies and research.

Editor-in-chief Michelle Gray,said the journal is in its 48th volume of publication.

“Each year, the Review publishes five issues containing a varied body of legal scholarship dedicated to fostering intellectual discourse among the professional and academic community,” Gray said. “The primary ranking for law journals is done by Washington and Lee Law School every year.”

The Houston Law Review helps improve the writing and analytical skills of its members, teach leadership and prepare students for legal practice.

“This is just one indicator of why the Law Center maintains such a strong reputation among other REVIEW continues on page 3

Founding dean of UH’s Honors College Ted Estess read from his new book “The Cream Pitcher: Mississippi Stories” on Wednesday in the Honors College Commons. | Nine Nguyen/The Daily Cougar

CAMPUS EVENT

Talking Mississippi, family Founding dean of Honors College entrances audience with latest familial stories Anna Gallegos

THE DAILY COUGAR Ted Estess likened himself to John Updike — not because they are great writers, but because they both wore ties during their book readings at the Honors College.

“What kind of self-respecting writer wears a tie?” Estess asked.

An audience of about 70 attended the reading for his new book, “The Cream Pitcher: Mississippi Stories,” in the Honors Commons Wednesday evening.

Estess had a soft, lilting Southern accent as he read the story “Cream, Clabber and Whey” from his book.

“There was never one day in my life where I said, ‘I’m going to write stories,’” Estess said

before the reading. “Like many good things in my life, it just happened. I guess I take credit for them, but in some sense they were an accident.”

The stories that fill his book are about his family, which starts with his grandfather George Washington Estess, and their life in a farmhouse in Southern Mississippi.

Estess said that he discovered the family stories when he traveled home during breaks from Syracuse University as a “recess from academics.”

Even if Estess did not say this, it would have been revealed as his reading intertwined both the present day with lives of his eight aunts and uncles during the early 20th century.

“No one can read a Mississippi story with the cadence and comic timing of Ted Estess,” Honors College Dean Bill Monroe said.

“His stories are evidence that it is not enough just to live, you also need to tell about it.”

As his story ambled along, Estess read in READING continues on page 3

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Friday, March 4, 2011

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TOP READS 1. ‘I Am Number Four’ should be No. 1 2. Space shuttle launch marks the end of an era 3. Creationism hinders intellectualism 4. Beer class leaves student interest brewing 5. Perry proves problematic for Texas

Geneva Convention. They are legal by virtue of the decision of the UN’s predecessor, the League of Nations, to reconstitute the Jewish national home in those areas and the fact that the territory was gained in 1967 as a result of a defensive war against Arab aggression.”

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Re: Guns issue splits campus

Re: US should play fair or not at all

“Criminals do not need to worry about armed citizens on campus but despite this, crime is lower on campus than in the surrounding area. Guns do not keep us safe here, it is the proper enforcement of law.

More guns will not make us more safe. It will make the average citizen more dangerous.”

“Israel is on the front line of this, but the Sudan genocide has been festering for forty years, Kashmir, Southern Russia, Southern Thailand, Somalia, Southern Nigeria, etc...are other front-line regions where Muslims are waging aggressive actions against non-Muslims on a consistent basis.”

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Buy your UH yearbook and you’ll be entered to win a FREE 16gb Apple iPad — surely the year’s hottest tech toy. More importantly, you’ll be investing in a keepsake you’ll cherish for a lifetime: your college memories encapsulated in the Houstonian Yearbook.

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“If you look around campus, and you don’t have to look too hard, there are plenty of military veterans going to school on their GI bills all around you.

“Right now we spend in excess of 600 Billion on national defense and two wars. As a nation we spend over 150 Billion on Highways annually.

The Postal Service receives subsidies in the low single digit billions. And yet there is no room for the greatest endeavour to be undertaken by man?”

What I don’t understand, is that at one point we trusted these people to drive armored tanks, fly fighter jets over populated cities, navigate nuclear submarines with intercontinental ballistic missile launching capabilities, and infiltrate the enemy on the most sensitive special operation missions you’ll never ever even hear about, yet the idea of licensed students over 21 years of age like these exact same veterans carrying a handgun on campus is scary and controversial.”

— user “Simon Palacio” Re: US should play fair or not at all “The Jewish communities in Judea and Samaria do not violate the

— user “Zeke” Re: Meet the presidential candidates “Michael Mchugh is a snotty idiot who thinks if he says ‘god damn’ a lot people will confuse his profanity for passion.

Harding seemed ok except that he had to ask the guy at the debate to repeat the question at least 6 times by my count.

Gogets was the only one who really seemed to be a thinker.”

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ABOUT THE COUGAR The Daily Cougar is published Monday through Friday during the fall and spring semesters, and Tuesday and Thursday during the summer, at the University of Houston Printing Plant and online at http://www. thedailycougar.com. The University seeks to provide equal educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability or veteran status, or sexual orientation. The Daily Cougar is supported in part

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The Daily Cougar

Friday, March 4, 2011

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FACULTY

Professor looking for gold in Pakistani mountains THE DAILY COUGAR A UH geology professor has started a new project to find gold in the mountains of Pakistan.

Shuhab Khan decided to start this investigation because people have found small specks of gold in sand from the rivers of this region.

However, no one has investigated the area where the actual gold deposit is.

“People have been doing this for 2,000 years. But still we do not have any known location where the actual motherlode is,” Khan said.

“If you are finding specks of gold, what does this mean? There is gold.”

This zone is in the north of Pakistan, where the Hindu Kush, the Karakoram and the Himalayan mountains meet. Because this is one of the most remote regions in the world, Khan is using remote sensing technology, which allows him to get data from the mountains through his lab.

RALLY continued from page 1

of a global event intended to raise awareness about the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act” House bill, sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J. According to Walk for Choice Publicist Jessica Roy, more than 12,000 people marched nationwide, not counting those who participated in Pakistan and the United Kingdom.

SFO took the rally one step further by garnering support against the addition of the Pence Amendment to Title X that calls for an end to federal funding of Planned Parenthood because it provides abortions.

SFO held an “I Stand with Planned Parenthood” petition signing on Feb. 23 in front of the M.D. Anderson Memorial Library while promoting the weekend’s Walk For Choice.

The group collected over 150 signatures from UH students, which Williams considers a success.

SFO members engaged every person who signed the petition in conversation.

REVIEW continued from page 1

schools, scholars, practicing attorneys and prospective students,” UH Law Center Dean Ray Nimmer said. “Congratulations not only to the current editors and faculty advisers, but to everyone who has contributed to the Law Review over the years.”

T h e Ho u s t o n L a w Re v i e w strives to improve the journal’s visibility and reputation in the legal community.

“Our most recent endeavor is HLRe, the Law Review’s new,

“We will be identifying the areas that we want, and then we will be using hyper-spectral remote sensing,” he said.

The characteristics of gold and other minerals, such as copper, can be identified through satellite pictures. The images can be seen in 3D and with many different colors, which indicate the minerals that are in the mountains.

The project, which started in November, received a grant of $370,000 from the National Academies of Sciences. Khan’s project was among 271 other proposals to research in Pakistan; only 14 were selected.

This project also includes participation from the University of Peshawar, Khan’s Alma mater.

He will be going to Pakistan during the summer to do research in the area.

Working with Khan at UH is graduate student Kivanc Biber, who will also be going to Pakistan.

Biber took a class with Khan last semester and decided to get involved in this project’s research because of his interest in the

“By doing that, it’s a way of empowering them to take the issues to someone else,” Williams said. “For every one person that we reached out to, they can potentially reach out to two more people or three more people. The signatures were great, that was very pragmatic, but the most important thing is that we reached out to them.”

The Pence Amendment has garnered a lot of attention in the past couple of weeks as the House passed it on Feb. 18 and Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Calif., revealed on the House floor that she had had an abortion.

SFO is particularly interested in seeing this amendment not pass because the organization sees it as a women’s health issue as well as an issue about the rights of women’s bodies.

“We were debunking some myths about Planned Parenthood … and introduced a lot of people for the first time to Planned Parenthood and their services,” said Williams about SFO’s petition signing.

“Our main goal was to introduce the issue to them (students) and how it concerns society as a whole, and why they should protect the health

online-only publication geared towards legal practitioners, law clerks, judges, and attorneys,” Gray said. “HLRe is an attempt to step outside the box of traditional law review scholarship in order to find and publish articles aimed at the practice of law. Our editors believe that HLRe is a wonderful complement to our traditional print journal.”

The national rankings are established according to the number of citations to the journal.

“In order to calculate a ranking, the number of citations to the journal is weighed with the number of articles published by the

subject.

Biber, who is originally from Turkey, is not scared of the violence that has erupted during the last few years.

“We have some dangerous areas in Turkey, and I have worked in those areas doing explorations.

I think I’m used to it, it doesn’t scare me,” Biber said.

According to Khan, the region in Pakistan that they will visit is safe.

“We do not take a risk,” Khan said. “I know this area, we know this area is very stable, very settled.”

If gold is discovered, the Pakistani government will keep all of it. Neither Khan nor his team members will be getting the gold, but that doesn’t worry them.

“This gold is flashy for the public, but at the end of the day we are there for the academics. We want to understand what made the gold be there,” Khan said.

The project is expected to last three years.

An audience of around 70 people took time to listen to the cadence of Ted Estess as he read from his new book Wednesday. | Nine Nguyen/The Daily Cougar

READING continued from page 1

such a way that shrunk the room to just him and the listener.

It wasn’t until certain moments, like when a cousin wondered if it was appropriate to wear white shoes before Easter, that the audience reappeared with laughter.

“I thought it was absolutely one of the most interesting things I heard in a long time,” said Camden Kirkland,

a chemical engineering freshman.

“It’s a nice insight into the life of a professor, to get to know a lot more about him.”

Nam-ny Le, an electrical engineering freshman, agreed with Kirkland.

“It gives you insight into not just his life, but about the power of storytelling. Just hearing his stories about his life and the power of it, you can take so much from that,” Le said. news@thedailycougar.com

Philanthropy Awareness Day “Philanthropy is not just a passing PhAD, it’s a tradition”

news@thedailycougar.com

ts den ni, stu alum ds H U ien H To: m: U nd fr a o Fr nors do

Tuesday, March 29, 2011 11:30 a.m. - 1 p.m. at the UC Say thanks, and get free food!

A rally on Saturday was organized to protest recent bills that would curb abortion. | Courtesy Student Feminist Organization of women and families.

“We wanted to outreach to our community (at UH) and educate them about the issue. A lot of people can’t take action on something they aren’t informed about,” Williams said. news@thedailycougar.com

journal in that given year,” Gray said. “The precise calculation takes into account the most recent eight years.”

In addition to the publication of legal scholarship, the Houston Law Review, with the support of the Frankel Family, hosts an annual lecture focused on bringing scholars to the Houston legal community.

“This lecture provides an opportunity for the exchange of ideas and legal discussion,” Gray said. “Topics vary from year to year, based on the relevant and timely legal issues of the day.” news@thedailycougar.com

UH is an EEO/AA institution.

Miguel Cortina

For more information: alumsupport@uh.edu

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Friday, March 4, 2011

The Daily Cougar

opinion THE DAILY COUGAR

EDITOR Andrew Taylor E-MAIL opinion@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/opinion

WEEKDAY WARRIOR by Antoine Mayes

EDITORIAL BOARD EDITOR IN CHIEF MANAGING EDITORS NEWS EDITORS SPORTS EDITORS LIFE

& ARTS EDITOR

OPINION EDITOR

Jack Wehman Newton Liu, Christopher Losee Jose Aguilar, Cristi Guerra John Brannen, Joshua Siegel Mary Baak Andrew Taylor

STAFF EDITORIAL

Don’t hold grudges, treat others the best you can

C

ollege is a time when the amount of work you have on your plate is so gratuitous that it makes no sense to make things more difficult.

One of the most important things every college student needs is a friend. Friends are the saving grace to those really hard weeks before an important test, or the reliable comfort after a hard day.

The importance of these friendships is so valuable that in the end it’s not worth it to lose people over petty grievances or small issues from the past.

One of the things we are all supposed to learn in college, aside from our chosen curriculums, is life lessons that will help us after college.

Learning these lessons is really just part of the larger theme of growing up and maturing.

Forgiving people and learning to admit your mistakes are just a few examples of some changes for the better that may happen in college.

When it comes to friends, forgiveness and humility go a long way. Another thing many college students learn to deal with is the challenge of having a significant other and making time for his or her friends as well. Learning how to balance this isn’t easy, especially when you fall hard for someone.

Luckily, though, friends tend to understand this and remain loyal to their friends that disappear due to a new love interest.

Some college students miss out on these lessons — either by choice, or because they take the attitude that they don’t need many friends anyway. Many of us know of a friend in college who gets caught up in a relationship and then changes for the worse.

College is not the time to let friends go, or to treat others in a disrespectful way. The people you become friends with in college will likely become some of the friends you keep for a long time after graduation.

In the end, the better you treat the people you’re close to, the better off you’ll be. Life is too short to hold grudges or lose friends because of some fleeting argument.

E D I TO R I A L P O L I C I E S STAFF EDITORIAL The Staff Editorial reflects the opinions of The Daily Cougar Editorial Board (the members of which are listed above the editorial). All other opinions, commentaries and cartoons reflect only the opinion of the author. Opinions expressed in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Houston or the students as a whole.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR The Daily Cougar welcomes letters to the editor from any member of the UH community. Letters should be no more than 250 words and signed, including the author’s full name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major. Anonymous letters will not be published. Deliver letters to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; send them via campus mail to STP 4015; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. Letters are subject to editing.

ADVERTISEMENTS Advertisements published in The Daily Cougar do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the University or the students as a whole.

GUEST COMMENTARY Submissions are accepted from any member of the UH community and must be signed with the author’s name, phone number or e-mail address and affiliation with the University, including classification and major.

Commentary should be kept to less than 500 words. Guest commentaries should not be written as replies to material already printed in the Cougar, but rather should present independent points of view. Rebuttals should be sent as letters. Deliver submissions to Room 7, University Center Satellite; e-mail them to letters@thedailycougar.com; or fax them to (713) 743-5384. All submissions are subject to editing.

Freedom worth high gas prices

A

fter the successful revolutions in Tunisia and Egypt earlier this year, many other nations in the Middle East and beyond are following suit with protests for freedom.

The unrest in Libya, Oman, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia is accompanied by protests in China against the government. The protests in Tunisia and Egypt were Travis monumental because Gumphrey they were inspired by the poverty, unemployment, corruption and leaders who had been in power for decades. These protests inspired an entire region to demand change in its systems of government.

In Oman, pro-democracy demonstrators set fire to cars, houses, a police station and the governor’s residence in the hopes of opening up the ruling system of Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Said has responded by raising the minimum wage by more than 40 percent.

Habiba al-Hanay, a 45-year-old civil servant, said, “the Omanis are not looking to oust their ruler,” according to an article published in the Guardian.co.uk “We just hope he will hear us and make changes,”he said.

In Bahrain, the majority Shiites have

been protesting the discrimination and other abuses by the Sunni dynasty that has ruled for more than two centuries. Bahrain is also the first region to be hit by the demand for reform in the Middle East.

Continuing even further, Saudis have answered the calls made on the Internet for King Abdullah to enact reforms and relinquish many of his powers.

Abdullah has tried to fight off the protests by offering temporary government workers permanent positions and by offering interest-free loans to Saudis for marriage, starting a business or buying furniture.

The most extreme situation, though, is in Libya. Moammar Gadhafi has been in power for 42 years, and demonstrations have occurred throughout the last few weeks in order to force his removal.

Gadhafi has a history of placing his family members in high-ranking positions, spending frivolously and committing heinous acts against those who oppose him.

The citizens of Libya have responded by holding rallies against his oppressive government — and he has made his intentions clear as to dissolving the protests.

The Libyan Minister of the Interior and an Army general, Abdul Fatah Younis, resigned and urged the army to join the people and respond to their demands, according to Al-Jazeera.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR AND COMMENTS FROM THE WEBSITE. Re: Admin against budget cuts “Despite the state deficit, which is estimated to be between $15 and $30 billion, Governor Rick Perry has refused to tap the $9.4 billion Rainy-Day fund.

Khator doesn’t feel the same way, saying, “a lot of us feel that it is raining.”

Dr. Khator: if you really feel that it is raining, how do you explain the fact that you live in a mansion with car, driver, and maids and receive 18% 75K raise at the taxpayer and student expense during such dire economic times?

Unfortunately, your lack of sincerity and credibility will hurt the UH

“Gadhafi told me he was planning on using airplanes against the people (in Benghazi), and I told him that he will have thousands of people killed if he does that,” Younis said.

Additionally, Gadhafi faced new setbacks with opposition forces preparing to dispatch a rebel force to his stronghold in Tripoli, along with the UN imposing military and financial sanctions. He could face charges for crimes against humanity.

With all that is happening today in the name of democracy and freedom in the Middle East, Americans are growing worried about the rising cost of fuel in our nation.

The price per gallon in the Houston area is around $3.40, and that is a concern.

But in the grand scheme of things, freedom for these people not only creates a better opportunity for them, but also for us.

Maybe once these people have the right to make his or her own decisions, our current gas prices might drop because a country will no longer be controlled by one man’s desire for money or power. And freedom is definitely worth the extra $1.10 I have to pay at the pump.

Travis Gumphrey is a journalism sophomore and may be reached at opinion@thedailycougar.com.

MAKE YOURSELF HEARD @THEDAILYCOUGAR.COM

community severely but you do not seem to care.... Where is leadership?

—Cougar Re: Admin against budget cuts “The suggestions, which were made anonymously by faculty, staff and students across campus, ...”

This is not true. The president asked the comments to be emailed to her and therefore she has access to the identity of the person submitting the comment.

By trying to control the input process, the President sets a very bad example.

For her to have credibility in Austin, she needs to set the example by giving up all the excessive perks (mansion, car, driver, etc) and return the 18% 75K raise she took last year.

Otherwise, she appears as a greedy administrator living in luxury at the cost of taxpayers and students at a time of economic crisis. As such, she has no credibility in Austin when she talks to legislators.

—Cougar Your voice is important to us. Be heard, leave your comments on our website or send a letter to the editor at letters@thedailycougar.com.

Friday, March 4, 2011

The Daily Cougar

sports overtime

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EDITORS John Brannen, Joshua Siegel E-MAIL sports@thedailycougar.com ONLINE www.thedailycougar.com/sports

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

C-USA perfection one win away Green Wave stands in the way of Cougars achieving spotless mark in conference play Joshua Siegel

THE DAILY COUGAR

FILE PHOTO/THE DAILY COUGAR

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

Sharpshooter again honored for smarts by Conference USA As sure of a shot as senior guard Roxanna Button is on the court, she is also an ace in the classroom.

Button was voted to the Conference USA All-Academic Team on Thursday for the second year in a row.

The other players selected were East Carolina’s Kim Gay and Ariana Jackson, Amanda Peterson of UAB and Megan Elliott and Morgan Mayse of Rice.

Button was also named to the Capital One Academic AllDistrict Honors a month ago.

— Cougar Sports Services

SOFTBALL

UH tops BYU in first game of tournament The Cougars beat the BYU Cougars 4-0 behind the arm of pitcher Amanda Crabtree and a consistent offensive performance in the first game of the Campbell/Cartier Tournament Thursday in San Diego.

UH scored three runs in the fourth inning to take a commanding lead, and added on to it in the fourth with another run.

Crabtree pitched a complete game, walking five batters and striking out 10. BYU committed two errors that were responsible for one UH run, and allowed Jennifer Klinkert to advance to third base before scoring a run.

The Cougars (14-3) continue play at today against Cal. Poly at 1:15 p.m. That game will be followed by a 3:15 p.m. matchup with Long Beach State.

The tournament concludes at 11 a.m. Sunday when UH plays Fresno State.

— Cougar Sports Services

TRACK AND FIELD

Athletes get final opportunity to qualify for nationals The Cougars will head to Ames, Iowa, on Saturday. There is sure to be a hectic atmosphere.

The Iowa State Last Chance Qualifier is the last chance for track and field athletes to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.

The national championships are March 11-12 in College Station.

— Cougar Sports Services

TENNIS

Cougars return to swap serves with Kansas Court will be back in session for UH this weekend. UH will be in Manhattan, Kan., today to compete against Kansas State. The Wildcats are 7-1 on the season.

The Cougars (6-4) will head to Lawrence, Kan., to swap serves with the Kansas Jayhawks (3-4) at 11 a.m. Saturday.

— Cougar Sports Services

The Cougars are approaching the finish line of what could be the second perfect season in Conference USA history, as they prepare to close the regular season against Tulane.

“Being that type of champion, to me, takes you to a completely different level of being a champion,” said head coach Todd Buchanan. “There’s very few things in life, certainly in athletics, that you can do to perfection and 16-0 would be perfect. It would mean everything to me.”

With a perfect season within reach, the Cougars are treating Tulane as a threat, despite an 85-70 win in February.

“Tulane is as talented and well-coached as anyone in our conference,” Buchanan said. “I know their kids are going to come in hungry and try to prove a point and knock us off our path.

“We’ll have our hands full with it being the last home game, 16-0 and Senior Day. Emotions and a lot of things will be there for us to overcome.”

In its last game, UH fought back from a 19-point deficit at halftime to rally in the second half and beat Rice 74-70.

Buchanan said the Cougars need a

Courtney Taylor and the Cougars hope to cross another goal off the list by achieving an undefeated record in Conference USA on Saturday against the Tulane Green Wave. The Cougars are the likely favorites after besting Tulane earlier in the season. | File Photo/The Daily Cougar sharper start.

“We can’t come out stiff against Tulane,” he said. “ We shouldn’t get another chance like that to come back. We’ve shown we can come back from games like that — but we have to take the second half of that game and build on that.”

But regardless of the nerves going into

the game, Buchanan is confident.

“In my heart I believe when the dust settles around 4 or 4:30 p.m., we’ll be 16-0 and conference champs,” Buchanan said.

The game tips off at 2 p.m. Saturday at Hofheinz Pavilion. sports@thedailycougar.com

BASEBALL

Tough teams await UH at Classic Gilbert Requena

THE DAILY COUGAR The Cougars will have a change of scenery this weekend in the 11th annual Houston College Classic at Minute Maid Park.

UH (5-3) has lost three of its last four, after a 7-6 loss to UTSA on Tuesday.

The team will have to bring its A game this weekend as two of the three teams they will play are ranked in the top 20.

Kentucky is unranked, but No. 16 Baylor and No. 20 Texas A&M are the first ranked

opponents UH has faced this season.

“We’re going to do what we’ve been doing since the fall,” Whitting said. “I don’t deviate based on our opponent.”

Whitting said that the team is better than its record indicates.

“Right now we’re 5-3,” Whitting said.

“If you really look at what’s going on, we’re three or four hits away from being undefeated.”

The two other teams competing in the Classic are No. 21 Rice (6-4) and Utah (0-5).

The Cougars will play Baylor (4-4) in

the opening game of the Classic at noon Friday.

The teams last faced each other in 2009, when Baylor edged out UH 3-2. Last season, Baylor went 36-24 (12-13 Big 12).

The Cougars will play against the Wildcats (4-4) at 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

The Cougars will wrap up the Classic at 6 p.m. on Sunday with a game against Texas A&M (8-1). The Aggies beat the Cougars 12-3 in last season’s meeting. Texas A&M went 43-21 (14-12 Big 12) last season. sports@thedailycougar.com

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Cougars gear up for rubber match with Rice UH will try to overcome turnovers, recent slump in regular-season finale versus Owls Joachim Clarke

THE DAILY COUGAR Perhaps a small dose of rivalry can get the Cougars back on track.

After dropping an 80-77 contest against Tulane on Wednesday, the Cougars (12-16, 4-11 Conference USA) return home for Senior Day — and their final regularseason game at Hofheinz Pavilion.

Wednesday’s loss tied the Cougars’ season-long losing streak at five games. The Cougars hope to end the regular season on a winning note, despite having won only one game in their last 11 outings.

“Heading into the conference

tournament we definitely want to give ourselves a bit of momentum,” senior forward Zamal Nixon said. “This is our last chance to do that.”

UH sits at tenth in the C-USA standings, one place above Rice (12-17, 4-11 C-USA). Saturday’s contest between the two teams with identical conference records will determine which team gets the higher seed in the tournament.

Senior forward Maurice McNeil said that he always expects Rice to come in with a winning mentality.

“Rice is going to come in and try to play hard,” McNeil said. “It’s a rivalry game, so they’re going to want to get a win and get the better seed in the

tournament.”

The Cougars are still stinging from the 79-71 overtime loss to Rice at Tudor Fieldhouse on Jan. 26. Revenge will be in the forefront of their minds heading into Saturday’s season finale.

Head coach James Dickey said the game will be a meaningful day for everyone involved.

“It’s Senior Day, so we’ll have a lot of emotions for them,” Dickey said. “Also, we’re playing our cross-town rival who already beat us in an overtime game.”

Saturday’s game tips off at 5 p.m. in Hofheinz Pavilion. sports@thedailycougar.com

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LIFE&ARTS

Friday, March 4, 2011

The Daily Cougar

BOX OFFICE

playlist Âť

Helms brings A-game in ‘Cedar Rapids’

Sad songs after you’re rejected

B

eing rejected is a common experience — for some more than others. Say you’ve had your sights set on dating this someone whom you think is the cat’s pajamas, but when you finally muster the courage to ask them out, they tell you that they’re not really interested in dating right now (or ever, for that matter.) But hey, it happens all the time. Here are 10 awful songs to hear when that special someone turns you down, even though you knew that you almost had it all. Just be thankful that Valentine’s day is behind us. — Mary Baak You Can Do Better Than Me Death Cab for Cutie

The Underdog Spoon

I Want to Know What Love is Foreigner

Accidental Babies Damien Rice

I Miss You Blink 182

Rolling in the Deep Adele

Some Guys Have All the Luck Rod Stewart

Call it Off Tegan & Sara

You Could Be Happy Snow Patrol

Do You Really Want to Hurt Me Culture Club

Daniel Renfrow

THE DAILY COUGAR “Cedar Rapids� is almost what you would expect to see if “The Hangover� and “Step Brothers� had a child. “What happens in Cedar Rapids stays in Cedar Rapids� seems to be the mantra of this truly hilarious film, but that is not what the audience wants — instead, they want to take what happened in Cedar Rapids home with them. “The Office� cast member Ed Helms stars as Tim Lippe, a socially awkward, shot-sipping insurance rep from a small Wisconsin town who is unexpectedly thrust into a journey to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. There, he must win the coveted “Two Diamond� award for his boss.

Lippe — who has never left the state of Wisconsin — lands in Cedar Rapids with wide-eyed wonder. Soon after checking in to his economy hotel, he calls his attractive former teacher, played

by Sigourney Weaver, to rant about the hotel’s indoor pool and lack of other luxury features.

But it isn’t until Lippe meets his roommates, John C. Reilly and Isiah Whitlock Jr., that the audience discovers the real source of humor for the film — these three are perfect together. They bounce jokes off each other with ease, and none of them seem forced.

Ed Helms is refreshing in this film. He has learned how to play comedic innocence without turning into one of Will Ferrell’s spastic Pomeranian characters.

While watching the film,

classifieds BULLETIN BOARD

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Ed Helms stars as Tim Lippe in the new Fox Searchlight film ‘Cedar Rapids,’ alongside John C. Reilly and Isiah Whitlock, Jr. | Fox Searchlight films imagine that Will Ferrell is in each scene doing the same things Ed Helms does. You will have a new appreciation for the film — and for Helms’ acting talent. Tim Lippe is innocent without being unbelievable, and has better comedic timing than any of Will Ferrell’s characters.

John C. Reilly plays Dean Ziegler, the bad boy of the insurance convention. Tim was warned by his boss to stay away from Dean, but to the delight of the audience he doesn’t follow the advice. This is a perfect role for Reilly — it allows him to showcase his comedic talent along with his dramatic talent. Reilly has a dimension in this role that he does not have in many of his other comedic roles.

Isiah Whitlock Jr. holds his own as insurance rep Ronald Wilkes. Wilkes is a quiet, thoughtful character who

surprises the audience throughout the film when he does unexpectedly hilarious things.

Anne Heche shines as Joan Ostrowski-Fox, an alpha-female insurance rep who downs shots like the boys. But who knew Heche was a comedian? She successfully keeps up with both Reilly and Helms, and even manages to steal most of the scenes she is in — this is definitely new territory for Heche.

This is a refreshing film. The jokes are vulgar without being cheap, and the actors delivering them are funny without creating stereotypes.

Director Miguel Arteta clearly drew from his experience in directing episodes of “The Office� for this film.

That being so, “Cedar Rapids� is a film fans of “The Office� will love. arts@thedailycougar.com

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COMICS & MORE

Friday, March 4, 2011

comics

crossword

Dim Sum by Ho Yi Lau

ACROSS 1 Reduction 5 Light bender 10 Chief god of Memphis 14 Pizazz 15 About, datewise 16 Thus 17 Hanker for 18 Flies like an eagle 19 Not bogus 20 Bach opus 22 Fraud 24 Inside info source 27 Peevishness 28 Undecided 32 Platitude 36 Lennon’s wife 37 Jargon 39 Catamounts 40 Oscar-winner Sorvino 42 Make a run 44 Four-footed friends 45 Texas athlete 47 Retail giant 49 Python or wrap 50 Kind of jacket 51 Courier 53 North-forty unit 56 Ploy that targets the gullible 57 Tamale wrap 61 Thin, as a voice 65 Beside oneself 66 Too theatrical 69 Graph lines 70 Ration out 71 Divided country 72 Hoarfrost 73 They’re above the abs 74 Wraith 75 Follow the recipe

The Fishbowl by Thomas Hernandez

sudoku How to play

Each row must contain the numbers 1 to 9; each column must contain the numbers 1 to 9; and each set of 3-by-3 boxes must also contain the numbers 1 to 9.

Previous puzzle solved

DOWN 1 The “I” 2 Matty or Felipe 3 Ger. or Eng. 4 Swamp 5 Gateway wares 6 Pedro’s river 7 Jordan neighbor 8 Use steel wool 9 African tribe

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Greasy marks Dry toast Legally impede Scout destination 58 Type of arch 59 Univ. marchers 60 Syrup brand 62 Kind of interview 63 — Moore of “G.I. Jane” 64 Belgian river 67 Prizm maker 68 Talk on and on

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10 Regained energy (2 wds.)

11 Robin’s perch 12 Seaweed derivative 13 Grail descriptor 21 Underwater shockers 23 Show approval 25 Catches cold 26 Special skill 28 Amazon, e.g.

29 Ouzo flavor 30 Comic’s “Sally —” 31 Troll’s cousin 33 Slide sight 34 Gainesville fan 35 Dryden work 38 Lab weights 41 Fixes the flowers 43 Stoltz or Idle 46 Ow! 48 Romanov ruler

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2010 UNITED FEATURE SYNDICATE INC.

Previous puzzle solved OD D E R A L E N E K I RO V O A S T O L S H A F T C A L F OR I G T P A U A D C H A RO RON DO U L T D ME A L B Y E E

H O R R S A T S H U T M I E L N P R E E A L L

OD A MA N OWA ON B A K R G E R I E L N E E A D U RO X AM V E E S

D V E G I AWE N L E T E V E R T R A S S Y ON QU A D U N T O I DO L S S UME C H E S S Y T OO T H H E L I O E R E C T

TURN YOUR USED BOOKS INTO CASH. NO MAGIC REQUIRED.

Sell your stuff for FREE to the UH community with online classifieds!

To get started, sign up with your UH e-mail address at: thedailycougar.com/classifieds

THE DA D ILY L COU O GA G R.COM M

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