Congratulations to Christopher Ricks on the knighthood he has received (or will receive when the whole ritual with the sword hopefully takes place?) from the Queen of England.

Professor Ricks, 75, is recognised as one of the greatest living critics of English literature. His books range from an acclaimed scholarly edition of Tennyson’s poetry to an examination of Bob Dylan’s lyrics.

The poet W.H. Auden once described Ricks as “the kind of critic every poet dreams of finding”, and [poet Andrew] Motion said it was a privilege to feature on the honours list alongside him.

His book, Dylan’s Visions of Sin, is one of my all-time favorite works on Dylan, being one that actually helped me enjoy Dylan’s songs more.

…

And congratulations to another estimable Dylan fan (we know because we talked to him about it), Paul Westphal, star of the American basketball world both as a player and a coach. He has just been hired as the new head coach of the Sacramento Kings.

“I’m just really excited to get started here and hit the ground running,” said Westphal. “There’s a lot happening really fast with the draft, summer league, hiring assistant coaches and finding a place to live. There’s a real feeling of optimism on my part in what we can accomplish here.”

Westphal’s NBA coaching experience began nearly five years after his career as a player in the league ended. In 1988, after coaching for one season at Phoenix’s Southwestern Baptist Bible College and two seasons at Grand Canyon College, Westphal joined the Suns’ bench as an assistant coach. Four years later, in 1992, the California native became the franchise’s head coach. As head coach, he led the Suns to three of their most successful seasons. In 1992-93, the Suns clinched the Pacific Division title, won a franchise-record 62 games and made their second appearance in the NBA Finals. In 1995, Westphal became the second-fastest coach to reach 150 wins, accomplishing the feat in just 208 games and just five shy of the mark set by Phil Jackson. The Suns surpassed the 55-win mark in each of Westphal’s three seasons.

“Paul Westphal will install an offensive and defensive system and that’s something we haven’t had in the past,” explained Kings’ Owner Joe Maloof. “He’ll give us a direction and road map to follow. I think that’s what this team needs and Paul is the guy to do that for us.”

The very best of luck to Paul.

...................
Share this!

Posts which might be related to this one based on a mysterious algorithm:

• Wowee! Kings win fourth in a row
• Go Kings
• Tweedle Dee