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Thumbs Up to SIU for giving in to Mother Nature and closing school last Thursday and Friday. When there is a thick layer of ice on the ground, closing school should be a no-brainer. It's good to see that whoever makes the decision to call off school finally came to his senses.

When every school in the region is closed, and even bingo is canceled at the Elks Club, obviously something bad is going to happen, because we all know they don't cancel bingo for no reason. I know it's hard to admit, but even Southern Illinois University and its "higher commitment" can't beat Mother Nature's wrath, especially when she throws snow, ice, sleet and freezing rain into the mix.

Thumbs Down to all the spam mail on the SIU Webmail system. The other day I deleted 56 pages of spam mail that ranged from Viagra to free prescription delivery if I buy direct. The problem is so bad I even get spam mail from myself that I didn't send. There has to be something the university can do about this.

Thumbs Up to the little kid who won the Giant City Lodge "Let's Make a Deal Contest" Wednesday night at the men's basketball game versus the University of Northern Iowa. That was probably one of the coolest things I've ever seen at the Arena in the last four years. Anyone who wasn't there, I'll recap.

During a timeout, little Jordan (all 4 feet of him) was picked for a contest that many adults and college students perform miserably at. In 21 seconds, he drained the layup on his first try, shot three free throws before swishing the fourth, and with a slight running start to put all of his tiny frame behind him nailed the 3-pointer on his first try.

It was amazing. The entire crowd, including the Northern Iowa fans, went nuts. In the end nobody was happier to win the $100 than the 4-foot-tall phenomenon named Jordan. Word on the street is that the Salukis are already looking at the little guy for their 2017 recruiting class.

Thumbs Down to anyone who gave up on the basketball Salukis. A few weeks ago many people, including some of the dedicated posters on SalukiTalk, had already thrown in the towel on this season. Anyone who has been to any games lately has probably also noticed that others have given up on the team, as attendance in the Arena has been down.

ESPN.com writer Kyle Wellison even wrote in a recent column that "a rabid crowd of 5,700 Salukis fans serves as the metaphorical "sixth man" on the court." An attendance of 5,700 is pathetic when you consider the Arena can hold 9,345. Everyone who already gave up can redeem himself by getting to Senior Night next Saturday against Illinois State to honor Randal, Matt and Tyrone for everything they've done for the program.

Thumbs Up to the baseball Salukis for scheduling a game this season at Rent One Park in Marion. For those of you who hadn't heard yet, the April 1 ballgame against the University of Illinois will be played in Marion at the home of the Southern Illinois Miners baseball team. I think this is a great idea and it's something we need to continue year in and year out. Nothing's better than Tuesday-night baseball under the lights, and it's especially sweeter if the game features the Salukis and our I-57 rivals in front of a packed house at Rent One Park in Marion.

Thumbs Down to all the potholes that have popped up around Carbondale. Some of them are almost unavoidable and I even saw one that was almost a foot deep. Good news for auto repair shops for all the wheel alignments they'll be fixing, bad news for all the drivers who have to shell out the cash because of one bad experience with a foot-deep pothole. Hopefully the city gets on that once all the ice is gone.

Fruth is a graduate student in curriculum and instruction.

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