Good morning. Today is the 265th day of the year. On Sept. 21, 1864, at the height of the Civil War, the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reported on the latest sermon of the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, a powerful foe of slavery and supporter of the Union cause. Beecher said that although the Southern people were misguided about the issues, they believed that their cause was just and “they fought better for a bad cause than we do for a good one.”

Well-known people who were born today include singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen (which is scheduled to play the Barclays Center), comedian-actor Bill Murray (“Lost in Translation,” “Groundhog Day”), author Stephen King (“Pet Semetary,” “the Shining,” “the Stand”) and writer-producer Ethan Coen (“Fargo”).

This morning, of course, is the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the Barclays Center, setting the stage for not only Nets basketball but such star-studded attractions as Barbra Streisand, the Who, Bob Dylan, Lady Gaga, Andrea Bocelli and many others. At 9:30 a.m., Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov will be joined by Forest City Ratner CEO Bruce Ratner, Senator Charles Schumer, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others. Earlier, at 8:15, opponents of the arena will hold a press conference to highlight their belief that while the arena has been built, Forest City Ratner’s promises of jobs and housing for the community remain unfulfilled.