As if all that were not bad enough, another discouraging piece of news comes from America West, a mid-sized airline that the government rescued last year.
Gomez recovered from the tackle to score the opening goal mid-way through the second half with a stunning set-piece, before Hugo Rodallega sealed a comfortable victory for the Latics late on.
That wasn't hard, considering he served in the chamber for 46 of his 76 years, has chaired two major committees, and has played a major or minor role in nearly every piece of significant social welfare or health legislation since the mid-1960s.
It made me wonder whether, in covering the campaign for the by-election in Mid Ulster due one week later, a reporter could get away with a piece to camera explaining that "the stakes could hardly be any lower".
The 40ft (12m) piece of wreckage was salvaged from the Team Philips super-yacht which was hit by a freak mid-Atlantic storm during a round-the-world race.