Display Message when RSS feed is empty

I am having a problem with the code given here for RSS feeds.

<?php // Get RSS Feed(s)
include_once(ABSPATH . WPINC . '/rss.php');
$rss = fetch_rss('http://example.com/rss/feed/goes/here');
$maxitems = 5;
$items = array_slice($rss->items, 0, $maxitems);
?>

<ul>
<?php if (empty($items)) echo '<li>No items</li>';
else
foreach ( $items as $item ) : ?>
<li><a href='<?php echo $item['link']; ?>'
title='<?php echo $item['title']; ?>'>
<?php echo $item['title']; ?>
</a></li>
<?php endforeach; ?>
</ul>

The site I am working on pulls an RSS feed from a calendar site; when the feed is empty, I want to display a message instead. This displays the RSS feed properly when it points to a feed w/content, but it does not display the message when the feed is empty.

I would welcome *any* suggestions!