The national semi-finals

Are you excited about the George Mason/Florida match-up we have been waiting for all year?

How about the prospects of UCLA's defense and LSU's free throw shooting mixing for another sub-50's ballgame this deep in the tounrnament?

I wrote that on wednesday of last week. I kept thinking more would be coming.. More thought I would have to point out interesting things. But, nothing.

The games were as boring as I was afraid they could be. Mason was out matched and LSU was never in it with UCLA.

Coach Howland's basketball philosophy is certainly effective, but my so ugly to watch. A free throw with 1:55 left gave LSU its 40th point of the game.

Memphis and LSU combined for 90 points total the last two satuday evening contests verses the Bruins.

However, UCLA did play an exceptional game. The three consecutive dunks to begin the second half contained some of the best execution of basketball strategy I have seen in a long time. Surgically removing the tigers heart, and if you dont beleive that go take a look at Tyrus Thomas face on the bench the entire second half.

So its basically all over for me

When Adam Morrison began crying while his team was still only down 3 with time onm the clock I got a bad feeling. Only seconds earlier it looked as though Gonzaga would advance and I would have selected the first 4 teams of the elite 8 correctly.

Even as it was I had 5 of 8 correct going into Saturday's Regional Semifinal games. I cheered for LSU, but had picked Texas earlier despite my great dislike for that school. I tried to watch UCLA/Memphis, but falling in and out of coma my attention lagged. Memphis' high-powered offense only crossed the 40-point mark with less than 14 seconds remaining on the clock.

Then Sunday.
I went into the day fairly sure UCONN would advance. Honestly, how can an 11-seed get to the final 4. Sure, there was LSU in '86. but, that is a big school from a power conference. No matter.
This was the biggest upset in the last ... I dont know a bigger upset in the history of the NCAA tournament. George Mason from the CAA. WHAT!?

Still Villanova would get in, and I at least would have one team in the Final 4.
Denied again.

So for the first time in the last all of my life I did not select a single team correctly for the Final 4. In 1993 I selected all of the teams correctly. I had 3 of them right in 2004. This year, not one. And keep in mind going into Saturday I still had all 4 teams alive that I had selected.

so now i say... nothing, predictions saved for another day.

Biggest Tournament Confessions

I was watching that 70's show on syndication instead of the last sequence of Texas/WVU.



i give you this happy picture not as an indication of my choice for the final 4, but as a reminder of tournament dominance, something not coming this year. If only UCLA this year were as beautiful to watch as Lew was when disallowed to dunk.

so close to busting it open...

Gonzaga had it. I was all set to start this off gloating about how i had picked all four winner of tonights game even before the tournament started.
and up 5 with 60 seconds to go I was not worried.
and bam like that it was over and Morrison was crying.

Unlike earlier in the night, when JJ Redick left his last college game crying; I did not laugh at Adam Morrison. But, he shares deep white-boy disappointment with Redick (and all of West Virginia) on this night... those guys have to make a shot down the stretch to close/pull out a victory.

Morrison too cried, even before the game was over. Probably both Redick and Morrison were crying about thoughts like this:
"&%$#, if only i had made a shot down the stretch this game would have been different."
Morrison may have also been thinking "maybe my blood sugar is low" or "these socks, my hair, this attitude, maybe being cool isn't enough" or "at least I got more point than redick".


Despite not making a play the SEAL a victory in the last minute, Morrison at least had 24 points and several big rebounds. Still, I argue that superstars HAVE to make a play to win games at this point. That what makes them super. Plus he gets points for the sock.

Not having Diabetes as a built-in excuse Redick once again forced to wonder if he can really play competatively at an elite level. Yes, his jumper is wet, but he takes it to the hole just about as effective as GW Bush can plan a foreign policy. All 4 years at Duke have ended in this guy vanishing in the big games.

1. (ok i went back and saw some highlights he does put Duke ahead with a jumper with about 3 minutes to play, so he's not a bum, but he is not Jerry West or even Steve Kerr, but he could be John Paxson)

And here is a tip for Texas - I :
Do not take it up soft against LSU.

Lost in all this is Memphis cruising to the Elite 8. Tiger/Bruins, hey that happened once...
1973 NCAA Basketball Championship
UCLA d. Memphis St. (87-66)
Over/Under on how many times they reference that game in saturday's broadcast: 7

saturday night (8/16 = 1/2 of the sweet ones)

Klark Kellogg said, "that is a nice penetrating move". on a live look-in for UCLA/Alabama. And for a moment I am 14.

I cant stand Duke. This picture is for props the Sheldon Williams. He is good, but I dont like him, or Duke, and i think he looks ridiculous here.

I would like now to talk about the commercials in these games. CBS has always provided a great deal of repetition not just with its promos, but also for the redundency of its advertisers and the corperate partners of the NCAA.

Try this--I still associate Steve Nash almost immediately when I see the brand logo for the dockers clothing company mostly on account of the night he had in '93 beatng Arizona in a 2-15 (the last two numbers need to be checked, but that's how i tell it to the kids at the park).
(yikes way of coarse)


US Army drama. Square shook my hand....
This type of imperialist drivel in sheep's clothing make me wanna act out violent.

"where did you get that from"
changed man

economic opportunity for minorities (specifically Black MEN). How distgusting to fein concern for the economic plight of minority (perhaps single-parent) families, while recruiting for the war machine.
In this commercial the young, good-looking, articulate, atheletic, afro-american 17.5 yearold comes to his mother at dinner and begins to tell her he has his future planned out. She is skeptical at first, but
Belief that joining the army will provide unique opportunity for the intended applicant is sad thing indeed if/when one considers the obvious REALITY that consitutes the critical situation this empire's army is ungulfed by.

Know this young man(woman), if you get in the army now, you are going to war. You can go to college when the war is over assuming you live through it. But, ask you self two things:
1. Is/when/how is this world going to end?
2. If I am in the army for my own reasons, and and so are the people I work with, and we all are together because we are looking out to take care of ourselves, then how effective a team will we be?




Applebees shrimpy Gilligan song.
That crap is no good. I am talking the song. I am talking the two dweeby wannabe folk stars that are singing in the water and other fake sets. I am talking about the actual shrimp it is crap and it is in my head. GILLIGAN'S ISLAND THEME with crapplebee's skrimps with spicy powder.
I dont even like the fake drip=droplet of water that the white lady wipes from her eye in the very last cut.
Annoying, and the foreknowledge of an inferior product make this the most infuriating commercial of the first weekend. However it does not lead you into thinking that joining and active war effort is a good idea when considering how best to secure your future.



The best commercial is easily the Sonic tater rejection piece.
a. it has decent sports analysis to start off
b. be its funny when the guy interrupts himself to smack away the tater tot
c. that term he calls it that i cannot remember. funny.

There is no dominent team in this tournament

That's why I still like UCONN, they are he closest to being dominant.

Duke looks vulnerable because they are. GW is trouble for them. I think coach K has his own parking space at the Greensboro Colessium

I was afraid of my nevada pick like i said, i was ready to put them in the sweet 16; i am glad i did not. The 'cuse losing did not really surprise me, that happens a lot. no. 3 going 0 for the field did surprise me. aTm is a good team even if there coach looked like a deer in headlights numerous times in the last 10 minutes.

this may be the first time in a decade i did not lose a sweet 16 team on the first day.

will adam morrison average over 35 points for the tournament?

NCAA tourneymentiicianodislamboda

thats just the madness talkin'.

This my final four and my final gripes.

Duke gets all the benifits of doubt, both on and off the court. lots of big schools get them. Duke gets them more.
They will wilt as they have in the past few seasons once they are exposed. UNC did it four days after FSU did. this just happened about 10 days ago. Here's how it goes down:
-Redick misses more/is guarded well by an guy a few inches longer/ jumps a foot higher/can defend/ is a step quicker.
-They get out rebounded.
-The oppenent gets excpetional gaurd play.
Really only 2 of these 3 things has to happen for Duke to fall by the elite 8. Kryzeweski seems to hold fast to a system that is not built for late season play, or the plan simply lacks Shane Battier.


Nevada is a team I wish were seeded elseware and i would pick to go deep into the tournament. I kinda fear they might be the 12-5 busters this year. But, I still picked them to win.

I can see Gonzaga going deep this year. This is the best team they have probabaly had since the 1999 team. My heart wants to seee them in the final.

Beware UK in the sweet 16. It would hurt my brackets.

Here's a shocker. I think the games will be very competative.
And, they will be fun to watch.


My final 4 is this

Texas
UCONN (i said them in January and i am going to stand by it)
Memphis
Villanova



BC wouldnt shock me.
Anyone picking UNC has my impression of courage medal award trophy.