More March Madness w/ Editors Note

Editor's note: These last two posts have been terribly difficult to publish. For one, after accidently deleting out of the blog, each time, before publishing it, I thought the posts were lost. But no! I found that they automatically save under the 'draft' section of the blog. Ok, thats it for the editor's note While watching the Michigan State-Tennessee game, my thoughts immediately turned to a childhood friend who I played on basketball teams with (on and off) from 6th-12th grade. Specifically, when Brian Williams, Tennessee's Center, was on the line shooting free-throws. You never knew what exactly was going to happen. Was Williams going to throw it over the basket, or miss the rim completely? Well, he did throw a couple airballs, and I couldn't help but laugh when thinking of the same impredictability of my long time friend: over the span of 6 years, I had seen it all-- free throws banking in, a free-throw going completely over the basket, and the next one missing the rim alltogether. Sometimes, the solid nothing-but-net smooth and money free-throw. My father, a Michigan State graduate himself, attended many of these games. I still remember the car rides home with his in-depth analysis of my game-- 'don't take it into the trees, but stop-and-pop mid range.' I was 13. It was an overall good relationship that aided my interest in sports: being a general contractor, he had house keys to the dayton hospitals, and more importantly, keys to the hospitals' gyms. So we would spend uninterrupted hours playing among the waxed floors and immaculate rims of tax-payers, hospital courts. Now, we talk Michigan State basketball, especially during this tournament, after each game.

Tom Izzo

I want to start this post on a sport's note, and end it with an unfinished poem. My NCAA Starting Five (who I would pay to see play the Nets in a 5-v-5 street-ball game) PG: John Wall SG: Jordan Crawford SF: Evan Turner PF: De'Sean Butler C: Omar Samhan Also, Michigan State and Tom Izzo deserve a shout-out after beating N. Iowa and making another Great 8. Could Calipari or Roy Williams do more with less? Doubt it. Are Calipari and Williams bigger sell outs? Lets put it this way: Izzo has 'been there, done that' when compared to Williams and Calipari. He already had his chance at a multi-million dollar deal coaching the NBA Hawks. He turned it down. Williams and Calipari are sports-agents disguised as college coaches--full of gimicks, one-and-done players, and players who can't pass an SAT placement test. However, I am a Kentucky fan--let the Calipari era begin. Anyway, here is an untitled and unfinished poem: From the glass bowl in the cafeteria, full of apples pears and peaches, we would fill up a paper bag with a half dozen Red Delicious and walk to the horse stables. On the way, Charis Ann and I would stop by the small pond and watch the orange and white coy zip from rock to rock. Clear sky spread silver and gold these evenings. We would split the apples into halves against the wooden fence, and reach our hands through the stable's gate to feed the horses. The stables overlooked the shaded, Santa Catalina Mountains and acres of rolling hills sectioned off by picket fence. Paolo Verde trees were in yellow bloom, and small purple violets emerged in groups.......

From Archer to Digger Phelps to the Ice Man

Because 'series premiers' have aired since my last post, I have not had a chance to really write. I think exams and the NCAA tourney are also partially to blame as well. . . I've only entered one bracket into contest--5$, and the winner buys a keg for everyone and collects the extra winnings. Its a win-win situation. As of right now I'm only sort of screwed--Georgetown lost who i had going to the final 16--and I took a lot of big east teams who lost. Right now I'm rooting for Baylor, Kansas, Kansas St., West Virginia, and Temple. So far so good with the exciting tourney...as of right now I'm uninterested in Dicky V's picks, but more intrigued by the buzz-kill of Digger Phelps, and the dry-eraser-board picks of President Obama [yawwnnn] Obama is always right with his pick for the national champion but butchers ev-ery sin-gle upset I urge everyone who respects Doug Gottlieb's opinion to youtube him wearing his shorts backwards during a televised game for A & M, but then you have to watch Doug's alley-oop gift to desmond mason. On a different note, the new season of South Park, the premiere of Justified, and season finale of Archer have aired since my last post . . . Archer is absurb but awesome, Justified is cool and serious, while the new South Park is...well..the new south park I feel that what makes Justified good is the 'handle' everyone has with their gun. The show is like a continual mexican stand-off, but the cool thing is that the sheriff (Tim Olyphant, or the porn-mogul from The Girl Next Door) only pulls his gun after the criminal does. He is quicker, smarter, cooler, and better dressed than everyone. My favorites so far in the NCAA tourney:

• Jimmer Fredette's name, and his mormon-white-men-cant-jump-persona dropping 37 points
• the recurring point that a particular upset pick is 'sexy' or 'trendy'

Just a few more wikipedia-esque, open-ended questions: Who has better stats this season--Jason Kidd or Steve Nash? What are the specific stats of the 'big pick up' Richard Jefferson for the season? Who is more valuable--Richard Hamilton or Ray Allen? Which team is more successful in their pursuit of history--The 09-10 NJ Nets or the 95-96 Chicago Bulls.

Finally, whose overall he-got-game-persona most closely resembles the "Ice Man"--Kevin Durant. or George Gervin?