april madness 1

a recap of the semifinals. Oh. I almost didn’t watch because The Outlaw Josey Wales was on another channel but I figured what the heck.

how cool

How cool would it be to play horse with the president of the United States? (pretty cool) I have been fortunate enough to be in the same room on two different occasions with two different presidents and whether you voted for them or not it is pretty intimidating (awe inspiring) to be in the same room. So. Try to make a shot with a president ragging on you? (and all those secret service guys eyeing you)  Okay. I would be willing to bet George Washington had a shitty jump shot but Obama has some game. He was correct that Clark Kellogg gave him a couple of misses in the middle and I loved when the president said “hey, I have had some other things on my mind” but it would be very cool to play horse with the president. And I think it was kinda cool he won (although it was POTUS – president of the united states instead of HORSE).

Butler on to final.

I will say upfront I didn’t care who won this game. I will also say there was nothing about the style of this game I liked. It just isn’t the kind f basketball game I prefer. It was plodding. Ugly.  And bruising. I did think Michigan state was going to pull it out of only because maybe midway through the second half they were down by 5 and it seemed like they hadn’t made a shot in an hour, hadn’t got a call yet in the game, turned it over every other time they touched it and acted like when they did get to the free throw line that they were blindfolded. Boy. I thought butler played a smart game. Boy. I don’t think Michigan State didn’t get a call the entire game (and half their team had 4 fouls) and I did think Tom Izzo’s head was going t explode a couple of times begging for a call. But. Butler in the finals is pretty cool. Plus. A couple of their players look older than their coach which has to count for something.

De’ Shaun and Huggins.

I was impressed with De’shaun Butler when he won some award for being a great player and his scholastics and his community work and how he handled the questions and discussion. A well spoken young man.  Any kid who stays in school for four years and is that good a player and does that much good deserves a lot of credit these days when players half as good as him leave after one or two years. Then. When he hurt his knee (which you don’t like to see happen to anyone), Bob Huggins (who I have already noted I am not fond of) stepped up. I may reconsider. When he came out on the floor and hugged his player on the floor and tried to console his player. Well. I don’t know. I don’t know that I have ever seen a top level coach get on his knees and cradle one of his players on the court.  It was touching. It made me remember why coaches never leave the college ranks for the pros.

Duke to finals.

Well. This game was a lot prettier to watch then the first one. That’s for sure. I think even before Butler went down with an injury you could feel that West Virginia wasn’t going to be able to find a way back from the hole they were in. Duke has won ugly all tournament long. Not today. Today was one of those days that showcases what it looks like when Duke is looking good. For all the poor shooting in the first game Duke made up for it all in spades the way they shot in their game. Whether you like Duke or not they were a pretty team to watch today. I am mostly pleased to have watched it and they don’t have a JJ Redick or a Christian Laettner type player to hate.