The Final Four

Abraham vs Moses in the early game.

David and Paul in the nightcap.

3 In a Row - It Isn't Always Like This Joshua

My son Joshua has been alive for three final fours. My son Drew will experience his second next weekend. UCLA has made it to the Final Four in each of year of their short lives. Just something I thought of tonight.

Meanwhile, UNC is in the middle of another collapse. Not sure how game will pan out, but I will never give a Roy Williams team the benefit of the doubt when it comes to the tournament. I know he did it once, but I'm just not a believer. I love him. I think he is a great coach. But his teams always (except once) collapse in the tournament. And it's usually a game they seemed to have in hand. The same goes for Bill Self. I love him, but his teams just don't seem to get it done.

Your Elite Eight Bible Brackets - Is it just me or does Moses look bored?

Midwest Region

Paul vs Gideon

East Region

David vs Elijah

South Region

Abraham vs Jacob (Will grandpa have enough to keep his grandson down?)

West Region

Moses vs Joshua (Will Joshua climb out of Moses' shadow?)

Brett Favre - Catholic Hero

This is an article written about Brett Favre. I have always wondered about his beliefs. The article hit me on a number of fronts. I won't take the time to go into all of them, but one is how blinded I can become by sports.

When I think about Favre's last pass being an interception, my heart breaks. I want to see the hero go out on a td pass, not a pick that causes his team to lose. But, he saw it differently. He saw it as a bad decision leading to negative consequences.

Check out the link.

Life is Sweet

Things are good when your team is winning by such a large margin that they switch the tv coverage to the game where your most hated team is getting beaten.

Bible Bracket Sweet Sixteen - I Hope Moses Doesn't Overlook Ezekiel

Midwest Region

Paul vs Cain
Gideon vs Adam

East Region

David vs Samuel
Peter vs Elijah

South Region

Abraham vs Isaiah
John vs Jacob

West Region

Moses vs Ezekiel
Boaz vs Joshua

This is Humbling (and funny)

Rebecca videoed me watching the Bruins gut-wrenching win over Texas A&M. I didn't know she was filming. At one point she had to play it off and pretend she was laughing at my commentary. I think it was good for me to see this.

Enjoy. At my expense, enjoy.

(It gets really good about 1:45)

Second Round Bible Brackets - Some Intriguing Matchups

Midwest (Formerly South)

Paul vs Apollos
Timothy vs Cain
Writer of Hebrews vs Adam
Gideon vs Luke

East

David vs Saul (rivals)
Solomon vs Samuel (a lot of mutual respect)
Ezra vs Elijah
Andrew vs Peter (brothers)

South (Formerly Midwest)

Abraham vs Lot (uncle vs nephew)
Isaiah vs Joseph
Isaac vs Jacob (father vs son)
James vs John (brothers)

West

Moses vs Pharaoh (throw out the records when these two get together)
Ezekiel vs Nebuchadnezzar
Barnabas vs Joshua
John the Baptist vs Boaz

It's That Time - Bible Brackets

Click on bracket to enlarge.


I am on vacation and don't have the knowledge (or technology - I think) to change the regions. So, the Midwest is actually the South, meaning Paul is Kansas and Abraham is Memphis. David is UNC and UCLA is Moses. Let's go Moses.



In the womens' bracket, the one seeds are as follows: UCONN is Mary, Maryland is Eve (Seems like Maryland should be Mary), UNC is Esther, and Ruth is Tennessee.

Send me your picks in the comment section. The winner will get a prize. That is all I can say at this time.

Prediction

Tennessee lost today. Here is my first official prediction for March Madness. Belmont will play and beat Tennessee in the first round 2/15 matchup.

Looking Forward to Selection Sunday

Right Now - Top Five (or bottom 5) Sports Heartbreaks

The second round of the state tournament is going on right now. It's been two days and I still feel sick when I think about it. I believe with all my heart we should be playing. We're not, so the sickness remains. I suspect it always will. Even if we win it next year, we'll always wonder about this year. It doesn't help that the only thing on all the tv channels I watch is basketball.

This is, without a doubt, the toughest sports heartbreak I've ever gone through. I thought I'd write about the other four. I think the normal way to do this is by putting number one last (I can't decide if that would be ascending or descending). Since I've already messed that up, I'll just keep going.

2. Magic Johnson's Retirement because of AIDS

Magic Johnson is the reason I love basketball. Growing up in LA during the 80's was as good as it gets for a young basketball fan. My dad always wondered why I would rather pass than shoot. It was because of Magic. I learned to love making teammates better because of him. My elementary wardrobe featured more Magic than socks.

I was in eighth grade that year. I requested prayer for Magic everyday in bible class. I was teased mercilessly. I didn't care. It has been sixteen years since Magic's diagnosis. I like to think his health is an answer to a lot of prayers.

I remember coming home from school wanting to be distracted. When I pulled in the garage I saw my Magic posters. There were more in my room. I remember trying to play video games to take my mind off of Magic. The game in the Nintendo was Magic Johnson's Fast Break (which was horrible, but I played it out of loyalty). Even my purple and gold Converse were a reminder of my hero's untimely retirement.

3. Changing high school basketball programs (moving from Southern California to Tennessee)

My freshman year in California was fairly successful. I was looking forward to my sophomore year and playing varsity basketball. My family relocated and I ended up playing in Tennessee with Ron Mercer, Drew Maddux, and Sam Howard. Needless to say, my roles changed a lot. Maybe the move exposed my lack of passion for the game. I definitely wonder what would have happened had I stayed in Southern California.

4. 1991 NBA Finals

I was the only one of my young group of friends who stuck it out with the Lakers. Everybody else jumped to the Jordan bandwagon. I can't fault them. We were young. Lots of kids jump ship when Michael Jordan is involved. Anyway, that year was my chance to prove all the jumpers wrong. The Lakers met the Bulls in the finals. I always had the, "Magic has championships, so he is better than Jordan" card in my back pocket. I was looking forward to Magic beating Jordan to strengthen my case. I was feeling so good about myself after game one. My prediction was Lakers in five games. I thought they would win game one and then sweep in LA. I was right. They won game one (thanks to a Sam Perkins 3) and there was an LA sweep. Just not the sweep I expected. That series still effects my basketball philosophy. The Bulls put Scottie Pippen on Magic Johnson and it worked. Magic always had a major advantage over other guards. Putting a forward on him who could defend him well really hurt the Lakers offensively. I love putting a four man on the other team's point guard. Also, I don't think John Paxson has missed a shot since that series.

Number 5 is tough. I want to say it is my Uncle Chris' loss in the CIF Finals to a guy named Heath Sims. Chris was my hero when I was little. I said earlier that I loved basketball because of Magic Johnson. I guess I wouldn't have found that love if Chris hadn't made me fall in love with the Lakers. He is also the reason I love UCLA and the Rams (I think I liked the Dodgers for a little while, but my heart didn't really find a baseball home until I visited Wrigley). Anyway, Chris was a successful wrestler, so I liked wrestling from first to third grade. Chris' senior year was the year following my grandma's (his mom) death from cancer. If my memory is right, I think he only lost four matches that year (only two prior to the loss to Sims). I remember each of those losses, but the CIF championship loss was the toughest. I remember crying when he lost. I remember wanting to make excuses for him. He wouldn't let me.

I also want to make number five being a Rams fan. That has been hard. They were always runner up to the 49ers in the 80's. The 90's found them in first. Unfortunately I'm talking about the first draft pick. They had one good year in 1999, but that was it.

I'm going with Uncle Chris for number 5.

I'd love to hear about your top five. Comment if you'd like.

Nuts and Bolts, Nuts and Bolts, We Got ....

We lost in the quarter finals of the state tournament last night. Dyer County hit a shot (I can't call it a three) as the clock ran out. We lost 70-69. They were a good and sportsmanlike team. I hope they win it all. There were some clock issues. Here is a summary written by The Tennessean's, Jeff Lockridge.

Jeff Lockridge


You want poised and observant officials.

You want a clock operator paying attention with competent equipment.

You want very little, if any, controversy.

You want everyone to be sure about what the saw, and more importantly
who won, when they leave Murphy Center each night.

This is, after all, the state tournament.

So what in the world happened Wednesday in the CPA-Dyer County boys
basketball state quarterfinal?

Let me preface this by saying I am a fan of Dyer County, its players and
think highly of Coach Derek McCord. They must be commended for a 70-69
comeback victory.

But was it just?

The last of what I interpreted as three gaffes in the final 15.4 seconds
was a judgment call based on visuals, so perhaps you can excuse three
officials for not spotting Rex Pierce’s foot on the 3-point line.

However, decisions regarding the two time issues before the shot are an
embarrassment for the TSSAA and its otherwise reputable tournament.

It’s anybody’s guess where the clock should have been at when it stopped
at 13.7 seconds as Dyer County worked the ball around the perimeter.
What seemed like several seconds had elapsed since Dyer County brought
the ball down from the other end of the floor with 15.4 seconds to play.

One head coach in attendance without a dog in the hunt said he thought
there should have been six or seven seconds left. I was thinking nine.
Either way, there was a lapse with the clock and the officials made no
corrections.

So my question: Why then make an incorrect modification moments later?
The clock was at 4.6 seconds when a timeout was called and then it
ticked down to 3.9.

So the answer was to put back up 7.0?

Here’s the kicker. CPA was able to run 2.1 seconds off the clock before
the foul after the time was reset. What it should have been was 2.5 seconds.

Last time I checked, it’s tough to get off a good shot from 19 (or 18)
feet away when you have to go the length of the court in 2.5 seconds.

Stadium Pal

Thanks to Thomas McKenzie for this clip.

Off Day, Blind Draw, and Questionable Calls

We have tomorrow off. I'm so tired and thankful for an off day. Monday and Tuesday we practice at a local university to get a feel for playing in an arena. It is going to be a great week. I've never really experienced anything like this first hand. I have actually been dreaming about the tournament.

It is hard to believe the season ends this week. We have spent almost everyday together since November.

We find out who and when we play at ten o'clock tomorrow morning. The way Tennessee does it is to put all the teams in a hat and draw them randomly. So the best two teams could end up playing each other in the first round.

And now for the call. Last night UCLA won the Pac-10 regular season championship for the third year in a row. They got two free throws and forced overtime on this call.

I think it should have been a jump ball. I don't know who had the possession arrow. If it wasn't a jump ball, UCLA would still have had possession and time to score. Stanford is a good team. I don't think anybody wants to play them in the tournament. If they can rebound emotionally from the loss I think they will win the Pac-10 tourament and get a two seed in the tournament.

Did I Really Just Hear That????

For some of you this will make no sense. For those of you who have discussed UCLA basketball with me it will.

Steve Lavin was calling a basketball game on ESPN this evening. He was telling the listeners how important it is to instill a love for the little things in players. Little things like free throws and protecting the ball.

Yes, that Steve Lavin. The one who single-handedly turned the Bruins into a joke. High school kids would visit his practices and tell their parents it was too loose. He would let players play on gymnastic equipment instead of making them shoot free-throws.

I should be past this. I should be able to forgive the guy. The Bruins wouldn't have Ben Howland if Lavin hadn't tanked the program, so there is a bright spot. But ESPN, please don't make me listen to Steve Lavin tell me the importance of the small things.

There is an Upside

There is an upside to ESPN using all of their cameras at the Duke/UNC games. Shots like these.

And They Said the Big Ten Network Was A Bad Idea

Best Practice Ever

If you know me at all, you know practice is not my strong suit. I didn't like it in middle school, high school, junior high band, or any other time can think of. The exception for me has been tournament practice. Drew is always a great coach, but he during tournament time, he is exceptional. His creativity is at its highest during the tournaments.

Today was the most fun practice I have ever been a part of. I threw an idea at him before practice. He turned the idea into a full-fledged offense. After one hour, we had five (possibly six) new plays based on one idea. It is so much fun to watch him flesh out an idea. I am a big picture guy. I can think of a concept, but my weakness is making it happen. Toward the end of practice I thought I saw a play developing. I told Drew what I saw and he drew it out. The players ran it perfectly.

I'm excited about Monday night. If we win we go to state. I hope we get to run the new sets.