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Monday, March 21. 2011
Sweet Sixteen!
Today, on my way home from Oceanside, my friend said I should channel my rage into words — through the electrons of the Internets. Hard to be enraged though because my three favorite teams in the NCAA Basketball Tournament have reached the Sweet 16: Wisconsin, Marquette and San Diego State!Marquette plays North Carolina in the next round, not too promising, but you never know, Cinderella made it all the way to the ball and finally went home with the prince! What a tramp!
Wisconsin will face Butler, another Cinderella team. Well, they’re not quite a Cinderella team, ranked 8 in their bracket. Still, the big team from the Big Ten is picked to win, pretty much because of their size. They have the skills and talent, but their size and bullying style on the court will beat Butler.
San Diego State University will play UConn — University of Connecticut — a perennial favorite. That will be a tough game for the Aztecs. It might be the most evenly matched game of the entire Big Dance. But nobody watches the NCAA Tournament for the most evenly matched games, they watch for the Final Four and this year the Final Four could include all three of my favorite teams!
They’d have to go through some big name teams, like North Carolina and UConn, not to mention Duke or Arizona, And BYU or Florida, Ohio State or Kansas and Kentucky. But hey, a guy can dream.Every year the tournament looks exciting with Wisconsin and Marquette showing up in the brackets, but then they get booted in the first or second rounds and … sigh … we’re back to choosing between the perennial favorites. This year, the fantasy goes on into the Sweet 16 and with three favorites in this round, there’s a really good chance at least one of them could make it to Houston.
I wonder if a guy can still get tickets?
Remember 1977 when Marquette won it all? Eh, few do. It was 34 years ago. Back then the team was called the Marquette Warriors. Since then, and I forget exactly when, political correctness caused the Jesuit University to change it from a Native American reference to a bird — a really big and fearsome bird, but it doesn’t quite have the gravitas as the Warriors. Well, life goes on.
Anyway, in 1977 Marquette was an independent school, not aligned with any conference. No one thought an independent could win it all because with conference money to back up the school’s bankroll, independents were no match for the powerhouses from the major conferences. Until Marquette.
Al McGuire, legendary coach and TV basketball analyst. He retired after winning it all with the Warriors and went on to make a new name for himself talking about college basketball. He’s gone now, off into Roundball Heaven, if we can choose our won versions of Heaven. My Heaven? — My Heavens! — You can probably guess! It doesn’t have a sports theme! But, if you’re not sure, Click Here for a refresher — if you dare!
So, this game between Marquette and North Carolina could be considered a grudge match. It was Dean Smith’s Tar Heels McGuire and the Warriors beat in 1977. I’m sure some enterprising producer or intern will make the connection before game time. Of course, Marquette is an 11-seed and UNC is a second-seed. Can’t imagine any analyst or sports book will pick Marquette in this game.
At this stage of the tournament, I’d like to think — and this is no doubt very Pollyanna on my part — rankings no longer matter. If a team has made it to the Third Round, it has proven it belongs in the tournament and can win. Yeah, that’s Pollyanna, but what the Hell, Marquette beat all expectations 34 years ago and won it all.
On the other hand though, up until the tournament many prognosticators were saying this would be San Diego State’s year. They did open the season with 21 straight wins and had only two losses all season. Although they won’t be playing UConn at the Viejas Arena, the Aztecs will play the Huskies in Anaheim, which is pretty close to home.
Wisconsin will play Butler in New Orleans Thursday, 5 p.m. Pacific Time. Gotta get home in time to watch the second half.
I don’t really follow basketball much these days. I do know the Lakers beat Portland last night, 84-80. Can’t watch TV or listen to the radio without hearing about the Lakers. They still are the Showtime in Southern California. And the Milwaukee Bucks beat the New York Knicks, 100-95. What else does a guy need to know about the NBA? Oh yeah, the Miami Heat is imploding with LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, but that alleged discord has been put to bed. The Heat did beat the Denver Nuggets last night. But, they lost their starting point guard in the process. That about covers any NBA news I care to know.But, the NCAA Tournament is an exciting event, stretched over five weeks of heated debate and competition.
Even President Obama picks his brackets every year. Of course, his political opponents criticized him for doing so, but fuck them. He takes a little time out of his day to go on ESPN to make his selections known and he’s going to get blasted for it? Gimme a break! Newt Gingrich is an idiot!
My choice to win it all? It’s hard to pick one from my three favorites, but it would be cool to be here in Sandy Eggo if the Aztecs hoist the Trophy, but my heart is with Wisconsin.
Other than that, I’d like to see all three advance to the next round, which means Marquette beating North Carolina — again. That will be sweet!
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