After a long day at UD Arena, I came back to my room at halftime of Siena’s win. So I missed seeing that compelling double OT thrilla live and in person. And, frankly, I missed most of the second OT on TV. I nodded out and only realized what happened when my pal Ben called from home to talk about that game and his Badgers, who beat Florida State in OT.
Pretty compelling stuff, all that. Thank the Lord for SportsCenter highlights.
My bracket is ravaged. But . . . I did have Cleveland State over Wake Forest. I thought the Demon Deacons were more Elmer Gantry than Billy Graham all year. Too young. Didn’t hit the floor for loose balls and errant rebounds. So, hey, Seth Davis, how ’bout that team you had in the Final Four? Cleveland State, remember, won at Syracuse, last second mid-court shot for the W it may have been. Gary Waters is a good coach, as well as a snappy dresser. Bet the folks at Rutgers wishthey’d have been a might more patient.
Pitt played wary. Jamie Dixon did not look like a confident coach. Levance Fields is out of shape. He had to come out of the ETSU game periodically for blows. Plus it was here in Dayton last season that he broke his leg — or was it his foot — in a regular season tilt against the Flyers. The Flyers who, by the by, knocked out West Virginia yesterday, much to the glee of everybody in this burg.
Ohio State’s pep band plays the most staid version of “Pinball Wizard” imaginable. Get funky, dudes. It’s rock & roll we’re talkin’ about here.
As if there was any doubt that Money Talks, Nobody Walks, look who was sitting right behind the U of L bench at UD Arena? The Trager family, you know, long time legit Card fans, but also the banking family that underwrote several athletic facilities on the Belknap Campus.
LSU is the only SEC team standing. But, if Ty Lawson is sitting, they gotta chance against the Tar Heels.
Siena’s only two wins in the last year over BCS schools have come in the Dance. Ohio State last night. Vandy last year.
The Peaking at the Right Time Trophy goes to . . . Southern Cal. Guess they don’t miss that O.J. Mayo guy so much after all.
How dangerous is a wounded Wildcat? Well, keep your eye on Arizona. (And, if you care, those other Cats playing out in Nebraska or somewhere.)
Big 12 teams didn’t lose a game in the first round. The BEast is 6-1. What happened Huggy Bear?
Ten lower seeded teams won in the opening round. 30% – that’s not bad. Makes for compelling TV.
In the post game press conference, neither The Rick nor several of the players seemed to be concerned about the performance againstMorehead State. They praised the Eagles. Coach thought his team played well but just had to kick it up a bit in the second half.
The numbers bear him out. The Cards hit half their shots in the first half. Only gave them a two point lead. So they went 17-26 in the second half, kicking it off with that 22-6 run that buriedMorehead. U of L won the rebounding battle.
Of concern are the Cards 19 TOs to go along with that many assists. E5 and Sosa had five apiece. Though it seemed as if Edgar was tossing it in the stands every time he touched the ball. Knowles had his first really bad shooting night in awhile, going 1-6 from the field.
Now for the broken record: Louisville was 6-11 from the line. Have I mentioned before that this flaw looms as a real roadblock to the title? Yes, I believe so.
Louisville has now won 21 of the last 23. The Rick’s record in post season play is now 36-12.
Siena is next. The Cards catch a break in that, with Ohio State out, a lot more tickets will be available to fans who want to drive up for Sunday’s game. The flip side is that Siena is a lot better team than the Buckeyes, perhaps the best offensive rebounding squad I’ve seen all season. Plus they are quick, and simply have that not gonna lose look about them.
Just a note about posting. I had major connectivity problems Friday night. Let’s hope they are over.
Until I’m sure, and probably for the duration I shall post at both this site and score.leoweekly.com, to make sure that you my loyal readers can get all the latest from Dayton as U of L continues its quest for a national title.
I know I love the Cards too much and see every flaw, but, even during the second half tonight against Morehead, with the game in hand, I said to myself, “This doesn’t look like a national championship team.”
I sure hope I’m wrong.
Ahead by but a deuce at the half, Louisville outscored the Eagles 22-6 in the first 8 minutes of the second to take control of the game. The Cards hit 65% in the second half.
The fly in the ointment — have you heard it before? — six for 11 from the line.
The official box score shows Sosa with only 5 TOs. I know he had at least half as many again.
Defense wins. The Cards showed up at that end of the court in the second half.
Other Random Musings:
I’ve never seen anybody stand at attention quite as still and resolute as weight coach, Ray Ganong.
U of L, unlike other 1 seed Pitt, started the game and played with a lot of energy. Just not very well for a half.
For the second time this season, Jerry Smith took a shot off a dribble in the first stanza.
The PA announcer kept advising people to sit down. Does he think this was the opera or something?
Earl Clark is necessary.
I like that the Pep Band plays “One Way or Another.” That’s a great goal.
The Morehead Eagle mascot is named Beaker. The name reminds me of a parrot I had once that I named Pecky. It died after three days when it flew into a window after escaping from the new cage we bought it.
All in all, a win is a win is a win. Okay, that’s not true. It really only counts as one win, but it’s still a good thing.
Every school prepares a tournament package cheat sheet for the media. Once again, Kenny Klein has brought one that is far and away more informative than any other.
The question that now can be answered is whether there’s a Cardinal besides TWill whose presence can make a significant difference on the court?
Yes, E5.
My pals back in Louisville called during a timeout, and I think the wondered why Terrence Jennings isn’t playing much? It was hard to hear them. Uh, me too. I haven’t a clue. The Rick works in mysterious ways.
Not as mysterious as Edgar Sosa, who can make a bit three, then make three horrible drives to the hoop, each resulting in a turnover.
Free throws. I swear, they shall be the Cards’ undoing.
Louisville is hitting 50% at the half against a team that beat by, what, 39 points or something. And they’re only up by a deuce.
Survive and advance. Let’s get this one over with and, hopefully, play again on Sunday.
Sorry for the cybergalactic detour. Sometimes this computer internet thing doesn’t work like it’s supposed to. So I’m here at my own site doing the things that ought to be at the LEO site. Hopefully, it will all be well tomorrow.
As I said, Pitt escaped. The Panthers didn’t look good, but that is of no consequence. They’ve advanced to the second round, and, like I’ve said before, they don’t award style points in the NCAA. Pitt was tight. So was their coach, Jamie Dixon. The arena was electric as the underdogs kept it close. The same jolt will occur, should the Cards find themselves in a barnburner against Morehead State.
ETSU played a gutsy game and might have won, had the Bucs shown the least bit of patience or discipline on offense. But they didn’t. And they missed FTs. So that’s the name of that tune.
Dayton beat West Virginia making all the home folks happy here. Marquette barely escaped its game. So the BEast is looking more Least as of lately. Let’s hope the Cardinals aren’t part of that malaise.
This is also posted at score.leoweekly.comwhere all this is supposed to be, but computer glitches have me running betwixt and between sites. Thanks for your indulgence.
Cowboy orange, that is. Okie State survives 77-75 and advances.
This was a classic 8 vs. 9 game. Didn’t I write that before?
Exciting, but not very well played. Lots of orange turnovers. I prefer apple or peach. But it was a tasty beginning to the day in Dayton.
Unfortunately I’ve had computer problems all afternoon since I first started to post this after Oklahoma State’s win.
Since then, Pitt escaped ETSU. The Panthers played as tight as they looked in yesterday’s press conference. Jamie Dixon did not appear to be in command. Can you say, deer in the headlights?
ETSU might have won the thing had the team showed any discipline at all. The Bucs philosophy is obviously, I Got The Ball I Shoot It This Time Down The Court. Plus they missed FTs.
The prelims are over. U of L is on the court for pregame shootaround before official warmups.
More later, either here or culturemaven.com, or both.
There are these characters: The Governor and The General, as they are known around the Belknap Campus. They rule the U of L student section in the 1960s. I’m talking the days of first-come, first-served seating, and of Unseld, Beard and Jerry King, a shooter who hits every important free throw he takes.
This duo is there when the gates open. They stake out the same seats for their gang every game.
The General enforces who sits where.
The Governor, his stentorian voice like a Sermon from the Mount, is in charge.
Fast-forward to March 24, 1980. The Governor is in Indianapolis, at Market Square Arena, may it rest in peace, where long-suffering Cardinal fans followed a local named Darrell Griffith. That night, No. 35 leads the faithful to the Promised Land.
The Governor sees The Kid, who has suffered as many close-but-no-cigar moments as any Red & Black believer. The Kid is a guy about whom it was often lamented before that moment in Indy — either over burgers at the Cardinal Inn or a Pabst at the Z Bar — that he’d go to his grave and his headstone would read, “He Only Wanted One.”
The Kid has stories. Like listening with his dad to the Cards beat the Cats and Michigan State in the regionals in ’59. Then showing up at Freedom Hall the following weekend to see the Cards battered in the national semifinals by Jerry West and his Mountaineers. Read the rest of this entry »
Yes, my loyal readers, it’s that time of the year.
You know I love music and movies and politics and never like to pass up a chance to diss W or Michael Jackson or Kevin Costner. But it’s NCAA tournament time. I’m a Hoopsylvanian Homie. So I need to set aside those passions momentarily.
We love basketball in my neck of the woods. That’s the rest of the year. In March, it’s kicked up a notch. We are indeed Mad. Addled. Obsessed.
Soooooooo, for the next little while — as long as my beloved Louisville Cardinals remain in the chase for a national crown — I probably won’t be posting much here. Which is not to say that there might not be something other than hoops that catches my eye and is worthy of comment, but . . . probably not.
Buuuuuuuuuuuuut, if you want to keep up with all matters b-ball, with more than a few bon mots thrown in for literacy’s sake, check out my sports blog early and often. I will be following the Cards live and in person along the way, starting this week in Dayton. I’ll be posting periodically during the day to keep readers abreast of all the news and rumors that matter. You can find my LeoWeekly blog here.
Exactly when — and why — Hollywoodland ceased earnestly making movies about romance, sexual tension and the comedic drama that ensues when all that is in play remains a mystery.
My guess is it was sometime after 1975, when the Hal Ashby-directed “Shampoo” was released. They truly don’t make them like that anymore.
The film, dated, deliciously so, is set on election eve in 1968. The next day will mark the official beginning of the societal clash between the remnants of the counter culture — with its pop cultural, sexual, political, musical and herbal implications — and the Richard Nixon era. This flick shows that those conflicts were, frankly, already in place.
Warren Beatty has big hair and is the hot hairdresser in L A. He also is a victim of satyriasis. (He can’t stop shtupping his clients. Or any other hot babe he meets along the way.) His lovers include his live-in, Goldie Hawn, who is looking for commitment. Lee Grant — she won an Oscar for this role — who is married to a rich Republican, Jack Warden. Julie Christie, who also happens to be Goldie Hawn’s best pal. And is Jack Warden’s kept woman. And, to spice up this roundelay even more, Carrie Fisher, who is the daughter of Grant and Warden, balls Beatty just to get back at her mom whom she despises.
Beatty wants his own salon. He’s tired of shilling for an extra couple of bucks for coffee, when he’s raking in big bucks for his boss.
Beatty is harried. Here’a a great scene from early in the film:
This is a fellow for whom a comeuppance is almost certain. What is marvelous is how Beatty, who co-wrote the screenplay with the estimable Robert Towne, gets us there. Read the rest of this entry »
Here’s what I’d like to say to WLKY weather guru Jay Cardosi: Shut up!
Listen I like to be apprised of bad weather on the horizon as much as the next guy. And I’ll admit to being fascinated by many of the technological gadgets and gizmos these TV stations use to entice us to their coverage.
Buuuuuuuuuuuut . . . we’re talking Carolina vs Duke this Sunday afternoon. What I’m getting is the game in about a one inch square box in the corner of my 42″ HDTV. Sometimes that gamecast is partially covered by yet another indecipherable weather graphic. That I shouldn’t — come on Jay, say it to me one mo’ time — “I shouldn’t let my guard down” has been hammered home every fifteen seconds.
(Jay, you’d be better off giving that advice to the Blue Devils, who, if I can decipher the tiny writing on my screen are down six with less than 8:00 to go.) Read the rest of this entry »
After a long day at UD Arena, I came back to my room at halftime of Siena’s win. So I missed seeing that compelling double OT thrilla live and in person. And, frankly, I missed most of the second OT on TV. I nodded out and only realized what happened when my pal Ben called from home to talk about that game and his Badgers, who beat Florida State in OT.
