everything that's on my mind

A king and a kingdom

2006-04-13T12:29:00.000-05:00

I went over to my daughter's school this morning for chapel, as it was "Awards Day" and she was receiving an award. So, I went over the see her accept it. As I've noticed before when I attended her chapel, they always say the Pledge of Allegiance at some point during chapel. I'm still not sure how I feel about that. I'm not against teaching children to be patriotic, but I also don't want them to learn blind patriotism, either. It seems there are too many Christians today who believe that the Republican party is God's party, and George W. Bush and other Republicans can do no wrong. No matter what questionable actions these people take, some stand behind them regardless. The same is true of people on both sides, but it seems Christians are more often than not aligned with "the Right" (this is, at least, my perception, and may not be reality.)

In fact, the whole idea of "pledging allegiance" to the flag or this country doesn't quite sit well with me anyway. I love this country and am glad I was born into it. I am grateful for the freedoms we have, particularly our religious freedom. However, while I do believe that God wants us to be good citizens in our country and obey the laws while they do not conflict with His, I'm not so sure that He desires for us to pledge allegiance to anyone or anything except Himself. I'm reminded of Derek Webb's song, "A King and a Kingdom", from his newest disc Mockingbird:

my first allegiance is not to a flag, a country, or a man
my first allegiance is not to democracy or blood
it's to a king & a kingdom

Is it wrong, in a Christian worship setting, like chapel this morning, to mix patriotism and allegiance to an earthly kingdom in with our worship of God and our allegiance to His kingdom? I have no problem with teaching good citizenship or patriotism. However, I don't want to teach my children that America is "God's country" and is always right in it's actions. Sometimes, the government and the people being governed are just wrong and sinful, and as Christians we must recognize it and oppose that which is contrary to God's expectations of us as followers of Christ (regardless of whether or not whatever political party we might align ourselves with chooses to agree.)

Will the children at this Christian school, somewhere down the line, forget that their first allegiance is to be to God, not America? Probably not. But I'm still a little uncomfortable with things like American flags in church buildings, or singing songs about America in a worship setting (as sometimes happens with churches, particularly on the Sunday prior to July 4), or pledging allegiance to an earthly kingdom. God is my King, and his kingdom is where my citizenship lies first and foremost. Sometimes, because of how I see others defending the earthly kingdom of America, I have to wonder if they feel the same way.

I think about this type of thing a lot these days, and haven't completely thought it all through, so I'm sure it will come back up again. Perhaps in early July...

Other blogs

It's been a busy week and I haven't posted anything until today, plus I'm leaving town this evening and won't have a computer for the next few days. I was planning to try to write something Easter-related prior to the weekend, but I haven't had time and won't be able to now, so perhaps when I'm back home on Sunday I'll make some time. However, I thought I'd point to a few other good posts I've read in recent days from a few of the blogs I read regularly (not necessarily Easter-related, though).

Homosexuality : from Mike Cope. Be sure and check out the comments as well, as there is more discussion there.

Harry Potter and Easter : from Grant English. "Jesus takes the ordinary and makes it extraordinary."

The Judas Monologue : from Keith Brenton. Interesting and creative. I've always wondered what was going through Judas' mind.

Jesus Excepted : from Scott Freeman. Do we qualify Jesus' words, especially the ones we don't like to hear?

I'm also planning to start reading The Secret Message of Jesus by Brian McLaren this weekend, so I may be posting some about that soon. I've seen a number of people (who received pre-release copies) posting reviews of the book on their blogs, and I'm looking forward to reading it as well.

The party's over

2006-04-08T18:51:00.000-05:00

Well, this will be my last post until late fall devoted strictly to college basketball. More specifically, it is the post I mentioned previously regarding a look back at the season for Duke and the careers of Shelden Williams and J.J. Redick. And, even though it's not December, I do have - in the spirit of Festivus - a few grievances to air as well. So, bear with me - it's my last one, and it's a long one. Here we go.

The season

First of all, Duke had a great season. That simply cannot be argued. Anyone who would argue it would likely have some type of strong bias against Duke (i.e. the "duke haters"). They had an outstanding year, and Redick and Williams specifically had a great year. They were 32-4 overall, and they were 11-3 against teams in the NCAA tournament. Their losses were to Georgetown, North Carolina and, in the tournament itself, LSU. Their wins against ranked teams in the tournament included Texas (a #2 seed), Memphis (a #1 seed), North Carolina (a #3 seed) and Boston College (a #4 seed) who they beat twice. Other tournament team wins included Seton Hall, Indiana, Penn, Bucknell, Davidson and NC State. They were the regular season champions of the ACC at 14-2, and also won the Preseason NIT and ACC tournaments.

There were some great moments as well. Dockery's 45-footer to beat Virginia Tech. Redick dropping 41 on Texas (and 40+ two other times as well) and also his 5 straight games of 30+ points. Redick's record breaking 30 points against Miami, passing Johnny Dawkins as Duke's all-time leading scorer (as well as the many other records he broke this season). Winning at Chapel Hill, always a great win, as well as both hard-fought wins against Boston College. The freshmen's play in the ACC tournament, as well as Redick's amazing shooting against Boston College in the final. And, of course, winning the two tournaments, especially the ACC, which was their ninth straight final, and their seventh win in the last eight. (It truly has become "The Duke Invitational.")

While the season did not end the way they wanted it to, it cannot take away from what an outstanding season they had. They finished the season - prior to the NCAA tournament - ranked #1 and only one team (George Washington) finished with fewer losses (3) and only three other teams (Connecticut, Memphis and Gonzaga) matched their finish with only 4 losses. While they weren't one of the greatest teams ever to play at Duke, they were a great team this season in college basketball.

Redick and Williams

After the loss to LSU, I was a little amused at some of the articles that almost seemed to be comparing Duke to a mid-major team and seeing some write about Redick as if he were the worst player ever to play college basketball. After all they had accomplished, one game suddenly made people believe they were horrible. The truth is, there is a certain kind of player that gives Redick more trouble than he can overcome. Few teams have that kind of player. Memphis did. Temple did. Michigan state did in last year. And LSU did. The taller, long-armed, significantly more athletic player can stay with him and keep him from doing what he wants to do. Plus, LSU's other defenders helped out a lot, and Duke's dependence on his scoring hurt them too much in that game. It didn't happen that often. But to suggest Redick is less than a great college basketball is the result of either stupidy or bias.

Others pointed to Redick's difficulty in sweet 16 games over his career. Again, Redick, while in great shape physically, is not a terribly athletic player, and he has faced great defense in 3 of those games (I honestly don't recall much about the Illinois game in 2004.) First, against Kansas, Heinrich played him very well. Let's also not forget, though, that Redick was a freshmen at that time, and a very one-dimensional player. Last year, as I've already mentioned, Michigan State threw several athletic players at him. Then, of course, Garrett Temple's defense for LSU this year. LSU was the reason he wasn't scoring, and the officials were letting the teams play, so he wasn't getting to the foul line, either. That's not a criticism of the officials, or in any way blaming the officials - it's just a fact. They called it the same both ways. And Duke was used to getting to the line more. Some, of course, are saying "without Duke officials, they couldn't get the calls." That, of course, is stupid. It was just a different style of officiating than they had played against most of the year, and it's not always easy to completely adjust to that, and Duke never did in that game.

As I said, certain types of players have given him trouble, and only certain teams have them. Should he have still played better in those games? Probably. But defense had a large role in his difficulties in those games. That cannot be ignored. However, many say, you're defined by what you do in March. Maybe so, but what did or didn't happen in March doesn't erase the rest of the year or his whole career. Just look at the record books. Redick had a great season and a very good career. Period.

The same is true for Shelden Williams. He had an outstanding career and, like Redick, improved every year. He was constantly in foul trouble his first 2 years, but continued to improve in all areas of his game and was one of the top players in the country this season along with Redick. It was unfortunate that he was sometimes in the shadow of Redick because his season and career were equally great, and he will be missed next season as much as Redick.

Also, for those who take such great joy in pointing out that Redick is not going to be a great player in the NBA, I'd just like to say this: congratulations for pointing out the obvious. There's no doubt media types and possibly even NBA folks have placed him higher than he should be, but even as a huge Redick fan it's obvious to me that he's not going to get great at the next level. He will likely play for a while - maybe even a long time - and be a guy who comes in for some offense here and there. But, he's not got the game to be great at the next level, and he never will. He's not the next Larry Bird. He's not even the next Danny Ainge. So, if you're going to dance around on draft day when Redick isn't a lottery pick and tell everyone "I told you so", you might want to consider that most intelligent basketball fans already knew it before you told them. You'll just look stupid.

Tournaments past

A word about tournament's past: many have begun to harp on Duke's difficulty in getting past the sweet 16 in recent years. I have a few reasons I think that is true. For one thing, they're a much bigger target than they used to be in the 80's and early 90's. As Duke became a great program again in the late 80's (don't forget they were great during the 60's under Vic Bubas), they were often not seeded #1 in the tournament. They were not often expected to make the final four. That made it a little easier on them, because they were not the target. They have become a benchmark - a great program, a great coach, and usually great players. So when you beat Duke now, it means something. That is evidenced by seeing Georgetown and Florida State fans storming the court like they'd just won the national championship after beating Duke this year. It's happened elsewhere over the last 8 or 9 years as well.

After the early 90's, Duke became a "dynasty" of sorts, a team that is most hated, but also most envied. While they did have a couple of down years in the mid-90's, they came back strong starting in 97 and their success since has fueled the hatred of other fans. There's no better example than Maryland fans, who seem to be among the most vile towards Duke players. While knocking off Duke hasn't meant knocking off the defending national champion for 4 years now, it still is pretty special for one of two reasons (or maybe both) - people love to beat a great program, or people love to beat the team they hate the most. Whatever the reason, people love beating Duke, and people are more and more motivated to do so. There's also the fact that Duke has often been a #1 seed during the last 9 years, so that also motivates teams in March to knock them off. You get a shot at Duke and at a #1 seed - two for the price of one. They are a huge target.

Back to the sweet 16: Duke has now lost 6 times under Krzyzewski in the sweet 16. All 6 times the team they lost to went on to win the regional and reach the final four. In 1987, Indiana won the title. In 2000, 2002, and 2003, they lost to Florida, Indiana and Kansas, respectively, all of which went on to the title game where they lost. And in 2005 and 2006, Michigan State and LSU went to the final four before losing.

In fact, in 17 of the last 21 years, they've reached the sweet 16. Three of those years (91,92,01), they won the championship. In 8 of those years, they lost to the eventual champion (86,87,88,90,94,98,99,04). So, in 11 of those 17 years, they've won it or lost to the champion. And in the other 6 years (89,00,02,03,05,06), they lost to a final four team. What does all of that mean? I don't know. But it's not like they've been losing to Bucknell or Bradley (see Kansas), or to UAB (see Kentucky), or to NC State (see Connecticut). When they've lost, they've usually lost to teams that play during the final weekend, and more often than not on Monday night.

Of the sweet 16 losses, I'd say only one of those losses was a bad loss which they should have won - and that was against Indiana in 2002. There was no excuse for that. In 2000, they were a team playing 3 freshmen, losing to another team with some freshmen and a bunch of sophmores - and those sophmores had lost the previous season at Duke by 30 points. Perhaps that contributed to their motivation. In 2003, they were seeded lower than Kansas, so that's can't really be a bad loss - they were expected to lose to a very experienced, senior-led Kansas team. In 2005, they were seeded higher, but they did finish only 3rd in the ACC and played a very talented (although lower seeded) Michigan State team that had begun to play really well at the end of the season. I think that can be argued either way. Then, of course, there was LSU this year, which I've already discussed more than once.

Coach K

Another thing I've seen some of was this - "you can't spell choke without K" - which I saw online after the LSU game in a couple of different places. In other words, there are those saying Coach K has begun to choke in March. Since the tournament expanded to 64 teams, how has Coach K and Duke done? Just a few stats:

Duke has been to 10 final fours. The closest, in 2nd place, is North Carolina, with 7 final fours during that time.

Duke has 3 titles. Only 3 other schools have more than 1 (Kentucky, Connecticut, and North Carolina - all with 2 each.)

Krzyzewski has 3 titles. Only 1 other coach has more than 1 - Connecticut's Jim Calhoun (2).

Since Duke won back-to-back titles in 1991 and 1992, they have only one other title (2001). Only 3 schools have more - the same three mentioned above.

Krzyzewski is 3-4 in title games. By comaprison, Dean Smith was 2-3, and Bob Knight is 3-2. Rupp was either 4-1 or 4-2, I believe. Wooden, of course, is by far the best. (This is based on at least 5 appearances - I don't know if any other coaches have reached the title game 5 or more times. But they're going to be well under .500 if they did.)

Okay, more specifically, sweet 16, particularly in recent years.

They've been to 9 straight (98-06). Nobody else more than 2 straight. Don't know the stats on who's been there the most besides them in those 9 years. I also do not have stats on who has been in the most regional finals (Duke has 4, and Michigan State has 4, but I'm unsure about any others. I think Connecticut and Kentucky may have been to 4, also, but I'm not certain.)

During those 9 years, they've been to 3 final fours. Only Michigan State has been to more (4) and North Carolina (3) has matched them. As for titles, Duke has 1 in that stretch, and only 1 school (Connecticut with 2) has more than 1.

Duke has lost in the sweet 16 in 5 of the last 7 years. However, how many schools have advanced to the elite 8 (or further) more than twice during that time? Only four other schools - UConn (3), Kansas (3), Arizona (3) and MSU (4). I don't think I'm missing anyone there, but I could be.

Also, many will point to 86 and 99 as teams that should have won it all. As for 86, it was K's first final four, and despite having the best team, it's not often that a coach wins it the first time. Billy Donovan won it this year, but it was his second visit. Jim Boeheim went to 3 over 17 years, but only that third time did he win it. Jim Calhoun managed to do it, but he was much older and experienced by that time. Tubby Smith did it, however, he did it with Rick Pitino's players, but hasn't been back since.

As for 99, the media - more than once - referred to the tournament as the "Duke Invitational". Duke had appeared dominant throughout the season. However, the ACC was not nearly as strong as usual that year, and many forget that Connecticut also only had 2 losses that year. And, something I've never heard mentioned, but is in fact true, is that Connecticut was ranked #1 during the season for more weeks than Duke. All of that, coupled with the media hype of crowning Duke champion before the tournament started, made Connecticut a team on a mission - not just to win, but to beat Duke in doing so.

I recall some idiot reporter (sorry for the redundancy) in the post game press conference asking Calhoun if he felt like Villanova did when they beat Georgetown (and, by the way, if you look at the facts, that 85 title game was not as big of an upset as it has been made out to be. They played two close games in the regular season.) Calhoun was offended, and rightly so. He pointed out that they were a very good team, only had 2 losses, etc. Duke - not unlike UConn in 2006 - had the most talent. But I've never felt like they were necessarily the best team. I think UConn played better as a team in that championship game, and that's why they won. So, I don't personally put much stock in any "choke" talk regarding those 2 title games.

As for other title games, there was nobody on the planet going to beat UNLV in 1990. And, Arkansas clearly had the better team in 1994. Duke had overacheived by reaching the title game that year.

Let's also not forget one other stat: Coach K still has the NCAA tournament wins (68) of all time. I think he's doing alright so far.

A final word about Duke hating and officiating

There are websites devoted strictly to "Duke hating". I've found several, but am not going to link to them here. It pretty much proves my point about the envy and hatred out there. They pick out the most trivial things and make a big deal of them. My only response is that these poor people really need to get a life.

As for officiating, it was a hot topic this year. I've commented previously about the Boston College and Florida State games this year, where the complaining was the loudest. The Great Officiating Conspiracy (as I like to call it) began at the final four in 2001. This is where, at least in large part, the complaint that "Duke gets all the calls" either began, or at least was proclaimed the loudest and became national. I've read that even Gary Williams is convinced Duke was able to come back from a 22-point deficit about 13 minutes into the game (notice that - there was still 27 minutes of basketball left) because of the officials. Duke, after Maryland gained that lead, outscored Maryland by 33 the rest of the way. So it seems the theory is that for Duke to do that over the last 27 minutes of the game, it took help from the officials. Evidently, it did NOT take any help from the officials for Maryland to outscore Duke by 22 to get that lead in only 13 minutes! Am I suggesting Maryland benefited from the officials in the first 13 minutes? Actually, I have never seen the game a second time. I'd have to be able to watch it again. But, to suggest that Duke needed help and Maryland didn't is just absurd.

Shane Battier had another theory. In a television interview, Battier suggested that Duke won the game in Januray when they erased a 10-point lead in the final 54 seconds of a game in College Park, which Duke went on to win in overtime. (I'm sure they had help from the officials to do that, too. wink, wink.) Battier suggested that, as they started chipping away at the lead, he could see it in the Maryland's players eyes - they'd seen this before. Now, Battier may just be making a good story out of the situation, but again, to suggest that this was impossible without help from the officials is insane.

People love to point at Duke losing big second half leads against Kentucky in 1998 (18 points), or Indiana in 2002 (14 points, I believe) when they want to talk about "choking". Yet, when they start complaining about officiating in Duke games, they never seem to mention the officials having aided Kentucky or Indiana.

Evidently when a team comes back from a large deficit to win a game, they only get help from officials if their name is Duke.

The future

Well, there's still hope for next season. I don't anticipate many people picking Duke to win the title next year. They lose 5 seniors overall, 4 who played significant minutes. However, they have another talented freshmen class coming in, some of which - like McRoberts and Paulus this year - will be depended on from the start. Center Eric Boteng is transferring (there's no ill will, but he thinks he'll play more elsewhere). I hate to see a center leave when you already have a senior center graduating, but maybe it will be for the best. DeMarcus Nelson could emerge as a star next year. If he can stay healthy, he will likely have a great season. I expect Paulus to improve a great deal over the summer. I anticipate a great year from him as well, and expect he will improve his shooting over the summer and be an important scorer from outside with Redick gone, along with his point guard duties. Sophmore David McClure, who redshirted this year, will also be back. So, I think they'll have a good amount of talent, albeit young talent.

The key to the whole season, however, is Josh McRoberts. First, is he going to return? It's not yet known. He's projected as a lottery pick currently, and could end up leaving. That decision, evidently, has not been made yet. Assuming he does return, Duke could have a very good year. They are ranked in the top 15 in one preseason poll I've seen (yes, they're already releasing polls.) But that could drop significantly if McRoberts leaves. The promise he showed at the end of the season - particularly in the ACC tournament - will be important to Duke next year. He will be much more aggressive and score much more with Williams gone. Their dependence on him and Paulus together will be key, and if he doesn't return, it will hurt them all year long. So, hopefully he will make the decision to stay at least another year.

Conclusion

So, here's to a great season this year. It didn't end with a championship or even a final four trip. But it was great nonetheless. And if McRoberts returns next year, they should have a pretty good year as well, despite their youth.

Only 7 months until the season starts...

Dance : day ten - final

2006-04-04T07:34:00.000-05:00

After such a great first two weeks, the NCAA tournament really ended with a thud at the final four. After two boring blowouts on Saturday came yet another boring blowout last night, as Florida beat UCLA without much difficulty. I didn't even watch the second half. I was exhausted from a long weekend (actually, I guess it was a short weekend since we lost an hour) and with the game apparently decided already, I went to bed at halftime. I recorded the second half in case it turned into a game, but now see no reason to go back and watch it.

Random stuff:

Now we have to endure a couple of days of stupid headlines like "Noah doubt about it" (ESPN) and "Chomping Block" (SI). I'm sure there are many more.
Wasn't UCLA supposed to have the better defense?
It seemed evident early on that Donovan was going to be a very good coach someday, and it's not surprising that he's gotten to this point now. I still don't like him (Pitino begat Donovan, plus I can't forgive him for 2000), but he just moved from being considered a good coach to a very good coach. Some will see he's moved to great coach, but I still think it will take a second title for him to move to "great coach." Or, at least more time and more success, even if he never got the second title. But I believe that will eventually happen. If most of these guys are back next year, it could happen then.
Of course, his next title may not happen at Florida. I don't doubt he'll be back next year, but I must wonder, will he will stay at Florida for the long haul? Especially if a "basketball school" came calling? More specifically, if, say, Tubby Smith were to leave Kentucky in the near future and they gave Billy a call? If I were in charge at Kentucky, he'd be the first guy I'd call when Tubby leaves. Hey, if I were in charge, I'd probably be calling him today - Tubby leaving or not. If he stays, Florida could become one of the great programs of the next 10 or 20 years. If another "basketball school" calls, he might go, depending on the school, but I would think he would definitely consider leaving for Kentucky. And Kentucky would be insane not to at least ask.
There's also the Big East possibility. Anyone up there looking for a coach should be calling him, too. That's where he's from, that's where he played, and the Big East is a basketball league full of basketball schools. He would get to coach against coaching legends like Jim Boeheim, Jim Calhoun and his old mentor Rick Pitino, instead of names like Mark Gottfried, Rick Stansbury and Stan Heath. I say he would certainly consider a Big East job as well.
CBS has got to find some people better than Greg Gumble, Clark Kellogg and Seth Davis. Actually, I don't mind Davis that much, but the other two have to go. And when is ESPN going to unload Digger Phelps - who knows nothing - and Doug Gottlieb - who knows less than Digger? We need some quality people here, folks. And don't even get me started on Jim Nantz...
I heard a week or so ago that Noah had already said he was returning to school next year. I've already seen an article this morning with the headline something like "Noah in no hurry to decide future." Translation: He's leaving.
Noah was listed 14th on last week's update at NBAdraft.net, and I suspect he'll move up when it's updated (today, I believe.) He's not a guy who has to worry about money, but I suspect as a lottery pick, he'll move on.
Speaking of the mock draft, Tyrus Thomas of LSU shot up to #1 last week after the regional. I'll be interested to see if he falls (and how far) after not showing up at the final four. Glen Davis was around 19th, so his performance likely won't make a huge difference, but he's already stated that he's returning anyway.
Wally Hall is an idiot. Yes, everyone in Arkansas knows this, but I've read a few of his articles in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette sports section over the last couple of weeks, and felt compelled to say it again.

Well, that's all I've got. I still plan to reflect on Duke's season and the careers of Redick and Williams, probably later in the week. I still have some comments I've been meaning to post.

I suspect the women's game tonight will be much more interesting than was the men's. Obviously, I hope to see Duke win it, but it should be a tough game, and it won't be over at halftime, like all of the men's final four games were. Of course, the best part about the game will be that Ivory Latta and her teammates will have to watch it at home.

Dance : day nine - final four

2006-04-02T23:23:00.000-05:00

I did not get to sit and watch the final four games as I usually do. A family event took precedence, so I had set my DVR to record them and planned to watch them on Sunday. It turned out that I saw part of the Florida-GMU game, then managed to make it home in time to see the second half of the late game between LSU and UCLA, which was already pretty much over.

It seemed most everyone not from LSU, UCLA or Florida wanted to see GMU win it all. But Florida has been playing really well and they seemed to be shooting the 3 well, at least during the time I was watching. The game seemed to get away from them late in the first half, and after that I think maybe they never really could recover. It was, however, a great run, and I think it's not going to be a long time before we see something like that again. It may happen again very soon.

As for UCLA and LSU, I actually felt like UCLA would win this game, but I didn't think they'd blow LSU out like they did. What was up with Glen Davis? He looked like he'd run from Baton Rouge to Indianapolis before the game. He appeared to be winded from the opening tip. I could understand if they were playing in Salt Lake City, maybe, but why did he suddenly appear to be horribly out of shape? And did Thomas even play in this game? I don't even remember hearing his name. Anyway, UCLA embarrassed LSU, who looked more like the team that played Iona and Texas A&M than the one that played Duke and Texas. I think LSU was a good team who had 2 great games, but were not really a serious contender to win it all.

A lot of people are picking Florida, but I think UCLA may just have enough to do it one more time. Of course, if you saw my bracket, you'd know how little that means.

Female four

Speaking of LSU getting embarrassed in the final four, not only did it happen to their men, but also to their women. Duke's Lady Blue Devils hammered LSU's Lady Tigers by 19 points tonight for the chance at the championship on Tuesday night. Both teams were #1 seeds. LSU's Seimone Augustus was the nation's leading scorer this season, and in an ironic twist, Duke's defense held her scoreless for the first 22 minutes of the game, and to 14 points overall (although about 6 of them came in the late minutes of the game when it was already decided.) I say ironic because that's what LSU's men's team did to one of the top men's scorers, Duke's J.J. Redick (who continues to rack up player of the year awards, and rightfully so.) LSU appeared to depend far too much on Augustus (sounds familiar...) and Duke's balance won the game for them.

Duke's opponent was decided in the early game, when the other two ACC schools in the final four squared off. Maryland, who finished 3rd in the ACC, would play North Carolina, who finished 1st and was #1 coming into the game (Duke finished 2nd in the ACC). Maryland has had UNC's number of late, including having an early February win that was UNC's only loss of the season coming into the game. Now, Maryland has given them their other loss of the year as well, a nine-point win. UNC losing is good enough, but seeing coach Sylvia Hatchell and point guard Ivory Latta - perhaps the most annoying player ever to play college basketball - just made it that much better.

So, Duke and Maryland will play Tuesday night and Maryland has had UNC's number, Duke has had Maryland's, having won, I believe, more than 10 in a row agains Maryland prior to the ACC tournament, where Maryland finally beat them. It's certainly not a given, and both are great teams, but Duke is in it's fourth final four since 1999, and I think this time they get it done.

March 28, 1992

2006-03-28T12:38:00.000-06:00

I remember nearly 5 years ago, when I started my new job in Huntsville, a co-worker came by and saw a Sports Illustrated from 1992 sitting in my cube. It had Bobby Hurley on the cover, and the title read "Dynasty". He immediately said, "Is that the year Christian Laettner hit the shot to beat Kentucky?" I said, "Yes, it was." Then I found out why he brought it up - he was a UK graduate. Seems every time I meet a UK fan and they find out I'm a Duke fan, they bring it up first. From what I read online, it still hurts and it still fuels their hatred for Duke. But, I don't mind seeing it over and over every March.

I was in a Chili's restaurant in North Little Rock when Laettner hit the shot. I had scheduled a date - a first date, in fact - for that night, having been mistaken about the game time. I thought it was in the afternoon, and was horrified to find out it was that evening. Some priorities, huh? Anyway, I went on the date. We were going to eat and then to a movie. As we sat in Chili's, I continued to hear people in the bar area roaring occasionally when something would happen. Evidently, it was when Kentucky was making great plays, because being in SEC country (even though it had just become SEC country that very season), the people were pulling for them. Plus, Duke had started to become what they are now - a team people liked to dislike (which has now grown into hate.)

As we got up to leave, she first went to the restroom. As I waited, I walked over to the bar area to see what was happening with the game. I said to someone, "What's the score?" They gleefully replied, "Kentucky 103, Duke 102 - 2 seconds left!" I was crestfallen. How could this happen? How could they lose this game? They were supposed to repeat. They'd been #1 all season long, only lost 2 games by 2 and 4 points, and were clearly the best team in the country. Now it was going to end here, short of the final four, and even worse, at the hands of Kentucky??

What I didn't know was that in the huddle, Mike Krzyzewski was telling his players, "We're going to win this game." Evidently, despite the circumstances they faced at that moment - needing to go the length of the court in :02 and score - they believed him.

As the teams broke from the timeout, I stood there and watched a TV probably 30 feet away. I only saw one play in that game live. It was the best play of the game. I would later see it all on tape - which I'd set as soon as I realized my scheduling error. But I saw the pass from Grant Hill. I saw Laettner catch, dribble and shoot. I saw the ball hit the net. I saw the Duke bench explode onto the court. I saw Laettner running down the court. At this point, the crowd in the bar deflated, and as my date was returning from the bathroom, I was able to verify that indeed the shot had counted.

Duke 104, Kentucky 103.

Some argue that it was the greatest game ever. I'm sure Kentucky fans aren't as passionate about that as Duke fans. I recall something that former Kentucky player John Pelphrey - who was one of the four Kentucky seniors on that team, all of whom I believe are fondly remembered by UK fans for what they did for UK basketball (and rightfully so) - said on the ESPN Battlelines episode about this game. I don't recall the exact quote. It was something about how everyone has their high points and low points in life, but not everyone has their low points replayed on ESPN all the time. So, certainly, the game is probably not remembered as fondly by Kentucky fans and players. But certainly, basketball fans all over the spectrum - from Duke lovers and Duke haters - have to admit what a great game it was. There were more great plays in the game - by both teams - than I can list here. The last minute of the game alone was full of unbelievable plays. And while Laettner's final shot is what is most remembered, his "perfect game" is sometimes not. He went 10-10 from the field and 10-10 from the line in that game. If he hadn't, Kentucky would have won.

I realize I am, as a Duke fan, biased about the game, but I think there's not much question from unbiased sources that this very well may have been the greatest game in history. I know it's the greatest one I've ever seen. I still watch it at least a couple of times a year. And 14 years later, it never gets old.

Dance : day eight

2006-03-27T12:38:00.000-06:00

Can this tournament get much better (besides, obviously, if Duke had continued to win?)

Washington

Well, just watched UConn go down at the hands of George Mason. Connecticut took a 12 point lead late in the first half. It seemed at that point they expected Mason to just go away. Or maybe they were just hoping they would.

But Mason didn't. Not only did they make a run, they took the lead. And then inexplicably gave up a 4 point lead with 17 seconds left, and UConn appeared as though they might escape one more time - which is all they've done so far in this tournament.

It seems whenever an underdog loses a chance to upset a team and is forced into overtime, they fold up and lose without much of a fight in overtime. I was afraid that would happen to George Mason. But, man, they came out firing. They scored first and continued to score, keeping the pressure on Connecticut. Then, it looked like they might actually give UConn a third chance late in the game - missing their final 3 free throws - but held on as UConn could not score on the final possession, and Mason goes to the final four with a 2 point win.

I heard Mike Lupica babbling on this morning on ESPN about how Jim Calhoun would be in the ranks of Wooden and Rupp, having won 3 titles in 8 years. That was, of course, if they continued on. Lupica, who is a loud-mouth know-it-all who seems to enjoy hearing himself talk more than Dick Vitale and could not be more annoying, spoke too soon. It's almost as great to see Connecticut lose as it is to see Lupica proven wrong.

Mason becomes the first "mid-major" to reach the final four in the era of the 64 (or 65) team tournament. They did what others have come close to doing. And what everyone expected Gonzaga to do first - and most of them expected it this year. But instead, it was the team that everyone said shouldn't even be invited. Since then, they've beaten a final four team from last year and the last two national champions. They've crashed the party big time. And they may not be done yet.

Greg Doyel, in an article on CBS Sportsline, says the following:

Today, now that George Mason has beaten UConn to get into the Final Four, people are going to write about David and Goliath.

What if George Mason is Goliath?

I guess we'll see next weekend.

Minneapolis

I didn't watch a lot of this game, but Florida held off Villanova. Villanova couldn't match Florida inside, and couldn't hit anything from outside. Basically, Villanova was the last hope for both the Big East and the #1 seeds. Everyone said the Big East was the best conference, and I would have to agree with that. It was expected they'd definitely have one, and likely have two, teams in the final four. There was even a decent possibility they could end up doing what no conference had done since 1985 - have 3 teams in the final four. In 1985, the Big East did it. They had a chance to do it again. But it didn't happen.

Now, the best conference joins the second best conference (which many say was the Big Ten) in having NO teams in the final four. And, with Villanova's loss, there are also NO #1 seeds in the final four, for the first time since 1980.

Final thoughts

It's been a wild ride so far. If this continues for the last 3 games, this may have been one of the best episodes of March Madness to date.

Dance : day seven

2006-03-26T12:48:00.000-06:00

Well, we're down to 6 now.

Atlanta

I'm not really surprised LSU won. I mentioned the Duke factor yesterday. But I still thought Texas was on a mission and that they might pull it out. I don't like PJ Tucker, who I think is a punk, but I like Rick Barnes and wouldn't mind seeing him succeed. Of course, I went to college with a lot of people from Texas, and listened to them babble on and on about how great the state of Texas is, so I don't mind seeing Texas teams lose whenever possible. I will not be surprised to see LSU win it all. Also, with LSU winning, the SEC gets it's first team since 2000 (Florida) into the final four, and only the second in the last 8 years. They've had quite a drought, but it's over now, and actually could end up with 2 teams in if Florida wins tomorrow. (Kentucky, as I always like to point out, will miss it for the eighth year in a row now. You gotta love that.)

Minneapolis

This was one of the ugliest games I've ever seen. Memphis was throwing up brick after brick in the first half, and they just could not seem to gain much ground after UCLA took the lead. UCLA looked like they were playing to prove something - that not enough people took them seriously. Granted, I'd not seen them play all year long, but I originally picked them for the final four (as I mentioned before) because everyone said they were playing well. After watching them play against Alabama and Gonzaga, I wasn't that impressed. But I was glad - as always - to see Calipari and Memphis lose.

Final thoughts

I'll go ahead and pick the first final four game (although I reserve the right to change my mind before next weekend.) UCLA has continued to win, and they may very well be able to knock off LSU like they did Gonzaga and Memphis, but I am - at least for now - going to go with LSU in this game.

Dance : day six

2006-03-25T08:46:00.000-06:00

Minneapolis

Boston College was my only hope, as an ACC fan. I thought they had it done against Villanova, but were on the short end of a couple of really bad calls late in regulation. The first one has already left my mind, but the second was a traveling call on Dudley in which a Villnova player tied him up and Dudley lost his balance and took steps. There was no way this could be anything other than either a jump ball or a foul on the Villanova player (it looked like a pretty good tie-up to me, so it should have been a jump ball.) But the officials chose to make a bad call instead.

Now, this didn't cost BC the game. It hurt their chances of winning, but they missed way too many free throws. Had they made one of those missed, they would have won. Instead, they lost in overtime. But everyone always remembers the bad calls (or, as in my case, at least 1 of 2).

The second game I did not watch, so I haven't got much to comment on. I picked Georgetown, but wouldn't have been surprised either way. Since I believe Billy Donovan to be the anti-Christ, I hope Villanova advances to the final four.

Washington

Didn't see any of the George Mason-WSU game, either. Didn't really care. Not surprised either way in this one, too, but I expected GMU to maybe pull it out since they were playing near home. And they did.

Connecticut continues to play uninspired for much of the game and then pull out a win. Actually, I didn't see it, either, but I have to assume. I read about a goal-tending non-call in UConn's favor that may have cost Washington the game. But the only highlights I saw were of Washington fouling when up by four, giving UConn a three-point play, then giving up a three at the end to send it to overtime. They should have won it anyway. Nevertheless, Uconn moves on.

Final thoughts

I think the regional finals could all be very good games. Since a new round is starting, I figure I'll go ahead and pick again.

Atlanta Every team that has beaten Duke in the sweet 16 during the Krzyzewski era has advanced to the final four. That's 5 times prior to this year. LSU could make it a sixth, but I think Texas just may pull this out, so I'm going with them.

Oakland I picked UCLA to reach the final four in my original bracket, before switching it to Pitt, and I picked them the other day, so I'll stick with them. UCLA advances.

Minneapolis I realize there's a very good chance Florida will win this game, but I just can't pick them. Now that BC's gone, I'll have to go with Villanova.

Washington I can't think of a better story than George Mason, whose presence in the tournament was questioned by many, reaching Indianapolis. But I just don't know if they can do it one more time, even against a UConn time that will likely leave the door open for them much of the game. As much as it hurts to say this, I think Connecticut will keep going.

Dance : day five

2006-03-24T18:10:00.000-06:00

Three exciting games last night out of the four, which is what you want at this point.

Atlanta

Obviously, for a Duke fan, huge disappointment. LSU played great defense, particularly on Redick. I actually expected Shelden Williams to have a more difficult game than Redick. Williams was great, but he was pretty much the only one. It was not unlike the Temple game, except LSU is better than Temple. Normally, if their opponent scores only 62, Duke would win by double-digits. But their inability to score against LSU's defense was what killed them. Williams scored - 23 in fact - but Redick could not, and their lack of a consistent third scorer, which has been a problem all year, killed them again. The players not named Redick or Williams were 7 of 29 from the field. Overall, they shot horribly, but most of that was LSU, who had 9 blocks (according to the box score, but I'd say it was more than that), not to mention the altered shots. LSU was physical and the officials were letting both teams play, and Duke did not handle it well. Fouls that they normally get when driving to the basket were not being called as often, which lead to less free throws - also something they're used to doing a lot.

In the end, they still had a shot at winning late. With Duke fouling to put LSU on the line at the end, LSU managed to miss a couple of free throws. Unfortunately, both misses resulted in offensive rebounds for LSU, forcing Duke to foul again and LSU to shoot more free throws. One trip down the floor for LSU resulted in 3 trips to the line. In addition to that was a breakaway when an LSU player got behind the Duke pressure on an inbounds play at Duke's end of the court. You give up plays like that in the final minute, you don't really deserve to win.

I didn't watch a lot of the Texas - West Virginia game. I nearly went to bed during halftime of the late games because both were up 10+ at the time. But when I saw the local news reporting that Texas was only ahead by 3 in the second half, I returned to the game. It seemed West Virginia could not stop Aldridge, who seemed to be pulling rebounds and scoring at will. However, West Virginia did not give up. A few missed free throws by Texas late in the game kept them close. When Pittsnogle hit the 3 with :05 on the clock, I was expecting overtime. But, a great shot at the buzzer sends Texas to the final 8, where there should be a good game with LSU.

Oakland

Saw absolutely none of the Memphis - Bradley game, since Duke-LSU was on here, and I didn't watch during halftime or after Duke-LSU was over (I was watching post-game press conferences on ESPN News.) So, I hear Memphis looked impressive again. However, despite Bradley's upsets thus far, the "mid-major" teams never play as well the second weekend. Therefore, I still don't know what to think of Memphis. They look great, everyone says, but it's just like their conference - they still haven't played anyone. Their highest seed so far is #9 Bucknell. So, I'll see what they do against UCLA before I crown them national champions, as some seem to be ready to do at this point.

If the Texas-West Virginia finish wasn't good enough, how about the UCLA-Gonzaga game. I, again, almost left for bed after the Texas game was over, because Gonzaga was still up 9 with around 3 minutes left. I figured - since they'd led the whole game, and mostly by double-figures - that it was already over. But I stayed a few more plays, and suddenly it was a game again. Gonzaga fell apart in the closing minutes, allowing UCLA to score 11 straight and pull off the win. J.P. Batista fouled UCLA on the rebound of an Adam Morrison miss - Gonzaga was up 3 points - with 19 seconds remaining. UCLA hit two free throws, and then with the clock ticking down, UCLA stole the ball from Batista after the inbounds, and hit a wide-open layup to take the lead. After a Gonzaga miss and foul, UCLA hit another free throw for the final margin. It was an amazing finish for UCLA, and an equally amazing collapse for Gonzaga. Morrison buried his face in his jersey and laid face down on the floor for a couple of minutes after the game was over. Many believe this to be his last game at Gonzaga, expecting him to enter the NBA draft.

Final thoughts

Well, it seemed appropriate that Redick and Morrison, whose scoring and player of the year battles have lasted all season, would exit together. Both of these guys have had oustanding years and have been great college basketball players. It seems that at least 50% of the articles I've read today regarding the LSU game or Redick's career seem to questino Redick's true ability, suggesting or implying he's not as good as he's appeared all year. This, of course, is crap. It's pretty simple. Just look at the facts from the last four years. His improvement and his accomplishments speak for themselves. To suggest that he has become anything less than a great college basketball player (which, as I said, it seems people are lining up to say today) can only be the result of either stupidity or bias. He was a great player. One cannot suggest otherwise and expect to be taken seriously.

I look forward to tonight's games. My favorite team left in the tournament is "whoever is playing Connecticut." I really hope to see BC make it to the final four. Only a few times in the last 20 years has an ACC team not been there (87, 96, 03), so they're the only hope left. I like their players and Al Skinner, so I hope they can get it done.

Next week, I plan to have some final thoughts on Duke's season, the careers of Redick and Williams, and some thoughts on Duke's recent problems advancing past the sweet 16 (I have a theory - a couple of things that I believe contribute, at least in part, to this difficulty.)

And the madness resumes

2006-03-23T12:33:00.000-06:00

Just a few thoughts and observations before the madness starts again this evening...

No repeats this year in the final four. Louisville, of course, didn't even make the tournament. Michigan State lost in the first round, and Illinois and North Carolina lost in the second.

Duke is in the sweet 16 for the 9th straight year, which equals North Carolina's run from 1985-1993 (during the era of 64+ teams in the tournament.) UNC actually appeared in 13 in a row, but the first 4 were prior to the expansion and did not require winning 2 games to get there. I think the next longest current streak is 2 straight.

Traditional powers not in the sweet 16 - Kentucky, UNC, Kansas, Indiana. You expect these schools to be there most years. This year, none of them are there. The only schools there that you could call "traditional powers" would be Duke and UCLA. (Connecticut's success is more recent, and Georgetown was a power in the 80's, but I wouldn't personally call them traditional powers. At least not yet.)

Heard Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann, on The Dan Patrick Show on ESPN Radio, talking about picking your bracket by which mascot could win a one-on-one battle. For example, the UCLA Bruin would beat the Gonzaga Bulldog. Part of the conversation went something like this:

Patrick: You've gotta think the bruin beats the bulldog.

Olbermann: Sure, a young bear beats a bulldog, but it may take a while since he's not yet been sufficiently trained.

Patrick: But wouldn't a devil beat just about anything??

Olbermann: Yes, but we're talking about a blue devil. This is a devil who apparently has some sort of circulatory problem, so who knows.

There was more and it was just cracking me up. Those guys are hilarious, and it's been great to hear them together again.

A word about CBS

Okay, so, just as I do every year, allow me to complaing about CBS' coverage of the tournament. Let's see... how can I describe it... it's horrible. Yeah, that sounds about right.

I hate the fact that you can only see one game at a time, and that it's a game that (supposedly) will be of most interest to your region of the country. Then, even if that occurs, they'll switch to another game at any given time. Sometimes, this is good, because you might want to see the last minute of a close game elsewhere. Other times, they just switch to show you what's going on with 16:34 left in the first half of the Nevada-Montana game - as if anyone outside of Nevada and Montana care. I won't even go into the sport personalities in the studio or calling the games. There's going to be just as much good and bad with any other network there.

Here's my solution: ABC needs to have this contract. ABC could then, on the network channel, broadcast a similar type of coverage that CBS currently does now. However, they could also farm out all of the games (this is particularly necessary in the first weekend) to other channels they own. There are a maximum of 4 games happening at once. The network could broadcast the regional game, but all 4 games could also be broadcast elsewhere - ESPN, EPSN2, ESPN Classic, ESPN News, ESPNU, or even ABC Family. Then, regardless of the regional coverage, you could switch to the game of your choice. This would be the ideal. If you have cable, you can see all of the games. If not, you can still see the normal coverage on ABC.

Picks

Well, since I picked most everything wrong in my pre-tournament bracket, I'll go ahead and pick the final four from what we have left. Here's my picks for regional final games, with the winners, with no commentary:

Atlanta: Duke beats West Virginia

Oakland: UCLA beats Memphis

Minneapolis: Boston College beats Georgetown

Washington: Washington beats George Mason

So, there you have it. Now you know to bet on everyone I picked to lose...

The search is over

2006-03-22T12:09:00.000-06:00

I have written a couple of times in the past 6 months or so (here and here) about our search for a new church. We moved back here to Little Rock in August and have visited several churches since then in an attempt to find our new home. After a lot of visiting, evaluating and prayer, we have decided that Fellowship Bible Church is where God has led us. We are excited about this decision, and looking forward to getting involved and becoming a part of this church family. Hopefully starting the first Sunday of April, we will begin attending FBC's Discovery II classes, which is called the "Pathway to Small Groups and Church Membership", where we will move through the membership process and become a part of a community group. I will probably write more about our new experiences at FBC over the next few months as we get plugged in.

I mentioned my son's birthday this weekend. My daughter also had a big event this weekend - she lost another tooth. It had been loose for a while, and then Sunday night, while eating some Teddy Grahams, she came running to tell us it had come out. Not quite a birthday, but still a big deal for her. She always gets very excited about this because, of course, it means that the Tooth Fairy will pay her a visit. This was number 5 or 6, I think. She was thrilled Monday morning to discover under her pillow a gift certificate to Build-A-Bear Workshop and was immediately asking to go to the mall that very night, since she still has another Build-A-Bear gift certificate she received at Christmas. However, we put off the trip for now. Next week is her spring break from school, so I'm sure we'll make our way there sometime during the break.

Dance : day four

2006-03-19T21:39:00.000-06:00

First of all, today is my son's birthday. He is 2 years old. We actually had his birthday party yesterday - the theme was Blue's Clue's. He doesn't really understand what's going on, but he liked his presents (especially his Blue's Clue's Talking Chair), and seemed to enjoy the cake. I'm always amazed at how much children learn in such a short period of time. It seems like yesterday we were bringing him home from the hospital, but now he's running around everywhere, shooting basketball, and knows more words now than I can count.

In fact, he's even learning about March Madness, which is only natural considering his birth date. I'm hoping being born during March Madness will be a good sign of things to come, like maybe someday he'll be playing in March Madness himself. (I can always dream.) He watched his first Duke game at the hospital the day after he was born, when Duke beat Seton Hall in the second round. He also watched a little bit of basketball with me this weekend, and says "Go Duke" when he sees a game on TV. He even recognizes Coach K now (although it comes out more like "Ouch K"). Clearly, an intelligent child. (Maybe I should make him some March Madness flashcards - you know, pictures of Coach K, John Wooden, Dick Vitale, Christian Laettner, Bob Knight & Keith Smart, Dean Smith & Michael Jordan, Jim Valvano & Lorenzo Charles, Larry & Magic, etc.)

It's fun to hear him say things like "Go Duke" and "Ouch K", but there's nothing I love hearing more than when I tell him, "I love you" and he says "I lub oo too."

The madness continues

I believe next year I am going to fill out what I'll call the "George Costanza" bracket. Remember the episode where George chooses to do the opposite of whatever his instincts tell him? Well, that's apparently what I need to do. If I'd picked the other team on every one of my picks, I think I'd be doing better than I am now.

Atlanta

Didn't see one second of the West Viginia - Northwestern State game, but I'm not surprised they won. I almost picked W Va over Iowa and then to beat Texas. Instead, I went with Iowa. Again, the Costanza method would've helped. Texas, in the end, hammered NC State after State had kept it close for a while. I was hoping State could pull it off for a third ACC team in the sweet 16, but they finished the season pretty weak, and the win over Cal was a huge surprise. I figured it'd be quite a feat to pull off the win against Texas in Dallas. Texas looked really good, but they were playing NC State, so it's hard to tell how well they're really playing.

Oakland

Memphis was all over Bucknell. If Arkansas had been slightly more agressive, they would've beaten Bucknell. But the theories that Arkansas would give Memphis trouble are pretty ridiculous. Memphis' defense looked to be in Bucknell's uniforms with them at times, and they seemed to steal the ball at will during several stretches of the game. Memphis looked really good, too, but again, they've played ORU and Bucknell, so who really knows?

Bradley scored a second upset, knocking off one of my final four teams, Pittsburgh. The funny thing in this game was the on-screen scoreboard. With the higher seed always on bottom, that meant that the scoreboard read Brad Pitt. Well, I thought it was humorous.

Minneapolis

Saw none of the Georgetown - Ohio State game, either. Although I picked Ohio State, I wasn't surprised Georgetown won. They've beaten a number of good teams this year. Arizona gave Villanova a pretty good game. I thought they might have a shot at the upset, and they played them to the end, but didn't quite have enough. As good as Villanova's guards are, I don't think they can win it all.

Washington

Speaking of not being able to win it all, UNC won't be repeating since they lost to George Mason today. I recall many saying George Mason shouldn't be in the tournament. Now they've beaten two of last year's Final Four teams, including the champion. "I guess the foot's on the other hand now." It appears - at least from the box score - that David Noel was the only one that did much of anything for UNC. Perhaps their youth was a factor after all. And did you check out Roy going Bob Knight on the sideline, picking up the chair and slamming it to the floor? You usually don't see ol' Roy that upset.

Kentucky gave UConn another scare. One of the criticisms of UConn is, of course, that they don't play for 40 minutes. They clearly didn't against Albany, and despite all of the talking heads declaring they'd beat Kentucky more easily, they didn't, and you have to wonder if they're still not willing to play 40 minutes. I was convinced before the thing started that they would not win it all, and they haven't done anything to change my mind. They still may very well do it - they certainly have the talent - but they're not going to if they don't play the whole game. That will end up biting them before it's over - maybe even against Washington in the next round. They'd better show up to play next weekend, or it will be their last weekend.

Final thoughts

Looking forward to the sweet 16. I will make official picks, most likely, by Thursday, but my initial thoughts are that, while many are picking LSU & Texas in the Atlanta final, I still say Duke wins and I think West Viriginia might just beat Texas this time - as you may recall, they lost to Texas in November. I also think Boston College still has what it takes to come out of Minneapolis. I expected neither Memphis nor Gonzaga to go past next weekend, but they both have a good shot at it, especially with Kansas and Pitt losing. And I think you'll have to consider the winner of UConn and Washington to be the most likely final four team from Washington, DC. So, I'll probably have more thoughts this week, and we'll see what happens this weekend.

Dance : day three

2006-03-18T22:23:00.001-06:00

My bracket gets worse each day. But, the tournament actually gets better.

Atlanta

Duke looked significantly better against George Washington than in their first game. They won with relative ease, and Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts both played very well, as did Williams and Redick. I thought they started looking like the team that won the ACC tournament again. If they continue to play this well, they should make it to Indianapolis. Texas A&M should have been their opponent in the next round, but they gave up a 3-pointer with less than 4 seconds remaining and lost by one to LSU. LSU hasn't really looked that impressive in their first two games, but you never know what's going to happen in March.

Oakland

Gonzaga didn't have an easy time with Indiana, but managed to end the Mike Davis era and advance. I think Morrison had a horrible game and they still won, so they probably feel good about that. However, they won't go much further without him playing well. UCLA had their hands full with Alabama as well. I thought they would probably win more comfortably than they did, but Alabama took them to the end. I think the UCLA-Gonzaga matchup will be one of the better ones, but of course, nobody from the east will care.

Minneapolis

Boston College seemed to handle Montana without much problem. I didn't get to see much of that one here, but based on the score I was seeing updated in the top part of the screen, it looked like they were doing fine. Florida hammered Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I'm not sure what to think of Florida, still. They started the season with a long win streak, then lost a number of SEC games and didn't look that great, but in the last two weeks have looked pretty good. But, they really haven't played anyone in this tournament yet, so we'll see how they do next game.

Washington

Washington jumped all over Illinois at the beginning of the game and took something like a 14 point lead. Then, Illinois came back and had a lead and seemed to be in control. Then, Washington again regained the lead late and pulled out the win. I'll be anxious to see how far Washington can go. Wichita State, not surprisingly, beat overrated Tennessee, who should have lost in the first round. Tennessee really collapsed big-time at the end of the season, and I would have been surprised if they'd survived this game.

Final Thoughts

Well, not really any upsets here, although I guess, considering seeds, WSU over Tennessee was an upset. But I think after round one, everyone expected it, so I don't really count it. Tomorrow should provide some pretty good games.

Dance : day two

2006-03-17T23:58:00.000-06:00

My brackets condition has worsened. The doctors say it's not going to make it.

Atlanta

Only one real surprise here, and that is the last second 3 by Northwestern State that beat Iowa. I guess Indiana fans still want Alford to come home, but he's not really done anything significant in the tournament yet. And, of course, I picked Iowa in the elite this year. Thanks, Steve.

Seems I heard several people pick SIU over West Virginia, I guess since nobody would be surprised by WVa this year (and please, people, stop using Pittsnogle as a verb.) Mild upset with NC State beating Cal (who I, of course, had in the sweet 16), but I was glad to see the ACC team win. Texas struggled with Penn, but it seems nobody really blows out an Ivy League team very often.

Oakland

Memphis, who people have called (and rightfully so, in my opinion) the weakest #1 seed, actually had the largest margin of the 1 seeds, I believe. Some said ORU would give them trouble, and they did, but only for about the first 15 minutes. Bucknell pulls off the upset for the second straight year (although 9 over 8 is not really much of an upset). I thought Arkansas would not be surprised by them - since they'd upset Kansas last year - and would pull it out. But great 3-point shooting by Bucknell and horrible free throw shooting by Arkansas pretty much was the story there.

Pitt handled Kent State pretty easily (or so it seemed while watching the score change in the upper section of my TV screen.) And speaking of Bucknell, not only did they repeat their first round feat of last year, so did their opponent from last year - Kansas. Kansas loses to Bradley and for the second straight year has gone home after game one.

Minneapolis

Villanova, like the other #1's, played a relatively close game with Monmouth, while Arizona hammered Wisconsin. I haven't seen Arizona play this year so have no idea when they look like and whether or not they can play with Villanova. Georgetown and Ohio State won with relative ease. There's really not much to say here, because none of these games were really upsets (9 over 8 doesn't count).

Washington

The days of #1 seeds blowing out #16 seeds seems to be over. All four 1 seeds had relatively competitive games. Duke, Memphis and Villanova all kept theirs relatively comfortable - around 10 or more points - through most of the second half.

Connecticut, however, managed to find themselves behind by 12 points with 12 minutes to play in the game. And Albany held that lead until around 6 minutes or so, when Connecticut finally tied it, before winning by double digits. Connecticut has been criticized for uninspired play at times this year, and for "taking off" parts of games. They apparently did so in this game, and they came close to making history, as a #16 has never beaten a #1. If Connecticut continues to try to just "turn it on" when they need it, they'll be going home earlier than everyone has predicted, because everyone they play henceforth will not only be better than Albany, but will be better with each game. I still say they won't win it all.

Kentucky got a measure of revenge for losing as a #1 seed to UAB two years ago, by beating the Blazers in the 8-9 game. I picked UAB, but I really thought Kentucky would probably win. Yeah, I realize that doesn't make any sense. UNC also had a tough game with Murray State. I'll be interested to see how their freshmen do going forward. However, they'll get another low seeded team next, as George Mason took out Michigan State, a team that returned a lot of players from their final four team last year, but hasn't really played that well all season.

Final thoughts

It was an exciting first two days, and noticably missing so far are blowouts. They used to be more common. The upsets seem to be occuring at about the same rate, I suppose, but blowouts by higher seeded teams seem to be far less common, especially among the 1, 2 and 3 seeds, where they are most likely. Looking forward to Saturday and Sunday.

Dance : day one

2006-03-16T23:43:00.001-06:00

So if you check out my picks page, you'll notice that I'm placing green check marks beside the correct picks, and red X's beside the incorrect picks.

I don't know if you've seen the ending to Bonnie and Clyde, where the dudes unload their machine guns into Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. If you have, then you have an idea of how my picks bracket is starting to look.

Atlanta

Texas A&M was the popular pick to knock off Syracuse. Yes, I was concerned about them being out of gas after the Big East tournament, but thought they'd have enough to get out of the first round, especially after being upset there last year. There was no way, I contended, they would let themselves be upset a second straight year by a double-digit seed.

I stand corrected.

UNCW was killing GW - by 17 at one point, I believe - and then GW went on (at least) a 15-0 run to get back in it, then won it in OT. Duke managed to beat Southern - or should I say Williams and Redick did. Only three other players scored, and only a total of 13 points. Josh McRoberts is the only other player besides Redick and Williams with more than 2 points. All that great help they got offensively last week disappeared tonight. They'll need to play like they did last week if they want to continue playing at all.

Iona gave LSU a good game for about 30 minutes or so, but in the end LSU pulled away. I think the LSU - A&M game may be pretty good. I'll look forward to that one.

Oakland

I just finished watching Indiana beat San Diego State. IU, down by one, hit a 3-pointer with 3 seconds left and held off SDSU. They get Gonzaga next, who looked like they were going to be going home for most of their game with Xavier. I think they didn't take the lead until inside of 2 minutes. I still say if Indiana has a good game, they can beat Gonzaga.

I was surprised Alabama beat Marquette. Marquette had some big wins this year, including a blowout of Connecticut, and I thought they'd win this one. They got down and made a comeback late in the game, but it wasn't enough. UCLA blew out Belmont, so they'll get Alabama next.

Minneapolis

I knew practically nothing about Nevada and Montana, except that Nevada had a player that was supposed to be pretty good. So, being a 5 seed, I went with them. They are killing me. But not as bad as BC almost did. BC had to go to 2 overtimes to beat Pacific, who looked like they were going to pull it off in the first OT. But BC tied it with seconds left, then outscored Pacific something like 14-2 in the second OT. The first round is way too early to lose one of your final four picks.

Wisconsin-Milwaukee didn't surprise me at all. Especially since Oklahoma has looked fragile for some time. I don't know what possessed me to pick South Alabama to beat Florida. It was a blowout. You've got to pick some upsets, though, and I chose that one. As usual, it was the wrong choice.

Washington

Illinois beat Air Force without too much trouble. Everyone said Air FOrce didn't belong, so I guess everyone's happy now that they're going home. Seton Hall is absolutely killing me. I knew they'd been blown out - by 53 - at Duke in November, but I was thinking they'd improved a lot since then. However, I didn't know enough (obviously) about Wichita State, so I went with the Big East team. Another fine choice.

Winthrop almost proved me right. I picked them to knock off Tennessee who's really fallen off the map lately, and only an extremely tough shot prevented them from continuing that game in overtime. Chris Lofton scored with less than 1 second left to give Tennessee the win, meaning I got one more pick wrong. Just another reason on a very long list to hate Tennessee.

The other game is Washington and Utah State, which is still being played as I type. Washington is up 9 with about 5:00 to go, so I'll assume they'll win, as I picked them to, since I'm not going to stay up any longer to watch a game I could care less about.

Final thoughts

Well, my first day was a miserable 9-7, and I also lost three sweet 16 teams (Marquette, Seton Hall, and South Alabama - and no, I wasn't under the influence when I made those picks, no matter how much it may appear that I was) and one elite 8 team (Marquette). My bracket, littered with red X's, hopes to see more green tomorrow.

A touch of madness

2006-03-15T22:25:00.000-06:00

Well, it's just a few short hours away. The NCAA tournament. The big dance. March Madness. It is, by far, the greatest time of the year.

I have made my picks. I am not completely happy with them - I never am - and very possibly will change some of them before 11:00am or so tomorrow when the first games tip off. I've never been very good at it, usually failing miserably in any pools I join (although they're usually only for bragging rights. I don't recall ever joining a pool for money. I figure I can just flush it down the toilet myself.) The one year I did very well, and in fact won a pool, was two years ago. In 2004, I picked 3 final four teams (Connecticut, Georgia Tech, and Duke), and also picked the championship game correctly (Connecticut over Georgia Tech.) That was the one year I should've joined a money pool. This year, I suspect, will be the usual. We'll see.

My picks are linked in my left sidebar under March Madness.

So, what about this bracket? I've had some thoughts this week, and here's what I came up with.

Seeding Issues

There was a lot of seed talk on Sunday night. George Washington's seed was considered too low by some, and on target by others. I haven't seen them play, so I have no opinion. The biggest seed issue many had - including me - was Tennessee getting a #2 seed. After losing four of their last six, including in the quarterfinals of the SEC tournament, they got a #2 seed, while tournament winner Florida got a #3, and regular season winner LSU got a #4. I've no idea how they deserved that. Also, they got to go to nearby Greensboro, while North Carolina (another #3 seed that's better than Tennessee, and finished much stronger), was shipped to Dayton. Syracuse went from being in the NIT to a #5 seed, which seems a little high for them. Many seem to think Gonzaga got screwed, but I'm not so sure. Yeah, they should've been a #2 before Tennessee, but I think I would have to give North Carolina and even Boston College (who I think deserved a #3 instead of a #4) the #2 seed before Gonzaga. Some continue to point out that Connecticut is the real #1 overall seed, because they're supposedly the best team. However, Duke got it because they did what Connecticut and Villanova didn't - they won their conference tournament, while the other two didn't even reach their final.

Atlanta

Duke should coast to the sweet 16. I can't see Southern, GW, or UNCW giving them any trouble, especially since they're playing in Greensboro, where they just won 3 games in the ACC tournament. I think there they should meet LSU in the sweet 16. I think LSU could struggle in the first couple of rounds, but I don't think Syracuse will have anything left after the Big East tournament. A popular pick has been Texas A&M over Syracuse, but I think after being upset by Vermont last year, Syracuse will win their first game, but that's it. I've seen a lot of people picking LSU over Duke, but I don't see that happening. Duke is hungry again. On the other side, I think Iowa will reach the final eight. They will beat West Viriginia in a good 2nd round game, while California will beat Texas on the other side, and then Iowa will beat Cal to face Duke. Duke beats Iowa to reach it's 15th final four and some unfinished business for the seniors.

Oakland

It seems most agree that Memphis is the weakest #1 seed, and the fact that they haven't played anyone in 2 months (i.e. weak conference) will hurt them. I actually saw someone this week - in a published article - pick ORU over Memphis in round one. I would love to see that, but I don't think that's going to happen. Bucknell will probably beat Arkansas, even though many in Arkansas continue to talk about a Memphis-Arkansas game, where there would be some bad blood. Pitt and Kansas will be a great 2nd round game as well, but I see Pitt reaching the final 8 by beating KU and Memphis. On the other side, I think Indiana is going to make one last run with Mike Davis, and take out Gonzaga in the 2nd round (Gonzaga has an even weaker conference than Memphis, so they're in the same boat.) I pick Marquette to upset UCLA in round two, then advance to play Pitt in the regional final. Pitt moves on to the final four.

Minneapolis

Villanova should advance easily enough - I think they'll beat Wisconsin in round two. Boston College will beat Nevada and then take out Villanova in the sweet 16. It seems more and more often that we end up with two double digit seeds pulling off upsets and playing in the 2nd round, and I'm picking those two teams to be UW-Milwaukee and South Alabama this year. John Pelphrey's SA team will beat Florida (where Pelphrey was an assistant under Donovan) in a big first-round upset, and then beat Milwaukee in round two. Ohio State will have a battle with Georgetown in round two, but will prevail to face SA in the sweet 16, where they will win and advance to face BC. A lot of people have jumped on the BC bandwagon, but I think they're legit (and so I guess that means I have, too.) Boston College will defeat OSU for a trip to the final four.

Washington

Some say this is the toughest bracket, and that could be true. Despite having beaten them in an #8 over #1 upset two years ago, I'm still picking UAB to beat Kentucky again. They will go no further as Connecticut will advance to the sweet 16. Illinois will beat Washington, then knock off the #1 seed Huskies. On the other side, Winthrop will shock a Tennessee team that's in a downward spiral, but will fail to advance past Seton Hall in round two. Michigan State will win a tough game against North Carolina - their experience will outlast the young UNC team. Michigan State will beat Seton Hall to face Illinois. The Illini will advance to their second straight final four.

Final Four

So, there's my four - Duke, Pitt, BC, and Illinois. Indianapolis will look like this. Duke beats Pitt, and Illinois will edge past Boston College. On Monday, the Duke seniors will get what they've been working toward for four years - and erase the memory of 2004. Duke's freshmen, who have begun to play great basketball the last part of the season, especially last week in Greensboro, will be just what the seniors need to reach their goal. Illinois falls to an ACC team for the second year in a row, and Duke wins it's fourth national championship.

So, is that really what will happen? Probably not. But that's my take on it anyway.

Let the madness begin...

God is just eight miles away

2006-03-14T12:37:00.000-06:00

Since March Madness is upon us, I've started reading Last Dance : Behind The Scenes At The Final Four by John Feinstein. I'm several chapters in now, and enjoying it quite a bit, as I expected. There's been a lot of great information so far, including a good amount that I've heard before, but it's still fun to read it again. If you love college basketball, this is a good read so far and I would already recommend it. (The introduction, written by Mike Krzyzewski, is currently featured here.)

In chapter 3, "Getting There", he talks about the difficulty in making it to the Final Four and winning it. He includes the following story, which I've also read before in other books, about Mike Krzyzewski's frustrations early in his career, having to live in the shadow of Dean Smith, and even Jim Valvano, after Carolina and State won national championships in 1982 and 1983, respectively, while Krzyzewski, in his first few seasons at Duke, was losing more than winning.

Krzyzewski and Smith were bitter rivals when they coached against each other. Smith was a godlike figure in North Carolina when Krzyzewski arrived at Duke in 1980. His shadow grew even longer when he won his first national championship in 1982 while Krzyzewski was struggling to a 10-17 record in his second season at Duke. A year later, when Jim Valvano won the national championship at North Carolina State while Duke was going 11-17, Krzyzewski appeared to be completely overwhelmed, surrounded on Tobacco Road by an icon and a rock star. Smith was only fifty-one and had the best program in the sport. Valvano was thirty-seven and was the most popular and in-demand person in the sport. Krzyzewski was 38-47 and had most Duke people screaming for his head.

To his credit, he never panicked and he never lost his sense of humor. During his second season at Duke, he made a recruiting visit to the home of a talented six-foot-ten kid from Oklahoma named Mark Acres. As he made his pitch to Acres and his parents, Krzyzewski quickly became convinced that he wasn't getting through, that what he was selling they weren't buying. Still, he had to go through with the ritual, make the best effort he could, especially since Acres would probably be the best player on his team the day he arrived on campus. Throughout the evening, Acres's mother never once opened her mouth, never asked a question, never made a comment. Finally, Krzyzewski turned to her and asked if there was anything she wanted to know about Duke or if she had any questions at all. Mrs. Acres shook her head and said, "No, I don't need to ask any questions because the only thing that matters is that Mark go to school someplace where he can be close to God."

Krzyzewski paused a moment and then, feeling pretty certain he wasn't getting the kid regardless of how he responded, said, "Well, you know, if Mark comes to Duke, God will be coaching eight miles down the road at Chapel Hill."

The Acres family didn't get the joke. It didn't really matter. Mark went Oral Roberts.

I still love that story. I know that many people consider Krzyzewski a Smith-like figure these days. Many people consider him the guy that gets all the talent, all the calls, and all the attention from media. And to some degree that's true. In the age of ESPN and the internet, Krzyzewski is everywhere. But North Carolina is a state school, and Smith will always be God in North Carolina. That's something Krzyzewski will never be. However, when it's all said and done, he may very well be considered - if only by a slight margin - the better coach (except, of course, for 99% of the state of North Carolina.) Only time will tell.

Duke awards watch

The awards are starting to pile up for Duke players, especially J.J. Redick, who now has two national Player of the Year awards, as voted by ESPN and The Sporting News. That thing I mentioned about Shelden Williams' work on the court often being overshadowed by Redick's oustanding year and Shelden often not getting the credit he deserves? TSN proved my point. There's no doubt Tyler Hansbrough has had a fantastic year, especially as a freshman. I personally think he's great. But, for him to make first team and Shelden Williams make second team is ridiculous. Look at the whole season, guys. Look at all Shelden does on the court - on both ends. There's no way he should be behind Hansbrough. Nevertheless, the Duke awards watch is found here.

Early picks

By the way, I'll go ahead and pick Monmouth over Hampton in tonight's play-in game. I won't go into how stupid I think the play-in game is - and how it shouldn't even exist. I'm not going to fill out my full bracket until tomorrow, but since it officially starts tonight, I figure I should go ahead and pick that game. Also, it will in no way affect my pick in the wniner's next game. The winner will lose it's next game to Villanova. Okay, so only 62 more games to pick, now.

ACC tournament

2006-03-13T12:55:00.000-06:00

Duke managed to win their seventh ACC tournament championship in the last eight years, by defeating Boston College yesterday 78-76. They have been to nine straight title games, losing the first to North Carolina in 1998, then winning 5 in a row. They've now won 2 in a row after a loss to Maryland in 2004. The win also places them at the top of the list for ACC tournament titles. They passed UNC (15) for their 16th tournament title.

A lot of people left Duke for dead last week after 2 losses. They were tired. Teams figured out how to beat them. They were overrated. And yet, after that brief hiccup, they continue to win. Not only that, freshmen Greg Paulus and Josh McRoberts played as well as they've played all season against Wake Forest and Boston College. While Redick was voted tournament MVP, I don't think they would've won - especially against BC - were it not for the play of Paulus and McRoberts. Shelden Williams played great (and still doesn't get the credit he deserves), Redick shot great, but the two freshmen may have been their most valuable asset in Greensboro.

First, a couple of no-shows. Florida State apparently thought the game was over long before the time ran out, and ended up going home on Thursday after a loss to last-place Wake Forest. FSU also said goodbye to the NCAA tournament when they lost that game. Their schedule was far to weak to get in without a couple of wins in the ACC tournament (and still they would've been a bubble team.) A loss on day one, however, solidified an NIT bid.

Maryland, while defeating Georgia Tech on day one, was embarrassed by BC on Friday. Like FSU, they said goodbye to the NCAA's as well. Then Gary Williams - perhaps in protest to not getting in - announces Maryland will not be playing in the NIT, only to backtrack shortly afterwards and say, yes, they will be playing. When you don't really beat anyone all season long, then you start your tournament quarterfinal down 22-4, I think you should just shut-up and start preparing for the NIT.

As for Duke, it was great to see J.J.'s shot return in the Miami game on Friday. He shot over 50% and ended up with 25 points, including a clutch shot late in the game to stretch Duke's lead from 1 to 3 and send Duke to the semifinals. He didn't shoot quite as well against Wake, but still managed 20 points.

Wake really caught fire and played more like the team most people expected to see earlier in the year, as opposed to the last place ACC team we'd seen for the last couple of months, in knocking off FSU and an N.C. State team that can't seem to stop the downward spiral they've been in of late. I like Wake's seniors, particularly Justin Gray, and would've liked to have seen them run the table, were it not for Duke, of course. In the end, they didn't have enough to stop Duke.

The other semifinal was a great game in which BC and UNC really went at each other, and in the end BC pulled out a huge win. After that second game, nearly everyone seemed to be saying that BC would knock Duke off in the finals. But, it was not to be. Duke continues to rule the ACC tournament (and were it not for an injury that hampered Chris Duhon in 2004, they would've just won their 8th in a row.)

Redick's shooting improvement in the first two games proved not to be a fluke, as he scored 26 in the title game including 7-11 from 3-point range. At one point in the 2nd half, he hit 3 straight from behind the arc to give Duke a 10 point lead. After BC came back and took the lead, he hit back to back 3's in the final two mintues to first tie the game, then give Duke the lead for good. It was this title game performance that likely won him the MVP.

It was great to see Duke playing well again. Besides Redick, Williams, McRoberts and Paulus, DeMarcus Nelson had a pretty good tournament as well and is pretty consistently scoring in double-figures now. If that continues, and Dockery and Melchionni can contribute a few buckets here and there, Duke will be hard to beat in the NCAA tournament. If Melchionni could consistently hit the 3 like he did last year, Duke would be even more dangerous on offense. For some reason, he just hasn't done that very often this year.

One incident in the title game involved Paulus and BC guard Louis Hinnant, in which Paulus made a steal and threw the ball off Hinnant and out of bounds. As he jumped up off of the floor - excited about the good defensive play - Paulus pumped his arms and accidentally hit Hinnant in the chest. Hinnant took offense and then shoved Paulus, causing players from both teams to congregate in front of the Duke bench (where the play occurred.) On the replay - which we saw at least 47 times - it was clear that Paulus was excited and not taking a swing at Hinnant. He wasn't even looking in Hinnant's direction when he threw his arm out, and didn't even realize it was Hinnant shoving him back for a couple of seconds (he likely thought it was a teammate congratulating him on a great play.) The teams were separated without further incident, and some technicals were called, but nothing that really altered the game. What was beyond me is why Dick Vitale and Mike Patrick, who were calling the game, couldn't see this. They went on and on about how maybe Paulus was tapping Hinnant for a good hustle and Hinnant didn't understand, etc. and a couple of other stupid theories. It was pretty obvious what happened, but these guys were blind to it.

I've seen a number of people now picking BC into the final four. I wouldn't be surprised at all. They've won 10 of their last 12, and they are a very good team. Despite Carolina's recent play (they've won 8 of 9, I believe), most expected BC to be the second best team behind Duke in the ACC this year, and I'd say they probably are at this point. They're both very good and BC is only considered 2nd to Duke because they lost twice to them. But, they lost by only 2 both times. I think BC is a legitimate Final Four contender. I'm not sure about UNC due primarily to their youth.

And, of course, I'm seeing a lot of people still picking Duke to lose early (usually to LSU) in the tournament. Despite beating a very good BC team and winning the ACC - and despite the obvious improvement in play of Redick and Williams' supporting cast - nobody believes they'll go far. I'll have more to say about the tournament later, but for now let me say this - I think they'll be in Indianapolis.

Chaney retires

Evidently Temple basketball coach John Chaney has retired as of this morning. A quote from the article:

PHILADELPHIA - John Chaney retired Monday after 24 seasons as Temple's basketball coach, ending a Hall of Fame career.

"I have said all along that I would know when it would be time to step down and now is that time," Chaney said in a statement. "I want to thank Temple University, its fans and community for allowing me to do what I love for so long. It has never been a job for me, but a passion. Now that I'm retiring, my passion will be to spend more time with my family, and, of course, kill John Calipari."

Best wishes to Coach Chaney in his future endeavors.

I'll be posting by Wednesday night regarding the NCAA tournament, including my take on the bracket, seedings, interesting matchups, etc., as well as my picks.

2006 ACC Champions

2006-03-12T16:47:00.000-06:00

I've been busy the last week or so, and haven't posted anything new. But Duke, having already won the ACC regualar season title, also won the ACC tournament championship today by the score of 78-76 over Boston College. More later (probably tomorrow) on the ACC tournament and Duke's title, and later in the week will be my take on the NCAA brackets, which will be announced in a few minutes. People questioned Duke's lock on a #1 seed after the last week of the regular season. Now there's nothing to question, and with UConn and Villanova losing, they could end up with the #1 overall seed. Nevertheless, the conference tournaments as a whole were pretty good this year, and that makes me even more excited about the next 3 weeks. Madness, baby!

Let's go Duke!

The ultimate healing

2006-03-03T22:05:00.002-06:00

I write with a heavy heart tonight. Over the last couple of weeks, I have talked with my mom several times as she was keeping my up to date on my Aunt Linda, her only sister. My aunt has battled with cancer for several years now. At times there has been good news, at times there has been bad news. My mom had first called me last week to let us know that Aunt Linda was in the hospital. She was then released later in the week, but returned on the weekend. Once again, it appeared, her health had taken a turn for the worse.

When my mom had called me on Monday during my lunch hour, I was driving in West Little Rock on my way to grab something to eat and return to work. Her first words were that Aunt Linda was dying. I found it difficult to understand some of what she was saying because she was crying as she described her condition. She then talked about how they had enjoyed a weekend together in Branson just a few weeks earlier, and how it didn't seem possible this was happening. The call was brief. She called only to inform me and solicit more prayers. After she said goodbye, I pulled into a parking lot, parked, and wept - for my aunt, my uncle, my cousins, and my mom.

Two days later, on Wednesday - again during my lunch hour - she called me at work to let me know that my Aunt Linda had died.

Whenever she would update me with news about my aunt's health, the thing that my mom always seemed to marvel at the most was how Aunt Linda was managing everything that was given her during her illness. She usually said aunt Linda was positive, in good spirits, and seemed willing to accept whatever might come her way, no matter what it was. At her funeral today, my brother described her as "joyful." Her joy was not in the things of this world, but in the One who would bring her into the next. A few passages from her journal were read, indicating just that. Her faith was not in her health, but in the Healer. He would take away the illness in time. How He would do it, she didn't know, but still she trusted Him.

I am reminded of one of my favorite songs by Wayne Watson, the title track of his 1990 disc Home Free. In the song, Watson says, "Good people underneath the sea of grief, some get up and walk away, some will find ultimate relief," and in the chorus, "Home Free, eventually, at the ultimate healing we will be Home Free." On Wednesday, my aunt was finally healed. We may have preferred a different kind of healing - one that would have kept her in our presence a little longer. Instead, her healing has now placed her in His presence. In her illness and death, she has reminded us all that our joy is not dependant on our circumstances here, but in He who will one day heal us all. While we lament the loss of her physical presence here, we are reminded of the home that she now has, and that we will have as well when that day comes.

Do I hear crickets?

2006-03-02T07:29:00.000-06:00

I did not yet see the Duke-FSU game last night in which FSU won 79-74, although I have it on my DVR and may try to watch this weekend when I have time. I was not really surprised by this loss for several reasons. For Duke, the regular season is over now, basically. They have the ACC title and a #1 seed in the ACC tournament, and most likely a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament. Of course, it's not like they were indifferent and didn't care. Yes, they wanted to win. However, FSU was playing for a bid, for their tournament lives, so to speak. They needed this game to even have a chance at the NCAA tournament. A loss would likely mean NIT for them. So, they had a lot more to play for, and on top of that was the "controversial" game from a few weeks ago for which they wanted "revenge." One other thing of note: FSU has beaten Duke now 3 of the last 5 times in Tallahassee, so they've had success in recent years against Duke in their own house.

When they lost in overtime at Duke, there was a multitude of talking heads, sportswriters and even FSU folks themselves crying about the officiating, the difference in fouls called and free throws taken, and one call in particular about with about 9:00 minutes to go. This apparenlty cost them the game - which, of course, was a stupid claim to begin with. In the end, Duke had 15 fouls to FSU's 28, and a 43-11 free throw advantage.

Last night, FSU had only 17 fouls to Duke's 30, and a 40-17 free throw advantage. Should I expect outrage from the league and from media-types? Am I to assume the officiating crew for this game will be suspended? Check out this quote from this article:

If you want to know where the difference in the game was, it was that FSU's Al Thornton and Alexander Johnson each had 14 foul shots. Thornton missed one; Johnson missed four. Florida State outscored Duke 32-11 from the line, and had 41 attempts to 17, which pretty much will win most games, provided you hit them.

Curiously, we have yet to hear from anyone who is suggesting the referees gave the game to Florida State by letting them outshoot Duke by such a drastic margin, or by giving FSU only 17 fouls to Duke's 30. As we have come to understand it, according to Al Skinner and other experts, that is an inherent sign of bias. Surely someone will call for the league office to investigate this.

The last part, of course, was in jest. I know there was no bias of any kind - just like there wasn't a few weeks ago - and I think FSU (from what I've read) came out prepared to get that one win they needed to improve their resume for the tournament.

But you won't hear a peep out of anyone who was screaming about the so-called Duke favoritism advantage a few weeks ago (including FSU coach Leonard Hamilton) and those who said (and are still saying today, by the way) that FSU was "robbed" at Duke. I guess it's only biased if it doesn't favor your team. Or, evidently, if it favors Duke. When it's Duke's opponent that gets the advantage, the world of college basketball is eerily silent.

Next up is the season finale at Cameron with UNC. The Tar Heels have been looking very good of late, and nothing would make them happier than to spoil Duke's senior day (especially Redick's). I think the Devils will be at least equally determined to finish the season and the seniors career at home with a win.

Together for the last time

2006-03-01T12:40:00.000-06:00

I first started listening to "contemporary Christian music" in the mid-80's when I bought Michael W Smith's album The Big Picture. I didn't listen to much of it over the next few years - a little Petra, DeGarmo & Key, Mylon LeFevre, etc. - but I began listening to much more about the time I graduated college in 1990. One of the early groups I hooked up with was 4 Him.

I think I went to a 4 Him concert before I even had any of their music. While living in Memphis right out of college, I made my way out to Central Church to a 4 Him concert and heard them for the first time. I don't recall what prompted me to go, but I used to go to a lot of concerts at that time - even when I wasn't familiar with the artists - mainly because so many of them were free (with the obligatory love offering) or at least very cheap. So, I'd go and check out whoever came to town. And after watching 4 Him that first time, I became a big fan of their music.

Over the next six years, I managed to see 4 Him in concert a total of either six or seven times. In other words, at least once a year. I've seen them more times than any other artist. They became one of my favorites. I'm convinced they are one of the reasons for the popularity of later groups like Point of Grace, Avalon and Phillips, Craig & Dean. I saw them so many times primarily because I could. They were coming regularly to Memphis and Little Rock, where I lived during that time. Other bands that I liked much better - like Petra, for example - never came to my towns. I always had to travel to see them (and only 4 times did I get that chance.) But 4 Him always came to my town.

However, somewhere along the way, probably around 1997 or so, I began to listen to less and less of the pop artists in CCM. Less of Steven Curtis Chapman, less of Bryan Duncan, and less of 4 Him as well. I haven't listened to them much in the last six or seven years, to be certain. I've gone back to the kind of stuff I listened to more in high school and college, i.e. stuff that rocks. You'll more likely find me listening to Chevelle, Evanescence, Skillet, Thousand Foot Krutch, King's X, MxPx, P.O.D., Switchfoot, Pillar, 12 Stones, Third Day, Project 86 - even Alice Cooper and Iron Maiden.

But when I heard the 4 Him was about to hang it up as a group (like Petra and Audio Adrenaline recently), and that their new disc Encore was a re-recording of some of their hits, I had to check it out. It contains 8 songs rerecorded in full, as well as a medley of 4 others. There is also one new song, and then the last 4 tracks are solo tracks by each of the members. It's better than your average greatest hits disc in that it actually gives new sound to older songs and makes them sound more current than the originals - especially the oldest ones. In fact, I'd say my favorite is the oldest on the disc, "Where There Is Faith" from their very first album.

Listening to it has made me remember why I was such a big 4 Him fan during the early and mid-90's. They are also, of course, advertising their final tour together and last night, as we were listening to the disc while making dinner, my wife said, "Did you ever find out if their coming here on this last tour?" I said, "No, I didn't, but I"m going to find out now." I went to their website immediately and checked out their tour schedule, and found that they indeed will be here in May at Park Hill Baptist Church over in North Little Rock. When I went to Park Hill's website, I found that I could order tickets online, which I did without hesitation.

I've missed 4 Him a lot during the last several years. I didn't really know I had until recently when I started listening to this new disc. But now I know, and before they go for good, I am very much looking forward to seeing 4 Him "together for the last time."

A few new books

2006-02-27T17:42:00.000-06:00

I'm way behind in my reading. I love to read, and would like to read at least 2 or 3 books a month, but have only finished a couple so far this year. One thing is true, however - I generally continue to buy books faster than I can read books. Therefore, it's not too surprising that I obtained a few new books over the last week, all of which I'm excited about reading in the near future (i.e. in the coming years).

First, I won a copy of To Hate Like This Is to Be Happy Forever : A Thoroughly Obsessive, Intermittently Uplifting, and Occasionally Unbiased Account of the Duke-North Carolina Basketball Rivalry by Will Blythe on eBay. I didn't want to pay full price because I don't know enough about it yet, but managed a cheap copy on eBay (which was great for a newly released book.) From what I understand, Blythe is, like Art Chansky (author of Blue Blood), a UNC graduate, and therefore I'm a little cautious about reading another book on the Duke-UNC rivalry from a UNC grad. However, no matter what bias may (or may not) lie within the pages, I suspect it will be an enteraining book nevertheless. Plus, from the synopsis' I've seen, it is not (like Chansky's book) strictly a book about the Duke-UNC rivalry, but also to some degree about his family (especailly his father) and his love for college basketball (and more specifically, UNC basketball). I anticipate a good read here.

Next is the much-anticipated (by me, at least) Last Dance: Behind the Scenes at the Final Four by John Feinstein. I've loved the Feinstein books I've read, especially about basketball (including The Last Amateurs about Patriot League basketball, and A March To Madness about ACC basketball). It's unfortunate that the book was written during the 2005 Final Four when UNC won, instead of, say, 2001. Nevertheless, I'm excited and anxious to get started on this soon. The NCAA tournament is the greatest sporting event in the world as far as I'm concerned, and the Final Four is the culmination of the basketball season. Some would argue that the first weekend of the tournament - when the teams are whittled down from 65 to 16 - is more exciting, and, on the whole, that may very well be true. But the last weekend is indeed "the last dance" and when your team is there (like Duke has been every other year on average for the last 20), nothing is more exciting. Feinstein's take on the weekend and all involved will likely be as entertaining for college basketball fans as anything else he's written. I read A March To Madness during March a couple of years ago, so I may just have to start this one as I watch the March Madness action this year.

Finally, a new book by Don Miller. I loved reading Blue Like Jazz and Searching For God Knows What a couple of years ago, so I suspect his newest will also be an excellent read. This book is titled To Own a Dragon: Reflections On Growing Up Without A Father, and authored by Miller and John MacMurray (who Miller describes as the man who taught him the things his dad never did.) While I did not grow up without a father, I still look forward to the benefit of Miller's insights that will be important to me in developing my spiritual life as well as growing as a father myself. I will try to post some from this book as I begin reading through it.

A couple of interesting quotes about Miller's book:

Don writes with candid humor and unembarrassed honesty. He rips himself open. This book sings to those who have felt responsible for their father's demons. The truth is our real father is perfect in everyway, especially in his love for us. Thanks Don and John. This book spoke to a place deep inside of me.
- Jeff Foxworthy, comedian

Donald Miller is such a gifted writer. In the span of two paragraphs he can have you doubled over in laughter, and then on the brink of tears. His honesty in To Own a Dragon can be all at once brutal and refreshing if that's possible. If you couldn't get enough of Donald's style in Blue Like Jazz or Searching for God Knows What, wait until you see what he's done with John MacMurray in To Own a Dragon. They shoot from the hip and from the heart ... and don't miss.
- Ernie Johnson, studio host for NBA on TNT

I look forward to them all.

Barney

2006-02-26T21:36:00.000-06:00

In all of television, I would have to say the The Andy Griffith Show is probably #1 on my favorite shows list. I am a huge fan of Seinfeld, but even it ranks #2 behind Andy and Barney. And so I was saddened by the news this weekend that Don Knotts had passed. He was the "Kramer" of that show - the one that got the most laughs and the favorite character of most who watched the show.

Can you imagine if Kramer had left Seinfeld in the middle of the series? The show would have died pretty fast, I think. That's what happened to The Andy Griffith Show when Don left after 5 seasons. The show was never the same after he left. And comedy is never the same when one of it's best performers leaves us. Barney will be missed.

I've been hearing more of Don recently as I've been watching some videos created by Max Lucado recently with my kids. They're about a worm named Hermie and his pal, Wormie. Tim Conway is the actor behind Hermie's voice, and Knotts is the voice behind his friend Wormie. These short films are a lot of fun, too.

I'd also like to mention Joey Fann's website at BarneyFife.com. I met Joey a few years ago as I began attending Twickenham Church of Christ in Huntsville, Alabama, when we lived over there. Joey is a member there and had produced a series of Bible studies based on The Andy Griffith Show, and also this website. It's a great site and I highly recommend visiting and checking it out.

Also of note was the passing of Darren McGavin, star of the short-lived 70's television show Kolchak: The Night Stalker - which I remember watching as a kid and always liked - and also star of one of my favorite Christmas movies, A Christmas Story. I love that movie, and McGavin is a big reason, as he was just oustanding it it.

Friday potpourri

2006-02-24T20:23:00.000-06:00

I saw this story over at Radical Congruency, regarding a man named Cory Maye in Mississippi. Maye had no criminal record, but is now on death row for killing an intruder who broke down the door of his home. He lived in a duplex, and the police had a drug-related warrant for his neighbor, but also proceeded to storm into his side of the duplex as well. He was sleeping and awoke to the noise of someone breaking through the door to his home. He was unaware it was the police, and in order to protect his 18-month-old daughter, shot and killed the first person through the door. When the remaining officers announced themselves as police, he ceased firing. He was only doing what any of us would do - trying to protect his family. Unfortunately for him, the man he shot and killed was the son of the white police chief. Oh, yeah, I almost forgot - Maye is black

I find this hard to believe (although considering it's in Mississippi, maybe I shouldn't.) There's a lot written about it online, so Google and blog searches will turn up a number of stories. There are a few links in the post I've linked to above, and those with further links. I am going to try to follow this story more and see what happens, as I find it a pretty troubling story.

I heard about this story a couple of days ago, first by seeing the highlights on ESPN, then on Good Morning America. It's the story of Jason McElwain, who is a senior manager of his high school basketball team. He is also autistic. In the teams final home game, the coach had promised him he'd let him dress with the team. With the team well on it's way to winning the game, the coach inserted McElwain into the game.

Over the course of his 4 minutes on the floor, McElwain hit 6 of 10 shots from 3-point range and scored 20 points. At the final horn, the students emptied from the stands and poured onto the court, mobbing McElwain. He was then carried off the floor by his teammates.

Check out this post over at Pastor Jon's blog about needing more faith. I thought this was a pretty good response by the radio host.