By ShagOnSports
This NCAA tournament has been unbelievable, the overtimes, the last second shots, the guts shown by players and also the emotions… Tom Hank’s character in A League of Their Own said, “There is no crying in baseball” but in basketball it is more then OK to cry and I have cried more then once over the outcomes of games…
It is ironic that at this time of the year last weekend I was in my old elementary school for my nephew’s academic meet… The old gym where I spent many a days is long gone (it is now the library) and that is the room where my nephew had his first match… Also in the room last Saturday was my old elementary teammates J-Boy Coursey… Before the match started J-Boy and I laughed about the old times we had in that gym, our teammates our coach and our Sixth Grade Season for the Bend Gate Rebels…
Our season sixth grade season started out with allot of promise… As a fifth grade team we had only lost one game and all of us dressed with the sixth grade team that year and two of the fifth grade players actually started for the sixth grade team…
Our coach was a teacher named Matt Dean… Coach Dean had been given the job by default, you had to be a teacher to coach, and he was only one of two male teachers at the school and the other male teacher was an older man who had taught my mother when she was in high school… Coach Dean did not have a basketball background and I am sure everything he knew about the game had come from a book, which was not all bad… I also remember that he always carried a pack of Tic-Tacs (they were called Dina-mints) that he constantly ate on the sidelines and we nicknamed him Dina-mint Dean…
In practice we always did the same basic things… We would start out by running ten laps around the gym, which was followed by every player rotating through and shooting ten free throws apiece... After free throws we would work on our two one two offensive set with the emphasis being on setting picks, knowing the passing lanes and shooting lay-ups… Coach Dean always had us work on bounce passing and chest passing and the drills seemed kind of stupid to us but they were effective… We would always scrimmage full court and that end of practice we would again run ten laps around the gym…
We had a great regular season only losing one game… I cherish the memories of these games and that season… I would give anything for the box scores and lines from these games but I doubt they exist… Three of the most memorable regular season games for me during that season were played in old high school Gymnasiums (Gyms used by small high schools in the county before the county schools merged into one high school)…
One of those games was a day game at Spottsville… I remember how cool it was for the team to get out of class after lunch on a Friday, get on the school bus with the Coach and Cheerleaders and head out to old Spottsville High for the game… Spottsville had a formidable team and I remember how loud the gym was that day (they brought all the students to the games and local communities always turned out in force for their schools)… I do not remember the score but I remember we won a hard fought battle riding the on the back of our great center Matt Jarrett…
The second game I recall was against the Catholic elementary school Holy Name (they had a high school until the 60’s and the floor had not been replaced in years and had dead spots everywhere)… We won a close game that night and I remember we had to miss the last ever regular season game being played at the same time between Henderson County High and Henderson City High schools (the two schools were set to merge into one the next year) and Henderson City upset County 73-72 for their only win of the year…
The third game I remember was a night game against Corydon in the old Corydon Gym... We were beaten rather handily (I believe around twenty points) that night and Corydon went on to finish the season undefeated heading into the County Elementary Tournament…
The County Elementary Tournament was held at Henderson County High School, which was a big deal at the time to a bunch of twelve-year-old kids… In our first game we beat Niagara rather handily to set up a semifinal rematch with Corydon… This time we were able to hang with Corydon and win a close one 35-34 to earn a berth in the Championship Game against Spottsville… I remember being so excited I could not even sleep…
The Championship Game was a nip and tuck battle just like our game earlier in the year… I remember like it was yesterday with about thirty seconds we scored to give us a 38-37 lead… Spottsville drove down and scored and with about twenty seconds remaining we had one last chance to score down 39-37… The ball went into our star player Matt Jarrett and at mid court Matt dribbled the ball of his leg out of bounds (I have since forgiven Matty J)…
Spottsville got the ball and scored to take a 41 to 38 lead and put the game on ice… I will never forget that empty feeling and I remember how hard we all cried… We were so devastated as we watched Spottsville cut down the nets and claim the championship trophy… We continued to cry all the way into the locker room…
In the locker room Coach Dean, who never said much at all, told us to hold our heads up and repeatedly said to stop crying and be proud of ourselves… He told us how proud he was to have been part of this game and I remember he held the trophy in the air exclaiming look what you did and accomplished…
I cried until we got to Howard Johnson’s restaurant and got my plate full of fried clams which is where my mom and a couple of other team moms always took us after the games…
That is why I believe it is OK to cry and show emotion when you win or loose.... When I watched Gonzaga collapse against UCLA the other night and watch Adam Morrison show the level of emotion he did at the end and after the game I felt for him and his teammates… The NCAA tournament is about great games, great shots, great wins and also great heartbreak and that is what makes this tournament so compelling to watch…
NCAA Tournament Summary
This NCAA tournament has been unbelievable, the overtimes, the last second shots, the guts shown by players and also the emotions… Tom Hank’s character in A League of Their Own said, “There is no crying in baseball” but in basketball it is more then OK to cry and I have cried more then once over the outcomes of games…
It is ironic that at this time of the year last weekend I was in my old elementary school for my nephew’s academic meet… The old gym where I spent many a days is long gone (it is now the library) and that is the room where my nephew had his first match… Also in the room last Saturday was my old elementary teammates J-Boy Coursey… Before the match started J-Boy and I laughed about the old times we had in that gym, our teammates our coach and our Sixth Grade Season for the Bend Gate Rebels…
Our season sixth grade season started out with allot of promise… As a fifth grade team we had only lost one game and all of us dressed with the sixth grade team that year and two of the fifth grade players actually started for the sixth grade team…
Our coach was a teacher named Matt Dean… Coach Dean had been given the job by default, you had to be a teacher to coach, and he was only one of two male teachers at the school and the other male teacher was an older man who had taught my mother when she was in high school… Coach Dean did not have a basketball background and I am sure everything he knew about the game had come from a book, which was not all bad… I also remember that he always carried a pack of Tic-Tacs (they were called Dina-mints) that he constantly ate on the sidelines and we nicknamed him Dina-mint Dean…
In practice we always did the same basic things… We would start out by running ten laps around the gym, which was followed by every player rotating through and shooting ten free throws apiece... After free throws we would work on our two one two offensive set with the emphasis being on setting picks, knowing the passing lanes and shooting lay-ups… Coach Dean always had us work on bounce passing and chest passing and the drills seemed kind of stupid to us but they were effective… We would always scrimmage full court and that end of practice we would again run ten laps around the gym…
We had a great regular season only losing one game… I cherish the memories of these games and that season… I would give anything for the box scores and lines from these games but I doubt they exist… Three of the most memorable regular season games for me during that season were played in old high school Gymnasiums (Gyms used by small high schools in the county before the county schools merged into one high school)…
One of those games was a day game at Spottsville… I remember how cool it was for the team to get out of class after lunch on a Friday, get on the school bus with the Coach and Cheerleaders and head out to old Spottsville High for the game… Spottsville had a formidable team and I remember how loud the gym was that day (they brought all the students to the games and local communities always turned out in force for their schools)… I do not remember the score but I remember we won a hard fought battle riding the on the back of our great center Matt Jarrett…
The second game I recall was against the Catholic elementary school Holy Name (they had a high school until the 60’s and the floor had not been replaced in years and had dead spots everywhere)… We won a close game that night and I remember we had to miss the last ever regular season game being played at the same time between Henderson County High and Henderson City High schools (the two schools were set to merge into one the next year) and Henderson City upset County 73-72 for their only win of the year…
The third game I remember was a night game against Corydon in the old Corydon Gym... We were beaten rather handily (I believe around twenty points) that night and Corydon went on to finish the season undefeated heading into the County Elementary Tournament…
The County Elementary Tournament was held at Henderson County High School, which was a big deal at the time to a bunch of twelve-year-old kids… In our first game we beat Niagara rather handily to set up a semifinal rematch with Corydon… This time we were able to hang with Corydon and win a close one 35-34 to earn a berth in the Championship Game against Spottsville… I remember being so excited I could not even sleep…
The Championship Game was a nip and tuck battle just like our game earlier in the year… I remember like it was yesterday with about thirty seconds we scored to give us a 38-37 lead… Spottsville drove down and scored and with about twenty seconds remaining we had one last chance to score down 39-37… The ball went into our star player Matt Jarrett and at mid court Matt dribbled the ball of his leg out of bounds (I have since forgiven Matty J)…
Spottsville got the ball and scored to take a 41 to 38 lead and put the game on ice… I will never forget that empty feeling and I remember how hard we all cried… We were so devastated as we watched Spottsville cut down the nets and claim the championship trophy… We continued to cry all the way into the locker room…
In the locker room Coach Dean, who never said much at all, told us to hold our heads up and repeatedly said to stop crying and be proud of ourselves… He told us how proud he was to have been part of this game and I remember he held the trophy in the air exclaiming look what you did and accomplished…
I cried until we got to Howard Johnson’s restaurant and got my plate full of fried clams which is where my mom and a couple of other team moms always took us after the games…
That is why I believe it is OK to cry and show emotion when you win or loose.... When I watched Gonzaga collapse against UCLA the other night and watch Adam Morrison show the level of emotion he did at the end and after the game I felt for him and his teammates… The NCAA tournament is about great games, great shots, great wins and also great heartbreak and that is what makes this tournament so compelling to watch…
NCAA Tournament Summary
How about the SEC!!! The SEC was never mentioned in the same breath as The Big East, The Big Twelve, The ACC or The Big Ten yet the SEC has two Final Four Teams and these conferences have Zippo… I admit that I was drinking the kool-aid and did not give the SEC any respect in my brackets due to the RPI’s and non-conference record… I am now pulling for an all SEC Championship Game… This is the first year that I have not picked any of the final four teams and I am dead in my brackets…
Atlanta Region
I did not give LSU any respect… They kicked ass!!! They were physical with Duke and their defense on Reddick was fantastic and the referees did a great job in calling a balanced game… I thought after LSU beat Duke that Texas would handle them but they were obviously not satisfied with just that win… Unnamed sources close to Coach Brady have said that he was more then excited about beating Coach K and voiced his excitement in a hotel room celebration after the game… The West Virginal and Texas game was another great one in this bracket… Pittsnogle nailed a three, broken nose and all to tie the game late and then Texas came down and nailed a three for the win…
Oakland Region
I hated to see Gonzaga go down and loose the way they did… Adam Morrison is a special player and I would have liked to see him make it to the Final Four… UCLA showed allot of guts in there come back in this game and Gonzaga did not value the ball at the end of the game… The Memphis and UCLA game on Saturday was a tough one to watch… I am not a fan of Calipari who to me is a Rick Pitino on training wheels…
DC Region
George Mason… George Mason… George Mason really won!!! I love this team, how they play together and how they pick each other up… I still do not understand how a team as talented as UCONN lost… They have all the tools… Marcus Williams is the best point guard I have seen play in a long time…
Minneapolis
Chalk another one up for the SEC!!! The Villanova and Florida games was another test in fortitude… Both teams shot the ball bad from the field and Florida won the game on free throw shooting and rebounding, which are an Achilles heel for many college teams… Randy Foye for Villanova is a special player but the four-guard offense could not overcome Florida’s size… Florida plays together and these guys care about each other and that is important… Noah needs to be careful with his on the court antics though as someone will eventually give him a hard shot for his constant show boating on the floor… The BC and Nova game was another outstanding overtime game… If BC takes it to the rack instead of shooting jump shots in OT they win this game…
Players Championship
When I saw Davis Love’s name at the top of the leaderboard after Day 1 my thoughts were that this could be his year at the Masters… On Friday Davis Love ballooned to an 83 and became the first player ever to go from the Day 1 lead to not making the cut… You have to wonder whether or not he can mentally recover from such a collapse…
Next years Players will be played in May which will change the complexion of the tournament as the weather will not be such a factor… I personally like the change, as it is tough to watch this tournament and the NCAA Basketball Tournament…
This TPC at Sawgrass is a tough one… The greens look and putt like tabletops and this year the course was set up with rough that was US Open style… This is the fifth major so it should be a tough set up for the Pros… The 17th hole is the most compelling as it is only 130 to 140 yards but the island greens make hole a tough one to negotiate… Before next years tournament the course is going to be completely overhauled and lengthened which will make it an even tougher venue… This will be a tournament I would like to attend at some point in the next couple of years…
World Baseball Classic
The rest of the world showed they can play the game of baseball… Korea never made an error in the entire tournament and all the teams in the world showed that small ball and fundamentals still wins games…
The USA made a poor showing in this tournament even with allot of help from the umpires… Cuba showed they have a strong team and may have had an advantage as they were in the middle of the season when this tournament started… The Latin American countries showed their passion and love of this great game…
Hats off to Major League Baseball for putting together this event… This tournament will no doubt help grow the game internationally…
ShagOnSports Random Thoughts
- The NCAA Tournament games have been well played, well officiated and well coached… The referees are not calling the flop and not afraid to call goaltending (Nova and BC) or palming (UCONN vs. George Mason) at critical times in the game… They also are not letting players do the flop on defense…
- NBC did a two-minute spot about the on course photographers during the PGA events… What a great job to have!!! One of the Photographers told a story and showed some pictures of a fishing trip he took for his magazine to Russia with Jack Nickalus and his sons on Jack’s private jet… While in root with everyone else asleep Jack was in the kitchen of his plane cooking and stuck his head out of the kitchen and asked him how he liked his lamb chops… How cool would that be???
- Good Bye Rajon Rondo… You will have a nice pro career (TR Dunn type of career) and the University of Kentucky will be better off without you… We will not miss you or your high school either… Smooth Bradley can shoot from the field and the line, dribble penetrate and is not a bad defender… He will be a more then adequate replacement for you and his confidence and ego will be positive attributes for next year’s team where yours was apparently a detriment … You were all about Rajon and not about the team and that was a disappointment after your fantastic freshmen year…
- The NCAA should play both the women’s and men final four at the same site… This would help add attention to the women’s game, which is the purest form of basketball being played… They could play the women’s games on Friday night and Sunday, which is what they do now…
- U of L is making a nice run in the NIT… After a tough season this will give this team something to build on for next year… They are the last Big East team standing!!!
- PGA Golfer Chris Dimarco, a Florida Graduate, had to drop out of the Players Championship due to an injury… This made room for Carmello Villegas also a Florida graduate who was the first alternate… Dimarco said that if Villegas would have been a Georgia grad he may have come and played one hole and then dropped out to prevent him from playing but that he would for sure do that if the first alternate were a Tennessee Graduate… That a boy Chris!!!
Little Known Shag Facts
Although Abner Doubleday is credited with inventing the game of baseball the game is actually a derivative of a British Game called Rounders… There have been numerous newspaper articles uncovered which document a game called “Base Ball” being played in New York City and Pittsburgh well before Doubleday…
What is in the CD Player this week
- Gorillaz, Demon Days
