What do you do after your team has just lost (in overtime) in the N.C.A.A. Tournament and you're seriously considering not watching another game all night? (Also in play, the 90 minute break between afternoon and evening sessions.)I recommend the Food Network. Seeing Alton Brown's passion for the pomegranate, almost makes me forget about the last 10 minutes of the Creighton game I saw after driving way too fast through a Nor'easter.
You see, Alton doesn't care that Creighton led for much of the second half or or that they got the key turnover with less than 30 seconds left after giving up three offensive rebounds and allowing the Wolfpack to hold the ball for 90 of the last 110 seconds in regulation or that the Bluejays didn't have to face Fazekas for 85% of the overtime period. He's too busy poking and prodding a giant foam pomegranate model and dropping knowledge. (A loose Latin translation reveals that pomegranate means "many-seeded apple", which, for me, is entirely relevant right now.)
Alton loves to eat pomegranate seeds with yogurt and his indifference towards the national maelstrom brewing on CBS right now makes me...well...still inconsolable.
Creighton has been to 7 of the last 9 N.C.A.A. tournaments, but they've only got two wins to show for it and none since their 2002 stunner against Florida. Dana Altman has had numerous opportunities to leave for "greener pastures," but he hasn't and it's increasingly frustrating that this hasn't translated into visible growth.
The Bluejays were receiving a ton of national respect again in the tournament build-up, but, again, they just came close and what does that mean?
Not much when you're on a perennial tourney run for the past decade and you keep losing. I'm tired of being dangerous. I want to be good.
Damn.
Anyway, on to other tournament thoughts...
Best Uniforms of the Tournament: UNLV. Now that the Jays are done they're officially my rooting interest. Love the way they don't have any piping around the letters on their jerseys and, hey, it's Vegas.
Worst Uniforms of the Tournament: Memphis. What's with the stripe running from shoulder to shin? They're like a 70s throwback except they're not even remotely cool. Watching North Texas play well for 15 minutes then simply get out-athleticismed was definitely the second most depressing moment of my tournament so far.
Down goes Duke: This made me happy yesterday but I have to admit that I was seriously expecting Duke to regroup and make a deep tourney run. I thought it was all set up for Coach K to overachieve, but VCU totally exposed Duke and that's always enjoyable.
Due to the 6-inches of snow we've already gotten in the Boston area and the promise of another 2-3 inches of freezing rain, I'll be holed up all weekend with nothing but basketball to do, so check back for weekend updates.
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