BASKETBALL: MARCH MADNESS 2017

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MARCH MADNESS 2017

March Madness is truly a lesson in enjoying the journey. Sixty-eight teams are in the college basketball tournament, which means that sixty-seven will leave broken-hearted. But I always hoped that the inevitable loss doesn’t diminish the fun the players, coaches, families, students, and fans in general have in getting there. Just making it into the tournament is a major achievement! I love watching the teams go nuts when they hear their names announced on Selection Sunday! Their joy always puts a smile on my face and literally brings tears to my eyes.

ncaa-tournamentIt all finally ended on Monday night, and I needed a day to reflect on the tourney as a whole before I wrote about it. I’m the only person I know who watches every second of the four-channel coverage, so, believe me, there have been a multitude of thoughts running through my mind all three weeks of it. (I’m usually a bit stressed during it, because I still go out occasionally, so I record the proceedings, and then stay up practically around the clock to watch it all! But this year, I was at the end of my month-long pneumonia siege, so I was staying in anyway. These were the only days and nights that I was actually almost grateful for the illness! But only after the real pain of it was over.) (The pain of the pneumonia, not the tournament. That latter pain lasts forever!)

Photo by Karen Salkin.

Photo by Karen Salkin.

So, being the good sport that I try to be, I do have to congratulate the University of North Carolina (UNC) even though I was rooting for Gonzaga to win it all.

But I sure wish that the referees had not completely ruined the game! This was the worst championship contest that I’ve ever seen. Even though the score was close, it wasn’t well-played, like most of the other sixty-six games during the tournament were. This one was a sloppy, clumsy mess, on the part of both teams, and especially the refs, who just would not let them play.  And there were several bad calls against Gonzaga, especially near the end. That was horrible of those men to interfere in such a close game like that.

Some members of the uNC team.

Some members of the UNC team.

But, in case you don’t know this already, here’s some background: UNC was in the championship game last year, as well, and lost at the very last second—and I do mean very last second—to Villanova. It was such a crushing way to lose. So, basically the second that game was over, the returning Tar Heels vowed to make it back to the championship game this, and win this time! So, it’s impressive that they did just that!

Being the Empath that I’m told I am, I know I would have felt awful for those UNC players to lose two years in a row, especially the seniors, like Kennedy Meeks and Isaiah Hicks, who wanted so desperately to win this year. But I had to root for the Zags because I’ve been on their side for many years now–since no one even knew how to pronounce “Gonzaga!!!” (It’s gon-zag-a. And the “zag” is as in “bag,” in case you’re interested.) That’s how long I’ve been into them. I don’t even know how it all started; it just seems like my fandom of them has always been there.

Some members of the Gonzaga team...in their winning WHITE jerseys!

Some members of the Gonzaga team…in their winning WHITE jerseys!

And I really wanted Charles Barkley to be right for once. He kept guaranteeing that Gonzaga was going to win! That’s actually when I knew they were in trouble. The other two signs to me that Gonzaga would lose were 1) that the Zags were in black for the first time, and 2) the Zags were at the wrong basket for my crazy superstitions. But it really was mostly because Chuck was so positive that they would win!

So, as much as I wanted Gonzaga to win, I am happy for UNC after last year’s last second, (literally,) devastating defeat.

And now I never have to even semi-want UNC to win ever again. Yay!

Okay, here are some more thoughts as March Madness went along, in chronological order:

Chima Moneke of UC Davis.

Chima Moneke of UC Davis.

The first time I actually cried was Day 2, when they were discussing that UC Davis’ Chima Moneke had not seen his family in Nigeria since 2009!  I could not even imagine not seeing my parents for that long, ever.  He said they’re definitely coming out to see him graduate next year because Nigerian parents wouldn’t miss their son’s college graduation! I’m glad they told me so I don’t have to feel so bad for that family now.

Jim Les, (although I have a feeling that he was a tad younger here.)

Jim Les, (although I have a feeling that he was a tad younger here.)

Even though I’m not into gray hair on men, (or on anybody, actually,) the coach who always looks the best is Jim Les of UC Davis.  His suits always fit the best, and his hair looks good.

I’m still sick for Vanderbilt’s Matthew Fisher, who gave a foul to the opponent at the end, when, according to everybody, he should not have. We all know that he’s blaming their loss on himself, but it was one mistake in a long game. And it’s a team sport. And what no one else is saying is that maybe they would have lost anyway! The game could have gone either way at that point! I tweeted right away that I hoped that commentator Chris Webber, who made an even worse mistake at the end of his college championship game, should reach-out to Matthew, and let him know that life really does go on.

That was a horrible end of the Seton Hall-Arkansas game!  The refs needed to let them play.  I didn’t think that was a flagrant foul, and the same thing was not called in several of the other games.  Did the refs have money on the game perhaps???

I’m so proud of, and happy for, my favorite college that I attended, URI! They won their first game, and it was really fun.

Caleb Swanigan then...

Caleb Swanigan then…

I absolutely love all the human interest stories, such as these two: Caleb Swanigan of Purdue was a poor, very overweight kid, whose family moved around a lot. His older brother asked a coach he knew to take Caleb in when they were moving again, and the man not only did that, but adopted him! At thirteen! Caleb worked hard, lost tons of weight, and is now a college hoops star!   And Frank Mason III, of Kansas, failed a class in high school, so he could not accept his basketball scholarship to a small college. He had to go to a sort-of military high school to finish up his degree, and it’s there that he was discovered by Kansas, and got a scholarship to that much better college! Wow. And he has a young son, and appears to be a hands-on, doting dad. So, good for him, all the way around.

...and now!

…and now!

I feel awful for Giddy Potts of Middle Tennessee State. He’s been a star on the court for two years now, but in their second-round game this tourney, he just could not score, and they lost.

The most visibly upset coach in the early going was Gregg Marshall of Wichita State.  I feel for the poor guy.

Giddy Potts.

Giddy Potts.

My two favorite names of the players in the tourney are Giddy Potts and Kennedy Meeks.

At least three games the first week-end were decided by bad calls.  That’s very disturbing.

I’m so happy for Gonzaga’s very first final four!!!  Go, Zags!

University of Kansas head coach Bill Self gave perhaps the most intelligent, most thoughtful, best defeat interview ever.  I never cared about him before, either way, but now I’m giving him mad respect.

FINAL RANDOM THOUGHTS

This championship really meant so much to all the players.  I hated for anyone to lose. But that’s sports.

Kris Jenkins and Nate Britt.  How proud must their parents be?!

Kris Jenkins and Nate Britt. How proud must their parents be?!

Here’s a championship game human interest story: Last year, UNC was defeated at the last second by an amazing shot from Villanova’s Kris Jenkins. On UNC was Nate Britt, whose family adopted Kris as a middle-schooler, making the two guys brothers. (Nate’s dad was their coach.) So, this year, Villanova was the absolute #1 seed, but suffered a shocking first round loss. Kris then attended all of Nate’s games, sitting right behind the bench. And he got to see his brother come out the victor this time! How nice of a story is that?!

Nobody has ever had a better time commentating than Grant Hill.  That guy always has a smile on his face!  And I’ve heard that he’s as lovely as he seems.

Analyst Clark Kellogg is always fair.  He laughs at the shenanigans of the others, (meaning Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith,) but unlike Shaquille O’Neal, he doesn’t try to get in it with them.

I always feel sort-of feel bad for coaches, thinking their lives must just be worrying about their teams and games, and having no other life.  Then Jay Wright, Villanova’s head coach, said that coaches have the best lives, and are the luckiest people in the world.  (I thought that was people who need people, though!)  I don’t get it, but Jay totally meant it.  My stomach actually pulls when I start thinking about a coaching life, but he made me feel a whole better for them.

I have to thank sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson for ending the heart-breaking interview with Gonzaga’s wonderful coach, Mark Few, on a nice note rather than a painful one. Great job on her part.

Okay, that’s it for college basketball this year. So, one would think that my time would now open up a bit, wouldn’t one? But nooo—we’re less than two weeks away from the beginning of the pro basketball play-offs, baseball just had it’s opening day, and I still haven’t finished watching last week’s figure skating World Championships! I absolutely love, love, love sports, but it does take up a lot of my life. I know that some of you will understand. Too bad for me that I have so many other interests, too. There’s just not enough time to get to it all!!! But I try. And you’ll read about all of it right here!

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