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<\/a>Here’s one of my favorite stories of the tourney–Villanova’s Kris Jenkins and UNC’s Nate Britt, who are virtually brothers, (look up that story,) celebrating that they both made the Final Four. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n
–As fabulous as the athletic talent is, and the strategizing and the sportsmanship are, it’s the human interest stories that always get me.<\/p>\n
–Former Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said that Duke’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski, is in a class by himself, an assessment I whole-heartedly agree with. [I wrote that sentence before he lied about what he said to Oregon player Dillon Brooks after Duke’s loss to his team. Now I have to re-think my whole take on Coach K. Not only did he lecture another coach’s player, but he then lied about it, essentially branding Dillon<\/em> the liar, when it was really the other way around. Shame on him.]<\/p>\n –I actually enjoyed Stallings as in in-studio analyst.\u00a0 He didn’t try to be funny, and was basically nice about everyone. [And right after I wrote all that, he flat-left Vandy for Pitt!]<\/p>\n –I’m going to have one team I love in the Final Four, and one I don’t care about.\u00a0 So, as much as the game tomorrow of Oklahoma versus Villanova will hurt me when one of them loses, I’ll\u00a0 have one of them to really root for on Monday night!\u00a0 So, that<\/em> glass is half-full.<\/p>\n –Analyst Kenny Smith, who’s actually getting a tad amusing this year, mis-speaks so much. I love that he said that his alma mater, UNC, is “the cream of\u00a0de la creme.”<\/p>\n Tony Bennett. Can you tell if he’s winning or losing here? Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n –I felt bad for poor, handsome coach Tony Bennett when Virginia had that horrible loss last week. He appears to be so even-tempered that you can never tell if he’s winning or losing! (Mr. X actually said the same thing about his opposing coach in that game, Jim Boeheim.)<\/p>\n –I still don’t understand how Syracuse beat Virginia.\u00a0 With under ten minutes to go, Virginia was leading by 15!\u00a0 I know that 9:20 is considered a really long time in basketball, (heck, even a minute and a half is considered long!,) but I cannot believe what I saw. \u00a0 In the next three minutes, they had cut it down to just a one point deficit, and took the lead in under four!\u00a0 Syracuse went on a 23-4 run in the last \u201cquarter\u201d of the game!\u00a0 With 25 seconds to go, and Syracuse up by 2, we still had no idea who would be the victor.<\/p>\n Jim Boeheim. Same with him (as above.) He was actually about to win. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n –There have been more crazy endings this season than I’ve seen in years.\u00a0 The craziest was Texas A&M beating Northern Iowa when they were down by 12 with 40 seconds to go.\u00a0 But somehow, the Virginia loss in the Elite Eight stymied me the most.\u00a0 Maybe that’s because I was watching that game in its entirety, as opposed to having to switch around from game to game in earlier rounds.\u00a0 Or perhaps because all the analysts, most notably Charles Barkley, said from the beginning that Syracuse should not even have made the tourney to begin with!<\/p>\n –Virginia just lost it’s composure.<\/p>\n The always hilarious Charles Barkley. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n –And, while we’re still on Syracuse, if any of you commentators are reading this, please learn how to pronounce that word!\u00a0 It’s sI-ra-cue, (as in \u201cmirror,\u201d) not se-racuse!\u00a0 You all sound like morons!\u00a0 (Except for Charles, who gets it right.)<\/p>\n –Speaking of Charles, he’s the reason I listen to the pre-games and halftime shows. That guy is always a riot. (Years ago, before he was a commentator, a studio was trying to put together a talk show for me. When I told them I wanted Charles Barkley as my co-host, because I knew how funny he was even back then, they thought I was nuts! I guess the joke’s on them, but also on me<\/em> because my show fell through.)<\/p>\n Buddy Hield, creatively rocking the part of the net that he cut down. (All the guys did it after that, so I don’t know if he started the trend, or if that’s just what they do these days.) Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n –At this point in the tournament, the day before the Final Four, I usually have a favorite team.\u00a0 (Of course, it’s UCLA, if they’re still in it, which they have not been since 2008.)\u00a0 But I don’t have a solid fave this year.\u00a0 When a pal asked, pre-tourney, for whom I’m rooting, (only not in that grammatically correct syntax,) I answered that I suppose Oklahoma because of Buddy Hield.\u00a0 I told him that I have to watch the proceedings, and decide along the way.\u00a0 (Some of my criteria are:\u00a0 who has good sportsmanship, who’s fun to watch,\u00a0and which coach is classier, more handsome, or better dressed!)<\/p>\n Well, I still like Buddy and the Sooners.\u00a0 (Sounds like a rock band, doesn’t it?)\u00a0 If you haven’t seen him play, even if you know nothing about college basketball, you should really check him out tomorrow.<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>