Musings about sports in general, & Cricket in particular. With baseball season coming up, will look into that, too. And lots of good cricket in 2007, including the World Cup.
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This is where you stick random tidbits of information about yourself.
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20060320
Gonzaga won last night. 90-80. That being said, it was not the prettiest of wins for the team, but they are advancing to the Sweet 16™, something they have not been able to do previous—not even with big Ronny Turiaf, 1st round pick of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Turiaf’s successor, & player of the year candidate, had an off-night (for him—he still scored 14 points, which would be a great night for many others). Indiana contained the man who usually carries his team on their backs, & the ‘Zags responded by others picking up the slack, particularly Sean Mallen, who was loosed by Indiana’s fettering of Morrison. Baptiste, the big Brazilian, played his part admirably too, has the whole supporting cast gelled & so Gonzaga gets to play again next week & Indiana goes home to Bloomington. Gonzaga is looking like the Starship Enterprise, where everyone knows his position & task, but can be counted on to help in the tough situations. Coach Mark Few now has the best winning percentage of any basketball coach in Division I, & if he beats up on a few more East Coast based teams, may find himself as nationally well-known as any ACC or Big Ten coach.
But have a thought for poor Mike Davis. This is a guy who replaced the original gangsta Bobby Knight (the only thing more baffling than why Knight is not tucked tightly in some jail cell is why so many Hoosier fans consider to support him & his thufgish behavior). Apparently, many never forgave him for that, although he had nothing to do with Knight’s removal…Knight himself provided the long overdue impetus for his dismissal from IU. What happened is that even though Davis took the program to the championship, even though his 6-year tenure saw him put up better numbers than just about every other coach in the nation (including those mentioned as succeeding him), even though Indiana became a class act under him (because Davis is always classy), he somehow winds up as just an interim figure in many eyes. At least until we see how his replacement(s) do(es). Perhaps then, Mike Davis will get his due in Bloomington.
And so, while Indiana goes home to an uncertain future, the Bulldogs advance to face UCLA, another storied program that has had its fair share of turmoil in the past, although they seem to have gotten over the fact that John Wooden actually retired & is not coming back. It would seem to be healthier for a team to look forward, rather than back. This actually favors the ‘Zags, who seem to have more in front of them, than behind them. We will see.
1:02 AM
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