As these words are being typed the Rhode Island and Oklahoma men's basketball teams are locked in a first round death struggle. Today and tomorrow and to a slightly lesser extent Saturday and Sunday it will be wall to wall college hoops in what is the greatest tournament in all of the truly American sports.
A few years ago TV spots for the NBA playoffs featured Charles Barkley yammering, "Win, or go home." Someone should have sued the league for false advertising. You don't even have to follow the pro game to know during a NBA playoff series you can lose as many as three times without your season ending Have an off night? That's okay, because unless it's a game seven, you can come back the day after tomorrow and redeem yourself. In the NCAA championship tournament, fuck up just one time and you are gone.
Right now employers across the land are looking at half empty offices as workers cash in on accrued personal time off and crowd into local sports bars. Everyone from Barack H. Obama to the neighborhood meth addict have filled out brackets. Persons who haven't watched a game all year are suddenly experts and vast sums of money have been put at risk.
Personally I have Duke, Villanova, North Carolina, and Virginia in the final four. This despite the fact it is well known the Dukies and their coach Mike Krzyzewski have a long and sordid history of destroying my brackets. When I bet them to flame out they invariably go long. When I have depended on them to make a deep run they end up tanking first round games against people like Lehigh and Mercer. My God, I didn't even know what state Mercer was in when that particular disaster hit. (For those wondering the campus is located in Macon, GA)
This morning I have Rhode Island advancing to the next round against Krzyzewski's outfit. I know that means I bet against my alma mater Oklahoma. Trust me, when it comes to dealing with bookies there isn't any room for fond memories of tossing a Frisbee on the South Oval, or old school loyalty. OU started the year hot, but since the middle of January has flat out sucked. The truth is it was a miracle--some say wrought by a FBI investigation into nasty allegations leveled against a few other teams--they are in at all.
Of course it also means I'm relying on Duke to take care of business against Iona later today and as mentioned earlier, that's never a done deal--no matter what over matched band of miscreants the Blue Devils are up against.
Yes, screw Don Trump, the Russians, the NRA, and the rest of the vile monsters who make the current state of national and world affairs such a nightmare. It is time to kick back and dwell on something utterly unimportant, yet totally entertaining, not to mention, if things break the right way, financially rewarding.
Next stop Santa Fe and dry martinis at the Thunderbird Bar and Grill over looking the Plaza.
And this news: despite a valiant, heart stopping, effort in regulation Oklahoma went down in OT 83-78. Hey, so far, so good.
Indeed. To paraphrase Holmes, the games are afoot.
sic vita est
3-15-18
I haven't followed basketball closely in many years, which is odd, given that I live a few miles over from Lawrence, KS, AKA Naismithland. However, I have noticed similarities in the college basketball playoff structure to its sister big money sport football. Too many teams in the playoffs vs. too many made-for-TV bowl games. However, for fans, enough is never enough, and there is no harm in it. I don't like the one strike and out harshness of post season playoffs and tournaments, but fan interest rules, as it should. KU people up here are fiercely proud of Bill Self and his 14 straight Big 12 championships, as they should be, but like his retired football counterpart Bob Stoops, seems to struggle past the Sweet 16. Still, its all fun and a much needed diversion from the harsh realities of modern existence. It is a good reminder that Donald Trump and his irritating presence has no ultimate control over our joy in life. That is on us, we have ALL the control over that and sports post-season championship runs help keep us focused in the right direction.
ReplyDelete