Tips ? Suggestions? Praise? Death Threats?

Saturday, March 31, 2007

Somewhere, Danny Wuerffel is Smiling

Some thoughts on College Basketball Weekend:

Billy Packer looks horrible. The long sides and back of his hair make his baldness look more sickly. He needs to cut it short.

Oden's near-poster dunk struck me as an exact replica of Michael Jordan's corporate logo. I don't think Oden went all O.J. Mayo on everyone and thought about it as a marketing ploy - what could the Greg Oden logo be, though, if he were to have a logo? I imagine arms crossed, sort of like the And-1 guy, which I may or may not have thought seriously about tattooing on my body when I was 10 years old.

Jim Nantz and Billy Packer beat it to death during the broadcast, but Jeff Green was as disappointing as any Mets club that started Rey Ordonez at shortstop. Hibbert seemed to relish the role as leader of the club in Green's absence, at least until his 4th foul, but regardless, I'm excited: anybody shooting a sky hook with that haircut has a place in today's NBA. Good point from Simmons the other day (shuddering like a Simpson's character), but Hibbert had a lot to prove in that game, and even though Oden spent a lot of time on the bench in the first half, he may have elevated himself into the Top-15 of the draft in April.

Barring a reincarnation of Jason Kapono and the O'Bannon brothers, it looks like the Bruins will join Georgetown for the 3rd place game tomorrow - wait, they don't do that? Oh, they totally should. "We're #3" tee-shirts would sell like hotcakes. Or tee-shirts at the Final Four. Whichever. But it looks like the Gators and the Buckeyes in a battle for millions of dollars in recruiting money. Oh, and the championship. Gators by seven.

I'm all montaged out, but I did catch Miles Simon's ball-clutch in ('96?97?) that made me realize, "holy shit, it's been ten years since that happened." Right? So I thought back to those old CBS broadcasts and wondered if there were fewer ads televised. Because now, in between seemingly every possible lull, Jim Nantz plugs a CBS show, or I'm subliminally told to want a product. I know it's been going on forever, but somehow, this year, I'm overwhelmed by Chevy, and I too, like my beat down low. Something T.I. and I can agree on.

Wouldn't it be awesome if Oden gets drafted but holds out until the team that has drafted him signs Mike Conley Jr.? Charlotte was able to work that by nabbing Felton and Sean May two years ago, and while they haven't won anything of note yet, by adding a high pick they'll be as good as any in the East next year. Hell, I know five or six guys that I could run with that might compete in the East next year. Throw Oden and Conley on Boston with Paulie and Al Jefferson, and holy shit, that's a helluva a club.

How bad is it that I can be an NBA fan before being a Knicks fan and fantasize about Oden and Conley as Celtics? How bad is it that I've completely detached myself from the propaganda-spitting network who refuses to accurately critique the New York Knicks? How bad is it that they're actually, maybe, kind, close to possibly getting into the playoffs? About as bad as the head coach's contract extension. Sorry, I just threw up in my mouth a little bit.

For all the hype about these games, they've been relatively lame. Oden's foul trouble let Conley shine, but still, it felt like Georgetown couldn't get back in it, same way that UCLA has been overmatched since Afflallo picked up his third foul.

Oh, but Al Horford's dad? Awesome.

No comments: