March Madness

jww · Post by **jww** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 6:29 am

Jimmy V's life cut short by that crappy disease we call cancer. The running around the court at the end of his championship game for someone to hug is still my most favourite iconic moment in tournament history. I leave the questions aside regarding Charles Shackleford as that can spoil what is still the tournament's penultimate moment for many.

My beloved Orange play today for the first spot in the Final 4. Just another league game? Marquette gave us a tough slap on the wrist at the beginning of our slide late in February, but not it looks like they are peaking, and certainly playing their best basketball of this season, and definitely the best defense in the 30+ years during which I have been following them. And that's saying a lot!

Go Orange!

And how about Trey Burke of Michigan? Puts the team on his back for 3 minutes and dismantles a Kansas team that had a comfortable lead of 14 but couldn't close it off. Oh wow .... first OT game of the tournament and it was a great one.

Kyle76 · Post by **Kyle76** » Sat Mar 30, 2013 7:12 am

Trey Burke, a 30-something percent long-range shooter hits two treys and a long deuce in the closing moments to send the game to OT. One of the great things about the tournament is these unforeseen magical performances that surprise and confound.

Gene · Post by **Gene** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 7:38 am

Watched a grand total of about 15 minutes this weekend.

Don't want to spoil anything, in case somebody has it taped, but saw what looked like a career ending injury yesterday...so sad.

jww · Post by **jww** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 9:22 am

Haven't seen yesterday's games at all, although I know scores and have it recorded -- not sure it will be worth to actually watch them.

The SU/Marquette game was outstanding, imo -- but since bleeding Orange is part of my genus, no one should be surprised. I have heard of Ware's injury, but can't bring myself to watch it at this point in time. I have blown my knee out skiing, and that was bad enough to go through.

Spenser · Post by **Spenser** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 9:25 am

A hats off salute to CBS television for the coverage of the broken leg injury to Kevin Ware. Reading and listening to coverage of the telecast regarding the injury has been interesting this morning. Predicable I suppose, the social media type outlets are crying the coverage was weak, showing ONLY a couple of long shots to the fallen player. They don't want anyone else to have the power over what they see.

Put me on the side of having seen tragedy and having lived it, don't need to relive it. The older you get, the less you need to see it, you know the agony and dedication of what it will take to rebuild a life once this kind of injury happens. I use to stop at interstate highway crashes and be a 'lookey-lou', but got over it.

Also think coach Pitino handled the situation as well as could be expected. Some are saying he should have left the game and went w/his player to hospitable, he choose to stay in the game and then go to hospitable and stay the night for the surgery, which is reported to have gone well. A reporter ask him if this was the worst thing that has ever happened to him. He paused a moment and then said no, that he and wife lost a 6-month old baby many years ago, and he lost two brother-in laws in the 9/11 attack. At times like this, he said, you think of family and the sorrow involved. I know he has had his off court problems but I like the answers.

Gene · Post by **Gene** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 10:38 am

My father in law and two nephews and I were watching - we all knew right away it was bad.

Agreed - CBS did right in how they handled it - the anguish on the faces of Ware's teammates was almost more than I could bear.

jww · Post by **jww** » Mon Apr 01, 2013 11:21 am

Spenser wrote:...

Also think coach Pitino handled the situation as well as could be expected. Some are saying he should have left the game and went w/his player to hospitable, he choose to stay in the game and then go to hospitable and stay the night for the surgery, which is reported to have gone well. A reporter ask him if this was the worst thing that has ever happened to him. He paused a moment and then said no, that he and wife lost a 6-month old baby many years ago, and he lost two brother-in laws in the 9/11 attack. At times like this, he said, you think of family and the sorrow involved. I know he has had his off court problems but I like the answers.

Pitino has had a great deal of tragedy in his personal life, and whether you agree with this or not -- he has tried very hard to keep his personal life private. This has come at quite a significant personal cost. I recall the Providence run to the Final Four in the 1987 NCAA tournament. It was that year that he and his wife lost their son Daniel to congenital heart failure. At that time, he would not speak of his personal challenges beyond saying his wife was a rock solid wall of faith in his life (or words to that extend).

Personally, I think he is one of the top 5 active coaches in NCAA Div1. I don't know what he is like personally, but his court demeanor is all business. In all the games I have seen him coach in college, I don't recall any technical fouls ever being called on him. I am sure he has had his fair share, but he understands how to channel his passion and is on a trajectory to secure a National Championship -- provided his young athletes don't suddenly under-achieve, something which can happen on the enormous stage that is the Final Four. Should all be good games this coming weekend.

Kyle76 · Post by **Kyle76** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 6:22 am

I think Ware will make a complete recovery. Seeing a leg hang at an odd angle is shocking, but a clean bone break is generally much less severe than a knee or ankle injury. A bone break can heal better than new. ACL's and MCL's are much more likely to end a career.

jww · Post by **jww** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 7:59 am

Kyle76 wrote:... ACL's and MCL's are much more likely to end a career.

I can speak from experience - my head won't let me downhill ski any longer -- every time I try I get to the top of the hill and freeze up re-living the injury of 8 years ago like it was yesterday. Still a nasty injury -- it won't be about his bone, it will be about his head and getting around not re-living the injury every time he takes the court.

dosco · Post by **dosco** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 11:08 am

Kyle76 wrote:I think Ware will make a complete recovery. Seeing a leg hang at an odd angle is shocking, but a clean bone break is generally much less severe than a knee or ankle injury. A bone break can heal better than new. ACL's and MCL's are much more likely to end a career.

The unpleasant part of the injury was that it was a compound fracture. I could see the bone in one of the long camera shots (the TV folks must have figured it out finally because in this morning's broadcast a pixellated box was placed over the image of his leg).

On another forum someone posted a closeup pic, which was rather graphic. That sort of stuff doesn't really bother me but seeing the bone poke out of his skin was fairly gruesome.

JayTrek · Post by **JayTrek** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:02 pm

I think CBS did a good job handling that situation. A friend of mine found a pic that a sideline photog took and posted it on Facebook. I deleted it from my timeline. I saw Tyrone Protho, Joe Theismann, and Tim Krumrie all suffer compound fractures. I do not need to see it to appreciate.

The Lord did me a favor by letting me drift to sleep in a post Easter meal fog...and fortunately I missed the whole thing. My father-in-law told me about it when I woke up.

jww · Post by **jww** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 2:16 pm

JayTrek wrote:I think CBS did a good job handling that situation. ...

Agreed -- have not seen the un-pixelated version of the footage, and not searching for it either. Have seen the screened version and seeing the reaction from the Louisville bench was enough for me to understand the graphic nature of the injury. Surprised no one threw-up which is a common reaction when you go into that kind of shock either as an observer or as the individual who sustained the injury.

dosco · Post by **dosco** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:22 pm

JayTrek wrote:A friend of mine found a pic that a sideline photog took and posted it on Facebook.

That's probably the same one I've seen on another forum. Rather gnarly.

brothers · Post by **brothers** » Tue Apr 02, 2013 3:33 pm

I can imagine it, and don't care to, or to see it. That stuff isn't a source of fulfillment for me.

JayTrek · Post by **JayTrek** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 7:22 am

So who is everyone taking in the Final tonight. I think Louisville will get the win myself.

Kyle76 · Post by **Kyle76** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 10:29 am

Louisville. Their two guards are outstanding. Smith is as quick as I've seen.

maskaggs · Post by **maskaggs** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 11:46 am

For some reason college BB just doesn't do it for me. I spent some time at the University of Louisville, though, so I suppose that's where my loyalties lie.

jww · Post by **jww** » Mon Apr 08, 2013 3:01 pm

The Wolverines broke the heart of The Orange on Saturday in the 2nd half of the most memorable Final Four in recent years. I have said all along that this was Louisville's tournament to loose -- and that's forgetting entirely the Kevin Ware factor. Let's hope we don't have to be subjected to too many shots of him encouraging his teammates from the bench.

Should be a good game --- Michigan is good, but not sure they will be able to handle the wave of attacks from the Cardinals --- Peyton Siva is due for a big game.

jww · Post by **jww** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 7:03 am

What a brilliant game. As Jim Nance will be heard saying on Masters' commercials this week -- One for the ages.

In fact the entire Final4 weekend was certainly the best in my recent memory (and I have been watching for 3+ decades now). It actually overshadowed a rather average tournament with only 1 OT game and not a lot of buzzer beaters -- instead plenty of stop-the-clock-in-desperation-foul activity.

Hancock was ice, as was Albrecht. I can imagine Spike carrying on at the dinner table in 30 years after having a few-too-many ...... "annneye nevrrr mistashot ....." I called out Behanan's value in the second half at the beginning of the game, as well as questioned leaving Burke on the bench for 12 minutes while a never-comfortable-with-Louisville lead got away from the Wolverines.

Chuck Barkley was classic calling Louisville -- Loo-is Ville. Thought that was quite funny. Greg Anthony and Doug Gottlieb have obviously made up over the tournament since the first weekend tete-a-tete outbursts from Gottlieb calling Anthony out on several points -- that Anthony actually got right in the end anyway. Still miss Seth Davis during the tournament - with Greg Anthony they make the best studio analisys team in the business. I dislike the NBA-ization of the NCAA tournament. Remember 80%+ never play professionally -- that's why it's such a great game.

I have to admit that it didn't even bother me that Citeh beat United in the derby yesterday --- we've run away with the league so only a massive meltdown will prevent us from raising the Barclay's Cup in a few games' time.

changabang · Post by **changabang** » Tue Apr 09, 2013 7:47 am

So now we're on to MY tournament final tonight with the L'ville ladies led by Shoni Shimmel taking on the UConn girls. L'ville is the greatest Cinderella team of the last couple of decades, and it will be interesting if inspiration can overcome talent. I'm kind of a UConn fan, but it'll be a disappointment to me whoever loses, as I've been following the Shimmel sisters all year. Shoni's in-your-face encounter with Brittney Griner in the Baylor game was the still picture of the entire tournament: 5'9" vs. 6'8".