OPENING DAY(S)
That time of year again, hot popcorn! cotton candy! souvenier drinks! glove in hand for the foul ball! I'm talking baseball!
MLB season starting up as I type, and it promises again to be one for the ages.
Let's Go Yankees! Let's go Astros!
And an official Heisman Run thank you to Jeff Bagwell, a player who gave us years of loyalty, hard play, and results and the best of luck in the next stages of your life after baseball.
What on Earth Happened???
Last night, in a most optimistic fashion. I donned my purple LSU polo, my weathered LSU cap, my LSU watch and even put on a second coating of deodrant before heading over to a friends house for.. what else, the LSU men's basketball team first FINAL FOUR game in 20 years.
I spent a little bit of time doing my customary 'sports-writer' wanna-be analysis on key matchups, the paths to victory and how to get past this roadblock on the road to the National Championship. Please note that I said road to the Championship, not the Final Four. I really liked this matchup for us. I knew the key was the physicallity of all the players on court, for once a team that wouldn't shut down when we pushed them, ala Duke and Texas. UCLA has weapons, we have answers. We have dangerous weapons, they have answers. This was gonna be a good game.
The rest is a bit of a blur - not really sure what happened. I remember the final score, remember bits and pieces, and remember the sick feeling in the pit of the stomach.
Let me not make excuses, but there were too abnormalities of this game - the first is that we couldn't buy a basket, even shots that we normally make easily or the seldom good looks at the basket we not falling, no matter what reforms the LSU faithful handed up to the Good Lord in exchange for a basket while the Bruins couldn't miss if they had tried, the second is that I appreciated the phsyical game that both teams played, but 'can a team get a foul and a walk called.'
My heart goes out to this LSU team, it has been an amazing year, fun to watch, fun to follow - really a team that you can be proud to associate yourself with. That team did not show up in Indy, and that may be what they are remembered for. I am really excited about the fact that this team, along with the Lady Tigers' Final Four team, proved that a football town is willing to accept basketball (after all, who heard much about the spring game yesterday). GEAUX TIGERS!
I'll leave the discussions about specific mistakes, coaching mishaps and the other specifics that I wanted to present originally for another day.. I don't really want to seem like I am dumping on this team for little/no reason.
What makes you proud of the LSU Men's Basketball team? Is it their accomplishments? Is it the types of persons that make up this team? Is it the coaching turnaround? Is it the way the campus-community rallied around the team?
Here's hoping the Florida Gators take care of buisness on Monday night, and bring the title home to the SEC!!
And here's my glass raising toast to the LSU LADY TIGERS in action tonight in Final Four action against Duke! GEAUX LADY TIGERS!!
