FInal Four Musings

So It's time to post to this again. Partly because my friend Jessica keeps complaining about how much college ball I've been watching , "it's the damn tourney woman!"

And so my usual response is to offer up that as long as I'm creative about sports and produce something, it's worth it to rot my brain watching basketball, a sport that she hates probably because, as someone who's never been 12, and on an Jordan-like unstoppable shooting streak in a 1-on-1 game in somebody's driveway at any point in her life, she doesn't fully get the game, and I almost can't blame her.

Also, I'm realizing that I might actually get some suckers to glance at this now that facebook has invaded all our brains (I'm waiting for the experimental brain chip... your move google/facebook, what's it gonna be?).

But even Jessica has to admit (and apparently even my mom, for that matter, who called me twice in breathless excitement after 'Nova won Saturday) that some basketball games are just classic. And yes, they have to be great right down to the buzzer to be classic, but if you just watch the fourth quarter you're a damn cheater!

This is where Scottie Reynolds comes in.

The 'Nova-Pitt game was so good that even though I recorded it on my DVR (was working this weekend) and inferred from my mom's on the phone wonderment before I could stop her that 'Nova had won a close game, we're from Philly', it was still awesome to watch, especially because with 20 seconds to play, and 'Nova up five I was wondering what all the fuss had been about.

Then Sam Young drains a three, Jay Wright unthinkably draws up the dumbest full court pass on the ensuing inbounds and Cory Fisher tries to draw a charge with 15 seconds to play??!!! And I know 'Nova's gonna win (well 99.9% sure), but I'm still yelling at the TV: Fisher what are you thinking?!" Ref's will never give you that charge call with 15 seconds to play when you're the underdog and you're up by two in an open floor situation.

This reminds me I'd love to write a post on how bad situational basketball refereeing has become, especially in college. it's got to the point that ref's have almost stopped weighing in on what the play looked like and are basing 90 percent of their calls on what the circumstances in the game seem to call for.

Situations like how many fouls on a star player; time left; tightness of the score; whether the call will go against the favorite or underdog; which team just had a tough 50/50 call go against them; which coach is madder at the refs'; how much advantage was gained by fouling; whether the shot went in, etc—all of which are a big problem when (as is the case in the modern game) 80 percent or more of calls are a tossup at best, but more on that another time.

Back to 'Nova-Pitt, and Cory Fisher's bonehead move of putting Levance (I'm too fat to play in the NBA, but somehow I have this uncanny knack for knocking down every clutch jumper ever) Fields on the line. Of course, he cans both and the score is tied which led to the Scottie Reynolds magic.

And Reynolds is no Fields, but at least that means he can haul ass, and there's also a clear killer instinct to his game, something that willed him all the way to the cup, and into Dejaun Blair's body contact to hit the game-winner instead of settling for an open but long three like another player might have.

Even with the whole DVR fiasco (which happens to me way too much by the way) I still almost thought Fields was gonna sink that full court heave—after all he's Levance Fields.

And actually it seemed like, from the look on his face, he was expecting it to go down and was heartbroken when he missed. Who knows. I think Goran Suton would have made it though (seriously where did that guy's Sam-Perkins-esque jumper suddenly come from?)

Another thing to mention, that few people are saying. Why did Jamie Dixon put on a full court press for that play? With the score tied and 5.5 seconds left, and the fastest two players on the other team, that makes almost zero sense. While Jay Wright might have made the stupidest play call of the night, Dixon was the coach who ultimately cost his team the game.

One side note: Why do I always make bets when I'm hammered? Really why is that?

So it's Saturday night and a buddy and I are talking elite eight, having just downed a ridiculous blue concoction, containing more types of booze than I can name, called (of course) an "Adios Motherfucker" (that might be the cheesiest name for a drink ever.)

I was explaining why I think Oklahoma will beat North Carolina partly because Tyler Hansbrough is the most overrated player in the NCAA this year (I know he's now officially the highest scoring player in Tourney history but seriously that guy is like the Benjamin Button of basketball players: he gets worse rather than better as time goes by.

He was national player of the year last year? Really?? He looked like the fifth offensive option on that team that night, literally.

But anyway, I'm drunk and suddenly finding myself willing to slap a 20 down on OU winning, in fact, I even say, bizarrely, "you can even take the $20 now because I'm that confident." If that isn't a sign that you just made a drunken bet that you're going to lose, I don't know what is.

Fortunately, my friend Nick was also drunk and he graciously made a side bet with me that Louisville would win, which somehow I magically won (thank you, Goran "The Great One" Suton) for 10 dollars, which he let me hold. So I was only down $10 total for my stupidity. I think I actually said "I'm hedging my bets" with the MSU bet. Hedging with another underdog?

Maybe drunk Jody doesn't know the meaning of hedging ones bets, but in the end my loss was in fact "hedged," so who knows... (and we both paid out our losses up front... can't beat the simplicity of that).

Hopefully, I'll be back here at least every so often after the final four and once the NBA playoffs heat up. I blame Facebook for the year and a half absence, I think.