An untimely – or was it, perhaps, timely? – positive COVID test found me isolated to my room for the first few days of this year’s NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. That kind of time alone with one’s thoughts is good fodder for a blog post.
Lions, Tigers, & Grizzlies … Oh, My!
Oakland University’s Jack Gohlke‘s shooting display Thursday night during the Golden Grizzlies’, 80-76, win over Kentucky took me back. Back to Lincoln, NE, in March, 1988 when 15th-seeded Eastern Michigan University gave the second-seeded Pittsburgh all it could muster in the first half.
EMU trailed, 52-49, at the break and the then-Hurons had freshman Brad Soucie‘s eight first-half 3-pointers to thank for the narrow margin. Like Gohlke, it seemed as though everything Soucie threw near the basket was going to be pure.
Unlike Gohlke and the Grizzlies, EMU was unable to seal the deal and wound up losing, 108-90, but what a game it was to witness.
As a happy bonus, about the time OU’s game was ending Thursday night, I traded a couple of Twitter messages with Ben Braun, the EMU head coach March 18, 1988, in Lincoln. He and I hadn’t communicated in a good long while, but it was nice catching up and talking college hoops.
Yeah, I’d Try That
You get plenty of time with commercials when you’re stuck in a room by yourself for days on end. To that end, here’s a couple of quick takes:
- I’m down to try a bite of KFC’s new Chizza (boneless fried chicken, marinara, mozzarella, and pepperoni). Seriously, this sounds like a chicken parm with pepperoni. What’s not to like?
- Conversely, the Buffalo Wild Wings’ “box out” commercial is making me never want to visit BW’s again.
- The Tool Shaq spots from Home Depot featuring Shaquille O’Neal are fun. I’m pretty sure O’Neal would be a remarkable spokesperson should an ice maker ever want to sell product to the Eskimos. He just seems able to connect across demographics and at various levels. “I only build’em, I don’t sit on’em. … I’m just playin’!”
- And, call me crazy, but the Wendy’s commerical “Get Hyped,” is amazing! I could – and probably will have to – watch it endlessly, especially the part after the plug is pulled and the two fellas freestyle the beat.
Start Time Outrage
I ranted about this on my socials late Saturday morning, but television networks continue to harm college sports. My ire this time was directed at the start times of tournament games on Friday and Saturday.
On Friday, television apparently deemed it OK for the UAB-San Diego State game in Spokane, WA, to begin at 1:45 p.m. EDT which, it should be noted, is 10:45 a.m. local time! And, lest we think it was a fluke, the very first game to tip off on Saturday was the Salt Lake City subregional game between Dayton-Arizona that began at 12:45 p.m. EDT (or 10:45 a.m. local time!). To further confound the mind, TV dictated that the Oregon-Creighton game (from Pittsburgh) was scheduled to begin at 9:40 p.m. on Saturday – though it didn’t start until after 10 thanks to an overtime game before it.
Here’s a novel concept … start the games in the Eastern Time Zone in early window and those further west in the later window. Amazing how easy it would be to correct this issue.
- New Rule: All high school and college start times must have local start times between noon and 8 p.m.
March or January?
It was not lost on me that Friday was, technically, the third full day of Spring in southeastern lower Michigan. We received close to four inches of snow in my neighborhood. Which means I can officially say there was more snow on the ground for during opening round games of the NCAA Tournament than there was for the Rose Bowl on January 1.
Catching Up with Friends
One of the cool byproducts of this annual event, is the ability to – in real time – reconnect with friends from around the nation who share an interest in their team’s success. On Thursday it was Kevin who’s the long-time public address announcer for Oakland University, on Friday it was Tom who’s spent more of his life in Colorado than not and Donald a Vermont lifer, and then on Saturday I ran it back with Tom as well as Ashley – a huge Washington State Cougar fan – and Sara who roots for Iowa State.
Not Missed
I doubt I’m in the minority with this thought: CBS’s longtime voice of the tournament – Jim Nantz – was not missed. Ian Eagle does a fine job and seems to have a terrific rapport with color commentators Bill Raftery and Grant Hill. I might actually watch some of this year’s championship game rather than tune into the radio call.