Greece Will Not Repeat

Greece played better and got a lot more shots, but unfortunately lost to Russia 0-1 on Saturday.  The loss means that Ellas will not advance out of their group and thus not repeat as European champions.  

Unlike in the loss to Sweden on Tuesday, the Greek squad probably out played Russia.  But the defending European champions gave up a terrible goal on a terrible and confusing play by veteran keeper Nicopolidis (whose nickname is George Clooney in Greece) to trail at half 0-1.

Greece came out in the second half much more aggressive and active but could not score. Late in the game Charisteas and my man Fani Gekas appeared to score, but Gekas was called off sides on a very dubious call.   Greece should have won one-nil, or should have at least gotten a point after a tie game.  But they didn't, so now they play Spain in a meaningless game on Tuesday.  Hopefully Greece will at least score - Evan's goal for the team - and hopefully win so they can salvage some self respect and go back home with at least some points.

I didn't expect Greece to repeat - no one in European football ever has - but advancing out of their group was a realistic goal.  Still, qualifying for back to back European championships - to say nothing of winning the championship in 2004 - is a major accomplishment for a small, 11 million person country like Greece.  The Hellenic football squad has only qualified for 4 international tournaments ever - the 1994 World Cup and the 1980, 2004, and 2008 Euros - so back to back tournaments is pretty big.

Now it's on to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.  Greece is in a pretty good, meaning winnable, group so hopefully will qualify.  My friend Niko, who just moved to the US from Crete a few months ago, reminded me over the weekend that the Greek squad is loaded with some good young talent.  That's the good news; the sad news is that Euro 2008 may be the end for some talented Greek veterans like Nicopolidis, Basinas, etc., players who did so much for Greek football and for Hellenism when they were crowned European champions in 2004.

With Greece out of the running, I am now on the Dutch bandwagon.  I picked Germany, now think Portugal will probably win it, and have Romania as my dark horse, but look for me in an orange shirt rooting for Netherlands from now on.

 

Speaking of Euro, does anyone look more European - or have more of a modern Continental aura - than Pau Gasol?  Every time I look at that guy I hear techno music and smell sweat and cigarettes.

More Random NBA Musings

Interesting to see how many Celtics stand up, shout and clap their hands, actively try to affect Lakers when they shoot in front of the Boston bench.  At best it's bad sportsmanship, and worst it's crass.

The Lakers are so soft.  Gasol, Odom and Radmanovic have been pushed around all series.  But at least Gasol has made some plays tonight, even some tough ones.

Carolina Off to Good Start in CWS

Carolina scored early and often to defeat a very good LSU nine today 8-4 to win their opening game in the College World Series.  Starter Alex White looked especially sharp.

The Tar Heels play Fresno State, who bombed Rice in the first round, on Tuesday.  Carolina is the overall number 2 seed.  Number one seed Miami lost on Saturday, as did overall 4 seed Florida State.   The two in-state and ACC rivals play in an elimination game on Monday.

So on Tuesday two Carolina and Hellenic blue squads will play.

Nats Update

The Nats swept the Mariners over the weekend in Seattle (including Sunday's win in front of Joe Pillow), their first sweep of the season.  The series was notable for some decent hitting, led by my man Ronnie Belliard and their only legit hitter this season, Jesus Flores.  Elijah Dukes and Cory Kasto also had key hits in the other Washington this weekend.  We hope to go to a Nats game next weekend when Washington hosts the Josh Hamilton and the Texas Rangers. 

Another big sports weekend

Greece tries to bounce back today against Russia in EURO 2008.  The Hellenes looked terrible on Tuesday in losing to a lackluster Swedish team 0-2.  Of course, taking the long view in the millenial-long competition called 'civilization' Greece continues to dominate Sweden, whose contributions - Ingmar Bergmann, pornography? - are buried under dubious and terrible ones such as ABBA, IKEA and pillaging vikings.  And don't forget Ace of Base.   Anyway, it's tough when one of your top two contributions is pornography.  Sure, Greeks have always liked and produced pornography, but it's not even in our top 100.

Anyway, today Greece has to defeat Russia if they want to advance out of the group stage. Their best scenario is to beat Russia and tie Spain for a 1-1-1 record and 4 points.  That's how they advanced in 2004, when coincidentally they tied Spain but lost to Russia (after upsetting Portugal in their first match).

For those in town I will watch that game at Yanni's in Cleveland Park with Evan and Niko from my MeetUp group. Call my cell if you want to join us.

Interesting day of football yesterday, as Netherlands dismantled France and Romania tied World Cup holders Italy. I picked Romania as my dark horse and also predicted France would not advance.

NBA FINALS

Looks like I should stick to football since I was wrong - again - in my NBA predictions.  Remember, I picked the Zards over the Cavs and Celtics.  Instead of the Lakers in six it looks like the C's in 5.  

What a terrible loss by the Lakers.  Once again I fell asleep on the couch in the third quarter, and felt like Rip Van Winkle when I awoke to hear it was a two-point game heading into the fourth quarter.  

You have to give Doc Rivers credit, an ex-Hawk who I liked as a player when my sports team fandom was exclusively NC and FL driven and Atlanta-centric.  Not only did he keep his team focused in the first half, throughout the series and season he has used his bench wisely.  How clutch has James Posey been?  He's the kind of player you need to win a championship - a clutch performer who comes off the bench confident and willing to take on responsibility.  He obviously reminds me of Robert Horry, who has built a crazily-successful career around such a skill set.

Carolina back in the College World Series

The Tar Heels are in Omaha for their third College World Series in a row, something hard to do.   The Heels have a difficult opening game on Sunday against LSU, who has won 25 of their last 26 games.  Nonetheless, brother and Baseball America editor John Manuel, who is in Nebraska for the weekend, picks our alma mater to finally win the national championship.    

As some of you know, the Heels lost in the finals of the CWS the last two seasons to Oregon State, primarily because they could not field simple plays like bunts or run the bases.  Let's hope they've ironed out those problems and win Carolina's first ever baseball National Championship.

Random Carolina and Hellenic Notes

• So I testified in Congress this week (though all you C-Span 3 viewers already know that) on the Future of Oil. and am proud to note that I mentioned being Greek American and quoted Homer Simpson in both my written and oral testimony.   Next time I'll be sure to complete the trifecta by mentioning Dean Smith or Michael Jordan.
• Not only is it a big sports weekend, it's a weekend to celebrate the two most overlooked holidays on the calendar - Happy Flag Day to all the Father's out there!

 

 

Rules Changes I'd Make

After a day of running around between 2 soccer games (Ariadne's game was on a turf field on a hot day; field temp had to be over 100), Evan's baseball game (a blow out loss in the heat), Ariadne's dance recital (she was great and the choreography was cool), I'm sitting in the basement cooling off and getting ready for our school's picnic.

While watching Croatia play Austria in EURO 2008, I'm reminded of a handful of rule changes that I think would improve some of our major sports.   Here are my random recommendations:

• In baseball, one one pitching change - or maybe two - a game with NO pitching changes during an inning (unless a player is injured, of course).  Baseball stops every three innings; why stop the game between those 3 outs?  It would speed up the game, force pitchers to re-learn how to pitch themselves out of a jam/deal with adversity, and save pitching staffs' arms.  Adopting this change could solve the perennial problem of teams never having enough pitching.  A team could have 4 or 5 starters, 3 or 4 relievers who could go 2 or 3 innings, and perhaps one speciality one-inning closer if you had enough starting pitching. And now that the steroid era is over this change could result in more offense.  But the best aspect is it would force pitchers to be players, not delicate flowers who expect others to clean up their mess.
• Also, it almost goes without saying but get rid of the DH.  Both of these rule changes would strike a blow against overspecialization in baseball and sports.
• In football, eliminate punting.  This might be the best rule change that is never discussed. Does anyone care about watching a punt?  I would still allow punting, but no punting formations.  If teams wanted to quick kick they could do so with their quarterback, running back, etc.
• This one is impossible, but as they do in Arena football, make all players go both ways.  As it is in baseball, there are not enough skilled players in the NFL.  And unlike baseball, football, hockey, every single other sport in fact, there is no foreign pipeline of talent to fill in the talent gaps that result from expansion and expanded schedules.  By making players go both ways, you half the number of players you need for a roster.
• Basketball is in relatively good shape, ruleswise.  The one change I'd make is to adopt the international trapezoid lane, which is wider than the NBA lane.  Doing so would open thing up down low.  I'd also state that you can not take a charge in the painted area.  If I had my druthers, I'd never call a charge; I would always call a foul on the defense - or simply not make a call - and favor the offense.  But widening the and lane and also banning charges in the lane would dramatically open things up and make basketball what it is supposed to be - a fluid, moving and graceful game. 
• For soccer/football, I'd either make the field bigger or have fewer players, or maybe a wider goal, anything to ensure more shot and more scoring.   Some soccer games have too few shots, let alone goals, so making the field smaller while dropping a player would help generate scoring chances.
• A wider goal could help, too.  But in my opinion the goal isn't the problem, it's a lack of shots.   One other change would be to emulate hockey, and eliminate off-sides.  That too would facilitate more shots.  And bottom line, soccer needs more shots.
• One last change I would make to all sports: eliminate the national anthem before games.  Cheap nationalism when it's prior to a league game, jingoism when it's during a competition like EURO 2008.  If folks are determined to sing a song prior to game time, how about "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" (of course, you ARE at a ball game) or rapping "Basketball" by Kurtis Blow?
• Finally, regarding golf - which as some of you know, in my opinion, is not a real sport. Actually, I'll leave it at that.

Big Soccer Day

We have a relatively big soccer day ahead of us today (Saturday).  It's the final day of the regular season for Stoddert soccer, and Evan claims this is his last season of playing.  We'll see if today is indeed the end of that era. Ariadne, on the other hand, still wants to play and has indicated an interest in going to goalie camp.

The other big football news is the kick off of EURO 2008.   The first game is at noon eastern between host Switzerland and the Czech Republic.  Turkey and Portugal play later today, and Greece debuts on Tuesday.  

Greece, the defending champs, are getting absolutely no respect by prognosticators.   They were huge underdogs in 2004 and won and are getting similar treatment even as the tournament holders.   I still have them winning their group. 

Finally, if I'm known for anything it is my bold soccer predictions.  It's not much of prediction, but don't be surprised if Fani Gekas leads Greece to the final four.  Gekas led the German Bundisliga in scoring in 2007, so in addition to their usual tough defense I think Ellas will score more this tournament.

NBA Finals

I am definitely rooting for the Lakers in the Finals. I went in to game 1 agnostic, but as soon as they tipped off I was cheering for LA. WARNING: NAME DROPPING ALERT:  I was reminded that in the 80s I often rooted for the Lakers - in the Finals - first and foremost because of my old drinking buddy James Worthy (true story; got drunk with him a few times when we dated women who were roommates) and second because of my boy Chuck Todd, a long time Laker fan who canvassed with me back in the olden days.

As much as I like Boston the town, etc. I simply can't root for the C's.  

Hats off to Paul Pierce though.  He played a terrible first half, but came out of half time determined to carry his team, and he did with that four-point play and quick six points.  And that was before he sprained his knee.  KG justifiably gets much of the press for the Celtics, but that is Paul Pierce's team and he reminded the basketball world of that fact on Thursday.

As well as Pierce played, Kobe Bryant played that bad.  That probably means it's curtains for the Celtics.  Kobe seems to be as competitive as Jordan, so look for his to have a huge game 2 for the Lakers, and don't be surprised if LA wins four straight to take the title.

Nats Update

Man, the Nats look terrible.  Their starting pitching is relatively decent, and closer John Rouch has been good, too. But their offense reminds me of a Double A team.   How many major league teams have used players like Dimitri Young and Aaron Boone at clean up!? Both of those guys  are serviceable major leaguers, but not clean up hitters.  The Nats have guys who are natural seventh place hitters batting fourth.  Not good.

Not that they have much choice among the myriad Reds rejects (Pena, Kearns, etc.) on their roster and the injuries.  But even when healthy, the Nats don't have a power bat in their lineup.  Before he got hurt, Nick Johnson, a natural second-place or maybe a guy who could bat third, hit clean up.  

Sounds like the Nats picked up a nice pitcher in the first round of the draft on Thursday, a guy who could be a number 2 starter in one or two years.  But it's also hard to understand how they could ignore drafting a power hitter.    Jim Bowden, the inadequate Reds reject GM of the Nats, simply does not inspire confidence.

Off to soccer! Zito H Ellas!

NBA Finals Blog

After a month of not blogging today's rain and lack of kid sports/activities has me back on line.

Not that I have that much to say.  My prediction for the NBA Finals is the Lakers in 5.  I don't see how the C's come close, kind of like the '87 Finals between Bird's Celtics and Magic's Lakers.  

I'm not a fan of Kobe's, but was really impressed by his play against the Spurs.  It's been written many times by actual sports writers, but Bryant really seems to trust his teammates.  And he is making his teammates better, much better.   Oldsters may recall that that was an early knock against Jordan, one he rectified with 6 championships, turning Scotty Pippen into one of the NBA's Top 50 players of all time, and setting up journeymen like John Paxson and Steve Kerr for game-winning - and in some cases championship-winning - shots.

As impressed as I was by Kobe and the Lakers, I was equally unimpressed by the Celtics.  Neither Eastern Conference team looked that good, and I had trouble staying awake most games even with Sheed on the court.   Paul Pierce played well the entire series, rising to the occasion when needed.  But both KG and Ray Allen seemed to shrink at key times.   

Conversely, almost every Laker -  Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol, Derrick Fisher, even bench guys like Vujancic - rose to the occasion when needed. That confidence and that ability to be comfortable in those situations - along with the best player in the planet - will lead to another Laker title.

• Sad that the Finals will be without Sheed or Ginobili, two of my favorite professional players;  
• My complete top 5 list of favorite NBA players, for the record, is in order: Brendan Haywood, Antawn Jamison, Manu Ginobili, Sheed, and Raymond Felton.  If it was top 10 professional players it would be those five, plus Dimitris Diamantidis, Theo Papaloukas, David Noel, Vince Carter, and Rayshawn Terry;
• This is obviously the dream match up for the NBA, like Yankees-Dodgers or Red Sox-Cubs for MLB. I wonder how the ratings will be.  I'm always surprised how low NBA ratings are. Ratings for this season's playoffs are up, but despite being up are only around 3 percent (of televisions on).   As a comparison, women's college softball draws 2 percent. 

One last NBA note.  It seems that Ty Lawson may get drafted late in the first round.  Most draft analysis has him going between the 20th and 30th pick, though the Wizards, who draft 18th and need a back up point guard, have scheduled a work out for Lawson.

I don't think it makes sense for Lawson, Wayne Ellington or Danny Green to go pro this year.  This draft is fairly deep, unlike next year's draft, and all three could use another season to round out their game and thus increase their standing.  The draft has a very rigid pay scale, and lottery picks in particular make a serious amount of money.  But all first round picks get a guaranteed contract. A guaranteed contract is a guaranteed contract, so if you are going to be a first round pick I guess it's hard to say 'no' to the NBA.  

Carolina Baseball Update

Carolina's baseball team is the overall 2nd seed in the NCAA baseball tournament, and is hosting a regional (though in Cary not Boshamer, which is being renovated) this weekend.  The Heels are shooting for their third consecutive trip to the College World Series, and have lost in the finals the last two seasons. 

• The Heels won last night, defeating Mt. Saint Mary 18-6. Folks may recall that the Heels waxed MSM's basketball team in the first round of the NCAA basketball tournament.  Carolina's regional looks like a Division II tournament. Besides MSM, Elon and UNCW are in Cary with the Heels.
  
• We've seen Andrew Miller, who pitched for Carolina in the College World Series two years ago, pitched twice this season against the Nats.   The first time we saw him pitch he was a bit shaky.  But we saw him again two weeks ago dominate the Nats, and he pitched seven shut out innings.

Greek Football Update

Never thought I would be excited about soccer, but I am geeked up about the upcoming Euro 2008 tournament. The tournament starts June 7th.  As some of you know, Greece is the defending champs.  Their 2004 win was arguably one of the biggest upsets in European football history. Not only did Ellas defeat Portugal - the host country - twice including in the championship game, they also defeated the defending European champs France. Defeating the defending champ and the host nation had never been done in European football history.  Finally, when Greece defeated Portugal to open the tournament it was their first win ever in an international tournament. 

Anyway, it's unlikely that Greece will repeat.  But they did get a favorable group, so they should at least advance to the final eight.  Their group consists of Spain, Russia and Sweden.   The top two teams advance (there are four groups of four teams) from each group, and I think Greece and Spain should advance.

Let me know if you want to join me to watch Greece play.  Their first game is June 10th against Sweden; since that's a work day that will be a TiVo game.  But I will definitely watch their game versus Russia - on June 14th - live so let me know if you want to join me (and Evan and Ariadne) for that Byzantine battle.

I guess it's me

Like the Heels did against Georgetown last year, the Wizards could not play with a lead, failed to score in the last four minutes of the game, and lost a winnable game against the Cavs yesterday.

Either I should have NOT TiVOed that game, or there a larger anti-Heel force out there.

The Wizards were in the penalty mid-way through the 4th quarter, yet they settled for jump shots instead of driving and drawing fouls. That was a huge brain freeze by the Wizards - a very good free throw shooting team - and coach Eddie Jordan.

The Wizards wasted great performances by Arenas, who was unconscious in the first half, Haywood, who had a double-double and came out hot, and Jamison, who had another 20-10 game.

But even worse, the Wizards did not back up their bluster and let LeBron James take over down the stretch. Why anyone would call him overrated - and wave the red flag in his face - I don't know.

The Wizards were hoping to steal at least one game in Cleveland, so are still in good shape.

Game twos can sometimes be treacherous, and I think it will be important for the Wizards to come out strong on Monday night. Cleveland has some momentum going into game two, momentum that can turn into a blow out if the Wizards aren't careful.

NBA Playoffs Blog

One way to treat (but not cure) my post Final Four blues is with a nice playoff run by the hometown Washington Wizards.  I'm so excited I'm going to do something I have never done - TiVO a Wizards game, today's first round game versus Cleveland that runs up against back-to-back kid soccer games.  

I blogged this a week or so ago, but I think the Wiz will go to the Eastern Conference finals. They match very well with Cleveland and Boston and will pull back-to-back upsets.  The Big Three for the Zards are healthy - at least Jamison and Arenas are - but I think it will be my man Brendan Haywood that puts Washington over the top in both series.

Haywood may have more trouble with Cleveland that with Boston. He is coming off his best season as a professional, and generally plays very well against Cav center Zydrunas Ilgauskas.  But last year, Z dominated the first round sweep of the Wizards.  If Haywood rebounds he should out play Ilgauskas this year.

The Wizards have beaten the Celtics three times this season, and Haywood has been a big reason.  In each win, he has kept KG in check, even getting in his face a few times. For whatever reason, the Cs bring out the best in the Wizards.  As critical as Haywood will be, I think this will be Arenas' series. Look for Agent Zero to use this series to redeem a season lost to injury, AND to remind the rest of the league that he is one of the NBA's elite players.

Not much else happening in the East - the Pistons will march to the conference and NBA finals with only a few speed bumps against inferior competition.  The Wizards will probably be the most and probably the only intriguing story in the East.  

That is not the case in the West.

It's still hard to accept that the Spurs play the Suns in the first round! The Suns appear to have figured out the Shaq thing, going 15-5 in their last 20 games.  Stoudamire has really excelled with Shaq around, but I have trouble seeing the Spurs losing this series.  My bet is that Shaq and Duncan, and Nash and Parker, cancel each other out. It will come down to who plays better - Stoudamire or Ginobili.  As much as I like Stoudamire I have to go with Ginobili (one of the three most exciting players on the planet).

Though not as marque as the Suns-Spurs series, there are other great first round match ups.  I see the Jazz taking down the Rockets and Tracy McGrady.  My guess is that Jerry Sloan will figure out how to dismantle Houston in a seven-game series.

The Lakers will handle the Nuggets, but the other first round match up - between the Hornets and Mavs - is a toss up.  I'm still not a believer in the Hornets, though Dallas does not inspire much confidence either.  This series, like much of the playoffs actually, is full of talented players,  but many of whom do not have IT.   KG, McGrady, Pierce, Allen, Kidd, Nowitzki, are all veteran stars whose teams - for whatever reason - never seem to win the big game.  Calling them 'losers' is too harsh, but when in doubt pick against their teams.

Nats Notes

Nice win for the Nats last night, mainly because they finally got a big hit.  Hopefully, Nick Johnson's bases loaded double will ignite more clutch hitting from the Nats.   Zimmerman got two hits last night, and has hit in three straight so he may be getting his stroke back.  Let's hope that Kearns and Pena start hitting soon too.

Sean Hill got called up by Washington yesterday and makes his 2008 debut today against Florida.  He's got the stuff to be a number one starter if he stays healthy.

As bad as the Nats have played they are only 5 back with 145 games left to play!

Transition blog

As the focus of this blog shifts from all things Carolina basketball to other sports - namely the Nats, the Wizards and Euro 2008 football - I feel compelled to defend Roy and offer one last Carolina hoops poll.   

The last one, on the greatest Tar Heel of all time, fittingly ended in a tie between Phil Ford and Michael Jordan.  I think those two are the obvious choices; trust the voters in this one.  Of course, I may have to ask that question again next year if Hansbrough stays, breaks Phil Ford's Carolina and J.J. Reddick's ACC scoring records, and/or wins a national championship.

Today's poll is another good one, and also serves as a nice recap of the 2007-2008 season.

I am honestly surprised by the criticism of Roy's decision to stay and root for Kansas.  One of the things I like about Roy - and Woody for that matter - is how North Carolinian they are.  They remind me of the good things about my home state; both are nice, humble, polite, optimistic to the point of naivete, genuine, with absolutely no regard for flash or fashion.  To me they epitomize the state's slogan, which is (in English) "to be, rather than to seem."  Esse quam vedira in Latin.  

What could be more North Carolinian that to root for the place you once called home for 15 years?  What could be more humble than to root for the team that beat you?   Roy obviously loves Carolina (besides being an alum, I like that he has gone to the last two College World Series' to watch the Heels baseball team).  But he also still loves Kansas.  And that makes sense, and it's okay.  How could anyone be surprised or angered by his rooting for his former school, a school that I might add produced the grandest Tar Heel of them all, Dean Smith.

Finally, if you watch the game you are going to root for one team or another.  I wanted to root for Kansas but usually and habitually root against any of the other dynasty schools - for my money there are only six: Carolina plus UCLA, Kentucky, Indiana, Duke and Kansas - in the championship game so was mildly rooting for Memphis.   Everyone takes a side when watching a game where someone is taking score. Roy is no different from any college basketball fan; he watched, so he took a side.  If an ACC team had been playing the championship game, even if that team were Duke or State, would anyone question ol' Roy for sticking around another night to root for a team from the conference?  I doubt it.  So no one should be surprised that he was rooting for Dean's alma mater.  

Better to stay and watch than skulk home to Chapel Hill feeling sorry for yourself.   I like that Roy was secure enough in in himself to show up, and do not have a problem with him rooting for the Jayhawks while wearing one of their stickers.

I'll wrap this up by pointing out how great the season was, despite the lingering disappointment of the Final Four. Roy's on the court and recruiting successes should leave Heels fans feeling reassured that, as it was under Dean, Carolina is the dominant team in the ACC again.  Back to back ACC tournament championships, best regular season records in the ACC two years in a row, two Final Fours in four years, 4 wins over Duke in our last 6 games including 3 straight at Cameron, a National Championship, and taking the 2006 David Noel team to the NCAA tournament (perhaps the greatest feat on this list; ask Jim Calhoun and Billy Donovan how hard it is to recover from losing stars to the NBA draft) all point to a new dominant Carolina era in the ACC.  Despite the haunting loss to Kansas, things are going well and promise to keep heading in that direction for a long time. 

Random Notes:

• If I was wagering, I'd bet all three Carolina players come back next year.  Hansbrough is probably the only one seriously contemplating going pro.  It seems unlikely that his draft position or stock would change much after another year in Chapel Hill though it could if he continues to expand his range and game, something that has happened each year he has been at Carolina.  And by all accounts the 2009 draft projects weaker than the 2008 one so he could go higher if he waits a year.   Plus, I imagine he really wants to win a national championship and go 4-4 in Cameron.  
• Lawson's play against an athletic Kansas back court probably convinced many scouts that he is still not ready to face the superior athletes every night in the NBA.
• Ellington was probably the most improved Carolina player on the squad.  He made giant strides on both ends of the floor - augmenting his three-point shooting by developing a nice floor game on offense and dramatically improving his defense.  That said, he is still pretty skinny and could probably use another year to fill out his frame and develop the endurance on his way to becoming a fusion of Rip Hamilton and Reggie Miller.
• Obviously, if all three come back Carolina will be favored to win the ACC and NCAA championships.   The ACC should be a lot better next year.  Virginia Tech, Wake and Georgia Tech will be improved, Miami should be pretty good, Clemson will be better, and Duke will at least finish 8-8.   But no matter what those teams do, Carolina will be the team to beat.

Other Random Notes

• Nats finally ended their 9 game losing streak this afternoon against the Braves.  This team has no margin for error, so with Zimmerman and Kearns both struggling the offense has been terrible.  If those two hit, and Wily Mo does too, the Nats could be decent.  Milledge has played well, though on defense he is still a work in progress in center field.
• Do not be surprised if the Wizards make the Eastern Conference finals this year.  They will probably play the Cavaliers in the first round, a team they match up with fairly well and also a team they Zards really want to beat.  That would likely mean a series against the Celtics in the second round, and Washington has beaten the Cs three out of four this year.  Two of those wins came without Gilbert Arenas, too.  My man Brendan Haywood has held KG in check in each of those wins, and Caron Butler has owned Paul Pierce. Don't be surprised if they take Boston in six games.

Bragging on the kids

• For consecutive nights, Ariadne and Evan were the best kids on their respective stages.  On Friday night, our school put on the musical Annie.  Ariadne played Lily St. Regis, and she sparkled!  She's always been good on stage, whether we're talking about Greek school programs, dance recitals, or other school plays. I'm obviously biased, but she has IT.  On stage Ariadne's charisma is unmistakable and unstoppable.  She also has great comedic timing and has a great physicality, too.  It made us very proud to watch her, and I also enjoyed the kudos from other parents after the show. You should have seen her in her blonde wig, lipstick and high heels. Ariadne has it. 
• The next night Evan played in his first Little League game with live pitching.  He went two for two with a walk, including a bases loaded single. Trailing 9-10 entering the bottom of the sixth and final inning, Evan led off against the other team's best pitcher.  He quickly fell behind 0-2 - one called, one swinging - after two nasty pitches.  But Evan dug in, fouled off three other nasty pitches including one tough inside pitch, and eventually coaxed a walk out of their pitcher.  It was an impressive at bat.  He later came around to score the tying run, and his team won 11-10.  
• Evan also pitched one inning, and excelled on the mound too.  He pitched a shut out inning that featured two strike outs, one nice grab in the outfield by his teammate Max, and a nice little fist pump after getting a strike out to end the inning.  He had a great game and led his team to a nice come from behind win against an older team.
• Anyway, I felt very fortunate to be their dad this weekend.  

Kansas Wins

Hats off to the Jayhawks.  They didn't wilt against Carolina's comeback, and stayed tough down the stretch to send tonight's game into overtime.  

Carolina's loss was a tough way to go out, but is there a worse way to lose a game, any game, but especially a game for the national championship, than to lose it at the free throw line? 

Memphis talked about making free throws when they counted, but they couldn't deliver tonight.

But give Kansas credit - they made shots.   

24 hours later

Hate to admit how much losing last night still bothers me.  In the scheme of human events, who cares who wins? Obviously I care more than I should.  

I've told some of you this story, but when Carolina won Dean's second championship in 1993, I was obviously excited.  But then it struck me around 2 am, as I watched SportsCenter rerun the highlights for the third or fourth time, that tomorrow my life would be exactly the same.  Outside of deciding which commemorative t-shirt to buy, nothing else would really change.

So for fans like me, it really doesn't matter.  But I think one reason I feel so bad is the genuine hurt I feel for the players and coaches. This was such a great Carolina basketball team, very likeable and easy to root for.  You had Hansbrough, who gives the most honest effort of any athlete on the planet, classy leaders like Marcus Ginyard, a player like Quentin Thomas who rose to the occasion after four years of being an afterthought, electrifying players like Danny Green who delivered all season despite dealing with a father in prison and who gave Heels fans THE highlight of the season in his fast break dunk and humiliation of Paulus on Coach K court, watching players like Ellington, Lawson, Stephenson, Graves and Thompson get better and better as the season progressed.  I feel bad for every one of them.  This was a great squad, and I wish their season had finished with a championship instead of a frustrating and perplexing loss.

And finally, all of that is backed up by a coach who is as sincere as he is corny.  Roy really cares about his players and about Carolina. He's as honest a coach as Hansbrough is as a player.  That's huge, and makes a Carolina fan feel connected to Dean and his or her alma mater.

I guess that is the reason I feel bad and why fans like me have the nerve to use words like 'we' and 'our' and 'us;' when we watch the Heels we're practically students again, physically and obviously emotionally connected to a university that changed and shaped our lives.  I know I don't feel as bad as the players or the coaches, but I feel bad for this great group of players and coaches, Carolina and Carolina students, fans and alumni.    

 

I thought we had that game

When we were down 4 with 11 minutes left, then when we were down 5 with 6 minutes left, I thought we had it.  Another great comeback by the Heels to add to an incredibly long list of great come from behind wins.  

But Green missed an open 3 with 8 minutes left, which was big, and down the stretch the Heels couldn't buy a basket.

Kansas won this game down the stretch when Collins and Rush made big big shots.  With a little less than 6 minutes left, with Carolina trailing by 5, Collins hit a huge three.   Ellington answered with a circus shot on a drive, but Carolina failed to rotate on a simple drive by Rush that made it 69-61 with 4:45 left.  Why Thompson failed to rotate I don't know, but I think the main reason is he's 19 years old.  Or maybe he stayed with Kaun, and was leery of another alley-oop dunk by the Russian reserve.

Ellington tried to answer but missed an open look.  To add insult to injury Ginyard was in position to get the offensive rebound and put back, but fumbled the ball out of bounds after being bumped by a Jayhawk.  The play was eerily similar to Green's miss with 8 minutes on the clock.  Roy had gone to a odd line up right before the 8 minute TV timeout, trying to get some extra rest for his starters; the Heels had Thomas, Green, Graves, Stephenson and Ginyard on the floor.  The Heels were patient, and Green got a great look.  The ball went in and out - it almost went all the way around the rim before popping out.  Again, making things worse was the offensive rebound.  Both Stephenson and Graves were there, with Graves snatching the ball away from his teammate. Graves lost the ball out of bounds, so instead of making the score 56-58 on the three or at least 55-58 with 8 minutes to go, the Heels get a costly empty trip.  On the ensuing possession Kansas got the ball inside, got fouled, and made to free throws to push the lead up to seven for a 4 or 5 point swing against the Heels.

Very tantalizing, very frustrating. 

Give Kansas credit - they made plays and Collins, Rush and Kaun kept their wits about them while those around them were losing theirs.  And so they won the game.

After those plays Carolina went ice cold.  Ellington, Green and Hansbrough - the guys who led the great comeback - all missed open shots.  Hard to complain when your best players get but miss makeable shots.

Ellington and Green were especially great during the comeback. Ellington was only 1 for 9 from behind the arch, but had some big steals and big blocks in the second half.   Man, it stinks to lose like this.

The only good news out of this loss may be that Hansbrough, Lawson, et. al. could come back for another year. The Georgetown loss motivated him to lead the Heels to the Final Four, so perhaps this Final Four loss will fuel another Hansbrough-led run in 2008-2009.

Frankly, I think it's tougher to lose a game like this, when you fight back and valiantly make a great comeback only to come up short. I would rather have the Heels get blown out than to lose a game like that, a game that was right there for the Heels to win it in a historic fashion.

I don't know; the comeback showed some spark and fight, so maybe it's better to lose this way.  

Man, tough to lose this way.

But it's hard to quibble with this season.  ACC regular season, ACC tournament champs, third year in a row the Heels go into Cameron and win, the development and redemption of Quentin Thomas, Hansbrough winning multiple player of the year awards, the fact that players like Ellington, Hansbrough, Green and Lawson all got better during the season, capped by a Final Four - all of those accomplishments are significant and better then all but two teams.  Not bad.  

Go Heels!

• I wonder if Lawson was hurt.  After the under 4 timeout Thomas was on the floor, not Lawson.  He had a pretty bad game all the way around, especially early in the game.
• As I posted during the game, I could not believe how badly Carolina played to start the game.  This team played badly against Maryland, had a couple of bad stretches (early against Clemson in Chapel Hill, bad first half at Georgia Tech) but that's it.  They had been fantastic all season, playing legit teams in conference, prior to conference play, and in the NCAA tournament. Just hard to understand how they could come out so flat and trail 12-40.  I simply can't figure that one out; how did that start happen to a team like Carolina?
• As incredible as the start was, the comeback was almost it's equal.  Kansas looked tentative, but down the stretch kept their composure and make shots.  The Heels also failed to make stops at key times, so in the end their defense killed them.
• When you look at the numbers, Carolina took way too many threes.  Part of that was that the Heels were down early, but they were only 5 for 24 from behind the arch.  
• I'm starting to hate San Antonio.  In 1998, the Heels came out flat against Utah and got behind early, made a great comeback, but lost.  This game was waaaaaay too similar to that game.
• I was impressed by Memphis.  The chip on their shoulder may get them their first national championship.

Couple of bad trips

Kansas making some tough shots, but also some bad defense by the Heels.  Why didn't Thompson rotate over on that drive.

Let's get some more stops and pops.

Couple of bad trips

Kansas making some tough shots.  Let's get some more stops and pops.

Couple of bad trips

Kansas making some tough shots.  Let's get some more stops and pops.

28-6 run

Let's keep it up! Unbelievable, again!