UConn 79
Dook 78
The Evil Empire has been defeated thanks to an 11-3 run by UConn to end the game.
Emeka Okafor is pretty danged good.
Go Tech! If they win Monday night, I finish 2nd in our pool. If Oklahoma State had come through tonight, and subesquently beat UConn Monday, I would have won the pool...
As long as I'm sitting here, might as well bitch about Dook.
I hate them. With a most unhealthy hatred. And judging by the noise in the arena in San Antonio, I'm not alone. I'm tired of hearing about them, about how great Coach K is, with his foul mouth and whiny "Everybody hates us" shtick.
When he was a new coach in the ACC he whined about how Dean Smith got all the calls, the refs showed him favor. Now that he's the senior coach in the league, he has the gall to claim no such favortism exists...
Bah.
If he's such a Great Man, why did he have all those losses from their crappy 1995 season (when he was on leave for "exhaustion") expunged from his record and given to his hapless assistant? Even Gary Williams showed more class than that.
And it looks like they'll play Georgia Tech for the title, and will likely beat them easily. And we'll have to hear all year about it.
Sigh. So it goes. Think I'd be used to it by now.
Carolina crushed UConn 6-0 to win the NCAA women's soccer title after a three-year drought. They finished the season 27-0, outscored the opposition 32-0 in the NCAA tournament. Carolina beat #3 Santa Clara 3-0 in the quarterfinals and #2 UCLA 3-0 in the semis.
And two of their three best players are sophomores. Yow.
Guess he's not staying.
I have no idea why Roy Williams wants to come back to Carolina. Actually, that's not true, I do have ideas why, I just didn't think those reasons would outweigh the reasons to stay in Kansas.
But I'm damn glad he's coming back.
Not that anyone really cares except Carolina fans (and Kansas fans, of course), I'm getting a little weary of the whole Roy Williams waiting game. This whole thing has reminded me of the summer of 2000.
The only reason I was ticked that Roy didn't come back to Carolina 3 years ago is: he knew for years the decision was coming. He lobbied for the job in the years leading up to Dean Smith's retirement, according to many, many people. And yet he took a week to think about it.
I don't begrudge the guy turning the job down, I just begrudge the guy taking a week while reporters are camped out in his driveway, after giving a verbal assent (again, according to reports), and then allowing Carolina's program to be humiliated at a massive pep rally celebrating his decision to stay.
Having said all that, I think Roy would be crazy to come to Chapel Hill, and I don't think he will. Why would he leave? He's virtually worshipped in Lawrence, he's built a solid, respectable, quality program. He gets good kids, they graduate, they love him.
Carolina has a mess. We have a talented group of guys who need a leader, and an AD who seems to want to dismantle Dean Smith's legacy. I don't know, maybe Roy wants a challenge...
I predict Roy stays in Kansas, and Carolina either winds up with Larry Brown, or someone totally out of left field. Bill Self would be fine, too. Just not Kelvin Sampson.
Repeat after me:
A 12 ALWAYS beats a 5. Always.
I thought I was so smart, picking Mississippi State to go to the Final Four. Good team, weak bracket... They played Kentucky almost dead even. Good pick, I thought. Even the ESPN guys thought so (not that they know any more than the rest of us).
But that's why they play the games.
Thank you, Butler, for making a mess of my picks. Hope you win at least another game or two, and wreck everyone else's.
Drat.
Wow, two games in a row...
Rutgers gave the game away at the end, although how much of that was due to inspired Carolina defense is debatable. It does look as if the Heels at long last have some guards quick enough to put pressure on the perimeter.
After Old Dominion, they get to play Kansas. So much for the two game winning streak. It should be good experience for them, though. Give them some perspective.
First real game of the season, and they actually looked pretty good.
Carolina hasn't had a point guard like this since Kenny Smith. Felton is easily the fastest guy on the court, even with the ball. McCants is destined to be the leader on this team, freshman or not. May needs to hit the weights and improve his conditioning, but he's got some very nice post moves for an 18 year old; sure his dad has a lot to do with that.
Sure, there's really only one way to go after an 8-20 season, but damn, they're fun to watch. They're going to lose a few to some more experienced, deeper, or bigger teams, but they're going to scare the hell out of some teams, too. The best part is that the guys seem to have some actual team chemistry, unlike last year.
And how gratifying is it that McCants broke Joseph Forte's freshman scoring record?