Final Four Madness

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“Perfection is not attainable, but if we chase perfection we can catch excellence.” – Vince Lombardi

Chasing Perfection

That quote from Vince Lombardi seemed particularly apropos tonight. The Kentucky Wildcats spent a season chasing perfection, chasing history, and in the process did something that has never been done before. They won 38 consecutive games. That, my friends, be you a Big Blue lover or hater, is no mean feat. Each year the national championship trophy is awarded to the one team that can win six games in a row against increasingly formidable opponents. While that is difficult enough, imagine doing it on the heels of 34 consecutive wins! It must be difficult to suffer your first loss in the 39th game of the season.

Still, while I respect the Wildcats for all they accomplished this season, it is difficult to feel too sorry for them. The marquee players will be making millions in the NBA this time next year, and those who return will be greeted by Calipari’s latest class of five-star McDonald’s All Americans in the fall, ready to resume the chase for perfection anew.

Don’t Call Them Spoilers

Those who believe this game was about Wisconsin’s attempt to spoil the perfect season are not reciting the Badgers’ version of the narrative. In his post-game interview, coach Bo Ryan made it clear that his team never discussed streaks or history or perfect records. For Wisconsin, this game wasn’t about them, it was about us. Wisconsin had this way before, in this very game, losing by a nose last year. Kentucky’s record this year was irrelevant. This was about the Wisconsin program taking the next step beyond the national semifinals and into the finals. With not a single McDonald’s All American but plenty of names of their own that will be on NBA rosters next year, these Badgers are one game away from college basketball’s biggest prize. You know what I think? I think they’re the favorite come Monday night!

The Other Game

I didn’t see more than 10 minutes of game time of the first game. Judging by the final score, I didn’t miss anything. Fortunately I was spared the Duke debacle by a terrific Easter weekend service at Grace Assembly of God. Hats off to Tom Izzo for taking the Spartans much further than their seed and probably their ability indicated they could go. An all-B1G final would have been quaint in its own way, but I believe Wisconsin vs. Duke will provide us with a showdown between the best two conferences’ (B1G and ACC) best two teams.

Fabulous Fun at the Final Four Fan Fest

For those of you following along on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook, you saw that my 12-year-old, Ashlyn Little, and I enjoyed a fun day at the Fan Fest in downtown Indy today. Ashlyn attended a free youth basketball skills clinic this morning, and then we enjoyed the various games and activities the basketball carnival had to offer. Well, Ashlyn enjoyed the games. I enjoyed watching Ashlyn. Here are just a few highlights for your enjoyment.

Cheers and Jeers

And now it’s time for the quasi-annual cheers and jeers awards.

  • Cheers to the “Team Stream” offered by Turner broadcasting, which at least gave you the choice of which team the announcers would homer instead of having to just endure their bias! In case you missed it, TBS carried the national broadcast with the “neutral” team of Raftery, Nance, and Grant Hill. TNT and TruTV carried a broadcast with crews announcing for each team as the “home” team. I cycled through all three during the Kentucky-Wisconsin game, and it was amusing to say the least.
  • Jeers to Wisconsin’s uniform designer for making the Badgers look like they just came from a wedding or a prom and didn’t have time to fully change clothes. Nothing could be as bad, however, as Cincinnati’s uniforms LAST year, which were a bizarre kind of camouflage with pink highlights. They looked like ladies pajamas, and I’m completely serious.
  • Cheers to the aforementioned Fan Fest. Very cool. However…
  • Jeers to the collection of college coaches and student athletes who, as Ashlyn informed afterward, “essentially taught us how to flop!” Boooo!
  • Cheers to Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan for his clever quip at halftime, “I can see it in your eyes.” He had just been told by the sideline reporter that Wisconsin’s buzzer beater just before halftime had been ruled a two instead of a three.
  • Cheers to Mr. Parker, the Dad in the Allstate commercial who says “No” to the idiot asking his daughter to the prom.
  • Jeers to the NCAA for the stupid “last two minutes” limitation on reviewing certain plays. Let me ask you something. Does counting Nigel Hayes’ put back that clearly came after the shot clock expired impact the outcome of the game less because it came with 2:35 to play rather than 1:59? On the contrary, it could be easily argued that tying basket was critical to the outcome. If it can also (accurately) be argued that no one play truly decides a game, why make plays in the final two minutes more important to get completely correct than any of the others throughout the game? I know they don’t want too many stoppages of play, but this is not the right way to ensure that. Either every questionable call is worthy of review, or none of them are. This is an inequity that will need to be solved in the future.
  • Cheers to former Duke standout Grant Hill for ironically being the most objective voice on the microphone, even in the Duke game.

A Few Final Four Awards

I will be awarding the final and best awards after Monday night’s game, including one very special surprise award that you will not want to miss. For now, I have just a few awards to hold you over until then.

  • The Bucking The Trend award goes to the 132 hardy minions who picked Wisconsin to advance to the national championship with an original pick. Your faith has been rewarded. (Yes, the pun was absolutely intended.)
  • The Shooting Star award goes to Bill Riley for his meteoric rise from 697th to 16th. Well done, sir.
  • The Best Social Media Post Of The Day award goes to Jason Cooper who posted this gem on the contest’s Facebook page: “Garrison Cooper has officially declared at 8 years old that he hates the Big 10…first Michigan State took him out of 1st and now Wisconsin knocks him out of the top 10. I told him to go back to sleep.” For the record, Garrison has dropped to 12th.
  • The You Asked For It, You Got It! award, sponsored by Toyota, goes to Rita “Someone beat Kentucky!!” Dieringer. Send your thank you card to Frank “The Tank” Kaminsky.
  • The Go Get That Christian Laettner Jersey Out Of The Closet award goes to 5th place minion Heather DiIulio, who needs a Duke championship to win the contest.
  • And finally, the I’ve Been Playing This Stupid Contest For Years And Might Actually Win This Time award goes to new contest leader John Lederman. To win the contest championship, John needs Wisconsin to finish the job on Monday night.

So there you have it. One game left. Two possible winners of both the national championship and Jeff’s 20th Annual March Madness Contest. Root accordingly, and don’t forget to watch for the final contest commentary and awards late Monday night or Tuesday morning in your inbox.

The Wizard of Whiteland

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