March Madness: One Shining Moment

Mario Chalmers FTW!



An incredibly exciting tournament comes to a close as Kansas beats Memphis in the championship game. It was really a very good, back and forth game. Both teams played at such a high level for most of the game that it was difficult to pinpoint exactly why one team or the other was ahead at any particular stage. For much of the game, the story was the Kansas D. But the quiet story was Kansas's intense focus on getting inside on every possession. This is generally a good strategy, and only faltered in the second half when they started taking bad contested shots inside. But without Dorsey in OT, Memphis lost one of the major obstacles to the Jayhawk big guys, and Kansas was able to re-establish its dominance in the paint.

Memphis could have still pulled it out, but they didn't get the performances they needed from Rose and and Douglas-Roberts. As good as those two are, they aren't quite "great". I never had the sense during the game that either one was capable of lifting his game in a big spot like Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony. On the other hand, Kansas didn't have a dominant star either. But their team balance meant that they didn't really need one. When they did need a shotmaker, Chalmers, a 47% shooter from downtown, got the job done.

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I guess that's the one thing that really stands about about this final. Despite all the big names in this tournament - Beasley, Hansborough, Love, Curry - this was a game that wasn't about huge personalities. It was about a true team playing good, smart basketball. There wasn't a whole lot of razzle-dazzle, though good passing leads to some nice alley-oops. There wasn't a whole lot of reckless long range bombing or individual one-on-one play. None of these Kansas players are great, individually. But they came together to form something greater than the sum of its parts, and it was good enough to win. It was an excellent ending to a wonderful tournament. I'm not going to lie - I got some chills watching this edition of "One Shining Moment". And when it ended and the screen faded to black... ah, well, when you live for sports, when it serves as an escape from the pressures of real life, you can't help but feel at least a little bit sad when it's over.

A few other thoughts from tonight . . .

John Calipari:
I really dislike him. He's disingenuous and he doesn't graduate his players and he's complaining about the refs after losing. Loser.

Billy Packer:



I HATE him. Absolutely hate him. He makes incredibly idiotic comments and is more interested in hearing himself talk than saying anything insightful. I mean, sometimes he just makes sweeping generalizations off of premises that are just dead wrong. I'm talking factually incorrect. Oh, and he's also a major conference elitist, homophobic, racist, sexist, and an all-around jerk. CBS, get this guy the hell off the air. While you're at it, Nantz isn't bad, but Gus Johnson needs to be doing the big games. He's the best college play-by-play guy out there.

Marketing:



Look, I understand the need for advertising. I understand that without it, we don't get anything out of the tube except PBS. But you know what? Announcing an official LADDER of the NCAA Basketball Championships, and interrupting the net-cutting to do so, is going too far. Thanks for adulterating such a special moment, CBS and NCAA. I mean seriously, NCAA. You essentially get slave labor from these players who entertain us all and make you a killing but don't get a dime, and you need MORE cash?