Saturday, March 7, 2009

Hall Escapes Fifth Third With a Win


Dave and I expect the very best from our players. We want them to give 110% every time. 

On this particular day, however, 110% would not be enough. Given that it was senior day on Cincinnati's home floor, we would need at the very least 5/3 effort, or 166.67%. (Go ahead, check my math, Pete!!)

Yes, that's correct. It took overtime, but our team battled and battled to leave Ohio's famous Fifth Third Arena with a win. Now, it wasn't easy, and even getting to the game proved a challenge. 

After sleeping through our alarm, Dave and I had to high-tail it out of Kentucky. Stopping by Sonic for a little fast food on the way, along with a quick thirty second reenactment of our favorite "reality-style" commercials, we pulled into the arena parking lot just in time. 

You can only imagine our exhilaration when we picked up our tickets at Will Call to find we would be sitting on the floor directly behind the bench!! Yes, there is a God! 

I can say with some certainty we were a part of the team today. When Paul Gause ran out of bounds, chasing a loose ball, Dave was there to give him a high-five. When John Garcia tossed his dirty sweat rag during a time-out, I was there to catch it in my expectant mitts. 

The game was a classic thriller, with a number of blown lay-ups later redeemed with clutch free throws. And while Dave and I were drastically outnumbered, there were a couple other Hall fans in attendance, most notably Sister Stix. Let's just say it's genetic!

For those of you who couldn't make it to arena, here a couple things you might have missed:

- Pistol Pete stands up and claps all the time. So much so that the UC student section would actually scream "Sit down Pete!!" Falcon, if they're calling your name, you must be doing something right!!

- After Stix missed a critical open lay-up at the start of overtime, Coach Bobby G very calmly and soothingly screamed in a earth-shattering voice "RELAX!!!!" Psychology students, this is what we might call a textbook case of the double bind.

- Although the crowd got very noisy towards the end, it was actually a pretty poor showing. Lots of empty seats.

- Nunu missed a couple of shots driving the hoop when it was very clear he was fouled. (From where we were sitting, we could hear the slaps.) Just showin' Eu some love...

All in all, a lot of heart. Okay, well soon our roadtrip adventure will draw to a close, as we prepare for a Big East tourney matchup with South Florida. But not before Dave and I hit up Ohio's famous Camp Washington for the world's best chili. 

Monday, March 2, 2009

My Love


Love and basketball - two peas in a pod that seem to go together even beyond its famed movie title. Just as Seton Hall is always trying to recruit the best players to join their team for the following season, I am also always trying to court the best local prospects in an attempt to join forces with them for my own future.

Upon sending a text message to my top recruit letting her know that I will be in Kentucky until Sunday, I received the following response:

"Oh my god I cant believe it's already Kentucky. You and Ben must be flipping out. I hope that hezel guys hits his threes and gets the foul call...And that sticks performs and that garcias legs stay strong. And who knows maybe Davis wont foul out in two minutes and actually grab a rebound or two. Go shu!"

What do you think? Does she pass the test? Sure, there were some typos, but who ever said love was perfect?