Watching the game last night, there were a lot of non-game related things I wanted to touch on. This might be of more interest to those of you who haven’t been following KU basketball all season.
- God. In all the player interviews before the game, during all the plays of the game, during all the celebration afterwards, in all the articles about the game, and even in what I saw of the post-game pressers, God was mentioned three times. Just three times. I find that surprisingly low.
- Mario Chalmers pointed to the sky a little while after his game-tying three point shot. This is the classic, “Thank you, God” gesture used in sports all over. Or maybe he was pointing to the Jumbotron.
- Ronnie Chalmers, Mario’s Dad, carried a little bit of scripture in his pocket ((Source: Luke Winn’s ESPN Tourney Blog, about halfway down the article)), and read it to himself quietly towards the end of regulation.
- Calipari, the head coach of Memphis, told a reporter right afterwards that he told God, during Derrick Rose’s one-of-two final free throw appearance, that if they both went in, it was meant to be, and if they didn’t, it was not meant to be.
- Ed Hightower was the Referee for the game. I remember him well from our seven years in Iowa City. His main stomping grounds is the Big Ten, though he’s doing more games in the Big 12 (where we are now) lately. Incidentally, he was also the Ref for the last time KU won the Big Dance, in 1988.
- When they set out the ladders for the net snipping, the ladder was rather modestly emblazoned with the company’s name, Werner. They did get a Greg Gumbel announcement as the Official Ladder of the NCAA Tournament, but really, I would have made sure the cheap seats knew who made the ladder. And nobody fell off.
- Related question: who makes the scissors that are used? Those things are sharp.
- Another related question: Do the ladder/scissor companies cheat? Like how burgers in commercials are faked up to look better than they are in reality. Are the steps gummed up to ensure nobody slips? Are the scissors ground extra-sharp, to a level no homeowner would be allowed to have?
- Bill Self, the KU coach, is reportedly going to be offered the Oklahoma State coaching job (his alma mater) for something like $3.5 million a year with a $6 million signing bonus. That’s $10 million for showing up for a year. Most people seem to believe he will stay at Kansas, but get a nice salary bump from his current $1.4 million annually.
- How classy is Roy Williams (coach of Carolina, former 15-year coach of KU)? He stuck around for this game, and even allowed a Jayhawk sticker be stuck to his black sweater. He even wore it during a halftime CBS interview. I think any animosity Lawrence had for him is gone now.
- It took a little while for articles about the game to get published, but several were out within hours of the end of the game. Which means these sportswriters must have notes, ideas, even partial articles written before the game even begins, right? A collection of these “What if” drafts could be fascinating for a sports fan to read.
- There’s only one Luther Vandross song I can stand ((Official CBS crappy controller with commercial, or Unofficial YouTube sure to be pulled edition)).
- We will probably pick up some sort of Championship DVD Commemorative Video Package Season Thing when they come out. I never did understand that. But having watched these kids for two years, having watched every game this season, knowing their stories and watching them play last night, I think I’d like to watch it again in five, ten, fifteen years.
