Nothing New To Report

Well, today’s update doesn’t actually bring anything new to the table. Last night I only saw a few minutes of the UConn-Oklahoma game, and I caught about 10 minutes of the Wisconsin-Indiana game on my DVR box. Blame it on me managing to be social without the aid of basketball for a change this winter. Anyway, since I don't want to leave a total gap for my Monday night activities, here's a few things I forgot to note from yesterday's update, and other random thoughts:

1) A look over at the Tosa East crowd last evening garnered a bit of a surprise when I noticed that one of the students was wearing The Big Shocker. (For those of you unwilling to link, it's a big foam finger in the shape of the infamous "shocker") Now, don't get me wrong--I think The Big Shocker is a hilarious concept. I've ordered it as a gag gift several times. I also don't think it's appropriate at a high school basketball game. Then again, in order to confront the student in question, there would have to be a bit of an awkward moment for the authority figure handling the situation. So yeah, it was probably best to let that one go and let the 10 or so of us in the adult section who knew what was going on laugh our heads off. And the fact that I did know what was going on helps to keep me believing that I'm not all that old yet.

2) I forgot to give props to the Wauwatosa East JV squad, on a big win last night. I wasn't paying as close attention as I should have been, but later that night when a few of my friends and I ran into the coach, an acquaintance of ours, he was beaming with pride and telling us how they had won with two starters out for the game. Way to go, young men.

3) Again, I forgot a key moment in Saturday night’s game. The guys behind me were talking hoops throughout most of the game, and didn’t seem all that uninformed, but did manage to make one of the more laughable comments that I’ve heard all year. At one point Marquette came out in a 1-3-1 zone. The guy directly behind me looks at his neighbor and says “Hey, Marquette’s in a 1-3-1 zone.” So far, valid observation, but then he continues “I haven’t seen a team play the 1-3-1 in years.” Really? Have you watched much basketball lately? I see the 1-3-1 all the time. It’s probably the second most common zone that I see. Sometimes I honestly wonder what people are watching.

4) I’m hoping to be able to plow through the Wisconsin-Indiana game tonight so that I can give some thoughts. I’m noticing a bad trend where if Wisconsin loses, I tend not to update. And as much of a homer as I am, I don’t want to be a blind homer.

5) Why haven’t I seen the Wisconsin game yet? Part of it has to do with an exchange at the local tavern after the Marquette-Tosa East game. I ran into my buddy The Franchise, who decided to forego his ticket to the game so that he could get 4 more drinks down, and shortly after my arrival he talked a bit about Marquette University’s victory over Tulane. He then looked at me and asked “Do you want to know what happened in the Wisconsin game?” Since I had it recorded, I, in fact, did not want to know what happened, since half the fun of watching a game is the drama of not knowing the outcome. I began to request that I not be told, but then quickly realized that the Badgers had lost and asked for details. My friend Kosta looked at me and asked “How do you know that the Badgers lost?” The answer, of course, was simple. The Franchise hates Wisconsin, and the fact that he was asking if we wanted to know the score could only mean that he wanted to bask in the glory of a Wisconsin loss. He simply is not the kind of guy that’s going to tell you about a 10 point win for a team he hates, because it doesn’t benefit him in any way. Yeah, he bothers me sometimes, but I do respect the fact that he’s one of the few people that knows how to get under my skin when it comes to sports.


6) This weekend also brought a new innovation to my household for basketball viewing in coming months and years. My new beer delivery system has made it possible for me to abandon my cooler, affectionately known as "the coffin" for any living room viewing parties that I may host in the future. Things should be up and running in plenty of time for my 2nd annual 4-television March Madness viewing party. And in a surprising show of fiscal responsibility, my expenditure on the new beer delivery system has also ensured that I will refrain from upgrading to a big screen HDTV for one more year. Only one more year, though, because that is the last device that I need to get grandfathered into my life before I meet a good woman.

7) Saturday night closed with me falling asleep to a Dick Bennett team taking on USC, with former Brewers and XFL announcer Matt Vasgersian calling the game. I can think of better ways to end a Saturday, but this isn’t actually that far from the top of the list.

Hopefully I should have something new for you tomorrow, after I take in a division 3 game at Carroll College hosts the surprising Ripon Red Hawks. And with that, it’s time to confirm with my traveling partner for the evening.