I just kinda sat on the edge of my bed for five
minutes staring at the screen with a blank mind. I’ve never seen a team
play so well on pure emotion. There were times at the end when LSU
should’ve run clock, but it was almost as if they didnt care about
points. They just wanted to play defense. You have to admire that kind
of heart. In my bracket, I had LSU losing to TX. I figured they matched
up evenly athletically, but TX can shoot. I couldn’t care less about my
bracket. I’m so happy they proved me and everyone else wrong. Elite Eight was all ‘heart of gold’ and tonight was a continuation of that emotion.
Buckman was named TX player of the game, but what about Gibson? Holy
crap that boy took some killer shots and nailed like all except one. He
looked like Anderson from UCONN last night. Big shot after big shot.
They’re young, but you can’t overlook commradre. They’ve played together before college for so long. It’s like they just know. Enough can’t be said about the hardcore play of Thomas, Davis, Mitchell, Mitchell and Temple. Temple gets overlooked because he doens’t put up the points, but damn how many points does his D takeaway from the competiton? First, he stopped JJ and now Tucker.
It was one of those games that you hate to see end becaue they’re both such hard fighting class acts. The Tigers taking on the Bruins should be a nice showdown of underdogs.
Two weeks ago I wrote about the Heart of Orange from Syracuse. Tonight, I saw the Heart of Gold out of LSU live from Atlanta.
Exactly what I said would happen…happened. LSU’s quickness and athleticism was too much for Duke. Defense takes a lot of heart. They held Duke to their lowest total since 1996 and JJ to only 11 points. Darrell Mitchell and Glenn Davis lead the way, but I’d have to give co-MVPs to two true freshman in #14 Garrett Temple and #12 Tyrus Thomas. Temple didn’t let off JJ the whole night. I saw JJ get two open looks…he made one and missed the other. Thomas is a blocking machine. Shelden Williams hadn’t seen anything like that all year.
There isn’t much more to say about it.
March Madness 2006 is upon us. It is a huge time for advertisers coming in second only to the Super Bowl. In my opinion, after adding the length of time the tournament runs compared to the Super Bowl the advertising dollars spent are more efficient and effective. Outside of GM, the perennial big spenders for the NCAA Tournament, I think that Applebees must have flooded the most budget into this year’s tournament. Wise in their choice of time purchased…yes. Wise in their choice of creative ad shops…no.
I swear I’m never going to Applebees again unless I’m absolutely forced to do so. I don’t understand how a commercial that plays a parody on the "Gilligan’s Island" theme song warranted being the big spot for them. I would think there had to be some intelligent people making the final decisions that ran some focus groups or something. If I find myself humming this song at anytime during the week, then I will have to sue. I have a hard enough time going to Applebees in the first place, so having to see those two idiots with flooded instruments hustling shrimp does not make me want to eat there.
I can’t blame CBS at all for running these. Someone wants to give you ad dollars, then you take them; but I have changed the channel repeatedly because of these commercials. I do comeback but I’m usually late getting there. I wonder what feedback they’ve had.
Yes, the song may be catchy, but it’s due to the television show not the commercial. Question for AB: You had a killer ad budget for creative. Was this the best you could do? How does this truly increase your brand value? I have seen people literally running out of their houses with their hands over their ears nearly going insane. What do you do when former customers begin to take legal action for causing insanity? If I call your headquarters, will you be playing this song repeatedly while I’m on hold? Finally, was your goal to drive customers away? If so, please disregard all prior questions. You’ve done well.
Three years ago at my home in New Orleans, I remember watching Syracuse battle Kansas for the 2003 National Title in the Superdome. I have always been a huge college basketball fan and I usually remember one great story from every year. 1999, I remember the then unknown Gonzaga Bulldogs getting to the Elite Eight. We all know what they have become. I remember Bryce Drew’s 1998 buzzer beaters. Cameron Dollar’s, of UCLA, buzzer beater to move onto the Sweet 16. I could go on, but they are all the things that make March Madness what it is. It may be about money to the school and the sponsors; but it’s about heart, talent and pride to 99% of the kids on the floor. I remember two freshmen starters for ‘Cuse. They were Carmelo Anthony and Gerry McNamara. They beat two highly touted, and deservingly so, college veterans named Kirk Hinrich and Nick Collison. I have mental burn of Hakim Warrick blocking the last second three pointer to clinch it.
It was no secret that Melo was NBA bound. With LeBron James entering the NBA, it had been the best marketing scheme for the NBA since the Jordan years. However, McNamara had no hype around him other than he was a freshman PG that helped lead a team to a championship. Every year since, he has been the focus of college basketball at Syracuse. For most of the past three seasons, I have lived in SEC country so I am not exposed that often to Big East basketball. It’s a shame because he’s fundamentally sound and fun to watch.
With all the athletes today that walk around with a feeling of entitlement, it’s refreshing to see players like Gerry McNamara. He is not the only one, but he came to the forefront of the nation this week at the 2006 Big East tournament due to Coach Jim Boeheim’s press conference, which is great to see a coach step up like that for his player. People who’ve never picked up a ball and write in papers will never understand this.
G-Mac’s game is what is great about sports and college basketball. A player like this is on every team, but you never see them on Sportscenter. You see them if you’re a true fan…if you follow the players. At the press conference, Coach Boeheim came to the defense of his senior guard. The camera panned over to Gerry. He wasn’t starring at the cameras and trying to show up his critics. He had his head down. He was showing his class and humility. As this year’s Big East Championship run has proved, the man lets his actions speak. He’s not there for the BS. He’s there to play.
I don’t think that ‘Cuse will go deep in the tournament. I think they already got what they really wanted. They wanted to win for their leader. Gerry McNamara may never play past the college ranks or maybe he becomes a role player like Steve Kerr did with the Bulls and Spurs. The thing that matters is that there was a packed house at MSG tonight chanting, "Gerry! Gerry!" showing their final respects for all the heart he has put into the name on the front of the jersey and not the back. Success breeds success and he performed on the biggest stage in the world…New York City. His performance was echoed by the supporting cast because he didn’t win it alone. He’s a leader and a competitor. He entrusted the ball to a freshman Eric Devendorf and sophomore Josh Wright. Bottom line…he’s a winner.
