Buzzers
Some weekend. Friday night I was on the road, covering one of our better teams, FHS (11-3 entering the game), against the #10 team in the state, MHS. MHS had just lost their first game of the year, one they played without their best player, who is the #2 scorer in the state at nearly 30 ppg. They are also…
Reporter’s Notebook – Another First
High school basketball is in full swing in Indiana now. The girls have been playing for almost a month and all the boys teams across the state now have games under their belts. Friday night I covered my first boys game of the year. It was a lot of fun and was another first in my career. The game started…
Some Notes
It’s hoops season, bitches. One more week of half-assed posting while I write my “novel.” 40,000 words down; 10,000 to go. I hit a couple games in the county girls tournament last week. One was a blowout, as expected. It was 10-0 after a minute and never got closer. The other looked like a great match-up on paper. It was…
Young Jordan
Much to my generation’s chagrin, Michael Jordan has not aged well. He came back one time too many, and when he finally left the league was a rather ordinary professional baller. Since his retirement, he’s had mixed success, at best, as an NBA executive. He offered a mean, bitter Hall of Fame induction speech. And he seems to be constantly…
The Decision
Thank goodness, LeBron has made his decision and the world can get back to important things, like whether the economy will ever recover, what the hell to do in the Gulf of Mexico, and how soon Lady Gaga’s 15 minutes will run out. I don’t begrudge LeBron milking the process. He’s perhaps the most interesting free agent ever, and his…
NBA Draft, 2010
Seven years ago (June 27, 2003 to be exact) I launched the first version of TBB. I kicked things off with an epic, Bill Simmons-style NBA draft breakdown. In fact, if you want to read it for old time’s sake, here it is. For a few years it was my tradition to either keep a running diary of draft night,…
Friendly Rivals?
Evil Gail’s comment on my Butler post brought up an interesting point: as with last year’s Missouri team, it was hard for me not to like this year’s Kansas State team. Rival or not, I like teams that have a personality/style, play hard, and have players that make big shots in important situations. This year’s Wildcats fit that description to…
They Pulled Me Back In
So I guess I can watch the Final Four now. Traditionally in the years when KU goes out of the tournament early, I stop watching basketball. When I was younger, it was pure pouting. My team wasn’t playing anymore, so I was taking my remote and going home. Now it’s more to protect my circulatory system. I don’t need to…
Brushes With Greatness
When I was a kid it would have been among my greatest dreams to have one of the players from these little cardboard rectangles walk into my world, big as life. What I didn’t realize is that I’m the kind of fan who needs distance. Duane Kuiper « Cardboard Gods This quote serves two purposes. First, it allows me to…
Mixed Bag
Some weekend. Two days in Kansas City to honor a good friend who is getting married in about a month. Plenty of good food* and good times. A spring snow storm that made travel treacherous Saturday night and the weekend extra memorable. A dicey Sunday morning in which I wasn’t 100% sure I was going to be in any condition…