The Edge of Immortality

Tyler Hansbrough made his decision public this afternoon. While teammates Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington decided to throw their names into the NBA Draft - each with the caveat that they would not hire an agent - Hansbrough opted against the guaranteed paycheck of the Association and is returning to Carolina for his senior season.

Memoirs of a Former NBA Fan

I’m not an NBA fan. I really haven’t been much of one since my days of working at the bowling alley seven years ago where I watched everything that was on TV because that’s what we did there. And I haven’t been a regular follower of the league since Jordan bowed out in ‘98. (The second comeback NEVER happened.) The last game I watched beginning to end was the 2001 Eastern Conference Semifinal with the huge Iverson/Carter showdown, when Vince graduated from Carolina in the morning and made it to Philly by gametime, only to miss the game winning jumper at the horn. I’ve kept up with the league in passing since, but I haven’t bothered wasting too much time with it since. That being said…

Well, the pain is gone…

…but everything still hurts.

It’s been about a month since I’ve updated the blog, about two weeks since we’ve heard from Mike. Honestly, it’s been a rough couple of weeks, as a sport fans, and as a person. So, let’s hit on EVERYTHING that I missed.

Belated NCAA Title Game Thoughts

It’s 48 hours after the fact, so I’m just gonna go with bulletpoints here:

• “Rock, Chalk, Championship.” Seriously, does Nantz lie awake at night and think of these corny sayings and actually believe they’re cool? In Nantz’s defense, he can get away with mailing in the title game because wouldn’t you do the same if you had been working with Packer for the previous three weeks? There’s also some golf tournament this weekend that Jim can focus on.

The Worst Weekend Ever

15-3-2. That’s what we did from February 12 thru March 28. We were 7 points up with 7 games to play. And what happens? Drop 3 of 4 to close out the season, with the coup de grace AT HOME to a team that hadn’t won in Raleigh since 2002 in a game THAT WAS A MUST WIN!!

Backs to the (Eye) Wall

The Carolina Hurricanes went 9-2-1 in the month of March. The Carolina Hurricanes outscored their opponents 43-26 in the month of March. The Carolina Hurricanes have put together their best stretch of hockey since the 2006 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Yet, on Tuesday night, in Washington, they lost sole possession of the Southeast Division lead, which they had held for practically the entire season.

Opening Night - The Running Blog

No preface here, as I decided to do this at the last minute. Let’s do this…

7:00: George Will says choosing a team to cheer for is a complicated process. Give me a break. Like a gazillion idiots just happened to go thru the process and choose the Sox or Yanks. Friggin bandwagoners.

7:02: Yay… Joe Morgan. Good news is he’s still rocking the Apollo Creed mustache.

7:04: Jon says Hudson should’ve won more games last year. THANK YOU BOB WICKMAN!!

Any doubters now?

The Louisville Cardinals were down 12 at the half, 44-32, unable to fully keep up with the North Carolina Tar Heels in the first half of their East Regional Final last night in Charlotte.  Ty Lawson was breaking the Louisville press with ease, and Wayne Ellington was picking his spots and slashing effortlessly to the goal.  However, Rick Pitino made some excellent halftime adjustments and immediately turned the game around in the second half, the Cardinals tying the game at 59 with ten minutes of basketball to be played.  But for Pitino, there was one problem: Larry Bird didn’t walk through that door.  Robert Parish didn’t walk through that door.  Kevin McHale didn’t walk through that door.

Tyler Hansbrough did.

In-Game Thoughts/Score Updates

There’s usually nothing sweeter than the Sweet 16 during the month of March. Lots of great matchups tonight, starting with Xaiver-West Virginia (which is in progress, X-Men up 10-5 at the 14:30 mark) UNC-Washington St. (about to start at 7:27) and Tennessee/Louisville and UCLA/Western Kentucky capping the night off. I’m gonna try to update as much as possible tonight.

Mike’s Sweet 16 Predictions

Interviewer: What’s your prediction for the weekend?
Me: Prediction?
Interviewer: Yes, prediction.
Me: ……….Pain.

And there will be pain. Probably in the form of stomach cramps and quick runs to the bathroom, but hopefully also in the way of two Carolina beatdowns en route to San Antonio. I don’t remember the 2005 run making me so nervous. I don’t remember being nervous last year. In fact, I only ever remember feeling this way during the ‘Canes run to the Stanley Cup in 2006. I may lose 10 pounds over the next two weeks at this rate. On with the picks: