March Madness

I've been off the air, as far as Hammertime Sports Commentary goes, for a while, but as the college hoops tournament time approaches (the most exciting time in sports, says I!), expect it to come much more often.

Case in point, Gut Check Sunday - yesterday. Illinois, Kentuck and Kansas all fail to win games on the road against opponents who are decent, but not Final Four material. Will it be the wake up call they need, or did it expose the flaws in those teams?

Watching UNC pull it out over Duke by scoring the last 11 points of the game to win by two was almost unreal. I was doing our family taxes and going back and forth from the computer to the TV. When Duke took its nine point lead, I told Mrs. Hammer, "I don't need to watch it anymore. Duke wins." What I should have said was, "Over? Over? Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor? (Germans? Shush, he's on a roll.) Hell no! And it ain't over now. Cause when the going gets tough..............the tough get going!"

Followed by, of course, "Toga!"



Watching the Kentucky - Florida game made me worried about UK. When th game was winding down, they couldn't get it to Chuck Hayes. Watching three Cats down low pushing, but not exploding to space, made me cringe, and Azibuke threw up a short three to lose it. They were down by one! Why shoot a three from well behind the arc, off balance? Get it to the big man and make them stop him! Argh!!!! Patrick Sparks is actually the cousin of a lawyer buddy of mine, so I want him to do well - but he is NOT the go-to guy for UK. He should not be bringing the ball up. He threw up two ill advised shots, one blocked and one that missed badly, sandwiched around his excellent trifecta. Ronda takes it up for the Cats, drives and dishes, and UK wins. I'm not sure why Tubby Smith let the slow white boy take it up the court, but it was a poor choice. I think UK will be a monster next year, but I'll be surprised if they get past the round of sixteen this year.