1. Christy fixed a bracing pot of corned beef and cabbage/vegetable soup, full of flavor and warmth, a comfort on this chilly rainy day in Kellogg. We also had a crisp, fresh green salad. Not only was this a delicious St. Patrick's Day dinner, it helped strengthen us as we watched the Gonzaga Bulldogs in a tough dogfight against the Ohio State Buckeyes. We needed all the strength we could muster to watch this dramatic game.
2. The Zags beat the Buckeyes, 90-84. Early on it looked like the Zags would win in a typhoon force blow out as they scored the game's first 15 points. But, slowly, the Buckeyes scratched back, thanks not only to their sudden surge of efficient scoring and stout defense, but thanks, too, to the Zags' woeful performance shooting free throws. In the end, though, the Zags started making free throws -- with eight minutes left in the game they had missed 14 of 18 charity tosses for the game. Then, mysteriously, the Zags started to convert them, making 15 of their last 17, a crucial stat. Why do accomplished players go cold at the free throw line? Why can it seem like once players start missing free throws it becomes contagious? I don't know.
Christy wants the Zags to practice their free throws more, offering more repetitions as a solution. Maybe they'll do that. I would think players shoot and make tons of free throws in practice. The conditions in practice are much more relaxed. I've heard of some coaches making players run painful wind sprints if they miss free throws in practice as a way of creating pressure, of creating game-like conditions. I don't know what Gonzaga coach Mark Few's approach is. My guess is that he that he doesn't want his players to dwell on the free throws they've missed, but wants to somehow build their confidence. Making free throws is as much (or more) a mental challenge as it is a physical one. For us fans, the missed free throws are a source of agony. Sometimes those missed throws also make us mad!
3. Cas texted me a cordial invitation to come to the Inland Lounge to watch the Zags play Ohio State, but I declined so that the Deke and I could watch the game with Christy, Everett, Carol, and, for a while, Paul. But, once the game was over, the Deke and I piled into the Sube and barreled uptown to join in the post-game conversations and to bear witness to the handful of local leprechauns dressed in green top hats and other "Irish" regalia celebrating St. Patrick's Day. We joined Debbie, Bucky, Carol Lee, and Jake's party and, a little later, Harley and Candy came in after running the St. Patrick's Day feed across the street at the Elks. We had a merry time and the Deke said her goodbyes and everyone wished her safe travels. The Deke leaves for a month-long visit to Maryland and New York to see Adrienne and Molly and our grandchildren.
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