1. I slowly, methodically, and nervously filled out my passport renewal application and will mail it tomorrow. I am a puddle of cold sweat when faced with a form to fill out. I hope by taking it so slowly and watching 400 YouTube videos helped me fill it out correctly.
2. Debbie and I figured out our St. Patrick's Day dinner and have a pretty good idea of what we'll serve this coming Monday for family dinner. It's always a relief to get such plans made.
3. I didn't expect much when I turned on the First Four tilt between Wagner and Wright State, but were my low expectations ever wrong! Wright State put the clamps on the nation's leading scorer, Wagner's showboating extrovert Peter Kiss. Yes, Kiss ended up scoring 28 points, but he heaved up 25 shots to do so and padded his scoring output late in the game after Wright State had pulled comfortably ahead.
Two Wright State Raiders, Tanner Holden and Trey Calvin led the Raiders' offense. Holden reminded me of 1978 Kentucky star Jack "Goose" Givens. Like Givens, Holden is a southpaw and scored the vast majority of his points on mid-range jumpers and free throws, converting a high percentage of his attempts and scoring 37 points (4 shy of Givens' 1978 NCAA Championship game effort). He might have hit that 41 point mark, but his teammate Trey Calvin complemented Holden's outburst with 21 points of his own.
In the end, Julie (Fether) Rockwell's alma mater, Wright State, defeated Wagner 93-82 and now face the daunting task of playing Arizona on Friday.
If you'd like to experience through words the excitement of Notre Dame's 89-87 double OT victory over Rutgers, I suggest you track down professional scribes who have summed up this game elsewhere. The task is out of my reach.
All I can say is that I loved watching both teams, loved their energy, tenacity, and courage in big moments.
Honestly, I had two responses to this game as it progressed, and especially as the two overtime periods got underway.
1. I didn't want this game to end.
2. I didn't want either team to lose.
Let's just imagine for a moment that this game foreshadowed the kind of intense, mutually respectful competition between evenly matched teams that we might see in the next three weeks as the NCAA Tournament moves forward.
If it did, buckle up because Silverwood's Timber Terror is a placid drive around Coeur d' Alene Lake compared to the hills, valleys, twists, corkscrew turns, and excitement that could lie ahead as these tournament games get underway.
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