1. Linda S. I met at The Paddock for lunch today and got in some very serious yakking! (Our food was good, too -- I really like The Paddock's Frisco Burger -- a juicy burger dressed with 1000 Island served on thick sourdough toast). We bemoaned the fact that both the men's and women's basketball teams at the U of O had ultimately disappointing seasons and did our best to get to the bottom of what their problems were.
Linda and I are both dealing with kidney issues and we exchanged stories and information about how we are doing -- we're both doing pretty well. We also talked about Linda's current and my former place of employment, LCC, and discussed the difficulties the college has been facing and the benefits of retirement -- Linda's plans are up in the air. We had a great time together. We both wish we could see one another more often and are grateful for these lunches we get to have when I visit Eugene -- and the lunch we enjoyed in Kellogg a few years ago when Linda and Wayne came through town on their way home from Montana.
2. It's ancient history now, but in both 1979 and 1986, when we all lived in Oregon, I got together with my fellow KHS Class of '72 graduates, Roger and Terry to watch the championship game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament. When I knew I'd be in Oregon for this year's championship game, I floated the idea to Terry and Roger that we get the band back together again and meet at Roger's or Terry's house to watch tonight's game.
As it turned out, Terry's house worked out best, so this afternoon I leapt into the Camry and rocketed up to Costco in Salem, parked the car, and piled into Roger's rig and he drove us to Terry's house in Gladstone.
We pretty much beat the late afternoon traffic and arrived at Terry's well ahead of tipoff which gave us ample time to yak, pay some attention to the pregame coverage, and to have a beer or two and eat dinner.
Terry prepared dry rubbed pork ribs perfectly. They were tender, juicy, and full of flavor. He fixed them just the way I like them -- not barbecued, not messy, not saucy, but easy to eat and really delicious. Terry also fixed a fresh side of cole slaw, rounding out a perfect meal.
In addition, Terry had two perfectly refreshing and delicious pale ales on hand. I started with a can of 10 Barrel's Reel Good Pale (Summer) Ale and then slowly downed a can of Rippin Pale Ale from Sunriver Brewing. Both beers balance their hops and malt beautifully, making them easy to drink and very refreshing.
I finished my second beer before halftime and that was it for the night -- in stark contrast to the how I drank beer after beer after beer and went to the bar after the game in 1979 when I was younger not nearly as restrained nor as mindful of safety as I am now forty-three years later!
3. The game.
Oh, my!
Kansas started out scorching the nets and raced to an early lead, but as the first half progressed, North Carolina simultaneously put the clamps on Kansas, picked up their game on offense, and built a fifteen point half time lead.
Terry's neighbor, Gordy, joined Terry, Roger, and me to watch the game, and none us was rooting hard for either team to win.
We were, however, hoping that something would happen in the second half to make this a closer tilt, hoping that North Carolina wasn't going to blow Kansas out and win a lopsided game.
Kansas came out of the intermission with a renewed resolve and much more aggressive. They went to the hoop harder, they forced a series of North Carolina turnovers, and they suddenly got some sparkling play from their sixth man, Remy Martin.
By about half way through the second half, Kansas tied the game at 50 and we geezers got our wish: this was going to be a tightly contested game now to the end and the result was very much in question.
Kansas sped up the game. North Carolina got worn down. The Tar Heels superb guard, Caleb Love, hurt his ankle/foot and that slowed him down; I don't know how affected Brady Manek was by twice getting unintentionally popped in the head during this game, but I could sure imagine him being concussed; Puff Johnson evidently took a blow to the stomach that knocked the wind out of him and left him on his knees, briefly vomiting; with just under two minutes to play, North Carolina's already hobbled Armando Bacot, having played courageously and powerfully despite injuring his ankle on Saturday, folded to the floor and left the game, having rolled his ankle again.
Bacot's absence meant that Brady Manek, a tough player, but without Bacot's strength, had to guard Kansas' strong man in the pivot, David McCormick and Kansas clinched their 72-69 win by going inside to McCormack late in the game and he rewarded that strategy with two key buckets.
As a way of closing -- and I've probably written this before -- I'm not, as a fan of college basketball, a blamer.
I don't blame referees when teams lose.
I don't blame injuries.
I don't know what might have happened in this championship game if Bacot and Love were at full strength. I don't know what would have happened had Bacot not left the game left when he injured his ankle again. I don't know what would have happened had Puff Johnson not had sit out for a while, after playing superbly, because he had the wind knocked out of him and was nauseous. I don't know if I'll ever know what impact those blows to the head had on Brady Manek.
What I do know is that, as North Carolina Coach Herbert Davis himself said in a post-game interview, Kansas wore North Carolina down. North Carolina was not a deep team -- they have few reserves who play much. In the second half, Kansas put a lot of pressure, both offensively and defensively, on North Carolina and the Tar Heels got fatigued -- and, often, with fatigue comes injury. I don't know if the Tar Heel injuries were caused by fatigue, but I have to think fatigue played a role. Kansas' played an unrelenting style of basketball in the second half after a fairly passive first half, and I think their vigor and the confidence they gained as their momentum built strengthened them to overcome the fifteen point halftime deficit and, eventually, to prevail over the Tar Heels.
It was sure fun to watch this hoop drama unfold in the company of my lifelong pals, Roger and Terry. It's a source of great joy for me that we could, once again, get together for a championship game after not having done so for thirty-six years.
I'm full of gratitude.
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