On the Plate … 1/19/05 - 1/23/05

The Peaks & Valleys of a Health Issue

News Flash! I have an illness. News Flash! This isn't new news.

And neither is the fact that my illness is hereditary.

Rewind to last Wednesday…Villanova (66) at Boston College (67).

"F it, this team is going to kill me. Seriously. It's a health issue. I can't keep doing this." -- my Dad

Fast forward to Sunday morning…Kansas (62) at Villanova (83).

The ride has officially begun. What ride? The roller coaster ride that is being a Villanova fan.

Over the past seven days, 'Nova has lost to Georgetown at home at the buzzer, has given up a six-point lead with one minute to go at BC, and has dismantled the #2 team in the nation on national TV. Does this make any sense? Of course not. It never does. It is the "disease" that afflicts my father and I year in and year out. And we keep coming back for more. Are we idiots for taking the pain? Sure, we are. But do we love it. Sure, we do. What a week. One thing I've learned in the past week is that antibiotics from Kansas taste really good. Definitely not Robitussin. Definitely Dimetapp. Grape-flavored.

The perpetual feeling of nausea from four days ago has turned into a window of euphoria. Did I want to hurl after the BC game? Obviously. Did I want to make naked snow angels after the Kansas game? Clearly. And fortunately, or unfortunately, this is only the beginning. January hasn't even ended. And we all know that the illness worsens in February and early March. But I'll take it. The team has life again. The kids just have to keep the momentum going. And that's what frightens me. Frankly, I couldn't be more scared about this Wednesday's game against Notre Dame. I don't even want to think about it. It gives me the mouth sweats.

Apparently I have documented my familial illness well enough that I received some gem messages over the past week regarding VU's ups and downs…

A text message I received last Wednesday from a buddy who happens to be a BC grad…"Tough game for 'Nova. Sorry. How's your Dad holding up?" At the time, my response was…"Not good. But let me finish throwing up and I'll get back to you."

Text messages I received after Villanova's blitzkrieg on Kansas…"Villanasty" ; "Cats are for real!" ; "Holy f'ing Nova!" ; and my favorite - "How do you spell Super Bowl? V-I-L-L-A-N-O-V-A."

Last Thursday morning I sent an email to my Dad. It read something like, "The Cats are OK. Believe."

So far, so good on the believing tip.

A little stream of consciousness regarding action from the last week…

For all of the xrap I have given Digger Phelps over the last year, that drunken bastard picked Villanova over the Jayhawks yesterday. Maybe he's a GD genius after all. And maybe I'm the drunk. Don't get me wrong, he's still an absolute moron, but for the time being, he's OK by me.

I totally "miswrote" last week regarding Pete Gillen. I think I wrote that Gillen "is now sweating." Correction - Gillen is always sweating. And if UVA doesn't fire him at the end of the year, then they've clearly given up on hoops in Charlottesville. The Cavs are a joke.

How the hell has Virginia Tech won 3 ACC games? Last Wednesday they beat the Dumbest Team in America and on Saturday they went into Atlanta and shocked the Yellow Jackets. Absolutely unfathomable. Speaking of the Jackets, I had no idea that BJ Elder's injury would have such a big affect on the team's chemistry. But then again, I don't have a lot of ideas.

The Hoya Paranoia is slowly creeping back into the District. The Hoyas took the 'Cuse to OT last week at the Carrier Dome and they beat Notre Dame at the buzzer on Sunday. At this rate, JT III will be mayor of this town one day.

I haven't figured out the Big 12 yet. Kansas hasn't looked good, even at home. OSU got rocked by Texas last Monday. OU smoked Texas yesterday. Confused? Me too. Monday night's "Bedlam" game - Oklahoma State at Oklahoma - should provide a little clarity. On a different note, what did PJ Tucker have to do to become "academically ineligible" at Texas? Seriously. I'd love to know what Tucker did, or more importantly, didn't do. I'm going to go out on a limb here and assume that a few of Mack Brown's boys probably don't fare so well in the classroom as well. But they remain eligible. I gotta know what this kid did. Does "academically ineligible" mean "assault" is Texan? Maybe it does.

For the record, Texas A&M's floor is gorgeous.

I missed UConn's loss to Pitt on Saturday. I didn't miss Pitt's loss to St. John's last week. Wacky things are going down in the Big East.

Wake Forest is officially on my "teams that piss me off" list. Only teams like Cincinnati can do things like Taron Downey's "it's over" routine at FSU and Eric Williams' stupid gun-waiving act. Small, preppy schools from Winston-Salem aren't allowed to do junk like that. Period.

The SEC is a mess. SEC West "powerhouse" Mississippi State loses by 50 at Alabama. Kentucky is all out to win at Mississippi. (Or as I like to call them "UMiss".) Tennessee wins at Florida in OT after the Gators stomp Vanderbilt in Nashville. And, my boys Vanderbilt, lose at Georgia. F'ing atrocious.

And how can I forget the Pac-10? Easily.

One final thing. I didn't realize that the greatest conversational exchange in cinematic history occurred in Rocky III, but it does…

Adrian: "You're human."
Rocky: "I don't know what I am."

Clearly.