On The Plate ... 2/22/06

Separation Days: Part 3 of 5

Observations from The Land of the Basketball Impaired

You gotta love Presidents. Why? Forget the politics, remember President's Day, aka a day off of work for this donkey boy. With the President's approval, I spent the past long weekend in Charleston, SC, one of my favorite places in the world. For the record, my "world" goes about as north as NYC as south as Atlanta as west as Las Vegas and as east as the Atlantic Ocean up and down the seaboard. In other words, it's not that big of a world. But no matter, I'd still put Chucktown up against any spit that anybody is spitting about. This GD town is a little GD gem. One problem, though. One major f'ing problem. The town is straight up hoops retarded. Makes sense, kind of. The College of Knowledge, aka College of Charleston, isn't exactly a hoops powerhouse (although they did make four tournaments in the 90s under previous coach John Kresse). Clemson and South Carolina hoops aren't exactly the most intriguing spectacles in the sports world these days. And more importantly, when it is 70 degrees outside would you rather be 1) At the beach 2) Fishing 3) Swinging the sticks (golf for those not in tune) 4) Drinking 5) A combination of the previous 4 selections or 6) Watching CoC, Clemson or USC play hoops. Yep, option 5 looks kind of money. Nevertheless, when it's late February and UConn at West Virginia is slated to be on CBS at 3:45, you expect to see it, especially in SC when the home teams have already played or are playing later. Right? Apparently wrong. The "game of the day" was bumped in Charleston for Jefferson Pilot Raycom coverage of Georgia Tech at Maryland. What? I'm from Maryland and this doesn't happen. In Maryland, the Terps game goes to the local affiliate channel and the money CBS game remains the money CBS game. CBS never gets f'ed with. Well, in South Carolina it does. So I missed the game. I guess I overlooked the multitudes of Yellow Jacket fans that have relocated to the low country. Right. To make matters worse, guess who couldn't get the Georgetown at Villanova game on TV on Sunday? That's right, this fool. Not having the game caused this little sequenece…

1. Panicking at 38-37 Hoyas with 17 minutes to go as I watched the game over the ESPN 2 ticker.
2. Calling my Dad mid-game (a never ever never ever never do) only to be assured that the 'Cats were playing well and so too were the Hoyas…that it was a legitimate score, not a score of "'Nova has played with their heads up their arses". In other words, relax.
3. Feeling oddly calm enough to leave the ticker and go eat brunch.
4. Sitting down in my booth at the Lost Dog Café in Folly Beach and promptly receiving a call from my Dad who simply said "Cats by a dime." Thanking you.
5. Soaking in my happiness over the W, I decided to eat a 5-pound breakfast burrito and cheese grits. I still hurt.

The cheese grits were money. Not being able to watch any legitimate ball all weekend long was not money. Being stuck with G-Tech/Maryland straight up sucked. All that being said, it's time to drop some X's and O's on what the ACC has cooking in terms of kids dancing and kids staying home…

ACC

It's ironic that I wrote the following before last weekend's ACC action in hopes of getting this ACC junk out before I headed south. Didn't work obviously, but now I'm kind of glad it didn't…

"Does anybody want to step up and make their case to be Dance eligible? Anybody? Miami is apparently getting ready for football season after dropping two straight at home. After losing four of five including its fourth straight to Clemson, sources at Maryland tell the CSG that the Terps are looking to reincarnate those yellow uni's Lefty Driesell-style. At this point, the University is willing to try anything, even those God-awful suits, to put a halt to their multi-year slide. Not so ironically, Florida State is taking its cue from the Canes after getting shelled in Raleigh. Football is played in Florida, not hoops. (Yes, that's a hint to bet against the Gators in the Dance.) And Virginia took the high road by scheduling mighty Longwood for a late February showdown guaranteed to boost the Cavs tournament resume. Right. At this juncture, Duke, NC State, UNC and BC are solidly in with no one knocking on the door. Looks like a pretty weak showing from the 'mighty' ACC."

So why am I glad I wrote this poison last week but never put it up? First…look at how "the Race for Fifth Place" is shaping up…3 teams - Maryland, UVA, and FSU - fighting for one spot in the Dance. Yea, the games might be ugly but at least there's some intrigue. At least there's a race. And there's definitely going to be some kids out drinking in the District during the next week and a half for the Terps and Cavs games. Money.

Second… Boston College (58) at Virginia (72) …the Yahoos have rung the first bell. After beating Longwood (who?) and then getting punked by the Noles over the past weekend, this game was a must win for Team Leitao. And the kids delivered. Of course the game wasn't on TV. I mean I only live in Virginia, but having the game on Comcast is apparently too much for all of the Northern Virginia "in-transits" to handle. Ridiculous. Anyway, with the W, UVA moves to 13-10, 7-6 in the conference taking over sole possession of 5th place. The Cavs had a RPI of #71 (ouch) prior to this game…that will change. Do you think the folks in Charlottesville who backed Pete Gillen over the last several years will be kicking themselves silly if Year 1 Team Leitao wins 2 of their last 3 and finishes 9-7 in the ACC? Indeed, very much so. With three games to go, the way I figure it is if the Cavs win two, they're in. Can they? It's definitely not out of the question…at Clemson on Saturday, at UNC next Wednesday and then Maryland comes to University Hall for what will amount to be a BWDBD - border war dance bid decider. Fittingly, it will also be the last game played in U-Hall. (Look at me…writing U-Hall like I'm down with the Cavs…no so, but I do like the fact that they're back in the mix. And Leitao was money at the Final Four 2 years ago. He and Disco rapped Huskies, and I respect that.)

Third…Wednesday night's biggin - Maryland at Florida State …the winner joins UVA in a tie for fifth while the loser starts to prepare for the new look NIT. Ok, maybe the loser won't have it that bad yet, but the 8-ball will be out and the loser will be behind it. It's not an easy road for the Terps or the Noles over these last two weeks. The Terps head to Tallahassee, then to UNC on Sunday followed by the Canes in College Park and the aforementioned BWDBD in Charlottesville next weekend. Is 2-2 over the next four good enough to get in, especially with an RPI of #43? I don't know, but I wouldn't be holding my breath if I were a Terps fan. I'd be drinking. I can't figure this team out. I thought I could, but I can't. I'm about 3 more Nik Caner-Medley bricks away from not giving a F anymore. And I don't even know why I give a F in the first place. I guess I just want to see a slew of Terps fans make the tournament only to be crushed with a first round L. Terps fans makes bars more fun, or at least more insane. But then again, it would be pretty f'ing glorious if the most obnoxious fan base south of Boston didn't make the tournament for the second straight season. Maybe I'll go to Bentley's dressed as J.J. Redick for the first round of the tournament. See how the kids take it. Maybe I won't. This could be fun.

As for the Noles, they get the Terps Wednesday night, then head to Blacksburg for the "trap game of the year" on Saturday (bet the Hokies). Next week, the J.J. Redick coronation rolls thru Tallahassee and then football season starts…the Noles can pretend that it is Labor Day when they head to the Land of the Canes for the season finale. Is 2-2 over the next four good enough to get in? I doubt it, especially with a RPI of #62. Simply put, the Noles need W's and need to get to 9-7 in the conference. If I were a Noles fan, I think I'd be making sure Drew Weatherford doesn't go on an acid eating binge like Wyatt Sexton did, instead of sweating out these final four games. But that's just me.

What about the Canye West's, aka the Canes? (I know it's Kanye. There's just something about Canes and Kanye that makes me want to call the Canes the 'Canyes'. I have no idea why.) Sure, they've lost 4 in a row but they finish with two home games against V-Tech and FSU split by the road contest in College Park. Three W's in a row makes them 9-7. An RPI of #73 definitely does not help, but the Cane Canes at 9-7 would add some serious spice to "the Race for Fifth Place" and the ACC tournament.

A round of "3 observations" from underneath the Tuesday night lights…

Illinois (64) at Michigan (72) - 1) Welcome to the Daniel Horton show…39 points in a must-win game for the Woleverines. Impressive to quite impressive. I think everyone in Ann Arbor has been waiting for this kind of game from Horton since he arrived with so much ink. 2) With the W, Michigan is officially in the Dance. Tommy A's lads can finish no worse than 8-8 in the conference. Book 'em, and then watch them lose in the first round. 3) The uniform matchup in this game was nothing short of unstoppable…Illini orange versus Michigan yellow…sillified. (And no, I'm not calling those uniforms 'maize' because they aren't. They're yellow).

Notre Dame (74) at UConn (75) - If people don't think Calhoun doesn't pick up the officials tabs at the hotel bar, watch a f'ing tape of the last 4 minutes of this game. The officials should have just handed out guns to the Huskies and given them permission to shoot Irish players at will. And to think that SOB Calhoun whined about the officiating when the Huskies played in Philly. He got his retribution in this one. For measure, check the replay of Colin Falls getting murdered at the buzzer of regulation after hoisting a three for the W. No call. Overtime. Huskies win. I don't care. 3 thoughts…1) I'm glad Notre Dame lost. I don't want them to make the Big East tournament. They're way too scary. 2) I'm pissed Notre Dame lost. Had the Irish beaten the Huskies, 'Nova would have had an extra game up on UConn for the Big East regular season championship as we head down the backstretch. Oh well. 3) Mike Brey should be fired solely based on the outcome of this game. The Irish had this game won…they were up 6 with 2 minutes to go. Not only didn't ND score a point the rest of the way, they didn't run a play, take a decent shot, or even try to get to the line. It was absurd. Brey and his mock turtlenecks have got to go.

Alabama (63) at Arkansas (65) - This game shone on like a crazy diamond. So much so that I'm going to make it the lead into Part 4 of Separation Days…what school in the Deep South is gonna burn because their hoop team is going dancing? As of this moment, the Stardust just put the chance that Hog folks burn Fayetteville to the ground at even odds.

Meanwhile, in Nashville, a man calling himself the CSG is trying to light the statue of Cornelius Vanderbilt on fire. F.

Last shots…

It's about time, Quin Snyder.
It's about time, Mike Davis.

Welcome back Bobby Huggins?
Welcome back Steve Lavin?
Welcome back Rick Majerus?
There are a lot of top notch programs with vacancies. Unemployed no mas? Stay tuned. My guess is no.

Eddie Sutton…goodbye sweet prince.