Here we are again in the best time of the year. No not Christmas. It's college basketball time!
I can wake up on a Saturday, drag myself to the kitchen for a hot cup of coffee and then drag myself to the couch and behold some terrific basketball on television. It does not get any better than that.
Except for Dick.
If I died today and never had to hear the phrase "diaper dandy" again, it might be worth it. Every year I wish for the same thing for Christmas - Dickie V to retire. Not yet it seems. Another year of those annoying phrases, stupid pizza commercials and hearing him plug his charity when the other commentator asks him about Michigan State.
Dick Cheney. Dick Clark. Dick Vitale. Do not name your child Dick.
A few weeks back I got to watch UNC dismantle my Spartans fairly easily, although not was completely as the championship last year. Finally Tyler Hansborough is gone so I can at least root for UNC when they are not playing MSU.
Like today when they played Texas. In past years Texas has been ranked highly and MSU has gone down to Texas to beat them. This year that seems unlikely. Texas is a monster and they made UNC look easy today. Not good for MSU next week.
After that great game, CBS is showing Duke against Gonzaga. Two observations:
1) The HD camera's on CBS seem different this year. The picture quality is different. The picture seems closer and more intimate, more like a hand-held than the traditional TV-camera-from-afar look Im used to. Could be a good thing.
2) Duke continues to recruit the best playing, worst looking basketball players in the nation. What is up with that?
For the first time ever, MSU was ranked #2 for 3 weeks. Before they started loosing.
It is just not normal for MSU to be ranked highly. They are never the best team in America and they are never consistent. I think that is part of what I enjoy about them. They are always emotional and you never know what they will do. It makes March Madness even more fun and they almost always deliver in the tournament. Having them in the championship last year was a bracket buster for my office pool competition.
I really thought they would not be very good this year after losing Suton so I was surprised by the high ranking but its over already. Top 20 is ok but top 10 is a distraction for the boys in green.
The other notable difference about this year is that we dont have cable TV and havent for months. Thanks to free over the air HD broadcasts and free games online with ESPN360, I am seeing all the sports I normally would. ESPN360 is not great picture quality, about comparable to analog cable, but the price is right.
Next month I will have to decide how much the Big10 channel and HD content matter to me and whether it trumps my dislike for cable TV companies.





