Greatest College Basketball Game. Ever.
I’m prone to hyperbole. And hyperbole in headlines helps bring readers. Was last night’s six overtime marathon between Syracuse and Connecticut the greatest college basketball game ever played? Probably not. But let’s take a closer look: The Stakes This is where this game is lacking. The quarterfinals of the Big East tournament just can’t match the intensity of an NCAA tournament game. In this case
each team was guaranteed a spot in the Big Dance regardless of outcome. For these teams
however
the stakes were high. It’s a pretty intense rivalry and a prime-time game at Madison Square Garden is a big deal for these players. Also
UCONN had lost 4 straight openers in the Big East tourney and wanted this game badly. And Syracuse is working to improve its seeding. It was big to these teams
but hardly matched the stakes of a National Championship game or even a game like Duke-Kentucky in the East Regional Finals of 1992. Quality of Teams UCONN is one of the top 4 teams in the country. They’ve been ranked #1 twice this year and
despite the loss
I think they’ll still be a #1 seed in the NCAA tourney. Syracuse was ranked as high as 8th this year and have already beaten Big 12 champ Kansas
Top 5-ranked Memphis and Florida out of conference. These are two very good teams playing in the nation’s toughest conference. Again
are they Duke and Kentucky from 1992? Not quite. But they can match up with just about anyone in college basketball this season. Historic? That’s where this game has an advantage over most others. Only a 1981 game between Cincinnati and Bradley went longer (7 overtimes)
but the final score in that game was just 75-73 because that was before the shot clock. Two games in the 1950s also went to 6 overtimes. This game is more impressive than any of these because of the shot clock. That entire 7 OT game totaled 148 points. Syracuse and UCONN scored a combined 102 points in overtime alone (and 244 total). The shot clock changes everything. Before the shot clock
teams could rest on offense
milking the clock. Now
teams must continue moving
getting just 35 seconds per possession. This 6 OT game was significantly harder on the players than any previous college basketball game ever played. The Numbers Record for points scored in OT: 56 (Syracuse) Record for total points scored in OT: 102 Minutes played by Johnny Flynn: 67 of a possible 70 Total FGs made-attempted: 82-209 Total FTs made-attempted: 64-93 Players who fould out: 8 (four for each team) Drama This game had it all. UCONN never lead by more than 4 points in regulation. Syracuse lead by 7 points with 4 minutes left
but UCONN came back to tie it with 4 seconds left. Syracuse then hit what appeared to be an amazing buzzer-beating 3 point shot
but after a long review
the refs waved it off. In the first OT
UCONN lead by as many as four but Syracuse tied it on a dunk at the end. In the 2nd OT
UCONN never lead by more than 2 and just missed a half court shot at the buzzer. In the 3rd OT
lead by 6 with must 2 minutes remaining
but Syracuse hit a three pointer with 10 seconds left to tie it up. In the 4th OT
UCONN again never lead by more than 2 points. In the 5th OT
UCONN lead by three
but Syracuse again tied it. In the 6th and final OT
Syracuse took the lead on a three pointer on the opening possession. It was their first lead since regulation. They had played 25 minutes of OT basketball without leading once. But after that three
they never looked back
winning by 10 points. Final Thoughts Is it greatest game ever played? Probably not. The closer you are to the game
the more likely you are to overstate it’s importance. I doubt this game is remembered 15 years from now like the Duke-Kentucky game of 1992. In fact
I’d site two other games involving Syracuse in the last 20 years that are more memorable to me. First
the 1996 game against Georgia in the NCAA tournament
that included a buzzer-beater at the end of regulation to tie it and a John Wallace 3-pointer at the end of OT to win it. And second
the 2003 Finals when Carmelo Anthony lead my Orange to a title over Kansas. It was a great
great game. One I will never forget and one that will stand in the record books for a long time. But it’s not the greatest game ever.
Grading the South Carolina poker legalization hearing
I showed up early for Monday’s South Carolina Senate subcommittee hearing. Up for debate and public input were two bills that would effectively make legal home poker games and charitable raffles. South Carolina is one of two states in the country that bars raffles (thanks to Utah for making us seem less antiquated and ridiculous). The Palmetto State also makes any game with cards or dice illegal (read: poker
Monopoly
bridge) etc. With that in mind
you might expect the decriminalization hearing on the 200 year old law to be ridiculous. You would be right
you just don’t know how right you are. By the end of it
I was so frustrated I couldn’t even speak clearly. So
after the jump
I grade the major players’ effectiveness (Note: this is for more than South Carolina poker players
as the national Poker Players Alliance had big role in the hearing). Poker Players Alliance: The PPA
the most legitimate of all the poker advocacy groups in America
has spent a great deal of time and effort in South Carolina recently. It supported the Mt. Pleasant Five in a February trial (see your April issue of Bluff Magazine for my article on the subject) and has been exceptionally vocal about legislative efforts here. The PPA surprised me by pulling on board one the state’s most respected legal minds. Billy Wilkins
former chief judge of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals
spoke on behalf of the PPA. While Wilkins could’ve been briefed a little better on the subject matter
he was expectedly well-spoken. It was was a coup for poker players to have Wilkins on their side. I would never have guessed the poker industry could’ve pulled such a big name from the local pool. The PPA also did a great job of rallying the troops to the meeting. Its online outreach was hard to miss. All of that said
the PPA still has some issues it need to address if it wants to be a serious force. It could have done a much better job lining up and briefing people who planned to testify. One of the better parts of organizing grass roots efforts like this is making sure your people are all on the same page and are well-educated on the subject matter. The PPA needs people who know how to do more than send out e-mails. It needs to be pushing hard in the media
rallying larger groups of people
and educating the masses. A media campaign couldn’t hurt either. Finally
the PPA’s social media strategy was either badly conceived or badly executed. Here are a few examples of the Twitter messages sent out to more than 1
200 Twitter followers during the meeting. “at the Greenville NC poker hearing which just started.” “Greenville
opposition just said that no one has every been arrested for playn poker n SC! Read the paper much?” “Greenville
opposition sweating bullets right now.” “opposition doesn’t support charities that save lives w/ funds received from raffles.” “opposition does not support the burn center thats supported by charity events.” “Franky’s Fun Park is full of games of skill not chance! LOL” “opposition doesn’t support personal responsibility. ” “opp doesn’t support Sheriners.” “looks like were rapping up.” There were a ton more like that. From misstating where we were geopgraphically
to rampant spelling mistakes
to out-of-context immaturity
the Twitter feed was embarrassing. I couldn’t figure out who was sending the messages. He might be a really good guy
but he needs a better understanding of both social media and reasonable
mature ways to win hearts and minds. If the Tw
itter feed was the PPA’s only voice
I would not associate myself with the group. Said B.J. Nemeth
top poker writer
“These tweets sound absurd. You’re making it sound like anti-poker people hate children
charities
and puppies. Clearly untrue.” The PPA has come a long way recently and I still wholeheartedly support the group’s mission. It’s clearly on the right track. It just needs some good counsel on how to handle some of its outeach efforts. Grade: B- A few poker and raffle proponents
including your humble correspondent in the background and on the edge of a mental breakdown The legislators: Several legislators from around South Carolina came to Greenville. It started about as badly as you might expect. Committee Chairman Robert Ford is from the Low Country. He likes to party and is a laid back guy. He’s obviously from the coast. The problem is that his brand of humor doesn’t play here. He knew coming into the Upstate that he was going to be facing a very conservative crowd. Rather than respect it
Ford started the meeting by saying
“I guess since we’re in Greenville
we need to start with a short prayer. We didn’t do that in Charleston.” There is no greater way to tick off a group of praying people than saying
“I guess we’ll do it since we’re in your house
but we wouldn’t do it we were home.” Ford is a fun guy
but he is not one to sway hearts and minds. He seemed more intent on debating that convincing. Bad play
sir. Senator Jake Knotts
a retired cop from Lexington County (around the state capital)
is no better. While obviously being in favor of the bill
he spent more than half his time arguing on tangential subjects such as whether the stock market was gambling and whether a local arcade contains games of chance or skill. He also left before the hearing was over (I know
because I left two and half hours into it and he was ahead of me in the parking lot). Knotts is a fierce advocate for whatever he believes in. Sadly
most of the time he throws a punch
he misses his target and hits the referee. Senator Brad Hutto is yet another Democrat from the coast. He is seemingly a smart guy. He also listens very well. Unfortunately
he stayed too quiet through most of the meeting. He could’ve used what seemed to be his openmindedness to convince the opposition. Instead
he sat and looked annoyed. I don’t blame him. I looked annoyed
too. Senator Phillip Shoopman is actually from the Greenville area. Despite apparently being opposed to the law change
he was also level headed. He seemed to imply he could handle a poker home game decriminalization measure as long as it didn’t involve opening up the state to new raffles. Of all the opponents in the room
he was the most reasonable. I appreciated his ability to disagree with me without resorting to name calling and being judgmental. Senator Mick Mulvaney from York County won the day. If there was an eye-on-the-ball legislator Monday night
it was Senator Mulvaney. Erudite
polite
and mature
Mulvaney was exactly what the conversation needed. If the entire legislature was made up of people like the York Co. senator
there might be a little more confidence in the intelligence of the body. Mulvaney is a Republican and we disagree on many subjects. That said
I can respect his style and his ability to allow me to disagree with him without resorting to tired and childish forms of debate. I’m quite pleased the lawmakers are taking the time to deal with this thorny issue. I’m less impressed with their way of handling their detractors. I covered lawmakers from 1996 to 2005. I’d forgotten how disenchanted I was with the people and the politics. I got a quick reminder Monday night. Grade: C- The Anti-Gambling lobby: Wow. I mean
wow. I know I live in the conservative part of a state that is one of the most conservative of the nation. I’ve seen the huge anti-gambling forces fill gymnasiums to fight against video poker. I know there are people who don’t like gambling around here. I get that part. That said
the folks who came out of
the woodwork to fight the possibility of raffles and legalized poker home games were just…impressive. Chief among the detractors was Tony Beam
a conservative radio host and bigwig at a Southern Baptist university in the north part of Greenville County. Well-spoken and persuasive
Beam is a debater of the first order and has all the charisma of Rush Limbaugh. He is also the king of the straw man. He and Bob Jones University professor Dr. Bob Taylor (a doctor of math
if you can believe it) both rallied the troops by stating that allowing raffles and home games would open the door to casino gambling in South Carolina. They state this despite the fact the bills clearly state that such gambling would be strictly forbidden. They state it because the only way to really rally the anti-gambling crew is to offend their sense of morality. They would get nowhere if they said
“Fight against people’s rights to play cards in their own home! People playing poker in their home could turn your children into sinners. Charitable raffles in churches are the agents of Satan.” Even the most fervent of gambling haters would have a hard time getting a rise out of that. So
the detractors create the king of the straw men: home poker games and church raffles will mean MGM and Harrah’s will set up shop in Mauldin next week. It doesn’t follow
it’s silly
and it’s just wrong. Here’s the best part. The most vocal of the opponents at the hearing were from Bob Jones University and North Greenville University. Both are privately funded schools and take no state money. Fair enough. That said
their student body is made up of students who are there on scholarships. Many of those scholarships are funded by…wait for it…the South Carolina lottery. Later Monday night (yes
at a poker game) a graduate of Bob Jones University (who financed his way through school gambling on backgammon) asked why I thought his alma mater was so fervently against home poker games and raffles. Without understanding the motivation fully
I answered. First
they want to impose their morality on as many people as possible. Second
it’s an opportunity to be heard. They are an interest group and an interest group is nothing without an issue to fight for or against. And so
the stickers that say “No new gambling” on their chests. And so the tear-filled speeches about lost families. And so the wavering voice of a radio host who talks about the people he has brought back from the brink of video poker addiction. This is all because the American Legion wants to run a raffle to support its charities. This is all because I want to check-raise my friends in a cheap game of poker. Right. In short
the opposition is a lot like the proponents of the bill. They are so morally offended by the other side
they can’t bring themselves to make a legitimate argument. They are exceptionally devoted and charismatic
but they need to read a book by Dale Carnegie. Grade: C- Poker players: Despite a massive turnout in favor of the bill
a good portion of the people in the audience were there in support of charitable raffles. The local poker community is huge. Not enough of the players cared enough to show up. I knew going in that my presence wasn’t going to make much difference. I was going anyway
but felt better about it when G-Rob said
“Nothing ever got changed by people doing nothing.” I was disappointed by how few of my fellow poker players showed up. Grade: D It’s clear I’m frustrated. I’d hoped to write something a little more positive about the hearing. Sadly
nothing positive came from the hearing. The people on my side were unfocused
tangential
and irrational. The people on the other side were unfocused
tangential
and irrational. It was an act of legislative and advocacy masturbation and I am sad that I wasted nearly three hours of my life in the middle of it. Because I’ve converted to Optimism
I look forward to what’s to come. Because I still have latent fatalist tendencies
things don’t look too good–for other side. Photo courtesy Green
villeOnline.com
Dead Again
(Posters Warning : CJ told me this blog now has a more diverse focus. I still plan to stick to gambling in some sense. Because I am a problem gambler
this still leaves an immense range of topics about which I can
and will
post. I just felt like writing again.) I saw a wookie bounce off the hoods of three cars. He streaked past me
with clumped hair flapping and woozy knees wobbling
presumably running FROM something that only he could see. With wookies there’s an equal probability that he’s running from : A) The Law. B) His Past. C) His Imagination D) Soap. He’d just run down our aisle when he darted between cars
bouncing off one
into another fender
then off a hood. I thought he got away. I later heard he was slammed down by three cops. For those of you playing at home
that’s “A”. Now
generally I like to get all settled in before wookie watching
but since this is the first Dead tour in years I was prepared for anything. My wife
brother and I got to Greensboro at least 3.5 hours before showtime. Presumably enough time to either drink a dozen beers or wait once in the porta-potty line. The good news is that most of the salesmen were pretty savvy. That’s unusual for a wook. The two most active undercover cops were a big burly guy in a yellow shirt that said “Dead” and another guy
also burly
but at least 6 foot 6 with a crew cut and a blue ‘do rag. I saw douche-rag guy hit up one pipe vendor near our car. Pipe vendor was holding his glass in a black case and strolling down our lane when douche grabs a random pipe and whips out a wad of cash. My car was blasting tunes at the time and I couldn’t hear everything said but I saw douche-rag point several times to the “bowl” portion of this young wooks glass. Wook
again
was savvy. The only part of the conversation I actually heard was wook telling cop
“These are for tobacco man. I could hook you up with THAT if you want.” Cop grabbed his money back from the wook
put the glass back
and stormed away without a word. That’s the gamble that is the Dead lot these days. I remember back in the day
we’d see more of everything than you can imagine ( I mean wow
really
everything) and the cops did nothing. It used to kinda freak me out the way cops would just ignore all the obvious
illegal activity at a GRATEFUL DEAD show. Maybe Jerry was responsible for greasing the locals
but the cops ain’t cool these days and they haven’t been for quite some time. Granted
like the wookies themselves
some people deserve what they get. One kid
a girl who I’d say was about 17
came by our car holding a ticket in her hand. She showed it to me….busted for drinking in the lot. Now
here’s where she got super-extra-mega-dumb. Her girlfriend was in the process of getting busted by yellowshirt guy (who again
could have just worn the uniform for all the subtlety he brought to undercover work) and our kid goes up to give her friend a hug. During the bust. While holding an open beer. Sigh. These are tomorrow’s leaders. So once inside we take totally excellent floor seats just to by the soundboard (Philside) and I continue the now standing bet I have with Pauly. We each pick 3 songs for 1st set opener. 3 more for second set. 3 more for encore. I took $20 off him when Phish opened with Fluffhead at Hampton. We pushed all three for the dead. Here’s the setlist for those who care : Set 1 Music Never Stopped Jack Straw> Estimated Prophet > He’s Gone > Touch of Gray I Need a Miracle > Truckin’> Miracle Set 2 Shakedown Street All Aong The Watchtower Caution Jam Drums Space Cosmic Charlie New Potato Caboose Help on the Way > Slipknot! > Franklin’s Tower Donor Rap Encore: Samson and Delilah Some notes : I love Music Never Stopped but am unable to NOT hear Donna scream OHHHH YEAH at crucial parts of the song. I’m not sure what that means. I’ve never actually SEEN Donna but that’s what years o
f bootleg cassettes will do for a man. My brother and I really
really
really
really
really
wanted to see Estimated Prophet simply because we like screaming AH NA NA NA NA along with Bobby Weir. We’re amused by simple things. He’s Gone was written long before Jerry died but when you’re touring without him you do know the audience assumes it’s ABOUT him now….right? Miracle was the highlight of the first set. I got stuck in the beer line during Touch of Grey and missed part. In fact
I missed so much that I missed Truckin’. I was so oblivious to it that I PICKED Truckin’ as one of my 3 second set openers with Pauly. It was a dumb bet. I enjoy the song Shakedown Street very much. I also Enjoy All Along the Watchtower and Warren Haynes really shredded it up on this one. Caution was awesome and this is the best thing about having Warren play with the band. He can actually sing the blues. Not the douchey Bobby Red Rooster blues but the good ol’ Pigpen brand. If you get to see the Dead this year
hope that they play this song. During Cosmic Charlie my wife said
“you know the DEAD never played this but all the after-bands (Phil
Ratdog
the Dead) play it all the time. I wonder why.” Then they played New Potato Caboose. Wow. I don’t even own a bootleg version of this soon. I couldn’t remember the name until it was half-over. I do remember that “touching makes the flesh cry out loud.” That counts for something. The band started the Help>Slip>Frank at 11:30. That’s 4 hours in. My brother and I assumed all day
it being Easter and all
that we’d see either Promised Land (my guess) or Greatest Story Ever Told (his). Samson and Delilah is what we got. C’est la vie. This is the kind of crap I blog about now. It did contain some gambling. That counts.
