Dancing With The Devil

IN BASKETBALL

I hate to do it. I mean, I REALLY hate to do it. But I have to root for Duke on Saturday. All of my brackets are basically completely trash. The only thing I have to gain from any bracket is one at work, where if Duke wins, somebody has to buy me lunch (surf-n-turf, fo sho). This is like rooting for the Yankees or rooting for a hurricane to take out Haiti the day after they clean up from an earthquake. Or something. Just know that I can't stand Duke, but I like getting free food more.

ON "GOOD FRIDAY"

I am clearly being discriminated against at my workplace. Everyone in the office is a staunch Catholic but me. Everyone is going to church today, but me. Normal "business hours" are 8:30-4:30. Although I generally work much more than this. Today is something called Good Friday. I would ask either Sports Bottle or my brother what that stands for. And the bosses in all of their genius and reasoned forward thinking, and consideration for all other religions/non-religions, have decided to close the office from 12 to 3 so that they can go to church. So my options are to drive 35 minutes each way to sit at home for an hour. Or, sit here and surf the Internets (which I was going to do anyway). I guess I sit and pretend to work and then hope they feel bad and send me home at 3. My guess, they will be all full of religious fervor and stab me in the heart with a wooden cross after drowning me in holy water doesn't work (because I have gills).

I'm not sure what the point of this was other than I'm going to hell.

Holiday Tailgate

So I guess I have a Holiday Tailgating party tonight. My wife's employer is having their holiday party, but due to the tough economic times, they are having a strange one. We are gathering at a local sports bar for a buffet with tailgating fare to watch the Jets v. Bills tonight. I'm going to do my best to get them to put on the "Civil War" game between Oregon and Oregon St since it will probably be better. Either way, it is going to be a tad awkward. Especially since I can pretty much guarantee that there will be a total of zero people giving a shit who wins the game, and a total of one person (me) who will even pay the slightest attention. The biggest downfall of this party is that I won't be allowed to get drunk, which will suck. I am going to eat as much as I possibly can, I can tell you that much. All told, as awkward as tonight might be, it will be a marked improvement over the party every other year. Except last year, when they had casino night. That was pretty cool.

NFL PICKS

Last Week: 6-10
Season: 74-76-1
All-Time: 208-202-3

NYJ (-3), Cin (-13), Den (-5), Hou (Pk), Pit (-14.5), Car (-6.5), Ind (-7), NO (-9.5), NE (-5.5), St.L (+9), Phi (-5.5), SD (-13), Sea (Pk), NYG (+2.5), Ari (+5.5), GB (-3)

BUCKY

Well, color me shocked. Bucky looked GREAT last night. Not perfect, but really, really good. And that wasn't a lucky win (despite starting out on fire). They generally were on par with Duke. Duke is not that much better despite being the fifth most popular team in the nation. It was pretty much Singler against UW last night. Trevon Hughes is winning me over, even though he is old enough to be my dad. He forces too much sometimes, but he is clutch when it matters (unlike Bohanan who missed approximately 40 wide open threes last night). And the Big Ten won the "challenge"! Holy. Shit.

As an aside, storming the court was an embarrassment. Was it big win? You bet. But c'mon now. You've been to the tournament like every year for a decade. You probably beat a top 10 team every year. There is no excuse for storming the court. I've expounded on this before, please refer to "Storming the Court Etiquette". Please, stop. You are pretty much proving to Duke that you think they are that much better than you.

Duck Fook

Did I mention I hate Duke? Like alot? Like possibly more than any other sports team, professional or college? It is not a hatred based on a rivalry though. It is a hatred due to class. And a hatred generally based on jealousy. A hate because Duke has had everything that Wisconsin has never had. Duke has a pick of nearly any player they want in the country, every year. Sure, they have to battle North Carolina, Kentucky, Kansas, etc. for those players, but there are plenty to go around. Wisconsin has to do just about everything right, and have just about everything to go their way in order to be a Top 10 team. At one point, it didn't even seem possible that they could ever do it. But, it was shown in a March run in 2000 and in a number one ranking a few years back that it could be done. But if it happens once every 10 years, we are extremely fortunate. Duke is in the position to do it every, single, year. And if it doesn't happen, they are disappointed. The only other team I can compare them to is the Yankees. Unlimited funds to do with however you please, an expectation of championships, crazy room for error. And if it doesn't work, you can just throw more money at the problem. It is something that Wisconsin will probably never have the luxury of. Not that Wisconsin doesn't have lots at its disposal, it is one of the largest collegiate sports programs in the country, and has a great arena and fan base. But it is not a historic power. It will never be Duke. So fuck Duke.

The other problem with Duke is that they are dicks about it. Their players are annoying. Coach K puts on this facade that he is a great human (and he probably mostly is) but then he is on the sidelines reportedly using the worst language anyone has ever heard (which, I fully support, but don't be fake about it). Their fans are annoying rich kids. They are basically everything Wisconsin isn't. So fuck Duke.

This is a matchup that Wisconsin fans have been wishing for for a long time. A chance to get the mighty Blue Devils at the Kohl Center. The problem is, this game is happening at a terrible time for Wisconsin. Bucky does not have the athletes to keep up with Duke. Duke probably has 12 guys that would start for just about any Big Ten team. Wisconsin probably has 4 guys that could play for Duke. The Kam Taylor, Alando Tucker Badgers would have had a good chance at beating Duke. But short of a perfect game, I don't see UW pulling this one out. The Grateful Red will keep this one close. The Badgers have to play their game, which is to slow it down, and get back in transition. If Bucky can make their shots (not an easy task) and keep Duke out of transition (historically impossible), they have a chance. But I think Duke wins by about 15. So fuck Duke.

OTHER STUFF

-Anyone hear the Tiger voicemail? Pretty good stuff. If I wasn't so lazy, I would find audio and link to it.

-Does ESPN have a contract where they are required to show kids dying of cancer every other month. There is nothing I would rather watch less. At least they give sufficient warning, but sometimes I'm in my morning fog and its ten minutes in and they are talking about some kid having his fucking eye amputated before I realize what is happening.