Madness

I'm so exhausted. I've been under the weather since Monday, the runs since Wednesday, and I haven't been getting much rest, because I've been having a hard time falling asleep. Work's not helping things much either, with the endless meetings, ever-changing requirements, and tight deadlines. So after pulling an all-nighter last night at work (which, come to think of it, was my fault, because I'm so stupid :p), I was finally in the comforts of my bed this morning.

So, did I finally get the rest my body was craving for?

No. I watched basketball.

March Madness was finally on (stupid Solar didn't broadcast any games from the first two rounds), so I was glued to the Sweet Sixteen games, as well as Amare Stoudemire's return to the Phoenix Suns against the Trailblazers.

I caught parts of the Duke-LSU game, which Duke ended up losing. I watched Duke play fairly often this season, since both Sports Plus and ESPN Star broadcast games from the ACC. Duke was due for an upset; they've been overachieving this season, ridiculously so because their entire team is built around JJ Redick (who plays a lot like Ren-ren Ritualo did during his DLSU days, complete with the swagger, that arrogant bastard). As good as Redick is, Duke's just particularly vulnerable when he gets cold, and while it admittedly didn't happen much this season, he stunk it up in the LSU game. It'd be interesting how he'll do next season in the pros.

I actually dozed off in the middle of the Duke game, and woke up just in time to see Portland getting their asses handed to them by the Suns. I love the way Phoenix has been playing this year, with their quirky micro-ball lineups, perhaps even more so than last year. Amare's return gives them a chance to win it all, but to be sure, they better hope Dallas beats San Antonio first.

Again I dozed off in the middle of the game, and woke up just in time for garbage time. The Gonzaga-UCLA game was on. I've seen UCLA a couple of times this season, since Sports Plus also broadcasts Pac-10 games, but I was excited to finally watch Adam Morrison, about whom I've read a lot but haven't actually seen play. He looked great, and his rebounding, passing, and court vision were superb, but I agree with some critics that he's having a hard time getting open looks, even if he makes a fair amount of contested jumpers. Some of it has to do with his habits, but some of it I guess has to do with the coaching. His team depends on him to create his own looks, which is a shame, because he's money from mid-range when left wide open.

During the game the telecast cut to a feed from another match, Texas against West Virginia. The ending was crazy, as WV trailed by three with about 14 seconds left, and then their star Kevin Pittsnoggle hit a twenty-five footer. So with five seconds left, Texas runs the ball to their front court, and one of their guards hit a three-pointer at the buzzer to win it.

The telecast cut back to the Gonzaga-UCLA game, and the Zags were leading comfortably in the second half when I decided to get going, as I still had to pass by the bank on the way to the office to deposit some checks. After an hour and a half(!) at the bank, I was surprised to see when I came in to the office that the Zags actually lost on a late rally by the Bruins. Too bad for Morrison.

- posted by jaemark @ 3/24/2006 08:09:00 PM