The Water Cooler: April 14, 2010
By Bontã Hill
The Guardsman
Fresh off of spring break, it’s good to be active again in terms of leaving the house and having something productive to do.
Yup, all I did for vacation was play video games, log major hours on Facebook and watch Butler University’s improbable run through the NCAA Tournament.
Speaking of Butler, what a performance they put on this March. I know they lost to Duke 61-59 in the national championship game, but they are still the story of this year’s epic tournament.
You would think I’d be bitter about not having one Final Four team in my bracket (not a typo). Watching Butler though, a school with 4,200 students, knock off heavyweights Syracuse and Kansas State to get to the Final Four was amazing. Then they outlasted Michigan State in the National Semifinals. How could you not be inspired by their story?
The scrappy bunch with a head coach who looks like he’s 18 (Brad Stevens is in fact 33) gave mighty Duke all it could handle and nearly won the game on a half court shot from rising star Gordon Hayward.
With Butler being from Indianapolis and playing the championship game six miles from campus, this story was better than the movie “Hoosiers.” Although they didn’t win it all, this is something even Disney couldn’t make up.
What blows my mind is Butler actually attended classes on the day of the championship. Imagine that — sitting in a math or English class with the biggest game in your life only hours away.
I wonder if they were assigned any exams or pop quizzes. You think the teachers excused them from turning in homework that day?
I didn’t do homework during spring break; I know for sure I wouldn’t be doing it before a championship game. Anyway, thanks Butler for giving college basketball fans one helluva thrill ride.
Idiot of the Week
The idiot of this week is anybody who dished out $50 to watch two old men fight in a rematch 17 years later.
Anybody who thought it was a great idea to help promote this fight between Bernard Hopkins and Roy Jones Jr. ought to look in the mirror and ask themselves, “Why?”
No, it wasn’t money because this fight sure as hell didn’t make any. To those associated with this event — fighters included — and to those who bought the fight, welcome to the Idiot Hall of Fame.
Miscellaneous
The Philadelphia Eagles decided to trade their franchise quarterback Donovon McNabb within their own division to the Washington Redskins. I know, mind boggling.
Why? We’ll never know the real answer, yet the two games between the teams have just became a bit more intriguing…
Before I forget, the NCAA women’s basketball tournament wasn’t too bad at all, even though it came to a familiar ending — Connecticut winning the championship and finishing undefeated for the second year in a row. Winning 78 straight times in any sport is impressive, let alone basketball.