March 7, 2009

16point8.blogspot.com:

On most days in the Southern Conference, not all days, but most days, the difference between Davidson and the other 11 teams in the league is Stephen. Today Andrew was huge, huge, huge, especially in the middle and late parts of the first half when Stephen was on the bench with two fouls, but even so… It seems silly even writing this at this point, ever, in particular in March – I mean, we all know this, right? – but today, for whatever reason, it just jumped off the page:

The ball in the hands of No. 30 is a scoring opportunity.

Comments?

Jan. 29, 2009

More Kruse:

The third sentence of the first AP story out of Chattanooga last night read like so:

Curry hit a 3-pointer as time expired to give the Wildcats a 41-28 halftime lead.

Yes.

Right.

Suppose that’s true.

Then the video of said 3-pointer showed up today, oh, here, here, here and here. And here. Also here. Probably plenty of other places, too, but these’ll do for now.

I could be wrong, but seems to me the shot’s path to everywhere-ness started with local TV news in Chattanooga, then went to DavidsonCats.com, then to personal blogs, then to wider-audience blogs and YouTube …and then to the Charlotte Observer’s charlotte.com and SportsCenter and ESPN.com.

I feel like all this says something important about media here in the early 21st century.

But give me till the weekend to mull that over.

Comments?

After the win in Belk over UTC

Me on Will Bryan’s old blog:

McKillop’s teams, when they’re right, they play with such a level-headed fury.

Jason did his thing, all angles, intellect and body control.

Max was Max. That kid, and I don’t know that I fully understood this before, at least not to such an extent, but sitting press row at Belk for the whole game for the first time in years and years made me appreciate his play more than ever. He plays, defense in particular, with an utter ferocity. You can practically hear his exertion.

Steph was awesome, of course, he of the light that’s as green as green can be. You always know he’s going good, though, when you notice, just as much as the threes, the floaters, the runners, the pull-ups, the crafty little dribble drives that turn into layups that lead to him piling up all those twos like he does all those threes.

No wonder middle-aged men in the stands at Belk wear those No. 30 jerseys. The part of me that’s a sensible adult thinks that’s kind of ridiculous, but I’ve got to be honest here: The proud, almost primal part of me kind of digs the hell out of it.

Steph aside, though, the tenor of Saturday’s game was established just as much by the whole team’s sticky fingers and active hands. Thomas Sander had SIX steals. All of it was a 40-minute reminder that being in the right place at the right time doesn’t have to be an accident, and shouldn’t be.

After the game, in the little press get-together, Thomas said this succinct thing about Steph: “Seeing him feel like he can do anything makes us feel like we can do anything.”

Steph, asked about his 37 points, said this: “We played our best game of the year.”

The kid said we.

Comments?

Jan. 20, 2008

Me, up late:

There are ups and downs and profanities and jubilations -- but they're always there, and we're always there.

That's what it is.

At halftime today, the court was lined with 70 years' worth of men who have left our collective home away from home and made their way out of the bubble to create wonderfully full lives. They came back and stood before us so that we, no longer teenagers but barely adults, could see the significance that this place holds for them, and that there is much more history behind today's dunks and threes and blocks and steals and rap music intervals than we realize. And that our boys, holed away in the locker room planning, have a place in this history -- and therefore, so do we.

It's a humbling feeling. And honestly, it's not humbling because it's basketball and we're oh-so-good at it and we can get national recognition for such a small school; it's because I will always be able to say that I am a part of this COMMUNITY that comes together to support each other, that becomes joyously one in so many ways -- yes, this is only one.

It feels kind of silly to be so emotional about a basketball team, trying to write about it in such a life-altering sense, and I know that my male family members deserve some of the credit for passing on their intense sports-angst to one of their few daughters. But it's that word up there in caps -- the word that inspires so much of what I write, the very real concept that brings a grin to my face at some point every single day -- that leads me to this point. Standing there in that arena that only holds about 5,500 people, I can scream, jump around, sing, laugh, shriek -- I can be completely myself (sometimes with a little extra profanity thrown in) and it's fine with everyone else, it's welcomed by them. I can start cheers if my sports-angsty heart moves me, and people will join in. There I stand in the sold out student section behind the basket, with a very deep knowledge that this is exactly where I am supposed to be -- not only in this hour, but in my life. At this place, in the state of North Carolina, in this dorm room writing at 2 in the morning, not knowing so many things. But it's okay, because this place -- most importantly, these people -- bring me such joy.

And so it semi-started with a basketball game, but it will never end.

Comments?