Sunday, April 04, 2010

Sunday (Butler) Quickie

Let's start with this: Mrs. Quickie is currently 5th out of more than 400 entries in the Daily Quickie Readers group. Now, she'll get passed by dozens if Duke wins. But if Butler wins, she will have a Top 5 finish in the pool this year. That's amazing.

More coming tomorrow, but my general thesis is that -- at this point -- Butler wins, no matter what happens on Monday night.

In this case, if Butler loses, they will still be the team/story we all remember from the 2010 season. If Butler wins... well, it would arguably be the biggest championship story in college sports history (and on the short list for all sports, all time).

That said: I don't think Butler will win. Make no mistake: I am ROOTING for Butler. But as good as their defense is, their offense last night against MSU was impotent. I'll credit MSU's defense to some extent, but....

Duke, meanwhile, carved up a very good, very physical West Virginia defense, while stifling the 'Eers with their own D. This Duke team is VERY good, and I think they match up particularly well with Butler.

You all know I'm a Duke hater; regardless, this team looks like a champion. (Which will make it all the more awesome if Butler can pull off the upset -- but it would be a huge upset.)

For all the Butler drama, the most riveting moment of the night was Bob Huggins hovering over the fallen Da'Sean Butler, faces just inches apart, with Huggins stroking the cheek of the inconsolable Butler.

In one image, it became the defining moment of Bob Huggins' career. I have never been a Huggins fan, but that moment displayed a level of coaching empathy you NEVER see publicly.

More (very briefly):

Yankees-Red Sox open MLB season tonight: Holler at me when the NCAA Tournament is over tomorrow night, then I'll be ready to engage fully in baseball.

Thunder clinch playoff spot: It is one of the most dramatic leaps in recent NBA history.

Happy Easter, to those of you celebrating. I will have a Cadbury Creme Egg (or few) to celebrate on your behalf.

-- D.S.

3 comments:

Benji Lovitt said...

Dan, I can't believe you really think this would be the biggest championship story of all time. Bigger than Villanova over G'town? I'm a Texas fan-would it really be bigger than UT over USC in the Rose Bowl? Butler has won 20-something in a row, they are "only" a 5 seed and should have been higher, and no one is calling Duke a juggernaut or unbeatable. Why the hyperbole?

Roscoe said...

Agree completely on the Huggins moment. Completely transformed my feelings about him. What an incredible display of tenderness, the likes of which we almost never see in sports.

Brooke said...

"For all the Butler drama, the most riveting moment of the night was Bob Huggins hovering over the fallen Da'Sean Butler, faces just inches apart, with Huggins stroking the cheek of the inconsolable Butler.

In one image, it became the defining moment of Bob Huggins' career. I have never been a Huggins fan, but that moment displayed a level of coaching empathy you NEVER see publicly."

I was hoping Dan would mention this. I haven't seen one comment by anyone that this display seemed in anyway gay. But if Urban Meyer behaved that way towards Tebow, that's ALL anyone would be saying.

For those who haven't seen the clip, it's here:
http://rivals.yahoo.com/ncaa/basketball/blog/the_dagger/post/Video-Huggins-consoles-Butler-in-front-of-milli;_ylt=AmAJYxaOo8V.hNT_u_M0erc5nYcB?urn=ncaab,231951