3/9 (Saturday) Quickie

"You can't win them all." -- Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks has the right idea. But Chicago's run sure was fun while it lasted (and, after that start, they are still expected to finish with a Cup title).

Now, the new super-streak is the Heat's. Miami won its 17th straight last night. While impressive, all that matters is whether or not Miami wins the title. (Spoiler alert: They will.)

Georgetown-Syracuse: End of an era. I grew up on Georgetown-Syracuse. It is arguably the defining rivalry of the East (Duke-UNC being "South") and the game of the day in college hoops.

I will miss it, but like Texas-Texas A&M, I don't quite understand why the two schools won't schedule a non-conference game against each other. Is everyone THAT petty? (Answer: Yes.)

So let's enjoy this now -- hopefully the game will have all sorts of clips of 80s and early-90s goodness from this fantastic rivalry.

Kentucky's win-or-stay-home moment: As discussed yesterday (see below), Kentucky's loss to Georgia on Thursday night means that they are now outside the NCAA Tournament field of 68, making today's regular-season finale versus Florida (the regular-season SEC champ) a must-win (short of UK storming to an improbable title in the SEC Tournament).

From Florida's perspective, the opportunity to ruin Kentucky's season (and Calipari's blueprint) should be all the motivation they need.

Oh, and UNC-Duke tonight. UNC has this "small ball" mojo going -- that's something that Duke has had some experience with in previous seasons. As well as the Heels are playing right now, Duke is playing better -- but in a season like this, it won't be a surprise if the presumptive 1-seed is upended. (It won't matter -- if Duke loses today and wins the ACC Tournament, it will be a 1-seed.)

Can't decide what was more impressive: Deron Williams' barrage of 3s to start the game versus the Wizards or Kobe's series of dagger 3s to end the game versus the Raptors.

Hey, Tiger is still up top at Doral -- making today a "watch the leaderboard" (if not "watch the tournament") day.

Enjoy your Saturday.

-- D.S.