Mar 14 2004
Where To Start?
I am bloody exhausted but there is sooooo much stuff to go over. Argh.
Let's start with the important stuff. Maryland snapped Duke's 17 game winning streak in the ACC Tournament and took today's championship game in OT. I was going to use this space to complain about the numerous phantom fouls against the blue and white and the amazing non calls that went the Terps way, but thought better of it. You know, we've won 5 in a row and that's pretty amazing. Losing today isn't the end of the world (although it was almost the end of my TV, it was all I could do not to throw something at it) and the Terps should be congratulated. They beat Wake, NC State and Duke in a three day span. That is impressive to say the least.
For all the idiotic calls that went against Duke, if they would have hit their free throws, they would have won the game. I think it's funny that John Gilcrest did something that Joe Smith, Steve Francis, Juan Dixon and Steve Blake couldn't do, that being give Gary Williams an ACC Tourney title. JJ redick had a subpar tournament and missed a shot to win the game at the buzzer (he was 1-8 from three today) and Daniel Ewing had a look at an open three to tie the game in OT but it was not to be. Duke's lack of passing and reliance on one on one play really hurt them today. Lets hope they get it together before it's too late.
Still, Duke got the #1 seed in the South region, which at first glance looks muy tough. The Big Dance start this week. Duke and UNC are in the same bracket and could meet up in the Elite Eight. I shudder at the thought of that happening. I'm going to put together a bracket pool on ESPN for everyone to join just for shits and giggles. If there are any readers out there that want to participate, leave a comment below and I'll send you the info. Go here for a printable bracket.
**UPDATE** Invites to join my online ESPN bracket have been sent out so check your inbox. If I omitted you and you'd like to participate, then all you have to do is email me before the Tuesday play-in game.**
Vin Baker won his arbitration hearing and signed with the Knicks for the rest of the season. Some think that even though they lost the hearing, the Celtics are looking good overall as this ruling make it more likely that the C's will NOT be on the hook to pay Vin for the remainder of his contract with the team. So maybe this is a case of losing the battle but winning the war. The case goes to trial in April.
Allen Iverson takes no shit.
So about that Strokes gig...First of all, I'm an idiot, it was Saturday, not Friday. Luckily I checked the date before I made the drive into Charlotte. I was very excited to see the Strokes outside of the NYC hype/hate bubble and watch the gig in a nuetral state and judge the show on it's merits or lack thereof. I had seen Julian & Co. once before at Roseland in NYC, but I was working that night (it was the night I met John McEnroe) so I didn't really get to "see" the show per se. And now I can honestly say that while I am not ready to proclaim that they are "better than the Beatles", I can say I was very impressed with the show and walked away with a smile on my face. All the songs were super tight and sounded absolutely great. The tunes from Room On Fire sounded much better live than on CD. Fab's drumming was incredibly tiggs and the guitar interplay was brilliant. My toe was tapping throughout. My only complaint was Julian's Liam Gallagher/Dean Martin drunken between song ramblings, i.e."Is Charlotte a college town? What school do you go to? Shitnballs University?" and "This is a great venue? What is it, the Charlotte Opera House?"
I mostly took in the show at the back of the venue on the upper level (Grady Cole Center is basically a rather large basketball gym) and I couldn't help but think about how much The Strokes reminded me of a pre-Wonderwall Oasis. Neither band really moves around alot on stage and have a similar overall feel to their shows. Anyways, I came into the show a jaded hipster and left a very happy camper. I had heard that they only played a 45 minute set, but it took them over 90 minutes to play every song from each of their albums plus a Clash cover that wasn't half bad.
There were over 2,000 people at the gig which made me feel greatly relieved as prior to the gig, I pictured Charlotte as a town of bankers that only listened to country music. I was very glad to see that while those people may be a majority, there are some people with good taste in the hizz.
information leafblower will be off for a few days starting tomorrow as I travel down to Hotlanta for another job interview.
*fingers crossed*
I should be back by Wednesday so I'll see you all then.
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