National Championship Game Open Thread
by LVS on Apr 5, 2010 6:43 PM CDT
in Michigan State Spartans Basketball
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PrintIf you can bear to watch it, talk about it here.
Bonus question (which has been already hashed out to some extent in the other thread): who are you rooting for? Is this like a Michigan - Notre Dame football game, where we're hoping for a 0-0 tie and a flu outbreak? Inquiring minds want to know.
And, in case you want to watch the game from the comfort of the internets, video's here:
(And, here's the link to a larger video player.)
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Butler gets theirs tonight. And not in a good way.
Nothing wrong with being hopelessly bitter as long as you’re insightful about it.
And what kind of dog is that in your picture?
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
by LVS on Apr 5, 2010 6:56 PM CDT up reply actions
There IS a difference.
It’s like cheering for Wofford (the Terriers) or Boston U. (Boston terriers)…clearly not the same thing.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Apr 5, 2010 7:01 PM CDT up reply actions
Much like voting these days, it's not a matter of who you want to win, but rather the lesser of the two evils.
Go Bulldogs.
I'm not sure on what level rooting for Butler could be considered an "evil".
Sure, it hurts to see a team in a position that could have been MSU’s to take if shots/calls/breaks had gone their way and it will doubtlessly prove a bitter pill to swallow. However, this is more akin to losing a political primary; it was a hard fight and it may have even gotten nasty along the way, but now that it’s over it you can agree that you have more in common than otherwise…and the other guy winning is waaaay more distasteful.
Less memorable than Sam Okey's Hawkeye career.
by Kyle McCann't on Apr 5, 2010 7:00 PM CDT up reply actions
I've told this story before but this is a fitting place to tell it one more time.
Butler and I go back. I really wasn’t a huge college basketball fan until 2003. That year, I got wrapped up in MSU ball while a Senior by friends after attending my first Midnight Madness. I had no idea who Paul Davis was. I was also making frequent trips to Butler to visit lots of great friends there. I saw Big Joel and the boys defeat Detroit at Hinkle during what would be their first Sweet Sixteen season. I watched MSU defeat Maryland in Indy and my friends all jumped on the bandwagon with me for the game.
Of course, my allegiance to MSU comes first but really I was equally wrapped into college ball by Butler.
I doubted that a match-up like last Saturday’s game would ever happen. What were the chances? At first I was happy for Butler but also confident MSU would take them out. Still, I was ready to begrudgingly be happy for the Dawgs in the event of an unfortunate result. However, the nature of the loss left me pretty bitter and I was resigned to root for Duke and my apparel voucher.
However, I’m getting over it and I think backing Butler is part of the healing process. Gordon Heyward didn’t ref the game after all, he just made a great shot to keep his team in the driver’s seat.
I sent Butler friend Matt (who has Final Four tickets) a text message tonight that read “Alright, Matt. Go get ’em, you Butler SOBs! You have my blessing.” It was tongue-in-cheek but fun.
So, go Butler! Shock the world and win it all! And someone buy me an MSU shirt as a consolation.
Sorry about the lengthy overshare but I wanted to get that out once more before the game.
Once there's no more hoops to watch...
which is the saddest day of my sporting year, the healing can begin.
Here's my big secret.
In middle school and the start of high school, I was a big, huge Duke fan. I have no real explanation for why this happened, other than that they were on ESPN all the time, they were good, and my neighbor was a Duke grad. I could still probably recite the rosters of the late ’90s Duke teams from memory, and from the age of 13 or so on, my sports number was always 21 because Trajan Langdon was my favorite player. The Duke Basketball Report was my internet start page. Srsly.
Anyway, I haven’t followed Duke at all for years now, but old habits die hard, and I usually root for them in games where there’s no MSU-related cheering interest. Tonight’s one of those nights, I guess. Go Duke. (Mildly.)
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
by LVS on Apr 5, 2010 7:29 PM CDT up reply actions
Haha, you have my total sympathy.
I have a better one, a secret perhaps so dark that I’m not sharing it in this forum!
Bitterness along with stories from friends in Indy are leaning me towards
Duke. You know, ESPN will be insufferable to watch no matter who wins this. Either we get Cinderella talk or Duke-gasms for a year until MSU goes on their murder run through the tournament again.
The tie breaker is that my friends have been telling me that the Duke students/ fans they have met have been incredibly classy and nice to them.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Coach K doesn't need a 4th title...
his ego is already far too big for his own good. He is the anti-Izzo.
And before anyone else says it
That was a very weak call to start the game.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
MSU related news
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/college/baseball/usatpoll.htm
MSU 4th in the also receiving votes category for the USA Today Top 25 in baseball. Only Big Ten team receiving any votes.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
watching online
since MSU isn’t playing, I’ve relinquished the remote control to the dear wife – she’s currently watching Dancing with the Stars. the only saving grace is it was just Erin Andrews.
No kidding
Since apparently the only thing that makes any of those a foul is whether you do it at the start of the game we may as well join the club next year.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Oh God
that last play just reminded me of the NBA continuation call Butler got against us. A call that undeniably gave them at least one more point than they deserved. Ugh
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Refs got the memo...
Butler can’t be competitive without Hayward – so don’t give him fouls.
Butler shooting 31%... Duke 52...
and it’s even? weird.
It's a carbon copy of our game.
Other than Howard, Butler allowed to do whatever they want. Duke cooperating by clanking free throws.
Check out that halftime stat, indeed.
And I was just telling my girlfriend how careful Duke should be. I remember entering halftime of our game thinking “Gah, how is this tied? We should be up ten. We are clearly the better team but it’s not translating onto the scoreboard.”
Didn’t mean a thing in the second half! This could be a sequel.
I am convinced that Heyward gets away with stuff on rep. “He’s so fundamentally sound, hard-working, disciplined, etc. He’s not the type of player that makes hack fouls. He’s just playing hard and aggressive.”
I think the refs subconscious monologue must sound something like that.
It's literally the same exact game.
Hayward gets every single call. He should be playing for Duke, not against them.
If it's any consolation to you, rook
Watching the game itself is pushing me towards rooting for Duke again. MSU vs. Butler II is not what I wanted to see.
Thought Duke got tripped on their last O board that got called a travel
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
They reach, slap, hold, and grab constantly.
Norad has two hands in Scheyer’s shirt the entire game, just like he did on Durrell. It’s the same exact basketball game.
I feel bad for Howard
I mean, no one else on his team gets called for fouls, why should he?
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
He didn't watch..
the Bo Ryan How-Not-To-Foul instructional video.
The softness of the first foul called in the game?
As soon as I saw it was going to be called like that, I knew Butler would be able to linger like the smell of a dead wood chuck under the porch.*
*Dilbert reference.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Duke reffing about to take over...
you can just feel it.
One more reason they need to lose
We can’t have teams getting out eFG’d by 10 points in back to back Final Four games as our champions. I’m not anti-mid major but that **** is bad for Basketball. All I’m saying is give me a Dayton type squad and I could totally get behind them.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I liked that Thomas play on Howard
That was a foul. Pure and simple. No ambiguity, just a nice hack on the way up.
True
but it’ll be interesting to see how they respond if they’re looking at the three possession game under four minutes. I’m not an expert on them but I imagine that’s not their ideal scenario.
They’re rallying as I type!
Not yet
Butler can jack some 3s, make something flukey happen. That’s Butler basketball. Hack, grab clutch, make free throws jack 3s hope something unexpected happens. Same crap Bo does. Same crap Lickliter failed to install at Iowa.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Geeze..
no team that misses as many layups as Butler does deserves a NC
Now THAT is a foul
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
feels like they're a little stunned that there's a team not just lying down at this point of the game
by kevinkinsler on Apr 5, 2010 10:15 PM CDT up reply actions
That's plausible
I sense Butler does a lot of making teams think “How are we in this position!?! How is this happening?”
Butler's gonna win.
Easy to say while they’re on their mini-run here, but Hayward’s by far the best player on the court. He’ll make the plays they need to win.
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
Hayward jacks up too many 3s..
and misses too many.
So..
Duke ever had a 3 to 14 FT disparity in a half of basketball before?
Probably at least once against UNC
Until this past weekend, I thought they were the only other team that got Duke-like treatment from the refs.
Schmaltzy Hoosiers montage?
Yeah, screw Butler.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I would like for CBS to sell ad rights to the weekends instead of the whole tourney
I am really tired of Capital One
by kevinkinsler on Apr 5, 2010 10:24 PM CDT up reply actions
Yes
Real fans hate OT because it’s stressful as hell. Unless my team was down into the 4th quarter/equivalent, I don’t want to see OT.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I'm not a hockey guy
but their OT in playoff games is the most nerve-wracking thing in sports
by kevinkinsler on Apr 5, 2010 10:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Especially when it just keeps going and going and going ...
I still remember watching a 5OT game in the high school tournament when I was growing up (in Minnesota, where hockey is practically the state religion). I wasn’t rooting for either team and I was going crazy.
the 3OT game six in 1999 when the Stars won the Cup
is surprisingly one my most vivid memories from my earlier years
by kevinkinsler on Apr 5, 2010 11:25 PM CDT up reply actions
Ah, the Brett Hull Skate in the Crease Game
I was rooting against Dallas because there is no justice in a world where a jerk of an owner moves a professional hockey team away from the most hockey-obsessed state this side of Canada, and said team wins a Cup in a southern locale after never having done so in Minnesota.
Butler with 1 FG in the last 11 mins or so?
This game looking like it’s over..
We held them to about the same
Still lost anyway
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Worst offensive team
to make the NCAA championship in the history of the tournament?
I've been saying to non-MSU fans all week:
“If Butler goes 12 min with one field goal against Duke they will lose” or “Butler has to play better on Monday than they did on Saturday if they want to win” or “MSU didn’t take advantage but Duke probably will.” And I’ve been getting ripped – being told its sour grapes, I don’t respect Butler, etc., etc.
But it’s absolutely true. It won’t be good enough. Duke will make them pay enough to pull it out.
Anyone else praying...
for Butler to get fouled and have a no-call?
Impossible
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I confess
Despite my better angels, when the going got rough and the game was on the line, I was rooting for Duke. I couldn’t help it.
That was a SCREEN and a half
Again, you almost have to call that unless it looks a lot better in replay.
If he had made that halfcourt shot, it would have been the most incredible thing in modern sports history.
No lie, no exaggeration.
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
Well, for anyone who still wants blood
I promise you there’s a whole lot of Butler fans who probably feel worse right now than we did on Saturday. Or at least it’s comparable.
Honestly, I've already mentioned my Butler friends
And the few who contacted me after the MSU game really needed lessons on how to be gracious in victory. Perhaps this will humble them.
Blood for the Blood God
Skulls for his Skull Throne.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
They're dying
Having that happen in a NC game has gotta be infinity-times worse than what happened to us.
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
Except for the fake Butler fans
Was it here that someone said an Indianapolis Spartan had lived there for 15 years and never met a Butler fan until this week?
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Yeah
How many of our fans will be stinging for a whole year? Many.
This night will be a distant memory for many Butler fans in that same time I bet. They’ll recover fine.
Also, not that it matters now
But I hate how Zoubek intentionally missed that FT. 3.6 seconds left almost ensured that Butler was going to get some kind of a look at the buzzer. If he makes the FT and Butler makes the prayer, they head into OT. If he misses, they’re in the same situation that actually happened.
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
Tough call there
Make it, and they get to inbound and get the ball much further upcourt before the clock starts. May well get a shot from right around the arc. Miss, and it’s a halfcourt heave or bust.
Oh man, that place seems like an absolute morgue.
I was cheering for Duke, and even I can admit that this is just about the most anticlimactic trophy presentation ever.
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
Lucious spotting in One Shining Moment
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
It was G'Town though
You know, that team you know is overrated, but you let them screw your bracket up anyway because you think “Hmm, they’re too talented to lose even that game”
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Luckily
I watched the Bobcats probably 8 times this season. I knew what they could do and took them to the Sweet Sixteen in my bracket.
See, I never have that problem
Because I pick an insane number of upsets every year. The ones that hose my bracket are the ones where I think they have a really dangerous first round opponent but have a shot against everyone if they get past that – like Butler this year.
Didn’t call Ohio over Georgetown (had a different 14-over-3), but I didn’t have Georgetown past the Sweet 16, and I might have picked them to lose in the second if I’d had any idea who was going to win the 6-11 game.
Now that it's officially off season can we talk about the monster that is next year's MSU roster?
Or if anyone here knows baseball (I don’t I just watch it) will we get baseball coverage? I need a sports fix darnit, I’m going to have withdrawal.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
We have to wait and see what happens with Summers and Lucas.
No point speculating until we know who will be here.
True
And we might know soon since Izzo is talking to them about it this week from what I hear.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I would bet Summers at least tests the waters in camps with no agent
If he thinks he’s likely a first-round pick, he goes. If he isn’t, he stays. That’s probably what Izzo will tell him.
I wouldn't begrudge him the slightest if he does that.
I’d only be frustrated if he went for broke, like Manny Harris did.
PP-TPW.
The Only Colors
I think he's earned the opportunity
I still bet he comes back but who knows. Stranger things have happened when scouts start watching a guy dribble drive around chairs.
He and Kalin are tight. I wouldn’t underestimate that Summers might want to come back for Kalin next year to help him go out a winner.
As for KL, I can’t imagine there is any way he’d even be drafted after his injury and I bet he and Izzo are smart enough to know that.
Lucas can't go unless he's in academic trouble.
No one would draft him.
Summers must improve his handle to stick in the league. No one is falling all over themselves to get a 6’4" guard who can’t handle the basketball.
Yeah
Summers needs a year to prove that he can dribble as well as catch and shoot.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
I agree with both of you
But am I 100% sure that some NBA scout won’t think Summers is worth a 1st Rd pick for any number of reasons? No. Like I said, stranger things.
He is very fun to watch
with the alley oops and the curling 3s that he hits so well off the catch. And the NBA is an entertainment business.
Light a man a fire, he'll stay warm for a day.
Light a man afire, he'll be warm for the rest of his life.
Even if I wasn't a bitter, biased Spartan
The tone of this article is a little much for me:
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/36188776/ns/sports-college_basketball/
Perhaps Duke owes everyone an apology.
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