Basketball Fever
I started a basketball blog over at hoopfeed.com because my basketball fever is off the chain. I’m re-posting the first two entries below.
Lady Gators Stay Alive
I would say that right now I’ve got to be the happiest coach in America.
–Caroline Peck in last night’s post-game interview
Yesterday, it was cold and rainy in suburban Atlanta yet at the end of the night Caroline Peck and the Lady Gators of the University of Florida were beaming with light. They orchestrated the first major upset of this year’s Women’s SEC Championship beating Mississippi State 69-63. It was the last game of the night and many fans had already made their way out of Gwinnett Arena before the 9:30 p.m. tipoff. Yet, even as Mississippi State had a sizeably larger group of fans in attendance, there was orange everywhere and vocal Gator chants, and of course the “chop.” The Gator pep squad provided the noise and sympathetic Tennessee fans augmented the orange backdrop as they sided with the Gator team in its quest for redemption from an abysmal season, the worst in the team’s history, and give the coach a reason to hold her head up high, post-firing.
After watching, Ole Miss dismantle Alabama in a contest where the Crimson Tide sometimes looked like an inexperienced AA state team (some moments were so painful to watch), many in the audience didn’t have high hopes for Peck and fans from all teams were wondering more about what Peck’s next move would be after she leaves Florida than what they thought was a foregone match up outcome. Would she be offered an assistant position at another college? Would some head coach from the WNBA come knocking to help her save the face of her career? Would she be shunted to building her way up from the world of high school hoops? Or would she head to the world of broadcasting where she already holds some clout?
Who knows where she will land. This victory might brighten her prospects though. It sure did brighten the Gator Nation who next week will flock to Atlanta in droves when the spawn of tennis great Yannick Noah and the boys descend onto the Georgia Dome.
Surprises and Notes from Yesterday’s Session
Hey Alisa, where’s Sheryl?
During halftime of the first game for each time, the SEC presents awards to former athletes,
administrators and supporters of women’s basketball. During the Alabama
– Ole Miss half-time, Alisa Scott, former assistant under Van
Chancellor at the Houston Comets and a standout player during the 1980s
at Mississippi received an award. However, Scott is more famous these
days for being the partner of the basketball legend Sheryl Swoopes.
Seeing Van Chancellor interviewing Caroline Peck
One, I forgot that he commentated during the WNBA off-season (and maybe
in season now since he stepped down). And two, I certainly did not
expect Peck and Marshae Dotson to be doing post-game victory interviews
on the floor in the glare of video camera’s and photographer flash
bulbs.
The sheer number of Tennessee fans already in attendance
Those people are hardcore. I’m talking caravans of senior citizens,
entire families dressed up Lady Vol gear and local teenagers. They were
all chomping at the bit. I had a good conversation about what Pat
Summitt looks like in a cheerleading outfit with one group. We all
agreed that she should not ever try singing for a living after she
corralled the audience into an off-key rendition of “Rocky Top”. Hey
Pat, we know you’re not going to quit your day job. And don’t hurt
yourself doing pyramids, OK? Vol fans were also talking about how
surprised they were that the Tennessee men beat the Florida men this
past week and how unusual it was that the fifth-ranked Gators were
stunned by the Vols 17-0 run in the first half. I was surprised at
their candor in admitting that most folks did not expect Tennessee to
close out their season unbeaten at home with a win over Florida.
Tornadoes in ‘Bama and tragedies elsewhere
While Alabama suffered on the floor, the state endured deadly
tornadoes. Several people died during the storms. We lost one of my
favorite Celtic players of all time, Dennis Johnson to a heart attack.
And here in Atlanta, a bus carrying college baseball players from Ohio
plunged over a ramp. Six players died in the accident. I’m sending
positive thoughts to Alabama and the families and friends of the
baseball players.
R.I.P. DJ
