Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

No one could have predicted…

Usually wrong but never in doubt

Accountability, motherfuckers.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

I’d like to think you all would remain faithful to me if i ever tried to have some of you killed.

fuckem (in honor of the late great efgoldman)

We still have time to mess this up!

Putting aside our relentless self-interest because the moral imperative is crystal clear.

Insiders who complain to politico: please report to the white house office of shut the fuck up.

And we’re all out of bubblegum.

Balloon Juice has never been a refuge for the linguistically delicate.

Not all heroes wear capes.

The cruelty is the point; the law be damned.

Let there be snark.

Black Jesus loves a paper trail.

Peak wingnut was a lie.

People are complicated. Love is not.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

I did not have telepathic declassification on my 2022 bingo card.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

It may be funny to you motherfucker, but it’s not funny to me.

This blog will pay for itself.

You are here: Home / Open Threads / KY-UNC Open Thread

KY-UNC Open Thread

by | 79 Comments

This post is in: ,

I clearly have too much time on my hands.

 

I’m supposed to be going to a fundraiser at a bar (yay!  bars!) for a children’s literacy program that I helped launch at my old law firm.  Two of my closest friends are on the board and have spent a lot of time planning this thing.  Nonetheless, I told them I can’t go until after the Carolina game. I mean, what do I care about childrenses literasee? THE BASKETBALLS ARE ON!!!!11one

P.S. It’s mango.

Reader Interactions

79Comments

  6. 6.

    Comrade DougJ

    @Angry Black Lady:

    Yeah, it looks good now. John taught me the 480 thing after I put up some jumbo YouTube video a few months ago. It seems to be the max that works for all screens.

  10. 10.

    Yutsano

    I thought for a minute you were doing bizarre things with polenta and I was this close to being disturbed. Knowing it’s mango reassures me…some. I think.

  14. 14.

    The Dangerman

    VCU? WTF?!! Well, in the Dance, Senior leadership and a dominant 1 is a recipe for success. In todays game, VCU’s point, with about 2 to go, ran the clock down to 2 and dropped a dynamite dime for a layup. Game over.

    VCU could win this thing. Amazing…

  17. 17.

    The Political Nihilist Formerly Known As Kryptik

    @The Dangerman:

    It’s amazing, and VCU has definitely been playing like they belonged the whole time. Simply a shocking team. Almost a shame that VCU and Butler will have to meet next, rather than the potential of meeting in a totally improbable Championship.

  19. 19.

    Mr Stagger Lee

    I think the basketball world(Dickie V among others) owes VCU and apology. The Rams vs Butler will be very interesting.
    Oh by the way Memo to Ohio State Buckeyes, you cannot miss shots if you want to win, and keep Jim Tressel away from John Calipari or is it Pete Carroll, no wonder OSU is in hell with the NCAA.

  20. 20.

    Frank

    Not NCAA-related, but it is sports-related: once again the headline in a golf tournament makes no mention of who is winning or won the damn thing; instead, it is “How’d Tiger do?” He came tied for 26th. Why is that the headline? He hasn’t won diddly-doo-dah in long months. I know he’s the face of golf; I know his name brings in the tour dollars, but maybe it’s time to move on, golf fans (I am not numbered among them) and focus on whoever actually IS doing well. Woods strike me as something of the sports equivalent of Sarah Palin: irrelevant, but we must know his every move. (Yeah, Tiger achieved in golf far more than Palin did in politics or anything else, but I think the analogy is presently accurate.

  23. 23.

    mr. whipple

    Rooting for North Carolina is like rooting for the Yankees or Goldman Sachs.

    Exactly how I feel about Duke.

  25. 25.

    The Dangerman

    @The Political Nihilist Formerly Known As Kryptik:

    Almost a shame that VCU and Butler will have to meet next…

    Indeed; similar teams, tough kids that are extremely well coached (I think both Coaches are in their early 30’s), it’ll be an interesting game, but I’d have to think VCU has a bit of an edge right now. And whoddu thunk that Butler would have to play an even bigger underdog. Wild.

  27. 27.

    Ailuridae

    Regardless of tonight’s result I would just like to thank the basketball Gods for having a final four that will not include West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Duke, UCLA, Wisconsin, tOSU or Michigan State. A basketball thug free final four for the first time in a long time.

  28. 28.

    General Stuck

    NC two best players, I think, with 4 fouls. GO CATS!!

    @Ailuridae:

    Yea, those animals, it’ll be good to have some class in the final 4 this year, like GO CATS!!

  30. 30.

    Ailuridae

    @Frank:

    Well there is a reason for this. Under the current leadership the PGA has decided to sell the game around the majors, Tiger and, to a much lesser extent Phil. Phil isn’t on the leaderboard, Laird looks likely to run away with the event and he is, in no particular order, Scottish, not very good and balding.

    I get a little annoyed by gold coverage too but I reserve getting annoyed like you seem to be if the press covers the majors and near majors similarly.

  31. 31.

    The Dangerman

    @Ailuridae:

    …West Virginia, Pittsburgh, Duke, UCLA, Wisconsin…

    As a UCLA Fan/Alum, I flat hate watching Howland’s teams play. Now, no way is bball a noncontact sport (I play the paint, I know of what I speak), but there are limits before it becomes, as you say, thuggery.

  32. 32.

    Ailuridae

    @General Stuck:

    For me its not about being classy its about on court thuggery that has completely ruined the college game and almost ruined the NBA.

    UNC and UK have always been clean on the court. Same with UCONN (who as a CUSE fan I have no love for). VCU is a joy to watch. Butler, while more physical than the rest, wouldn’t be one of the four dirtiest teams in the Big Ten

  33. 33.

    Ailuridae

    @The Dangerman:

    This is the kind of take on your alma mater’s team I can genuinely respect. It is hard to quibble with Howland’s result on the court and he also, unlike a lot of the thuggery schools produces NBA talent (Much bigger NBA fan myself) in droves. But the UCLA teams under Howland are flat dirty and cheap and the contrast between his team’s style of play and Lavin’s couldn’t be more stark.

    I have great admiration for Jimmy Boeheim largely because he knows his teams are going to suffer a huge tactical disadvantage by not fouling mutliple times on every play. Yet, he doesn’t send his team out there doing that. It cost him the national title against Indiana, it has cost him countless regular season and tournament games over the years too. But what Coach K does at Duke for instance is abominable.

  34. 34.

    Frank

    Thanks for the info., Ailuridae (#31). I griped about this yesterday, too. It just seems unfair to those who are excelling to receive second bill to the guy who is tied for 26th. How will the actual winners become the face of the tour if the press won’t celebrate their successes? I suppose it’s a little like the Dallas Cowboys in football. We all have to hear how ‘meerka’s team is doing, even when they’re in the cellar. I will take a deep breath and let go. Time to move on…. No more Tiger posts, I promise!

  42. 42.

    Ailuridae

    @stuckinred:

    I played both football and basketball and believe they are separate sports. Apparently you don’t.

    I don’t understand the women’s basketball comment at all. The rampant physicality of today’s men’s game actually hurts the athleticism of the game (it is really difficult to jump or explode to the rim when someone is holding you with two hands)and arbitrarily keeps down scoring while rewarding untalented players like Bruce Bowen, Greg Paulus and Mateen Cleaves.

  44. 44.

    stuckinred

    @Ailuridae: Just that many people feel that the women’s college ball is more “pure”. Football is a collision sport and basketball is a contact sport. Are you going to outlaw off ball contact too? There is as much physicality on screens as there ever is on the ball.

  45. 45.

    Bob Loblaw

    @General Stuck:

    Yea, those animals, it’ll be good to have some class in the final 4 this year, like GO CATS!!

    Because when one thinks class, one thinks John Calipari.

  48. 48.

    Ailuridae

    @stuckinred:

    Well, the off the ball holding has always been illegal. And illegal screens are most often committed offensively by the same teams cheating on the defensive end. Certain teams clutch and grab non-stop knowing that very few officials are willing to foul out a player in the first quarter/half no matter how deserving or call a team foul disparity greater than 2:1 no matter how appopriate

    There are rules regarding hand checking, off the ball contact and the block/charge distinction. Certain teams and coaches have realized that fouling constantly is to their advantage despite it actually being illegal. And I am happy that all of those teams are sitting home.

  49. 49.

    JPL

    @stuckinred: I saw that and figured that it was someone else. Not me. It would be a wonderful opportunity if I weren’t so old and unqualified.
    Gotta say the Kentucky, UNC game was a let down after watching the earlier game.

  50. 50.

    Ailuridae

    @stuckinred:

    Also the women’s game from everything I have seen (and having played with a lot of former D-1 women’s players on open court in college) is drastically more defined by the clutching and grabbing and, more dangerously, bridging.

  52. 52.

    Church Lady

    ABL, I feel your pain. Nothing, and I mean nothing, would have given me more satisfaction than to see Calipari have to head back to Lexington in defeat. I’ll just have to cross my fingers that he’ll get his just deserts next weekend instead. Damn, vengeance is hard to wait for.

  53. 53.

    The Dangerman

    …and having played with a lot of former D-1 women’s players on open court in college…

    I haven’t watched that much women’s ball, but it isn’t more “pure” than men’sball. If anything, it’s unwatchable given there’s only about a dozen REALLY talented women players in college (and they all play for Connecticut), thus, it becomes kind of a scrum pretty quickly (and, for some reason, women’s refs don’t call the rough play, probably as everyone would foul out). I played with a high D1 recruit (that didn’t go to Connecticut) and I was shocked how little game she had (course, she was playing with a mens ball, so that might have hurt her).

  57. 57.

    4jkb4ia

    This is so sad. We are going to have the designated underdog game, Butler and VCU, and the game between two coaches neither of whom deserve to have a national championship. I was about to emote about how wonderful this tournament had turned out after all. But, as said above, VCU could still win it all.

  60. 60.

    The Dangerman

    @stuckinred:

    I played with and against the great Teresa Edwards and she could ball!

    Way back when at UCLA, I played in a game with Jackie Joyner Kersee (well, not Kersee then); she had game (but stopped to concentrate on track). There are some great women players out there (or great athletes, as in JJK’s case), but the talent pool isn’t all that deep.

    I feel old; I used to ball a little with Larry Drew when he was with the Lakers; now his son is (was) playing ball (UNC coulda used him).

  63. 63.

    JPL

    Since I’m in moderation..I’ll try to fix my problems
    Las Vegas cas..inos have tabbed Kentucky the latest favorite in an NCAA tournament full of upsets, and are hoping that Virginia Commonwealth ends its improbable run without a title.

    Executive Director Jay Kornegay of the Las Vegas Hilton rac.e and sports book said Sunday night that Kentucky was a 2-point favorite to win its semifinal game against Connecticut, while Butler was a 2½-point favorite over Virginia Commonwealth.

    Race and Sports Director Mike Colbert of Cantor Gam,ing says his books made Kentucky an 8-5 favorite to win the title. Connecticut is the next favorite at 11-5, while Cantor is giving Butler 4-1 odds and VCU 7-1 odds to win it all.

    Colbert and Kornegay say a VCU title would be troubling for their cas,,inos given some big bets on the long shots.

  65. 65.

    Flowers

    @mr. whipple: No way, you don’t see Harrelson fouling trying to hurt people. He’s a hard working and intense player, but watch his defense and he’s standing arms straight up when the shot goes up. He just won’t be bullied.

  67. 67.

    S. cerevisiae

    Watching the final regional between Notre Dame and New Hampshire to see who gets shredded by my Bulldogs in the Frozen Four. Unfortunately the EVIL FIGHTING SUE beat Denver, so hopefully Michigan can beat them.

  68. 68.

    General Stuck

    @metalgirl:

    Thank gawd you showed up. Nothing but ky haters around here. We will rise above it though, or at least give, good as get.

    And yes, I am in high obnoxious mode, even higher than usual.

    GO Cats !!

  71. 71.

    Sarcastro

    While I don’t loathe Jorts (aka Harrelson), UK is currently the dirtiest piece of shit program in the world. Calipari will undoubtedly have to vacate this Final Four appearance sooner or later. Sutton flat-out bought players. Rupp was a huge racist. Pitino is a scum bag. Gillespie is a drunk. The hillbillies ran off the only decent human being who ever coached for them: Tubby.

  72. 72.

    metalgirl

    @General Stuck: It’s been 13 years (I think that’s what I heard) since UK has gone to a Final 4 — I think we’ve earned it, by OWNing the game against UNC today :) Since everyone is against us (by default), we have to enjoy their success when we can!! I’m so glad I flew to Lexington in January to see them play in person :)

  75. 75.

    honus

    @Mr Stagger Lee: Dick Vitale is a fucking idiot. No basketball insight and a totally obnoxious persona. He has single-handedly ruined more basketball games over the past twenty years than anybody.

  77. 77.

    Paul in KY

    @Phyllis: Did you see how they gagged it up against ND? My theory is that they know Pat just HATES being whipped by UConn, so they went ahead and lost so that wouldn’t happen.

    May have even done it subconciously.

  79. 79.

    Paul in KY

    @Sarcastro: Er, Pitno was/is not a ‘scumbag’ and we mutually decided to part ways with Coach Smith. Wish him the best up in Minn.

    Sutton did not buy the players (he was a drunk), I think the boosters bought them.

Comments are closed.