Not What You Should Be or What You've Become

I've never been one of those people who swore that the first 4 days of the NCAA Tournament are the greatest days on the sporting calendar, but in my opinion, the first weekend of March Madness is a bit like stuffing at Thanksgiving: It's not everyone's absolute must-have item, but you're kidding yourself if you don't get a little hop in your step when it comes around every year.

Sure, the Bears may have lost to the Boilermakers 90-79 on Thursday (which you know is actually a flattering score for Baylor if you watched any portion of the public whipping, ahem, game), but all in all, an appearance in the NCAA Tournament was an unexpected surprise for a team that could not even play non-conference games as recently as two years ago due to the Dennehy/Dotson/Bliss scandal.

Let's be honest, though, my friends. The real reason I sat down to write tonight is not the Baylor men's basketball team, it's not the surprising upset that the Davidson Wildcats sprung on Georgetown, and it's certainly not the primal screams of an NCAA-hyped Gus Johnson*.

No, the true reason I come to you tonight is to send a very special message to Luke Reeves, Cody Blair, and each and every member of the Duke Basketball family:
Look on the bright side, at least Coach K has more time this off-season to film those American Express and State Farm Commercials.

P.S. Luke, you can still cheer for the Yankees, Lakers, Wal-Mart, Starbucks, and Microsoft.

*I know that I've posted that video before, but it's just too much fun to leave out of the rotation.

Lights Out Tonight, Trouble in the Heartland

I've written before about the vim and vigor that Gus Johnson brings to the announcing booth, but unfortunately it looks like he also brings something else along for the ride: a blatant disregard for the facts.

Today, in an interview posted on the blog Awful Announcing, Johnson gave the following quote:

"Things were difficult at one time, I remember working in Waco making $16K a year and eating at Del Taco everyday. They used to have this deal where you would get 4 tacos for $2.50 plus a drink and that was my thing, but it was fun. It’s always been fun, I’ve enjoyed this ride so much. I’ve been so fortunate to experience the things I’ve experienced."

I'm glad that GuJo, as he is called by Bill Simmons, took the time to mention the 254 in his interview, but Gus there's only one tiny problem with your heartfelt rags-to-riches story. There is not a Del Taco location in the entire state of Texas. Please consult the Del Taco website for visual confirmation that Del Taco only exists in Washington, Oregon, California, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, and surprisingly, Tennessee.

What I really need in this situation is a Waco expert who can confirm or deny that a Del Taco location existed in our fair city in the early 1990's when Johnson was employed at KXXV-TV.

David Koresh, you weren't busy during the early 90's, I know you can answer this query.

Hello?

Is this thing on?

Now They Make New Movies in Old Black and White

Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, all of those who have passed through the great tribulation, I welcome you to the day after.

"The day after what?" you might be asking yourself. Simple. The day after the supposed NFL Network imposed apocalypse was going to descend upon our nation like fans of the Grateful Dead converging on a midnight veggie burrito vendor. If you took the prudent advice of the brains behind Prosso Speaks, you either went to a friend's house or a sports bar to watch last night's battle between Texas and Wisconsin. Me? I took the former option instead of standing way too close to strangers in a Waco Buffalo Wild Wings for 4 hours.

With all that said, what was the quality of the product from NFL Network? The game itself (which is obviously the most important facet) was an intriguing back and forth matchup featuring an injury to the league's most recognizable player (see Favre, Brett), an almost devastating miscue by one of the game's best receivers (Memo to Mr. Owens: Perhaps buttery popcorn is not the best thing to throw on yourself in the midst of a touchdown celebration if you still need to play another half of football), and ultimately a 10-point win by the Cowboys that will go a long way towards clinching home-field for the NFC playoffs, or as I'm going to call it, "The Quest to Take Down the Great Satan in the Desert". It's a bit wordy, but it will grow on you.

The most notable downside to the broadcast? Bryant Gumbel sounded like he was hosting "Antiques Roadshow" instead of the first NFL matchup between 10-1 teams in 17 years. I realize that years of hosting a sports show on HBO might do a bit to dull your enthusiasm in the booth, but I'm pretty sure that the immortal Gus Johnson could have generated more excitement than Gumbel if he was stuck announcing orders at Sonic than Gumbel produced during one of the marquee games during the '07-08 NFL season.

Speaking of great moments in sports broadcasting:

• The aforementioned Gus Johnson during the 2006 Sweet Sixteen matchup between UCLA and Gonzaga.
  
  
• The immortal (at least in Texas) ending between Plano East and Tyler John Tyler in the 1994 5A State Football Playoffs. This is exactly why people from Texas are mocked throughout the country, and I love every minute of it.


• Martin Tyler verbalizes his man-crush on Steven Gerrard after the Liverpool skipper equalizes in the 90th minute of the 2006 F.A. Cup Final.


• Finally, the world-famous call by Al Michaels during "The Miracle on Ice"