Let's get the hell out of here...

Moments after Patrick Ewing, Jr secured a huge conference road victory by sending back a last second shot from DeSean Butler, WVU Coliseum turned very, very ugly. Quarters and bottled water began to hit the court from the upset home fans who probably couldn't believe the final few seconds. There would be no handshaking after this game as Thompson rushed to get his players off the court. Meanwhile his counterpart was busy following Ed Hightower (main official) back into the locker room area. The only player who seemed to get hit by anything was Chris Wright who took a flying water bottle in the chest. I've only seen stuff like that at soccer games - not college basketball.

The sweater/shirt combo lives another day: I had actually chalked the game up as a loss after the unusual amount of unforced turnovers and missed threes by the Hoyas. It just seemed like it was WVU's night for most of the game. In fact I had already begun to think about what my next lucky outfit was going to be. Yeah that's right you heard me. I am a 29 year old man that actually considers luck when assembling a wardrobe to wear to the game. Pretty normal I swear.

View from the top?: I actually never went up to my seat with the rest of the Hoya Hoop Club members that were on the bus trip. The seats were pretty high up and as luck would have it, the security guys at the Coliseum were pretty cool. Nobody made me move from my money spot that I found against the railing. I'd honestly rather stand during every game - I guess that's what years and years
of being in the Barra will do to you. I figured that as long as I didn't make an ass out of myself by being that annoying fan that I hate at the Verizon Center, I would be fine.

Mrs. Hibbert ended up standing behind me for the final couple of minutes but she really couldn't bear to watch. After Jessie Sapp hit a huge 3 with 6 seconds remaining she tapped me on the shoulder and asked me "Who hit that shot?".

"Was it Roy?" she asked.

"No. He let Jessie take it this time", I said.

I love the fact that she just assumed it was Roy who it the big 3 again. I mean he has taken 2 threes in almost 4 years. Why not right? The Hibberts seem like great parents. Very nice to fans like me and are always on these roadtrips.


Huggins you idiot: For some reason WVU switched to a man to man defense midway through the second half. The result? The Hoyas backdoored them to death. Went from down 10 to up 1. Nice coaching huggy bear. I wonder how many beers he pounded after the game? Seriously though they blew it from the line. Way too many misses from the chairty stripe at home.


Final Decision: The last play was really close and lets be honest, I am biased. I have seen it about 20 times now and I really don't think you can say it is definitely a clean block or definitely goaltending. And that is with the aid of various angles and slow motion. You only make the call of goaltending if you are 100% sure. If you aren't, which the refs obviously weren't, you let the players decide the outcome.

Ok well I am cised to conclude my day in Herndon and grab my final meal of the day. Arsenal/Newcastle is waiting for me on DVR.

Tomorrow is an off day as I visit the mecca of college hoops...until next time.

Country roads...

Barring any unforeseen circumstances I plan on making my first and last appearance at WVU Coliseum this weekend.

On paper Georgetown has the stronger team but games aren't played on paper. WVU is actually sorta like G-Town lite in many aspects. Of course all of that will change once Huggins gets a chance to totally put his stamp on the program. Should be a close game in front of a raucous home crowd. I'll take a split between this road game and the one coming up at Louisville early next month.

Last time out: At the end of the season I plan on posting the Hoyas record with respect to the different people that came with me to the game. I think the past 10 days or so has really proven that some people are definitely more lucky than others. Nice comeback win against the Orange in overtime. I have to give props to my main man Jeremiah Rivers. He is starting to get on my good side.

Not sure what to make of Louie Bar. The service was slow, food was ok, and they had some very questionable artwork on the walls. I wish the HHC was still having their events at the ChopHouse. Oh well. If you don't spend the last hour of your time in the Acela Club, you are bricking big time.



Tennis: It is all over. Blake, the Bryan brothers, and the Williams sisters both as a team and individually are all finished. Ouch! No reason to stay up so late anymore.

There is a really long break between now and the French Open in May. Maybe Blake can "find" himself between now and then.

now this is really a Big Monday...

Georgetown - Syracuse.

That's all you really need to say. I mean you can add in Thompson - Boeheim if you like, but this rivalry needs nothing more than the names on the jerseys.

This is what made the Big East nearly 30 years ago and for the first time in years they face off at least twice - which is the way it should be. I love to romanticize back to the days where you played everybody twice - and some teams 3 times by virtue of tournament matchups. Seeing teams that often really lets the hate flow. You get a real appreciation for just how annoying the rest of the league really is. If you can't get cised for this game as a Hoyas fan you should consider seeking medical advice.

Last time out: Another Verizon Center sellout as the Hoyas took apart Notre Dame from start to finish. Still no Chris Wright but the emergence of Hibbert in conference play has been very promising so far. Now if Wallace could just shake this mini shooting slump of his....

Oh Sam: Not only did Papkin wear the colors of the opposing team (green) he spilled his beer all over himself and the dude next to him. (Hey Sam - United doesn't play again until March) Of course he spilled the beer with a little help from me nailing him after a strong And One by the Mighty 7'2 Experience.

No Worries Mate: American James Blake made it through to the quarterfinals, his best showing so far in the Aussie Open. Show him what he wins for that....a matchup with Federer. Ouch. It would be quite the upset should he come out with a win. Either way it should be fun to watch.

The Williams Sisters are still alive with the chance to meet in the finals.

First time: For the first time since their seasons started, I was able to see Georgetown, Arsenal, and the Denver Nuggets all pick up wins on the same day. I guess miracles can happen.

Make no mistake about it...I loathe Notre Dame hoops...

Every year I get the same type of questions before a Georgetown - Notre Dame game.

"So who ya rooting for in this one?"

"Wow your two favorite teams. Who you gonna pick?"

"Who do you like more?"

"Do you even care who wins?"

If you find yourself thinking about asking me any of these questions I would like for you to first considering punching yourself in the stomach. Ok maybe that is too harsh. How about just pouring a glass of water over your head and try coming back to reality? Thanks.

Notre Dame Football is where my relationship starts and stops with Our Lady of the Lake.

Last time out: My last visit to the Verizon Center was pretty much perfect. I'm not sure how much more you can ask for in terms of gameday experience. Packed house, great company, first beers of the year, hated rival, and an electrifying last second shot that sent the crowd into mass hysteria from the students to the upper deck. Oh and it was Roy who it the 3! In case you missed it here you go: ROY! Not sure if Chvotkin was excited...

Up Ahead: Green and Orange. The Holiday forecast calls for lots of zone defense. Awesome. It will be pretty sweet to wake up on Tuesday morning seeing the good guys sitting at 5-1 in the conference after two tough home games in the Big East. Contesting shots and not settling for threes will be the keys to that.

This weekends picks (for games that matter to me):

Hoyas over Irish - I'd like to hear the students chant "God's on our side" again this year.
Arsenal over Fulham - Time to take 3 points and put the pressure on Manchester United.
Chargers over Patriots - C'mon Norv! Do the unthinkable...
Packers over Giants - Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow...
Hoyas over Orange - I want to hear Boeheim whine about Hibbert after the game.

Up All Night...

Don't sleep on Tennis: I mean literally. Don't sleep on tennis right now. We are in the midst of the first Grand Slam of 2008 and because of the location it is very easy to miss all of the action because of sleep. I really got into the Australian Open during the early part of the decade when my boy Agassi made that one final push at greatness. Capriati also had a pretty good run around the same time with back to back titles.

You know even though I have never really played that much, I've always seen it as an enjoyable sport to watch - especially the Grand Slams. I have vivid memories from the early '90's of the US Open coverage on CBS. You would always get a Redskins game at 1pm followed by the Us Open Final at 4pm. I haven't kept up with it as much since Andre said goodbye but I can always get up for the Grand Slams and root for the Americans.

Shocker the highest seed on the men's side to already bow out is American Andy Roddick. We are gonna need big things from James Blake because the other two Yanks left in this field probably won't last that much longer.

Last year Serena was pretty freaking sick on her way to winning the tournament as an unseeded player ranked in the 80s. She only lost 2 sets during her stay in the land of kangaroos. Her and her sister (Venus, duh!) are the only remaining American women left going into this weekend.

Oh and if all us fails for the States we can always rely on the Bryan brothers to bring home Doubles Glory! (or the unseeded Wiliams Sisters...but that's really asking a lot.)

So take a nap sometime this weekend and check out some late night grunting coming from your television....

hey if it's cold you will wear anything...

Dude looks like a lady: Here's the deal. There was this party at my house a few weeks ago and somebody decided to donate a nice Banana Republic coat out of the goodness of their heart. After three weeks I finally decided that it was fair game to wear. The only problem is that while it says XL it is kind of short and has a really nice lining in it. On the way home from work I began to worry that maybe it was a woman's coat and that I had been unintentionally cross dressing. After a few text messages and a phone call from a good friend of mine who is well known for her wicked backhand shot, I came to the conclusion that it was indeed for dudes.

Phew. Disaster avoided - for now anyway.

Another One Bites the Dust: So I got home to find Georgia Tech and their spaz point guard Matt Causey (formerly of Georgetown) giving UNC a game. I obviously knew there wasn’t a chance in hell that they would win but I still sat there and wasted over a half hour of my life seeing it play out exactly as I had figured.

The worst part is that I will most likely do the exact same thing the next time a similar situation comes up. More and more teams will undoubtededly get “Clemson'd” throughout the season. The only problem is that I will fall for it everytime. No matter how obvious the result seems, I will most likely find myself stricken in a state of temporary paralysis that forces me to just sit there and take it. Oh and in case you were wondering, in college football the term is “Michigan State'd”.

once again it's on...

This is seriously the best time of the year in the sports world. Nothing tops it.

Nothing.

It started on January 5th and will continue until they are knocked out of the Tournament or win the whole damn thing come early April.

I'm of course talking about the start of Georgetown's Big East schedule. I mean technically the season started in early November, but the real deal got underway up at Rutgers almost two weeks ago.

Almost makes you wonder...would it be as great if it lasted longer? or is the short duration a big factor in the greatness of the entire thing?

So far we are only four games into the 18 game slate and we have already seen a last second three by the unlikeliest of candidates in Roy send the Verizon Center into mass hysteria, a bus trip to the RAC, and a crushing defeat in a hostile environment up at Pitt.

The good news is that 3 of the first 4 games were on the road and the Hoyas are sitting tied for first at 3-1. I mean its not like they were going to go 18-0. Maybe if Jeff were around but not this group. The conference is too good to win them all.

The bad news is that they can't rebound and Wallace is in a two game slump.

Big weekend coming up as they host another team sitting at 3-1 in Notre Dame on Saturday and then welcome in arch rivals Syracuse on MLK Day.

Just in case anybody actually reads these "blogs" of mine, the second ticket for each game is still up for grabs.