29th of Feb? normal...

Does March Madness start on the 1st of March?

I think it does as the Hoyas travel to Milwaukee for their last true road game of the year. I honestly think their showing on the road will be a bigger deal than their home showing on Senior Day next week. I just don't understand why it is so hard to get Roy a touch on almost every possession.

*I couldn't pull together the momentum needed to go out to Wisconsin by myself so it looks like the next stop on the Hoya Express is at MSG for the Big East Tournament.

*Possible destinations for the Hoyas in the first/second round of the NCAA Tournament include: Raleigh, Tampa, Birmingham, Denver, Little Rock, Anaheim, & Omaha. Games are also being played at the Verizon Center but they can't play there since its Home Sweet Home. I am rooting hardcore for Raleigh.

*Barra Brava gets off to an early start this weekend with a big pre season bash at RFD (right around the corner from the aforementioned Verizon Center). First home game is March 18 v Harbour View FC. I hope it's a little bit warmer in 3 weeks than it is today.

*Arsenal is on FSC tomorrow v Aston Villa. I hope they consider picking up the 3 points at home this time out. Looks like Eduardo is out for at least 9 months. What a gross break that was...ouch

*AC Milan is up next for the Gonners in the Champions League on Tuesday. 0-0 after the first game in the Emirates. 1-1 draw works with the away goals rule. i will

ok im tired...have a great weekend and remember...

i believe in a thing called roy

the final countdown...

Just 2 more chances to see your favorite seniors play at the Verizon Center as Hoyas.

Wow.

It's nearly impossible to imagine a game w/o Jon Wallace and Roy Hibbert.

I won't go down memory lane just yet - that will have to be saved for the Louisville pre-game blog. Instead I just want to acknowledge the fact that time, is in fact, winding down.

Tonight's opponent, St. John's, is trying desperately just to qualify for the Big East Tournament, which is of course played on their home court. Times have been tough for the Johnnies but I fully expect them to put up a much better showing than they did almost a month ago up in NYC.

I hope they are able to put this team out of commission early because my main man JWall needs to rest that wrist of his. Tournament time is coming and his Alabama Rainmaker is crucial to advancing.

The following headlines prove that there is entirely too much space reserved for sports "stories": (I mean why should anybody care about these things?)

1. Blazers Center Oden says he's backing Obama. Awesome. This is the same young man that said he was excited to get to Portland because it is near the beaches of Cali. And by young man I mean youngest looking 40 year old I have ever seen in my life.

2. Clemens to pitch spring training batting practice. This guy just won't go away. One of the biggest liars around. I love how pretty much everything Jose Canseco said years ago has turned out to be true. Nobody wanted to believe him but he was straight money.

3. Congress asks Justice Department to probe whether or not Clemens lied. I love how Congress is going after the big issues here. Keep in mind that people still live in trailers in post Katrina New Orleans. Tom Davis gets cised to see his face on SportsCenter. Hundreds of years from now school kids will learn how the fall of America is directly related to lawmakers wasting time with athletes.

And the winner:

4. 9-year old tennis player banned from tennis club for "grunting". Really? This is a top story? I guess in this age of drive by headlines searching for clicks, this wins a seat at the table for 15 or so minutes. I promised myself I wouldn't read this story so that's up to you.

Until later....

time flies when you don't blog

Well the last time I checked in I was all giddy to be finally seeing a game in the Carrier Dome. Yeah, uh, that didn't exactly go the way we were hoping. Turns out I have to go back at least one more time to see the Hoyas pick up a win.

My guys in the road Blue decided to reward my nightmarish morning (I left the house at 4:22am) by falling behind by 21 points just minutes into the contest. Being the constant optimist that I am during Hoya games, I never figured they would lose. I looked pretty smart when they got to within 5 very quick into the second half, but the large deficit proved to be too much to overcome.

Funny thing is that even though I have absolutely no impact on the outcomes of these games, (for those of you keeping track my lucky outfit is officially not lucky anymore) I can pretty much handle anything as long as I am actually in the arena. Switch to me watching the games at my place and I can't stand it. Luckily I was able to find another dedicated Roy Hibbert fan to watch the Providence game with me at, get this, a public place. I have a pretty strict I Don't Watch Games in Public stance that I decided to lift on President's Day. Somehow they were able to overcome my viewing venue and produce a win.

Don't look now: In the last two games Jeremiah has hit a three and taken a steal coast to coast for a monster jam. Wow. I hope the rest of the college basketball world is watching and taking notes. This guy is gonna be ready come tournament time baby.

on the road again....

There are some things in life that you just now must come true. For instance I know that it is my destiny to see a Georgetown win in the Carrier Dome over the Orange. I just hope that tomorrow is that day so I don't have to ever go back up Canada-Lite again. Of course it would also be nice, for the guys who are actually playing in the game to get a win. Especially the seniors who, lucky for them, won't ever have to play there again.

Jon, Roy, Patrick, and Tyler...go out on style guys....

Well the scheduling Gods really screwed me by putting this game at high noon. With the estimated driving time of 6 hours, I am going to have to get cracking bright and early. One has to wonder what ridiculous circumstance will see me stay up way too late tonight. If it involves being startled at 3am as Baker's booming voice echoes off of the walls while engrossed in an argument with Stern over who is better at snowboarding/skiing, I will not be impressed.

February 24th, 2002.

That was the last the Hoyas walked off the court at the Carrier Dome as the victors. Since then Syracuse has scored two huge wins right before my very eyes at the Verizon Center. The way I see it, they owe me one. At least one.

The Office: Looks like I will be passing through Scranton at some point. You know the place. The Electric City. The home of Dunder Miflfin - everybody's favorite fictional paper company. I am hoping to bump into Dwight or Creed at Poor Richard's tomorrow night. Actually maybe Jim's old girlfriend, Katie, will be around. Either way it would be cool to go there.

Sorta feels weird driving so many miles in one day without Brendan battling a map in the passenger seat. In fact just for old times sake I will make sure to put My Chemical Romance's Teenagers on my 'Cuse playlist. This habitat is for you buddy.

Alright well I need to get some things done before my early morning wakeup call.

tell me lies tell me sweet little lies

I generally don't expect to bust out with uncontrollable laughter on multiple occasions when I sit down to read the Sports page in the WashingtonPost. Actually that's not entirely true. Norman Chad is pretty good on Sundays and Tony Kornheiser, when he decides to actually get off of your television set and write something, is, and always has been, great.

But those are columns. They are supposed to be entertaining to a certain level.

What Jason LaConfora put in the paper this morning wasn't a column. It was just factual information on the new coaching hires for the Washington Redskins. The quotes were solid gold.

Some of my favorites:

Sherman Smith, about to take the job of offensive coordinator: "I work for a great organization right now, and he's giving me a chance to work for another great organization. " Sure thing cowboy. FYI the 'Skins have made the playoffs exactly 3 times in the last 15 years. Worse yet, they change their plan every other week and don't have a real GM picking players. Sure Cerrato got a rasie and a nice new fancy title, but let's be serious here, the guy is a complete assclown. Nice try though.

Smith: "I've heard great things about the Redskins..." Like what for example? Remember the last offensive coordinator had been lighting the league on fire for years before taking the same job that you are about to take. The last time I checked it didn't work out too well for Al Saunders right here with the Maroon, Black & Yellow (thanks Zorn).

Stump Mitchell, new assistant head coach running backs: "I'm sort of speechless about the opportunity, I've come to a franchise that's one of the most outstanding in the league, one that I was kind of in awe of as a player. Just the tradition of the Redskins and everything they've accomplished . . . you could definitely say I'm excited." Yeah guess what chuckles - you are 48 years old. Of coure you were in awe of this franchise (like the rest of us) back in the day. But times have changed around Redskins Park as we are now lead (unfortunately) by Dumb & Dumber. At what point do we stop talking about tradition and start talking about the "Now"? Bobby Bethard isn't walking through that door. The team doesn't play at RFK anymore. Get past, the, um, Past.

Mitchell: "I've talked to a lot of people I trust, and they've told me this sounds like a good move for me at this time in my career." Um, who told you that? Did you shake up a magic 8 Ball for that quote? Maybe your wife told you that because she wants to see you move up a tax bracket, but other than that, this move is probably career suicide.

And finally....Gibbs keeps towing the company line for Snyder even though he left because he knew the environment wasn't conducive to winning.

Gibbs: "I thought Dan did a great job" I can see Joe's nose growing from my office. Nothing more to say really. Just a complete boldfaced lie from our favorite Hall of Fame coach.

Gibbs: "There are only two or three coaches who are probably not going to be there." Yeah without naming names I can't even think about who he might be talking about. Way to hype it down my man.

Gibbs: "I think there's been a real continuity to trying to keep the group together." What are you talking about? Snyder interviewed Gregg Williams (one of the main reasons the Redskins were good in your second term) four times for like 12 hours a pop and decided to go another way. Hello, he was the guy most of the players wanted. Not the kind of "real" continuity we were hoping for Joe.

The moral of the story is that if somebody pays you enough to act like everything is going "just fine" no matter what the actual results indicate, you either actually start believing that horsecrap or you become a professional liar.

Z-Man...WTF?: Possible new offensive coordinator (how many of these does the team have?) Sherman Smith referred to Jim Zorn as the "Z-Man" exactly four times. That isn't the type of nickname that a real head coach needs to be answering to at any point in his career.

So here they are:

1. "No question about it, I'm really excited about the opportunity Z-Man has offered me"

2. "I've heard great things about the Redskins and I obviously know about Z-Man and what he wants to accomplish."

3. "I go back a long way with Z-Man, so he knows how I am"

4. "Anyone would . . . look forward to working with my man Z-Man and the staff he's putting together."

bad day not to be eating candy...

I felt it a must to listen to Happy Valentine's Day by Andre 3000. Of course after you listen to that you HAVE to skip ahead to Dracula's Wedding.


Another Celebrity Big East look alike: Two years ago it was decided that Syracuse Guard Eric Devendorf shows a striking resemblance to Cheddar Bob from the movie 8 Mile. Well we can add another player to this list. Notre Dame Forward Luke Harangody reminds of an older version of Buzz, the older brother of Kevin in Home Alone. Just another reason to hate the guy really.

So was Syracuse looking ahead to this weekend's game with Georgetown? I mean they did drop a road contest to South Florida last night. Not exactly something you want to do when you are fighting for your NCAA Tournament lives. I guess that depth problem is finally catching up with the Orange. So sad.

Speaking of sad, I am almost starting to feel bad for St. John's. I guess they will change coaches if winning becomes an objective. Right now it seems as if they are just happy not to be on probation.

I think Indiana should fire Kelvin Sampson's cheating ass and go back to the General. It just makes sense.

Yawn: I can't believe how much coverage the Roger Clemens hearing is demanding. Good luck getting some actual information from the bottom line on ESPN. All they do is give you meaningless quotes instead of actual scores. ESPN has really turned into a tabloid like news outlet. They rank games below everything in terms of importance. Rad.

Looking ahead to the weekend: Weather in Syracuse shows a high of 17 degrees on Saturday. I wonder how long I will get stuck in that glorified suburb of Canada. My guess is until Monday.

the banana is the key...

Accept no substitutes for the Banana: My favorite morning juice is put out by the good people at Dole. Orange Pineapple Banana Juice baby. Wow what a beverage. Well problem is that they were out of it at Safeway this past Sunday Night. My brand loyalty came into play and I went with a very similar product by Dole. Orange Pineapple Juice. I figured it would be decent.

Wrong. I might as well be drinking water out of an ash tray. What a nightmare. Stay true to the Banana folks.

Speaking of my favorite fruit, what is the deal with the food manufacturers always wanting to include nuts with bananas? There are some pretty good looking cereals out there but they all include almonds or walnuts or some other similar garbage. Just focus on the banana. Pies, bread, milkshakes, puddings, etc that are banana centric need to relax on the nuts. We don't need the crunch.

Big East: Notre Dame @ Uconn tonight. The good news is that one of those schools will get a loss tonight. The bad news is that they both can't lose. I think it is about time the Fighting Irish take another loss. I'm really tired of Harangody getting all of this love. I guess people are forgetting how he looked against Roy at the Verizon Center.

my name is bobby and i went to james madison

So there I am sitting in the front row of the Coca Cola Theater at the Verizon Center. I never sit in the front row of things but I was lazy when it finally came to time to find a seat and listen to Georgetown AD Bernard Muir speak. He had been held up in traffic which left me out in th open to just mingle with my fellow Hoya Hoop Club members. Funny how the same few people keep coming to all of the events. I mean there are over 2000 members of the Hoya Hoop Club but it seems more like 50.

Mr. Muir recognizes that he is late and that there is a very small crowd for his annual meeting with the Hoop Club so he decides to go outside the box. He thinks it would be a good idea for us to just stand up and introduce ourselves by stating our year and when we started following the team. The last time I remember doing something like that I was actually back at JMU which is ironic as I was about to unload the knowledge to the rest of the room.

We start with the guy to my left who quickily gives his name, class year at Georgetown and how long he has been a fan. Bam just like that I am up and I know I will get a few funny looks when I speak of my class year - mainly because it isn't what they are going to be expecting.

"My name is Bobby Bancroft - College of Business, James Madison University. Georgetown fan since 1988 and Hoya Hoop Club member since 2002."

I felt like I had just dropped an A-Bomb on the room.

"Oh my god I used to think that guy was cool but he didn't even go here." - Is what I felt they were all thinking in unison.

There were a total of 21 people in attendance and 19 of them actually went to Georgetown. Nobody every asks me when I graduated from Georgetown, as if it is a given. I think it is a pretty safe bet that the people in the athletic department that put together the numerous events and bus trips just assume I am one of them. I guess technically I am not (no degree with Hoya Saxa on it) but I'd like to meet somebody who follows as passionately or closely. I am sure there are some, but it's a small ass list.

19 and counting at home: Georgetown escaped with an ugly 55-53 win that included 48 total fouls, none more talked about than the one committed on Jon Wallace with .1 seconds left. I know I am biased but he was bumped and it resulted in him going out of bounds. If you watch the replay the ref waits almost an entire second to make the call. He isn't looking at the clock. Rather he is focused on the play and the out of bounds line. As soon as Jon crosses that line he blows his whistle. You have to. It is either Villanova ball or a foul on Villanova - those are the two options and since Jon didn't go out of bounds on his own....

Given the fact that they called every ticky tack foul all night, I'm not sure you can really argue against this one. The only reason this one is such a big issue is because it happened to be the last one.

I will have more later but I need to go to bed. I just wanted to make sure to get something out to you, my loyal readers, before this day came to an end.

final four my man...

Matchday 23: Villanova comes to town. The same Villanova squad that gave the Hoyas their last home loss some 18 games ago. There are only four home games left this season. I plan on enjoying every second of them before it is time to hit the road in March.

What happened last game?

Leaving Jesse's house I was left wondering if he had switched the game off at the half and put in a tape of the Hoyas circa 2002. No ball movement against the zone, no flashing at the free throw line, too much dribbling agains the press - who were those guys?

Turnovers and the disapperance of Jon Wallace make it tough to win on the road against a quality team.

When the schedule came out for the season I went through each game and put a W or L next to each opponent. They play 29 games and I came up with a record of 25-4. So far they are 19-3 and I have nailed every loss. Sometimes it sucks to be right. I hope I was wrong about that 4th because it will make for a long drive back from the Carrier Dome.

Reasons why I love JT3: "We're a long way from where I want to be. It takes a lot to build a program. I don't want to have a good team. I don't want to have something that's cute and trendy. I want this program to be good, to be the best, forever. That's all encompassing. We are still in the infancy phases, literally and figuratively, of getting to where we want to be.

longest day ever...

See this is what happens when you do the practical thing instead of listening to your heart. Today has definitely been the longest day of the year and we still have two hours until Hoyas v Cardinals.

You get so used to going to all of the games and then you have to try and find a way to survive until 9pm. It hasn't been easy. Let me give you the rundown:

Started off with some Premiership soccer at little past 7am. Newcastle v Aston Villa and then Sunderland v Wigan. Switch gears to college basketball with a little Notre Dame v Marquette. After rooting against the once again victorious Irish, I had to get out of the house. Clocktower Gold's was my next destination. Some plyometrics and some cardio would surely make the day go quicker right?

WRONG.

Next up I find myself looking at bedding at Target. Yeah I know not real manly but whatever I need some new stuff. Anybody that knows me knows that I never just go and buy something. I have to look at the same product on at least 3 separate occasions before handing over my shiny red visa check card.

Alright finally it is 5pm and I'm at Church. This is guaranteed to take an hour. Ok now I'm walking Rocky around the block and waiting for my pizza to get out of the oven. Nothing better than a Tombstone brah.

Oh great we interrupt your normally schedule Saturday in February to break the killer news that Redskins just gave up on their coaching search and went with the guy they hired over a week ago to run the offense. Pretty normal. At least he has never been a coordinator before. I feel really good about his hire. I bet Zorn will have no problem doing things the way he wants to do them with Snyder around. Awesome.

Alright I'm gonna go eat this silly pizza and catch the game with the Thiems. Jacob is the ultimate good luck charm.

I believe in a thing called Roy.....

Peace Out Homie

Cry Freedom...

From the How didn’t I think of that File: Gilbert Arenas is blogging about a mixed drink that contains two of my all time favorites, Corona and Shark Attacks (well Shirley Temples for the non-Glory Days savvy types). I mean I already love to indulge in another Corona combination – Corona with a shot of Bacardi Limon. Free advice – go easy on them and don’t even think about driving. But back to Gilbert, he calls the beverage the Agent Zero and says it’s really sweet. I plan on trying this fairly soon so don't you go worrying your pretty little head off.

Pretty good timing: If you have to pick one night out of the week to stay later at work, I am going to go out on a limb and bet that Friday is at the bottom of the list. I’m still at work (obviously done since I’m writing you, my devoted readers, before I leave) but its getting pretty damn late. This no meat on Friday deal is already feeling like a house of a thousand daggers. I was thinking of grabbing a quick sandwich before heading off to Gold’s but that’s not an option. Awesome. Yeah a quick check of the fridge here at work showed nothing in the form of Fish Sticks. Seriously what kind(s) of fish composes the stick?

No Freedom for me: My inevitable visit to Freedom Hall isn’t going to occur in 2008 I’m sorry to say. Sometimes you just can’t pull the trigger. The key is making those “sometimes” few and far between. No word yet on the whereabouts of my game watch, but I can tell you this; Town Hall isn’t looking like the winner. Our 19-2 Georgetown Hoyas enter tomorrow night’s clash as a 2.5 point favorite underdog. Keeping the turnovers under control and my main man Jonathan Wallace finding his shot are my keys to the game. I am, of course, counting on Roy to be, well, Roy.

Gooners: No Arsenal tomorrow OR Sunday is really not helping this first weekend without American Football go down any easier. We don’t count the Pro Bowl as “real” football. I think it would be cool if the NFC defense goes out with only 10 on the first play in honor of Sean Taylor. It was cool when the Skins did it on the mainland and it will again be cool from the Island.

Skins Coaching Drama: Maybe Gibbs will come back and save this Titanic. Maybe he was tired of Williams and Saunders and this was the only way he could get rid of them without looking like an ass. He knows Holmgrem from their USC days so perhaps he tipped him off to Zorn being an up and comer. Look I’m grasping here but anything is better than going with reality when it comes to Operation Worst Front Office Ever.

Town Hall or Freedom Hall?

Town Hall vs Freedom Hall.

Now this is a very big decision.

Georgetown plays Louisville at Freedom hall this weekend. Google maps have indicated to me that the drive from my house to Freedom Hall is roughly 9 and a half hours. Game time is 9pm seeing as it how it is the game of the weekend on ESPN. They even decided to send their GameDay crew down there, very nice of them really. So the late tip time doesn't require me to leave my house at some crazy hour.

Now there is obviously another way to get there. A flight to Louisville and a hotel for Saturday night is a little bit more than I would want to spend for a regular season game, knowing that March Madness travel is a little more than 5 weeks away.

What is Town Hall you ask? Well it is a place in DC that the Hoya Hoop Club uses as their away game Headquarters. I really don’t like to watch games out in public but I have this new problem: they suck when I watch from 2003 N Brandywine. From what I understand the place is pretty cool but my source was basing that on the fact that lots of guys went there. Last time I checked that is actually a negative from my perspective.

The wrinkle in this decision isn’t the fact that I would be going to Louisville by myself or the fact that the drive would make my Sunday totally suck. (I decided a long time ago not to let the lack of others stop me from going somewhere I want to go. Obviously I’d rather go with good friends, but sometimes you gotta just go for the gold by yourself. Oh and the drive time would just fly by with the proper amount of effort put into some killer playlists.) The wrinkle is that I need new front brakes pretty soon and that cost will come close to my travel cost.

What is a crazed fan to do? March Madness is looming. Next weekend in Syracuse will be my fifth roadtrip of the season. Should I make it my sixth??? Remember that I have a sweet spot in my heart for places I haven't been to yet. Freedom Hall has yet to make it on my Stadiums/Arenas that I have attended spreadsheet.

Do I have what it takes to make an adult decision and pass on the trip? Will the Peter Pan Syndrome come up and bite me in the ass yet again? That is the Million Dollar Question.

Watch this blog closely for all of your answers.

no show night at verizon

Look I know it was only South Florida, but last night’s attendance was ridiculous. The blame goes on both the students and the “regular” fans. I shudder to think what it might look like on Wednesday Feb 27 vs St. John’s when the tip time is a very unusual 9pm. I guess the students don't really realize how good they have it. Having personally attended a university with small time basketball, I would hope to see students at a university with big time basketball appreciate it just a tad bit more. Oh well.

The Hoyas played about as well as the crowd showed up. They went down 13-3 in a matter of minutes as they seemed rather disinterested with their lowly opponents. Jonathan Wallace is officially started to scare me, a little. In case you were wondering they came back to win by 10 in an U-G-L-Y affair. Summers scored the first 11 points for the Hoyas as he set a career high with 24. Sapp also had a pretty good night going 3-4 from downtown. Roy changed his undershirt at halftime. I wish I hadn't noticed that but I did. I mean he was wearing a regular t-shirt and then he went with the cutoff. What more can I say?

Ash Wednesday: I think I need to get a playlist of easy listening music or something because when I rolled up to church this afternoon I’m not sure I should have been blasting The Chronic by Dr. Dre. Something about that just isn’t right. Another thing that I have a problem with is leaving Church. I mean we were all just together for an hour trying to learn a little bit about making better moral decisions and possibly thinking a bit more about who you want to be right? Two minutes after it’s all over you have people in the parking lot not letting you out of your space because they are in such a huge hurry. Is it really that hard to be nice so soon after Church? I can see forgetting a few hours down the line because we live in an age where one hour ago might as well have been 10 years ago, but not immediately.

Big East: Hoyas still sit at the top at 9-1 but just a little bit below them are the UConn Huskies (6-3). They have a huge game with Syracuse (6-4) tonight. I really don’t ant to admit I am rooting for the Orange, but let’s just say I wouldn’t be heartbroken if they failed to lose tonight.

National Pride: I am a big fan of people putting their hand over their heart for the National Anthem. Not saying you have to do it, or should do it, but I think its cool. Nothing gets my national pride going like the National Anthem at a US soccer game. Standing in Sam’s Army everybody pretty much sings the Anthem as well. Tonight we have the ultimate “Friendly” as the Yanks take on Mexico. While the game is being played in the states (Houston), I highly doubt US fans will make up anymore than 25%.

I'd like to see Adu get a chance to play at least 45 minutes in the midfield. Not the wing. Can you hear me Bob???

first joe now bobby...

First things first.

Game time is 4 hours away.

Acela Club is 2.5 hours away.

Can you feel it??? Are you ready???

The line: 19.5 point favorites. Seems a bit high to me. I just want to see Wallace hit a few threes, Roy stay out of foul trouble, and Jeremiah to relax on the unforced turnovers. Let's all try and work on our post passing tonight guys. Thanks.

Missing Bobby: Bobby Knight.

How great is that guy? As fate would have it, it looks like I caught Bobby's last game as a Head Coach in the NCAA Tournament. Texas Tech lost to Boston College in the game that preceeded Georgetown v Belmont. While I don't think Knight's style was for everybody, but it seems as though the vast majority of his guys love him. They also seem to be better off for having played for and learned from the man. I like to place more emphasis on what those people around him have to say as opposed to the people who are just judging him from afar.

One last time...show me that game face baby!


Skins Drama: Yeah let's get the defensive coordinator from the Giants. I mean the G-Men won the most recent game. Snyder needs to strike while the iron is hot. I am sure Steve Spagnuolo will mesh in well with a team that already has a defensive coordinator in place. I'm sure that Spagnuolo was the main reason for the Giants win in the Super Bowl. Or maybe he had a great defensive line that put tons of pressure on Brady without having to call a million blitzes.

Nah. It's probably all Spagnuolo. Let's make that hire.

It's not the coach stupid. It's the guys picking the players and calling the shots. All Hail Vinny and Danny Boy.

what a beautiful day...

My oh my, what a beautiful day for basketball. Nothing can bring you down on gameday. (Not even the guys who started ripping down siding from the side of my place at 7am. Nope not even those guys could do the trick on a day like this.)

What we have here is another opportunity to extend the lead in the Big East. Another test before the showdown in Louisville this Saturday night at 9pm. Seriously college basketball is the best.

Do you ever look at the person in the car next to you and wonder when they lowered the age limit on driving privilges? Lock city that the girl next to me this morning going through the toll booth wasn't a day over 13. She must have been sitting on multiple phone books.

Around the Big East: Wasn't too impressed with Marquette last night. Not much movement, not much passing. They settle for bad three point shots. They stink. L'ville is finally rounding into the team that we figured they would be.

What the hell is wrong with Villanova??? Man they got crushed by St. Joe's last night. (I swear I didn't secretly pine for Scottie Reynolds last year. It was a different guy. Totally.) I hope they still find themselves in this funk when they roll into town next Monday night for Big Monday at the Verizon Center.

Tailgate Info: Word from MLS is that they absoultely positively will come out with the schedule on Thursday. I really don't like to tempt fate but I really doubt they could screw United fans any worse than they did in 2007. I mean we went from July 14 to September 29 w/o one freaking home game on a Saturday night. Unreal.

Wardrobe: We are going with the lucky outfit today. If it ain't broke don't fix it brah!

huge week starting with fat tuesday...

Fat Tuesday.

Mardi Gras.

Call it whatever you like but there is no denying that it is a huge party day as we say Goodbye to Carnival and Hello to the Lenten Season.

Now from what I understand the best locations to experience the end of Carnival are Rio de Janerio and New Orleans. Chances are that you won't be making it down there.

Bummer right?

Not at all.

I have the perfect solution for you. Come and cheer on the Hoyas as they welcome in South Florida for just the second time ever at the Verizon Center. Wow what an opportunity huh? I mean who wouldn't want to see Georgetown (off to their best conference start in 20 years) in one of their last five home games of the season? Um probably every single person I know or at least every single person I would actually take to the game.

Five more chances to see Roy, Jon, Patrick, and Tyler. Tick tock tick tock.

So let's breakdown the next few days:

Tuesday: Hoyas v Bulls - 730pm
Wednesday: Ash Wednesday & USA v Mexico - Freddy Adu on the roster
Thursday: MLS relases their schedule. This will effect travel and tailgates for months on end.
Friday: eh who knows...
Saturday: Dare me to go to Louisville?

believing in nonsense...

You can always count on some words of wisdom from the Grillmaster. He dished out this nugget while, big shocker here, grilling up some great carne asade...."It's not nonsense if you believe it in man."

Being about five or six Coronas in at the time and talking about what I had just referred to as nonsense, it made perfect sense. You know, the nonsense that is.

Barra Updates: Yesterday seemed like the unofficial start to the season with our informal get together to discuss a few topics that we hope to improve on this season. And we also found the time to have a few beers and turn Mike's deck into a mini-tailgate.

The official season opening party is March 1st at RFD near the Verizon Center. It sounds like members can pick up their new jerseys at this event.

First home game is March 18th against Harbour View in the CONCACAF Champions Cup.

Super Bowl: Oh right there was a big game yesteryday. I was glad to see the Giants pick up the win. I missed most of the first half as I was heavily involved in a conversation on which kind large grill Oscar should buy for the Barra, charcoal or propane. (I think propane will be easier to handle but it doesn't really mater to me.)

I was very disappointed not to see any Monkeys in suits during the commercial breaks, but I did find that ad with Will Ferrell to be pretty damn funny. Oh and the Doritios commerical where the guy in the Mouse suit attacks the guy who sprung the mouse trap. Brilliant.

I like Tom Petty and all but I was hoping he would play Mary Jane's Last Dance. I mean it is his 3rd most popular song on iTunes. It's not like I was grasping at b side track or anything.

How great was the shot of Shockey in this suite? You just knew he was pounding beers and then you see all of the bottles near him. There isn't a doubt in my mind that he can just crush 12 longnecks in no time at all.

its almost over

The Super Bowl.

I am so tired of hearing about it and I have tried so hard to avoid all of the hype. I can't imagine what it would be like to watch ESPN on a regular basis. I mean they love to cover Tom Brady like the tabloids cover Britney Spears. Speaking of Spears I heard a clip where she was using this miserable english accent. Could somebody fill me in on what that is all about? There has to be a good story behind that. (I'm just glad I could get a picture with her before she flew off her freaking rocker.)

Seriously though, what do I want from the game today?

I want two things - in this order:

1 - As many commericals with Monkeys wearing suits as possible.

2 - The Giants to somehow win.

I'd like to make it clear that the first thing is of much more importance to me. I mean if the Patriots win at least it will piss off those guys from the '72 Dolphins that, for some reason unbeknownst to me, get together every season when the last team loses. I think thats really lame. I mean you can only control what you do/did. They went undefeated. Somebody else going undefeated doesn't take away from what they accomplished. Why is that so hard to understand?

Alright I gotta get out of here.

C'mon Monkeys...nothing makes me want to buy product more than seeing those hilarious primates in suits.

Groundhog Day

Unfortunately I wasn't able to keep track of what Punxsutawney Phil came up with yesterday. Did anybody get up to Gobblers Knob for the big event? To me it really sounds like something you should do at least once.

So if Phil saw his shadow that means we have 6 more weeks of winter right?

Well from what I understand if Georgetown wins a game on Groundhog Day and Jack the Bulldog sees his shadow at the Verizon Center then we are that much closer to a party in San Antonio. I'm ready for that.

Not sore enough: Turns out I am a huge candy ass.

Awesome.

I had really hoped to wake up this morning and find that my legs were basically useless. I am definitely a little sore but not to the level that I wanted. I wanted to be one step away from crippled status.

You Can Do It: I was able to start and stop drinking yesterday with complete success. Now that is a rare bird if I have ever seen one.

Letting the Night Come to you: Too often I let the night come to me and it leaves me with poor results. Not last night. I got a chance to see some pretty good friends at two different places, that, hello, bordered each other. How great is that? The highlights would have to be seeing Sam lose to Mary in a rousing game of Know Your Hoyas and a late night (mid afternoon for him) call from Brendan where we couldn't hear each other. Terrific.

Sam don't worry. You actually impressed me by getting 6. You should study up on the new additions for United and try and even up the series at a game apiece.

nothing like coming home...

Section 111 Row Q seats 13 & 14.

Yuengling at the Acela Club while the team warms up.

Parking near the Law School and taking a 4 minute walk.

Those are very friendly and familiar places for me between mid November and early March every year.

Even moreso when you consider that the last two games had seen me take various modes of public transportation to catch games in completely different environments. I think it is safe to say that Morgantown, West Virginia and New York City are pretty much polar opposites.

(For those of you keeping track at home: Train > Bus. Just in case there was any debate.)

The games themselves were also night and day. I mean we go from a thrilling comeback win that includes a clutch three with six seconds left and a block at the buzzer to the biggest conference loss in the history of St. John's Basketball. It was so bad I almost felt bad for the Johnnies.

ALMOST.

I really don't want to complain about a road win, but when you take off of work to catch a train to the city you would rather see something a little bit more compelling than 41 - 14 at the half.

Ouch.

I love how I was initially worried that if the game went into overtime I might have trouble making my train home. Yeah that almost happened.

You know I think I am going to make these blogs shorter with the hopes that it will increase my readership. Don't want to jinx myself but it seems like there are at least 3 people reading.

Really closing in on double digits there. Silly.