When No Other Words Will Do

Sometimes, social media expressions are just the best. 

Succinct and to the point.

OMG! OMG! OMG!

And afterwards all I could do was

LOL!

so much that I hysterically

ROFL!

Then I started to think about the last few minutes of the game.

IIRC

a lot of players worked really hard to get

 that game to those final 4.4 seconds. 

A 3 pointer and block by Ros,

swooping shot by Jos,

and a jumper by Kayla that rattled in.

WTH

was with those foul calls on Jayne? 

I think only one of them was really a foul, but

NP

this is a TEAM, not just one individual!

IMHO and FWIW

this game will just make the Cardinal stronger!

Not sure who we will play next but I hope

WOOT!

I was

SMH

watching the post game (what little ESPN deemed to show).

Ros was bawling, Jeanette was in a daze,

Jayne was picking Nneka off of the floor.

BTW

I was wondering how the coaches could stay so

KL!

I would have been a complete

Noob! 

So, Card Fans

TYT

and savor this fab win, but not for too long.

Because we are TEXAS bound and

This is a team that

CSWS!

TCB

What does The Team have in common with Elvis? 

Just like Elvis, they are TAKIN' CARE of BUSINESS!

A few notes and thoughts--

---Ros!  Ros!  Ros!  Ros! Ros! She is forcing everyone to have to learn how to pronounce her name correctly!

--Was that the best Maples farewell performance ever?   Candice Wiggins' 44 points in 2008 is probably the winner, but, for shear unexpectedness, I'll take RGO.

--Gary Blair: "Folks I'm going to lobby here a little bit. You just saw two No. 2 seeds play. Doggone it, we've earned the right not to be in Geno's region."  How's that workin' for you?

--Arrived early for the Saturday game and spent some time sitting at a table by the new Track House.  The day was absolutely glorious--we are blessed.  Shopped for a Fear the Tree shirt and they were out of most sizes!  But found that they are still available here, in case you are interested.

--I must note that the lone upset that I picked correctly in the first round was the only one that I didn't have a reason for except cheese quality--Vermont over Wisconsin.  So much for all of my good knowledge.

--Note to teams down by 10 with less than 10 seconds to go--don't foul.

--Note to teams up by 10 with less than 10 seconds to go--don't shoot.

--Note to ESPN--please make the timeouts shorter.

--My NCAA seat put me up higher than my usual spot, which allowed me to see different things.  For example, I never noticed that the Tree has a hat!  I am certain that it is made of the same "fabric" as some of Kim Mulkey's clothes.  I am hoping that, in the spirit of greenness, she recycled some of her old stuff for the hat so that no Pleathers had to be killed.

--I really love our Band.  Usually the best time to watch them is while the opposing band is playing.  While the Iowa Band was rocking "Thriller", one of Stanford's tuba players was doing a great shimmy shake that was straight from the MJ video!  And he did it for the whole song! 

--UCLA tried to use a power play against Nebraska, but those crabby refs wouldn't let them play with six on the court.  I've never seen that one before! 

--Celebrity sightings--Jennifer Azzi, Sebnem Kimyacioglu, Clare Bodensteiner.

--And Marques Colston.  I didn't want to bother him, but finally couldn't stand it any longer--I HAD to talk to him.  So postgame, I thanked him for helping my Fantasy Football team and received the biggest smile ever.  A complete sweetheart.

--Was that Sharon Osbourne officiating the UCR game?

--I hope the NCAA was able to cash in on showing Meg Whitman on the Jumbotron.  Unless I was sleeping, I believe she was the only former student-athlete featured, which made me go "Hmmm".

--In my recollection, I cannot remember a better spurt of basketball than the 29-4 run Stanford started with 14:55 to go in the first half.  Never mind the shooting, which was unbelievable--what about the assists?  There were 10 in six minutes!

--My caption for this one is "Ros, I am SO HAPPY we went through counseling!"

--I watched Skylar Diggins and was envious for a bit.  But then I thought, if she had been here, would we have seen the players we have now perform like they have this year?  The player rotation would, of course, have been significantly different and some of the wonderful successes the individuals have had might not have taken place.  I kind of like what we have!

--OK, on to SacTown.  Hoping to see EVERYONE there in full Cardinal regalia--let's make Arco Arena into Maples North!  Both Jayne and Ros mentioned how great the crowd was in the postgame presser, so we have an obligation to keep up the good work! 

March Madness, April Gladness

A tradition in every workplace is the NCAA tournament pool--Men's only, of course.  The guys always liked us girls to play because we were often just donators to the final prize.  You know, picking by colors or mascots just doesn't always work!

But they soon grew weary of me, because I did sometimes win or at least finish in the top three.  I don't know much about the men's teams, but just enough to be dangerous.  Plus, I had no emotional attachment to any men's team so I could pick freely who I thought would really win.  I have a couple of faves--Stanford, of course, maybe some PAC-10 teams--but generally I can select my teams in the Men's tournament with a clear mind and little compassion.

When it comes to my Women's bracketing, that is just not possible!  My head and heart are fully engaged as I labor over whether I can pick an arch enemy.  And doesn't that 1-9 matchup look primed for an upset?  Wasn't that team really good when we played them in 1998?  Oh, geez, someone who used to play at Stanford is coaching there, what should I do?  I have to pick the PAC-10 teams, right?

I get SO confused!

Take Texas A & M, for example.  Last week, I saw them play numerous times in the Big-12 tournament and they were hot.  Plus the announcers were heaping praise on them (of course, one of them was Debbie Antonelli, so that has no merit).  Now, there they are in Stanford's bracket and they have me scared to death.  Naturally, though, my bracket always has Stanford winning the National Championship, so I don't have to fret over that side of the bracket too much.

OK, so what about the KC bracket.  There sits UCLA.  Can I pick them? Sure, but only to win their first round game before getting beaten by Nebraska.  I hope I am wrong!  See, that's the other thing--when I make a good, heady choice, I will root against it.  Now what good does that do?

My dream Dayton regional final would be UConn vs. Princeton.  Why?  Wouldn't it be great to see the Tigers and assistant Milena Flores beat up on the Huskies?  Nah, I didn't pick that, but I thought about it!  That would be the biggest Bracket Buster of all time--sort of like Buzz Aldrin winning Dancing with the Stars.

So, then there is Memphis.  That would be a great regional to go to because I know where the world's best ribs are (The Rendevous!) and you can go to Graceland.  Other than that, I'm somewhat uninterested, though I guess I would like to see Tennessee play Baylor again.  I am going pretty much to form except I think #6 Texas will get to the Regional semi since they will be playing 1st and 2nd Rounds at home.  A Texas/Duke matchup, with all the Coach G drama, would be fun.

OK--so my first round upset specials are--but use them at your peril!

#9 James Madison over #8 Temple

        JM will be on their home court

#10 Middle Tenn over #7 Mississippi St 

       MTSU's Scoring Machine Alysha Clark
is too much to pass up

#12 Marist over #5 Georgetown

       Experience over newbies

#10 Hartford over #7 LSU

      LSU is sentimentally over-ranked

#13 Chattanooga over #4 Oklahoma State

     Andrea Riley being benched will doom the Cowgirls

as hardly anyone else even shoots

#10 Vermont over #7 Wisconsin

     I think Vermont makes better cheese

And now, my Final Four--

UConn vs. Tennessee

   winner is UConn  83-68

Stanford vs Oklahoma

  winner is Stanford  81-67

      National Championship Game

     Stanford over UConn  78-72

There is a lot of heart in this pick, but an awful lot of head as well.  Sometimes, I do get my brackets right!

Let the games begin!

Randomness

--Lindsey Vonn & Jayne Appel.  Separated at birth?

--Don't tell anyone that I told you but there are Cowbell apps that you can download (for free!) onto your phone.  I learned this during the Olympics.  Not exactly a Tinkle bell, but.......

--A big Shout Out to Douglas Lee and Kellee Noonan for arranging our get-togethers to watch games at First and Main in Los Altos.  A great time was had by all at the ASU party, including Jeannette Chang, who won the grand raffle prize--an autographed team ball.  If you haven't been to First and Main, give it a try--great food, great people and great atmosphere.  And the Mom-in-Law of one of the owners is a long time SWBB season ticket holder! 

--If Stanford gets to the Regional in Sacramento, it will be a somewhat bittersweet visit for me.  Many of us made a trip or two to Arco each year to watch Nicole and the Monarchs.  It is hard to believe that they are gone.  On the bright side, perhaps a trip to watch Ms. Powell in New York is in order?

--I still don't get the need for Conference tournaments.  If you do, can you fill me in?  It seems to me it is a chance to reward a team that gets hot for just one weekend over a team that has excelled throughout a conference schedule. 

--Whoever thought up the Fear the Tree t-shirts is a genius.

--I am always amazed at the dynamics of Stanford vs. Cal.  I once had a boss who was a Cal Alum and huge football fan.  He told me that he hated Stanford the most, even more than USC.  I didn't think that was even possible for someone who follows football!  For some reason, I still liked the guy, just like I like the Bears when they are not playing the Cardinal.

--That being said, BEAT CAL!