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!