Let's Get DUKED UP!

That's a new catch phrase I'm trying to start. Do you guys think it'll stick? Picture this awesome scenario:

Parking lot, Cameron Indoor Stadium, I walk up to a crowd of despondent Duke alumni.

Me: Yo everyone, why the long faces?

Them: We're playing a really good team. We have no chance. Life is sad.

Me: Looks like somebody needs to get....DUKED UP!

Background cheers as a huge party truck roars up, painted Duke blue, and Duke cheerleaders jump out of the back carrying banners and pennants and handing out blue body paint and blue kool-aid as everyone gets Duked Up for the big game.


Here's how that would actually go, in the real world of real Duke alumni.

Me: Yo everyone, why the long faces?

Them: Hey bro, no offense, but this party's sorta exclusive.

Me: What? We're in a parking lot.

Them: Bro, be cool. We don't want to have to say it again.

Me: Why are you guys all wearing madras and paisley?

Them: Why are you still here, FAG?

Me: There's supposed to be this truck...


Anyway, I'll be getting Duked up tonight, except with a significant caveat:

Even though I have tickets, I will not be going to the game.

Does this make me a bad fan? It may be my last chance to see the Devils this year, but the game doesn't start til 9:30, and I have a flight out of NYC at 7:30 the next morning (wake-up time = 5:00 am). Sleeping on planes is basically impossible for me, so I've decided to skip the game, watch it on tv, and go to sleep right after rather than come home at 1 am and try to catch whatever Zs are still skittering about.

This probably makes me a bad fan. PS, if anyone wants two cheap tickets to tonight's game ($20 total), get in touch.

Okay, so, as mentioned before I'll be in St. Thomas for the next few days. No more blogs until one week from this morning, on Wednesday the 2nd. That being said, here are some sporting events to anticipate in the next few days:

*DUKE-ASU! DUKE-UCONN! The former happens tonight, the latter happens Friday if both teams win. I'm ridiculously excited to watch us take on a legitimate team. I'm predicting Nolan puts up 18 tonight and 26 tomorrow, with close to 10 assists in each, and gets tourney MVP.

*Alabama-Auburn in the Iron Bowl on Friday, and Florida-FSU Saturday. The Gators and the Tide are already set to meet in what will be the regular season game of the decade (yes, decade) next weekend, but these tune-ups should be a lot of fun. Not only are the rivalries ancient and fierce and whatever else; I feel like both teams will be playing with something to prove, to show that they're the stronger club going into the SEC title game.

*Saturday is actually stacked with great football. I'm a dude who loves the old rivalries, and this weekend brings us: USC-UCLA, Georgia-Georgia Tech, Oklahoma St.-Oklahoma, Arkansas-LSU, Virginia Tech-Virginia, Clemson-South Carolina, and Utah-BYU. In the non-rivalry category, Notre Dame-Stanford should be a pretty fun game. Will the Irish take orders from Weis, or will they look across the field and obey next year's coach, Jim Harbaugh?

PS, Clemson is a really, really good team. They're only ranked 23rd because of three early losses, but they've now reeled off six straight wins against some quality opponents. And take a look at those three early losses: 30-27 against Georgia Tech (top ten team), 14-10 against TCU (undefeated, #4 in the country), and 24-21 against Maryland (national champions in basketball, 2002). Okay, so the Maryland one is rough, but aside from that, those are some tough losses to great teams. They play Tech again in the ACC Championship next weekend, and it may be the first time I've looked forward to that particular title clash...ever? Yes, ever.

*Giants-Broncos Thursday night. A few weeks ago, this match-up gave me the willies. Now? I'll be hugely surprised if we don't win by like 30. Denver is a living example of the classic gut-wrenching fade-out. At 6-0, we the fans had to endure story after story about their boy wonder coach and the team's heart and blah blah blah. Then they lost 3 straight, and it was pretty bad, but they still had that "we have to make a stand" game left against San Diego. Win, the ship is righted and playoff chances look okay. Lose, the Chargers grab the division lead, and the long, awful slide continues, except this time without hope. Result: 32-3 Chargers. In Denver. A total drubbing.

Meanwhile, the Giants had the same situation against Atlanta. After four losses, they risked falling to .500 and losing their puncher's chance at the NFC East title. They squeaked out an OT win, and now may be poised to shift the momentum entirely. I don't care that Thursday's game is in Denver, I don't care about the short week, and I don't care about the altitude. Both teams are 6-4, but the mental states are diametrically opposed. This will be a walk in the park.

PSS, what's the etiquette about watching a ton of football while on vacation in some place exotic and warm? Since it's the Thanksgiving holiday, it's basically accepted, right? Are people going to make me feel guilty if I'm not on the beach all the time? I like the beach, don't get me wrong, but not as much as your average bear. I love the smell, mostly, and the lulling sound of waves. I love things like breezy early morning jogs on the hard part of the sand near the water. I like body surfing. But roasting in the midday sun on a supposedly 'comfortable' lawn chair gives me a sort of unpleasant, over-heated feeling. It's my Northern Euro blood in revolt. I can take it for short periods, but any more and I risk being incapacitated by sun fatigue.

So, is it cool to veg out and be a sports fan? My girlfriend isn't coming, which I'm sad about, but it also means she won't be there to get annoyed with me. I feel like I have carte blanche to find a television and splay out. And to be fair, my schedule is jam packed:

Thursday: Giants-Falcons at night (do they get NFL network in St. Thomas? PANIC!)
Friday: Bama-Auburn daytime, Duke-UConn night (and maybe some Pitt-WVU as well)
Saturday: FOOTBALL BOWWOWOWWOW DROOLLLLLL
Sunday: Free day! Family, beach, fun! NFL? Hey, if it's there, who knows?!!!
Monday: PATRIOTS-SAINTS. Holy crap, what a game.
Tuesday: Fly home.

Expect me to be disowned by about 2:37pm Saturday.

BONUS THING: Tuesday night, the ACC-Big Ten Showdown Throwdown (or whatever it's called) starts. Duke doesn't play until Wednesday, but UNC takes on Michigan State Tuesday in a rematch of last year's title game. It'll be a good early measuring stick for both clubs, and in a roundabout way it should also tell us even more about this mysterious and enticing Syracuse team, who have looked pretty amazing to date.

Okay. I think that about covers it, my friends. Please get absolutely stuffed on sundry foodstuffs, but don't let the trytophan keep you from enjoying the even vaster athletic feast laid out in high definition. Sportsgiving is here again!

Caribbean Ideas

It's now t-minus 2 days until I hop on a plane and jet-set to the splendid little Virgin Island called St. Thomas for a few days of respite. In the lead-up, it's difficult to focus on sports, especially when nothing is really happening at the moment. I'm also a day away from seeing the #7 Blue Devils live and in person when they take on Arizona State at the Garden. So I've got a couple things on the horizon.

For now, though, I'm tired and running in place, and so is the sports world. I'm afraid that's about all I have on offer today. Refueling is in order! Or at least a wind-up...

It's Party Tynes!

While trying desperately to blow another game with miserable defense and craven late-game playcalling, the Giants accidentally beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-31. Lawrence Tynes kicked the game-winning field goal from 36 yards out in overtime, and our five weeks of hell are finally over.

(The title of this post comes courtesy of my former roommate, a Chiefs fan. Tynes used to wear Kansas City red, and legend has it that he was so unreliable (gasp!) that whenever he came out to try for three, the half-nervous, half-fatalistic cry among the fans was 'It's party Tynes!')

(I can't remember if I've told that story in this blog before. Probably. Sorry. Please, let me make it up to you:


)

Good news:

1) Eli and the offense looked pretty great. We finally opened up the downfield passing game, and the receivers proved they can do more than catch bubble screens and quick three-yard slants.

2) We play Denver on Thanksgiving, and after a 6-0 start, they suck. Bad. Yesterday, the Chargers ran them off their home field to the tune of 32-3, taking first place in the west. I don't imagine they'll be relinquishing that spot.

Bad news:

1) After a decent beginning, the defense collapsed like a dude with tinderstick legs. At 31-17 in the 4th, you could start to see the momentum shifting, and it got frightening. Osi and Tuck got tired on the ends, the pressure all but vanished, and Matt Ryan started treating our secondary like a prom king treats the janitor's kid when they run into each other at the Dairy Queen. You hear what I'm saying.

2) And this was COMPOUNDED by the fact that fucking Kevin Gilbride, our offensive coordinator (get it?), has this clause in his playbook:

Clause: Lo, and if thou should gather such leads as persist into quarter the fourth, abandon thy tactics which heretofore have garnered many a point, and trust instead in hitch screens, draws, and other fanciful ploys which involve much movement behind the line of scrimmage.

Yo, Kevin. You've scored 31 points because nobody can cover anyone and Eli's hand is so hot he won't be able to make love to his wife normally for a week. GO DOWNFIELD. GO DOWN THE @#$#ING FIELD. OTHERWISE YOU'RE CONCEDING THE GAME.

Anyway. Philly won, Dallas won, so we gained a bit of ground in the wild card but not much else. It's a good win, though, and maybe the momentum carries us to a couple more. Who the hell knows...this is the NFL.

The Dukies played on Saturday, and hit a ridiculous 18 three-pointers while decimating the Radford Highlanders 104-67. Andre Dawkins, our best freshman, hit 6 by himself. Nolan and Scheyer added 4 each, and Singler got 3.

Finally, a Duke team that can score in a variety of ways!

Just kidding. Apparently Radford went into a zone, and couldn't guard the 3 at all, so they took what was given. I don't mind. I hope we don't get addicted to the downtown scene to the detriment of slashing and (gulp) post play, but yeah, if a defense wants to pack it in, bombs away.

I'm chomping at the bit to see these guys Wednesday at MSG. We're taking on Arizona State (coached by former Packie Herb Sendek) in the semis of the NIT Tip-Off, and we'll probably face UConn if we win. Sadly, I won't be able to share my wacky perspective on those games until next Wednesday, since I'm heading out for Thanksgiving vacation (St. Thomas, baby, U.S. Virgin Islands...nothing but virgins as far as the eye can see, if I understand the name correctly!) Thursday morn and won't be back until late Tuesday the following week.

Luckily, I will be here for you the next two days. And we're going to have fun, like that common memory we all share of something fun we did as children, like jumping on a trampoline or playing with an unlikely toy on a day we all thought would be boring. Today is Monday; love your mortal coils.

LATE POST SHORT POST GREAT POST? POOR POST!

Sorry fellas and ladies, came in late to work today due to a little of the old belly sick, and now I'm swamped and have no time to write. So, quickly:

*I have seen the enemy, and they are good. At least while I'm there. UNC beat Ohio St. by 4 at Madison Square Garden, but they looked like the dominant team for three quarters of the game. The Heels were up 16 with 10:35 left, and that's when I took off. Then Ohio St. came roaring back and got within 2, apparently.

But anyway, I thought UNC looked pretty solid and poised. Syracuse decimated Cal in the early game, and that was probably a bit more fun to watch. Tonight at 7, Cuse and UNC play in the championship (it's the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic, by the dubs)...should be a very good game. I won't see it, because I'll be watching my hero's newest movie, The Fantastic Mr. Fox.

*That's honestly all I can write today. Believe me, I know this is not cool. I'm already chastened.

Oh, and CONGRATULATIONS to a dude up north the papers call Special K for making the varsity squad as a freshman. You know who you are, homes! He and his older brother will be burning a trail through the Champlain Valley this winter. Believe me, it won't be pretty; if you thought Sherman was bad, close your eyes and ears for about four months.

It's a football weekend. Giants beat Atlanta 24-13.

The Irish Get Screwed Again

No World Cup for poor Ireland, and it happened in typical fashion: in the second leg of a two-match "tie" (soccer terminology) with France, winner goes to South Africa, they scored a pivotal away goal to even the series. 90 minutes passed, and the match went into extra time. If it reached 120 minutes with neither team scoring a goal, it would have gone to penalty kicks (I think). But in the 103rd minute, French striker Thierry Henry received a pass and sent it across the box, where it was headed in by William Gallas. Two problems:

1) The French were offsides.

2) More pressingly, Henry used his hand to corral the ball before touching it on. This, in soccer, is against the rules.

But the goal counted, the Irish couldn't answer, and France made the World Cup by an aggregate 2-1 score.

I love this line from the article:

They (the Irish) exit the tournament with their dignity intact, though...

Of course they do! This is Ireland! You don't think they expected something like this? Here's an actual 'thought diary' of every Irish fan and player, taken straight from the extra session:

102nd minute: Hmmm, this is strange...at the moment, it seems as though we have a fair shot to win this match, and God and fate aren't conspiring to keep our people miserable, subjected, and second-class...

103rd minute: Ah, there we are.

This result should not surprise anyone. The Irish have been on the wrong side of history since the Vikings started getting curious about other people's things in the 8th century (see highly accurate illustration above). They continued getting screwed by the British, by Irish-Protestants, by extremist Irish-Catholics, and by their own potatoes. Then they sent all their people to America, where the established folks (former Brits, of course) thought it was a good idea to start a political party specifically to keep them from power (see: Know-Nothings) because they thought that instead of being poor and desperate, the Irish were actually sinister agents of the Pope. Later, the good guys found a foothold in the country and actually had a president elected. He got shot. Now the Irish line has become diluted all over America, except in Boston where the lovely lilting accent has been corrupted into some loud, yawping monstrosity, and all the people root for the wrong baseball team.

SO YEAH, WORLD, NOT ONLY DID WE FUCKING EXPECT THAT RESULT, WE EXPECTED HENRY TO ACTUALLY CATCH THE BALL, CARRY IT INTO THE GOAL, AND KICK THE GOALIE IN THE NUTS WHILE THE REFEREES HAD TEA WITH MARGARET THATCHER AND THE LINE JUDGE BURNED THE IRISH FLAG.

You'll notice I said "we" in the above paragraph, as though I'm Irish. Let me be clear: Team USA is my squad. I'm only Irish in the sense that a million other Americans are Irish, which is to say very little; some of our forebears came over from the country four or five generations ago, our blood has been mixed with various other tribes, and we've either never been to Ireland or visited for very short periods, but our homes are covered in Celtic trinkets, we get over-excited on St. Patrick's Day, we still have Irish last names, and there's a weird affinity with the motherland surpassed only by our Jewish brothers and sisters.

So I'm kinda pissed. Also, I didn't actually watch the game because it was during work. Also, I like Henry because a friend of mine when I studied abroad (IN DUBLIN!) got me rooting for Arsenal, and he was their stud at the time. So, whatever. But still, man. Erin go friggin' Bragh.

Other quick items:

*I'm sort of looking forward to this weekend's Jets-Patriots game in the way that a weirdo looks forward to a car wreck. Not only is Belichick pissed off about last week, and not only does he have an asshole's proclivity for running up the score; nope, he's also steamed at Rex Ryan for acting like the early Jets win over New England heralded the coming of a new glory. And now the Jets look like crap, and the Pats look pretty awesome. This might be the first time an NFL football team scores 100 points in a game.

*I may go scout the enemy tonight. #4 UNC plays #15 Ohio State and #24 Syracuse plays #12 California in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at Madison Square Garden. I'll be sure to hurl some invective at Roy Williams from the cheap seats.

That's it for now. Still thinking about Nolan Smith's performance from Tuesday. Still pleased.

Here's the video of the blatant hand ball, which may be removed at any point due to copyright restrictions:

In Nolan Time...

If last night is any indication of what we can expect from Nolan Smith this year, the NCAA better BUCKLE THE F%*& UP.


After being suspended for the first two games because he played in an unsanctioned summer league, Nolan came out gangbusters last night, scoring 24 points and playing an aggressive, slashing style that trumps anything we've seen from him so far. His 24 points were a career high, and he did it in relentless fashion, starting with the first possession of the game. The dude had something to prove, and he made no bones about it. For those of us who know how crucial he is to the success of this year's team, it was a beautiful performance to watch.

This is really, really terrific news. I struck a somewhat pessimistic tone in my preview last Friday, but if Nolan plays like this, we will be much better than I thought. As I mentioned, Scheyer is a competent point guard who will be somewhat stifled against the best defenses because of his average quickness. But he's an excellent shooting guard, and Nolan Smith, who has the motor and quickness and point guard ability Scheyer lacks, can free him from the claustrophobia of floor leader and let him blossom off the ball.

It was just a matter of whether Nolan (I prefer calling him 'Nolan' instead of 'Smith,' which sounds too generic...I don't mean to imply I'm on a first name basis, even though he and I have lunch together every Tuesday at the VFW) could assume that role. Before the season and after the first two games, Coach K asserted that in practice, he'd looked "not just good...great." But you never know whether to take that at face value, or what. Fans got the first part of their answer last night, though; the potential is there.

He always had the talent, and yesterday he had the fire. There are certain positions in sports where you can't get away with not being a badass. Point guard in basketball is one of them. That doesn't mean you have to be a gloating primadonna, or a poor sport, but it does mean you have to be utterly confident and play every game with something to prove. The kind of responsibility a point guard shoulders demands a certain type of arrogance, and previously Nolan had seemed too timid, too retreating. Against Charlotte, you started to see some personality. A great sign.

Of course, "against Charlotte" is a key factoid. It's not like he was running amok in the Deandome or anything. But I'm still excited; he's clearly worked like a dog in the offseason, and my gut tells me his shrinking violet days are over.

By the way, here's a great story about Nolan and his dad from last year. Derek Smith was an NBA player who came from nothing, an illegitimate child from Georgia who became the quintessential 'hard worker' and played nine journeyman seasons in the NBA. When Nolan was eight years old, he and his dad were on a cruise ship (where Derek, then a coach for the Washington Bullets, was running a youth clinic) when the older man collapsed. He died of a heart attack with his son by his side, asking him to "wake up." Very sad stuff, and it's always made me read a certain portion of sadness into Nolan's quiet demeanor. I'm thrilled that he's on the verge of maturing into a great college player; it seems a lot like his destiny.

So, the last two Duke wins have been part of the preseason NIT tournament. I guess we've now won the East Regional, which means we'll be taking on Arizona State next Wednesday in...Madison Square Garden!! An early chance for me to see the Devils, and it comes as a complete surprise. Good, good stuff. UConn and LSU are the other semi-final.

Briefly, some other thoughts on last night's game:

*Scheyer and Singler look great. No surprises. At the moment, Coach K is going with a two-guard offense, meaning Nolan and Scheyer will share the point position. I think it's a great move, and if things go well I'd like to see an eventual transition to Nolan making the position his own.

*Coach K threw out a 3-2 zone in the second half last night, which I absolutely love. It seems like every three years or so, Syracuse manages to advance further than they have any right because of their zone defense. When done well, it can give even good teams big headaches; the only tried and true method to break it is by shooting, and that can come and go on any given night. It seems like no other teams have caught on, or they're just not interested in the novelty, or something. As an intermittent gimmick, I think this is a great call, especially with Singler and guys like Kelly and the Plumlees able to play the top wing positions.

*Andre Dawkins is a little unsure of himself at the moment. He has moments where he looks confident and able, but other times he's still finding himself on the court. Granted, we're only three games in, but I'd like to see a bit more assertive behavior. He's supposed to be someone who can penetrate with the best, and Coach K needs to loosen the reins.

*Ryan Kelly is going to be better than I thought. There's merit to my fears that he shies from contact and lacks bodily comfort in the paint, but he's not clumsy or too awkward. His development is very uncertain, but at least we're not looking at another Zoubek here.

*Brian Zoubek is still useless. Lance Thomas looks "competent," at best. Miles Plumlee had a nice game, and might be the most athletic of the three, but I still don't trust him against bigger, stronger front lines.

*All the sudden, I'm anxious about Mason Plumlee. If his wrist injury isn't serious, which was the speculation last night, I'm thinking he might be more useful than previously imagined. If he was truly slated for a starting role, above his brother and Thomas, he must be something more than a gangly freshman.

Reading over this post, I realize that after watching one game against inferior competition, I've completely abandoned myself to the optimism that strikes every single year. Crap. Crap. Crap.

Anyway, about the post title: there's this excellent band called "Mew," from Denmark. The leader singer, Jonas Bjerre, writes in English, but because his English wasn't always fantastic, the lyrics are more expressionistic than narrative or even poetic. The first line in that song is "In Nolan time sign, what does the mind cover?" I got kind of obsessed with them, and was lucky enough to conduct a very long, very fascinating (to me) interview with Jonas two years ago. I touched on this particular line:

A details question: In "Apocalypso," what is Nolan time?

Jonas: Apocalypso is about the fear of Death. I have a lot of anxieties; in fact I'm chock-full of them. And in recent years I have come to believe that they all derive from fear of dying. Many of my nightmares involve bodily malfunction and disintegration. When I was staying in LA recording the album I got this horrible tooth ache. I have a fear of dentists as well (so I take very good care of my teeth) and was trying to put it off, always keeping whiskey in my mouth, that sort of thing. But in the end I had to go and it was actually not such a bad experience. But the pain was pretty excruciating and the dentist was called Doctor Nolan. But in reality, I don't know why I'm even telling you this story because at that point the lyrics were already written and the name was just a coincidence. I guess I have no real explanation for it.

And I don't know why I'm telling you this, except that part of the function of my obsessive brain is that any word in the English language will remind me of a song. When I'm conversing with someone, and they say a trigger word like "holiday," little snippets of music will begin playing in my head, such as that whiny "and here's your holiday!" song by Blink-182. Don't worry: I'm not the obnoxious guy who immediately starts singing and is a total pain to have a conversation with. Nor am I unable to focus and listen. But inside, there's a soundtrack playing. Now, when I'm watching Duke basketball and Nolan Smith scores, the first line of "Apocalypso" starts playing as a sort of theme song. Sometimes I hum it, and if I'm alone I'll actually belt it out sometimes, since it's sort of a celebratory melody and seems to fit my enthusiasm.

And now, if possible, I would like to convey this madness, this curse, onto you.

Rough sports night this evening. Good luck making it through Wednesday.

An Evening with Vladimir, and Credit Where It's Due

Last night, I missed Duke's 74-49 win against Coastal Carolina due to a prior engagement at the 92nd St. Y. There, to celebrate the posthumous release of Vladimir Nabokov's novel "The Original of Laura," Brian Boyd, Martin Amis, and a very funny book designer named Chip Kidd spoke about the master.

The basic story of this book: Nabokov died in 1977, by most accounts about halfway done with "The Original of Laura." His explicit instructions, since he was an extreme perfectionist, were that the unfinished novel should be destroyed in the event of his death. But his wife Vera and son Dmitri didn't comply, and for 20-odd years they waffled about the fate of the work. Finally, this year, Dmitri (who seems pretty...strange) decided to let it see the light of day. Hence last night's festivities.

The two best parts:

1) A recording of Nabokov reading his poem "The Ballad of Longwood Glen" in the very same room in 1964. Before beginning, he announces that Wyoming is his "favorite state in existence."

2) Martin Amis, the British novelist, giving an amazingly great presentation about Nabokov the tragedist.

Anyway, the point of this is that I was going to offer a link to the video, since the 92nd St. Y gave a live webcast last night, but apparently it's either not up or not being offered. Which means that I should find a nice segue to discussing Duke basketball, and the distinction Coach K deserves for his early season prowess, or else this whole post is a wash...

Much like the fastidious Nabokov perfecting an outline, Coach Mike Krzyzewski obsessively prepares his charges in the pre-season, inevitably resulting in strong openings whose luster only fades when the unruly masses reach equal form after the New Year...

Screw it. The point is this: I give Coach K a lot of shit, and will probably continue to do so throughout the year. But credit where it's due: he doesn't screw up in the easy games. Year after year, strong teams falter in the early going, losing questionable contests due to lack of organization and motivation. This doesn't happen at Duke. Going backward in time, here's the early track record, our highest ranking, the catch-up moment when the shine wore off, and the end tourney result:

2008-09: 18-1 start, only loss comes at Michigan in December.
Highest Ranking: #1.
Catch-up moment: Starting January 28, we face three ranked teams in a 2-week span, and drop all 3.
Tourney: Sweet 16 loss to Nova.

2007-08: 22-1 start, only loss in OT to #9 Pittsburgh over Christmas break.
Highest ranking: #2.
Catch-up moment: late February, two losses on the road to unranked Wake and Miami. Tourney: Second round loss to West Virginia.

2006-07: 13-1 start, only loss to #17 Marquette.
Highest ranking: #5.
Catch-up moment: January, and consecutive losses to Georgia Tech and Virginia Tech.
Tourney: First round loss to Virginia Commonwealth.

2005-06: 27-1 start (!), only loss at Georgetown in late January.
Highest ranking: #1.
Catch-up moment: two season ending losses to FSU and UNC.
Tourney result: Sweet 16 loss to LSU.

2004-05: 15-0 start.
Highest ranking: #2.
Catch-up moment: late January, losses to Maryland and Wake in a single week.
Tourney: Sweet 16 loss to Michigan State.

2003-04: 21-1 start, only loss to Purdue in 4th game of the year. This is the only "bad" loss in the early going I can find in the past 10 years.
Highest ranking: #1.
Catch-up moment: Consecutive road losses to NC State and Wake in mid-February.
Tourney: Final 4 loss to UConn.

2002-03: 12-0 start.
Highest ranking: #1.
Catch-up moment: Consecutive road losses to Maryland and NC State in late January.
Tourney: Sweet 16 at Kansas.

The year before that, I was a freshman and Jason Williams was the best player on the best team in the country. We lost a heartbreaking sweet 16 game to Indiana. The year before that, Battier and J-Will led us to the national title.

So, what does this prove? Coach K is a great early season coach. If you compile those admittedly arbitrary records, his 'early season' record over the last decade is 128-5. Arbitrary or not, lesser competition or not, that's pretty friggin' staggering. I guarantee no other program can match those numbers.

Unfortunately, it also shows that he's not a coach who can lead his team to a strong finish. As the season wears on, Duke fades. After all those strong beginnings, a top-5 ranking every year and four #1 appearances, we have only one final 4 appearance to show for it, and no national titles.

But this was meant to be a positive post, so: well done, Coach K. For all your faults, nobody will ever accuse your teams of being unprepared. They'll never fail for lack of effort. And you won't lose to the Coastal Carolinas of the world. There's something to be said for that.


Today's the day where ESPN shows games at all hours of the day. I didn't end up skipping work for it, though I already wish I had, but starting at 4pm this evening we'll have a chance to get a look at #22 Louisville, #20 Georgetown, #2 Michigan State, and #1 Kansas. Those with fancy sports packages can also check out UConn, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, all top 25. If you've been jonesing, it's a good day.