mindoverchatter.com

Yesterday’s Mount Shasta wore a mutable cloud necklace.  A sight so fine should have launched me into a blog about the unbearable lightness of being, but it didn’t.  All that stuff takes a back seat this time of year.

No offense, folks, but natural beauty can’t compete with men’s college hoops.  And while I’m at it, screw those NFL Wildcard playoffs too!  Why can we have more college hoops on tube?  That’s what I want to know.

Soon to be President, Barack Obama (nicknamed ‘Barry Obama’ for his tendency to bury three-pointers) and his newly formed B Ball Cabinet need to take care of this problem right away.  Follow the links to find out just how much Obama really is into Basketball.  It’s a first for any U.S. President and about time too.

Oh well, back to yesterday. At 9 A.M. Pacific Time, I got glued to the couch watching #10 Notre Dame fall to St. John’s and #18 Tenn lose to Kansas and the rest of the day was history. (Screw those rankings, by the way.)

My unranked Memphis Tigers played unranked Lamar. Pregame nerves began the night before—little stomach clumps—you know, the kind that accompany all Memphis free throws.

Sometimes I wonder if being a F A N is worth what I go through.  No need to lie. That game for the National College Championship…you know…the one where Dorsey fouled out on a cheap call, the one where Coach Cal didn’t call a time-out, the one where the referee didn’t call the last foul, the one where Derrick Rose ate too much candy, the one where we missed the free throws, the one where a miraculous three-pointer cost us the game. (Memphis vs. Kansas) Yea, that one. Well it left a bad taste. Life was barely worth living after that.

CDR to the hole

Plus that was the last time we saw three of our Greats:  Chris Douglas-Roberts (the fearless go-to guy), Joey Dorsey (the fearless muscle) and Derrick Rose (the fearless inspiration).

Rose turned into such a beautiful point guard, and it was before our very eyes. Sometimes I watch the Chicago Bulls just to get another look at the boy.  I swear he still has that unfettered innocence and grace with which he left.  Chicago, you best be kind to Kid Rose.  Even Memphis Head Coach John Calipari called timeouts just to invoke the young dude’s blessing.

“Derrick is one of the greatest players I’ve ever coached,” he said, “but of even more importance, he is one of the greatest teammates I’ve been around.”

Back to this season:  At least the University of Memphis finally has a point guard—Tyreke Evans. It has been a difficult search, and as one gnarly bastard announcer put it, “if you have four point guards you don’t have any”.

Yo, gnarly bastard, it’s not for want of trying! Our Desperately Seeking Derrick Coach Calipari tried Willie Kemp, Antonio Anderson and Wesley Witherspoon before settling on Evans at the point.  Calipari’s thinking was this:  Tyreke tends to get penalized for running over the opposition, so now he has more room to move about before he encounters any—opposition, that is.

(I apologize to all who haven’t the vaguest idea what I’m talking about, but there’s no stopping a Fan.)

After Derrick Rose it’s hard to get excited about anybody else running the point. Like I said, he was only at Memphis for a year—a one and out, it’s called-–but I bonded with that kid.  Rose oozed the temperament of an evolved Tibetan Llama:  Lovable, unselfish, joyful—plus he was hooked on starbursts, gummy bears and pineapple syrup.  Everybody knows those reincarnated llamas are suckers for candy.

Sigh. Sigh. Double sigh. I miss Derrick Rose. His only Achilles heal was his stomach.

Before the national championship game, teammate Robert Dozier commented on Rose: “He didn’t eat last night or this morning. We’ve been having problems with him, making him eat all this year, so it’s nothing major to worry about. He just eats candy and pineapple and syrup. He never really eats real food..he eats like he’s eight. He needs (a food pyramid). Someone needs to put one up in his room.”

Here he is, folks, Derrick Rose #13 at the top of the food pyramid. It’s hard to criticize him from our vantage point.  And check out those hands in the second pic—all that chi and energy pouring forth.  Can you feel it?

Men like Derrick Rose come along maybe only once in a lifetime. When they leave, they take your heart with them—for awhile, at least.

And then men like Evans, Dozier, Mack, Taggart and Antonio Anderson put it back where it belongs…in Memphis with the Tigers:  Last night’s game, which Chris and I listened to on the internet radio, was history-making.

Houston, we have liftoff! Memphis 108, Lamar 75

Liftoff in the form of our new point guard  Tyreke Evans, who went 11 of 16 from the field and scored 25 points (only one turnover); liftoff in the form of Robert Dozier who finished with 19 points, and Shawn Taggart who scored 15 points, and Doneal Mack who had 14.

And lest we forget…Liftoff in the form of Antonio Anderson: ‘Tone’ became the second Memphis player in history to record a triple-double.  The first was Anfernee Hardaway (1993).

That’s big ‘Tone’!