Notre Dame Fire Labeled "Suspicious"

North Carolina Tarheels Vs. Notre Dame Irish: ACC Championship Game

I took a lot of ribbing last night as my beloved Duke Blue Devils trailed the Irish of Notre Dame throughout the entire semi-final game.  At the half, Duke trailed by 15 but chipped away at the huge Notre Dame lead.  Duke got within 4 but never overcame the deficit.  ND Coach Mike Brey refused to double-cover Jahlil Okafor and chose instead to foul him.  Watching him try to make a free throw at the charity stripe was painful to watch.  Last night’s loss by Duke could imperil their No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

While the “all-Tobacco Road” championship will not happen tonight, I have to root for the Tarheels against the Irish.  The Heels are riding high after defeating No.1 seed Virginia.

Tipoff is at 8:30 PM ET and the game will air on ESPN.  The Tarheels are 24-10 this season averaging 77.8 points and shooting 47.3 percent while defensively they are allowing 67.8 points.  The Irish are 28-5 averaging 78.6 points and shooting 50.9 percent.  They’re allowing their opponents to score 65.2 points.

As you can see, the stats for both teams are fairly equal, but for the very first time in Carolina’s history, the Heels defeated two higher seeds—No. 4 Louisville and No. 1 Virginia in the ACC Tournament.  During the regular season there were obvious problems on both ends of the court for Carolina in terms of finishing off teams.  I don’t want to be an ACC chest-thumper but…the ACC is one of the toughest conferences in the country.

Notre Dame, in all their years in the Big East Tournament, never made it to the final and they haven’t advanced past the first weekend in the NCAA Tournament since 2003, in fact, they haven’t even won a tournament game in four years.  So, I’m going to boldly predict a win for the team I only ever root for when Duke is not playing.  I hope Carolina ruins St. Patrick’s Day for Notre Dame’s leprechaun mascot.

Oh, and their shoes are ugly.

GO HEELS

And since no basketball post would be complete without some pom-poms, check out these lovely Tarheels cheerleaders.

Basketball Heaven: ACC Semi-finals

It’s going to be a BIG night tonight.  Game One of the 2015 ACC Tournament Semi-finals features the North Carolina Tarheels against the Cavaliers of Virginia.  The game airs on ESPN at 7:00 PM.  Following that game will be the biggie:  my beloved Duke Blue Devils vs. Notre Dame.

As I’ve written many times before, none of my friends are Duke fans.  They are all huge fans of the Tarheels.  I’ve invited them all to Casa de Curmudgeon for a little camaraderie, adult beverages and a taco bar.

I’m going to whip out all my Duke Campus Crystal barware engraved with the Iron Dukes logo and a Duke chips and dip bowl and a couple of Duke serving trays, after all my quests need to be reminded whose house they’re visiting.

Drinks will be served at the bar in the kitchen and I’ll set up a buffet in the den with tortilla bowls that can be filled with shredded beef, lettuce, cheese, sour cream and their choice of hot or medium salsa, Pico de Gallo and guacamole.  There’ll be some Grilled Corn with Avocado Pico de Gallo, Mexican Rice and Dulce de Leche Brownie Bites for dessert.

Carolina looked really strong in their defeat of the Cards yesterday afternoon.  The Heels are averaging more points per game than the Cavs but their percent shooting is fairly equal.  I think the Heels pull this one out late in the game.

At 9:00 PM THE game is on.  Duke faces the Irish of Notre Dame for the third time this season.  Ordinarily my friends might seek to leave after the Carolina game, but they hate despise dislike really can’t stand that school so they will hang around to join me in cheering on the Blue Devils to victory.

The Irish are going to have to battle a tenacious little point guard in Tyus Jones.  The third Plumlee brother, Marshall, and Jahlil Okafor are going to be tough to defend so the question for tonight’s game is:   Will Duke face an explosive offense or the team that last night needed 12 minutes to get its first field goal of the second half?  After the drubbing Duke gave NC State last night, I’m betting Duke emerges the victor and plays for the ACC Championship crown tomorrow night.

GO DUKE

And since no basketball post would be complete without some pom-poms, here’s some lovely cheerleaders for you to peruse.

Basketball Heaven: ACC Quarterfinals

Retirement has it perks.  Yesterday I enjoyed the second round of games in the ACC Tournament.  I slopped up on the couch and watched the afternoon matches between Clemson and Florida State followed by North Carolina and Boston College.

I jumped in the shower after the Tarheels shellacked the Eagles, fed my little furkid and headed out to my favorite watering hole to join friends to enjoy the contest between North Carolina State and the Pitt Panthers.  I stayed through the first half of the Canes/Hokies game and then headed back to Casa de Curmudgeon and turned in for the night.

The game plan today is to watch the first two quarterfinal games and then join my posse at the same watering hole to root for my beloved Duke Blue Devils.  I’m hoping for a victory so they can advance to the semi-finals and then on to the championship game on Saturday.

ESPN will carry the 12:00 PM tipoff featuring the Virginia Cavaliers and the Florida State Seminoles.  The Cavs have one the best defensives in the country so I think FSU is going to lose this game.

At 2:30 PM Louisville is set to play the North Carolina Tarheels.  This is their first ACC Tournament since joining the conference.  I’m not sure how they’re going to react to the venue of the Greensboro Coliseum which will be filled to the rafters with fans rooting for their “home” teams.  The two teams split their regular season meetings, but I’m predicting a victory for the Heels.

My evening will be spent with friends watching the two remaining games of the quarterfinals that pit my beloved Duke Blue Devils against the Wolfpack of North Carolina State.  The Pack had a really strong game against the Pitt Panthers and they knocked the Blue Devils from the ranks of the unbeaten back in January, but Duke drew a double-bye for the tourney so they are well-rested.  This game is going to be brutal, but I think Duke is hungry to win.

The final game of the quarterfinals will see the Irish of Notre Dame go up against the Miami Hurricanes.  I can’t stand either team and could care less who wins.  Wait.  No, that’s not true.  I’m going to root for the Canes in this one.  I don’t think they can pull off the win, but that doesn’t mean I can’t root for them.

GO DUKE

And because no basketball post would be complete without some pom-poms, check out the gals of the ACC.

UPDATE 2:15 PM:  Poor FSU.  They never had a chance against the Cavs.  They threw clunker after clunker and were slow running down court to defend and wound up losing 58-44.

UPDATE 4:42 PM:  For a team that can't decide which league they want to play in, they may want to consider yet another after losing pitifully to Carolina 70-60.  'Ol googly-eyed Rick Pitino told his players not to foul with 21 seconds left in the game.  Now the Tarheels face Virginia tomorrow in the semi-finals.

FINAL UPDATE:  I couldn't contain my joy watching the Blue Devils manhandle the Wolfpack.  The final score was 77-53.  NC State fell behind by double digits early in the first half and never had a chance at recovering.  Notre Dame barely escaped against the Canes.  They ran hot and cold but managed to win 70-63.  

Four-Leaf Clobber

Condescending Wonka Has A Few Thoughts For The Irish

The Stuff College Football Legends Are Made From

Image Source: BCS National Championship Guide—Alabama Crimson Tide

As you can see by my banner, I’m super-jazzed about Monday night’s BCS National Championship game between my beloved Alabama Crimson Tide and those other guys from another school.

Bill Plaschke of the LA Times begins his prosaic prediction in this way:

“The oddsmakers favor Alabama in Monday's BCS title game, but many signs point to a Notre Dame victory, and they go all the way back to Rockne and the Gipper.”

“The images will be vivid, history will be haunting, ghosts will be everywhere.”

“This is Knute Rockne versus Bear Bryant, Touchdown Jesus versus Dreamland Bar-B-Que, Four Horseman versus Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Montana versus Joe Namath, and, of course, in the battle of the little guys, Rudy versus Nick.”

“It will be a football game bathed in a complicated mess of legend, religion and roughhousing, but most folks think Monday's BCS national championship heavyweight fight between Alabama and Notre Dame can be symbolized by a single disparity.”

“It's a leprechaun versus an elephant. It's a Notre Dame mascot who belongs on a cereal box against an Alabama mascot that belongs in a zoo. It's a team that hasn't won a national title in 24 years against a team trying to win its third in four years. The bookmakers have made Alabama a nine-point favorite, surely making Notre Dame one of the biggest unbeaten underdogs in title-game history.”

Then Plaschke regales us with the story of how the Domers “won one for the Gipper.”  Hell, sir.  What does a game played 85 years ago have to with this meat grinder game?  Not a damn thing.

“It's gonna happen again,” Plaschke insists, “Notre Dame fooling everyone with a victory in a game that feels like a Gipper speech.”

Any Bama fan worth his salt is well-acquainted with the legends of Alabama football.  We don’t need to be reminded.  I’ve watched or listened to all the Bama games since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.  What we will be relying on is the strength of Nick Saban’s program and the very real possibility that The Crimson Tide will win its third national championship in four years and with it a chance to become a dynasty.

Yes, I am not burdened with a weak opinion.

“If you want to walk the heavenly streets of gold, you gotta know the password, “Roll, Tide, Roll!”—Paul “Bear” Bryant

A House Divided

This is the final week of college football’s regular season.  Today’s lineup includes a few “house divided” matchups:

Georgia (3) Georgia Tech 12:00PM

Michigan (19) Ohio State 12:00PM

Oregon (5) Oregon St (15) 3:00PM

Florida (4) Florida State (10) 3:30PM

Alabama (2) Auburn 3:30PM

Stanford (8) UCLA (17) 6:30PM

South Carolina (12) Clemson (11) 7:00PM

Missouri Texas A&M (9) 7:00PM

Notre Dame (1) USC 8:00PM

I know I’m going to catch a lot guff for what I’m about to say, but here’s how I hope the day will end up.

I want Georgia to defeat Georgia Tech’s Rambling Wreck.  I’ll be pulling for the Gators to take down the ‘Noles of Florida State.  Naturally, I’m anxious to see the Crimson Tide roll past the Tigers of Auburn.  And finally, I’ve got my fingers crossed that the USC Trojans rout the Irish of Notre Dame.

Bama’s regular season schedule ends with the Iron Bowl at home at Bryant-Denny Stadium.  This is a must-win for the No. 2 Tide to advance to the SEC title game against No. 3 Georgia. 

Auburn is under investigation by the NCAA for its recruiting practices and Head Coach Gene Chizik has recently come under fire for Auburn’s dismal season.  These are factors that will serve to distract the Tigers today in what I predict will be a solid victory for Alabama.

If Alabama emerges victorious, they will be headed to Atlanta to face the Dawgs of Georgia for the SEC Championship.

Some say that Alabama is not the unstoppable team the Tide faithful claim because of its loss to Texas A & M, but let’s not forget that just last week Oregon and Kansas State suffered crushing defeats. 

Notre Dame is the only undefeated team going into this weekend.  Just a few weeks ago, the Fighting Irish were considered to be the weakest undefeated team in college football.  I’m not looking to make any enemies here, but I still think they are.

UPDATE I:  Dawgs wreck Tech 42-10, Tide destroys Tigers 49-0 and Gators chomp Noles 37-26.  Awaiting kickoff between USC and Notre Dame.

UPDATE II:  Aw geez. The Irish whipped the Trojans 22-13.  Now the rest of the nation’s college football fans have to listen to garbage like this from ESPN’s Gene Wojciechowski:  “For the moment, Notre Dame is better than everyone. That's what the record says. That's what the BCS standings say. That's what the locker room celebration said.”