I would describe my day as craptacular. I couldn't get anything to work on my computer for most of the day, eventually giving up in order to play some NCAA Football '11 before I completely lost it. Essentially, it was a wasted day, especially since it was a day off.
So, I need some Defend That, Digger to cheer me up. I really feel like changing it to something against Gary Parrish, especially after this tweet yesterday:
Here's the truth. Duke, MSU, OSU and Pitt look special. After that, there are about 20 teams not separated by much. - Gary Parrish
This is from the same guy who said in January that Kansas, Kentucky, and Texas had elite talent and one of them was guaranteed to win the National Championship, while Purdue didn't have a chance. Texas lost in an 8/9 game, Kansas was upset in round two, and Kentucky lost in the Elite 8, while Purdue, minus its best player, went farther than two of his three favorites.
The spirit remains the same though. This is for all the "experts" and how they are proven wrong.
Exhibit A: North Carolina - Kudos to Minnesota for striking first blood for the Big Ten against an ACC power. The Golden Gophers earned their surprise tournament win in Puerto Rico. North Carolina, and all that McDonald's All-Americans, apparently do not know how to play defense. Sorry, but that is still a key part of the game of basketball. They moved ahead of Purdue on the strength of beating powerful Lipscomb. That Harrison Barnes really is worth being an All-American without playing a game, isn't he? Defend That, Digger!
Exhibit B: Yale 75, Boston College 67 - It is a tough year for the Eagles, who are falling further back. It is the third straight year they have lost to an Ivy League team. At least Harvard the past two years has been decent. Yale is a bottom feeder even in the Ivy. Chalk it up as another mark on the ACC. Defend that, Digger.
Exhibit C: Old Dominion 61, Clemson 60 - With Iowa and Alabama as the only other major conference teams in the Paradise Jam Clemson was in line for a nice tournament victory to boost the ACC. Oops! The Monarchs pulled the upset and continued to bring down the mighty ACC. Defend That, Digger!
That's all for this week. I'm sure the early season tournaments will provide plenty of ammo this week.