Monday, March 30, 2009

Final Four, Bay-Bee!

Sorry, I'm just a little bit excited that, for the seventh time in history (and fifth in the last 11 years - which just happen to coincide with the coaching tenure of Tom Izzo), my Spartans will be in the Final Four. And this time, it'll be just down the road, in Detroit. Good times! I had just gotten done with grad school when Magic Johnson and the guys won it all in '79; and the 2000 championship happened less than a month after we moved into our current house. . .

But - how 'bout that defense, eh? I almost felt bad for Louisville; they looked like they didn't know what hit 'em. . . But maybe, just maybe, they can play a little hoop somewhere besides the Big East conference. Maybe.

And it remains true that every player who has played four years for Tom Izzo has been to a Final Four (this year's seniors were on the hook, since the last time we were there was the year before they were freshmen). . .

Go Green! Go White!

15 comments:

lime said...

that's that game where they bounce a round ball around and try to throw it through things stuck up on the wall, right?

ok, my thoughts on magic johnson...

first of all, what in the heck kind of nickname is magic...johnson???? i mean really.

secondly, for the first 5 years of marriage there was...in our bedroom...a life sized poster of mr. johnson going for a layup with his tongue hanging out while the rest of his face was contorted in a horrendous grimace. just look up in the middle of conjugal relations to be greeted by that image! it ain't right i tell ya. enduring that psychic trauma has got to earn me instant sainthood i think.

lime said...

oh and ....go green, go white....whatever team that is.

rah rah ree, kick em in the knee. rah rah rass, kick em in the other knee.

Bijoux said...

Go notice something about Molly....please!

Anonymous said...

Binghamton University, Xavier, and Syracuse are gone already. You can have it, and enjoy!


Tho the dog rowfed up something suspicuously green this AM. With flecks of white ... ;-)

Desmond Jones said...

Lime - See, I've always thought the sportswriter who hung that nickname on young Earvin back in his high school days in OurTown, blessed him with an all-time great pickup line, whether he meant to or not -

"Hey, babe - wanna find out why they call me 'Magic Johnson'?"

And of course, back when he was playing here, there was the Heart song which, I'm sure, NEVER even occurred to him to make seductory use of. . .

Or maybe an item from David Letterman's list of 'Top Ten Failed NBA Marketing Slogans' -

"Let us show you our Johnsons"

And, uh, are you sure it was a poster of Magic Johnson? 'Cuz the whole tongue-hanging-out thing is sorta one of Michael Jordan's 'trademarks'. . . But yeah - hanging that above the conjugal bed? Just don't seem right. . .

Anyway, I've posted long ago about the poster Molly and I have hanging over our bed. . .

Cocotte - Sheesh, twice in 135 posts, over three years, I get a little happy about my sports teams, and you get all impatient with me. . .

And you know, one of the things I appreciate about Molly is the way she'll share in my joy (and that of her sons) when my Spartans make the Final Four. . .

>:P

Xavier - I had no idea yer dog was such a Spartan fan!

lime said...

no, it was definitely magic johnson in all his purple jerseyed glory. good gravy, i can close my eyes and he's STILL there leering at me with his tongue hanging out. make it stooooooop!

i think if i absolutely had to choose between einstein and magic i'd go for einstein with his tongue sticking out. smart men with a sense of humor and whimsy get me more in the mood than sweaty, promiscuous jocks do.

Desmond Jones said...

". . . purple jerseyed glory. . ."

Yeah, that'd be him, all right. . .

And listen, it's best that I not develop the whole "smart men with a sense of humor and whimsy" theme. . . ;)

Summer Rose said...

I'm sorry I'll be glad once basket ball ends. I'm not big fan, baseball is just around the corner go A's, go Sac Rivercats and of course the S.F. Giants!
S.R.

Desmond Jones said...

SR - I too am glad to greet the arrival of baseball season. If there's anything that might possibly overhsadow my unnatural love for all things Spartan green, it could only be my Tigers (CH isn't still mad at me over the '06 playoffs, is he?)

Trueself said...

I'll say a word of thanks to the Spartans for representing the Big Ten in the Final Four. I'll be rooting for them (even though I have UConn picked to go all the way in the office pool). You won't often hear me say this, but this weekend I'll be shouting "Go Spartans!" Enjoy it while you can.

Of course, as I've said before I really think Izzo is a class act so that makes it easier to root for the Spartans when they make it this far.

Desmond Jones said...

Truey - Thanks for your support. I always pull for the other conference teams (well, sometimes I make an exception for a certain 'blue' institution down the road from us). Funny how many times we've been to the Final Four, and there's been another Big Ten school there with us. . .

Trueself said...

Spartans scared me there for a while tonight, but I'm glad to see them pull it out.

Looking forward to watching them win on Monday too.

Desmond Jones said...

You know, both of the last two games, I didn't really think we would win; of course, I knew we could, but it just didn't seem all that likely. But that defense. . . oh, my goodness. . .

So now we've got the Ford Field rematch with the Tar Heels, who we've never beaten in the NCAAs. I'm pretty sure we won't lose by 35 this time, but it just seems like another game we 'can't really win'. But heck, by now, I know that nothing's impossible. . .

Trueself said...

Hey, sorry about that game tonight. I must tell you it was just too painful for me to watch. Maybe it was the memories of 2005 it dredged up, but at halftime I turned it off.

I found it interesting the CBS pundits predicted an MSU win before the game. Apparently they had more confidence in the Spartans than you had. It is unfortunate that, in this case, you knew more than they did.

Ah well only 6 more months until Moonlight Madness heralds in a new season. I think the Spartans will be a better team next year. I also think (hope) the Illini will be a better team next year.

Now to turn to baseball, and my enduring, though trying, love and devotion to the Cubs. I am nothing if not a long suffering fan.

Desmond Jones said...

Truey - Yeah, it was disappointing, but I kept thinking about how young our team is - we'll graduate a couple key guys, but still, we've got a pretty good seven-man rotation of freshmen/sophs coming back next year (and I'm told our incoming recruits are pretty decent, too. . .)

Carolina was just too good, and I tip my hat to them. . .

Plus, I came to be a tad annoyed by all the 'this is so good for the State of Michigan' stuff. Yes, it's nice to see the Spartans do so well, and play the Final Four in Detroit, and all that - very cool. But this morning, you still don't have that job that you didn't have yesterday, and MSU didn't make any mortgage payments for you. So maybe it helped take your mind off your troubles for a while, which is nice, but in terms of 'what it did for the State of Michigan'. . . I mean, come on. . .