cold as ice

I've said it before. If Villanova isn't hitting the perimeter shot, we're toast. The one thing the Wildcats had going all year was the ability to hit the three. In the games where we couldn't do that, we struggled, or flat out lost. It's been said that playing in those domes messes with your depth perception, and is a detriment to teams that rely on a perimeter game. I don't know how true it is. I just know the Wildcats couldn't hit the ocean from the beach yesterday, and we don't have the inside game to match up with Florida, among others. Listening to sports talk radio on the way to work this morning was painful. I should have just pushed a CD into the player instead of having it all relived, over and over, from the Gator perspective.

Stephen Ames won the Players Championship by...well...a lot. It took a lot of the drama out of the last day, but I was happy. He was one of the guys who signed the youngster's flag (and the flags of his buddies) on Monday, so once again, we got the winner. One thing I thought was very cool, and pretty much shocked the members of the press....winning this thing give Ames the opportunity to play in the Masters (as well as the other majors). When asked about playing it this year, Ames said he had no intention to be in Augusta in two weeks. He already had a family vacation planned after he finished the Players, and he was meeting them in Orlando to fly to Trinidad. WHAT?? You aren't going to play the Masters? He diffused the situation by saying he'd talk it over with his family. Before this opportunity landed in his lap, he was planning on spending a few weeks of quality time with them. I hope he still does. If you go way back in the archives of this place, you'll note the Masters isn't my favorite tournament. I hate when people in sports think they're bigger than the game. I hate when T.O. does it in the NFL. I hate when Steinbrenner or Selig do it in baseball. I hate when Billy Packer does it in college basketball. I hate when Kobe does in in pro basketball, and I hate it when Hootie (Johnson) and the blowhards do it in golf at the Masters, and they do it all the time. It's about time someone handed them a mouthful of humility and put their family before Augusta National.

Kinda weird though...this Monday. Life seems to be shifting down a gear, as my boys miss the final four and the Tour leaves town. Tomorrow, hopefully, the fridge saga ends and we have baseball practice at 6:30. Maybe it's not shifting down so much as getting back to normal.