The day started out a bit rough in the boilerdowd household. The time change didn't give my son his normal amount of sleep...so instead of him waking us up with gibberish, we were forced to get him out of his slumber. He wasn't happy. He whined and cried for about 15 minutes, mostly angry that Indiana isn't on Central time like it should be. But later, his day got better and so did mine.
Hoosiers Back Into BT Tourney
I got to watch Penn State battle with a beleaguered IU squad all the way to a pretty surprising upset. Even Jordan's double-pump three point effort at the end couldn't get it done for the floundering Hoosiers. While I always appreciate seeing IU lose, I do have to say something to DeChallis and Co. You're a week late! No, you couldn't help us when something was actually on the line...but at least you guys came through. Much appreciated. In a way, the way IU is ending the season is not the best thing,from a Purdue perspective, as I like Dakich and would much rather see him there next season than say Bruce Pearl (which is now going around)...But I'm sure they don't care about my perspective in Bloomington.
Now, with the BTT field set, It looks like a Purdue v. IU matchup might be in the very near future...can't wait.
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Strong Finish To A Strong Season
Next, we got to see the slow-starting Boilers play up in Ann Arbor versus the disappointing Wolverines. Michigan looked motivated and ready to play. Purdue, conversely, looked like it took a bit to get into gear. Once they did, E'Twaun Moore shot very well hitting key buckets in the paint, from behind the arc and in between. Hummel played another well-rounded game and Keaton Grant absolutely took the game over with about 9:00 left becoming the only offensive output three-straight trips down the court. I think he was sick of me badmouthing him and asking, "where have you been Keaton?" during the last couple of games. Good to see Grant's knees allowed him to contribute again offensively. Kramer was stout on defense, but suspect, especially when handling the ball, on offense. An interesting aspect of the game was how versus a sizeable frontcourt, JJ played well and nearly took the game over in the first half. It seems he just doesn't believe, yet, that he can do that versus talented bigs. He will next year and he gave us a glimpse of how good he might be during the last couple of games. Marcus Green also cleaned the glass nicely, but continues to shoot pretty poorly.
My favorite part of the contest was the fact that Purdue, in a very businesslike effort simply ground down Michigan and finished the game (and the season) strong. I was worried about this team after the aOSU game since they looked so tired during overtime, but that wasn't the case this afternoon. We'll get to see how fresh their legs are next weekend.
Big Women
Alright, something I don't like talking about, but will do so right now- Women's basketball. I'll be real honest, when the Lady Boilers lost by a million earlier this season on CBS to UConn, I was hoping that was enough to get the program shut down. Sadly, Purdue still has a women's team. So, if we're going to have a women's basketball team, I want them to succeed and bring no poor press upon the school (i.e. cheating, lesbian initiation activity, etc.). What they did this afternoon is pretty astonishing, even for a guy who really, really dislikes women's basketball. The Lady Boilers won their 7th (in 14 tries) Big Ten basketball tournament. So despite a pretty lousy season, they'll be playing post-season basketball. Good for them. Once they're knocked out, maybe the program will cease to exist...Wishful thinking.
9 comments:
Dude, I normally agree with you, but the women's basketball program has been the best sports program at Purdue for the last decade. They're the only one to win a national title and were a possession away from a second. There's no way I want to get rid of them, especially a teamt his gritty that was missing its two best players and returning a third from a torn ACL but STILL gritted out a Big Ten tournament title and nearly a Big Ten regular season title.
Of course, there was also the fact I though Kelly Komara was hot when we were both at Purdue and my roiommate knew her from High school. She never did set me up on a date though.
They've not only been the best sports program at Purdue, they've absolutely dominated the women's tournament, with seven titles overall, as many as all the other teams combined (no other team has more than two), and that's in the last eleven years: they didn't win the first three.
They've never played on Thursday (which means never being seeded lower than 5), I think have only lost once in the semis, and are 7-3 in the finals. Don't remember their record in the quarters, but I guess it would be 11-3 if I got the other two right.
And those titles have come under three different coaches, so it's not like we hired Pat Summitt and gave her tenure: Carolyn Peck won the first two, Kristy Curry three, and then Versyp's been there for the last two. (Sorry IU, thanks for giving her experience, we'll take her back now. kthxbai.)
If someone's going to dominate the conference like that, I'd rather it be us.
Plus it's always a bonus to watch a sport where some of the athletes are hot.
I have much better memories of watching the women dominate in '99 at the regionals at Illinois State than of watching the horror that was the '88 men's regionals in Pontiac.
P.S. Yeah, t-mill, I thought she was hot too. You might still hit her up, but I don't know, assistant coaches don't make a lot of money ...
Here's a thought on Bruce Pearl... why would he leave Tennessee when he obviously has the ability to recruit top tier talent there? Sure, it may not be known as a basketball school, but does it really matter? He's getting kids to buy into his system there. Is IU really a step up for him at this point? A point when he's contending for national championships?
Tim- $$$$.
Guys, like I said, if they're going to have a program, I want them to succeed. I just don't want them to have a program. Women's basketball is the worst spectator sport, next to soccer, in the world. There's really nothing like watching a 5 or 6-second "fast" break that finished with a strong layup. If you're into that, you should come and watch me and some of my fat friends play ball on Tuesday nights, it's awesome!
One of the problems you'll have with our games though, is that we actually shoot the ball from over our heads. Your favorite athletes are taught to shoot it from in front of their bodies.
Lastly, you can think what you want, but I'll never be a fan of a women's sport that encourages women to act masculine. Female soccer, volleyball, tennis and other sports allow women to stay women and still compete at a high level, but most female basketball players, by the time they reach college, are encouraged to deny their femininity. Sure, the Nikki Taggerts and Kelly Komaras of the world exist, but they're few and far between.
Last question for you two- Can you fathom a men's basketball program having a homosexual sex scandal? Me neither...but this has become commonplace for your favorite sport. Enjoy gentlemen, I'll be watching Painter's guys while you have a bag of popcorn and soak up Versyp and Co.
A bag of buttered popcorn...
That game yesterday frustrated me. Couldn't get a rebound, couldn't make a layup. Botched a couple of fast breaks. They can't keep starting games that slow.
Paul, they've started slowly almost every game this season...I think it's going to be next season before they figure out how to change that. That said, it's never too late to try to get rid of bad habits.
BD -- It's not necessarily my favorite sport, but I won't turn away just because it's women's basketball. I'll still go out of my way to watch the men's team before I'd watch the women's team, and I'm not even touching the homosexual relations part of it.
To me it just seems odd that some people have jihad against women's sports in general for no reason.
I have a reason. I like women. I have a fundamental problem with anything that takes something I am a big fan of and makes into something completely different.
Also, I like basketball, the women's version simply isn't the same game.
I don't think that's random at all.
Plus, Purdue's women's team has Purdue broken into two words PUR (gold) DUE (black)...that makes no damned sense. My other reasons are better.
Exactly, Tim. If I'm Bruce Pearl, why go to the pressure cooker that is IU when I can be given the same $$ and resources at a football school? There's far less pressure at Tenn. and he can obviously recruit and win at a high level with the resources he's been given. Did anyone catch when he told Erin Andrews that they were flying back to Knoxville from Memphis? I mean, I know it's a long-ish state, but really?
Here and here are good explanations as well. Texas, USC, OSU, Florida, and Tenn. are all examples of this trend.
As far as Purdue women... congrats to them. I stopped watching them after a) I graduated, and b) they got beat by Ruth Riley in the championship game. Yep, just her, I don't give any credit to the rest of that ND team. She was a gigantic, hairy beast of a woman.
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