By Mark La Monica
I've been reveling in Duke's ousting from the NCAA Tournament since before the crying J.J. Redick photos hit the wires and Web sites. Can't help it. It's a rite of passage for all North Carolina fans.
When the Tar Heels don't win the championship, the next best thing is making sure Duke doesn't either.
I've also been reveling in Gonzaga's ousting from the NCAA Tournament ever since Adam Morrison started crying in his Levittown middle school mustache with 2.6 seconds left against UCLA.
The Zags became America's team several years ago when they were considered a bunch of Cinderellas for making a deep run into the tournament. They did it the following year, too. Their coach, Mark Few, loved to yap about how his team got no respect from anyone.
And now that Gonzaga has earned some people's respect by sustaining its program a few more years, the Zags can't win anymore in the tournament.
Morrison crying on the court with a few seconds left and his team still having a chance to tie or win the game epitomizes our revelry in their misfortune.
You just can't give up like that when there's still a chance to win. This is March Madness, a time made for buzzer-beaters and dramatic victories. Just ask Texas and Northwestern State. Better yet, ask West Virginia and Iowa, the teams that lost to Texas and Northwestern State, respectively, on buzzer-beaters.
Morrison became Cougar from "Top Gun." He lost it. He held on too tight. He turned in his wings as Gonzaga, which led by nine with 3:45 left and by seven with just over two minutes left, collapsed.
Comments (7)
I beg to differ, Lamonica. You say Gonzaga can't win anymore? They've actually been pretty consistent. The Zags made the tournament every year since 1999, but only once made it past the sweet 16. They still won two games this year, and they fell short exactly where they usually do. Just because they used to be a cinderella doesn't mean they used to "win" just because the one or two games they pulled out were upsets.
Well, Bill, remember all the crying the Zags do about getting no respect and how they felt they got shafted with a No. 3 seed this year? Turns out they're not as good as they think are. How does Morrison start crying when there's still a chance to win the game. Gonzaga is equal to Boise State in football. When they played the big boys this year, they got worked.
GO VILLANOVA
and by the way HOFSTRA WAS ROBBED...
Lamonica,
Morrison is a kid with diabetes who achieves at a level most other kids would only dream of in college basketball today. Yes he has an attitude but its fed by all that nonsensical media fed "Larry Bird" talk. Gonzaga totally dominated UCLA all game, yeah they blew it, but after todays ugly win over Memphis tell me you wouldn't rather have seen GU and Morrison advance than a UCLA.
By the way, Gonzaga has 5,000 students. What is that, roughly the size of Iona, and they are a national power. This year they lost by one to Conneticut, beat Michigan State, beat Arizona, beat St. Joe's, beat Stanford, lost to Washington by one in Seattle, lost to Memphis at Memphis in a game they led for over 34 minutes. They play anyone anywhere and usually on the other team's court all due to Mark Few and his competitiveness. Might be nice for you to do your research and know what you are talking about before you write a ridiculous blog.
It seems all the white so called intelligent teams lost. I guess that means the more physical athletic black teams won..This is the mouth of the media. Racist as one can be.
Steve, I'm fully aware of Gonzaga's record of who they beat in the regular season and how they play all those games against good teams on the road. Too bad you missed the fact that I only wrote about the NCAA tournament. And Gonzaga dominated UCLA for all but the last 3:45. Of course, that was the most important part of the game.
stop with this morrison kid he is a big crybaby.he will never make the nba,plus he's white