Pulling for the underdog

A reprint of my April 8 column from the Woodford Sun

Butler got its foot all the way into the slipper.

But at the last possible second, the glass shattered, littering the floor of Lucas Oil Stadium with shards of the Bulldogs’ NCAA Championship Fairy Tale.

As the clock struck zero, the ball sailed through the air. A bounce. Off the backboard. A bounce. Off the rim. A final of couple of bounces on the hardwood and it was over.

Duke fans celebrated.

Most everyone else flipped off their television sets with a sense of sadness.

Without a doubt, the majority of fans were pulling for Butler. That little school in Indianapolis wormed its way into the consciousness of college basketball fans across the Fruited Plain with an impressive NCAA run. Well over 90 percent of the respondents to a LEX18.com poll said they were pulling for the Bulldogs. Sure, one could chalk that up to a visceral hatred for Duke around these parts, but I have a feeling the results wouldn’t have been a whole lot different in any other part of the country – save along North Carolina’s Tobacco Road.

We love underdogs.

People naturally pull for the little guy. And the Bulldogs were the quintessential David facing Goliath (aka Duke). Butler, a small private school with an enrollment of 4,200, faced an NCAA basketball perennial power. According to Darren Rovell of CNBC Sports, last year Duke spent $394,068 per player on expenses. Butler spent $347,108 – total. As in player expenses for the whole program.

Yes, we love to pull for that underdog.

Some of the most compelling stories in sports revolve around the little guy knocking off the big boys – North Carolina State upsetting Houston in the 1983 NCAA title game, the United States beating the USSR in the 1980 Olympics, the Joe Namath led New York Jets knocking off the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

When the commoner comes away with the crown, it gives the rest of us a little glimmer of something we all yearn for, something we desperately need.

Hope.

Most of us view ourselves as relatively common folk. And day after day, we beat our heads against institutions and obstacles that seem to intentionally conspire to thwart our success. Government red tape. Mean spirited bosses. Financial setbacks. It creates a sense of powerlessness, a feeling that we will never find the means to rise above the challenges and attain the lofty goals we set for ourselves.

But when a school like Butler comes onto the scene and starts knocking off the giants, we sit up and take notice. And it serves as a reminder that we can triumph – we can overcome. No matter how the system may stack up against us, if we persevere, work hard and keep pushing, we too can reach the Promised Land. The Butlers of the world remind us of the possibilities in our own lives.

There’s another lesson if we dig a little deeper. Overcoming takes a lot of work and a healthy dose of persistence. The Bulldogs have been building toward this Final Four appearance for years. While they popped onto most fans’ radar only recently, Butler has quietly built a solid program over the last several years. The Bulldogs made the NCAA tourney nine of the last 14 years. They reached the Sweet 16 three times in the past eight years. And they did it the hard way: developing players that the bigger programs overlooked, emphasizing basketball fundamentals and with some good old fashioned hard work.

The Butler program didn’t give up when it didn’t immediately succeed. It didn’t make excuses and whine about the unfairness of the system. It didn’t fold up camp after its first tourney exit. They pressed on. The fought on. The struggled on,

So Butler offers us hope. The little guy doesn’t finish last.

But Butler also offers a challenge. The Bulldogs remind us to keep fighting, to keep working and to press onward.

Quick Shots

When West Virginia senior Da’Sean Butler went down late in the Mountaineers’ NCAA semi-final match-up against Duke, WVU coach Bob Huggins rushed onto the court to comfort his player, who was writing in agony from what turned out to be a torn ACL. Huggins kneeled down next to Butler and enveloped him in a hug. Leaning close, to the seniors face, Huggins spoke words of comfort and remained in that position until Butler calmed down enough to come off the floor. It was one of the most tender moments I have ever witnessed during a sporting event. There was no doubting Huggins’ genuine love and concern for his player.

Here’s an amusing quote I saw after Duke won its fourth National Title. “You can't have Duke without UK.” Of course it looses a little bit considering the Cats were sitting in their living rooms watching the Dukies win it all.

In its march through the NCAA Tournament, Butler held every opponent to under 60 points – that is until the championship game. Duke scored 61.

Quote of the Week

“They write books, I read them.” – Butler basketball coach Brad Stevens, referring to the big name coaches he’s faced in the NCAA Tournament, including Jim Boeheim of Syracuse, Tom Izzo of Michigan State and Mike Krzyzewski of Duke.

Puck to the Head

This week’s puck flies at the head of former major league pitcher Dwight Gooden. The 1985 Cy Young Award winner was arrested on March 23. Police say Gooden was driving his 5-year-old son to school when he rear-ended a Mercedes and then left the scene. Officers pulled him over minutes later and found his son unrestrained in the back seat. Police charged Gooden with driving under the influence of drugs, leaving the scene of an accident and child endangerment. The former major leaguer released a statement claiming he had been using the prescribed sleep medication Ambian. Just a little tip for Dwight – sleeping pills might make you sleepy.

UK's rent-a-player program

A reprint of my April 1 column published in the Woodford Sun.

Wow.

That didn’t last long.

It seems like just yesterday, University of Kentucky fans were wondering how the Wildcat basketball team was going to rebuild.

Today, University of Kentucky fans are wondering how the Wildcat basketball team is going to rebuild.

True, it feels much different this year. The Cats are coming off a successful season. SEC regular season and tourney champs, 35 wins, a deep run into the NCAA Tournament. And the program has a coach known for recruiting prowess. John Calipari certainly proved that during his inaugural season in the Bluegrass.

But UK faces a mass exodus of talent. John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Patrick Patterson will almost certainly bolt for the NBA. And most pro scouts rank Eric Bledsoe and Daniel Orton as first round NBA picks as well.

So, Coach Cal will have to reload. And I don’t doubt that he can do it. But is this really what Kentucky fans want? A rent-a-player program? A training ground for the NBA? A string of one-and-doners walking through a blue and white revolving door?

I have to admit, even as a relatively tepid UK fan, I was getting caught up in the Cats’ NCAA tourney run. More than that, I was starting to fall for this team. In the last couple of months, the squad developed a personality. I liked it. Not just the basketball skill. I saw that in the beginning. But as the season progressed, I began to understand the characters that made the team click. Dancing Wall. Joking Cousins. Cerebral Patterson.

And then they walked out my life in a rain of West Virginia treys.

I went to bed after that loss to the Mountaineers feeling a little empty. Maybe even a little emotionally numb. It wasn’t just the loss. It was the realization that, as amazing as the season turned out, it was so fleeting, so temporary – so ephemeral.

And for all of my support of Calipari, I’m beginning to think his approach to building a team may not really turn out to be all that great. Oh, it will probably win more games than it will lose. It may even yield an NCAA championship or two. But it lacks heart. It lacks soul. It lacks substance.

A friend of mine, a lawyer out in Las Vegas, wrote the following.

"The University of Kentucky hereby agrees that the term of rental for Mr. Wall shall be one (1) year, and upon expiration of such period, the University shall return Mr. Wall in good condition, reasonable wear and tear excepted, provided that the University shall be entitled to retain all revenue generated out of or arising in connection with use of Mr. Wall during such period."

When I first read Scott’s little Facebook post, I chuckled. But as I thought about it, I realized that my buddy succinctly captured the reality of the 2009-2010 Kentucky basketball season.

This Big Blue team was never really ours.

It was a collection of players who stopped here in the Bluegrass on their way to something else. Can we really expect these kids to develop a passion for the program? Can we really believe they will truly weave themselves into the fabric of the community? Granted, they seemed to embrace Kentucky hoops, but only for a moment. And now it’s over.

Maybe I’m just old fashioned, pining away for a time long gone. Perhaps this is just the reality of big time college athletics in the 21st Century. The best players chase the money to the NBA as soon as they can. And I don’t begrudge them this. So maybe Cal’s approach is the best way to win. Get the best players, utilize their services for a season or two and send them on their way.

But I’m not sure I buy it. Not anymore. After this tourney it seems a little like a get-rich-quick scheme. It promised a lot. It looked good for quite awhile. But it didn’t quite deliver, did it?

Quick Shots

West Virginia coach Bob Huggins’s record against UK skipper John Calipari stood at 7-1 going into the NCAA Elite 8 match-up between the two schools. After watching the game, I can see why. Huggins out-coached Cal. UK never adjusted defensively to the suddenly hot shooting Mountaineers. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say Cal over adjusted. West Virginia hit 8-of-15 three pointers in the first half. Even so, the Cats only trailed by seven at the intermission. But UK panicked. Odds are, the typically mediocre outside shooting Mountaineers were not going to put together a repeat performance in the second half. The Cats would have likely been better served to keeping packing in the middle instead of coming out to guard the arc and opening up the paint.

Not only that, Cal’s Cats seemed flummoxed by the West Virginia 1-3-1 zone. It was no mystery that it was coming.

But hindsight is 20-20. And the truth is, UK was not going to win that game missing 13 free throws and 28 three-point attempts.

Finally, an exciting NASCAR finish that did not involve the No. 48. After losing a late lead with an ill advised pit stop. Denny Hamlin took advantage of a yellow flag, and then charged past Jeff Gordon in the final lap to win the Goody’s Fast Pain Relief 500 at Martinsville. Jimmie Johnson was never a factor and finished ninth.

Here’s a little humor for you Wildcat fans. How do you know it’s spring in Kentucky? Cardinals sitting on the couch, watching Cats play basketball.

Quote of the Week

“More than anything, it's money. In this world, there's only one color that matters, and that's green.” – University of Kentucky freshman basketball player Daniel Orton (He later said in a Twitter post that he was just kidding.)

Puck to the Head

This week, pucks fly at the heads of all those University of Louisville fans talking trash after UK lost in the Elite 8. I’m all for a little friendly verbal smack down. But you should really have some high ground from which to throw your taunts. Last I checked Louisville left the party long ago, without so much as an NCAA party favor.