Hoops

I had a good weekend that wasn't too busy, but had a lot of nice little moments like a dinner with friends and seeing "Walk the Line." Since it's Monday morning and I'm having trouble motivating to work, I thought I'd write about one of those.

I haven't watched much basketball this year, so I was happy to find a game between Gonzaga and Oklahoma State this Saturday while I was puttering around the house. It was a pretty close game, although OSU (not the Beavers) led for most of the game, at some points by double-digits. I took some breaks to go to the store and do laundry, so I wasn't following it too closely, but I made sure to catch the last couple minutes because it looked like the Zags were getting back into it. I'm glad I did because it turned about to be a fantastic finish. Gonzaga were down by one (61-62) with about 40 seconds to go, they somehow blew their two remaining timeouts while bringing the ball upcourt, then missed a jump shot. OSU rebounded with about 15 seconds left, and were immediately fouled. The OSU player was shooting a 1 and 1, and his first shot circled around the rim (at least three times, it seemed) before popping out. Adam Morrison grabbed the free throw and lumbered upcourt. CBS's announcers were Bill Raftery and Gus Johnson, and I'll paraphrase them from here:

Gus: Adam Morrison looking, has two defenders on him at the three point line, two seconds on the clock, he shoots, banks it, AAAAAAHHH!

Bill: GAAAAAHHH!

Gus: That was ... Wow! ... Larry Bird! ... Amazing!

Bill: (sound of Bill Raftery swallowing his own tongue)

Gus: Have you ever seen anything like that coach?!!!

Bill: Ggglllrrr....

Gonzaga wound up winning 64-62. It was just an amazing finish, and the stunned announcers made it one of those small, but transcendent moments that are the reason I watch sports.

OK, time to get back to work. Hmmm, I think I smell coffee brewing....