Live from Charlotte!
Actually, I've been here for a while already. Really ... I swear. It's just that yesterday internet access for THE ENTIRE BUILDING shut down for a chunk of time. Curiously this happened at exactly the time they were trying to get my wireless to work, but they tell me it was a mere coincidence.
Anyway, getting stuff into the actual paper has taken priority over the blog until now. Now we're back baby!
First, let's revisit my picks so far. I was feeling pretty frisky after nailing the first two games of the tournament. But then, predictably, the bottom dropped out in the second session. Wow, I really thought UVA would put up more of a fight than that. And double wow, did Maryland play its way out of the NCAA Tournament. That's three times in the last four years, by the way. Yikes.
As for today, I made the incredibly tough pick of UNC over FSU. Kids, don't try this stuff at home. Leave it to the experts. But my other semifinal selection, Miami, looks like it's going up in smoke. At least I mentally steeled myself to be mocked.
Other quick observations thus far - most of which have little to do with actual on-court action.
1) Kudos to the camera guys operating the inhouse feed here. To me, the ACC Tournament hasn't really started until fans start to pull for teams they normally care little about just so they can spite their archrivals. In an otherwise forgettable UNC-FSU game, the best crowd reactions came when the camer guys found Duke fans in the crowd doing the Tomahawk chop or holding up makeshift "Go Noles" signs. That of course, elicited thunderous boos from the UNC fans, who now make up 80 percent of the crowd here.
2) For those of you who like to put on the tinfoil hats and look for conspiracies, behold the Svengali like power Roy Williams has over the refs (for those of you who may be sensitive, tongue is firmly in cheek right now). WIth 17:56 to go in the game, UNC's Deon Thompson was called for a foul while trying to deny post position to FSU's Uche Echefu. Williams jumped off the bench, pointed at the end of the floor where UNC was shooting and yelled, "You've got to give us that too!"
Eighteen seconds later, at 17:38, FSU's Ryan Reid picked up his first foul. Reid's second foul game at the 16:46 mark. Foul number three came at 16:08.
I'm not sayin' ... I'm just sayin'
(Disclaimer: Again. This is merely in jest. Please direct all vitriol and anger to Ed Hardin. He's used to it.)
3) Oh, and it figures that I wouldn't figure out who Jason Rich looks like until after his team got knocked out of the tournament: UAV coach and former Indiana coach Mike Davis! I'm going to troll for photos on the net to prove my point. But I'm right. Trust me. I'm right.
All for now. Virginia Tech just rolled over Miami. Two of my semifinal predictions are already toast! Woo hoo!