I know that soccer is sort of the abortion of sports topics, but what took place this morning was pretty special.
Buzzer-beating three-pointers, last-second touchdowns and walk-off home runs are all exciting, but seeing the Americans finally put the ball in the net after two hours of frustrating moment after frustrating moment with their tournament hopes on the line and just three minutes to spare was a completely different experience.
It's so rare that the entire country has the opportunity to rally around a single team, and even more rare when that team is an underdog. And with the round of 16 match being played Saturday at 2:30, now everyone will be able to watch.
Should be fun. I might drink.
Lots of rumors floating around about former Memphis State guard Roburt Sallie transferring to Louisville. He has one year of eligibility remaining and would be able to play right away since he received his undergrad degree in May.
Sallie averaged 10.5 ppg for State a year ago and set the school record for three-pointers in a game when he buried 10 in MSU's first round win over Cal-State Northridge in the 2009 NCAA Tournament.
With Jerry Smith and Edgar Sosa gone and a point guard with a knack for getting into the lane poised to run the show, Rick Pitino needs shooters. Sallie can shoot it. Some people say cucumbers taste better pickled.
I'd love to see this pan out.
Another rumor making its rounds is that freshman quarterback-to-be Dominique Brown may not be eligible to play this fall.
If true, this is highly disappointing. Brown was a guy Ohio State wanted to play cornerback, but he chose U of L because Charlie Strong told him he'd get a shot behind center. While most agree that Brown's future lies elsewhere, I thought it was possible that he could be utilized the same way Brooks and Phillips used Randal Cobb during his freshman season; they had him run the spread with a pretty high degree of success and then moved him to another position full-time once a solid quarterback candidate emerged.
Regardless of what position he's playing, Louisville could use Brown's services immediately.
Spurned by Illinois assistant Jerrence Howard, Rick Pitino is now reportedly looking at Tim Fuller to fill the assistant coaching vacancy left by Walter McCarty. Fuller coached Chris Paul at Wake Forest and has strong ties to both Nike and the AAU circuit.
It's not a secret that Pitino is looking for the recruiting type of coach (as opposed to the coaching type of coach), a mold which Fuller certainly fits into.
I witnessed Art Carmody playing softball last night. It was more magical than Donovan's goal, Christmas morning and AnVillen combined.
OK now mock drafts have Samardo Samuels going in the first round. Unbelievable. I'd be thrilled for him if it happened, but it would also make me very, very bitter (towards all parties involved) about the way his college career played out.
Question of the day...If you were forced to give up one for the rest of your life, would you live without music or movies?
This is brutal, but I'm giving up movies. Good music makes just about any activity tolerable, and I'm seriously not sure I could live without it in at least some capacity.