Monday, April 2, 2007

That's What I Get for Making a Prediction

I do not like when an analyst substitutes a prediction for analysis of an upcoming game, or using a prediction as a starting point for analysis. No one knows what will happen, and as a viewer I don't particularly need your pick of who will win the game. I'll know who wins the game soon enough. By watching it.

Then I went and predicted that the Lady Tigers would go and win it all. To punish me for my hubris, the gods not only had the Lady Tigers beaten, but beaten so soundly that they actually would have still lost had Rutgers not scored a single second-half point.

Still, it was a remarkable run for the team, winning a number of games against good teams, all in the face of incredible adversity. Congratulations to the team. Congratulations to Bob Starkey, who if he wishes to remain an assistant somewhere as has been reported, he can write his own ticket.

As for the men's tournament, I honestly no longer care. This has been the least entertaining tournament in my lifetime. Easily the most interesting story of the tournament has been the saga of Billy Donovan (maybe) taking the job at the University of Kentucky after (maybe) winning back to back national championships.

If I may weigh in with my two cents, I don't think Donovan should take the job, for the same reasons I didn't think Saban should leave LSU. He's created a great program from almost nothing in Florida. He has the recruiting train rolling, and that will keep him competitive for the foreseeable future. If he sticks around at Florida, they'll be naming buildings and streets after him ten years from now. Yes, he'll be replacing probably his entire starting five, but the last time he did that he won the national championship (twice?).

If he goes to Kentucky, he will be taking over at team that isn't particularly talented. He'll be inheriting a fan base that will expect to win the conference and the conference tournament every year and will expect to be competitive for the national championship more often than not.

I'd take the roads and buildings.

Of course, Ashley Judd will be there. But I'm sure Gainesville has its share of pretty girls too.

2 comments:

uberschuck said...

LSU Tigress Basketball is akin to the Buffalo Bills of the early 1990s. They just lose in the semifinal, not the championship.

Richard Pittman said...

4 times in a row, buddy. That takes effort. Hopefully Sylvia will come back and we'll actually make some noise in the F4 next year.