Women's Hoops Blog

Inane commentary on a game that deserves far better


Friday, April 10, 2009

I'm sure those with more advanced systems than mine get some sort of email-text-handsome-gentleman-knocks at-your-door alert about these things, but me? I just scan the web.

ESPN Classic will be re-airing some of the tournament games starting tomorrow 4/11/09 at 2pm.
Vanderbilt vs. Maryland 2pm ET
Iowa State vs Michigan State 4pm ET
UTSA vs. Baylor 6pm ET
Louisville vs. Oklahoma 8pm ET
Uconn vs Louisville 10pm ET
Of course, check your local listings.

Great way to remind everyone that it was a great, great tournament, even as some claim a UConn victory is "bad for the game," or proves there's no "parity" in women's basketball.

I've never understood the argument against excellence. Do those same people say Pat winning her 7th and 8th (in a row) is bad for the game? Or that chocking up 1000 wins is bad for the game?

Clearly, by their logic, Tiger is bad for gold, Martina and Pete and Bjorn were bad for tennis, the Bulls and Jordan all but killed the NBA and men's college basketball is lucky to have survived Wooden's 11.

Me, I'd rather go by what Sally Jenkins wrote in her Washington Post piece, "Soul of a Champion."
You probably predicted Connecticut would win the NCAA women's basketball championship, and it's safe to say no one will be asking, "Oh my God, how did you know that?" The Huskies' title was a drama-less affair; the real contest was whether their ambition would hold up for 39 games, and it did. They remained greedily sensational, right to the end.

Young players take note: The inconsequential possession didn't exist for this team. They did nothing casually. They didn't have an ounce of cool.

There was never a chance U-Conn. was going to lose to Louisville, understand? Not a chance. Not a team with such good habits, so exacting in its execution and so confident in its hard work, and not with the forceful Tina Charles and all-American point guard Renee Montgomery leading them to a 39-0 record and victories by an average of 30.5 points all season. They played all-out, every second.