Wednesday Night Thoughts on the Fly

Sitting here watching the Orange and UCONN. They are now about eight minutes in. Didn't like the way it started for the Orange. I think UCONN enters playing very well. Syracuse has settled down and is matching the Huskies right now. A lot of hustle and some good intensity at the Dome to start. Donte Greene just hit a big three and the Orange has a 16-14 lead.

Steal and a big dunk from Paul Harris. He comes to play in games like this. Jim Calhoun calls a timeout immediately. A four point Orange lead.

Amazing that both coaches enter with the same amount of wins at 766. Of course, Calhoun has coached four more seasons.

How bout Terrelle Pryor? To me the whole thing bodes well for Penn State. They seemed to be out of it recently, but now are back in it apparently. And the same with Oregon. The Ducks were out of it last night according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, but now both the Ducks and the Nittany Lions are in the running. Maybe.

I like Dave O'Brien quite a bit. Not a huge fan of Doris Burke. But I think she does better as the color commentator than as a sideline reporter.

If you're an Orange fan you've got to like the way this thing is shaping up. Syracuse is functioning offensively getting everyone involved. I'm a bit concerned about the defensive rebounding. The Huskies are getting on the glass, and that has been a problem in SU losses all season.

Offense has made a few mistakes and had a few shots rattle out and all of a sudden the Orange is down three.

Thabeet is having a huge impact on this game. Not only is he blocking shots, but he is affecting some other ones as well. I'd rather see them blocked then changed. Because when they are altered, players are thinking about it. Just shoot it.

Big steal and layup to end the first half by Jonny Flynn, who played very well in the first half. Syracuse leads by three at intermission. The player of the first half for the Orange was Paul Harris. He was the best player on the floor. I think Donte Greene will be very important in the second half.

The UCONN defense has made a big difference at the start of the second half. They lead by three as Thabeet and now Adrien seem to blocking everything. But I am sick of that kid behind the UCONN bench.

Offensive rebounds for the Huskies right now a killer. Can't give them multiple chances.

This has been a real exciting game. UCONN leads by two with 7:26 left. The Orange again bothered by Thabeet inside. They just have to shoot the ball and if he blocks it, he blocks it.

Okay that one he blocked.

Syracuse is down 7, they need a bucket desperately. Donte Greene is fouled. Onuaku was very tentative on the low block there. Afraid of getting a shot blocked obviously. That is the impact that Thabeet is having. Very Frustrating.

For all the good that Donte Greene does, he really takes some dumb shots. UCONN is making plays and Syracuse isn't. This is where the youth really hurts. A 9-0 run for UCONN and they lead by that margin. It's all but over as Greene misses again.

How good is Notre Dame? They are absolutely laying the wood to Seton Hall at the Rock.

Real cool, I'm knocking the kid behind the UCONN bench and now they are telling his courageous story to live. Makes me feel like a real chump.

Great execution (Doris agreed) by UCONN to push it back to nine. Flynn hits for three at the other end. I think I've seen enough basketball for tonight. So much for watching Carolina-Duke. I'm going to watch USA-Mexico from Houston I think.

I do remember a time Duke-Carolina were 1/2 during my days at the 'Cuse and it wasn't on TV. Or it was on ESPN2 and we didn't get that on the cable. So we did the only reasonable thing, we went to Tully's. It ended up a 20 point game. I could see that happening tonight.

No quit in the Orange. Harris with a three. Let me repeat. Harris with a three. The Orange within four.

Not sure why we just fouled here. Run the clock down 15 seconds or so and then foul.

I remember other trips to Tully's, when the Clippers were on that monumental 20 game losing streak or whatever it was. A roommate and I made a pact to watch every Clippers game til they won. So we went to Tully's a lot. Finally they won, with one camera in the building, and somehow the guy at Tully's found it on the satellite. But literally it was one camera, and the only way we got the score was when he shot the scoreboard. True Story.

I miss Tully's. All the way Around.

We keep fighting. Thank goodness for the kids from Buffalo. Flynn knocks down another three and all of a sudden we are down two. 42 ticks left. I think we have to foul. But I'd prefer we not foul Austrie.

Jump Ball and that is ours.

Are you kidding me? I still don't agree with not fouling. There wasn't enough time, even if we got the rebound. But lets see if we can score in 2.3 seconds. Do we have a timeout?