Put me in coach

Sunday, January 20, 2013

The Butler Did It Again (Part 2)

Well now you've had a chance to digest part 1, let's jump into part 2. I am sure you're wondering when is he going to get to the Butler Duke game, where Gordon Hayward just misses that half court shot that could have won the game, and put Butler into the stratosphere of unlikely NCAA Basketball Champions, we're getting there. Well, we might as well get there now. But let's look at the trip to that game, and I'll throw in my own personal I remember where I was moment.

2009-2010 is the year that it all changed for Butler. Here Butler was ranked 5th seed in the West Regional for the tourney. They were facing a tough and physical UTEP team that had some big guys who could rebound. Did Butler fall victim to the dreaded 5-12 match up? Not at all. In fact, they would go on to win 77-59 and go on to face Murray State, who was 13th seed in that regional.

Here you had a match up of little schools that could, and Butler was facing another possible upset. No worries, Butler escapes with the 2 point win and goes on to face the top seed in the bracket, Syracuse. So Syracuse had to beat Butler right? That didn't happen either. A game that Butler hung around in and was able to get out with the win and make their first trip to the regional final and with a win there would go on to the Final Four.

Hold on a minute, the Final Four? I mean little George Mason made the Final Four the last time the Final Four was in Indianapolis. Oh yea, Butler's home city is Indianapolis, so you could tell there's a magic there getting to the Final Four.

But first Butler had to take care of business against Kansas State, who won in a ridiculous game against Xavier. Butler and Kansas State were both physical teams, and this would be a fight of whoever is left standing. Butler gets the knock out blow, and here they are heading home to Indy. They'll be playing in the Final Four just minutes away from their campus. The atmosphere was electric around town for that game. Butler fans were coming out of the wood work, and places were filling up to watch the game.

I would end up going to a bar downtown and having to get there around 3:30 to make sure we had a spot for the game that was tipping off at 6:00. Talk about Butler pride, and the fact that I don't even drink, but here I was waiting in a bar three hours before tip off. Tip off finally rolled around, and this was another drag out fight. Butler actually goes 11 minutes without a basket and still walks away with the two point victory that set off a celebration that might as well been a Super Bowl party.

People all flooded to the Monument Circle high fiving and celebrating with each other. All dressed up in Butler gear, and just enjoying that moment of this small school with only 4500 students in the final game of the season. And who would they play? Big Bad Duke. Was there any other team you would have matched up against Butler to fight for the NCAA Title? Duke was the pedigree of college basketball. Always in the tourney, and always finding a way to make it to the Final Four or final game. They were the cream of the crop and Butler was just happy to be there.

But once this final game started, you knew it would be a down to the wire fight. Both teams trading baskets and building up their own lead. Just going through this I can feel that emotion I was feeling as Butler would go without a basket in that second half that seemed like forever. All those misses, but Duke wasn't able to capitalize. Then there's the first shot by Gordon Hayward that misses from the side. He had a taller guy on him, does a quick spin for a turnaround that he probably hits most times. This time it goes in and out.

Duke gets the ball and gets fouled to go to the free throw line. Make those shots and the game is over. A miss, and Butler could somehow pull off this miracle. There's a miss, Hayward grabs the rebounds, fires from half court, and....if this is a movie, he makes it. He swishes it home, and Butler starts another super bowl like celebration. But this is real life, and he missed it. It rolls around and out, and Duke gets to celebrate another national title. Even in the loss, that shot will always be around for the NCAA tourney. I don't want to bring it up now as I'll be flooded with that sadness of that miss. But you know the shot if you follow college basketball. Who would have thought that Butler gets to the title game...again. Two years in a row, and the only school from Indiana to do that. Andrew Smith, who is a key player for Butler now, was a member of both those teams. He's the only player in college basketball to go to back to back final games. Not too bad for a guy that really didn't play much, but stuck around Butler and contributes a lot now.

So here we are in 2013, and Butler pulls off the miracle last night. I knew this season had a shot to be special when Butler knocked off Indiana, who was number one at the time. That game will be an instant classic. Last night's game is an instant classic. Here's a Butler school fighting in a new conference, and already showing they belong. Forget the "mid major" label anymore. Butler is expected to compete. Even Digger Phelps of ESPN said they're a Final Four contender. If they get there, those finishes of IU and Gonzaga would be the reason why. The Butler Way is finding those avenues to win. Winning without your leading scorer who is out with a sprained neck. Fighting through foul troubles in the IU game. Grabbing a rebound to get another shot. Diving on the floor for any loose ball. Most schools say they do these things, but you just don't see it as much. Butler does these things because that's all they know. They might not have any NBA caliber players on this team. But sitting at 16-2 and right around first place in the Atlantic Ten is something to be proud of. I've never felt more proud than last night seeing all those kids celebrate a huge win on the home floor. Growing up in Indiana, you're always out shooting a ball and hoping you could make some final shot. Well last night, we all got to live through Roosevelt Jones' and his final shot. That's the Butler Way.

The Butler Do It Again (Part 1)

Well first off, I want to welcome everyone back to this sports blog. I have neglected it for way too long and been busy with my editor position for AlwaysMillerTime.com So if you're an Indiana Pacers fan, please go visit there for all my latest work.

Secondly, it's just been hard to find those sport subjects that I really wanted to put the time and effort into. Well, luckily, last night's Butler Bulldogs win over Gonzaga got me fired up. This should be one of my best efforts in a long time and I'm excited for you to read, share, comment, tweet, facebook like, love, read again, share again, and such this article. It's close to the vest, which I will explain.

So if you would have told me that last night's game would have featured a back and forth dog fight, I would have believed you. How about telling me that it will come down to the wire? Yet again, believable. How about Gonzaga will hit two free throws after Alex Barlow of Butler travels? Okay, that's still a tad believable. But here's where you just write it up in a movie.

Gonzaga gets the ball with less than four seconds left. All they have to do is throw the ball in safely, and escape with a victory. Easy enough right? Just toss it to your biggest guy on the floor, and let him hold it while Butler fouls him. Well, I guess in a pressure situation, things aren't so easy as they seem.

Roosevelt Jones of Butler played defense like the football player he's built like. Ends up taking the pass away and driving down the court to hit a last second miracle. I'm calling it a miracle because with his shot put shot, it's ugly as it can get at times. But the basketball gods, who I just prayed to yesterday and told them they owe Butler a win after 2010, answered my prayers and Butler gets to celebrate their 13th win in a row.

So where did I get all this Butler love from? It's easy, I remember back in 2000 when I was just a wee lad in my senior year of high school, I had people over after school to watch Butler and Florida play in the first round of the NCAA Tourney. Back then, no one was giving little Butler much of a chance. But this game came down to the wire. Some missed free throws on Butler's end allowed Florida to go down and hit a buzz beater to win the game. That Florida team would eventually go on to the final game and lose. So as a Butler fan, I was able to say hey we lost to the loser of the National Championship game. That's pretty good!

I went to school at Butler from 2000-2005, even playing in the basketball pep band, so I got to see plenty of Butler basketball action. The memories of those really good teams hardly compares to what is coming. But those teams really did set the foundation for what Butler would become. Remember the game where Butler won their first round against Wake Forest in dominating fashion. As a tenth seed at that, yet again, never imagined Butler would have sniffed a top 5 or higher seed come March. But yet again, that happened just recently.

Then it happened in 2003 when Butler was ready to make some noise. They entered the tourney as a 12th seed. Anyone who follows college basketball at March knows there's always that pesky 12th seed that will upset the 5th seed. Butler did it that year and beat Mississippi State with Brandon Miller leading the way. If there was a guy that could be the face "The Butler Way" I would say that's Brandon Miller. A guy who just did all those little things to help the team win. Always diving after balls on the floor, hitting a big shot when needed, playing hard nosed defense, all components of the Butler Way, and I will say that Miller embodied that.

Butler wasn't done yet there as they went on to face Louisville. Louisville was the fourth seed in that bracket, and out of the Big East. So Butler could possibly put up a fight and maybe come away with a close loss. That was the expectation. Butler had other ideas, as they went on to win 79-71 and would face Oklahoma in the Sweet Sixteen Round. There Butler would lose, but it was their first taste of what Sweet Sixteen was like, and obviously they liked it as they would show up in the Sweet Sixteen later on and go beyond that.

Part Two to Follow

Saturday, June 16, 2012

On the Sidelines 49

Indianapolis Colts News
Colts and Rivalries

NBA News
David Stern vs Jim Rome
NBA Finals Game One Recap
NBA Finals Game Two Recap

MLB Standings

Saturday, June 9, 2012

On the Sidelines- Live Edition

On the Sidelines Went for a live run today, and here's how it went down.

Listen to internet radio with Stephen Ajamie on Blog Talk Radio

Sunday, May 27, 2012

Indianapolis 500 2012 Recap

Well mark another Indy 500 in the books and what a race that was. Most of the drama was at the end as guys tried to push their way forwards, but made mistakes that ultimately cost them. Dario Franchitti will take his place among the three time winners, while others will wonder what could have been.

Marco Andretti- Here's a guy that came so close in his rookie year in 2006 that he got passed right at the end. Then he's had a third place finish and felt confident this year going in. But the Andretti curse bites again as he crashes right around lap 180 and gets out of the race when making a move towards the front. Tough end to his day as things looked very promising based on his starting position of row 2.

Takuma Sato- A guy that tried to make a push right around lap 199 as the checkered flag was waving and got into the back of Dario Franchitti, which ended up helping Dario win his third Indy 500. He spun out and hit the wall not the way to finish his day.

Tony Kanaan- Now 0-11 at the Indy 500, but always the fan favorite to win the race. He made his way towards the front, but the Andretti crashed brought out the yellow flag. Kanaan gets passed up on the restart and finishes in third.

Scott Dixon- A former winner of the race couldn't get past his teammate at the end to win the race and his finishes second.

Overall, a great live experience to be a part of if you're never attended the race. It's such a spectacle to see all the beginnings and to see those jets flying over head. To see the balloons come out. And that tribute to Dan Wheldon was enough to make sure there wasn't a dry eye in the place. Sure it was hot, but it was a hot race, and that's good enough for me.