Stuff I Learned While Watching KU Win Some Kind Of Basketball Tournament

OK, everyone knows the University of Kansas, my son Scott’s alma mater, won a championship of some sort. A national thing. I remember somewhere along the line there was a Big Eight, and then a Final Four. There might have been, previous to that, a Sweet Sixteen, but I could be mistaken on that one.

On Monday night, it all came down to two teams, of that I am certain. One of them was based in Memphis. In the audience sat a fellow who spent as many as fifteen years, if I recall correctly, as the beloved coach of the KU team. I feel sure that the team he now coaches is located in North Carolina, and I do believe KU squashed his current team in a Final Four game on Saturday night. The thing I don’t understand is why they call it Final Four if there are never more than two teams playing.

Anyway, Monday night, the North Carolina coach formerly known as a KU coach was sitting on the KU side of the stadium (or was it a gymnasium? an arena, maybe?), with a KU emblem attached to his shirt. I couldn’t help thinking his North Carolina team might be a little ticked at him for this, since I would imagine the sting of being beat soundly by KU on Saturday night wouldn’t have eased up quite yet. But the coach shrugged off any concern with a casual comment about how he had to get behind one of the Top Two teams, so KU was his choice.

The nature of loyalties and alliance-formation aside, I am now in possession of, if not the ball, an accumulation of basketball-related knowledge that I would never have acquired if not for Monday night’s game.

Evidently, there is more of a difference between a long and a short shot than a casual observer might realize. Did you know that if you are shooting a basket from outside a certain range, a goal is worth three points instead of a measly two? It made me wonder why players don’t take these “long shots” more often, especially when lots of their short shots look like the efforts of crazed sufferers of some disorder involving lots of pesky twitching.

My opinion on the matter was bolstered in the last seconds of what the announcer referred to as “regulation” play, which I quickly came to understand as all the stuff that happens before non-regulation play begins. As the KU guy was barreling down the field toward his hoop, the announcer said, “This would be a good time for him to make a three-pointer, but KU hasn’t been doing much of that tonight…” And then, as if on cue, the guy threw a long shot, and effortlessly earned the three points.

So, tell me. Why the heck wasn’t he doing that all night long? Anyone—even me—can see that there would have been no need for the non-regulation play if KU had just done the obvious.

A second thing I learned is that a shot can’t take more than a certain amount of seconds. There is a little timer that runs in the lower right hand side of the TV screen. If it runs out of time, that means the guy failed to throw the ball, and I suspect it also means that then the other team gets a turn. However, at the very end of “regulation” play, it seems to me that one guy will hold onto the ball for nigh unto forever, in order to “let the clock run out.” This seems wrong and unfair to me.

Why is regulation play not more regulated?

The final thing I’ve added to my ever-growing repertoire of sports knowledge is that fouling and being fouled increases a lot toward the end of the game. I think it is a way to help the losers get points by trying to make a free throw, but it seems like an ill-conceived plan. During the rest of the game, it’s considered a mistake to bump into an opponent in a manner which is against the rules, but when push comes to shove (so to speak), the referees turn a blind eye and act like they don’t even notice that players are throwing themselves into opponents, virtually begging to be fouled.

All in all, what I’ve learned from becoming the KU basketball aficionado I am today is that my husband really likes it when I watch the Top Two with him. Is there another one next Monday night?

Posted by Katy on 04/08/08 at 02:53 PM

Fallible Comments...

Mom-Glad you're getting to know more about the game--just don't become a KU fan, ok?
MIZZOU-RAH!
Posted by Carrie D. on 04/10/08 at 12:46 PM
Katy,

I'm so glad you cleared this all up for me! For the 1st time in 15 years, my non-sports liking husband decided to watch the game in his "office". He proceeded to come down every 5 minutes and tell me the score and the best shots! What I don't understand is ... why do the last 2 minutes of the game seem to take forever!!! Craig comes down and says, "Just 2 minutes to go." Five minutes go by and he comes down again, "Just 1 minutes and 58 seconds to go." Makes me think that these games are being played in another time dimension! Oh well! It was fun!
Posted by Nancy Wood on 04/10/08 at 04:59 PM
Oh, Katy, don't become a basketball fan. Although I do find the March Madness brackets fun to fill out, I still believe basketball is just a bunch of overgrown men running around in their pajamas trying to put a ball in a hole without putting each others eyes out.
I'd take college football any old day of the week over basketball. Go Big 12!
Posted by Kathryn Harris on 04/11/08 at 02:51 PM
Can't wait for your re-cap and analysis of the World Series!
Posted by Jennifer on 04/12/08 at 01:08 PM
Katy,
You should become a sports announcer! But hey, on Monday night I found the best way to watch basketball! I turned on the first 5 minutes of the game, saw that KU was winning, then flipped to shows I had Tivo'd. As the evening progressed, I happened to flip back to "live tv" and the game had only 3 minutes to go, plus the overtime. It was great to watch the final minutes, and I didn't have to sit thru all that boring stuff in the middle! (ok, so I'm not a b-ball fan... give me the Masters anyday!)
Posted by Lynn Raymond on 04/12/08 at 03:21 PM
Bravo to you! Not all wives get themselves into basketball, especially moms. This is a good way to bond with your husband and of course your son or daughter whose into basketball too.

I salute you!
Posted by Entertainers on 11/24/08 at 07:44 PM
Basketball is the most popular sport for me
Posted by Andrea Mae on 02/05/09 at 04:01 AM

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Personal blog of christian writer & fallible mom Katy McKenna Raymond in Kansas City, Missouri Katy is represented by Greg Johnson at WordServe Literary Read more Katy at LateBoomer.net Follow Katy on Twitter Follow Katy on Facebook 123 Recent Posts Try Becoming Brenda Starr Off Beat Scattered That’s It So I’ve Finally Signed With An Agent. Now What? The Spoon Sciatica Sweetheart A Woman’s Train of Thought Has No Caboose However much we own, we are all still living on borrowed time After all, when restaurants shrink portions, they don’t shrink prices. As with everything in life, balance is key. Slow down, you move too fast… Yeah, I know. I have issues. Search Advanced Search Syndicate Login E me at katy @ ngenius.com	Stuff I Learned While Watching KU Win Some Kind Of Basketball Tournament OK, everyone knows the University of Kansas, my son Scott’s alma mater, won a championship of some sort. A national thing. I remember somewhere along the line there was a Big Eight, and then a Final Four. There might have been, previous to that, a Sweet Sixteen, but I could be mistaken on that one. On Monday night, it all came down to two teams, of that I am certain. One of them was based in Memphis. In the audience sat a fellow who spent as many as fifteen years, if I recall correctly, as the beloved coach of the KU team. I feel sure that the team he now coaches is located in North Carolina, and I do believe KU squashed his current team in a Final Four game on Saturday night. The thing I don’t understand is why they call it Final Four if there are never more than two teams playing. Anyway, Monday night, the North Carolina coach formerly known as a KU coach was sitting on the KU side of the stadium (or was it a gymnasium? an arena, maybe?), with a KU emblem attached to his shirt. I couldn’t help thinking his North Carolina team might be a little ticked at him for this, since I would imagine the sting of being beat soundly by KU on Saturday night wouldn’t have eased up quite yet. But the coach shrugged off any concern with a casual comment about how he had to get behind one of the Top Two teams, so KU was his choice. The nature of loyalties and alliance-formation aside, I am now in possession of, if not the ball, an accumulation of basketball-related knowledge that I would never have acquired if not for Monday night’s game. Evidently, there is more of a difference between a long and a short shot than a casual observer might realize. Did you know that if you are shooting a basket from outside a certain range, a goal is worth three points instead of a measly two? It made me wonder why players don’t take these “long shots” more often, especially when lots of their short shots look like the efforts of crazed sufferers of some disorder involving lots of pesky twitching. My opinion on the matter was bolstered in the last seconds of what the announcer referred to as “regulation” play, which I quickly came to understand as all the stuff that happens before non-regulation play begins. As the KU guy was barreling down the field toward his hoop, the announcer said, “This would be a good time for him to make a three-pointer, but KU hasn’t been doing much of that tonight…” And then, as if on cue, the guy threw a long shot, and effortlessly earned the three points. So, tell me. Why the heck wasn’t he doing that all night long? Anyone—even me—can see that there would have been no need for the non-regulation play if KU had just done the obvious. A second thing I learned is that a shot can’t take more than a certain amount of seconds. There is a little timer that runs in the lower right hand side of the TV screen. If it runs out of time, that means the guy failed to throw the ball, and I suspect it also means that then the other team gets a turn. However, at the very end of “regulation” play, it seems to me that one guy will hold onto the ball for nigh unto forever, in order to “let the clock run out.” This seems wrong and unfair to me. Why is regulation play not more regulated? The final thing I’ve added to my ever-growing repertoire of sports knowledge is that fouling and being fouled increases a lot toward the end of the game. I think it is a way to help the losers get points by trying to make a free throw, but it seems like an ill-conceived plan. During the rest of the game, it’s considered a mistake to bump into an opponent in a manner which is against the rules, but when push comes to shove (so to speak), the referees turn a blind eye and act like they don’t even notice that players are throwing themselves into opponents, virtually begging to be fouled. All in all, what I’ve learned from becoming the KU basketball aficionado I am today is that my husband really likes it when I watch the Top Two with him. Is there another one next Monday night? Posted by Katy on 04/08/08 at 02:53 PM Fallible Comments... Mom-Glad you're getting to know more about the game--just don't become a KU fan, ok? MIZZOU-RAH! Posted by Carrie D. on 04/10/08 at 12:46 PM Katy, I'm so glad you cleared this all up for me! For the 1st time in 15 years, my non-sports liking husband decided to watch the game in his "office". He proceeded to come down every 5 minutes and tell me the score and the best shots! What I don't understand is ... why do the last 2 minutes of the game seem to take forever!!! Craig comes down and says, "Just 2 minutes to go." Five minutes go by and he comes down again, "Just 1 minutes and 58 seconds to go." Makes me think that these games are being played in another time dimension! Oh well! It was fun! Posted by Nancy Wood on 04/10/08 at 04:59 PM Oh, Katy, don't become a basketball fan. Although I do find the March Madness brackets fun to fill out, I still believe basketball is just a bunch of overgrown men running around in their pajamas trying to put a ball in a hole without putting each others eyes out. I'd take college football any old day of the week over basketball. Go Big 12! Posted by Kathryn Harris on 04/11/08 at 02:51 PM Can't wait for your re-cap and analysis of the World Series! Posted by Jennifer on 04/12/08 at 01:08 PM Katy, You should become a sports announcer! But hey, on Monday night I found the best way to watch basketball! I turned on the first 5 minutes of the game, saw that KU was winning, then flipped to shows I had Tivo'd. As the evening progressed, I happened to flip back to "live tv" and the game had only 3 minutes to go, plus the overtime. It was great to watch the final minutes, and I didn't have to sit thru all that boring stuff in the middle! (ok, so I'm not a b-ball fan... give me the Masters anyday!) Posted by Lynn Raymond on 04/12/08 at 03:21 PM Bravo to you! Not all wives get themselves into basketball, especially moms. This is a good way to bond with your husband and of course your son or daughter whose into basketball too. I salute you! Posted by Entertainers on 11/24/08 at 07:44 PM Basketball is the most popular sport for me Posted by Andrea Mae on 02/05/09 at 04:01 AM Page 1 of 1 pages Commenting is not available in this weblog entry. Next entry: D'Ann Mateer, You Are A Winner!!! Previous entry: Spice Up Your Marriage With A Fun Novel! << Back to main


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Stuff I Learned While Watching KU Win Some Kind Of Basketball Tournament

Personal blog of christian
writer & fallible mom
Katy McKenna Raymond
in Kansas City, Missouri