Monday, April 3, 2023

The Power of Pixie Dust

After months of ruminations and allegations, the ginger Fuhrer finally got indicted. It was unexpectedly unexpected. The Teflon former world leader had erased more scandals than Olivia Pope. The Manhattan DA and Trump have been publicly sparring on unsocial media. Trump threatened to mobilize his whack pack. In the end, Trump feigned confidence and agreed to fly back to NY on Trump One and get booked into the system.  The shame for the fallen leader to have mug shots, fingerprints and a jumpsuit must be ravaging for his hair. For her part, Stormy D is ready to appear in court and local clubs in the area in and around the trial. It is hard to believe Trump would subject himself to the humiliation.  Does anyone know where AC Cowlings and the White Bronco are tomorrow afternoon?

 

The Yard’s fervor for college basketball has been well documented in this blog and during private therapy sessions.  We will stick with the blog to not further sully the tarnish. This year’s tournament delivered on every level.  There was a depth to the madness that has never been reached.  The Final Four was a mashup of first timers and one blueblood.  The Mountain West conference had never had a team in the elite eight let alone the Final Four.  The Aztecs of San Diego blew right through the mid-major glass ceiling into the championship game.  The Hurricanes of Miami were a nice story. Head coach Jim Larranga has built a sustainable threat in south beach.  The FAU Owls were the darlings of the dance and Boca Raton.  They went all David on the Goliath’s of Tennessee and Kansas State, landing in the Final Four as a nine seed. The Owls were 7.2 seconds away from that final until the Aztec snatched the dream and made it their own.  UCONN is the 800-pound silver back decimating opponents in their mist.

 

There have only been three other Final Fours before this year that did not include at least one number one seed.  None of the top seeds made it out of the third round under a barrage of delusional outcomes.  When all the talk was that only one time in NCAA history has a 16 seed beat a number one, Purdue got overwhelmed by a seemingly overmatched FDU. Top seeds were crashing brackets like it was the southern border.  Game after game unfolded in mystery, exposed its promise, and deposited a result on the court.  It was entertaining for the casual fan but withering for the nearsightedness of the Yard.  It is truly a great event reported locally and nationally after each narrative unfolded.

 

The Yard has been show running the Aztecs of SDSU for years. The gentlemanly excellence of Steve Fisher laid the groundwork for this team’s miracle run.  San Diego State has been the best basketball program in the state of CA the past years.  Consistently better than USC and most times UCLA.  They are the cream of the Mountain West and will be a top team in the Pac-12 in the coming years.  Go Aztecs!

 

Women’s basketball is having a moment.  This Women’s NCAA tournament was their best in history.  It is not an anomaly for this season but the reality of how far they have come.  The women’s game is more closely aligned with what Dr. Naismith intended with the peach baskets at the YMCA in Springfield. Now, they sparkled in their own madness, and we are not just talking about LSU coach Kim Mulkey. The female final four has been exhilarating.  The exploits of Iowa’s Caitlan Clark have been reported culminating with her player of the year victory.  She wished it culminated with a win over LSU, but she came up short on most everything but her three pointers.  She was heaving shots from Steph Curry land, but the pixie dust was all used up. 

 

It seems the pixie dust got trapped in the swirling vortex of LSU coach Kim Mulkey. Mulkey was the first to win a championship as a player at LA Tech, an assistant coach, and head coach.  She won an Olympic gold medal as a player, and this was her fourth NCAA title as a coach. She won three while coaching Baylor for 31 years.  She is a Louisiana girl to her core, and she wanted to go home and help the Bayou state.  She left a successful program in Waco to take over a 9-13 program in Baton Rouge.  She immediately made the Tigers a contender in year one and champions in year two.  She is one bad ass grandmother coaching on the sidelines in a pink boa.  All hail LSU!