And the NEWSPAPERS MISSED THEM!! I am QUITE BESIDE MYSELF this morning, readers, as I am having a deja vu moment.
For background, see: MSM Monitor Moves Eye
So ONCE AGAIN the local paper FAILED to DELIVER WRITE-UPS or SCORES on at least TWO GAMES!! Sigh. It is the SEMI-FINALS of the REGIONAL TOURNAMENT!! The GAMES were OVER by 10 o'clock!!!!!!! What, you gotta ship the stuff to China for printing or what?
I really can't describe how distraught I am by this turn of events, readers, It is one thing to lie about life and death, war and peace, etc. I've come to EXPECT THAT! When the LYING and MISINFORMATION INTRUDE upon one of life's FEW JOYS it is a heart-shattering experience.
So rather than go to their stink web site to see what's up, I'll give you my unofficial, yet very meticulous, report:
My initial reaction upon the second night was how thin the crowd was. At least their were no scoreboard or clock issues this night; however, I still received no statistical updates.
The first game pitted the defending and undefeated division against the team they beat in last year's final. The underdogs were already operating from a short-handed position, as I saw two of their players walking around with crutches. You ready for a Hoosiers-type story? For the first three quarters or so the game went as scripted. The defending champions held a consistent lead of 4 points or so; however, late in the third quarter the game tightened. Both Both teams began to catch fire as the lead went back and forth in the fourth quarter and the score remained knotted at the end of regulation, forcing an overtime. The underdogs then caught fire from the three-point line and dominated the extra session for a 69-57 victory -- knocking off the unbeaten favorite and exacting a measure of sweet revenge for last year.
Beyond just watching the game, readers, I keep statistics for myself. I got sick of the papers never giving rebounds, assists, steals, or blocks totals! I was therefore able to determine that the leading player on the defeated side's squad led all scorers with 23 points. One of her teammates had 14 points, but also grabbed 20 rebounds! That isn't the most I've ever seen a girl grab in a game (I could tell you many stories); however, the total itself is impressive. Many pro players never grab 20 rebounds in a game for the whole season. On the other side of the ball, the victors nailed eight(!) three-pointers to in a very balanced attack. Four girls scored in double figures (18 points, 15 points, 13 points, and 12 points, respectively) while a two other girls cleaned up the glass with 10 and 9 boards, respectively, and two other players dished out 5 assists apiece. What I am trying to convey to you is the OUTSTANDING and STELLAR PLAY I witnessed last night.
Thinking that the first came couldn't be topped, I settled in for the second game of the evening matching the local Cinderella 10-seed against a team I had already seen in an earlier round. In a hard-fought game with bodies flying all over the floor (as in the previous game), the score was tied 23 to 23 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Cinderella squad fell behind by six and it looked to be over; however, they RALLIED to TIE the game with seconds left! Down the court came the other squad, and as time ran out a shot was hoisted from deep in three-point land. It caromed off the rim, and I was ecstatic that I was going to have ANOTHER OVERTIME! But wait, wait, a WHISTLE!!! Three free throws would decide the game with no time left. After missing the first one, the young girl canned the second (I don't know if I could do that under such pressure, readers) and her delirious teammates mobbed her at the free throw line. Looking down at the other end, two seniors on the losing squad collapsed into the floor in tears.
Now, the crowd began booing the call and I was one of them. The feeling was you simply couldn't let that hard-fought a game come down to a whistle; however, when I saw the play later at home I found out what a TERRIBLE CALL it was! The contact came WELL AFTER the shot and there had been MUCH WORSE during the game. If someone had called it in our pick-up games their would have been an argument. In our honor-based "league," the guy who called such a foul would have been EMBARRASSED!!!!! Nevertheless, the game is in the record books; however, I feel that BOTH TEAMS deserved an overtime to decide it.
Anyhow, I heard the coach for the losing team talking to the press outside the locker-room and he was saying it shouldn't have come down to that call, that his team had plenty of chances and shouldn't have been in that position. And he was right! Even though his squad dominated the glass with their superior height (out-rebounding the opponent 44 to 25), they made only 12 of 29 fouls shots -- while their opponent made the same amount in only 16 attempts. Once again, it was the three-pointers providing the margin of difference, with the winners nailing down 6 to the losers' 1.
So far so good, right? During game action, word came down from the girls division one semi-finals that the defending state champions had been upset. The only issues I have with the paper at this point is that the second game I saw didn't get a separate write-up and only received a couple of paragraphs. Upon checking the box score I noticed they recorded three points for a different player than the one who scored them in the game. It just proves my point: whether big or small, the papers either lie or misinform.
So bring on the third game, a boys' tilt, the second half of the division two pairing. The winner would be taking on the team that vanquished our hometown team the previous night. I must report that I was somewhat heartened, as the gym began to fill up with a pretty darn good crowd at this point. Despite the heavy favorites getting out to an early lead, the underdogs took a one-point advantage early in the third period (the underdogs were from the same school as the undefeated girls, readers, so it was a sad night for their town). It would prove to be a short-lived moment, for the rest of the game was all the other way. When I left with under two minutes to play it was a 21-point game.
During the nightcap word came that the top seed in the girls' division one bracket had been upset. This is when my trouble with the local paper starts. There are NO REPORTS from the second girls' division one game or the boys game I saw. Nothing. The boys game has a "n" for night were the score and box score should be, with no write-up. Same for the girls. As you an imagine, readers, I was bouncing of the ceiling of my little abode. Once again, the newspapers have disappointed me.
Tonight two more county teams are at it (both boys), and I will report back later.
I hope I have been able to encapsulate my despair at the failures of AmeriKa's newspapers for you, readers. The truth is, words can not capture that strange and unusual hollowness I am feeling in the middle of my chest as I try to type and describe my emotions and feelings reharding this abomination called a newspaper
For earlier tournament action, please see:
Tournament Update
Tough Night at the Tournament
Boys Are Better Than Girls
Monitor Fails Test
(Blog editor's note: I have deliberately kept the names of the schools and players out of the stories so they are not tainted by my raging profanities and news analysis)
