Crazy finish.

 

Down the stretch

I’m not hating on Phil just to hate on Phil. He won, so this critique probably makes me look like the jackass. But I am shocked that he didn’t call a timeout with St. Joe’s up one and under 45 seconds to go. Their three previous possessions went: turnover, block, and turnover. They had one timeout left when they got the ball back with 48 seconds remaining. To me, this is where you call a timeout, drain the clock, and try to take a three-point lead with a drawn-up play, otherwise there’s mass confusion about what kind of shot you want:

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No timeout, and they got yet another shot blocked, allowing Cincinnati to get the ball back and take the lead. Luckily, St. Joe’s did use their timeout to draw up the game-winning shot.

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But still, it was too close for comfort.

 

Mother Russia

For no reason whatsoever, here’s how the end of the game sounded on Russian TV:

 

Partying in Clearwater

I requested reaction vids from what were surely crazy watch parties in Clearwater. [Someone responded and asked why I didn’t request Philly reaction videos– because, the reaction of a bunch of drunken Philly fans at beach bars on vacation will always be better.] A few came in, including one of my good high school and college friend Woody, who earned his cred with me when he took one for the team and went to jail for the night barefoot rather than return to my Bryn Mawr apartment to get his shoes (he was peeing outside) because the cops said that if he did they would bust all of the 18-year-olds inside. This is Woody, a St. Joe’s alum, at the bachelor party of PAYING SUBSCRIBER reader Paul, who was unwittingly spotted on the plane by Jim wearing a veil and handing out snacks Wednesday night:

Luckily Chillwagon, the one Nova fan in the group, is there to balance things out:

Other videos:

https://twitter.com/Brett_Brock/status/711059630097637376

 

The Hawk

Guess not, Woody.

 

Conspiracy

I thoroughly enjoy reader Rudy’s conspiracy theory about the clocks:

I see two possibilities:

  1. The arena clock is not directly synced to the game clock.
  2. The arena clock is directly synced to the game clock, but runs a fraction of a second behind because of the time it takes THE SPEED OF LIGHT to get from the game clock switch, presumably on the floor, to wherever the control is for the arena clock. This sounds crazy, but high-speed traders are well aware that even feet can mean microsecond differences in timing.

Either way, the clock on the basket is the official one, so that’s what matters here. But seeing the arena clock literally change from 0.1 to 0.0 while the ball is going in is nuts:

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That close.

 

Great images

From just after Isaiah Mile’s go-ahead three-pointer:

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After the final call:

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Photos: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

I love Phil Martelli’s old-timey suit and old-timey reaction. Yeyayeah! The Giants won the pennant!!! Swell that’ll show the boys!

Also, this guy, who is apparently John O’Brien (@johnnyob31):

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Dem hops tho.

 

Next up

Oregon, in Spokane, where you can buy marijuana.