Ned, it;s called motivation, and I just want it to work one more game. Our kids looked FOCUSED tonight, and the entirety of Memphis is cranked up for Monday night.

Welcome to the bandwagon, there’s room for all!

I hear you, and I’d say “focus” is the explanation for the disappearing free-throw-shooting chink.

I can’t figure out where the problem is. Memphis is a predominately black city with some of the highest crime rates in the country. The U of Memphis basketball program is very much a ray of light for a lot of inner city children there. A national championship will mean A LOT to the city. What is wrong with pointing that out?

I don’t really agree with Wilkes’s comment, but I will say that Memphis has long been considered an underdog and not the powerhouse for basketball the team really is. Calipari is a great coach (as pointed out in Parrish’s article) and is great for the Memphis community. And everything he does or says is good for me (and my two Memphis degrees) as well. I love for Memphis to get the respect it deserves–the city and the university.

Though I will say that it’s not all that great for the kids of Memphis to hear the starting lineup and note that none of them are from anywhere near Memphis. Finch focused on Memphis too much; Cal needs to look around a little more closely. I think the hope is that our wins this year will help his recruiting at home–both by increasing the pool and getting them at the school. It really is important to the city for the kids there to want to grow up to play on that team. If you’re not from the city, it’s probably hard to understand exactly what he’s talking about.

Cal for Memphis Mayor! (*cough*)

I think it would be good for Memphis to win the championship. Not only for the city, but also for the entire Tri-State Area (TN, MS, AL). Lord knows we need some positive press.

It will my make my alma mater look a little better, too - we lost to Memphis by a very small margin (and kept the game really close). Go Dawgs! (Mississippi State all the way!)

Well, following that logic (shared by UT fans), a Memphis championship would be good for Nashville and Vanderbilt, too since Vandy beat the only team that beat the Memphis Tigers this year.

As for State, they’re a really good athletic team that can run. Kansas is, too. Tonight’s game won’t be the cakewalk that some of the others have been because the strategy of running them ragged in the first half probably won’t work quite as well. If anyone watched the last three games of the tournament, you’ll see that Cal just ran them because he’s got a young team with energy and a deep bench.

I’m really interested to see how the game will go tonight. I think we’ll see a lot of different strategies getting played out. It’s going to be coach vs. coach on this one–the added interest being that both coached under Larry Brown at Kansas (Self replaced Calipari). I think it will be a thrilling game, no matter the outcome.

GO TIGERS!

Ned Williams:

This comment:

“Well, Coach Calipari just pulled a boner in the post-semi-final game press conference. At least I saw it that way, but I’m also not the type that swoons at a Barack Obama campaign rally.”

means what, exactly?

Are you saying that Obama and Calipari have similar styles or that they both need to stop telling people that things can be better than they are, or what. I know there’s a point there for me to see; I’m sure it’s not just a gratuitous swipe at Obama.

Well, but UT should have beaten Vandy, so that’s different.

dc,
No, it wasn’t really gratuitous–I don’t go for emotive or emotional talky-talk as a steady diet. I perceive that is a characteristic of Calipari and, yes, Obama.

Ned, I don’t get anything about this post at all. The Obama shot sounded gratuitous, and what Calipari said is pretty standard ‘coach-speech’. What’s the problem here?

Well, I guess gratuitousness is part of my complaint, that and trying to pull on someone’s heart strings about who “needs” to or “deserves” to win this game based on the socio-economic conditions of a given city. If it is standard coach-speak, how come I haven’t heard any other coach say it?

Ned Williams:

“dc,
No, it wasn’t really gratuitous–I don’t go for emotive or emotional talky-talk as a steady diet. I perceive that is a characteristic of Calipari and, yes, Obama.”

So, it’s important, somehow that you link what you consider a lamentable trait, characteristic of John Calipari to a trait that you perceive (great word, “perceive”, but “think” works about as well) is also characteristic of Barack Obama. But, Barack Obama is not a basketball coach, so where’s the connection. Perhaps if you had compared another basketball coach with Calipari…Or, you could, say, talk about a coach like Bobby Knight and talk about one of his storied rants on the court and then say, “But, I don’t get my mad on when I see John McCain freak on some reporter who asks a question he doesn’t like.” Yeah, I think I perceive that trait of incoherent rage to be one that is characteristic of both McCain and Coach Knight. Ooops, my bad, Coach Knight is retired.

“Well, I guess gratuitousness is part of my complaint,…” ”

Huh? in what regard?

“that and trying to pull on someone’s heart strings about who “needs” to or “deserves” to win this game based on the socio-economic conditions of a given city.”

Coaches, pols, generals, etc. all use whatever they can find in their bag of motivational tricks.

“If it is standard coach-speak, how come I haven’t heard any other coach say it?”

You just haven’t listened to enough of those speeches.

Gratuitous is related to “making a point to raise the issue” . . . noone asked.

Go for it with the McCain analogy!

Newsflash: folks who lean Liberal/Left have a different perspective on something than me.

Ned Williams:

This:

“Gratuitous is related to “making a point to raise the issue” . . . noone asked.”

means, exactly, what?

“Newsflash: folks who lean Liberal/Left have a different perspective on something than me.”

That’s not a newsflash, Ned. I know that you and I have virtually nothing in common except that we are both descended from a common hominid ancestor.

I didn’t ask you a question that was looking for that answer, but maybe I was thinking about doing so and you just winkled it right out of my brain.