The Best College Basketball Players Ever

As none of you know, ESPN has been counting down the 25 greatest college basketball players of all-time recently. Aside from an overall mix up of NBA stardom with college greatness, the list is marred by a glaring mistake. Christian Laettner was ranked in the upper teens. He certainly belongs in the Top 10 if not the Top 5. In my anger, I wrote what follows on his behalf. I might as well share it with someone.

If Duke would have defeated Seton Hall in the 1989 National Semifinal, Christian Laettner would have played in every NCAA Tournament game it was possible for a player to reach. As it is, he played in 23 NCAA Tourney games, more than any other player in history. He started 3 National Title games (a record) and is the only player ever to start in 4 Final Fours. He lead his team to back-to-back National Championships in 1991-92.

He capped the greatest individual, single-game, performance in the history of the NCAA Tournament by making the most famous shot in the history of the NCAA Tournament in the greatest basketball game ever played at any level. The 1992 East Regional Final ended as Laettner caught a 70ft. pass from Grant Hill, turned, and made an 18ft. fade away at the horn to give Duke a 104-103 overtime victory over Kentucky. He did not miss a shot all night (10-10 from the field and 10-10 from the line) on his way to 31 points. Laettner was later named the AP’s National Player of the Year.

His miraculous shot against Kentucky was not the first time that Laettner had sent his team to the Final Four on a buzzer-beater. In the 1990 East Regional Final against Connecticut, he made a double-clutch, 15ft., leaner at the horn to give his team a 79-78 win.

In 1991, he led Duke to the biggest upset in Final Four history. In a game that featured 19 ties and 25 lead changes, Laettner scored the game's final points on two free throws to give his team a 79-77 victory over #1 ranked UNLV. Vegas had won 45 games in a row and had been ranked #1 since midway through the previous season. Laettner was named the Most Outstanding Player of the NCAA Tournament.

Until recently, Christian Laettner, a 6'11" center, held the highest three-point shooting percentage in NCAA Tournament history. He remains the Tournament’s all-time leading scorer.

Tunes Straight Shredded In My Grill Tonight

Let It Die
The Pretender
Times Like These
Breakout
Learn To Fly
Cheer Up Boys (You Make Up Is Running)
This Is A Call
Stacked Actors
(drum solo)
Skin and Bones
Marigold
My Hero
But, Honestly
Cold Day In the Sun
Everlong
Monkey Wrench
All My Life

ENCORE:
Big Me
Long Road To Ruin
Best of You

Oscar Reaction

1) The Coens dominated as they should have. When you have to appear at the post-Oscar press conference without your statuettes because you simply cannot carry them all, you've had a good night. I felt they most deserved an award for their adapted script. I downloaded it about a month ago and have read it several times since.

2) The most excited I was all night (from sheer surprise) was when Tilda Swinton won for her performance in Michael Clayton. She TOTALLY deserved it, Catherine (don't know what movie you saw). I would have guessed that any of the other 4 nominees would have won before her. Way to go, Academy! You made the correct pick instead of the hip pick or the "this person's so old let's give her an oscar" pick.

3) It is both astounding and a shame that the same guy (Roger Deakins) shot No Country For Old Men and The Assassination of Jesse James. Had he only shot one of them, he would have won an Oscar for it. As it is, he divided his own vote and one of the most unique (and just flat cool) feats of cinematography in recent memory (The Assassination) will go without award. He'll have to settle for having shot the eventual Best Picture.

4) Atonement only deserved to win the one Oscar it did end up winning. And it REALLY deserved it.

5) Enchanted had three of its songs nominated for Best Song and so had no chance to win for any of them. (Again, if you want to win an Oscar, don't get nominated in a given category more than ONCE...wink.) This is a shame since "How Do You Know" was the best songwriting achievement this year. "Falling Slowly" and "How Do You Know" both occurred in blindingly unrealistic scenes, but only one did so with its tongue in its cheek. For the first time in Oscar history, voters were not sent soundtracks because they were encouraged to evaluate a film's music in context. In my opinion, there is no doubt which song succeeded more in its film. Either way, I'm far more impressed with "How Do You Know." Plus, "Falling Slowly" is not only inferior to "How Do You Know," it is inferior to a number of songs in its own movie.

6) I really don't think Juno deserved to win for its script (3 other scripts were better). I believe that Ellen Page is that movie...so much so that she skews everyone's judgement. She is more original than the screenplay. She totally charmed us (Juno was the highest grossing best pic nominee) with a personality and a wit that none of us have come across before. Of course, there's a reason for that: Juno could not exist.

7) Fill in the blank: Not a single ___________________ took home an acting award. Answer: American.

Will Win/Should Win (because Micah asked)...

prediction first, preference second...

Score: Atonement / Atonement
Adapted Screenplay: No Country / No Country
Original Screenplay: Juno / Michael Clayton or The Savages
Supporting Actress: Cate / Swinton*
Supporting Actor: Bardem / Affleck
Actress: Christie / Page
Actor: Day-Lewis / Day-Lewis
Director: The Coens (watch out for P.T.A.) / The Coens
Picture: No Country (watch out for Juno) / No Country

*sorry, Cate..but c'mon...2 noms and a win (maybe) in 1 night?!...u can forgive me.

Enjoy the show. Best Picture is freaking me out! It appears that any one of four movies could win it. Only Atonement is out (which is good because it is inferior to the others).

Drive To School / Walk To Class

photographs by iphone

A Reminder

In case you've forgotten...the Academy Awards are this Sunday! Without me there bugging you with movie talk, forcing you to go to movies, and begging you to come watch the Oscars with me, I'm sure it has been easy to forget. Anyway, I am sad that we cannot have our usual party. But, that doesn't mean that you guys can't have one. I'll be there in spirit.

P.S. - Cherish has taken like three pregnancy tests and she is like fo-shizz up the spout! What?!
P.S.S. - Just kidding. I've just been saying that line from Juno nonstop lately.

Teaser Trailer

go to indianajones.com

If you can, make sure you watch in HD.

Another List

If I had to pick one album for every letter of the alphabet (and one that begins with a numeral), knowing that I could only listen to these albums the rest of my days... Oh, and only one album per performer (oh no he didn't!).

Abbey Road - The Beatles
Bringing Down The Horse - The Wallflowers
The Colour and The Shape - Foo Fighters
Definitely, Maybe - Oasis
Everybody Loves A Happy Ending - Tears For Fears
Friction Baby - Better Than Ezra
Grace - Jeff Buckley
Highway 61 Revisited - Bob Dylan
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade - John Williams
The Joshua Tree - U2
Kicking Television - Wilco
Living With Ghosts - Patti Griffin
Mad Season - Matchbox 20
New Beginning - Tracy Chapman
OK Computer - Radiohead
Parachutes - Coldplay
Queen: Greatest Hits Vols. I, II, & III - Queen
Recovering The Satellites - Counting Crows
Sam's Town - The Killers
Thriller - Michael Jackson
Under Rug Swept - Alanis Morissette
-
Wincing The Night Away - The Shins
-
You Could Have It So Much Better - Franz Ferdinand
Zoom - ELO
40 Acres - Caedmon's Call

The hardest decision was for "N." Nirvana's Nevermind got edged out. I have no albums on my ipod that begin with "V." The only album I have that begin's with "X" is Coldplay's mediocre X & Y, but since I already used Parachutes...