36 Hours of Sports Bliss

When you wake up Saturday morning, hug and kiss your wife and kids and then tell them to you will see them Monday morning.  This is no weekend for family distractions or or those nagging “honey do lists.”  There are serious sports to be watched. 

If the wife and kids want to watch, go ahead and let them.  But they better be committed to sitting on that couch for about 36 straight hours.  If you are single and reading this, consider yourself lucky that you don’t have to deal with the pressures of balancing sports and family.  As for the 2% that have the wife and kids and no issues with interruptions because they get it, good for you!  Also, for the .5% that are woman reading this, all the stuff mentioned above is opposite for you, there are single guys dying to meet you. 

Things get started at high noon Saturday with State and Carolina. On paper, let’s not fool ourselves, this appears to be a major mismatch.  One team that has played to its lofty expectations while the other has struggled meeting theirs to this point. One team loves to push the ball and can score with ease and the other couldn’t break 60 v. Presbyterian or North Carolina Central. 

However, before you say it's a slam dunk for the Tar Heels, keep in mind this is College Basketball we are talking about.  N.C. State certainly has enough big bodies to do what Clemson did so well to Tyler Hansbrough, but the tough question to answer is this: who’s going to contain Ty Lawson and Wayne Ellington?  That’s the reason I don’t see the Tar Heels losing at home. However I do anticipate it will be a close game.

After that game ends, you will have some time to regroup before the 430 kickoff between the Seahawks and Packers, so maybe say hi to the family in this free time or take a quick nap on the couch or run to the store for more beer if needed.  Somehow I have to squeeze in the Canes/Avalanche game in Saturday night at RBC Center. 

They recommend all fans in attendance get a flu shot before coming thanks to the outbreak in the ‘Canes locker room.  Maybe the Storm Squad should throw out hospital masks to the fans just to be on the safe side.

Unfortunately the game overlaps with New England and Jacksonville, which starts after 8p.m.  Thankfully they invented DVR’s so we can have the best of both worlds.

Sunday, after two more divisional playoff games in the NFL, I am going up to Cameron Indoor to find out for myself if the students are truly not showing up to these games. 

It will be Duke’s ACC opener against Virginia.  I still have a hard time believing these students are passing up the opportunity to see the Blue Devils in person. They are on double-secret probation for the first two ACC games so I’m expecting them to show up Sunday night. However, the whole issue has me wondering what’s happened to today’s youth? Get your priorities straight. You go to Duke for basketball and yes on the way to achieving that goal you get a really good education. I just don’t get it. How spoiled has the student fan base become? Is this really because they haven’t been national champions since 200? This isn’t a boring team by the way; it’s a team that gets up and down the court with the best of them. Their lack of size may cost them a final four appearance, but they aren’t a team that should be ignored - especially by their own students!

So enjoy your weekend of sports bliss - and maybe have a nice box of candy or flowers or a gift of some sort ready for your estranged loved ones when you finally see them again on Monday.