#80b - final four (in two parts).

ncaa final four game #2 features the villanova wildcats (ranked #11 by the ap during the season) vs the unc tar heels (ranked #2 during the season). it's one of those classic matchups where one team (villanova) has a really good defense and the other team has a badass offense, so something's got to give somewhere or the world will collapse in on itself. here's what sort of matchup we're looking at...

the villanova wildcats are a team with a storied ncaa tourney history. back in 1985 (a time when i actually still cared about ncaa basketball), led by coach rollie massimino, they became the lowest seeded team to win the championship when they defeated big east opponent georgetown, who was led by patrick ewing.  this year, they're one of two big east conference teams (along with uconn) in the final four, led by senior forward dante cunningham & guard scottie reynolds.  jay wright (their coach) has only been coaching the team since 2005 & this year, he's the only final four coach who's never been to the final four before, so good for him...he can check that off his list.

the unc tar heels are led by all-everything senior forward tyler hansbrough, who besides holding the ncaa record for free throws made, has won every award ever, done well in the classroom & helped out in the community more than you did.  overall, the team averages 90 pts per game & has five players who average in double digits.  after losing to kansas (the eventual champions) in the tourney last year, they were ranked #1 at the beginning of the season and #2 at the end & as the announcers announced during the game, they're "on a mission."

basically, unc whooped ass from the get-go.  villanova cut it to nine by end of first half, but by the time the game came back for the second half, i had sort of stopped giving the game my undivided attention.  here's what i do recall...villanova never had a chance & the game was never close.  if i was michigan st, i'd be scared right now.

my top player picks: reggie redding, villanova - funny name, didn't die / tyler hansbrough, unc - 18 pts, 11 rebs, upheld humanity

#80b - final four (in two parts).
snack: humbles olive oil, lemon & feta baked hummus chips
drink: weyerbacher old heathen imperial stout

as in part a of my final four coverage, i'm treating myself to a snack & a drink from the home states of this game's two participants--pennsylvania & north carolina. i know, i'm clever. i'm also lucky enough to have been able to find snacks & drinks to fit my theme. for a snack, during this game, i'm munching from a bag of humbles olive oil, lemon & feta baked hummus chips. they're made by good health natural foods, a boringly-named company out of greensboro, nc. you can reach them on the internet at www.goodhealthnaturalproducts.com. i believe you can also find them online at www.wehaveaverylongwebaddress.com.

ain't no potatoes in these badboys! they're baked & made from hummus/chickpeas & bear a slight resemblance texturewise to the popchips i tried just the other day.  if they weren't $3 a bag, i might just eat them all the time.  for the aforementioned reasons, they're healthier than your average chip & the olive oil, lemon feta flavor is both subtle & pleasant.

if you drive just about an hour or so north of the villanova/philly area, just past the non-jesus affiliated bethlehem, you'll reach easton, pa, where my second beer of the night, the weyerbacher old heathen imperial stout, is brewed. weyerbacher has been around since 1995 (& once had a brewpub in downtown easton) & brew a bunch of crazy-named beers--the blithering idiot, the imperial pumpkin ale, the slam dunkel.

in the spirit of the wraith-like figure on its front label, the old heathen is quite the dark beer.  since i'm a heathen myself, i enjoyed it, but since i'm a heathen, i didn't embrace it. it wasn't all that special anyhow...stouty enough, i suppose.

that's it!  til monday night & the championship battle!

#80a - final four (in two parts).

the first of tonight's two final four games pitted the michigan st spartans (ranked #8 by the ap in the regular season) vs the uconn huskies (ranked #5). this year's final four festivities are taking place in front of 72K people (a final four attendance record) at detroit's ford field, so it's all historical & junk. let's take a look at the two teams...

the michigan st spartans are the hometown squad, coming from an hour and a half west up route 96, in east lansing. they're lucky, since home court advantage is HUGE sportswise & they're the first team in the last 15 years to play a final four game in their home state. also, magic johnson went to school at msu, so he was in the audience, which might have been inspirational where it not for him wearing some sort of wack-looking warmup jersey (not very gq, magic). overall, it's a big michigan lovefest, with nine of the spartan players originally from the ol mitt-shaped state or whatever the heck they call it.

the uconn huskies are always good for some good basketball playing. they were the men's NCAA champs in 1999 & 2004 and their women's squad is pretty much the best women's basketball team ever. seriously. this year's team...they're like amazonian cyborgs. the men's team features 7'3" hasheem thabeet, who is from tanzania, which makes me think of this npr story i recently heard about basketball in sudan & another about a movie about baseball & the dominican republic.  so uconn only plays seven guys, which means the same guys are on the floor most of the time & as a result, they have four 1000 point players on same squad for first time in their history.

as for the game, it was one of those neck & neck, back & forth engagements. there was a little scrum & pushing at end of first half which was rather exciting...& then two minutes later came the longest halftime ever, with all sorts of presentations & awards & junk.  the first half back & forth continued for most of the rest of the game, with lots of serious hustle.  at one point, cbs used lcd soundsystem's "daft punk is playing at my house" as a lead-in to commercial, which was totally hip.  anyway, by the end, msu pulled away & uconn tried to come back, but the hometown msu squad prevailed & are now going onto the championship game.  go spartans.

my top player picks: kalin lucas, msu - 21 pts, lots of being fast & stuff / stanley robinson, uconn - 15 pts, 13 rebs, a bunch of loud, awesome dunks

#80a - final four (in two parts).
snack: pepperidge farm chocolate raspberry milano cookies
drink: arcadia ales starboard stout

in honor of our two teams, i'm having a snack & drink pairing from their home states. for the snack, i'm trying to hold myself back from eating, right here & right now, an entire bag of pepperidge farm chocolate raspberry milano cookies. they're crafted by god, via a series of miracles, on the magical pepperidge farm, located in norwalk, ct, which is almost two hours south of uconn, just down 95. the original magical farm was in the next town over from norwalk--fairfield.

the pepperidge farm has been overseen by the campbell soup co. since 1961, when they bought pepperidge & their amazing milano cookies. anyway, pretty much every milano cookie flavor is awesome & if you don't agree with me, you might consider consulting a physician regarding your mental state. they are the only good thing that has ever come out of that god-forsaken, armpit-of-new england state & should be commended as such for overcoming the shortcomings of their environment to create tasty, simple cookies.

the arcadia ales starboard stout is brewed in battle creek, mi, the place most famously known as the home of the kellogg co.  the starboard stout's an oat malt stout with a dark complexion & a tan head & a toasty flavor that mixes quite well with the chocolate flavor in the cookies.  it gets some quantity of thumbs up.  unconfirmed rumor: there's a little bit of tony the tiger in every bottle.

bring on the next game!