Army West Point Athletics
Tuesday, April 6 - One Shining Moment
April 06, 2010 | General
Well fans, the men's college basketball season has come to a close once again. Don't forget mighty UConn takes on Stanford for the women's title tonight. The nets have been cut after probably the most exciting national championship game in my lifetime. Tracy Nelson with you today, and I am happy to report that I got up this morning with a big smile on my face after Duke survived last night!
I've taken notice that we've left you all blog-less since the last time I wrote in. I'm going to have to get on my colleagues to pen their thoughts. We'll get back on track, I promise!
Any sports fan had to appreciate what unfolded during this year's NCAA Tournament. It's my favorite time of year and has been as long as I can remember. Even without any real ties to Duke, I grew up a Duke fan and have rooted for them for years. Love 'em or hate 'em, you can't dispute the job Coach K did with this group. Without a single "superstar" on this year's roster, they managed to get it done. The one time that I did attend the NCAAs was when VCU bounced the Dukies in the first round in Buffalo four years ago. It was a rough day, but to see them grow each year into a national championship team was more than a thrill! What better way to commemorate the event than with a Coach K signed West Point men's basketball specialty design jersey? Lucky for you, one is up for bid on Army's auction site right now. Click here to bid today! Auction on this item ends Thursday.
Don't get me wrong, had Gordon Hayward's desperation heave dropped, I wouldn't have been all that upset. Butler's magical run is what the tournament is all about. They took a city, a nation and the entire collegiate basketball world on a grand tour of what the mid-major can do and it was a heck of a ride. There was no way I thought the Bulldogs would hang in it for that long. A huge part of me was glad they did though in order to make this year's David vs. Goliath title bout one for the history books. They challenged every shot, every possession and really made Duke work for every stinkin' point.
As ecstatic as I am about the Duke victory, one thing just rained on my parade. "One Shining Moment" was not the same without Luther's smooth voice Year in and year out, I sit up and wait to watch "One Shining Moment" to relive the highlights of each tournament. It's the cherry on the sundae for me - especially in years that Duke didn't fair very well. This year, Jennifer Hudson's lack-luster version didn't do anything for me. I knew I wasn't alone when Facebook updates aplenty indicated the overall dissatisfaction. No emotion. Mediocre highlights. Overall disappointment. It's Luther's song and should have remained that way for years to come. If Miley Cyrus sings it next year, I'm out. That'll do it for my need to watch "One Shining Moment."
I can't let today's blog end without congratulating my mom on a win in her office pool! Way to represent the Nelson's! She's been playing for years, and I'm pretty sure this is the first time she's finished in the cash. (Next dinner out is on you!) My brother won the whole thing when the Dukies cut down the nets in 2001 as well. He was a freshman in high school and won more money than I made in a week working at the old ice cream shop. Jealousy was definitely in the water then ... Happy Birthday today Jay Bird!
Now that I've babbled on about the tournament, I suppose I should mention a few things about what's going on here at West Point! It's a bit of a gloomy day out today, which I wasn't expecting at all. I know that I had mentioned a while back that I'm training for a half-marathon at the end of May. It's been going very well so far, but this dingy weather is doing nothing for my desire to run outside. Bring back the sun!
Hopefully the weather changes gears a little bit before the weekend as there is a ton on tap here as far as spring sports go. The track and field team hosts Navy in the annual "Star Meet" and softball hosts defending champion Lehigh in a four-game series. Not to mention, the womens' tennis team welcomes conference rival Bucknell for a Saturday match at 9 a.m. ITT Knight Vision's Cody Chrusciel is working on a nice women's tennis feature as we speak. The team has won an incredible 41-straight Patriot League regular season matches and will put that streak to the test on Saturday against a Bison team that has posed a challenge for Army in the past handful of years.
After taking a 19-1 beating (I thought it was a mistake when I first glanced at the score) at Holy Cross last Saturday, the baseball team bounced back to win 3-of-4 against the Crusaders. Army travels to rival Navy this weekend in what should be another great series between the two academies. If you haven't seen already, an enormous honor was recently bestowed upon junior SS Clint Moore as he was named a finalist for the annual AAU Sullivan Award. Click here to read more about it and a HUGE congrats to Clint on a very well-deserved honor!
I think I've officially hit capacity on my blog word count by now. Thanks for letting me share my thoughts and I'll be sure to remind Mady that she's on deck for tomorrow!
