Regional Final weekend

I wanted to dive into some Sweet 16 talk this afternoon because I got a special post for tomorrow. On paper the games are should be good ones. I don’t think anything will rival the games from 2005 when three of the four Regional Final games went into overtime, but this has potential to be up there.

 

All the 1’s are left and the best two two seeds are still around. (I think we can all agree the two seeds that are out aren’t going to be missed. No one likes Duke and everyone outside of Washington D.C. would take Davidson over Georgetown) There are three double digit seeds, some how two Big Ten schools and a couple match ups of clashing styles.

 

Starting in the East, the top four seeds remain. Suddenly Louisville is the sexy sleeper. Chris Loften is ailing and don’t know how well or how much he will play against L’ville. (Saying L’ville reminds me, what ever happened to that show K’Ville? I think this may be the one good thing to come from the writer’s strike, that show is gone and hopefully all the actors and creators are buried in a mass grave somewhere.) I’m sticking with Tennessee. 

 

UNC and Washington State. UNC scoring over 100 both games and Washington State allowing 40 and 41 points. As good as WSU defense is, UNC’s offense is better. 

 

UNC and Tennessee in the regional final. This will be a game I will not miss. It will be high scoring and entertaining. I’m torn between taking Tennessee because I love them and Roy Williams pulling a Roy Williams or UNC winning because they are the better team. I took UNC in the original bracket but I’m switching to UT. 

 

In the South, the potential Memphis, Texas match up could be as wildly entertaining as the UT-UNC one. I think both teams will cruise in the Sweet 16 games and meet with a trip to the Final Four on the line. Everyone keeps expecting Memphis to fall. They play in a weak conference, they can’t shoot free throw, blah, blah blah. They are the most talented team in the field. I’m sticking with them to win it all.

 

In the Midwest, my man crush love Stephen Curry has been the talk of the tournament. My heart says pick them over Wisconsin by brain says take Wisconsin (despite them being a Big Ten school). It doesn’t really matter since Kansas will go to the Final Four. I hope I’m wrong here and Stephen Curry and Davidson pull a George Mason. As unlikely as it seems, I’m not going to say it’s impossible. 

 

The only team with an easier path to the Final Four is UCLA. UCLA needed another gift from the refs to hang on against Texas A&M (how come there wasn’t a bigger uproar about the no foul call on the final attempt by A&M). As easy as the path has been/is for the Bruins to reach the Final Four, I’m going to pick against them. I’m taking Xavier here. They’ll take care of WVU. They always beat Cincinnati when Huggins coached there so that will be no different than him coaching at West Virginia. Xavier matches up well with UCLA and has enough to squeak passed them in the most exciting game of the weekend.

 

UNC-Tennessee, Memphis-Texas, Kansas-Davidson, UCLA-Xavier. Maybe this weekend does have a chance to surpass Sweet 16 weekend from 2005.

 

Fratello

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WHAM, with the right hand

All fans attending tonight’s game at Quicken Loans Arena between the Cavs and Hornets will receive an old, large, multi- and clashing-colored sweater that has more colors and than a 64 pack of Crayola crayons. That might not be true but it should happen. When you think of Cavs radio play-by-play man Joe Tait, after you think of “WHAM, with the right hand,” you think of the ugly sweaters from the 1970s that couldn’t have been popular even then. 

 

Bad bad sweat jokes aside, congratulations to Joe Tait. Tonight he will call his 3,000th career Cavs game. The Cavs will rightfully honor Tait at the game more appropriately than handing out ugly sweaters (although if you are going to the game, Rosie, you should wear one to honor the best voice in the NBA). There will be a halftime ceremony where the Cavs will remain his booth the “Joe Tait Perch.” I’m sure there will be many other things going on too including a video and audio highlight reel of Joe Tait’s most famous calls. That will be thrilling to see. I get excited every time I hear his voice.

 

I may be bias but I think he is the best radio voice in basketball, if not all of sports. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy him. We all have our favorite “Taiter’s” (I like that word for Tait’s famous lines). My favorite “Taiter” is “WHAM with the right hand.” I think that is most peoples. I also love when he talks about DiGiorno Pizza (may be the only one to like it more than Austin Carr), “operators are standing by” then says “someone get them a chair,” every whistle he’ll say “and now what?”, he isn’t afraid to criticize the refs and is about the only announcer to still call out his team when they aren’t playing well and will question certain moves.

 

I don’t listen to Tait that much anymore since every game is on TV now. The only time I get to is I’m at work late or driving around during a game. When I was a kid, and all the games weren’t on TV, I would always turn Tait on. I used to sneak a radio into my room and fall asleep listening to Tait’s call. I remember I laying in bed listening to Tait when Michael Jordan made the series winning buzzer beater shot in either 92 or 93. I was so sad and you could tell Tait was too. As sad as he sounded then, last year when the Cavs won the Eastern Conference, Tait couldn’t have sounded happier and it was great to hear Tait describe the scene. 

 

Tait has a unique way to call the game. Some times it’s bizarre and strange, some times it’s funny, but it’s always entertaining, accurate and insightful. Tait is old school and really takes the time to paint the picture for fans by describing the uniforms, court and arena. Dan Gilbert rightfully gave Tait a life time contract last year. Tait is more than the voice of the Cavaliers, he is the Cavaliers. I don’t know what it’s going to be like when he finally retires. But we can worry about that then. For tonight, I’m going to put on one of my dad’s old ugly sweaters in honor of Tait, eat a DiGiorno’s Pizza and turn on my radio at 7:00. Congrats, Joe.

 

 

Fratello 

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