IU 71 #2 Wisconsin 66

Wow! I'm exhausted. Here are some random thoughts following IU's biggest win in 5 years:

• As a basketball fan, it's hard not to like the way Wisconsin plays. They remind me of the old Indiana teams - unselfish, composed, and really well-coached. I can't help but to think back to the Spring of '01 when both IU & Wisconsin were coming off surprisingly good runs with interim coaches. Wisconsin held true to the title of "interim" and hired a proven winner. IU made the PR move and hired the "interim" guy. Nice job Brand.
  
• Speaking of coaches, it is so nice to have a terrific one again. Sampson was brilliant tonight. Going with the zone defense was the right move. Taking out Bassett in the first half and then bringing him back in at just the right time in the 2nd half. Getting the ball to DJ early in the 2nd half to get some fouls on them.
  
• Assembly Hall rocked like the old days. The crowd was into it from the opening tip. It's starting to hit me that we're going to have a new arena in the next 10 years or so. As quirky and poorly designed as that place is, there's no place I'd rather watch a big game.
• The students were outstanding tonight. They were on time and they were really into the game. They even organized their own white-out! They have deserved a lot of criticism this year, but not tonight.
• Saturday's game worries me. Iowa is very beatable but I'm not sure if there's enough time for IU to come down, prepare for the game, travel, and play well on the road.

Regardless, tonight proves IU is on its way back!

Entering the Blog-o-sphere

Greetings! I have decided to join the 21st century and start a blog.

I'm not sure exactly what I'll blog about but it will probably be mostly sports. I may slip into the political world every once in a while. While I keep up with politics, I don't follow it with the same passion as I follow sports.

Most of what I blog about will probably be about the teams to the right. They all have glorious pasts but are in very different places right now. The Orioles are a complete disaster thanks to Peter Angelos. I'll have a lot to say about his ownership of destruction in this space.

IU basketball has been down but it is moving in the right direction under Kelvin Sampson. This season's team has been the most fun team to watch in over a decade, from both a success and execution standpoint. (The 2002 Final Four team was fun from a success standpoint but still painful to watch - even the Duke win was ugly).

The Ravens are in by far the best position, both from the success on the field this year and having an outstanding organization. Losing to the Dolts was incredibly painful, but as Bisciotti said today, I'll take that pain over 2005. When you consistently battle for championships, you're going to have disappointments. For the O's there was the pain of '79, '82, '96, & '97. For IU basketball there was the pain of '92 & '93 (I'm too young to remember the most painful one - '75). As long as Newsome and Billick are around, I'm confident the Ravens will consistently contend.

Well, there's my first blog. I'm sure there will be plenty to follow.