Project OSPREY
Thursday, 29 March
(№ 3) Stanford 75-51 Minnesota (№ 6)
N.I.T. Final

I didn't see Thursday's night finale to the 75th National Invitation Tournament because I was at the aforementioned History Club game night playing Risk, but my father described the on-court proceedings as being as ugly as the final score. The luckless Golden Gophers "had no answer" for the suffocating defense of the epithetless Cardinal(s). 'Tis a shame, both because the Big Ten team did not triumph & because the loss came at the hands of the ancient foe, the Pac-12. Still, it must be noted that Minnesota was far from a top-tier Big Ten team, & I remain confident that in any apples-to-apples comparison of the Big Ten's best against the Pac-12's best, the pride of the Midwest would send those not-as-coastal-as-they-used-to-be West Coast bastards packing. Nevertheless, drat!

Much as it pains me to root for the hated Buckeyes (№ 2), here's hoping that, win or loss, they acquit themselves well in tonight's "Final Four" showdown with the epitheless Jayhawks of Kansas (№ 2), for their play will leave the season's final impression of the whole Big Ten. N.P.R. doesn't often cover sports, & this week has been a painful reminder why that's a good thing: the coverage of the second-to-last round of the N.C.A.A. Men's Basketball Tournament (Division I) has focused almost exclusively on the in-state rivalry 'twixt (№ 4) Louisville & (№ 1) Kentucky, with only passing mentions of Kansas & THE _{(Ohio State University)}. The Final Four belongs to everyone, you snooty poseurs, not just the Commonwealth of Kentucky!

The Rebel Black Dot Song of the Day
Barenaked Ladies, "Maybe Katie" from Everything to Everyone (T.L.A.M.)

Commentary:

"What's the use in hesitating?
Can't you see that Katie's waiting?
Just because her youth is fading
Doesn't mean she's not worth dating."