I Plain, Straight Hate You, But...

Three quickies from tonight's unbelievable National Championship game:

1) How do you hate Dook? I understand the rivalry, yell expletives at Duke all the time, definitely think they benefit from block/charge calls on a regular basis, want to punch Chrissy Collins in the face, & never want to see them win the title. But man, you have to respect them. They put it together year in and year out, always get everyone's best shot, and still find a way to finish in the top 10 every season. It is Coach K, his staff, their players, the program as a whole. Their players work hard, play together, defend & rebound consistently, graduate, and go on to productive lives (ok, except Shav Randolph. He just sucked for three years and rides the bench in the NBA, stealing money from whoever pays him a contract now). Look at how much Smith & Zoubek improved from last season, how hard these guys must have worked. There is clear buy-in on their team, so they maximize the potential of the whole. I never think Duke might be cheating and don't really worry about their players getting in trouble either, something you cannot say about many other elite programs (I can think of one). So, despite a great rivalry and "hatred" for the Devils, you have to respect the program.

2) I did some quick numbers work via email with a good friend today on the "best" college basketball programs in the country. Why? Because Caulton Tudor of the Raleigh News & Observer opined that Carolina has gone from way ahead of Duke to way behind Duke as a program. Needless to say, I disagree: Carolina was never "way ahead" of Duke just because of last year's title and Harrison Barnes, nor does one down season put them "way behind" either. It is Tudor's job to write something that people will read, I get that, yet his snap judgements and hyperbole are a tired act in my opinion. But, I digress. My friend and I discussed that what people frequently forget, especially those who live in the day-to-day college hoops hotbed of NC's Triangle, is that Duke & Carolina are the two best programs in the nation, period. Both now have four titles and twelve Final Four appearances since the tournament began including multiple teams from the same conference in 1975 (this according to my math today via All Brackets; correct me if I missed something). Kentucky & Indiana both have three titles while a number of teams have seven Final Four appearances. Given that the major criteria for success should be titles and Final Fours, at least in the 64/65 team tournament era, I'd say it is pretty clear that these two are the creme de la creme. Comparing them is splitting hairs at this point. Let's just acknowledge the success and greatness of both and be happy that we get to be a part of it.

3) Can you imagine if Gordon Hayward's half-court heave goes in? Seriously. You have the following:

- Cinderella winning the title
- Butler, a mid-major, topling Duke, one of the two best programs in the country (see above)
- Duke losing and Coach K sobbing unhappy tears
- Butler winning in its home city
- A huge upset from a numbers standpoint (5-seed over a 1-seed)
- The smallest school of the modern era winning the title
- One of the five best, no three best, titles games ever
- Undoubtably the best shot to win a title, somehow knocking off the insanity of Lorenzo Charles' dunk to beat Houston
- Ok fine, if that shot goes in, everyone in Chapel Hill buys a Butler t-shirt and, as former Carolina guard Bobby Frasor tweeted, Gordon Hayward's Butler jersey goes in the rafters of the Smith Center. This means I could have purchased Heyward (Jason, of the Atlanta Braves) and Hayward (Gordon, of the Butler Bulldogs) jerseys on consecutive days.

As Bill Simmons tweeted, why couldn't the Basketball Gods have let it happen? The Butler Freakin' Bulldogs as National Champions? How much different would our sports lives be? I'd watch Sportscenter for three days straight. I'd have bought a DVD of the game, a la Boise St vs Oklahoma, just because it was so darn awesome. And yes, I'd have really bought a Butler t-shirt. But alas, it was not meant to be. Instead, we have the Evil Empire as National Champions. But damnit, do I respect you, Evil Empire.