Day 421 – Hokie Hokie High & Ukraine

Sunday,March 13, 2022

My wife went to Virginia Tech. I am therefore a Hokie by marriage. The mascot, the Hokie bird, came into being because they needed a rhyming word and Hokie fit the bill.

Every year with the football team there is a cycle with VT fans. It starts after the season is over with discussions that start with, “Did you hear who we’re going to get?” Then there is discussion of player ratings, etc. This builds throughout the off season as the question is asked, “Do you think this is the year?”

Then the season starts and something happens – ie they lose a game they should have won. All hope is lost.

However, if you haven’t witnessed it make a point to try and catch it. Just before the Football team comes out to begin a home game the loud speakers begin to play Metallica’s “Enter Sandman.” This is not “Rocky Top” or any of that garbage. From the opening chord the place explodes in noise. It is the loudest I have ever heard at a sports event. VT fans don’t screw around.

After the football season ends there is basketball. Tech has never been a powerhouse basketball school. They’ve done okay, but not great. A decade or so ago they joined the ACC, The Atlantic Coast Conference. The preeminent basketball conference in the nation. Some may question that assertion, but that’s just wishful thinking on their part.

The ACC boasts such perennial national champions as Duke, UNC, Virginia, Syracuse, Louisville, Georgia Tech and NC State. Virginia Tech joined the ACC in 2004. That makes them relative newcomers. They have done okay, but they’ve never made it to the finals of the tournament. Winning the tournament means you get an automatic entry into the NCAA National Tournament, ie “March Madness.”

This year in the first round Virginia Tech was down to Clemson with 7 seconds to go. Clemson had just scored a two point basket in a tie game in overtime to go ahead. Things did not look good for the Hokies. They inbounded the ball to freshman Darius Maddox. He dribbled up the court to the left side of the court, passed the ball to his other hand with a behind the back pass, made a jump shot with .7 seconds on the clock. The shot went in for three points and Tech won at the buzzer by a point.

In the next round they beat Notre Dame 87-80. In the third round powerhouse UNC fell 72-59.

Then came the final against Duke. This was coach K’s last ACC game. He had 15 championships. He had a guy, Banchero, 6’ 10” 250 pounds. The guy had moves and strength. He could muscle through you. He could spin. He could dunk. He was unstoppable. 

Then there was Mark Williams. At seven feet, 242 pounds, he could stand with feet planted, raise his arm, and block shots.

Tech had three guards that looked like they had just gotten out of middle school: Storm Murphy, Hunter Cattoor, Sean Padulla. They ranged in height from 6’ to 6’ 3” and looked like kids compared to the men on Duke’s team.

They also had two forwards: Mutts and Aluma at 6’ 7” and 6’ 9” but they gave up 20 or 30 pounds to the Duke big men, and looked skinny in comparison.

Not an auspicious set up heading into the ACC Final Game, a place VT had never been, and Duke, under Coach K had been there many many times.

At the tip off Duke went down and scored an easy unstoppable layup. It looked bad.

Tech came back  Cattoor put in a 3 pointer.

Duke did something.

Cattoor put in a 3 pointer.

Duke did something.

Cattoor put in a 3 pointer.

Duke did something.

Cattoor put in a 3 pointer.

Duke did something.

Cattoor put in a 3 pointer.

Duke did something.

Cattoor put in a 3 pointer.

Yeah. Cattoor had the game of his life, in the biggest game of his life. Six three pointers without a miss to open the game. He also did a 2 point layup.

One wag before the game gave his analysis which was for Virginia Tech to win this game they needed to score more points than Duke. His hashtag: “analysis.”  Brilliant.

I think he then changed his strategic outlook to “Cattoor should continue his 100% shooting of 3 pointers.” Double Brilliant.

As the game progressed Tech got out to ten point leads and more. At one point Duke started to close the gap, only to see Tech widen it again.

Typically, Tech goes dead in the second half for a certain period of time. Also, Duke is known to close big gaps in the 3rd quarter. Neither happened this time. 

I don’t think after the first quarter Duke ever got the lead.

In the 4th quarter Duke tried to trap the man with the ball, to no avail. Tech broke the press on almost every occasion. With five minutes to go we were hanging on wondering if Duke was going to roar back. They didn’t. Their big men weren’t much of a factor. When you are under the basket waiting for the ball and your team can’t get it to you – well, too bad.

Likewise, if you are on defense waiting to rebound or block the lane and the other team is shooting lights out 3 pointers. There’s not much you can do.

The Hokies won the tournament and in the end it wasn’t even close.

Now, onto Ukraine. 

When Michael Jordan was in his second or third year in the NBA he told his trainer that he was tired of taking the pain. He wanted to deal the pain. And so he went on an off year training routine to be able to do that.

In Ukraine, all the talk is “what if we piss off Putin?”

I agree with a friend of mine who wrote that instead of worrying about what Putin thinks; it is time for him to worry about what we will do.

I now understand some of the reluctance to send more MiGs to Ukraine. MiGs are considered offensive weapons and they could fly from Ukraine to Moscow.

Frankly, I think Mr. Putin ought to worry about that possibility.

Meanwhile, some of these big super yachts are scrambling. One turned off its tracking device. Others have tried to go to safe harbors. Hum. I think the seized yachts should be outfitted with weapons and sailed into The Black Sea to “observe” Russian naval ships. Or perhaps, loaded with explosives and sailed on auto pilot toward the Russian ships.

I read today that the first western news correspondent was killed.

I also dream about a pilot taking a fighter plane and attacking one of the Russian convoys. When asked, the pilot should say, “Sorry, my bad.”