What To Write About?

 

Charles Barkley with a foam cowboy hat on. Just because.
Or because he picked San Diego State to win.

So, the men's national championship game is tonight and, well, I care but I'm not that engaged.

You see, I don't really care about UConn or San Diego State. I've been to both Storrs, CT and San Diego. Obviously, I preferred San Diego but how is that even fair? Just the weather alone favors San Diego but also the scenery and that it's a large city and Gaslamp Quarter and "Anchorman" and ...

Nah. Not a fair comparison, though Storrs is a very nice town.

Anyway, UConn has also pre-empted stuff of mine on WGCH so I'm mostly ambivalent. I'm not rooting against them, to be clear.

So, then, what should we talk about tonight?

Oh, how about the incredible weekend for women's college hoops and...

Oy. We tread lightly.

I mean, this was perhaps the most important women's tournament ever. Caitlin Clark of Iowa might have put on the women's college performance of performances. The word "epic" doesn't feel sufficient.

And yet, LSU's convincing championship has been usurped by chatter about the taunting and "smack talk" of Clark and, especially, Angel Reese of LSU. 

Then the dog whistling began because Reese is Black and Clark, well, she's not.

And let's play the racist feud! Who cares about context amirite?

It should be mostly much ado about nothing but with the bottom feeders and the cesspool of social media, it just became predictable. 

The minute I heard about the controversy (I watched the game and saw it all live) I knew where we were heading. I also knew, as a middle-aged white man, my two cents should stay in my pocket.

However, I had my say on "Doubleheader" today. In short, I'd rather celebrate what LSU accomplished and how far the women's tournament has come.

Those doing the dog whistling are part of the problem.

A big part.

So, yeah, I really didn't want to go down this boulevard either tonight.

But teaching today was fine and there were really no stories out of that. At least none to tell.

There were broadcasting things that bugged me and pleased me today. Neither is worth writing about. The thing that bugged me just adds to the chorus that makes me wonder about strolling away or severely backing down.

That day is approaching when a decision will be necessary.

But as I sit here, having moved on from the Yankees' throttling of the Phillies in the Bronx to the UConn/San Diego State game, I find myself tipping a microphone to Jim Nantz. As I've written, Nantz isn't retiring. He's just stepping away from college basketball, where he has been the lead broadcaster for a generation. He has created countless memories that his name will be associated with.

Hello, friends, indeed.

Let's all say that to each other tonight.