So after following UofA basketball for the better part of the past 20 years, the program has given me a series of firsts. Here are the highlights of that long, joyous journey.
1989 - Getting Steve Kerr's autograph at the Tucson Mall just after the Sun's had drafted him.
1997 - Actually having a team to cheer for in the National Championship Game
2000-2001 - Seeing the fans and players support for Lute and Bobbi during the toughest times of their lives
2001 - REALLY having a team to cheer for in the NC game (win it for Bobbi).
2002 - Meeting Channing and Luke Walton on campus. Seeing Lute in person for the first time.
2003 - Going to a sports bar to watch UofA against Gonzaga in the NCAA tournament. Somehow found the only bar in Arizona with 20 (no joke) Gonzaga Alums in it that day.
2005 - The unbelievable defeat at the hands of Illinois. Rest of the night I couldn't believe what I had just witnessed.
2006 - Sneaking into the lobby of MY wedding reception to watch some non-UofA tourney games .
2006 (next day) - Postponing my honeymoon so we wouldn't be traveling when UofA faced Villanova in the tourney.
2007 - Attending my first game at McKale.
So lots of ups and downs, and there are many, many more, but these are the ones that really stick out. Unfortunately 2008 will bring a whole new first for me. Watching the Selection Sunday show with some sort of anticipation. I have watched in the past, to see what seed we would be given, but this is the first time I will be watching to see if we are in at all....
Posted on: March 11, 2008 3:33 pm
Category: NCAAB
Tags: Basketball, Channing Frye, Gonzaga, Illinois, Luke Walton, Lute Olson, McKale, Steve Kerr, UofA, Wildcats
Posted on: March 4, 2008 2:36 pm
2008 : Best Year for Formula 1 In A Long Time
So, with the Australian GP kicking off the 2008 Formula 1 season in a couple of weeks, I must say that I am more excited for this season than I have been in a very long time. There are so many variables to and off season changes to the ranks, that should keep the fans guessing right up until the end of the year.
What I am looking forward to...
1. No more traction control. Excellent decision by the FIA. As Formula 1 is the epitome of road racing, these are supposed to be the World's greatest drivers, not the World's greatest on board electronics systems. Part of being a great driver is having the ability to manipulate weight transfer, wheelspin, and throttle steer. Should be exciting to watch, with a LOT more slipping and sliding along the way. Bonus, is there anything worse sounding than the 'blap, blap, blap' of an F1 engine being cut out by the ECU? Some points to consider. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Nelsinho Piquet and all other driver who competed in GP2 over the past 3 years hold the upper hand here as GP2 cars do not have TC. Another thing to consider, current World Champion Kimi Raikkonen has never driver a true 'car' without TC (went straight from Formula Renault to F1, good eye Peter Sauber).
2. Alonso - Quiet the critics or out yourself as lucky. Going from McLaren to a lackluster Renault team leaves Alonso with the unique opportunity to either prove that he is one of the greats (only driver to beat Schumacher to the title since 2000, and only current driver to ever do so, farewell Jacques) or to show that he was in the right place at the right time (i.e. Renault and McLaren having superior cars to the rest of the field over the past 3 years). With Renault's poor showing last year this is Alonso's chance to show that he can pull a team around him to motivate them, help develop a competitive car, and drive through any technical shortcomings of that car early in the year. Or its his opportunity to show that he picked the right teams at the right time.
3. No USGP. Living in the States some might think this is heresy. My point is the debacle that was the '05 USGP (Please FIA, strike this 'race' from the record books, did Pantero REALLY deserve a podium finish?) and the lack of interest of the sport in the states since, oh about forever, shows that the US should not host an event. That and the fact that it is possibly the worst F1 track ever (no elevation change, high speed straight, followed by a series of laughable left-right layout with a silly little hairpin) will be good for the sport. The US should host a GP, but there are better tracks. Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, etc.
4. BMW-Sauber - Will they continue their rise to the F1 elite. I say 'yes'. They have the budget (BMW), experience (Thiessen), drivers (Heidfeld). Look for a win or 2 this year, and really competing for the Championship 2-3 years down the road.
5. Lewis Hamilton - No driver has ever come in with the hype that Lewis did, and he delivered last year. Team in-fighting and rookie mistakes may have cost him the championship, and no one, other teams included, will be underestimating him this year.
What I'm not looking forward to....
1. Scandal - Please, no spying scandal. Ruined the season last year. Not sure who to blame here. McLaren? Ferrari? Renault is in the discussion now. Please FIA, relax your standards a bit. Engineers switch teams and take information with them, whether it is only in their heads or on paper is a moot point. Engineers share information. Anyone who denies this is bonkers.
2. Standard ECU - I'm not against an standardized ECU, but rather that it will be built by McLaren Electronics (guess who owns THAT company). Don't get me wrong. I am a huge McLaren fan (only started rooting for Ferrari when Kimi went there), but they should have gone to an outside electronics company to produce the ECU. Not saying that McLaren will cheat, or even be able to cheat, but they will know the source code better than any other team, and thus be able to tune their engines that much more efficiently and quickly. Could be a huge advantage early in the year. FIA should have commisioned these from an outside company (someone not affiliated with F1 or any team competing in F1) and given the teams the ECUs and source code at the same time.
3. Qualifying - System in place for the past 2 years is MUCH better than the single car one lap qualifying of a few years ago. Still boring though. I especially take issue with the final round 'fuel burn off' until the final minute when everyone puts their fliers in. New rules. No pit stops during qualifying to eliminate one lap out-flier-in laps, no fuel burn credit (i.e. do as few or as many laps as you want, but you must have enough fuel
What I am looking forward to...
1. No more traction control. Excellent decision by the FIA. As Formula 1 is the epitome of road racing, these are supposed to be the World's greatest drivers, not the World's greatest on board electronics systems. Part of being a great driver is having the ability to manipulate weight transfer, wheelspin, and throttle steer. Should be exciting to watch, with a LOT more slipping and sliding along the way. Bonus, is there anything worse sounding than the 'blap, blap, blap' of an F1 engine being cut out by the ECU? Some points to consider. Lewis Hamilton, Nico Rosberg, Nelsinho Piquet and all other driver who competed in GP2 over the past 3 years hold the upper hand here as GP2 cars do not have TC. Another thing to consider, current World Champion Kimi Raikkonen has never driver a true 'car' without TC (went straight from Formula Renault to F1, good eye Peter Sauber).
2. Alonso - Quiet the critics or out yourself as lucky. Going from McLaren to a lackluster Renault team leaves Alonso with the unique opportunity to either prove that he is one of the greats (only driver to beat Schumacher to the title since 2000, and only current driver to ever do so, farewell Jacques) or to show that he was in the right place at the right time (i.e. Renault and McLaren having superior cars to the rest of the field over the past 3 years). With Renault's poor showing last year this is Alonso's chance to show that he can pull a team around him to motivate them, help develop a competitive car, and drive through any technical shortcomings of that car early in the year. Or its his opportunity to show that he picked the right teams at the right time.
3. No USGP. Living in the States some might think this is heresy. My point is the debacle that was the '05 USGP (Please FIA, strike this 'race' from the record books, did Pantero REALLY deserve a podium finish?) and the lack of interest of the sport in the states since, oh about forever, shows that the US should not host an event. That and the fact that it is possibly the worst F1 track ever (no elevation change, high speed straight, followed by a series of laughable left-right layout with a silly little hairpin) will be good for the sport. The US should host a GP, but there are better tracks. Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen, etc.
4. BMW-Sauber - Will they continue their rise to the F1 elite. I say 'yes'. They have the budget (BMW), experience (Thiessen), drivers (Heidfeld). Look for a win or 2 this year, and really competing for the Championship 2-3 years down the road.
5. Lewis Hamilton - No driver has ever come in with the hype that Lewis did, and he delivered last year. Team in-fighting and rookie mistakes may have cost him the championship, and no one, other teams included, will be underestimating him this year.
What I'm not looking forward to....
1. Scandal - Please, no spying scandal. Ruined the season last year. Not sure who to blame here. McLaren? Ferrari? Renault is in the discussion now. Please FIA, relax your standards a bit. Engineers switch teams and take information with them, whether it is only in their heads or on paper is a moot point. Engineers share information. Anyone who denies this is bonkers.
2. Standard ECU - I'm not against an standardized ECU, but rather that it will be built by McLaren Electronics (guess who owns THAT company). Don't get me wrong. I am a huge McLaren fan (only started rooting for Ferrari when Kimi went there), but they should have gone to an outside electronics company to produce the ECU. Not saying that McLaren will cheat, or even be able to cheat, but they will know the source code better than any other team, and thus be able to tune their engines that much more efficiently and quickly. Could be a huge advantage early in the year. FIA should have commisioned these from an outside company (someone not affiliated with F1 or any team competing in F1) and given the teams the ECUs and source code at the same time.
3. Qualifying - System in place for the past 2 years is MUCH better than the single car one lap qualifying of a few years ago. Still boring though. I especially take issue with the final round 'fuel burn off' until the final minute when everyone puts their fliers in. New rules. No pit stops during qualifying to eliminate one lap out-flier-in laps, no fuel burn credit (i.e. do as few or as many laps as you want, but you must have enough fuel