Skyline Chili Crosstown Shootout Reaction

      I know I said I didn't start this thing just so I could play sportswriter, but I like to keep a little local flavor on this deal wherever I can. This will be my third game post in a row and what a game it was! The University of Cincinnati Bearcats faced the Xavier University Musketeers in what would be the 78th meeting overall between the two squads. Before tonight the series was led by UC 47-30 with Xavier dominant for much of the last decade. After losing their last three match-ups, UC clearly came out tonight with a serious chip on their shoulders. After a slow start, scoring just 6 points in the first 9 minutes of the game, UC found some rhythm. They shot ahead with about 10 minutes left in the first half and didn't look back. Yancy Gates, the Bearcats only scholarship player, was playing like a man possessed on both sides of the floor. He finished with 22 points and 14 rebounds. Dion Dixon, the Cats leading scorer, was also true to form again in this game which ended in a score of  66-46. The Bearcats are now 15-0 matching their best start to a season since 1998-99.
       Bobby Knight is arguably the greatest NCAA basketball coach of all time and he was on commentary for this game which made it even more entertaining to watch. I don't care if he used to bring bull whips and steel chairs to beat the living piss out of his players during practice. Bob Knight is one of my favorite sports personalities. He is a straight shooter and he has such a brilliant mind for the game that sometimes you have absolutely no idea what in the blue hell he is talking about.

Examples:
1) "That's a little ham and eggs for ya! The pig is there but the chicken just wasn't committed." (...I couldn't possibly agree more....)
2) "The mental is to the physical, Dave, as four is to one in this game." (I rewound it twelve times and I still don't know what the shit he was talking about.)
3) During an officials review- "Oh he's probably just checking the weather."

While those were all gems they pale in comparison to some of Coach Knights past work...

         I haven't watched a ton of Xavier games this year but I did notice a few things that were a little disappointing. For all the hype on Muskee's big man, Frease, I was thoroughly unimpressed. He's just another big oafy white guy who balls like a big oafy white guy. Don't get me wrong he is great for setting screens and picks, but unfortunately he is also great for traveling and getting his shots tossed back in his face by guys who are a good eight inches shorter than he is.. Relax, X fan. I'm sure he just had a tough night. Halloway is a punk. He is a great player, but he needs to stop jawing the officials, running junk to the other team at the free throw line, and getting T'd up. 

         Speaking of underachieving Xavier players, how would you like to be a fly on the wall at the Larkin Sunday dinner this week? It'll go something like this...

Momma Larkin: "So, boys. How was your week?"

Barry: "I humped 4 Victoria's Secret models and fell just a few votes short of the MLB Hall of Fame!"

Momma: "Oh that's nice dear. What about you Byron?"

Byron: "I masturbated bitterly into a tube sock. Then I was the radio analyst for a team who forgot about me a long time ago. They lost."

        Now I am a fan. And as a fan this post would have been a lot less gloaty and a lot more pissed off if the Bearcats hadn't won the game. So, to all my Xavier friends reading this, remember it's just for laughs. Don't get your blue gym shorts in a wad. This thing can pretty much go either way every year and this time it just wasn't your night. You should be happy for Bearcats fans. Someone in Clifton finally accomplished something that wasn't a Natty Light binge, date rape, armed robbery, or pregnancy. I was going to do a collection of other sports blurbs for the week, but I think I'll do it tomorrow. We'll make it a weekly Friday thing or something. I'm hitting the hay. 

                                                                                                                                                        Warmest Regards,

                                                                                                                                                          Trox