2008 Woodie Awards
Game for the ages
Razorback Road
Matt Jones
Issue date: 4/9/08 Section: Sports
Much to the chagrin of the majority of the sports staff at The Traveler, Monday night's national championship game between Kansas and Memphis was one of the all-time greats. (A large number of the staff hails from Memphis or eastern Arkansas and had Monday night circled on their calendars for a lifetime).
The game itself outdid the spectacle of the Final Four, which has become a commercial fraud of a sporting event, much like the Super Bowl. With more corporate spectators than die-hard fans, the atmosphere at the Final Four has been much like many games in the past few years - boring.
But Monday night, Mario Chalmers and Memphis free throws helped create a drama not seen in the final game since the last time Kansas took the court on the first Monday night in April five years ago.
Memphis had the game well in-hand, with a 9-point lead with 2:12 to play. But the college basketball story of the year, the Tigers' free throw woes, reared its ugly head and helped allow the Jayhawks a bit of life.
It didn't hurt that Russell Robinson made some incredible plays down the stretch for the Jayhawks, and Chalmers hits that 3-pointer under pressure, on most days only in his backyard.
But that shot is the thing legends, and March Madness, are made of. It will undoubtedly go down as one of the great shots in championship lore alongside Michael Jordan, Lorenzo Charles, Keith Smart and, in these parts, Scotty Thurman.
Even the often monotonic and robotic announcers, Jim Nantz and Billy Packer, who often sound more like they are reading a script than calling a basketball game, found themselves caught in the brightest shining moment of the 2008 season.
And it's hard not to feel good for a guy like Bill Self, criticized heavily for his inability to make the Final Four in previous successful stints at Tulsa and Illinois, and in his first four years at Kansas. Much like Steve Young winning a Super Bowl, the monkey crawled off Self's back and, for the moment at least, made him the hottest commodity in coaching.
On the flip side, it's hard not to feel for Memphis.
The Tigers were undoubtedly the best team in America throughout the course of the season, but like so many great teams before them, couldn't close the curtain on the biggest stage.
The Tigers' Achilles' heel, free throws, had taken down so many great teams before them, and despite their best efforts, even the mighty Memphis couldn't overcome woes from the line.
Even John Calipari, who said his team would make charity tosses when they mattered most, will tell you free throws didn't lose Memphis the game Monday night, but they certainly could have made things a lot easier.
For the casual fans, though, the missed free throws were part of a larger plot in one of the greatest basketball games ever played in April.
Even Nantz, Packer and CBS couldn't find that script beforehand.
Matt Jones is the sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler.
The game itself outdid the spectacle of the Final Four, which has become a commercial fraud of a sporting event, much like the Super Bowl. With more corporate spectators than die-hard fans, the atmosphere at the Final Four has been much like many games in the past few years - boring.
But Monday night, Mario Chalmers and Memphis free throws helped create a drama not seen in the final game since the last time Kansas took the court on the first Monday night in April five years ago.
Memphis had the game well in-hand, with a 9-point lead with 2:12 to play. But the college basketball story of the year, the Tigers' free throw woes, reared its ugly head and helped allow the Jayhawks a bit of life.
It didn't hurt that Russell Robinson made some incredible plays down the stretch for the Jayhawks, and Chalmers hits that 3-pointer under pressure, on most days only in his backyard.
But that shot is the thing legends, and March Madness, are made of. It will undoubtedly go down as one of the great shots in championship lore alongside Michael Jordan, Lorenzo Charles, Keith Smart and, in these parts, Scotty Thurman.
Even the often monotonic and robotic announcers, Jim Nantz and Billy Packer, who often sound more like they are reading a script than calling a basketball game, found themselves caught in the brightest shining moment of the 2008 season.
And it's hard not to feel good for a guy like Bill Self, criticized heavily for his inability to make the Final Four in previous successful stints at Tulsa and Illinois, and in his first four years at Kansas. Much like Steve Young winning a Super Bowl, the monkey crawled off Self's back and, for the moment at least, made him the hottest commodity in coaching.
On the flip side, it's hard not to feel for Memphis.
The Tigers were undoubtedly the best team in America throughout the course of the season, but like so many great teams before them, couldn't close the curtain on the biggest stage.
The Tigers' Achilles' heel, free throws, had taken down so many great teams before them, and despite their best efforts, even the mighty Memphis couldn't overcome woes from the line.
Even John Calipari, who said his team would make charity tosses when they mattered most, will tell you free throws didn't lose Memphis the game Monday night, but they certainly could have made things a lot easier.
For the casual fans, though, the missed free throws were part of a larger plot in one of the greatest basketball games ever played in April.
Even Nantz, Packer and CBS couldn't find that script beforehand.
Matt Jones is the sports editor for The Arkansas Traveler.
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