Come down off that ledge, folks....
It seems there's life left in this flock of Cardinals after all.
Perhaps determined to overcome the absence of leading scorer Kyle Kuric, his University of Louisville teammates jumped with both feet on visiting DePaul, roaring to an early 18-5 advantage and snuffing a late rally enroute to a 76-59 victory.
The "Smith Brothers," unrelated Russ and Chris, sparked the win with 25 and 18 points respectively. Watching the two of them, I'm reminded of a comment Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, then the Chicago Cubs' closer, made to Sports Illustrated contrasting himself with ace starter Rick Sutcliffe.
"Sutcliffe pitches like he's in a rocking chair," Williams said. "I pitch like my hair's on fire."
While I wouldn't quite call Chris Smith rocking-chair calm, I'll buy Russ as the next Wild Thing. In fact, I see him more as a basketball version of former NHRA/Formula 1/IndyCar racer Danny Ongais, a/k/a Danny On-The-Gas. Ongais drove only one way: flat out -- as though his only options were win or crash. Similarly, Russ Smith's motor seems stuck in overdrive; his 25 points came on 22 field goal attempts -- but he also racked up six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins became known as The Human Highlight Reel; perhaps we should call Russ Smith something like The Human Thrill Ride.
This evening in Foxboro, MA, the Tim Tebow train finally derailed. Behind nonpareil quarterback Tom Brady's six touchdown passes, the New England Patriots bludgeoned Tebow's Denver Broncos 45-10. Brady's six TD throws tied the NFL playoff game record; he threw a record five in the first half, three to tight end Rob Gronkowski. Tebow completed only nine of 26 attempts for 136 yards; he suffered five sacks and seemingly spent most of the night running for his life.
Perhaps determined to overcome the absence of leading scorer Kyle Kuric, his University of Louisville teammates jumped with both feet on visiting DePaul, roaring to an early 18-5 advantage and snuffing a late rally enroute to a 76-59 victory.
The "Smith Brothers," unrelated Russ and Chris, sparked the win with 25 and 18 points respectively. Watching the two of them, I'm reminded of a comment Mitch "Wild Thing" Williams, then the Chicago Cubs' closer, made to Sports Illustrated contrasting himself with ace starter Rick Sutcliffe.
"Sutcliffe pitches like he's in a rocking chair," Williams said. "I pitch like my hair's on fire."
While I wouldn't quite call Chris Smith rocking-chair calm, I'll buy Russ as the next Wild Thing. In fact, I see him more as a basketball version of former NHRA/Formula 1/IndyCar racer Danny Ongais, a/k/a Danny On-The-Gas. Ongais drove only one way: flat out -- as though his only options were win or crash. Similarly, Russ Smith's motor seems stuck in overdrive; his 25 points came on 22 field goal attempts -- but he also racked up six assists, five rebounds and four steals.
Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins became known as The Human Highlight Reel; perhaps we should call Russ Smith something like The Human Thrill Ride.
* * * * * * * * *
This evening in Foxboro, MA, the Tim Tebow train finally derailed. Behind nonpareil quarterback Tom Brady's six touchdown passes, the New England Patriots bludgeoned Tebow's Denver Broncos 45-10. Brady's six TD throws tied the NFL playoff game record; he threw a record five in the first half, three to tight end Rob Gronkowski. Tebow completed only nine of 26 attempts for 136 yards; he suffered five sacks and seemingly spent most of the night running for his life.
Lest I be accused of Schadenfreude, I took no special pleasure in watching Tebow and the Broncos getting strafed. I was rooting for the Patriots, though -- I like Brady, and the Pats also have former U of L standout Deion Branch. (See there? Cardinal content.) Tebow's out-front Christian faith doesn't bother me either, although if I never hear him sing "Awesome God" again, it'll be too soon.
What does bother me, though, is the sniping Tebow draws because of his faith and the way he demonstrates it -- as though somehow being devout and an NFL quarterback have become mutually exclusive. Tebow may pray for victory if he chooses; sometimes, as against the Patriots, that doesn't work.
As Napoleon supposedly said, "God fights on the side with the heaviest artillery." Tonight, that was the Patriots.
posted by Alan at 10:34 PM
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