Limited Drainage

The last couple of days, my bathtub drain has gotten backed up. The water drains ever so slowly. I returned from work Friday to the smell of old bathwater. Not as bad of a smell as something gone bad in the refrigerator, but it's not pleasant. The service department can't fix it until Monday, so I'm stuck with it. Thankfully I can still shower, but I can't clean the tub, so it's pretty dirty since the water sits there for hours. I've done the put baking soda down the drain and pour boiling water down it to try and help things, but it hasn't worked, so I'll just have to be patient. It could be worse, as I said.

Ok, basketball recap:

• Louisville/DePaul. Ugly game except for Juan Palacios's 21 points in 23 minutes. DePaul would've been in third place in the Big East with a win, but instead are looking like a bubble team. Louisville is working their way back to the bubble, but they don't have anyone who can shoot the ball consistently from the outside.
• Purdue/Michigan. Basically the same kind of game as a week ago, just that Michigan was the home team that won by a large margin. Against Penn St. and Purdue, Michigan shot the ball really well, which should only help their inside game. It's hard to believe but Michigan is 4-1 in the Big 10. Purdue has lost 29 true road games in a row.
• Texas/Villanova. It had to be tough for Texas to fly to Philly after playing their 3OT thriller at Oklahoma State. For most of the game, they didn't play with a lot of energy, especially Kevin Durant, who had no legs. This was an especially good win for Nova because Curtis Sumpter was out with an injury. Scottie Reynolds had a big time game, 26 points, 6 boards, and 5 assists off the bench. He's a better shooter than I thought. Despite losing, Augustin and Abrams for Texas both played great games. Augustin was unguardable at the end. Texas just couldn't get defensive stops when they needed them.
• Wisconsin/Illinois. Illinois put a big effort into the game, but they came up short thanks to poor foul shooting. Alando Tucker was just 6/18, but Kammron Taylor was clutch and Greg Stiemsma was unstoppable from 17 feet, hitting jumper after jumper. If you're Illinois, it's not good when your best player at creating his own shot is Warren Carter. Chester Frazier can't shoot and Rich McBride is still just a catch and shoot guy. Illinois really needed to win this game.
• All I heard was how Kentucky was the sleeper team to watch out for since they were on a long winning streak, especially from Digger Phelps. Well, UK finally played someone worth mentioning, and lost. Vanderbilt beat them, at Rupp. And nothing's really changed, UK is still lacking a consistent perimeter threat. Ramel Bradley, Joe Crawford, and Jodi Meeks were a combined 10/34.
• Don't get too excited about Duke yet. They beat The U, Wake, and NC State, the bottom of the ACC. Let's see them play well, specifically their guards, against someone worth mentioning.
• Indiana/UConn. I have to give Kelvin Sampson credit where credit is due. He's made IU one mentally tough bunch. Of course, it helps when your players aren't hearing about their coach possibly being fired for the first time in 3 years, but Sampson has always instilled mental toughness in his teams. IU started strong, then held on the rest of the way as UConn kept coming at them. But on the road of all places, IU finished strong and got a big win for them and the Big 10. IU is definitely the 3rd best team in the Big 10. That was the best game I've seen DJ White play in 2 years and Roderick Wilmont is shooting the ball confidently. His great game at Penn St. has carried over nicely. UConn is in danger of missing the Big Dance. Tell me, who have they beaten? Their best wins are at home vs. South Florida and at St. John's. UConn has talent and athleticism, but they're young and they can't shoot. When's the last time you saw a college team try 5 three-pointers in a game?
• Arizona/UCLA. Mustafa Shakur, you might as well call Darren Collison your Daddy. For the 4th straight time, Collison badly outplayed Shakur. It doesn't show in the stats, but if you watched the game, you could tell the difference. Collison was under control, in charge of tempo and in charge of his game. Shakur was out of control, rattled, and not in charge of his team. No Luc M Bah A Moute, no problem for UCLA. UCLA's front line combined for 13 points and 16 rebounds. Arizona never got in an offensive flow and were visibly frustrated.
• Kansas/Texas Tech. Mark it down, Kansas WILL NOT win the national championship. They may not even get to the Sweet 16. They continue to play to the level of their competition. Now Texas Tech is a solid team, but Kansas has McDonald's All-American talent at every position. But, they don't have a go-to guy (although Sherron Collins looks more and more like the guy), they don't have consistent perimeter shooting, and they take possessions off. Despite Kansas's late charge, Tech deserved to win the game. Darryl Dora came in averaging 5 points a game, he had 19, to go with Jarrius Jackson's 15 and Martin Zeno's 14. Kansas only attempted 4 free throws, for the game!!!! Not aggressive enough.
• San Diego St./Air Force. I'm glad I got to see Air Force. The only other team I saw them was vs. Duke and Duke took it to them. SDSU played well, but Air Force is a veteran team and anyone can hit the big shot. Nick Welch is their name player, but Dan Nwaelele can get his own shot at the end of games, which is huge for a team like Air Force. 13 of their 16 field goals were assisted, outstanding.
• Washington St. 75, Washington 47. Yo!!!!! Washington St. has now beaten Washington and Gonzaga, so they're state champs. When's the last time Washington was held to 47 points in a game?
• Oklahoma St. also fell victim to the after effects of the 3OT game.
• Georgia Tech/N. Carolina. This game was over when none of the Tar Heels got hurt getting off the team bus. Tech likes to run, which plays right into Carolina's hands. Carolina played good defense for the 2nd straight game. Of course, Tech made it easy by standing around on offense.
• Interesting matchup tomorrow night between Virginia Tech and Maryland. Maryland is only 1-3 in the ACC, they need to win.
• The Big 10 is weak, if you didn't know that already. UConn is in 11th in the Big East and almost knocked Indiana, 3rd in the Big 10. I only see 4 teams getting in, with the 4th being a battle between Michigan St., Illinois, and Michigan. Purdue and Penn St. have played themselves out of it for now.
• In the Horizon League, Butler has the head to head over, don't look now, but Wright St. The Raiders made a great hire in getting Brad Brownell from UNC Wilmington. Wright St. is a program on the rise with him, he's a really good coach.
• Wichita St. is now 3-6 in the Valley after losing at Bradley, unbelievable.
• A team you don't want to see if you're a 1 or 2 seed: Delaware St. They're athletic, but are disciplined and control tempo. They play great defense and won't be intimidated. Remember 2 years ago they had Duke frustrated for the majority of their 1st round game. Delaware St. leads the MEAC at 6-0.
• You want to know how good the Pac 10 is? Arizona is 7th.
• The only conference better: the SEC. In the Pac 10, Arizona St. and Oregon St. are just not very good. In the SEC, even Mississippi made a run at Florida in Gainesville this afternoon.

Big day of sports tomorrow. Miami hosts OU at 1pm. Then it's Da Bears and New Orleans at 3pm. Colts/Pats at 6:30.