I just got back from historic Reynolds Coliseum where I watched NC State beat Marist in the 2nd round of the NIT. That was a wild game, but returning to Reynolds brought back a lot of memories for me. I was at State during the Pack’s last 3 seasons in Reynolds (before they moved in to the RBC). We were never very good during those, but being back there tonight brought back all sorts of great college memories.

But back to the game… we played well, their 3-point threat Whittington was off (more on that later), the atmosphere was electric, and the refs were ridiculous. I mean, I’m no sports analyst, but its obvious these guys lost control of the game and made some horrible calls. Horner and Costner both got a little heated, but did not appear to do anything to deserve the technicals they got. Our touches drew whistles, their maulings went unpunished. The ball bounced off of a Marist player and out of bounds, right in front of the ref, but he gave it back to them (that’s when Sid almost kicked the ball, kickball-style). The most ridiculous call was when Nieman went to pick up the ball and got tackled from behind… which was a foul on Nieman according to these refs. But hey, we won, so no more whining from me. But man, the last 2 minutes of that game must have taken 45 minutes to play. Marist didn’t go down without a fight.

So here’s where I take credit for Whittington’s cold hand. I didn’t do any research before the game. I had no idea Marist had this guy who shoots 40% from three’s. I think I heard he leads the nation, for active players, for made 3’s. During their warm ups a glanced over and saw this guy hitting treys. I watched him hit what must have been 10 in a row. So I poke my buddy Les in the ribs and say “Watch this guy shoot”… and he proceeds to miss his next several shots and then go cold all game. Yep, must have been me!

It was great to be able to show my appreciation to the Pack for this special season by being there tonight. And their tip of the hat back to the fans at the end was great. Next up is West Virginia on Tuesday. Go Pack!

My new business is called Tiji Web Development. More on that name, and the website, will be forthcoming!

But man, I can’t help think about ‘83…

So since I’ve never generated anything of note with my previous blogging attempts, I’m not bothering with any imports. So here I go blogging, again.