Hoopaholic’s Gazette: February is the Cruellest Month

T.S.E. obviously wasn’t a college hoops fan.

c d k don’t know from dried tubers.

But your incorrigible scribe knows this: February is the Cruellest Month.

It is the Waste Land.

When losers become winners, and winners become losers.

Oops, wrong sport. Sorry, Scott.

 * * * * *

Not so long ago at that new REI out there in the tony shopping plaza on 22 where ladies dress up to purchase a new camisole, I bought a groovy wicking t-shirt.

Kind of mustardy.

The logo is an LP with stick arms and legs. reaching for a wall switch, above which reads, “Turn On.” Over the whole graphic, “Turn Up.”

Turn on. Turn up.

It’s that time, sports fans, we find out which ball clubs have a second wind, and which an idiot wind?

Time to turn it up and turn it on.

 * * * * *

Saturday underscored this annual winter immutability.

For my fellow Cardinal fans and me, a reality check in not so Hot (for the Cards) ‘Lanta.

Conference game on the road against a squad better than their record after some injured guys returned.

The Wreck were ready. No counter move was conjured to avoid checkmate.

It happens.

For those of you not quite as obsessive as I am, witness these this time of year outcomes:

John Calipari walked into a Rupp full of boos with a 1-6 league record. Walked out with a double digit W over the Cats and the vista of an early departing BBN.

Legit Top 5 outfits Iowa State and Houston saw long term homecourt winning streaks snapped. The Cyclones by 19 to unranked K State. The Cougars by a penny to Texas Tech. A Red Raider team whose best player and coach were ejected four minutes in.

Rocky Top with two of their best sidelined gatorchomped Florida.

#7 Sparty fell to a gang of unranked Trojans.

UConn, whose coach thinks he’s better than pretty good, humbled Top 10 Marquette in the city where beer became famous.

Rock Chalk Jayhawk blew a 21 point lead and lost in Waco.

Mizzou on the road crushed #14 Cowbell State by 27.

#24 Vandy was Boomer Soonered by, uh, 30.

SMU did to visiting Stanford what U of L did to the Mustangs in Moody. Crushed ’em by 20+.

 * * * * *

Then there were the Ts.

Airport food and catching a few winks in the waiting room is catching up with the zebras.

They be short tempered.

And with players.

In the Battle of the Grand Canyon state, a Sun Devil headbutted a Wildcat. After which the headbutter’s coach, brother of the best coach extant, complained the other team, that of the headbutee, was classless.

It’s time to buckle up.

In the coming weeks we’ll find out who does and who doesn’t.

In the meantime, Beat Boston College.

— c d kaplan