And here's the UDK, which was also hard to come by. I guess students took stacks at a time from the boxes yesterday so they reprinted a bunch and students were able to pick up copies today at the journalism building.
I may be able to get a few more copies and I can maybe send you guys one.
Great pics, Aaron (these and the previous ones both). I would love getting one of those papers in the mail . . .
ReplyDeleteDon't know if you saw them, but the KC Star front page is pretty good, as is the sports front page.
I know Aaron's not worried (nor Deron, as I recall) about Self, but it's good to see the encouraging news from the early discussions with Lew.
Finally, I just wanted to mention that the 6News video from Monday is pretty entertaining, in particular the first segment, which involves yet more silly fans mobbing well-meaning journalists.
Great stuff...
ReplyDeleteAlong the same lines, I'm still trying to get caught up on all the various reportage.
First, some eloquent musings on "the shot"...
Grant Wahl, Sports Illustrated:
The ball floated through the air, its pebbled surface spinning softly, as serene and peaceful as a space capsule in a low-earth orbit. At 10:29 p.m. CDT on Monday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, the fate of a college basketball season rested on Kansas guard Mario Chalmers -- or, to be more precise, on his last-ditch three-pointer, a make-or-break heave with 2.1 seconds left that would either send the NCAA title game into overtime or give Memphis, clinging to a 63-60 lead, its first championship in school history.
Dan Wolken, Memphis Commercial Appeal:
At 10:30 p.m. Monday night, a city and a program desperate for a title could only watch Mario Chalmers launch a 3-pointer that would either spark a legendary Memphis party or send the game to overtime. When it ripped through the net with 2.1 seconds left on the clock, the Tigers still had five minutes to win it. But they already knew what was ahead. They had let the trophy out of their grasp.
It wasn't coming back.
Bob Lutz, Wichita Eagle:
"I got a good look," Chalmers said.
A good look? What I think Chalmers saw was an ocean tide coming his way as Memphis defenders scurried to get to him. Obviously, there was a small opening, but just to be able to find it in such a crucial spot defies logic. To actually get the shot to go down makes no sense. And for it to be so soft and pure -- well, that's what miracles are made of.
Joe Posnanski, KC Star:
Kids 50 years from now will be shooting the Chalmers shot in driveways from Pittsburg to St. Francis, from Liberal to Hiawatha, from Cuba to Dodge City to Chanute. Grandparents in Wichita will call their grandchildren in Olathe to talk about what they were feeling when Chalmers took that shot, the way the ball arced, the way it fell. Farmers in Cuba and teachers in Salina and doctors in Garden City will talk about the shot forever.
Pat Forde, ESPN:
After hitting the biggest Final Four jumper since Keith Smart's in 1987, Mario Chalmers summoned his mother, Almarie, down from the Alamodome stands to courtside. The unflappable Kansas Jayhawk wrapped both arms around her, laid his head on her shoulder and bawled like a baby.
She pumped her left arm. He wouldn't let go.
"We did it, Mom," Chalmers said between sobs.
When the shot went through... I swear I've never yelled so loud in my life -- in unison with hundreds of my fellow patrons at the KU-friendly NYC bar, the Back Page. It was basically one long, continuous scream from that point all the way through the overtime.
ReplyDeleteThe only sad thing is -- no matter what happens in the future of KU basketball, nothing will ever top that moment.
My sources (ok, source) (ok, Sido) tell me it's a done deal and Coach Self is staying.
ReplyDeleteNice report on the yell in NYC, dgl. And I suppose you're right about the anti-climactic future, though I think that's a trade I'd be willing to make again.
I thought for a second my heart might stop when "the shot" hit. Amazing. The screaming continued in Seattle too, and I don't think one of the hundreds of KU alums at our bar sat down until we'd finished our "haunting" chant at the end of OT. Chills just thinking about it now.
Sido was right.
ReplyDeleteSome other choice clippings, before it all fades into history:
ReplyDeleteRobert Weintraub, Slate:
Against most other teams, the Tigers would have won, despite the [free throw] misses, but the battle-tested Jayhawks (who survived a tight game against Davidson in the regional final) squeezed through that tiny crack.
Mike DeCourcy, Sporting News:
Rush admits it was pressure "from the fans" that led to KU's reticent performance in the Elite Eight game against Davidson. There was such a weight on that team it nearly was impossible to play against the Wildcats with the kind of confident aggression that consumed North Carolina in the first 10 minutes of their national semifinal and Memphis in the last 5 minutes of the title game.
Once freed from the public demand that KU microwave a Final Four appearance, the Jayhawks attacked in San Antonio and gained their third national title.
Jason Whitlock, KC Star:
That's how you win it all, exorcise the demons and baptize a new era of greatness.
You do it with an unforgettable rally, a stunning three-pointer and with your most famous and infamous coaching alum sitting in the stadium, cheering you on and sporting a Jayhawk sticker.
J. Brady McCollough, KC Star: The greatest 20-year period in Kansas basketball history now has a bookend for its '88 title. That means freedom from past demons.
Good-bye, Arizona '97. See you later, Rhode Island '98. Nice knowing you, Bucknell and Bradley. The Jayhawks relieved themselves of their "choker" label and rewarded a diehard legion of fans...
Chalmers' game-tying three-pointer began the memory erasing. Sayonara, Syracuse 2003.
And one more on "the shot," from Mark Kriegel, Fox Sports:
"Probably the biggest shot ever made in Kansas history," said coach Bill Self. "There's been nothing like it."
Probably the biggest shot in Memphis' history, too.