The LAST CALL

Personally, I wish the game (basketball, not this particular game) were A LOT less physical, but the trend is certainly headed in the wrong direction. I don't watch a lot of men's basketball any more, but I imagine that it is pretty physical (albeit not nearly as physical as it was in the 1950's), and if the men's game is allowed to be quite physical, it is difficult to officiate the women's game differently, for a variety of reasons. But all of my favorite teams over the last half century plus have been primarily finesse teams -- the Boston Celtics (sorry, Jim Loscutoff), the Wooden Bruins, the Kareem Bucks, the showtime Lakers, the Huskies -- and I wish the pendulum would swing back in the other direction, but it probably won't. While I like a lot of the players, I'm not all that fond of WNBA basketball for just that reason.

Maybe it's just me, but I thought several of the Texas teams, especially A & M, but also UT, and Baylor) have gotten a lot of favorable officiating in San Antonio, so I hated to see the game come down to one contested shot.

I agree with everyone here that an excellent case could be made that Baylor got away with a lot of non-calls in the first 39 + minutes, and that Carrington and Mulkey were less than gracious in their comments. (Is 'Sulky Mulkey a meme, yet?)

I strongly suspect, however, that if the situation had been reversed, and Bueckers had taken a one-point-down final shot and gotten the exact same 'physical' defense, ending with her lying on her back after a badly missed shot, and a heart-breaking loss, that Geno and almost everyone here would be a bit less philosophical about the result.

And no one can dispute the fact that the injury to Richards was a really, really bad break for her and her team, especially after all she had gone through in 2020. It was a very tough loss for a very good team.

The "we wuz robbed" - by the fates and the zebras - response on the other side is certainly understandable. I doubt that we would have accepted a similar defeat with much more serenity. I think it's much easier to accept disappointment when the other team makes a spectacular shot at the buzzer - a Twice Told Tale for us - than to feel that your team was deprived of a fair chance in the final moments.

But, while I sympathize with the Baylor contingent, I'm certainly smiling at the result -- and glad that the top teams in our semi-final bracket (NC State and Louisville) are out of the picture. Maybe this year Agon and Zeios, the Greek personifications of contest and rivalry, and the brothers of Nike (victory) are smiling favorably on us.

And who better to quarterback us to victory than Nika, whose very name bespeaks triumph over obstacles. May your ankles have wings!

Now I know why CD/Geno won't let the team tweet during the season..... IMO, I think this topic has been pretty well hashed out. I'm on to Friday's game.

I did. You are right. I agree.

Love this photo of Paige hooking Carrington. Paige has been swinging her elbows, Philly style, her whole career. Tough kid. Gives as well as gets.

Something I only noticed recently and you can see it in this picture if you look close. The nails. Nails that long should not be allowed. No one is going to get hurt by long eyelashes or long braids utilizing hair extensions. But those nails could cause a deep scratch or worse an eye injury. Seems to me that is a safety issue. And, I do recall Carrington looking at her nails and shaking her hand after some contact with I think Paige. I might go back and watch the game again to look specifically at the nails.