Ed Graney is a sports columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, covering a variety of topics and the Las Vegas sports scene.
egraney@reviewjournal.com … @edgraney on Twitter. 702-383-4618
Brett Wallace can’t remember the last time expectations didn’t sit atop his shoulders on a baseball field. Maybe in T-ball, when coaches and teammates and parents probably thought his hits should one-hop the schoolyard fence instead of flying over it.
At his lowest point, his gut still churning from what could have been and from all the empty possessions, his mind still watching the flight of a half-court shot that would have changed his and the lives of his players forever, Butler coach Brad Stevens spoke for college basketball fans everywhere.
It would have been the greatest shot in college basketball history. Maybe basketball history.
Brad Stevens is familiar with the story. He knows the future king of Israel struck the Philistine with a stone and cut off the warrior’s head. He understands the tale’s motivational significance in moments like this.
The father picked up his small son and placed him on his shoulders. The boy touched a strand of net. A camera flashed.
Maybe this is what that whole thing about divorce being like an amputation is about, the idea that it is something you survive but that there is less of you in the end.
Interesting month, March. You don’t need as many blankets on the bed but feel purchasing that third box of Thin Mints from your neighbor’s daughter a necessity.
OKLAHOMA CITY — It was like the paint that covered UNLV president Neal Smatresk’s face at this first-round NCAA Tournament game Thursday. All bright and red in the beginning. All faded and worn in the end.
For a second, forget about the 8-9 line of the Midwest bracket in the NCAA Tournament. Forget about Northern Iowa’s halfcourt defense, its balanced offense, a terrific 7-foot center named Jordan Eglseder. Forget about Kansas lurking Saturday.
