"you should know better by now."

For starters, our men's team won tonight 64-50. They're 6-5 heading into the conference schedule. Go Jags.

I'm not sure if I was particularly on my game tonight or what, but one fellow came up to me at halftime and paid me a very kind compliment. I'm guessing he's a parent of the opposing team (I know he was at least there to cheer on Samford). He came up to me and told me, in so many words or less, that he really liked my P.A. announcing and that I was very articulate and such. I thought it was very kind of him, really. He also offered a polite correction on one name, which I took graciously.

I'm honestly humble when it comes to doing this P.A. stuff. Oh sure, I love it and think I do a halfway decent job at it; but I think that's because I know I'm not the star attraction. I'm just coloring in some of the gaps for the spectators. That's my job. Period. Yes, I am cheering for the home team and will be more exuberant when they score and such. But I absolutely REFUSE to stoop to "homerism" like you see from that jackass at Auburn Hills. It's just not my bag, baby.

So when a fan comes to me and tells me they appreciate the job I'm doing, it makes me feel like I'm doing something right.

Another fan, after the game, asked me if I also work the Pacer games. I giggled a bit about that, but smiled and said no. I didn't get a swelled head over that. The only reason she said that, I believe, is because I made an announcement that the gym was closing in two minutes and punctuated it with a "two minutes . . . TWO-ahhh" a la Pacers P.A. guy Reb Porter.

Kevin Buerge, our S.I.D. shook his head, laughed and said to me, "we expect a lot more out of you in this job."

"You should know better by now," I replied.

The conference portion of our schedule is coming up. This is gonna be good.

giddy up!

Tonight's basketball game against Western Michigan was one of our men's teams first really big tests of the season. It seemed the Jags just didn't match up all that well against them. Although Hunter's game plan was obvious: find an Achilles Heel by raining three-pointers. It held up all right for the first half. Then WMU's perimeter game seemed to grind down the Jags in the second half. Sure, they made it interesting with same 11th hour heroics; but the hole was already dug.

I do believe this is how a team and program gets better -- facing tough teams in the non-conference schedule. So will the Jags get a breather? Well, they've got Louisville next. You do the math.

Tonight's game seemed to go off pretty well, from a PA/game management standpoint. Sure, we had our second scoreboard meltdown of the season. For reasons beyond any of us, the scoreboard just shuts down. Somewhere between the actual scorekeeper (the computer-looking thingy), the wires and the scoreboards, something went afoul. The only thing that works was shutting down all the power on the scorers table for a second then turning it back on. Too bad that momentarily took down the radio broadcast. Desperate times call for desperate measures, so I don't fault BuergeNation one bit. He had to do what he had to do.

The promotions -- pop-a-shot and halftime -- went well; although I must admit it's more fun when Anna and Co. can sit at the scorers table. It gives me somebody to talk to during the game (as though I don't have anything better to do with my time, eh?).

On yeah, I got a gig! Kris, the cheerleading coach asked me if I'd do PA for some big cheerleading competiton at Plainfield High School. it's a two-day event at the end of January. Why not? I don't mind being a hired hack. I imagine it won't be as much fun as these basketball games, but they're going to pay me. So giddy up!

a case of the yips.

We had a women's basketball game Wednesday night that felt awfully like a throwback game to me. Three years ago, our women's team built 20+ point leads and carried them into the second half . . . only to lose. It was heartbreaking and frustrating to watch. They'd play their hearts out and then get a case of the yips and run down their own shot clock with a prevent-style offense. It was miserable.

Wednesday night had that same look and feel. The team built a double-digit lead in the first half by swarming all over Loyola-Chicago. But you could feel things changing before the first half ended. Nobody was passing into the post. Nobody was rebounding. Nobody was making shots. Nobody was looking for shots. Here come da yips!

Late in the second half, during a timeout, I turned to Joe, the official scorekeeper, and said: "Four minutes to go, we're up by eight. They've got us right where they want us."

Did they ever. Loyola-Chicago forced overtime. We ended up winning the game, but not before making it interesting. It's worth noting IUPUI never relinquished the lead. They just didn't know how to protect it.

It's always more fun to watch the home team win.

As for the announcing duties, it's nearly business-as-usual. I've got the board figured out, the music dialed in, the sound amplifying good. Things are good from the scorer's table.

We have a couple interns from the NCAA helping us out this season, Anna and Beth (I don't know their last names). I know Anna was a competitive track runner at Univ. of Washington out in the Pacific Northwest.

I think it was during halftime she said to me, "You really have to multitask, don't you?" It was a very kind compliment, really. This PA thing is hardly brain surgery. I remind people of that every chance I get. It's something that I do purely for the fun of it. Plus, I get the best seat in the house. But it's always nice when somebody pays you an unsolicited compliment.

I hope I don't blow the karma by stepping all over myself Wednesday night when Western Michigan comes to town.

mailing it in.

IUPUI's men's team had a non-conference game Saturday night against IU Southeast, an NAIA team. IUPUI won the game going away. The score was something-to-something. This is what happens when teams of different divisions play one another -- nobody cares.

This is, by no means, meant as a dig against IU Southeast. They knew it would take the best game of their lives to beat IUPUI. It would be like IUPUI playing Kentucky...oh wait, we did that a couple years ago. But that was in The Big Dance, so it mattered just a bit more.

When NCAA D-I teams square off against NAIA teams, it's rarely entertaining. Therefore, everybody mails it in for the night. Even the fans were sitting on their hands all night. When the outcome is all but assured -- despite what any coach worth his or her salt will tell you -- nobody pays much attention to the details.

Believe it or not, though, I thought I was going to lose my voice during the game. I was surprised to find that I was not in good voice when I got to the gym last night. Usually, a game after a night of hanging out until 2 a.m. drinking beer gives me a perfect "whiskey voice." Not this time, apparently. I have to be careful, though. A couple seasons ago I lit it up pretty good one night. The following day gave me a double-header and I gave a performance for the ages...on Alternate Reality Earth, where mistakes are celebrated.

Lacy, who used to work the press row phones for us, scolded me and told me I was no longer allowed to go out the night before a game. It was humbling, I must say, getting chastised by a 21-year old.

But back to last night....

I'm sure nobody noticed a difference in the radio broadcast or the in-game PA announcing; but believe me, our performances were yadda-yadda-yadda.

Come back in February when we play Valparaiso at Conseco.