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.