How I remember Allen Iverson

This evening I watched ESPN's "30 For 30" documentary on Allen Iverson, "No Crossover: The Trial of Allen Iverson" directed by Steve James of Hoop Dreams fame.  The movie is superbly done, focusing on the racial divide in Iverson's hometown of Hampton, VA and the events surrounding Iverson's involvement in a 1993 brawl in a bowling alley that resulted in his spending four months in prison.  Iverson, of course, went to Georgetown University after his release and went on a successful career in the NBA.  But it's his time at Georgetown that I think about when I hear Iverson's name.

I was a freshman at Georgetown when I heard about the brawl and the subsequent trial.  At the time I didn't even know where Hampton, VA, was.  I assumed it was somewhere south of DC (which it is, on a peninsula in the Chesapeake Bay).  I didn't have an opinion of the trial, Iverson's conviction, or his release and pardon by then-Governor Douglas Wilder.  But shortly after Iverson's release we heard that Georgetown coach John Thompson was trying to get Iverson to come to Georgetown.  Even then, I thought that Iverson was just another one of Thompson's reclamation projects.  I don't think anyone I knew cared about his past or worried about how he'd affect the team. 

I didn't realize what kind of talent we had on our team until his first few games as a freshman in 1994.  He was unlike anyone I'd ever seen play basketball.  The way he threw himself into games was unreal.  He could make shots out of nothing.  I only went to one game in person during his time at Georgetown, an ugly, foul-filled game against Boston College, and I don't remember anything specific about Iverson other than his energy and incredible shots.  When the Hoyas played in the 1996 NCAA Tournament, I had high hopes that Iverson would lead us to a championship.  It didn't happen, but he took us for an unforgettable ride.

My only other encounter with Iverson happened a few months later, after Iverson announced that he would leave Georgetown two years early to enter the NBA draft.  My mother was in town for a visit and we were walking from campus to M Street.  As we crossed Prospect Street, a luxury car stopped short about ten feet from us.  I don't remember exactly but I'm fairly certain we had the right of way, though I will admit we might have been jaywalking.  I looked at the driver and it was Allen Iverson.  It was as close as I would ever get to our superstar player.  He and I made eye contact for a second.  As we walked away, I said to my mom, "You know, that was Allen Iverson who nearly ran us over just now."  We thought it was funny.  And no, this isn't the first time I've told this story.  It probably won't be the last, either.

A day at the Big East Tournament

I took the day off work on Tuesday to watch the first round games of the Big East Tournament live at Madison Square Garden.  My friend Amanda suggested that we should go since we're both college basketball fans and neither of us had been to the tournament before.  I did go to the Georgetown-Pitt Big East final game in 2007, but I'd never gone for the early rounds.  Instead of writing recaps of the games, which you can read elsewhere, I'd rather focus on the things I saw that you don't get to see when you watch the tournament on TV.

First of all, the Garden was mostly empty for the 12 PM opening game and the 9 PM late game.  It filled up in the afternoon for St. John's vs. UConn and again in the evening for Seton Hall-Providence, but the teams from the furthest distances (South Florida, DePaul, and Cincinnati) had the least support.  Rutgers played in the last game of the night vs. Cincinnati and by the end of the game only the bands and a few die-hard fans and basketball junkies were left in the arena.  One thing we learned was that tickets for the tournament are only available through the 16 schools in the conference.  That explains why the only tickets we could find online were on StubHub.  And it explains all the empty seats and why we were able to sit in the 200 level for the evening games instead of our proper seats one level higher up.  There were several thousand no-shows for both the day and evening sessions so we were free to take whatever seats we wanted.  But the fans that did show up for the games got into the spirit.  St. John's fans turned out to see their team trounce UConn.  And the Garden really came to life late in the Seton Hall-Providence game when the Friars went on a 29-4 run to turn a blowout into a nail-biter.

Between the first and second games of each session, we saw a little "battle of the bands" action.  The bands from UConn and St. John's and later Cincinnati and Rutgers took turns playing songs while the other band listened.  Sometimes one band played the same song that the opposite band just played, so we heard dueling versions of "Gimme Some Lovin'" or "Hey Baby."  Cincinnati's band played a rousing "Seven Nation Army," and Rutgers threw some dance moves into their version of "Thriller."  As a former band groupie, I was in musical geek heaven.  It was almost a shame we had to watch some basketball.

During halftime of the first three games, the dance teams from each school would come on the floor for a quick dance-off.  That amounted to the entire halftime show.  But for Cincinnati-Rutgers, there were no dance teams.  Instead, the Cincinnati Bearcat clowned around on the court, shooting free throws until a Garden employee asked him to stop.  I should have shouted "let him play!" or at least gotten a few photos, but by the time I noticed his act, the Bearcat had put his ball away.  Then he disappeared for most of the 2nd half and I wondered what had become of him.  Just as I was about to implore my Twitter followers to send out a search party, he reappeared on the court.  Maybe he was just napping.  It was late in the evening.

Speaking of Twitter, we spent the whole day tweeting constantly about the games and as such we had concerns about whether we'd have enough battery power to get through the evening.  Between sessions we left the Garden in search of a bar or restaurant where we could recharge both physically and electronically.  We eschewed the crowds at Stout and the dark, dank Stitch and found ourselves at Houndstooth NYC on 8th Avenue at 37th Street.  The hostess showed us to a table by the window where we found a four-plug wall outlet behind my chair.  We were saved!  And the beer and food weren't bad either.  The next time I'm near the Garden and looking for a restaurant for a pre-game or -concert meal, Houndstooth will be my first stop.

What's with all the Knicks photos?

I've been to two New York Knicks games in the past five days.  Before this week I hadn't been to a Knicks game since 2007 and had little interest in the team since they are usually cover-your-eyes terrible.  But a combination of a tweetup on Saturday evening and complimentary tickets for last night's game got me to the Garden twice in a week.  Saturday's game included a halftime show featuring members of the Sugar Hill Gang as part of "Old School Night."  And last night I got to meet Earl "The Pearl" Monroe before the game and get his autograph.  Unfortunately, my knowledge of the Knicks before 1993 is spotty, so I had to re-read Bill Simmons' chapter on Monroe before the game and watch some of his highlights on YouTube so I'd know a few things about him.  Important note: Monroe attended Winston-Salem State University, not Syracuse.

Also, I now own two Knicks t-shirts courtesy of giveaways for the events before each game, which is two more Knicks-related items of clothing than I had before Saturday.  If the Knicks ever become a good team again, I will be able to declare my casual interest proudly and at no cost whatsoever. 

My money is on Moonlit Wang and Nutritious Love

The 2009 Name of the Year Tournament bracket is out. I'd watch out for Marrell Ya'Hynis Wilson as the 8 seed in the Sithole Regional. He could go deep in this tournament. So could Dr. Shasta Kielbasa in the Chrotchtangle Regional, though the potential matchup with Iris Macadangdang in the Sweet 16 will be a tough one. In the Bulltron Regional, I like the winner of the 6-11 pairing of Muffin Lord and Zeppy O'Green to go a long way, and over in the Dragonwagon Regional, Uranus Golden and Juvyline Cubangbang will both give the Rev. Valentine Handwerker a run for his money. It'll be an exciting tournament, there's no doubt of that.

The sad part is that I've spent more time analyzing this bracket than my NCAA picks. But I laughed longer at this one.

Newark Pants Party report and photos

I went out to Newark on Saturday night for another Deadspin reader meet-up. The event was a Seton Hall-Louisville college basketball game at the brand-new Prudential Center. I took the PATH train over there, which was my first time on that train. If you like seeing the ass end of New Jersey, it's the train for you. We stopped at The Arena Bar, the only bar near the arena, and met up with the rest of the group. There were little kids in the bar, which reminded me of the 12-year-old coal miners on "30 Rock" a few weeks ago. I think one of these kids was playing poker at a table in the back.

We got to the game right around tipoff. We were sitting behind the Seton Hall band, and I noted that one of their game songs was the theme from Pirates of the Caribbean. At first the game was lopsided in Louisville's favor but Seton Hall closed the gap by halftime and in the second half they got out in front for good. As a Georgetown fan I didn't want to cheer for "The Hall" but the atmosphere was infectious and soon all of us were screaming and high-fiving over SHU baskets. I forgot how much fun college basketball games can be.

After the game we took the PATH train back to Manhattan and took the subway to the Village. On the E train we ran into a group of girls dressed like flappers. So one of us asked them "are you going to a flapper party?" They said "no, we're going to a '20s party." OK then. They challenged my friend Jeff to a dance-off, and I think it's safe to say they got served.

We ended our night at Kettle of Fish in Greenwich Village, where I discovered the joy that is Six Point beer. I don't remember which beer I had, but I had a lot of them, and a shot of Wild Turkey. It was a great night.

Photos are in the usual place. I haven't tagged them with commenter names, but I will on request.

The woeful Knicks sexual harassment trial

Bill Simmons provides a guide to all the stories surrounding Anucha Browne Sanders' lawsuit against the Knicks and MSG. I enjoyed his Gold Club trial guide a few years ago, and this one is almost as good. Unfortunately, this case is the best publicity the Knicks have had in years. Like Matt Millen in Detroit, any time I read a story about the Knicks, I wonder what Isiah Thomas has to do to get fired. He's already run the team into the ground so it's not like things can get any worse. When he ultimately gets fired, whether it's this year, next year, or five years from now, I hope the first question for James Dolan at the press conference is "why now? Why not five years ago?"

Hoya Saxa!

When I picked Georgetown to go to the Final Four two weeks ago, a small part of me doubted that the team could get that far. 11 years ago, when Georgetown started the NCAA tournament as a #2 seed, I had them losing, and, not that I'm the great prognosticator or anything, my instincts then were correct. Georgetown lost to UMass in the regional final in 1996. This time around, I saw a team that had all the right pieces for a deep tournament run. I put them in my bracket as the champions with confidence. But as this year's games have been played, my confidence has eroded just a little. The Hoyas had to come back against Boston College last Saturday. Then, on Friday night, they were down late to Vanderbilt before getting a last-second shot to win the game. So when Georgetown was down by 10 with six minutes to go against North Carolina today, I prepared myself for the worst. Then the Hoyas cut the lead, and all of a sudden it was tied at 81. I couldn't believe what happened next, when UNC couldn't get a basket in overtime. We won. We won the damn game.

Georgetown is back in the Final Four, for the first time since 1985. I've waited a long time for this. I remember the 1985 championship game against Villanova. I'm still bitter we lost. Now we've got a chance to get a championship for a younger John Thompson, and a younger Patrick Ewing, and Roy Hibbert and Jeff Green and the rest. We play Ohio State on Saturday night. That's going to be a tough game. The worst part for me is that I have my next concert that night, so I won't get to see much of the game (if I get to see any of it). I may wear my Georgetown cap on stage at the concert. If nothing else, I'll have it under my chair. Gotta support the team.

I was there: Georgetown wins 1st Big East championship in 18 years

I watched Friday night's Big East semifinal game between Georgetown and Notre Dame at a bar near my office with some of my co-workers. If Georgetown won, I'd planned to watch the final at a bar or some other place with James. But a few minutes after the game, I got an e-mail from another guy at work, who had been at the ND-GU game. He had two extra tickets for Saturday night's final game and offered me one of them. I had to think for about two seconds before I said "I'm in."

I got to MSG around 8 PM on Saturday night and met another colleague who had claimed the other extra ticket. We went into the Garden followed by both pep bands, which had staged a quick band skirmish just outside the doors. Since we were there so early, we walked around the Garden for a few minutes, said hi to the guy who'd sold us the tickets, and got some food. Meanwhile, the big screens above the court showed highlights of Big East tournament championships from years past, including several close GU losses in the early 1990s. By tip-off, the Garden was packed and we were in a Georgetown-friendly section. There were about ten GU students sitting and standing behind us, several of whom jeered Pitt's Aaron Gray for the entire game.

At first the game was close and I was nervous, but as the Hoyas built a big lead I began to relax. At halftime I texted James, and got a few curses in response. As the clock wound down I got excited again. With about five minutes to go I thought it was safe to tell my friend that I was planning to stick around to watch Georgetown cut down the nets. The last minute of the game was the sloppiest, as all of the starters were celebrating on the bench and GU had its scrubs out there finishing. One guy got a pass from a teammate and nearly dropped it; he looked surprised to have gotten the ball at all. When it was over, we walked down closer to the court and I took many, many pictures of the team receiving the trophy and cutting down the nets. I also kept photographing the scoreboard, as if it wasn't real. Georgetown hadn't won their conference tournament since 1989, despite having some excellent teams in the final. I wasn't going to miss any part of the celebration. The students chanted "JT3" for the coach, and "six more wins!" for the team. I have a great feeling about this team going into the NCAA Tournament next week.