Notes From the Hardwood- College Edition

Considering that for the first 20 minutes of the game, the only ones looking good in a UCLA jersey were the cheerleaders, this was a very gritty win for the Bruins. Now I have to get tickets for UCLA's next home game so I can watch them hang that O'Reilly Auto Parts CBE Classic Championship banner in the rafters of Pauley Pavilion.

Dick Vitale was struck with laryngitis this week. He apologized to the viewers for it, but in my opinion, it was the best broadcasting of his career.

It's a very weird phenomenon to hear Dick Vitale on the UCLA bandwagon. I guess all the Bruins needed was a white big man to make then more UNC/Duke-like to win Vitale's favor.

Kevin Love looks like he'll be a great college player, but it's very difficult to project him into the NBA. One thing is for certain. Whenever Love does submit his name for the NBA draft, he'll be the first player that Jay Bilas won't be able to describe him as "long." Has anyone described an NBA prospect as "stumpy" before?

Bad news for Bruins fans- it looks like Florida is still good, even though their roster is comprised almost entirely of freshmen and sophomores. Crap.

The Wooden Classic got a nice little boost when it's dog of an undercard, SDSU vs The Australian National Team (also known as St. Mary's), suddenly got a bit of cache once the Gaels upset #11 Oregon. It was a little tough to tell on ESPNU's handheld camcorder feed, but as an added bonus, it looked like St. Mary's had some attractive cheerleaders as well. Catholic Schoolgirl Cheerleaders- they're not just on the Spice Channel anymore.

Not a good week to be an Oregon Ducks fan. First they lose Dennis Dixon and their BCS hopes and now they find out that their basketball team isn't as good as they thought they were. On the plus side, these defeats should be categorized as "severe pain," one of the conditions which in the state of Oregon warrant the legal use of medical marijuana. Rosie Perez was right. Sometimes when you lose, you actually win.

Duke looks like they're back this season, thanks to a good freshman class and improved play from Gerald Henderson. I sure hope ESPN will give them some exposure now.

There will be quite a bit of basketball on TV during the Thanksgiving holiday. The matchups might not seem that intriguing right now, but it still beats explaining to relatives why you don't have a job, girlfriend, or legitimate children. So enjoy, all!