My wife and I watched the men and women’s Final Four games this weekend. The women’s games were definitely more competitive. As we were watching the women’s finals yesterday, my wife made an observation that surprisingly didn’t even occur to me. The women rarely took charges, and relied more on playing actual defense by contesting and blocking shots. It was so refreshing to see. I was wondering why I couldn’t turn away, as I was apparently watching the beautiful game of basketball the way it was meant to be played…players against players, instead of players against actors. My one basketball wish would be to get rid of charging calls altogether. There is nothing more embarrassing in sports, then to see some of the greatest athletes in the world relegated to being actors. Take some pride, and try to move your feet to contest and block a shot. Yes, they may get dunked on, but at least they won’t look like the cowards that they look like now.
The women's semifinals had Kobe in attendance. I didn't notice if he was there yesterday. Both semifinal games went to overtime, including one three to tie the game to get it to OT. The same girl for Notre Dame that hit the game winner to beat UCONN in OT, also hit the game winner to win the national title. I hope the men's championship game tonight can come close to being as competitive and compelling.