BitterSweetLife

The KU-OSU segment of the Big 12 tournament turned out to be must see television. After I watched the Jayhawks grind out a rugged, one-point win over Oklahoma State last night, I went to bed with basketball on my mind.

Specifically, I remembered the images: blood gushing down Russell Robinson's face after Jameson Curry threw an elbow, and Darnell Jackson aggressively chest-bumping David Monds and telling him what was on his mind after Monds dealt out a hard foul. "This is a man's game."

This morning when I got up and looked outside to discover a sunny, 65 degree day, I really, really wanted to hit the blacktop. I guess you could call this pent-up aggression. Or triumphant élan after last night's victory. Probably a combo, which would correspond to my guard play.

Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to go find a pick-up hoops game today. Problem being, there aren't any around here. Downtown KC has a 'hood, sort of. But only in a very diminutive sense. You won't find any jivin', tattooed cats mixin' it up on the asphalt. This is one of my major gripes with city life around here. Apparently no one is cool enough to know that downtowns exist primarily to host rapid-fire hoops action.

So instead of playing hoops, I did what I could to move in that direction. I went shopping for a basketball. Now, before you misinterpret: I've had many basketballs in my life. I actually own one now, but it's camped out at my parents house, the scene of many a competitive sibling rivalry game. Admittedly, I could have driven over to my parents' place and reclaimed my old ball. But that seemed like such a tacky thing to do. That ball was old. Years old. What was needed was a new ball, with that new ball smell.

So I did it.

As I type, the aroma of my new Spalding outdoor model is helping to console my landlocked blues. I want to be out on a court RIGHT NOW. I know my own neighborhood is too lame to offer any real games...but now I have the means to go cruise around further afield, ball under arm, looking for pickup action. Maybe after the KU game.

After the KU win, that is. I'm calling it right now:

Jayhawks 77
Cornhuskers 61

This will be the third time KU and NU have matched up this season, and the 'Hawks have developed an endearing habit of winning by 20+ points (margins of 42 and 21). But Nebraska's Jamel White lit up the Oklahoma Sooners for 22 points last night, and the Huskers have everything to play for. That's why I'm adjusting the KU margin of victory to a mere 16 points. Call it generosity. Provided in part by that new ball smell.

Related post: A Place Where I Can Hoop