Quick Hits 2/12

1. Duke Basketball
I've been a Blue Devil for as long as I can remember. My first real experience with basketball came with the 1991 Duke team that eventually won the NCAA title. Since then, I have bled blue and black and rout harder for Duke than I do for any other team, save perhaps the Mavs. The last few years have been somewhat disappointing, which in truth shows how spoiled I am. Since their last title in 2001, the Devils have advanced past the Sweet 16 only once (Final Four in 2004) and last season they did something they had not done since 1996 by losing in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. In each of the last 9 years the team has been ranked number 1 for at least one week yet they have ultimately failed to win a title. Again, I recognize that a lot of fans would give their left arm to have their team reach the level of success Duke has had in the last 7 years but the standards of a Duke fan, much like that of a Yankee fan, are much higher than this.

After struggling through last season in which, for the first time in a long time, Duke had trouble scoring the ball and closing games out in the clutch, this season has been a tremendous treat to watch. This team is something special. I don't know if they're going to win the title this season. To be honest, they are probably built more for next year than this. And yet I find myself getting pretty excited about what this group can do come tournament time. They have a team that is loaded with ball handlers and shooters, from point guard Greg Paulus to center Kyle Singler. Add to that two extremely talented and athletic wings in Gerald Henderson and Demarcus Nelson (the only senior on the roster) and you have a very strong, very deep team that is only a true post presence away from being the best team in the country. They move the ball extremely well, they get after every lose ball, and maybe most importantly, they ABSOLUTELY DOG you on defense. From the top player to the last guy off the bench, everyone can get after it defensively. They defeated what might be a superior North Carolina team (albeit sans Ty Lawson) last week by extending the defense to half court and making UNC work for every single basket. Nothing comes easy.

That's something that has been a constant in the Coach K era but that has been lacking in recent years. The teams led by J.J. Redick and Josh McRoberts didn't play the same brand of defense that a Duke team usually does; they lacked the intensity. This group of guys, while no less talented, is unquestionably more dedicated to doing anything and everything necessary to win. There's no star treatment here. Put bluntly, this is a REAL Duke team.

I can't say how far this team will go. They are seriously lacking in the height department, as starting center Kyle Singler is only 6'8. So teams that have a legit center, such as UNC, UCLA, Kansas, Georgetown, etc., should create a mismatch. But I will say this: Singler outplayed the much more heralded Tyler Hansborough last week. Sure, Hansborough got his stats (28 points, 18 boards) but Singler got all of his points and rebounds when the mattered and kept Hansborough on his toes all night. They have a chance this season and regardless, it has been a joy to this fan to see Duke rise back to the level I expect.

2. Roy Scheider Dies
I don't make much space for celebrity news but this is a special case. Roy Scheider did some pretty great (and some pretty awful) work during his time in Hollywood. Most notably to me was his portrayal of Chief Brody in "Jaws." "Jaws" is one of those movies that sticks with you, that you vividly remember whether you were around to see it in theaters or you caught it on TV later on. The special effects in the film were stunning (for its time) and the story terrifying. But perhaps the best moment came when Scheider's Brody catches his first real glimpse of the giant shark and utters the classic, "We're gonna need a bigger boat" line. That is one of the most memorable lines in modern movie history and the deliver was dead on, with shock, awe, and terror all mixed together pefectly. Scheider made an impression on at least one aspiring film guru and his presence in the industry will be missed.

3. Sports Karma
I could probably write an entire column on this topic but I want to speak briefly for the time being. I'm not a real believer in the philosophy of Karma, per se, though I think there's something to the idea of reaping what you sow. Nevertheless, it is a fun idea to throw around, especially pertaining to the world of sports. Sports Karma is the idea that a player, team, organization, fan, or city should never do or say anything that will ultimately anger the sports gods, resulting in your team's loss. This includes things such as making guarantees, providing "locker room bulletin board" material, or declaring a win or title before the game or season is over. For example, say, a particular city mayor (Laura Miller) allowing the city (Dallas) to plan a freaking parade route for a given team (Mavericks) a week before the team could even wrap up the title under event he best of circumstances. In this example, said team went on to blow a 2-0 series lead and (with the all important help from the referees) proceeded to lose the championship series 4-2. Ya, the Mavs had a commanding lead in the series but you NEVER want to piss off the sports gods! Here's the rub: it's one thing to discuss among city planning authorities a proposed parade route. It's an entirely different thing to ANNOUNCE THESE PLANS to anyone who will listen! Never in the history of sports had a city/team/fan taunted the sports gods, an activity that was bound to bring on a Sports Karma moment.

Sports Karma reared it's ugly head again a few days ago, however, when the Giants pulled off perhaps the greatest upset in American sports history by beating the previously unbeated Patriots in the Super Bowl. Come to find out, a book titled "19-0!" describing the "perfect" season the Pats had rolled out was made available on amazon.com days before the final game which would have made them 19-0 took place. You could preorder the book and had the Pats won, it would have actually shipped out around halftime of the game! Talk about taunting the sports gods and just asking for the team to experience the wrath of Sports Karma. I half expect angry Pats finds to tar and feather the writer of this now defunct book in an effort to appease the sports gods. But before this happens, let me just tell you it won't work. The Mavs are still trying to make ammends for the mayor's great offense and at this point it looks like it will never happen.

4. TERRIBLE Injury
I've seen a LOT of seriously awful and often stomach turning sports injuries in my day. Joe Theisman's broken leg is the first example that comes to mind for most fans. The gymnast slamming his sternum into the vault is another. Shaun Livingston's leg break is less known but no less disturbing. But until this week I can't think of a single injury as bad as the one Richard Zednik suffered.

In the third period of the Panthers - Sabers hockey game Sunday, Zednik was struck in the neck by teammate Olli Jokinen's skate as Jokinen was upended. Zednik immediately grabbed his neck and skated to the bench where a team trainer and a teammate met him and carried him off the ice. While it wasn't immediately clear what happened, the severity of the situation dawned on the players and the crowd when they noticed the trail of pooling blood stretching from the far end of the ice to the bench. As it turned out, Zednik's corrotid artery had been severed and all told the man lost a gallon and half of blood.

It is truly amazing that Zednik lived through this ordeal. Consider the events: instead of falling to the ice, Zednik raced to the bench. Falling down likely would have cost him a good 30 seconds while the trainer scrambled out onto the ice. The trainer was able to immediately put enough pressure on the wound as to stop the majority of the bleeding. In attendance at the game was a noted vascular surgeon who left his seat and was able to ride in the ambulance with Zednik. If any one of these events had not taken place, Zednik very likely would have died. As it is, he was removed from the ICU today and doctors believe he will make a full recovery. Still, it's almost surreal (not to mention disturbing) to think we could have actually witnessed a man die during a nationally televised sporting event. And at the same time, I have to think we're fortunate that things like this don't happen more often. Hockey players are basically wearing swords on their feet and it's amazing that this type of thing isn't more prevalent.

Oh, as a side note, the last time a player was seriously cut by a skate was 20 years ago when Buffalo goalie Clint Malarchuk had a collision in front of the net that resulted in the severing of his jugular vein. The video is not for the weak of heart.

5. No more strike!
And lastly, I just want to say how stinking happy I am the the Writer's Guild of America strike is finally over. I cannot express how happy I am that movies can now begin production again and the best TV shows the networks have to offer, such as "24" and "Lost," will be able to begin shooting again. Since I can't adequately express my joy, let me just show you a brief list of the reality TV crap that has taken the place of the real shows:
"Baby Borrowers" - teens take care of babies to see what it's like to be adults.

"Amnesia" - a host asks people questions to basically show how stupid people are.

"My Dad Is Better Than Your Dad" - I am not making this up.

"Here Come the Newlyweds" - Use your imagination.

"Do You Trust Me?" - Two complete strangers...blah blah blah...1 million dollars.

That's just a sampling and I didn't even check Fox's lineup which I'm sure is filled with "soon to be cancelled" fodder that usually makes up that network's lineup. So everyone say a quick prayer of thanksgiving that the most underrated and under appreciated people in Hollywood are back at work and hopefully getting their just rewards!