Call them a blast from the past. Call them a style gone bad. Call them what I was once forced to wear in a BCC Christmas pageant. But on this night, call them an omen, perhaps even a metaphor for the way the Boyz in Blue (aka The Late Greats) played against the raging roids that were their opponent on this night. The shorts were not the only things that came up a tad too short and sent their star crazed fans home a little blue. In the end, the overmatched, over-muscled fellas could not seem to get the clutch baskets to fall when they needed them most.
I knew it was going to be a little rough and tumble when during warm-ups I was taken back to the days of the Bad Boys when "€œThe Final Countdown" began reverberating through the gym. This was just a foreshadow of what would be needed on this night. Where were you Rick Mahorn? We could'€™ve used a little Vinnie Johnson to heat things up. The fellas started on fire canning a couple of opening treys that electrified the crowd. All 4 West Coast Gaines'€™ sat baseline right and watched Andrew orchestrated the team to an early 8-2 lead. Would this be another classic early romp? As Andrew went for a steal on the next possession, he got clipped by one of the Balco boys from the other side and went down hard on his elbow and hip. Try as he may to shake it off, he did the right thing and subbed out. In came Refugio, and out went the momentum. In came a point guard who had never met a three pointer he didn€'™t like (incidentally he ended up about 0-8 from the field) and out went the lead which they would never get back.
Though down by 8 at halftime, they made some adjustments and packed the zone in to try and make the meat shoot the three. This seemed to work to their advantage, cutting into the lead. The opponent regained the lead after complaining their way to some cheap fouls and opened up a 12 point lead with about 5 minutes to play. Give up? Not these guys. They dug even deeper and began getting scrappy and causing turnovers. They cut the lead to 8, then down to 5 with a clutch three point play. With about 2 minutes to go another steal and pass to Andrew slashing downcourt who went up and cut the lead to 3 causing the capacity crowd to go into a near frenzy.
But that'€™s as close as they would get. Some suspect officiating. And then, the seemingly unexplainable reinsertion of Refugio into the lineup during crunch time. With a few more costly 3-point airballs all the air right out of the blue sails. But there'€™s a fresh wind a comin'€™. Playoffs are just around the corner and so tonight was a learning experience. After the game, a worn and torn A-Gaines gave these comments (I think), "Tonight we learned that nothing's gonna be given to us. We're alright though. Our intensity was good. Our focus was there. I don't know what to say. No excuses thought...but did you see the size of that guy's guns? He was just like that bottle of Cheese Whiz. He wouldn't budge!"
They were out muscled? Sure. They were out classed? Never. Not tonight. Not any night. This night they were just a little short. That's all. In more ways than one!
Special thanks to AP photographer Ben Gaines for his photo contributions. Other photos can be viewed above!
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2 comments:
When I saw those shorts in the picture taken by a pro-ben - a tear came to my eye. Another BCC memory I had of a lad bearing a gift for the King down the center aisle. Ahhh, if Abigail could of seen him then at such an early age, she would of known that the man she would marry had legs so long and strong.
Great article by the man who had beared the gift for the king at BCC.
I felt as if I was on the sideline cheering on my youngest as I read the article. I could feel the pulse of the games tempo. I could hear the crowd as young againes went up for that last layup. One coaching tip I might add for the playoffs for the boys in blue, keep "R" on the bench.
One last coaching tip which I learned from Winston Churchill (with alittle adaption) "Never, never, never give up"; but always look up (a Holy moment from dad).
A heart-wrenching account, go get 'em in the playoffs! I love Harley's mullet.
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