Campus Confidential

By Adam Abramson

I want to close out the basketball season the same way CBS does: "One Shining Moment."

I aimed to dedicate this piece to Luther Vandross because I mistakenly assumed it was the first montage since Luther's death, but I was shocked to find out it's almost been two years (July 1, 2005).

However, I think every "One Shining Moment" should be dedicated to Luther because, well, he's Luther.

My buddy Tim said you don't have a pulse is if it doesn't give you chills. Below is the video followed by my thoughts.

• I've gone back and forth for a while on which mascot is better. Florida has won the football, basketball and Nike running titles this year and I'm very tempted to give UF the edge for Albert the Alligator over Brutus the Buckeye. I sought the council of Eileen, my trusted colleague who sits across from me and finished 6th in the Newsday office pool (I finished 34th).

  Adam: Eileen, I need your help. Who is the better mascot: Albert the Alligator or Brutus the Buckeye?
  Eileen (looking at a picture of Brutus): What's that on his head, a pumpkin?
  Adam: No, that's his head. A buckeye.
  Eileen: What's a buckeye?
  Adam: A nut.
  Eileen: Oh, I like that one (Brutus).
  Adam: Well, I think I like Albert. Who do you think would win in a fight?
  Eileen: Considering the Buckeye has opposable thumbs, I'd go with Ohio State.
  Adam: Well, an alligator has sharp teeth.
  Eileen: (Rolls her eyes)
  Adam: Okay, who would win in a fight: Me or an alligator?
  Eileen: The alligator.
  Adam: Well, I have opposable thumbs.
  Eileen: Aren't we talking about mascots? I don't think a plush alligator could crush anything with its teeth.
  Adam: Mascots are real.*

  *Eileen wouldn't respond after my last comment.

  Whatever, I'm giving the edge to Albert. Sorry, Columbus.

• Moving on with the video. The video editing is near flawless. Examples: "the ball is tipped" (:22), "running for your life" (:27), "shooting star" (:31), "blinking of an eye" (1:04-we'll talk more about this later), "wind in your face" (1:39), etc.

• At the :38 second mark, the Branden Wright block might be the most baller play of the video. As I like to say, Wright ate that kid's lunch on national TV.

• The Vanderbilt chick at 1:04 is incredibly hot. If you happen to be reading this or you're someone that knows her, tell her to drop me a line.

• A three-second clip of the UNC mascot? I think everyone has forgotten about him. Jason Ray deserve more love. RIP.

• At the 1:50 mark, you can hear "dagger." Nobody drops a better dagger than Steve Buckhantz. Everyone can try, but nobody will top it.

• 2:16, our first and only Bill Raftery clip, and a modest one at that. Put it this way: I watched the first half of Georgetown-Ohio State on TV, but had to get in the car at halftime. I listened to the first 12 minutes of the second half on the radio (Ian Eagle, Bill and John Thompson). When I got to where I was going I didn't want to get out of the car. Not because I wouldn't be able to watch the game, but because I would have to go back to watching Nantz and Packer call it.

• Too much Joakim Noah. He wasn't the MOP again. There were 65 teams, no need for 18 Noah clips. Brewer I can understand, but I'm not even sure anyone likes Noah at this point.

• We needed more play-by-play calls.

• I noticed this during the game, but the folks at CBS won't let us forget Al Horford's sad attempt at an Antione Walker shimmy at the 2:46 mark. I have a feeling I know what happened to him, it's happened to me before. You do something special, know you have to do something, but you haven't thought it out beforehand, so you just do the first thing that comes to mind.

• Lastly, I think Tim is right. You need to get some sort of emotion stirred when watching the montage. It's safe to say that this Tournament was highly anti-climatic, but the fact remains that it's still one of the greatest sporting events America has to offer.
  
  That's about it. Later.