Tuesday, November 15, 2005

Who Knew???

I'll be honest, after squeaking by LEHIGH by only 2 points, Guy and I were less than thrilled about playing an NCAA team from last year that outrebounded their opponent last night by 27 and had 40 points in the paint. But thankfully, the Charlotte 49ers chose to shoot 31 percent from the field and the Wildcats took advantage with a big time 61-47 win.

It's amazing how the number "61" can be totally redefined after just 24 hours. One night, you embarass your conference against a Patriot League opponent. The next, you embarass the Atlantic 10 by beating one of their best teams. Regardless of the opponents or the final scores, two wins for this Northwestern team is a huge boost especially after you consider the Wildcats 1-2 start last year in Alaska (including a loss to New Mexico State, who finished 5-23).

After the game, Assistant coach Paul Lee chatted with us and he was beaming to say the least. In short, Lee's theme for the game was "that's what happens when you execute your gameplan." I'm no Bill Raftery, but taking and making high percentage shots, playing tough interior defense and boxing out on rebounds seems to be a pretty solid gameplan.

For our postgame meal, Guy and I ventured to the local Applebee's, where we met up with some Northwestern fans who traveled to the game from the Midwest as well as Coach and Mrs. Carmody and some Carmody relatives. Needless to say, once Coach thought we were loud and obnoxious Laramie locals, he discontinued his interest in us. But the two highlights of the meal were...

A. Guy smashing his head on a hanging light fixture while exiting the table. It was amazing how I did not lose my 9 oz. sirloin on the spot. I believe liberals everywhere laughed a little inside.

B. While Guy and I were exchanging comments about the broadcast, a quick moving Coach Carmody caught our eye. Upon turning our heads and listening to his conversation, he was quickly slapping his hands together and softly muttered a word that rhymes with "pit." Needless to say, we enjoyed a hearty laugh.

Now, we move on to face the University of North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks, who outlasted host Wyoming in overtime. Join 89.3FM WNUR, sports.wnur.org, and NUsports.com as NU looks to start 3-0 in could be a memorable season. We hope all of our listeners have enjoyed our wall to wall coverage of Northwestern sports starting football in Columbus, OH, the SportsVoice in Evanston, and Men's basketball in Laramie, WY. That's it and that's all.

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