I worked on the desktop computer for a bit today. A while back I installed a Linux operating system on it just to check it out. I meant to install it on a partition of the drive so I could still boot up Windows, but I accidentally didn’t do that. The Linux operating system (Ubuntu) doesn’t recognize the drivers for the wireless network card though, so I can’t connect it to the internet, and despite my attempts to remedy this situation, nothing’s worked yet. I haven’t touched it in a while, but since I’ll be taking my laptop with me to Costa Rica I want to get it fixed so Amanda can have internet access while I’m gone.
I haven’t made any progress.
A couple weeks ago we got an e-mail from a couple looking to join a small group. Amanda called them back and left a message explaining that we’d just disbanded our small group but that we were planning on going to the next small group connection to start a new one. They called back tonight and Amanda talked to the wife, Sarah Nowak (the husband’s name is Mike, so that’s easy for us to remember). They want to join us but aren’t able to go to the connection tomorrow night, so Amanda told them we’d save a spot for them.
There was a bit of basketball tonight. UConn was playing a good game with Marquette. Michael Mercer and I were actually both pulling for the same team- Marquette. I think he wanted the Huskies to lose because it would help the Tar Heels, and I wanted them to lose because next to Carolina they’re my least favorite team. Unfortunately our combined rooting didn’t help the Golden Eagles of Marquette and Connecticut’s coach, Jim Calhoun, won his 800th game tonight.
Virginia Tech played Clemson, which was an important game in for the ACC. Clemson started the night tied for second in the ACC. That game finished early in the Duke vs. Maryland rematch, so I didn’t see it but it was a close one. Clemson did us Blue Devils a favor and dropped it, so if Duke won tonight they’d be squarely in second place in the ACC.
So that brings us to Duke at Maryland. I’ve got to say, it was a really good game- the Maryland team that showed up tonight was nothing like the one that got shellacked by 41 points a month ago. The game was close the whole way through. In fact, with about five minutes left in the second half Duke went up by six points and the announcers said that it was the biggest lead by either team in the game so far. Duke ended up winning 78-67. It was a physical game, and in the last few road games, if it was close, tough and physical Duke faded away.
I have to give props to the Terrapin players for a hard fought game, but I can’t stand the fans. First of all, they found out where the Duke players were staying and called them constantly throughout the night. That’s not terrible, but it is obnoxious.
Then they all printed out pictures of Scheyerfaces. Duke’s Jon Scheyer has a habit of making some pretty funny faces when he plays. He’s even joked about it himself. Again, not a bad thing to do, but they’ve done it for a few years now and it doesn’t bother Scheyer, so while maybe a little cute, it’s also a little lame.
So here’s my beef with them. Nolan Smith took a hard screen and fell on the floor. The legality of the screen has been debated, but I don’t think anybody felt that it was malicious. Play continued and Maryland hit a three, so the crowd understandably cheered for that, but then after the game was stopped so Smith, still laid out on the other end of the court and obviously injured, could be checked out, the cheering continued. And continued. And continued.
In any other arena, no matter who was playing and who was injured, the crowd would have respectfully shut up and you’d be able to hear a pin drop. I know Maryland fans hate Duke. I get that. But that was completely classless. What bothered me all the more was that nobody mentioned how bad they were acting. Later on the message board a Maryland fan stopped by to say that he was embarrassed by the behaviour.
The only good thing that came of it was that Nolan Smith’s injury really seemed to have fired up Gerald Henderson. On the very next play he had one of his best dunks ever (see the #1 play of the game in the first video) followed by a few more good plays.
Zach Dotsey