OK, once I shook off the strangeness of last night’s GIRLS episode and taken in Wanderlust which is actually hilarious, I managed to try and further wrap my head around the strangeness of this weekend’s Pac-12 results. But quickly I realized there was no use in trying to make sense of it all. We celebrate these sorts of oddities so long as its more parity than mediocrity. And I really believe the Pac has transitioned to the former once again this year. The top hasn’t quite lived up to their collective elite billing but they haven’t been bad. And, as evidence of WSU knocking off UCLA, the coaches were right from the beginning in saying that the bottom half of the conference is much improved.
And it’s all over now.
It’s win or go home time. Who doesn’t love this stuff? And I love the shakeout of the brackets. I mean on Wednesday we’ll be treated to the Apple Cup, a 5-12 game in which the 12 just beat the 5, and a 7-10 game featuring Utah who is one of just three Pac-12 teams on a 2 game win streak. All the wrong teams are hot.
The weekend:
Leader in the Clubhouse: The University of California, Los Angeles Bruins are your outright 2012-13 Pac-12 Champions. This is surprising considering the start to their year. And whether you like it or not, Ben Howland’s name is in the Coach of the Year hat. He’s steadied this ship and, well, won a conference title. That’s saying something and I think we can stop there for now. Projecting the downstream or off season goings on inside that Athletic Department is not a worthy venture. Not today.
Biggest Loser: The Oregon Ducks had the conference title in their hands. It was theirs to lose heading in to this weekend and then they lost it. This was an egg laying and there’s really no two ways about it. They weren’t even competitive which is not a good sign heading into tourney time. Alas, they’re still getting their Artis-legs back about them and all seasons do tend to hit a dog days moment. The Ducks’, however, hit at about the worst possible time as they now have third place to show for it.
What We Learned: We learned this. The bracket is officially set for Vegas and the crowning of a conference TOURNAMENT champ will ensue. A team getting to spend Sunday, 3/17 stress-free. And please note that I don’t love the conference tournament concept. Don’t get me wrong, I think it’s a marvelously fun and fan-friendly endeavor. I’m going and couldn’t be more excited to watch this. But from a competition standpoint, I really appreciate the value given to the regular season when there isn’t an end of season tournament. But because there is such high value (both entertainment and monetary) to such an event, this thing ain’t going anywhere. I’m not fighting it, just noting that I like the regular season conference championship. That’s a big deal. Bravo, Bruins.
The YouTuber: To cut this scene had to have been like 1000 takes: