Level Playing Fields

"We've gotten third strike calls on pick-off attempts."

From ESPN's lead article on the UNC-Duke game:

What the Blue Devils occasionally lacked in poise and execution, they made up for in grit and aggression. They harassed Hansbrough into 13 missed shots and never let him get to the foul line -- first time that's happened since his freshman year, when Carolina was eliminated from the 2006 NCAA Tournament by George Mason.

(And still the Dukies were left screaming that Hansbrough got preferential treatment from the refs. The oft-repeated chant: "Tyler travels every time!" And it wasn't just being screamed by the body-painted student horde. Also raucously shouting it were the always-demure Krzyzewski women, wife Mickie and daughters all in the act.

My heart bleeds, BLEEDS for the Dukies. They can't catch a break. I don't think I've seen them get a fair call at Cameron since the Carter Administration. It's almost as bad as the way umps constantly squeezed Glavine and Maddux, giving them nothing more than 6 inches beyond the black. Poor bastards. Miracle either of them ever won a game, let alone 300. And don't even get me started on the bias Michael Jordan faced....