Tourney time in Kentucky – part 9

And then there was one – and that one will bring the trophy back to Kentucky for a second time in two years.

Ricky P’s Louisville Cardinals withstood a couple of scares in the final two games of the Final Four – falling behind first on Saturday night to Wichita State before launching a winning comeback effort to land in Monday night’s championship contest against Michigan.

Then on Monday night, it happens again when the Cards looked as if they were all out of tricks to pull out of their red and black hat as Michigan produced an unlikely near-hero in reserve guard Spike Albrecht.

Averaging 1.8 points per game up to Monday night’s contest, Albrecht was unconscious from three point land – pumping in 17 of the Wolverines’s first 33 points.

In the end, however, it was the Cards who stepped onto the podium and wrapped their hands around that big NCAA trophy, laying claim to the “Champions” for the next 12 months.

Despite the UK situation this year, it was a nice season and a fun NCAA journey to follow for the past several weeks.

Waiting to watch Tuesday night’s Women’s Championship game as I write this week’s column – knowing that sometime around midnight on Tuesday, roundball will all come to an end – at least until sometime this November when we start it up all over again, both on the high school as well as on the college level.

Short column yes, but I need a breather. I’ve about had all of the barn-burners and chicken wings I can stand for a week or two.