Northern California is enduring a sports depression.
The Giants and A's have begun a West Coast version of theCubs/Red Sox curse.
The 49ers and Raiders look like bad sequels to last year'steams. Remember "Dumb and Dumberer"?
The NBA has yet to arrive, and while Hornet football lookedpromising, they've disappeared faster then Randy Moss on ablocking assignment.
With attention toward all other sports vanishing, the SacramentoState men's basketball team had the chance to capture it.
But they missed a wide-open dunk.
While big name basketball schools were throwing Midnight Madnessbasketball parties this weekend to inaugurate the start ofbasketball season, Hornet gym remained empty.
Fearing that it was a bad idea to send out their banged up squadin front of the pressures of a dunk-craving crowd, the basketballprogram decided to move the event to a Midday Madness on Nov.1.
Excuse me?
Midnight Madness is for the fans. It is a way to market theprogram and gives fans a reason to come sit in a shack of a gym andwatch their school play.
For some, Midnight Madness means more entertainment than aregular season game. It's a dunk contest, it's ascrimmage, it's a chance to get the campus talking aboutbasketball.
It could have been the night where Jameel Pugh flew, along withplenty of gossip. "Did you see Jameel Pugh's 360degree, windmill dunk?"
Instead it is Midday Madness - a hungover day after Halloweenwithout a dunk contest. There will be the usual set of fans - theones that showed up last season.
It is understandable not to want some of your tops players toget injured. But Midnight Madness is about college kids coming outto watch their favorite stars give them a show.
Something needed to be put together for that night &- maybeinvite some members of the student population to take part in thedunk contest or hold a students vs. team game.
But now you can forget about bringing in new fans andstudents.
...Every series in this year's baseball playoffs has beenphenomenal... until the Yankees and Marlins became our finalmatchup.
Fans are flipping coins to decide which team they'd ratherhave lose. It's like shopping at a music store that only hastwo CDs left: The Baha Men's Greatest Hits and Peter GammonsSings the Blues.
...I still think it would have been awesome to see SteveBartman, the Cubs fan who got in the way of the Game 6 foul ball,rip off his shirt Hulk Hogan style and reveal a Marlins T-shirt.Then have little Darrin Baker hit him upside the head with a steelchair.
Will you be hangin' out at Midday Madness or strollingaround Chico trying to find your car keys the day afterHalloween?
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