More Evidence for The Atlantic 10 and A Non Sequitur

I watched Temple play Duke at Cameron tonight, and I think the Owls' performance strengthens my argument for the Atlantic 10 deserving more than 2 teams in the NCAA Tournament.  Duke does not lose to non-conference opponents in Cameron Indoor Stadium.  I firmly believe they could beat any team in the country this year by double digits at Cameron.  Temple lost by 17 tonight, but they aren't used to the hell that is Duke at home.  The Blue Devils have slapped around all their opponents at Cameron this year.  Temple could have won that game if not for a few turnovers.

The last time Duke lost to a non-conference opponent at Cameron was January 26, 2000 against St. John's.  I was at the game, and let's just say I was treated better at Veterans Stadium when I wore my Phil Simms jersey in 1983.  If I had been older than 14 (and more than about 105 pounds) at the Giants - Eagles game that year, I'm sure I would have been tarred and feathered.  However, being chastised by erudites on the way out of  Cameron was not pleasant.  I'm just happy the Duke fans were not able to determine that I was an NC State alum.  I'm sure I would have heard things like, "Do you realize Duke's endowment is 12 times the size of NC State's?"  Of course, I would have fed into their ridicule by responding something like, "No way, jerks, I was on practice squad for 2 weeks and I've been in the locker room with the State guys."


Now for an observation -

In sitting at home tonight switching between Temple v. Duke, DePaul v. St. John's, and The Bucks at Knicks (Melo's 1st game), I realize the true value of High Definition (HD) channels.  I have Verizon Fios, which does not have any of the MSG Channels in HD (not surprisingly, since MSG is owned by the "jackaloons" at Cablevision).  Since St. John's and the Knicks were on MSG channels in standard definition (SD) and the Duke Game was on ESPN2 HD, I could easily compare the quality of SD versus HD.  I have had HD channels for a couple of years, but had no reason to put either the Knicks or St. John's on until this week.  It's bad enough that I'm an NC State alumnus...I saw no reason to completely ruin my basketball season over the past few years by watching dismal NC State teams in addition to the Red Storm and Knicks.

When I attempt to watch hoops in SD, I feel like one of the "In-Valids" from the movie Gattica...myopic.  Now I know how my mother feels, with her "Coke-Bottle" glasses.  Watching a game in HD is like being a hawk...able to distinguish all sorts of minute details from far away.  I can see "Plumlee" on the back of one of the Blue Devils' jersey from the deep camera in HD.  DePaul v. St. John's might as well be Duke at NC State, because I can only distinguish the blue and white uniforms from the white and red jerseys.  Seriously, it's like playing Atari 2600 games today...the graphics appear primitive.