If you're reading this and haven't read Kai's latest blog entry, you need to go check that out. It not only explains why the updates trickled in yesterday, but also gives an insightful look into the life of a 1986 Chevy Celebrity driver and those who run with him. Enthralling reading, for sure.

Time I could've spent writing up some commentary on Monday's epics I ended up spending driving to and from Menifee, to and from Morrilton, and in Allan Love's palatial body shop. Oh, and I also had a bunch of junk for school to get taken care of. You'd think here in my 12th semester at the Center of Learning, I'd have this down to an art form. But, don't overestimate me. Here it is a day before the start of the semester and I really have no idea what my schedule is going to look like. But, that's a story for a whole nother day.

Anyway, looking back on the day that was, I'm not sure if the highlight was pushing a car uphill in the driving rain, finding a wet hole in the process and having my left sock soaked while we waited around for an hour and a half, locking the car up and trudging in the rain onto an interstate exit ramp to await a ride, the few hours we thought Kai's car had been stolen, or the experience of hanging with Allan Love and associates there in Morrilton. The entire day was a giant cornucopia of exciting goodness.

One good thing about the down time in the greater Menifee outlying, suburban areas was that being stuck in a dead car for an extended period of time is quite conducive to churning out a game story and editing photos. I had all that done before arriving at my apartment – which is not at all conducive to getting work done at all. I get home and my roommate is shooting his bow, in the house. He's posted up in the living room, the fake deer is in the kitchen, and it's got four arrows lodged near its fake heart. Good times. (Also, if you are my landlord and you're reading this, I am totally making that up for purposes of comedy and scene-setting.)

But anyway, there were two excellent games at Tech that need some reflection. The Golden Suns were somehow able to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, perfectly executing the worst inbounds play in recorded history. All you have to do is inbound the ball and you win, essentially. You've got short little Renita Dobbins out there covering your taller player ... and you still manage to get it right to the fastest player on the court. Congratulations.

I never, ever count the Sugar Bears out in a big game (and by big, I mean a conference game, a tournament game or things of the like. In November and December, all bets are off). The last few years, if they got down or if the game was tight down the stretch, I was usually counting on UCA to pull it out based on the philosophy that the Sugar Bears had Carone Harris, the other team didn't. Plain and simple. That obviously can't be the case this year, but I can't imagine there are many Division II teams who wouldn't trade for Dobbins and Caronica Randle to have in at the last minute of a game. They've played in big games, they typically play smart, and they're just hard to stop. Even if it's some intramural 3-on-3 scrub squad out there with those two, I'm not conceding anything.

(To borrow from Jim Jones here ...) I say that to say this: Monday night I thought Tech had the upset in hand. There was a time when Tech-UCA was a fierce rivalry in women's hoops, back when Joe Foley (now at UALR) and Ron Marvel (now golfing) stalked the sidelines. Tech actually won some of those games. But, that hasn't been the case lately. Monday night had the makings of one of those old-school games in Tucker Coliseum, one where Tech actually won. In my head, I felt myself slipping into Rick Schaeffer mode (for those of you who don't know, Schaeffer is the former University of Arkansas Sports Information Director who co-hosts the popular talk-radio show Drive Time Sports and does a lot of Razorback games on both radio and TV. He can take a 98-37 Razorback deficit with 19 seconds to play, and figure out a way for the Hogs to win). Even in doing so, it just seemed like the momentum was Tech's, they had the hottest player on the court that night (I'm talking ability here, people – not looks) in Christy Mahan, and the Sugar Bears just couldn't get a thing going. But even with all that, I never got the true feeling that "this one's over". The closest I remember was when Tech went up 56-46 and I thought "You've got to be kidding me, right? This isn't actually happening. Wait, it is. Tech wants one last win at home. Boy, this isn't good for the Sugar Bears. If they're going to do something, it needs to be now."

When 3LW made her second floater in a row a couple minutes later to cut the Tech lead to four, that was pretty much the turning point in my mind. Right there, I figured the Sugar Bears had the win sewn up. Tech's momentum had been sapped, and it looked like UCA was more relaxed and decided to finally wake up, whereas Tech seemed to be wondering what was going on and why they couldn't keep up their torrid pace from earlier.

It took a little longer and a little wackier finish than I expected, but they managed to get the dubya somehow.

And after a game like that, the men have to come out wondering what they're going to do for an encore. Well, a double-OT thriller is probably a good choice. Heading into the game, I thought Tech's inside combo of Rone Smith and Ike Ohanson might be enough for them to pull out a close one at home. Then, prior to the game when I saw Darryl Jones in streetclothes, things looked even more bleak from my perspective. But upon talking to a buddy who works for the Russellville Courier and hearing of just how un-good Tech really is, I didn't really know what to expect. I knew to expect a solid performance from Stephin Booth and for LeMar Phillips to go nuts in one way or another. I also had a hunch Freddie C would step his game up a notch in DJ's absence, as he'd been playing pretty well of late anyway.

Smith and Ohanson got theirs, but the difference in the game was the Bears' ability to hold Denarryl Rice, the Wonder Boys' leading scorer, to seven points below his average. Tech had the advantage on the inside, but UCA had the better overall perimeter play.

I look at this year's Bears team and I don't see a Lamar Grimes – that one guy who you know you can absolutely entrust the ball to down the stretch every possession and always have a chance to win. But as the season progresses, I see a bunch of guys who you feel pretty good about ... and that may be just as good as having the one supreme go-to guy. Phillips is emerging as a real threat and leader, Booth probably doesn't get enough credit and is doing a fine job of filling Lee Reliford's shoes, Joey Cortez gives you that score/dish double threat and knows how to finish a game, and Fred will hit shots for you. And of course, there's DJ.

Monday was a good example of that, as each guy had his turn of taking the game into his hands for a brief period. Everybody played a key role, but nobody that one dominant role. Heck, even Aubrey Bruner found time to come in and drop 10 points between stints of jabbering from the bench.

The Bears and Sugar Bears have combined for six GSC games, and five have been real close. The one exception was the Sugar Bears' win at Christian Brothers. So with five being so close, what does it tell us? Do the UCA teams know how to win? Are they money in the clutch? Does that mean they're pretty darn good? Or are they letting teams hang around they shouldn't be? Are they playing to the level of their competition? Is the league just that tough and balanced?

I'm not real sure how to interpret it all just yet, but tomorrow night when Henderson State rolls to town should probably give us some more insight. Rand against his old school, the Sugar Bears against their nemesis. Should be fun, even if doesn't match Tech.