Mark’s Musings – April 3, 2013
Mark Fortune
Congratulations to the Ashland Lady Eagles on winning the Division II national basketball title! The hard work and effort paid off with a win over Dowling (New York). Despite being double teamed throughout the game, local favorite Kari Daugherty scored 26 points, had 12 rebounds and four assists in the title game. The Lady Eagles brought the first ever national team title home to Ashland with the win. Way to go Kari and the Ashland Lady Eagles! Kari was also named the most outstanding player of this year’s Elite Eight. Kari has racked up a most impressive resume throughout her collegiate career and the national title capped a career – at least so far – that started on County Road 12.
Now, in another not so bright spot, shocked – of course – is the headline across Ohio as the Buckeyes looked lethargic in the first half – and part of the second – in their game against Wichita State. Were the Buckeyes looking past the Shockers? I doubt it. I think Coach Thad Matta has been down that road before and certainly knows how to prepare a team’s mindset for that circumstance. But it certainly did not look like the Buckeyes that won the Big 10 tournament and made game winning three pointers to win the previous two games. Perhaps that was the problem. Tired? Perhaps. My opinion? The one and done style of the NCAA tournament does not lend itself to a team that has fits and starts versus a team that has nothing to lose and maybe has not had the national spotlight on them (Wichita State) during the season. We will find out more about the Shockers this weekend. My prediction – Louisville will cut down the nets on Monday night. They are riding the emotion of a great season and now a favorite son – from Atlanta no less – is out with a broken leg. The stars have aligned for pin-stripe suit wearing Coach Rick Pitino and his boys.
It was great to see our elected officials – or a representative from their office – attend the fourth annual legislative luncheon sponsored by the Coshocton Port Authority last Thursday. While we all seem to want the same thing, more jobs and less taxes – the road to get there is different. You can hear it from the officials themselves as they make it clear that they think their side is on the right path. Typically, there is more than one way to get from here to there – if you don’t think so, just ask the ladies at our kindly AAA office. They will happily route you a couple of different options for our trip. Maybe that’s what we need in Washington D.C.; a great big TripTik to a balanced budget with the end destination providing more jobs and lower taxes.
It looks like the weather is on a slight warming trend later this week – finally. I’m ready, you’re ready, and everyone seems ready for spring besides the date on the calendar.
Category: Mark's Musings
