They Got Lucci'ed

The Susan Lucci of Women's Basketball

The Duke Blue Devils just went down to Rutgers in the round of sixteen. It was a tight low scoring game that came down to a foul and two missed baskets by senior Duke guard Lindsey Harding. And then Steph said it, Gail Goestenkors is like the Susan Lucci of women's basketball. We aren't die hard Duke fans but we feel a connection to them because we love good women's basketball and Duke is one of the best teams, was in fact the overall number one seed going into this tournament. And coach G. is one of those coaches you like to root for.

We love it when the unexpected happens in the tournament. We cheered for Marist upsetting Ohio State and Middle Tennessee. Arizona State is toughing out games in which they dig huge holes for themselves in their first visit to the tournament. Florida State knocks off two seed Stanford in their first tournament appearance, and now Rutgers toughing it out against Duke in an awe inspiring defensive effort. Women's basketball is exciting stuff. And then there's Connecticut and Tennessee...Geno Auriemma and Pat Summit. I've always liked Auriemma. Go to the Huskies homepage and you see his basketball players, it's about his players. You mention the Lady Volunteers and the first name that comes up is Coach Summit. The days of her style of bullying and berating are on the way out. With multiple back to back championships for both UConn and Tennessee, we like to root for someone new to step up to the plate, like our beloved Boilermakers in 1999, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and this year, based on the strength of the brackets, we thought for sure it would be Duke in 2007.

Over the years Duke has gotten close to the all coveted national championship win. Getting knocked out in the round of sixteen is undoubtedly a disappointment for the Blue Devils and coach G. But we want to say, Hey! We'll be looking for you next year. We like you. We really, really do.

(GO PURDUE!)

The Susan Lucci of Crossword Puzzle Superstardom

50 million people do it every week, so claims the movie Word Play. Don't scoff, this movie introduces us to the players in the world of crossword puzzles from the folks who make them to the folks who play them, from average Joes to whiz kids, comedians, musicians and even a president or two. At the heart of the movie, the American Crossword Puzzle Tournament developed by Puzzle Master Will Shortz. In addition to taking us behind the scenes of puzzle editor Shortz and the puzzle makers, the movie follows contestants before their trip to the tournament. We are introduced to the whiz kid, Tyler, from Rensselaer Polytechnic who likes his chances against his competition, to Trip, a professional puzzle maker with an impressive resume of wins, Al, a project manager for HP and a loving dad, as well as former champs Ellen, the professed Susan Lucci of the tournament, and piano player Jon. It's geeky, brainy, funny, and completely absorbing. By the end I was rooting for the young gun Tyler, and bridesmaid but never the bride, Al. The movie is a complete blast. I enjoy word games and puzzles, though I am more likely to do cryptoquips or play Scrabble, and this movie made me want to pick up the next New York Times for the crossword puzzle. After all I, like so many Americans, have a brain filled with random and often times useless information. Next in my Netflix queue: Word Wars.