Final Four Memories

This morning, my friend and former Albuquerque Journal colleague Chris Tomasson direct messaged me with a reminder that today is the 37th anniversary of North Carolina State’s unforgettable victory over Houston at the Pit. 

Why not, wrote Chris, now the Minnesota Vikings beat writer for the St. Paul Pioneer Press, tweet out some memories?

Great idea. But why not blog some memories instead?

That Final Four week was a week like no other in my memory for the Journal sports staff. Dennis Latta, our sports editor, made sure everyone was involved. 

I was a bit disappointed when Dennis did not schedule me to cover that Saturday’s semifinals between Houston-Louisville and NC State-Georgia. But he did assign me to do a sidebar on Sunday’s Coaches All-American all-star game. My subject was Kentucky guard Dirk Minniefield, who happened to be a cousin of former Lobo Darryl Minniefield. 

During the week, I’d done a story about an appearance by then-UNM coach Gary Colson at an NCAA Coaches Convention clinic. 

Colson’s message, in essence: coaches are hired to be fired (he was,    five years later), but “the good outweighs the bad.”

I also rang up Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, in town for the coaches’ convention, whose team had been one of two to have beaten Houston that season. 

Syracuse, Boeheim told me, had been lucky to have caught the Cougars early in the season. He wouldn’t have liked his chances on Monday night.

He didn’t like NC State’s chances either, but said — and for some reason I didn’t get this quote in the story — “If anyone can do it (control tempo against Houston), Jimmy (Valvano) can.”

Then came Monday night. After having gone into our archives, I’m proud to say the Journal did justice to that historic game.

Latta, still the fastest writer I’ve ever worked with, wrote a lead for the front page of the paper, a column —  “(Valvano) might become the first Italian governor of North Carolina,” he opined — and a sidebar on the officials. 

Bart Ripp, who wrote the game story for sports, got national praise for his lead: “The space shuttle from Houston crashed Monday night in Albuquerque.”

Frank Maestas, Ed Johnson and Phill Casaus wrote stories as well; we were all over this game. My contribution was a Houston locker-room story, which I still consider among the best I’ve ever written. Having re-read it today I still think so, although I cringed to discover a single typo.

Our sports copy desk did yeoman’s work that night. I don’t recall everyone who was on the desk but know that Ken “Shyster” Smith, so nicknamed because he had some sort of law degree, was one. 

Fond memories all. Thanks, Chris, for the idea.