Game Journal For College Basketball: USC vs Cal

" Live from the game."

7:20: Game begins with the national anthem, and a violinist is performing it by himself. Only at Berkeley, with its pseudo intellect, would such an out of place national anthem occur.

7:27: Warm-ups begin. Me and my friend cheer for Thomas Fang solely based on the fact that he’s Asian. Cal then takes it in for a huddle with Randle in the middle. I’m not really sure why. USC has not huddle and they just stand around aimlessly. Lame.

7:35: OJ Mayo is introduced. Beast!

7:37: Tip off, USC wins it but pass to Mayo is picked off immediately.

7:40: USC’s Davon Jefferson scrubs. Hardwood meet face. Cal gets the turnover and Hardin dunks it. First points of the game go to Cal.

7:50: Patrick Christopher lays a dish to Hardin. He makes it and gets the foul. And one. Tim Floyd looks dismayed. Ben Braun looks…. Well like Ben Braun.

7:51: Mayo is on the line and makes it. Basically, he’s the only USC player I care for.

7:55: A bunch of USC fans behind us begin cheering for USC. Unfortunately, the only words they know is “Yeah” ala Little John. Someone informs them it’s not 2004 anymore.

8:00: David Liss is in early for Cal. Who? Yeah, exactly. Shit. I begin to cry.

8:03: Cal is up by 6. I make sure I’m not dreaming or on acid.

8:07: Randle shoots a 3, and now Cal is up by 11. Time out by USC. Tim Floyd gives a passionate for Tim Floyd kind of speech. This means a lot of calm, subdued disappointment. Ben Braun gives a non passionate talk to his guys. This entails a lot of yelling and whiny faces.

8:15: Worst officiating ever. A foul call is made when there clearly wasn’t one. Damn.

8:27: USC is rallying a comeback. OJ Mayo hits the last 2 pts of the half. Score is Cal 38, USC 32.

8:28: Officials are booed heavily off the court. I’m hoping someone becomes a hero and runs on the court to punch one of them in the face. It doesn’t happen.

8:30: Half time activity: Towel parachuting. They attached towels to little parachutes and send them down from the catwalk. Makes me wish it was beer instead, like they did on the Simpsons when Homer tried to stay sober for a month.

8:40: Game starts again. 4 pts for USC out of the gate. Nuts.

8:45: Cal responds with a 7-0 run. My friend argues they are playing Warrior style basketball. I beg to differ.

8:55: Cal’s Harper Kamp misses and open 1 fter. He was literally under the basket. Nice shot.

9:01: Randle, Wilkes, and Anderson all nail threes consecutively. Impressive, considering two of them are big men.

9:13: Cal 69, USC 65. Insert immature 69 joke here.

9:17: Mop man lingers on the court while Cal and USC are still playing. Get off the court mop man!

9:22: Kids in front of us taunt Mayo, asking if he wants some Mayo with that sandwich. Cute. Not especially funny or making sense, but cute.

9:25: Hardin finishes it up with a dunk. Game Over. Cal wins.

THE END