holy shit, folks, i really don't know what to say...

Two great games tonight -- close and competitive. Four great teams. A whole boatload of outstanding players featured.

As a fan of the game, I'm thrilled with what today brought us. As a fan of Minnesota, I'm just exhausted and incoherent. I didn't believe it was possible, and I'm still not sure it really happened.

McCarville continued her dominance, even with foul trouble. And Whalen is a phenomenon. The truth is, she really made a lot of stupid plays tonight. But it just doesn't make any difference to her. She never got rattled. She simply refused to lose. Even when she was screwing up, I didn't care. I wouldn't ask her to change a single thing about her game.

Even amidst our elation (and literally, both Sara and I were almost puking from nerves), it was incredibly sad to see Alana leave the court. She's one of the best ever, and it seems somehow unfair that she leaves college without a ring. Thank god for the WNBA, which allows her to keep playing and keep fighting for a championship... and allows us to keep watching her.

And also sad to see Powell leave the court. She had another off-the-charts night, but Tennessee is just too good.

Back in our New Haven days, watching the Huskies on CPTV twice a week, we always dreamed that maybe one day Minnesota would have a good program. We always wondered what it would be like for the Gophs to square off against UConn. I still can't believe it's really about to happen...