[flamesbball84]

If a grown man gives eskimo kisses to another grown man, it needs to be addressed. And tweeting about when your pizza will arrive is just as d-----bag, assuming that people care about your pizza's arrival.

You're trying too hard to be classy

[SuperJon]

Pot meet kettle. Duke fans weren't making fun of that a few years ago. They were saying how great it is to see that type of relationship between player and coach.

I hate to see any place end his career on an injury. Also, to see the relationship that coaches have with players like that is one of the best scenes in college athletics.

[ToTheLeft]

If a grown man gives eskimo kisses to another grown man, it needs to be addressed. And tweeting about when your pizza will arrive is just as d-----bag, assuming that people care about your pizza's arrival.

You're trying too hard to be classy

I had planned on deleting it, but you quoted it. But when he's basically calling me out (not even a Duke fan), I felt the need to do the same.

[SuperJon]

If a grown man gives eskimo kisses to another grown man, it needs to be addressed. And tweeting about when your pizza will arrive is just as d-----bag, assuming that people care about your pizza's arrival.

You're trying too hard to be classy

I had planned on deleting it, but you quoted it. But when he's basically calling me out (not even a Duke fan), I felt the need to do the same.

No, I wasn't talking about you. Yours wasn't even that bad. It was just talking about the awkwardness of it (which it was). I know you're not a Duke fan. I was talking about the multiple (read: three or more) Duke fans that said something.

[flamesbball84]

[olldflame]

I wouldn't be so calloused as to make fun of it, but I did think it went on too long. Hug the kid, make sure he knows you are there, say something encouraging and then get out of there and let your trainer do his job.

[ToTheLeft]

No eskimo kisses there. No thumbs stroking the cheek. No laying on top of each other.

Huggy crossed the line. It was awkward and unnecessary.

[SuperJon]

I'm a Carolina fan. I hate Duke. I still think moments like the Wojo or the Redick moment are great. There are very few relationships as strong as the one of a coach and his players.

[ToTheLeft]

Also, best teams won tonight. Will be one heck of a championship game.

But the NCAA cheated Duke into the final. And cheated Butler in to give them an easier win.

Right guys?

[SuperJon]

I originally thought that WVU should've been the 2-seed in Duke's bracket. I still think that. Obviously, Duke showed tonight that they likely would've beaten WVU in the Elite 8 anyway.

I still think Duke got the easiest path of the #1 seeds to the Final Four.

All that being said, Duke has taken care of business and more than proven they deserve to be there. They're going to win the national championship this year. I said it after the Elite Eight. They're playing great basketball right now.

In 1993, Carolina won a championship the year after Duke did to "cancel" out Duke's.

In 2010, Duke will win a championship the year after Carolina to "cancel" out Carolina's.

In 1994, Duke and Carolina went on a decade long battle that had some of the best moments in the history of the rivalry.

I can only hope the next ten years has that type of quality in it.

[JK37]

If a grown man gives eskimo kisses to another grown man, it needs to be addressed. And tweeting about when your pizza will arrive is just as d-----bag, assuming that people care about your pizza's arrival.

What's to be said about the person who voluntarily subscribes to such content? I digress.

For someone who aspires to someday be a coach, you have a long way to go before losing your fan-ness and understanding the most important characteristic to long-term members of our profession: LOVE your players. Huggins obviously does. A credible, aspiring coach would respect that special relationship between player & coach.

[pbow]

No eskimo kisses there. No thumbs stroking the cheek. No laying on top of each other.

Huggy crossed the line. It was awkward and unnecessary.

You are the definition of an A-hole. How dare a player and coach get close after the player has worked his butt off for 4 years and suffered an injury in a Final Four game. I don't know you but I would bet good money that you are overweight and you have never competed in any meaningful athletic event in your entire life. You clearly just don't get it.

On a lighter note....Duke played amazing, and WVU's defense just straight up sucked tonight. Great season, bad note to go out on.

[ToTheLeft]

No eskimo kisses there. No thumbs stroking the cheek. No laying on top of each other.

Huggy crossed the line. It was awkward and unnecessary.

You are the definition of an A-hole. How dare a player and coach get close after the player has worked his butt off for 4 years and suffered an injury in a Final Four game. I don't know you but I would bet good money that you are overweight and you have never competed in any meaningful athletic event in your entire life. You clearly just don't get it.

On a lighter note....Duke played amazing, and WVU's defense just straight up sucked tonight. Great season, bad note to go out on.

Hmmm, and you aren't biased at all.

Way to make yourself look like just as much of an "a-hole".

And what does it matter what I'm like? Huggins was over the line, that was ridiculous. It's a knee injury not a bullet wound. Help him up and get him treated so he feels better. Nose rubs don't do anything but embarrass you publicly. And I'm gonna bet you made fun of Tebow, or someone else in the past, who has expressed emotion at a game. It's what sports fans do. Now step away from the burning couches and see it for what it is.

"How dare I"... hah.

[pbow]

No eskimo kisses there. No thumbs stroking the cheek. No laying on top of each other.

Huggy crossed the line. It was awkward and unnecessary.

You are the definition of an A-hole. How dare a player and coach get close after the player has worked his butt off for 4 years and suffered an injury in a Final Four game. I don't know you but I would bet good money that you are overweight and you have never competed in any meaningful athletic event in your entire life. You clearly just don't get it.

On a lighter note....Duke played amazing, and WVU's defense just straight up sucked tonight. Great season, bad note to go out on.

Hmmm, and you aren't biased at all.

Way to make yourself look like just as much of an "a-hole".

And what does it matter what I'm like? Huggins was over the line, that was ridiculous. It's a knee injury not a bullet wound. Help him up and get him treated so he feels better. Nose rubs don't do anything but embarrass you publicly. And I'm gonna bet you made fun of Tebow, or someone else in the past, who has expressed emotion at a game. It's what sports fans do. Now step away from the burning couches and see it for what it is.

"How dare I"... hah.

So you're telling me I was right about you.

Embarrass publicly? If that was your son would you want Huggins to do what he did or just stand over top of him? Maybe you would choose the latter, but I'm pretty sure any parent would want there son or daughter to play basketball for a coach that cares that much.

[olldflame]

After seeing the replays on ESPN ad nauseum and thinking about it, I believe the way Huggins handled the injury to Butler may have been good television, but it was not good coaching. If it had been something like a head or neck injury where the young man's future health, or even his life might be at risk, I might see it differently, but this was a knee. While Duke had pretty much taken control, the game was not over, and by spending so much time focusing on the injured player, he contributed to drawing the focus of the rest of the team away from the task at hand, which was to try to win the game. If the game had been closer, would he have handled it the same way? A good coach shows his players he cares about them year round when nobody is watching, and I'm sure Huggins does just that. They are going to understand if during a NCAA semifinal game, you let the professionals handle the injuries and coach your team.

BTW, the good news this morning is that it is apparently a sprain. Hopefully it won't affect his future pro career.

[flamesbball84]

No eskimo kisses there. No thumbs stroking the cheek. No laying on top of each other.

Huggy crossed the line. It was awkward and unnecessary.

You are the definition of an A-hole. How dare a player and coach get close after the player has worked his butt off for 4 years and suffered an injury in a Final Four game. I don't know you but I would bet good money that you are overweight and you have never competed in any meaningful athletic event in your entire life. You clearly just don't get it.

On a lighter note....Duke played amazing, and WVU's defense just straight up sucked tonight. Great season, bad note to go out on.

Hmmm, and you aren't biased at all.

Way to make yourself look like just as much of an "a-hole".

And what does it matter what I'm like? Huggins was over the line, that was ridiculous. It's a knee injury not a bullet wound. Help him up and get him treated so he feels better. Nose rubs don't do anything but embarrass you publicly. And I'm gonna bet you made fun of Tebow, or someone else in the past, who has expressed emotion at a game. It's what sports fans do. Now step away from the burning couches and see it for what it is.

"How dare I"... hah.

Excellent analysis TTL, I'm sure Bob Huggins will be calling you up within the next few days to hire you as his PR man so he will be sure he doesn't embarrass himself publicly. Based on how fat he is and what he wears to all the games, I'm pretty sure he could give two craps less about it.

[Sly Fox]

Easy guys. Let's not bring personal attacks into the discussion.

[Cider Jim]

Huggins looked plenty human Saturday night, as he provided one of the most touching moments in this, or any other, NCAA Tournament. When he kneeled over to give solace to fallen star Da'Sean Butler in the second half of Duke's 78-57 victory over West Virginia in the national semifinals, with the senior guard laying on his back and screaming in pain and weeping with regret, Huggins looked a lot more like a man than a coach.

He looked a lot like someone who cared a lot less about winning than he did about his player.

http://www.nola.com/ncaa/index.ssf/2010 ... uggin.html

And Butler's comments about Huggins' compassion:

A red-eyed Butler fought back tears when he spoke about Huggins coming to his aid and comforting him.

“That’s something we would expect him to do,” he said. “Maybe everybody else out there wouldn’t, but we’re a family and we know how much he cares about us and how much we care for him. We all love each other.”

http://thequad.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/0 ... ts-butler/

"He was trying to calm me down," Butler said after the Mountaineers lost to Duke in the national semifinals Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium.

"I was crying and saying I was sorry, and he was telling me I had nothing to be sorry about and that he loved me."

Butler said, after being carted off the arena floor, that the doctors told him the initial diagnosis was just a sprained knee.

"He just felt that he let everyone down," Huggins said. "He was crying and kept saying he was sorry."

http://community.foxsports.com/goodmano ... _wvus_loss

[pbow]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... ?eref=sihp
Nice articles Cider...I knew a fellow West Virginian would understand, even if you are a Marshall fan haha. Did you happen to see the story about how Marshall took out a half-page ad in the Charleston Gazette wishing the Mountaineers good luck? It was really cool, class act by Marshall.

[Cider Jim]

Wondering is Marshall's Doc Holiday paid for the ad...

Seriously,though, the Huggins incident with Butler also reminded me of a similar touching scene in the We Are Marshall movie when the head coach hugs and cries with his star injured player.

[ToTheLeft]

Easy guys. Let's not bring personal attacks into the discussion.

It's okay, Sly. I'm just a fat idiot with no future. Don't worry, these people clearly know me better than I do, and know basketball and life much, much better than I do.

He sprained his knee. Pat him on the butt, tell him you love him and you're sorry he has to end his career that way, maybe even a hug. Don't act like he's just been shot and is on his way out. Attack me all you want, for whatever you want, I think it was awkward, over the line, and something worth making fun of. The kid sprained his knee, EVERYONE thought his career was in doubt because of how Butler and Huggy treated it, because they made it look like a scene from Brian's Song, rather than a Final Four game when a kid sprains his knee.

(Just saw on the scrawl on ESPN that he did tear his ACL... regardless, same point applies.)

[ATrain]

You're free to do what you want Lefty, but understand there are consequences, including you being ridiculed by those who understand the bonds between players and coaches.

[olldflame]

ESPN had been saying all morning it was a sprain, but the MRI results this afternood revealed an ACL tear. Hate to see that, but it's certainly not the career threatening injury it used to be.

[Th3rd]

If a grown man gives eskimo kisses to another grown man, it needs to be addressed. And tweeting about when your pizza will arrive is just as d-----bag, assuming that people care about your pizza's arrival.

just saying Lefty, not taking sides, but it looks like you were the first person to make things personal

[JK37]

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/w ... index.html#

This is why what Huggina did was good. To me, its because he was reacting honestly in the moment. I'd be opposed if he naturally felt this way about a player in agony (I know there'd be no way of knowing), and purposely altered his actions for fear of what others might think, or what the game circumstances might dictate.