Anime Ruthless: Thanks for the compliment. Every game, I try to have at least one sidestory to the game, to make it a little more interesting to the reader.
The problem when the Saints is that they aren't on their game more often. When they play to their potential, they can be one of the 10 best teams in the league on a consistent basis, but I think they sometimes care more about what's going on down on Bourbon Street rather than on the football field. Thanks for reading!
Shy and LeighC: Thanks for the support. Shy, I hope you can get your stuff up soon!
Telecoi: Joey proposing to Mai?...it could happen. Thanks for reading!
No idle rants, just some good fanfiction up ahead, boys and girls. Enjoy...
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Chapter 24: Marching in a New Era
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Hello, friends and welcome backto the Sports Shack here on the DCU network, this is Mimi Hines along with my co-host Ken Lucas, and we just had a heck of a finish in the Domino Dome!
That's right Mimi, it was a close game throughout and it got closer with this play right here:
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10:21 to play here in the second half, Arkansas up 44-41, Domino City with a chance to tie. Wheeler dribbles down the right side, and will pass over to Seto Kaiba. Kaiba, working on Smith, passes the ball over to Devlin. He takes the three over Bowser for the tie...YES! We're tied at 44!
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That was Jimmy Garnet on the call for the DCU Sports Network. Domino City went on a 7-0 run to lead by seven with about five minutes to play. The tenth-ranked Razorbacks wouldn't go down that easily, and stormed back with a rally of their own...
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Hogs with the ball, 3:39 left, down by two. Smith sends the ball into the paint to Tyler, he tries to shoot over Kaiba...misses, but the rebound is tipped out to Bowser. Bowser dribbles a little, crossover dribble gets him open...he takes the three...GOOD! Hogs back up 53-51 with about three minutes to go.
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That was Oliver Lawson for WIBL in Little Rock, Arkansas on the play-by-play. The two teams traded baskets after that, and then probably the most crucial play of the game took place...
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Arkansas up by two, trying to strech out this lead. Shaw with it...he'll pass over to Bowser. Bowser blows past Joey Wheeler and takes it to the hoop. Kaiba gets in his way and...THEY CALL A CHARGE! Oh...that's huge! Bowser has to leave the game with his fifth foul, and Coach Lambright can't belive it. The leading scorer for the Hogs has to come out...
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Zachary Bowser left the game as its leading scorer with 23 points, but it was his defense that kept Arkansas in this game. He stole the ball four times in the second half, all of those leading to some easy baskets for the Razorbacks. Domino City was able to take the lead on a circus shot from Duke Devlin with 10.5 seconds left. Coach Bobby Lambright doesn't call time out, and he lets his team play it out.
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They won't call a time out. Domino City up 60-58. Bowser is out of the game. Smith with the inbound pass to Tyler. He glides down the floor quickly...passes over to Coutee...five seconds...he passes over to Beasley...pump fakes...passes over to Smith...gets a good look...NO GOOD!...put back by Beasley no good...THAT'S IT! SAINTS WIN!
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So Domino City wins it 60-58 and there was a huge celebration afterwards. The fans stormed the court had themselves a good time. We're happy to bring in the coach of the Domino City Saints here on The Sports Shack, Nathan Colby now joins us via telephone. Coach, has it really sunk in yet that you beat a Top 10 team?
:laughs: Not really, Mimi. I guess in acouple of hours it will all set in, I guess.
In the first few minutes of the game, Arkansas really took it to your team. How did you get them to respond and make such agame out of it?
I just said 'Hey, there's still a lot of time left, so let's concentrate on chipping into this lead a bit.' This is a young ball team, but they're really mature and know how to handle situations like this.
Coach...this is Ken speaking...how big were the contributions of Bakura, Duke Devlin, and Mako Tsunami tonight?
They were all great tonight. Bakura stepped in and gave Joey a breather every now and then, and played his butt off. Mako stayed out of foul trouble, and was able to keep Beasley from dominating inside. Duke...man, he did it all! He played defense, he helped Seto out with scoring, he got other people involved. I'm proud of these guys.
Coach, there were some people that follow basketball that really were stunned when you took the DCU job. They though you would probably take over the job at Kansas when Coach Hadley retired or head someplace with a bigger, more prominent program.
Yeah...I love the University of Kansas, they were so good to me for so long, but I needed a change in my life and decided to come out here to get into coaching. I'm not really one to love the spotlight, so I figured something like this would enable me to do something I love, coaching, and do it without all the glitz and glamour of some of the bigger schools.
Coach, one of the biggest wins in school history tonight, you should be proud. Have a good night and thanks for joining us.
Thank you guys for having me, I just want to thank the university and the community for comming out and supporting us tonight, and I just hope you all continue to do so.
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Nathan looked over at his clock, and noticed that it was already two in the morning. He tossed his jacket over his chair and flopped on top of the queen sized bed. He gave both his players and Tristan the day off tomorrow, and figured that he deserved at least a little break.
This is a pretty good gig: coach basketball, talk aboutbasketball, teach basketball, then sleep. I want to keep doing it as long as I can...
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Two days later...
Nathan heard a knock at his door as he looked at some game tape of his team's next opponent, the Harvard Crimson. "Come in."
The young man entered, a little nervous as he took the seat across from his coach's desk. His clothes were the team's designated colors of grey and blue, and his hair was his usual spiky mess. "Good morning, coach."
"Good morning. You're doctors are OK with this?"
Yugi nodded. "They gave me a letter clearing me to play. They say I'm physically able to play."
Nathan glared at Yugi. "Are you prepared mentally?" His dark-green eyes demanded an answer of the young player.
"I'm sober. I have some issues, yes, but I'm ready to concentrate on basketball now...if you let me."
Yugi was a little worried. His coach didn't respond for what seemed like an eternity. Then he spoke, and Yugi knew he was home again.
"Welcome back. I'll see you at practice."
Yugi smiled, and extended his hand. "Thank you, sir."
Nathan took it with his firm grip, and smiled back. He was happy to have Yugi back.
YUGI'S BACK! And, for the first time in five years, Domino City has more wins than it does losses! Can this team stand prosperity, and is Yugi truly ready to play basketball again? Find out next time.
A little pressed for time again, so a tad shorter than usual. My bad. Hope you enjoyed it, and leave a review on the way out, eh? Thanks for stopping by.
BDB...out