Wrong place, wrong time

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- \nAll I have to say is thank goodness for ESPN's BottomLine and the invention of cell phones.\nWithout them, I would have jumped the next plane to Indiana from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. \nWho really needs to see Michael Jordan in his home opener with the Washington Wizards when the Hoosier football team was repeating its Wisconsin performance?\nWith them, my poor mom has a bruise the size of Idaho on her arm, because I was missing Antwaan and his crew plow over the Wildcats, and she had the unfortunate experience of sitting next to my unoccupied hand.\nIn my other hand, I had my cell phone glued to my ear talking to a reporter in the press box, who was filling in for me. He was giving me play-by-play, which ended after I called for the fourth time when the score was 21-0 in the first quarter. I think the reporter turned his cell phone off.\nAny other given Saturday, I would have been sitting in the press box at Memorial Stadium, keeping track of all the action. But this weekend I was in D.C., courtesy of my sister, who is the assistant director of customer service for the Wizards, because she thought I would appreciate seeing Jordan instead.\nNow let's get one thing clear. I have seen Jordan play numerous times before, both when he was No. 23 and 45. Except it was usually in the Palace of Auburn Hills in Michigan, and I was wearing a Detroit Pistons jersey.\nAnd there was Jordan, obliterating a young girl's favorite team over and over again. Needless to say, Jordan is not my idol. In fact, I was more excited to watch the Washington Wizards' mascot, "G-Man," dunk with the courtesy of a trampoline.\nI was more excited to see the flash of the little black score list on the bottom of the television screen.\nEvery time I saw the N.C. State-Duke score come up, I knew what score was coming next. And each time it flashed, the other spectators in the bar would point and laugh, and believe it was a mistake. But, I knew differently.\nI was at the Wisconsin game. I saw what the IU offense could do if all parts of the team were working together. I knew that the score was not a mistake if the defense was making the same types of stops they did against Ohio State during that goal line stand.\nSo there my mom and I were, sitting at the bar, waiting for 6:30 p.m. to roll around and the basketball game to start. I had my phone in hand, cursing the reporter for turning off his phone, and cursing ABC and ESPN for thinking that Illinois-Purdue was a more important game than the one in Bloomington.\nI mean, who really cares if they are two ranked teams? IU-Northwestern is a classic rivalry and worthy of air time. Ughhhh ... well maybe not.\nAnyway, my phone finally rang as the halftime score flashed and IU was up 42-0. I forgave the reporter for cutting me off, when he gave me a play-by-play of the first half, what the band was playing and which uniforms looked best from the press box. \nOkay, so he wasn't that in-depth, but he did a pretty good job of describing the game.\nHe told me he would call me at the end of the game, which he did. But by that time, I was sitting in the MCI Center with Cal Ripken Jr. and Alex Rodriguez three rows in front of me, and Jordan on the court.\nI'm making a prediction about the Wizards now. Jordan may be able to draw the crowds, but it's his supporting cast of Richard Hamilton and Courtney Alexander that are the real threats on the team. They're the ones who are going to create the excitement.\nIt wasn't until the second half of the basketball game that the crowd really got excited and into it, thanks to the play of Hamilton and Alexander.\nSilly me, I thought they were watching the little black scoreboard flashing the final score. IU 56, NU 21.