Thomas Wolfe was right. You can't go home again. I sat down in front of the TV last night anticipating the Villanova/St. Joes game. Even though I knew that my family room could not recreate the atmosphere of the Palestra from 35 years ago, I hoped to catch a memory of what those games – and the other Big Five games - were all about. Back in the day, so to speak, all the Big Five games were played at the Palestra because back in the day none of the other schools had on campus arenas that were nearly big enough to hold games of that high an interest level. Now they do; and while that represents progress, it removes a critical element from what those games used to be.

As I looked at the TV when the game started, all I saw was blue and white. Had that game been in the Palestra in the 60s, about a third of the people would have been in Villanova's blue and white, another third would have been in garnet for St. Joe's and the other third would be the fans of the other Big Five school that had played in the opening game of the doubleheader. And trust me, none of them would have left the building. The cheering would go back and forth; the atmosphere was like running trough an ionic storm. If you even “sorta liked” college basketball, this was an environment that could get you pumped.

Last night's game was good. The teams played hard and Villanova did not quit after getting down by 16 early in the game. But the Villanova fans were in one building and the St. Joe fans were in their field house about 7 miles down the road. That just doesn't work. Sigh!

I have a couple of NASCAR items to comment on today. Jimmy Spencer is a driver on the NASCAR circuit – if that is indeed the proper idiom. One subculture of the NASCAR Subculture is something called the Craftsman Truck Series, which I am told involves racing pickup trucks. I have never witnessed this phenomenon so I am going on written reports here. Toyota has entered a truck in the race series this year for the first time. Jimmy Spencer is obviously not completely thrilled by this. At a media event in Texas, he said, “Those sons of bitches bombed Pearl Harbor, don't forget. As long as it's good for the economy, I guess it's OK. But I hope that Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge kick their ass.”

Memo to Jimmy Spencer: Dodge is owned by Daimler; they make Mercedes Benz cars in Germany. According to Senator John Blutarsky in Animal House we didn't give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor…

I heard an ad on the radio that said that Enzyte will sponsor a racing car in NASCAR this year. Enzyte is the pill for “natural male enhancement”; they are the ones who run the TV commercials with Bob who has a smile wide enough to eat a banana sideways. Frankly, I don't care who sponsors cars and who doesn't, but can you imagine the damage to Enzyte's “image” if they lose a photo finish in a race by only a couple of inches…?

I want to pose a rhetorical question about NASCAR and the way it is covered in the media. When there is a brawl in baseball or when football players hide telephones in the goal post padding to facilitate an ego-driven celebration or when NBA players “freeze out” other players because of personal dislikes, the media moralists wring their hands and worry about the moral fiber of the country and the foundation of the sport. Then I look at the coverage of NASCAR. Cheating with engines and airflow surfaces has become an art form and is highly valued; egomaniacal celebrations happen at the end of every race; fights between drivers and crews happen more than once in a while; cars are used as weapons to drive other cars into the wall. And what is the reaction of the media moralists? Well, that's just good ol' boys racin' and swappin' paint.

Memo to Media Moralists: Leave baseball, basketball and football alone unless you apply the same yardstick to all sports.

Memo to Phil Mushnick (NY Post): No. Pro rasslin' is not a sport so you don't need to devote your 379th column on the depravity contained therein to show how widely you cast your moralist net.

You may recall that I told you a couple of weeks ago about a basketball recruit at the University of Minnesota who was not accepted by the school back in September because of some “irregularities” in his SATs and when he took the tests again he had a problem because he registered for the tests improperly. Well, here is the rest of the story. The St. Paul Pioneer-Press reported that Wesley Washington could not attain academic eligibility to attend Minnesota and enrolled instead at Yavapai Junior College in Prescott Arizona.

Here is a great line from Mike Imrem in the Chicago Daily Herald:

“Texas is the Lone Star State which puts it one ahead of Super Bowl XXXVIII.”

Here are three good lines from Scott Ostler in the San Francisco Chronicle:

“This just in. The Mars Rover has landed on Terrell Owens' Web site and will begin its search for signs of intelligent life.”

“Norv Turner says, 'I don't think I've ever heard the word rebuild used with the Raiders.' Al Davis says, 'I don't think I've ever used the word rebuild.' And just like that, both streaks are broken.”

“I don't think anyone is using the word, 'rebuild' with the Raiders. 'Exhume', yes.”

Finally, Fred Akers was the football coach at Texas in the 70s and 80s. Recently, he underwent quadruple bypass surgery. His son told the Austin American-Statesman that the doctors made a discovery during the surgery.

“If anybody is questioning, they did confirm that he is still bleeding orange.”

But don't get me wrong, I love sports...

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