Billikens 58, Chicago State 52

For the past 3 or 4 years, my brother and I have enjoyed reading a daily NBA column on the Slam Magazine web-site. It is written by an Atlanta Hawks fan, Lang Whitaker. They always have some great stuff on there. Inspired by The Links, I want to post a wrap up of last night's SLU Billikens game at Savvis Center in St. Louis, MO.

-We head down to the front row because Joey was able to score some tickets through his gig as wedding DJ. JF remarks that the last time SLU played Chicago State in '95-'96, we sat at the courtside table for the last few minutes of the game. At one point, a player told him to "Shut up!" in response to some good-natured heckling.

-The National Anthem is sung by Mr. Matt Stewart, fellow SLU High class of '98 alum, good job, Matt.

-Slow start, Bills center and best player, Ian Vouyoukas tosses in the first 2 points with a sweet hook shot.

-At 15:47, it's Vouyoukas 5, Chicago State 2.

-Being Christmas break, the student section is a little sparse. I count 9 of em.

-Vas'Shun Newborne hits a nice jumper then grabs a tough rebound and gets fouled.

-JF notes that Chicago States' #3 David Holston is violating the NBA's uniform policy by rockin' shorts that extend to his calves. He's also got some yellow Nikes that go very well with their black and green unis.

-The leading scorer for the Cougars at 21.2 a game is Royce Parran. And yes, he is in fact, 5'9". Is he really Royce Da 5'9"?

-7:50 Vouyoukas gets a 10 for a dunk and a 2.5 for the landing, right on his a**.

-6:26 V smacks his 3rd block of the game and nearly puts it in our laps. Awesome.

-V continues to have his way inside on both ends, racking up blocks and 13 first half points. He is unstoppable and is well on his way to his goal of playing for the 2008 Greek Olympic team.

-Bills bench guard Luke Meyer has his fan club seated behind us. Every time Royce Da 5'9" takes a shot, they exclaim, "Who is this guy?" Check his site, kids.

-It's 33-21 SLU at the half. Pretty sloppy other than V dominating everywhere. SLU goes 15-16 from the line so far.

-As the teams gear up for the 2nd half, SLU guard Andrew Drejaj, rockin' a cast on his right foot drops a 3 from the bench. Get back soon, dogg.

-16:28 Marin Mulic of Split, Croatia, fouls out of the game with 2 points. Nice game, Larry Joe.

-14:20 Royce Da 5'9" gets up and nearly dunks on 2 guys, that would have been incredible.

-The sloppiness continues as SLU forgets about V inside. The Cougars within 5 with 8:00 left.

-During a timeout, the cheerleaders throw Spoonballs. One bounces off my hand and under JF's seat. A little kid dives underneath to get it, but JF calmly knocks it out of his hands and takes it from him. Poor kid.

-At 4:13, the Cougars are within 1 point and Soderberg is steaming. He reminds the team to get the ball to V inside but for some reason, they ignore him.

-1:49 Royce Da 5'9" earns his 5th foul on a questionable blocking call. Don't worry kid, good game.

-SLU hits a few free throws down the stretch and win the game 58-52.

-The official scorer has V at 5 blocks, but I counted 8. Haters.

A pretty poor game all around. Considering the Cougars came in with a 1-8 record, the game was closer than it should have been. V had 13 in the first half and finished the game with 17, second half points coming on free throws. SLU coach Brad Soderberg has got to keep getting the ball inside. The 4 tallest guys on Chicago state had 4 fouls early in the second half and only two of them ended up fouling out. That's pretty ridiculous. JF and I agreed that V should have had 30 at least. GET HIM THE BALL!

SLU faces a tough home challenge against Iowa on Friday.

Up to not much in STL

I apologize for my lack of updates on the Champon Adventures here. Lately, I haven't been doing much. Besides blanketing area companies with my resume, I've been learning some basic carpentry at a house that my friend Ben bought and is in the process of rehabbing.

I think my lack of posting is a result of me being back in ordinary, everyday life rather than travelling to exotic locales. Maybe, just maybe, some things I see and do here in St. Louis are also somewhat interesting to those who have never been here. See for yourself in my new photo set, STL Autumn, 2005