Nothing pointing to Duke hate per se in his Wiki bio. except maybe his association with ESPN the Magazine. There's something in the water in Bristol. I'd be cautious before laying out the cash.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Wojciechowski
I was doing some last minute shopping and came across this book that's coming out in January by Gene Wojciechowski. Sounds interesting. Anyone heard anything about this? I'm a little surprised I haven't.
Oh yeah, I'm also a bit troubled by this line in the About the Author section: "A former Duke hater, Wojciechowski has made peace with the Blue Devils. He lives in Wheaton, Illinois." He'd better include some analysis on how Richie Farmer's cheap shot push in the back that knocked Christian to the floor is what led to the infamous Timberlake love tap.
"Something in my vicinity is Carolina blue and this offends me." - HPR
Nothing pointing to Duke hate per se in his Wiki bio. except maybe his association with ESPN the Magazine. There's something in the water in Bristol. I'd be cautious before laying out the cash.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gene_Wojciechowski
I know Gene pretty well and I've never heard him labeled as a Duke hater.
He's one of the best -- and fairest --of the long-time sports WRITERS (which is quite different from the new breed of bloggers, twitterers and blowhards that populate the sports landscape) in the country, right up this with Dick "Hoops" Weiss, Alexander Wolff and Malcolm Moran. I also know that he's always had a good relationship with Coach K.
Now, I haven't read the book, but I'll be shocked if it's not a reasonable and fair account of the game. Sure, he'll talk about Laettner's "stomp", but I'm sure he'll report it fairly and in full context.
It's only Dec. 16. My "last minute shopping" practice always seems to involve a much more literal interpretation of the term.
And with respect to G. Wojo, he writes very compelling, interesting, tough pieces for yahoo!, usually on NBA topics. I have read him pretty regularly ever since his in-depth coverage and commentary about the Lebron Decision and fallout. I also had not heard of the book until I saw it today on amazon, but would be interested in reading it.
"I don't like them when they are eating my azaleas or rhododendrons or pansies." - Coach K
"The last great game"; like there haven't been any great ones since then? How about the Carolina-Michigan game in '93?
The Duke-Uconn game in '99 (even though we lost!) How about the Kansas National Championship in '08? Or the Duke-Butler
game in '10, whose ending would have topped Laettner's if the Hayward heave had gone in? I mean, overall,
'92 was the last really great year in college hoops, before everyone started leaving early, but there have been a few pretty
good games since then. That's kind of a pretentious title.
What kind of BBQ do you prefer?
Why would a publisher time a book to come out two weeks after the end of the biggest shopping orgy of the year? Even the gift certificates will be gone by then.
Curious.
Gene Wojciechowski here--author of ``The Last Great Game.'' A buddy of mine from Duke emailed the thread, so I thought I'd clarify a few things.
Yes, the book exists and will be released Jan. 5. And no, I am not a Duke ``hater''--past, present or future. Someone got a little too clever when they wrote the PR release. Anyway, how can anybody with the same last name as Steve Wojciechowski be anti-Duke?
The book chronicles the greatest college hoops game of all time, the 1992 East Regional final between Duke-Kentucky. I covered that game for the LA Times and what with the 20-year anniversary coming up in March, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to revisit how those two programs, those two great coaches and those two very different teams came to meet that night in Philadelphia's Spectrum. The access and cooperation I received from those coaches and former players (and others involved with those programs, CBS, the Fab Five, etc.--I interviewed nearly 100 people for the project) was amazing. Coach K, Laettner, Pitino, The Unforgettables, Grant, Bobby, Tom Butters, (and on and on) couldn't have been nicer--or more honest.
I have two book signings in Durham in mid-January---one next to Cameron at the Sports Hall of Fame, and one at the Regulator. Hope to see you there.
All the best. And happy holidays.
GW
Thanks for stopping by! Hope you can visit now and again.
I'm looking forward to the book. It was an awesome game.
-jk
I'm pretty sure it was actually Deron Feldhaus. Richie Farmer was the little point guard with the great 'stache who played bigger and better than his size (kind of like our Wojo, actually). I remember noting often throughout the game that Feldhaus seemed like a not-so-skilled punk, and I wasn't surprised to see him shove Laettner after that made basket.
Timberlake also shoved Laettner after a Kentucky made basket and threw in a verbal taunt for good measure. If you have the DVD of that game, go back and focus on Timberlake in his limited minutes. Think folks will find that interesting. (But, that said, I still maintain the love tap was one of the biggest boneheaded plays of all time for a Duke player, and Laettner is one of my all-time favorite Duke players)
Ok, you want a good endorsement of this book?
Jay Bilas just tweeted that he read it and loved it. He says, "I was on Coach K's coaching staff, and I'm learning new stuff."
That's all I need to know. It is on my post-XMas shopping list, for sure!
-Jason "thanks for stopping by and telling us a bit more about it, Geno!" Evans
Why are you wasting time here when you could be wasting it by listening to the latest episode of the DBR Podcast?
It's widely accepted that the 2 best games in modern history were the Maryland-NCState game (to get the ACC bid for the NCAA Tournament) and the Duke-Kentucky game.
The games you mention are laced with players making major mistakes, missing free throws, or even blown calls by refs.
There's been some wonderful games since '92, but nothing in the same league.
Agreed, none of the games that I mentioned are quite in the league with these two; they stand pretty much head and shoulders above all the rest, of any era, although I might putIt's widely accepted that the 2 best games in modern history were the Maryland-NCState game (to get the ACC bid for the NCAA Tournament) and the Duke-Kentucky game.
Carolina-Georgetown '82 as a close third. Having seen both of the above mentioned games, I concur with Len Elmore, who played in the first one and was the commentator for the other; State-Maryland '74 was the best game ever played. It was a 40 minute highlight reel. As memory serves, there were no turnovers in regulation. During the game, the refs even knew it; one was about to make a certain call, and the other turned to him and said "Not in this game!". If Laettner hadn't hit that shot to give it the perfect ending, the Duke Kentucky game would probably be remembered about like the other ones I mentioned since then, although maybe a little better (a lot better from Kentucky's point of view).