…but I’ve been busy with other things. And apparently my guestbloggers have been, too. :) In fact, according to the little calendar thingy in my left sidebar, yesterday was the first day since July 22 with absolutely nothing new posted on the blog (well, excluding comments, obviously).

But what better way to break the silence than with… November basketball! Ah, college basketball in mid-November, that strange phenomenon that inevitably makes ESPN viewers on Saturdays “freak[] out over certain outrageous scores on the scrolling ticker at the bottom of the screen for a second or two before realizing basketball season is underway. Michigan State is playing Youngstown State? In November?! On Thursday?!! And scored 40 in the first half?!!!…Oh.” Heh.

Anyway, I neglected to mention previously that, having beaten Notre Dame on Monday (Fire Mike Brey), the Butler Bulldogs proceeded to beat Indiana on Tuesday, thus advancing to the “Final Four” of the NIT Season Tip-Off at Madison Square Garden. Also advancing Tuesday was Tennessee, and joining the club Wednesday were North Carolina and — in a game that I just watched the second half of — Gonzaga.

Yep, that’s right, the #26-ranked Zags dispensed with Baylor, 78-69, to set up a semifinal showdown with the #2 Tar Heels next Wednesday at 9:00 PM EST. Alas, I’ll be airborne for the entire first half (my flight arrives in Phoenix at 7:55 MST, or 9:55 EST) and I’ll presumably be in the car for most, if not all, of the second half. But the game should be a great early test of whether Gonzaga, sans Morrison and Batista, can still compete with the big boys. I certainly don’t expect a win, but a close game would be nice. We’ll see. Winner gets either #24 Tennessee or Butler next Friday at 7:00 PM EST for the NIT championship; losers play in the consolation game earlier that day at 4:30 PM EST.

Anyway… GO ZAGS!!

P.S. Fire Mike Brey.