The Casual Awards: It's not the losing that hurts...It's the hope.

Tough one.  Would it have been better to lose by 20 or lose like that?  While we begin the healing process here at THE GLOBAL PHENOMENON, we're handing out awards to those most deserving.

We hate to see you go.  But we love to watch you leave.     

Onto the awards.

Roll Call of the Dammed Award:

 - Section 109 Row B Seats 3-10;
 - Section 118, Row M Seats 9-10;
 - Section 100 Row G Seats 15-16;
 - Section 100 Row H Seats 15-16;
 - Section 108 Row F Seats 11-16. Row E, Seats 8-9. Row D Seats 8-14. Rows A-C,
 - Section 109, Row L Seats 12-15 (also Duke fans in those seats for the Duke Game)

Let the word go forth from this time and place: WE ARE PUTTING YOU TRAITORS ON NOTICE. CasualHoya is now and forever soliciting from our loyal readers, the seats in season-ticket-holding areas that are occupied by fans of opposing teams.  A special CasualHoya salute to beatcuse for coming up with this idea first. What will we do with this information? We do not know. We are not ruling out an ORGANIZED CAMPAIGN OF TERROR against the offending ticketholders and their families. Or perhaps we will just give them the evil eye at holiday parties. Or maybe they will be banned from the Irish Channel (something that is quickly not becoming the badge of honor it once was). But information is power. And we want your information.  So be vigilant in your sections and let shame rain down upon offenders.

Memphis Tigers Award for Free Throw Shooting:
The Georgetown Hoyas. The Hoyas shot 67 percent from the line. SIXTY-F-CKING SEVEN PERCENT. In a game when 48 fouls were called on both teams, Georgetown went 16-24 from the line and lost by four points after leaving EIGHT POINTS JUST SITTING ON THE FLOOR IN A NICE LITTLE GIFT BAG including I-don't-want-to-talk-about-how-many in the game's final minutes. All the other things that this team can do? TOSS! Nothing else matters. NOTHING ELSE MATTERS AT ALL if we cannot consistently hit free throws. Oh, the team that won last night? They shot 90 percent.

The Johnny Weir Award for Most Entertaining Game-Thread Post:
Gannon97 wins his first award with the following gem:

Question

If you had a chance to get with Erin Andrews, but to do that you had to wear a Syracuse jersey (Devendorf) to the game tonight and sit in the student section….would you do it?

by Gannon97 on Feb 18, 2010 8:37 PM EST reply actions   1 recs

(Casual Hint: Any reference to getting with Erin Andrews always wins.)

More Awards after The Jump:

The Wright Theory is Wrong Award:
To This Blog. We thought we had it all figured out. Chris Wright scores more than ten points=we win! Well, he scored more than ten in just the first half but we lost. Oh well. There goes that explanation for everything.  Georgetown is now 16-1 when Wright scores in double digits.

The Chris Wright Heart of a Champion Award:
Chris Wright. We are inaugurating a new award here at CasualHoya. Now we know in the past we've been tough on the ol' wrecking ball, but last night we have never been more proud. He played with a heart and hustle that was simply astounding, willing his team back into the game and helping Monroe and Freeman rise to the occasion. And he knows how to get the crowd into it. Chris Wright has his moments and this was one of them. Thus: for eternity he will have a post-game award named after him on a blog. Yeah. I know. His greatest wish fulfilled.

Lids Award:
JT2 gets a lot of slack, but not in this feature:  THAT 'AIR FORCE' HAT IS AWFUL.  I wouldn't allow my dog to wear that hat.  Almost as embarrassing as the team's performance in the 1st half.  Almost.

The America is a Nation on a Collision Course with an Epidemic of Diabetes Award:
Syracuse road fans. The extensive use of corn as a sweetener in this great nation's foods, and its incredibly low price, has led to a plethora of delicious and fattening foodstuffs for certain segments of society to cram down their throats. One of those segments is Cuse fans, who surely drink 64 ounces of Pepsi while sucking down twinkies and ho-hos and double stuf oreos. Jesus Christ there were some orange-colored tubs at the game.

The You-Make-A-Better-Door-Than-A-Window Down In Front Award:
Mayor Fenty. Don't use the aisles like a rope line when you're walking to your seats. While you are shaking hands I cannot see Jason Clark missing threes. Kudos to takethepoints for heckling him to sit down.

I like sports! (via blog.press.org)

The Next Candidate for Domestic Violence Award:
Andy Rautins. Where the hell does Boeheim find these white guys? Rautins shot the lights out last night and now here I am in a fetal position in the floor of my bedroom having McNamara and Devendork flashbacks. Well played noble Canadian! But if he's got a girlfriend, let this blog offer her a tip: GET OUT NOW! Do you know what sharpshooting Syracuse players do to the women in their life? Yeah. Time to head to Macy's and get some concealer makeup because it's no fun trying to explain away black eyes.

The As Surely as the Sun will Rise Preordained Outcome Award:
Georgetown's two losses to Syracuse this year. Let's put aside the furious comeback. PUT IT ASIDE. Now look at Syracuse. They are just clearly better than us. Our near-miss comeback proves that in college basketball that anybody can beat anybody. That's why it's fun to be a South Florida fan. But Syracuse is just clearly bigger, faster and stronger than us. They are ridiculous. It is obvious to even the most Casual of observer. That is what will make their second-round tourney exit more fun for us. But still. They are good. And surely they are expensive, too. We know Wes Johnson isn't cheap. Of course, Rautins just plays for his father's love. Can't put a price on that. What was I talking about? Whatever.

The Season Ticket Value Award:
Georgetown Basketball. Wow. I think I paid about a grand all-in for my two seats this year and I HAVE SEEN SOME BASKETBALL. I'm not going to recap all the games here, but I am getting my money's worth. And last night was just about on the verge of the greatest thing in the history of the universe. At the end, in fact, it was one of the worst. It's not the losing. It's the hope. I am re-upping for next year though. And maybe I'll toss in another twenty for the Hoop Club.

Jersey Shore Cuse Fan Award:

Beat that beat like Devendorf beats women!

The Brandon Bowman Memorial Award for Questionable Play With Point Spread Hanging in Balance:
We've been unable to hand out his award for a long time, but last night Jason Clark grabbed this thing right off the shelf in the first few minutes and kept running with it until the final horn.  It wasn't so much the 2-8 from the field, 4 turnovers and 5 fouls as much as it was his boneheaded non-Clarkesque plays like standing out of bounds in the corner while receiving a wide open look for 3, fouling Rautins on a 3-point attempt, and of course, missing that wide open 3 that would have given the Hoyas a 2 point lead (line was Hoyas -1.5) with under a minute to go and the free throw with less than 10 ticks left that effectively made it a two possession game ended the game.  This was a very strange game by Clark, stunning in its horror.

The Sam "Ace" Rothstein Award For Excellence in Setting Sports-Gambling Lines:
Las Vegas Bookmakers. Georgetown -2 was inexplicably in play in the game's final minutes (see Brandon Bowman award), but more importantly the final score total was 146. The over/under was 144! And who iced it? Andy Rautins with two free throws! OH CANADA! I hope dad had the mortgage payment on the over. Put on your Ottawa Senators jersey and take those Canadian dollars to the nearest Tim Horton's. It's time to get Crunked on overrated Canadian Coffee and Donuts. Can I make a side point here? Canada, and Canadians, Suck.

The Halftime Delusion Award:
JeffGreensDad for boldly predicting a Georgetown win at the half despite the Hoyas being down 13 and playing like a sack of shit left out to sit in the sun.

Holy Crap That was Impressive Award:
The Georgetown Hoyas.  Seriously, down 23 with 12 minutes to go?  And then down 5 with 5 to go?  Against one of the top 5 teams in the country?  Wow.  We can't really complain about heart when it comes to this group anymore.  Just wish they could bring that defensive intensity for all 40 minutes.

Lord Tariq and Peter Gunz "Deja Vu" Award:
The Georgetown Hoyas.  Didn't this game feel exactly the same as last year's near miss at Syracuse, where we furiously rallied back to force overtime, only to lose?  By no means are either of these teams similar to last year's versions, but it left me with the same punched-in-the gut feeling.

The Don't Talk to the Pitcher While He Has a No Hitter Award:
While Georgetown mounted its comeback, not a single comment was made for about 15 minutes on the GLOBAL PHENOMENON game thread. Just like when a pitcher in baseball has a no hitter or perfect game, no one talks to him in fear of jinxing it.  Well that was the entire Casual Hoya fan base tonight while Georgetown fought back from 23 down with 12 minutes to go.

The You Can Run But You Can't Hide Award:
Julian Vaughn.  Lost in the mysterious game by Clark, the awful free throw shooting by Monroe, the poor shooting performance by Freeman and the heroic effort by Wright was the monumental stinkbomb by Vaughn.  22 minutes, 0 for 4 from the field, 1 rebound, 2 fouls, ZERO POINTS, and constantly getting beat up underneath by Cuse's behemoths Jackson and Onuaku!  What the hell was that, man?  Come on!

Stay Hot Award:
The Bench.  1 for 7 from the field for 2 points in 36 minutes.  The one made field goal was Henry Sims' disastrous looking jumper that somehow went in.  Hollis Thompson and Sims also managed to launch two HORRIFIC AIRBALLS that were so embarrassing that if I were at the game I would have left.  On a positive note, Jerrelle Benimon managed to haul in 6 rebounds in his 19 minutes despite being a complete and utter black hole on offense.  Stay hot, Bench.  Stay hot.

I Always Forget He's That Athletic Award:
Austin Freeman.  The fast break dunk to cut the lead to 67-65 with 3:14 to go was a thing of beauty.  Even in a night where he just couldn't hit an outside shot, Freeman brought so much heart, and along with Wright and Monroe, keyed Georgetown's rally.  We need those three guys to set the tone for the rest of the team when it comes to energy and defense, and they did that in the last 12 minutes of the game.

The Tiger Woods Learning From Our Mistakes Award:
The Georgetown Hoyas.  This team is still so young.  It starts 3 juniors and 2 sophomores, with 3 freshman and 1 sophomore coming off the bench.  I feel like people forget that.  They are learning how to win, learning to close out games, and learning to play together.  It's these types of losses that are grueling for the fan base, but important to the development of this group.  Forget the Rutgers, USF and ODU losses, those sucked and were indefensible.  This was a character building loss, and a loss that will actually create confidence come March.  This team knows that even in its worst shooting night of the season, against a nightmare defense, down 23 with 12 minutes to go, they have the talent and desire to have a chance to win.  Just like Chris Wright learned from his mistakes at Rutgers, the Hoyas will learn that Greg Monroe or Austin Freeman need the ball in tight situations. That said, it is important that Jason Clark and Wright know they have the full confidence of their teammates to take game winning shots even when they have had off nights.  The point of college basketball is to win in March, and these tough losses will only strengthen this group's resolve.  Or so I keep telling myself as I down another shot of tequila and use the salt from my tears as a chaser.

Einstein Theory of Relativity Award:
Look Cuse fans, I understand that time is relative, but try and answer a simple question without making yourself look stupid. Who takes over when Boeheim retires? Actual conversation from the Irish Channel last night:

Cuse Fan: F-ck you and f-ck Georgetown.
Me: What happens when Boeheim retires?
Cuse Fan: What are you talking about, he has 5 years left at least.
Me: What happens after that?
Cuse Fan: Dude, he will be there for 7 more years.
Me: And after?
Cuse Fan: F-ck you, he isn't going anywhere.
Me: Good talk.

The "Fade Into You" by Mazzy Star Award for Sitting Alone in a Darkened Apartment Drinking Jack Daniels, Eating Chocolate Cookies and Listening to Sad Songs on iTunes Because Syracuse Crowds Have Driven you from Chinatown Bars and Despair Will Prevent You From Falling Asleep While Sober:
Um, yeah. There are no winners of this award. Only losers.

It's OK to be sad.

The Georgetown Hoyas are a nationally ranked powerhouse and not too proud to cry because it hurts.

Louisville is neXt.