Eclipsed

 No blog yesterday, as I went to visit one of my best friends from high school and his family, who slightly delayed their Easter trip to see his parents to take advantage of the eclipse.  Mainly we caught up on the news and then I played a number of rounds of "The Great Dalmudi," which is...fun and interesting.  Basically a trump-taking game, but there is some strategery involved -- when to take trumps, when to play big runs, etc.  Social mobility, if you will, is not exactly impossible, but can be difficult. 

As for the eclipse...it was one of the most awesome things I have ever seen, and I am not -- as we all know -- exactly a fan of nature and such.  It was completely cool, watching the moon clip out the sun, bit by bit, and then, when it was total darkness -- in the middle of the day -- it was incredible.  I could see how people back in the day would crap their pants over this; someone in the neighborhood was setting off fireworks and I couldn't but reflect on how medieval a practice that was.  I also thought of the Crucifixion (recency bias, obviously), the verse about how "darkness came over the land" seemed to be extremely apt.  I was surprised at how cold it became; I had to go in and put on a hoodie for about 20 minutes, and it was only until the sun had returned about 1/3 that it felt warm again.  I can now see how people globe-trot for this sort of thing!

ESPN is reporting that Tara VanDerveer is retiring.  Good for her, I guess; I am always a little sad when these things happen, but she has deserved the right to go out on her own terms.  Coaching -- especially in the NIL era -- is not for the faint of heart, and I can see how some old dogs may or may not want to learn new tricks.  Geno might yet catch her after all...

The Women's NCAA Tournament Outshone the Men’s. But It Got 99% Less TV Money, - WSJ
Speaking of... I guess I would say that while it outshone the men's tournament this year, it might not happen again next year; Reese and Clark are gone, for instance.  UCONN may not win again -- I don't think Hurley is leaving -- and that would certainly help the men's ratings.  I need not mention how awesome it would be if Duke clinched it all next year, which would boost ratings (albeit for the wrong reasons).

Calipari to Arkansas?  Interesting.  Fascinating how the coaching tree works (and people wonder why the athletes complain about them not getting a piece of the pie).  I guess I am a bit surprised; it seemed like they wanted it to work, but I guess if Arkansas and a big pile of money called...  well, Coach Cal is not exactly known for his heightened sense of ethics, if you get my drift.  I joked with my sister that Rick Pitino is certainly available for UK....she mentioned Greg Kampe, which was equally humorous.

Early medieval money mystery solved (phys.org)
Fascinating stuff!