1. When are Notre Dame hoop fans allowed to just throw Chris Thomas under the bus and demand he doesn’t play anymore?

I’d say if he can't make a dent against UConn’s lack of an established point guard position (Marcus Williamson?) on Sunday, then we officially get to request that he at least has his minutes cut down a lot. He’s been starting all season, and he’s doing a lot of good things (eight rebounds and six assists last night at Villanova), but he’s shooting 35 % on the year. It’s not just the shots he’s not making, it’s the shots he’s taking. You can tell when he’s going to take things into his own hands, and depending on how that goes it’s either good results, like the first Villanova game or the St. Johns three, or you get last night when a team with some of the most prolific outside shooters in the nation can’t get a kick-out for an open three the last ten minutes of a half.

Granted, Villanova had just beaten Kansas by twenty, so we weren’t playing a bad team, and it’s unfair to place all of the blame on Thomas when good ol’ Denny Latimore somehow had four turnovers in only eleven minutes of play and Colin Falls only had three points, but he’s the senior point guard, and at some point in time he has to start transcending to the next level.

With the next four games being against ranked opponents and essentially deciding whether we go to the tournament or not, we’re going to see if he finally starts to elevate his game to the level it should be.

2. Why is everyone so surprised Duke lost?

Oh, I don’t have any idea. Is it because they haven’t played a tough ACC opponent yet (and please don’t give me that “win at Florida State” junk, because FSU had just beaten Wake Forest, and the Seminoles have never strung consecutive quality wins in a row over the recent years, despite their upsets), or that their two marquee wins came against a Michigan State team that’s been overrated for two years running and a Oklahoma team that wasn’t quite sure how to win yet.

As much as Dickie V is still going to try and tell you Shelden Williams is now a complete player and one of the most dominant post players in the country, he’s no Carlos Boozer and he’s still going to make that stupid foul that would make you scream if you were a Blue Devil fan, and JJ Redick, for as much as Dickie V will tell you is the most dangerous player in college basketball, still doesn’t come up consistently at the end of games, as he finished last night’s contest 1-7 from the field.

Speaking of upcoming schedules, lets see how the Dukies do after their next game against Virginia Tech, when they start a three-game swing against Wake Forest, Georgia Tech and the UNC. Georgia Tech's been struggling, but you can bet the Demon Deacons and Tar Heels are already licking their chops in anticipation.

3. Was Maria Sharapova playing tennis or…um…well, wasn’t that kinda intense last night?

As Matt put it as the defending Wimbledon champion lost to the very hateable Serena Williams last night “I think she just orgasmed after that forehand.” I’ve watched enough tennis to be well aware of the grunting involved, and while you accept that fact, Sharapova was essentially moaning after every hit last night. It was both awkward and scintillating to watch.

More importantly, after a few weeks of playing Mario Power Tennis, I was more upset neither of the ladies strapped on a rocket pack and flew to the ball when it was out of reach or screamed “Enter the whirlwind!” after hitting a particularly powerful lob shot.

4. How miserable is Lamar Odom in LA?

After watching about five minutes of the Clippers-Lakers game on our NBA League Pass Freeview, Lamar looks nothing like the happy-go-lucky player he was in Miami last year, where he got set up by Dwyane Wade and got to do all the little things that his combination of size and handles allow him too. He just looks like he's ready to give up on the game of basketball altogether. Can we please orchestrate a trade to get him out of there? What about Chicago? A starting five of Hinrich, Duhon, Deng, Odom and Curry, with Gordon, Harrington and Daniels coming off the bench? Who wouldn't enjoy that?

*

On another Oscar-note, after the combined efforts of myself and Sean, we now have burnt copies of Million Dollar Bay, Ray, Finding Neverland, The Aviator and Hotel Rwanda, none of which are legally out on DVD yet, but since I count this as research, I feel it's perfectly okay. If anyone knows where we can download a copy of Sideways or Being Julia, we’d be very, very appreciative here in Dillon 1A.