No, this column is not about that flowery smelling stuff you put in your underwear drawer. This is potpourri, as in ‘a little bit of everything’, from the French word meaning “a bunch of different crap.” Here goes:

— I’m glad that noted psychologist BenXU has UD fans all figured out. On the Musketeer Madness MB he explains why UD fans cheer against X, this revelation having come to him whilst he attended the Women’s NCAA Regionals at UD Arena:

“About 10 minutes into the first half, I noticed a few Tennessee Lady Vols fans sitting four rows in front of me, cheering hard AGAINST UConn and booing every call the refs made that went in favor of the Huskies. My first thought was, “Wait a minute, their team is not playing in this game. Why are they here rooting against another team?” Then, I glanced around the arena to see if there were any other UT fans, and, sure enough, I noticed about 25 more orange-clad spectators throughout the arena, all rooting hard for Purdue.

Why would these Vols fans even bother to attend the game, let alone root hard for a team that isn’t even their own? I got to thinking, and suddenly it dawned on me. UConn has beaten Tennessee in women’s b-ball like what, FIVE straight times? UConn has won more national championships than UT in the last 10 years. UConn gets better recruits. UConn had a 70-game winning streak and is the dominant program in college basketball.

In other words, UConn has been more SUCCESSFUL recently than Tennessee (and most importantly, UT can’t beat them anymore). Tennessee is a great program, but UConn is better. Therefore, Tennessee fans LOATHE the UConn program.

Sound familiar? Everything I said above holds true for UD and Xavier (except of course the National Championship part and 70-game streak!). It’s like the analogy section on the SAT: in this rivalry, Xavier is to Dayton as Connecticut is to Tennessee.”

So answer me this, brain trust: why did the Xavier partisans root so damn hard for Temple and against UD in the A-10 semis? Your team wasn’t playing, was it?

I got your analogy right here, buddy: if brains were trains, your name would be Lionel.

— Some dates (for me, at least) to remember:

April 14: Late signing period begins.
May 2: UD students are free at last.
May 6: Dayton-to-Daytona. Whewwwboy.
May 11: The younger Swampette turns 17. That’s not possible!
June 30: FlyerHoops.net poster LH will finally give up and admit that yes, UD did win the Atlantic 10.
July 14: Mr. & Mrs. Swampy celebrate 30 years of wedded bliss. Send your cards and letters to the email address below.
August 3: Yours truly turns 53. You know where to send the cards and money.
August 9: La Famille Swampy heads to Stone Harbor, NJ for another week of fun in the sun. Hopefully, Charlie — the 6’10” 400 lb. guy I played hoops with last year — will be there again.
August 29: The elder Swampette turns 21. Double whewwboy!

— The college basketball head-coaching merry-go-round seems to be spinning out of control more so than usual this year. Then again, maybe it’s because the circus is so close to home. OP going to Clemson was certainly a shocker. Ed Schilling getting the ziggy at WSU was a mild surprise. Everybody and his half-sister knew that Jim Harrick was a dead man walking at UGA and that Steve Lavin was toast at UCLA, but Matt Doherty at UNC? I guess ditching Notre Dame after only one year wasn’t such a swell idea, was it Matt? Loyalty is a two- way street, dude.

— Speaking of Matt Doherty, if you want to get an idea of what a sweetheart he is,
then check out this post from the UDPride.com MB from poster NDLarryJ, taken
from a UNC MB on some of MD’s antics-it’s scary stuff:

https://www.udpride.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=1;t=003575

I understand that Matt has a bit part in the new Jack Nicholson/Adam Sandler flick
“Anger Management.”

— Mail call! Got a nice long, rambling note from Mike Pangrace of Cleveland:

Hi Swampy,

“Sometime last week, after the shock of a first-round loss had dissipated, I got up the composure to check-in on my standard Flyer media sources. Per usual, your column, “From the Swamp,” was on the top of my list. I can say, with the utmost confidence, that ALL Flyer fans can echo your sentiments on the season, so eloquently rendered into prose from the Swamp. 2002-2003 really was a thing of beauty and one wonders how often, if ever, another season like that will materialize in the lifetime of a Flyer. Being that I graduated in 2000, there are a lot of seasons of Flyer b-ball left for me to witness (God willing), but this one was truly special. Since I’ve been following the Flyers (’96 ’97 season), I’ve witnessed two trips to the NCAA’s; they were both first-round losses, but they both remain fresh and vibrant in my memory.

But I digress…

I suppose the point of this e-mail is just to say “thanks” for the column. They say that misery loves company, which is true, but even more so, it’s just nice to have someone to mourn with. Marquette’s success in the tourney has only made things harder for me, considering we beat them in the regular season and the school is similar to UD in size, religious affiliation, etc. I can’t help but think, “That could have EASILY been us” but you can’t fill your thoughts with “If only” statements. Anyway, your column really put things in perspective for me, and I appreciate that. It was an incredible season, almost surreal, and it came to a tragic end, but it’s rather insignificant in the grand scheme of things, considering there’s young Americans dying for our great country in some desert thousands of miles away. I realize that bullets and bombs and the loss of life is far more significant than the field of 64 and nets being cut down. Yes, Swampy, it is only basketball, but that ten-letter word means a great deal to a Flyer! Cheers to the A-10 champions!”

God bless,

Mike Pangrace

Normally, I would edit Mike’s note down a bit, but it’s the end of the season and I’m in a magnanimous mood, so what the hell. No offense Mike, but did you happen to have an adult beverage or three before you wrote this?

— According to recruiting know-it-all Dave Telep at The InsidersHoops.com, Matt Terwilliger of Troy HS, Danny Morrissey of Tallahassee, FL and Aaron Agnew of Bellaire HS all have “Medium Interest” in Dayton. That doesn’t make me feel very good about UD’s prospects of signing any of them. Worse yet, according to Telep, Josh Duncan of Moeller doesn’t even have the Flyers on his list, altho a recent Cincy Enquirer article said he does. None of the above really matters, because it was written before Brian Gregory arrived.

— Finally, I got this letter from Tim Forsthoff:

Hello Swampy,

“I am a longtime flyer fan living in Fenton, Mi. I moved up to Michigan from Dayton 17 years ago. I started attending Flyer games with my dad in 1969. I have watched many great games through the years. I enjoy your articles. The web has helped me keep in touch with the Flyers. I would love to see the Flyers beat Xavier in the finals of the tournament, and at least advance to the sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament. That would be sweet, wouldn’t it? Keep writing and rooting for the Flyers. Thanks so much.”

Pastor Tim Forsthoff
Cornerstone Church

Tim, I spent more time one summer in Fenton, MI than some residents did. The younger Swampette played on the Detroit Pistons travel softball team three years ago and it was based and practiced in Fenton. It was a 45-minute drive each way. As for the Flyers, as we Red Sox fans like to say “Wait until next year!” I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait!

That’s it “From the Swamp.”