The shot of UAB's Mo Finley on his knees, face down on the folding metal chair on his team's "bench," after he made the go-ahead basket and again, after Kentucky missed their last shot -- that is why we watch the NCAA tournament.

I don't know what he was thinking. I only know what he was doing. I only know he was overcome.

And the beautiful passing sequence by UAB that led to Finley's shot, followed by the fake he put on Kentucky's Chuck Hayes gave me goosebumps too.

You have to love it when a player does the right thing -- faking a three, opting for the open fifteen footer -- instead of the rote thing.

With the exception of Syracuse, all the teams I care about for personal and Pac-10 reasons have already departed the tournament.

But seeing Xavier and UAB stick it to the SEC is almost as much fun as watching one of "my" teams triumph. Or, rather, it's a different, purer fun, not compromised by a self-interest that sometimes has me rooting against the underdog.

It's better to go with the flow of feeling.

For Frodo, man. For Frodo.

Mode: exhaling
Muse: Underdogs - The Coup - Steal This Double Album