Phil Jackson doesn't care about March Madness

Posted on Fri Mar 23, 2007 at 04:32:48 PM EST in NBA
More on: Phil Jackson, NCAA, NBA, Lakers, Grizzlies (all tags)

Turn that crap off!

A lot of people in Memphis last night might have considered Kobe Bryant to be the enemy as he dropped 60 points on the lowly Grizzlies. But there were a lot more people who would have preferred to get their hands around the neck of the Lakers' coach Phil Jackson.

Last night's LA/Memphis contest was being played at the same time as Memphis was matching up with Texas A&M in the Sweet Sixteen and the game was being shown on the jumbotron as Bryant was humiliating defenders live. There were sudden outbursts from those in attendance over the game on TV instead of the game on the court and Jackson got fed up with the fans loyalty to their school after Lamar Odom started clanging free throws because of the unexpected cheers.

So, completely devoid of any school spirit, Jackson went to referee Bob Delaney and demanded that he turn the close college contest off the big screen. And he did; with three seconds remaining and the Tigers up by a deuce.

I went to the scorer's table and said, 'That's not right,' "Jackson said later."This is the game that's being played here. Delaney did the right thing.

Eventually Memphis would advance to the Elite Eight after defeating the Aggies and the crowd in attendance would give a standing ovation when the score was finally revealed. While Jackson acted like his normal pompous self, at least Lamar Odom could roll with the punches.

Their team is in the race for a national championship," he said. "It wasn't surprising
at all.

The Zen Master could learn a thing or two from his pupil.

Links:
[LATimes.com]: NCAA action is distraction to Jackson

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