Erin Go ZAGS!

Heck, I don't even know if my title today comes close to anything Gaelic, but close enough for me.  

Long Live the ZAGS in the NCAA Tournament, and may they have the luck of the Irish tomorrow as they take on Ohio State's Buckeyes.

And, may that one commentator/lame prognosticator who still calls them GonZOGa after their 14 appearances in the NCAA tournament go to prognostication and pronunciation school.

It's about time those highly paid talking sports heads learn their facts before going on the air. 

Even last night when he had to eat his words at halftime about this team that had to travel all those miles to play against a team which traveled just 75, he spit out the misnomer which disappeared from the mouths of sports commentators about ten seasons ago.  

At the halftime break, this particular commentator clearly gulped on his previous night's prediction of a Gonzaga loss, citing West Virginia's  "home" crowd advantage and their toughness as factors that were   gonna be too much for the ZAGS.  

And, then he called them GonZOGa one more time after admitting these Bulldogs were ferocious DOGS winning the battle hands down.

I hope his colleagues set him straight on how to pronounce the ZAGS full name correctly in the future. 

Tomorrow will be another day, but if the Bulldogs play with the finesse, the toughness,  the shooting accuracy and the teamwork they displayed last night, they might just stand a chance in tomorrow's game. 

If not, they won the day yesterday with the most clear cut and polished victory in the initial marathon of match-ups.  

The ZAGs represented our region well, and why not?  

Well coached, talented, and, maybe more importantly,  driven to win a game for a young boy who had idolized them.

The ZAGS learned before yesterday's game that a young man who had battled a much tougher foe than West Virginia since he was 3 died at dawn.

His name was Brandon, and he had fought off cancer twice. Then he fought off death long enought to realize his dream of spending some time with the ZAGS.

I'm sure that last night's game had an added element with Brandon's spirit, and I'm sure his idols met the test with class and a beautiful victory in his behalf. 

If the ZAGs don't go any further in this year's March Madness, they have achieved a far more meaningful goal and have left a powerful message for all.

It's often much more than a basketball game, and these ZAGS or ZOGS, whatever you want to call them, are something special. 

May they have the luck of the Irish and the spirit of Brandon in tomorrow's game!