Texas A&M 76, Notre Dame 70

For the last two-plus weeks, at the conclusion of games there is an explosion of copy on ESPN - one from Voepel, one from Creme, another from Hays. So it's interesting that things are relatively quiet there - so far - on the western front. There's just this game story, this analysis that credits the Aggies win to Danielle Adams and Tyra White, and this piece on the "X" factors of the game: defense and stepping up for A&M.

There will be plenty of game analysis in coming days. What is sticking in my mind right now is all the extra stuff. The TAMU assistant coach getting on his knees in the final 15 seconds; the fan or parent sitting there, head bowed, hands trembling; the looks on the faces of the Aggies as they came off the court and hugged their coaches and each other. It really meant something to them to win this. A&M had never been to a Final Four in their lives, much less took the whole thing. The championship was not expected, as it is at UConn and Tennessee. They've never had the opportunity to take it for granted, or be upset at "only" reaching the Elite Eight or Final Four. And the deep appreciation on their faces is something I haven't seen in a team in a while. It was refreshing.

As for the Irish? Fear the leprachaun. The only thing more scary than Skylar Diggins is the fact that she's only a sophomore. Don't worry, Digg - you'll be back.

On the evolvement of the sports fan tip, "women's final four" has been trending on twitter tonight; Lil Wayne gave Diggins another shout out, and Chris Brown tweeted his love; Snoop Dogg tweeted love to both Notre Dame and A&M. And a lot of people stopped to watch the game with me at the gym tonight - men and women.

Finally, I'd like to ask why some people thought A&M were the under dogs. I haven't understood it for two days. It seems like only three people picked the Aggies to win: Danielle Adams, Cheryl of hoopfeed and myself. I can't speak for them, but what struck me about TAMU besides defense was depth. They have a lot of weapons, and they proved it tonight.

Cheryl is still toiling away, but look for her usual great stuff to be posted here pretty soon.

Congrats Aggies, congrats Irish. That was the best national championship game I've seen in a long while.