Pre-Ramble:  Like millions around the country, I was on the edge of my seat last night watching the 2010 NCAA National Championship basketball game between the first seed Duke Blue Devils and the sweet ‘n’ scrappy Cinderella Butler Bulldogs.

With 4,200 students, [Butler] was the smallest school to play for the title since the field was expanded to 64 in 1985 and fourth-smallest overall. Forget state-of-the-art facilities. The Bulldogs play in an 82-year-old gym, the barn-like Hinkle Fieldhouse. Practice there, too. At 6:30 a.m. There are no athletic dorms and, yes, those were some of the Butler players spotted in the classroom Monday morning.

And, what a game!! Duke was favored to win, but plenty of folks were rooting for the Bulldogs to pull a “Hoosier” victory. The score never favored one team over the other and there were times where Butler looked like it was going to pull ahead only to be slapped back to reality by an efficient Duke 3-pointer.

Duke ended up beating Butler 61-59 after a 3-point half-court desperation shot by Butler’s Gordon Hayward (shown right) thwacked off the backboard, then rim, falling to the floor in a breath-taking-but-failed final attempt to clinch the win. 

The real take-away from the game however, went far beyond the scoreboard. As is the case in many of these kinds of contests, winning is secondary to the actual game itself – the twists and turns, … the way the action unfolds, … the behavior of the players and coaching staff, … the decisions of the officials…  This game definitely delivered on all of these scores – lots of amazing athletic moves; a tight game with lots of turnovers and no early run-away; nothing but good clean competition on both sides (oh, sure there was a little ticky-tack going on, but nothing ugly); and, for the most part, the officials ”let the players play the game.”

Let me state the obvious – What really made this game interesting though, was the greater sports-world context in which it was played. Front loaded onto yesterday’s news cycle along with the national championship game were both Opening Day of major league baseball, and the return of golf’s number one player-turned-scumbag, Tiger Woods. Ironically, until a few months ago, we thought that TW was one of the few professional athletes with integrity,… (And, somebody’s gotta say it, his current wannabe goatee is … unfortunate.)

The contrast in vibe between the earnest, haven’t-really-been-around-long-enough-to-screw-up NCAA players and professional athletes, and particularly Tiger Wood’s now epic, drug-through-a-toxic-sinkhole persona, is stark.  Never mind that one of the star players on the Butler team is nick-named “Babyface.” If you don’t know which one this is, look at a team photo (or photo above) and I guarantee you’ll be able to pick him out of the line-up.

No whining - Like my past blog posts on Eagle Scouts and such – college basketball players, the guys on the Duke and Butler teams, (the players on all of these teams really…) … These guys are in a league of their own. In last night’s game they demonstrated not only some outstanding skills on the basketball court, but they also provided a shining, much-needed example of what determination, integrity and sportsmanship look like. We didn’t see any tantrums or cheap shots or excuses out there, just a great competition between dedicated, talented, (tall) athletes. Butler’s head coach Brad Stevens describes it this way:

It’s the way they play that most charmed people,… The Bulldogs call it “The Butler Way,” and it has nothing to do with Xs and Os, backdoor cuts or zone defense. It’s the next guy stepping up, everybody having each other’s back. Somebody that is a team-first person, that accepts responsibility, accountable for their actions …  those are all things that lend to a successful program.”

The Take-Away: These guys are the kind of guys we need around here … making the plays, anticipating the rebounds, rolling with the bad calls, and ultimately, win or lose — owning their stuff, moving it forward and getting it done with grace, style and integrity. These are the kind of stand-up guys we need not only in sports, but in our neighborhoods, communities and world as well!

Post-Note: Heck, these are the kind of guys I’m hoping my daughters will bring home for Sunday dinner! (Especially you, Babyface.)

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