Jon Wallace and Roy Hibbert each had 13 points as the Hoyas defeated the undersized UMBC Retrievers 66-47. Unlike the Duke-Belmont game, there was never any real possibility of an elusive 15-2 upset, but the Hoyas’ play was a bit sloppier than it should be for a team that wants to make a repeat trip to the Final Four. Hopefully they’ll bring their A-game on Sunday when they face off against 10 seed Davidson.

Photos by Nicole Bush, Staff Photographer

Today the Hoyas stepped up their defense not only on the court, but with their choice of footwear with fresh new kicks in the the first round of the NCAA tournament. The shoes’ intricate design is sure to stun the Hoya’s opponents, or at least make them look twice at the sheer fuglyness. I’m not sure why Georgetown chose to debut the shoes today (white jersey day, anyone?) and I’m also confused as to why they’re partly Carolina blue. However, in spite of the novel footwear, the Hoyas defeated the UMBC Retrievers by nearly twenty points. Maybe they’re onto something after all.

Photo by Nicole Bush, Staff Photographer

Check out the NCAA blog central by clicking on the logo above, to help us thank them for approving the live blogs above and below…

Hey all, I’ll be down here in Raleigh all weekend covering the Hoyas in the first couple of rounds of the NCAA tournament, so be sure to check the main site for regular updates.  Here’s the first: a preview of the UMBC (University of Maryland, Baltimore County) Retrievers, Georgetown’s first-round opponent.  Keep checking back for more through Sunday!

On the one hand, you need to lend Death Cab some cred. Even as the four-piece has transitioned from indie to major (Barsuk to Atlantic), they’ve still had the chutzpah to mess with their sound a bit, risking the longevity of their “commercial” careers for the sake of progress. Their first post-Barsuk effort (Plans) had its fair share of issues—sometimes kitschy, sometimes boring, often times forcibly “catchy”—yet it still rose to the occasion, balancing a new set of expectations imposed on the band. Case in point: a song like “Soul Meets Body” may have been overplayed in 2005, but it still sounded like nothing else on the radio at the time. Not bad, Death Cab.

Three years later and we’re handed “I Will Possess Your Heart,” the new single from the band’s forthcoming LP Narrow Stairs. Lo’ and behold, it picks up where “Different Names for the Same Thing” (my favorite track off of Plans) left off: gorgeously spacious production, a hefty bassline, McGerr’s trusty drumming, and even some dissonant guitar work. And holy smokes! The track stretches out for 8.5 minutes! Fuck you, Atlantic!

That may sound like a marathon, but it’s worth it (right?). For about a minute and a half (roughly 3:11 to 4:33), the song finds euphony—feedback engulfs the track, a vibraphone accentuates Gibbard’s sleek piano part, and some hushed “na-na-na-na-na-na-na”s creep in subtly.

Then 4:34 hits. And it all goes to shit.

Gibbard coos off perhaps his sappiest writing yet: “How I wish you could see the potential—the potential of you and me. It’s like a book elegantly bound, but in a language that you can’t read. Cuz ya, you gotta spend some time, love. You gotta spend some time with me. And I know that you’ll find love.” (Drum roll, ladies and gentlemen.) “I will possess your heart.”

At this point, there’s no saving it. We’ve already heard the music for over five minutes (Harmer is still playing that bassline) and even that organ overlay falls flat.

To quote Gibbard, the song is “elegantly bound” but seemingly in a foreign language (Who talks like that? No, honestly, who?) Sure, maybe Death Cab’s songs were always sentimental, but transparent? Hardly. Excuse me while I throw on “Company Calls Epilogue” and mourn the death of a talented lyricist.

(And fuck you, Atlantic!)

“I Will Possess Your Heart” can be heard at www.myspace.com/deathcabforcutie

Remember Mike Birbiglia, the sort of-funny Georgetown alum and stand-up comedian who performs every year at NSO? Well, according to the Hollywood Reporter, CBS, home of lots of sort of-funny things, has greenlighted his sitcom for the fall. Called Mike Birbiglia’s Secret Public Journal, it will be based on, yes, Mr. Big’s “secret public journal”, which is actually just the name of his blog. A quick perusal of recent entries finds it a bit lacking; on the other hand, the pitch for Seinfeld probably didn’t sound much better than “a stand-up comedian who lives with his girlfriend in Brooklyn and struggles in his efforts to be a grown up, have a relationship and do the right things.” Here’s hoping they change the name to just Birbiglia, as in: “Hey man, what’d you do last night?” “Oh, y’know, just stayed home and watched Birbiglia”.

Only time will tell whether this show will meet with success to rival the critical acclaim of fellow Georgetown alum Mitch Hurwitz’s Arrested Development, or if, also like Arrested Development, it will be a commercial failure. Or maybe even both.

Photo courtesy of Flickr user Birbigs

According to a study released on Monday, Georgetown graduates 82% of its basketball players, clocking in at thirteenth among the 65 teams in the NCAA tournament. The report, released by the Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport at the University of Central Florida, was based upon 2000-01 graduation (six-year) statistics released by the NCAA.

The main fact that jumps out of the study is the disparity between African-American and white basketball player graduation rates, an average of 33% among all the teams (22% for Georgetown). The problem isn’t just among basketball players, though. Dr. Richard Lapchick, the primary author of the study, pointed out. “African-American basketball players graduate at a higher rate than African-American males who are not student-athletes,” he said in the study.  “Too many of our predominantly white campuses are not welcoming places for students of color, whether or not they are athletes.”

Some other notes:

• The Final Four according to graduation rates would be Butler, Notre Dame, Purdue and Western Kentucky.
• Among the eight Big East teams in the study, Georgetown ranks fourth after Marquette, Notre Dame and ‘Nova.
• American University, our D.C. neighbor playing in its first NCAA tourney, has the second worst graduation rate with an abysmal 18%.
• Among all the 1 and 2 seeds, Georgetown has the second highest graduation rate after UNC, which has a graduation rate of 86%.  (Unfortunately for UNC, Graduation rates don’t win championships;  2007 Elite Eight, anyone?) Tennessee and Texas, clocking in at 33%, are tied for last place.

h/t ESPN.com

I just bought a ticket to New York City (the first leg of my trip home to Connecticut) aboard BoltBus, the newest arrival on the DC-NYC bus scene, and it felt great. BoltBus’s claim to fame is its ridiculously cheap $1 tickets; even with a service fee, my ticket cost me a mere $1.50. The catch? BoltBus offers very few $1 tickets for each ride, so you’ve got to book way in advance to snag the tickets before the prices jump up to $7, 10, or more. (After I bought my ticket, the price for the same bus shot up to $7.)  My ticket’s for May 10, an approximate date for when I might want to go home, based on my exam schedule. It’s still two months away, which makes the ticket a bit of a gamble, but for $1.50, I’d bet on pretty much anything.

BoltBus’s $7 or $10 fares are still a steal. Even the bargain Chinatown buses like Apex or Today charge $20, or $17.50 if you buy round-trip. (Incidentally, they also smell a bit off, offer horrible service and are notoriously unreliable. I swore them off  after the last one I took left New York a solid two and a half hours after it was supposed to.) Unlike the Chinatown buses, BoltBus also has wi-fi and electrical outlets so you can surf all the way up the eastern seaboard.  What more could you ask for?

I’d advise anyone who’s traveling anywhere remotely close to New York after school gets out to buy a ticket right now. Even if your plans change and you end up not using it, the thrill alone of buying a bus ticket for $1.50 is practically worth the $1.50.