I Think I Might Be Too Competitive

I just filled out my NCAA tournament bracket. All I'm gonna say is I am such a UT homer. Got them going to the Final Four. After that...Rock, Chalk, Jayhawk. Might as well hand the money over to me now.

On the subject of basketball, had another wacky time last night in the office league. Game got so out of hand, the referee threatened to call the game in the middle of the second half. Punches being thrown, people getting thrown out (I personally got a technical called on me and threatened by the referee for trying to finish a fight that I didn't start). Other team played rather dirty and about halfway through the first half, I decided I had enough of it. The same guy had been fouling me hard every time I got the ball and the referees wouldn't call it. I turn around after one particularly blatant foul and just flick the ball at him and hit him in the stomach with it. His 5'7" teammate decides he needs to step up and defend his teammate. He starts yelling and coming at me. I have my back turned to him and I turn and see he's talking to me and coming at me. At this point, I decide that there has been too much talking and not enough action, I dont say a word and just start walking to meet the guy. Straight at him. He realizes he has pissed the big kid off and begins doing the whole "hold me back" bit behind one of his teammates. Unluckily for him, my teammates don't care to slow me down. I am two steps from him and his teammate and am getting ready for the shot heard round the City of Austin league and the referee basically tackles me from behind. At this point I'm like "I was just walking" (I never said anything). Bang...Technical Foul "keep talking and I will call another one on you and you'll be ejected". Whatever. Two minutes later, me and one of my high school teammates put a trap on one of their guys and get a turnover. During the scramble and resulting mele, their guy hits my teammate in the face. It was on at this point. Me and my teammate get after the guy. After being separated, the referee calls a tech on my teammate and the opposing player. My teammate was incensed by this call being that he was the one who got hit in the face. He starts in on the referee about how its the ref's job to protect the players and he was not doing his job at all. Bang...ejected. At this point the referee decides he's going to call the game because it's getting out of hand. We convince him not to and as soon as he agrees, the other team starts talking shit again. I get into it with yet another player when he starts running his mouth about how he didn't foul me and I, in fact, fouled him. I told him he was full of crap and needed to learn the rules of the game and if he knew them he would know that he did in fact foul me. I was having a pretty good game, scoring wise, so when he retorts "well I guess lowering your shoulder is just your game", my response is "my game has more points than your entire team". It was a true statement at that point. Nothing like having it thrown in your face that the player you're talking trash to has outscored your entire team to shut somebody. He did not have anymore to say after that. Anyway, we won, I think Justin has to sit out next week also for getting thrown out. Tempers have been flaring lately. I got in trouble in my Saturday league last week to the point the referees had to stop the game and tell both teams to stop talking or play wouldn't continue. That was only because some little guy told me not to throw an elbow again and he wouldn't shut up about it and I politely asked "what are you going to do about it if I do"? Then his teammate reminded me that I was not the only big guy on the court and I politely told him that I was bigger than both of them put together.

With that diatribe done, I can say I never open my mouth first. But...if someone is gonna talk to the talk, I just assume they'll walk the walk. So I just skip straight to the walking part.