No Disgrace

Well, Wollongong Hawks assistant coach Matt Flinn played 90 seconds of garbage time against Perth. That's cool and makes a feel-good story; a guy playing his first NBL game in 15 years. Here's the bad news: Flinny threw up an ugly J that barely caught iron, Zac Delaney refused to pass when he was open under the bucket and the plucky Hawks lost 92-58 in a replay of last season's grand final.
Now, why did a 30-something former Dapto Cricket Club all-rounder have to dust off his Cons and suit up tonight?
Well, his side were missing three starters - Gary Ervin (thumb), Glenn Saville (knee) and Larry Davidson (preggers ankle - check Friday's Illawarra Mercury. That's what he called it).
That left the Hawks with a makeshift team - Delaney (ankle), Mat Campbell (calf) and Oscar Foreman (worst case of gastro in recorded history, according to reports coming out of the west, plus a sternum problem) played despite nasty problems.
People might say 'but they lost by more than 30'. So? Perth were cranky after losing on their own floor a week earlier and came out pumped up. Wollongong were too and trailled by only five at quarter-time.
After that, it got nasty.
Wildcats germ, ahem, guard Brad Robbins tried to pick a fight with Dave Gruber, whose nickname is the Terminator because of his Herculean physique. Ty Demos, who was also carrying an injury, backed up the big man. Luckily for the Hawks' personnel woes and Robbins' well-being, everyone kept their heads.
Some rookie with a headband and fugly moehawk dunked twice when the game was well finished and carried on like he was John Starks throwing down on the Bulls at the Garden back in the day. Clown.
Ranga Rob Beveridge kept yelling at the refs til Flinny checked in. Muppet.
In short, we were all hoping for the fairytale finish: Matt Flinn, the NBL's Rocky Balboa, landing a knockout punch on a hated enemy with a sweet three-ball. Didn't quite work out that way, but the Hawks can come home and get ready for another archrival, Sydney, with their heads held high. They kept their discipline and refused to be bated by the sheer Perthiness of the environment they were in.
And Sydney are so bad that even with Ervin, Sav and Larry out (with a preggers ankle), they should still thump the Kings. Wooooooooooooooooo.