As the clock wound down on North Carolina's beat down of Michigan State on Monday night in the national championship game, my thoughts turned to the biggest Carolina basketball fan I ever knew.
Tom Borrelli wasn't born and raised in North Carolina, as I was. He didn't grow up a bounce pass away from the Chapel Hill campus, as I did. But no one -- no one -- bled Carolina Blue more than Tom. Watching our beloved Tar Heels capture another NCAA championship was bittersweet because he isn't around to enjoy it.
As many of you know, Tom was a veteran Buffalo News sportswriter who passed away late last year after suffering paralyzing injuries from a fall at All High Stadium. It's a loss all of us in the sports department are still coming to grips with.
I miss his good-natured humor. I miss his friendship. And I miss sharing our love of Carolina basketball.
Every year, without fail, Tom would send me a copy of the Tar Heels' schedule for the upcoming season. We would go over each game and determine the wins and losses. We talked about every Carolina recruit, predicting which one would have the biggest impact.
Tom could be a little fatalistic toward his favorite team. No matter how good Carolina looked on paper, he'd say things like, "I don't know if they'll win 20 games this year,"
or "If they get to the NCAA Tournament, they'll get knocked out in the second round."
Such pessimism was borne of Carolina's numerous postseason failures. When the Tar Heels were eliminated by George Mason three years ago or when they were torched by Kansas in last year's Final Four, he grumbled, "They will break your heart every time."
But every now and then, Tom the Optimist would show up. It happened during the 2004-05 basketball season. He was certain the Tar Heels would win it all because their top players decided to forego the NBA for a shot at the title. You should have seen how happy Tom was to be right.
He also felt really good about Carolina this year, too. Like the 2005 champs, this edition of the Tar Heels didn't lose any of its stars to the pros. I remember him saying that if they stayed healthy there is no reason they shouldn't win.
Sure enough, point guard Ty Lawson suffered a late-season sprained big toe that sidelined him for the ACC Tournament and the first round of the NCAAs. I could just hear Tom saying, "I knew something like this would happen."
Fortunately, Lawson got healthy and the Tar Heels mowed down every opponent by at least 12 points.
I have to admit that I was a little nervous going into the title game, a feeling no doubt influenced by Tom's constant concerns about the Tar Heels in the big game.
I shouldn't have worried. Carolina dominated from the opening tap until the final buzzer and won going away, 89-72.
I'm sure a lot of people didn't think the game was worth watching after the first 10 minutes. They were hoping Michigan State, playing in front of a huge partisan crowd at Detroit's Ford Field, would be competitive. But I'm glad the Spartans weren't. Tom and I preferred to see the Tar Heels win easily. It's less stressful that way.
I always looked forward to talking to Tom about our Heels after a big win, especially when a national championship was at stake. Not being able to do that makes me miss him even more. But knowing how much Tom would have enjoyed that game makes me feel better.
I couldn't wait to get up Tuesday morning to get online and order my Carolina championship T-shirt, just as Tom would have done.
