Clash of the Titans

It's King Kong vs Godzilla again. It's the Bushes vs the Clintons on Family Feud. It's Rush Limbaugh vs Rachel Maddow in a cage match. Well, OK, maybe it's not that much fun, but UConn vs Notre Dame in the ladies' hoops finals ain't bad. It's the first time in history, be it boys or girls, two undefeated teams have squared off for the big prize.

In the red corner we have (Little Miss) Muffet McGraw and her 37-0 Fighting Irish. According to their own web site, the lady leprechauns have a very impressive resume. This is their 17th NCAA tourney in a row, they made the Sweet 16 ten out of 16 times during that period, and they're one of only seven schools to make it to the Final Four five times. In other words, six others have done it as well.

Bottom line? Blah, blah, blah. They've won exactly one championship in the 27 years the lovely Ms. McGraw has been coaching them. That was back in 2001, when a guy named W (remember him?) was first settling into the Oval Office. They've been close a lot, but only one cigar. Lots of leaners, but only one ringer. Perhaps they weren't eating enough Lucky Charms.

In the blue corner we have the Canoli Kid, who sometimes goes by the name Geno Auriemma, and his 39-0 Huskies. The lady sled-pullers have established a standard of excellence, even dynasty, that hasn't been seen since Pat Summit's Lady Vols and the late John Wooden's UCLA Bruins were perennially steamrolling the field in years of yore. Indeed, Auriemma already has 8 national titles under his belt, tied with Summit, and only trails Wooden's 10.

Bottom line? UConn likely considers Sweet 16s and Final Fours as merely a necessary step in the process to reach the top -- again. It would appear they serve the girls in Storrs a lot of Wheaties. The breakfast of champions.

Either way, just the fact two unbeatens will square off for the first time to decide the national title makes this game a must see on Tuesday night. By definition, one will run the table to complete a perfect season, hoist the trophy, and have a parade -- and the other has to go down.

Forget the wild tigers. Not even a thundering herd of rabid Anderson Coopers and Charles Barkleys storming my modest abode would keep yours truly from being tuned in -- though that's a scary thought. Then again, if those pesky Playmates happen to drop by one more time for a little fun-- well -- it IS only a basketball game -- right?

And it should be a great one. Definitely not as interesting as seeing a Rush and Rachel death match in the octagon would be -- but really good stuff.

On a personal note, hi Lynette, and thanks.