1) Was Jordan Fithian just having fun, or is he just a little bit different?

In the first half of the game against Southwest Baptist, Emporia State's 6-foot-6 senior forward walked toward the press table with the referee to inbound the ball after a timeout.

The referee pointed out the spot where he wanted Fithian to stand, and Fithian responded, “That's good.”

As if Fithian had a choice.

Then, he looked up at the reporters along press row, and without a smile, said, “Hello.”

Most players – even those I've covered night in and night out – won't acknowledge my presence when they inbound the ball right in front of me. But Fithian apparently is a friendly sort.

Frankly, I was speechless, as was the reporter sitting next to me, so I didn't respond.

Not wanting to appear unfriendly, I'll respond now.

“Hello, Jordan!”

2) Headline: Jesse Shaw becomes the human shield

I wonder if the former Northwest Missouri State guard has in his job description the shielding of Emporia State coach David Moe from trouble with the officials.

With Moe incensed that a blocking foul on his player was called a two-shot foul instead of on the floor, Shaw raised his arms and stood face-to-face with Moe, apparently trying to hide most of his much bigger boss' body – and more importantly his actions – from the official to prevent a technical foul.

It worked, as Moe avoided the technical.

Another job well done.

3) A tip of the hat goes to Bobby Bearcat, Northwest Missouri State's mascot, for giving me my biggest laugh of the long quarterfinal day on the men's side. Bobby defeated Gus Gorilla of Pittsburg State in an American Gladiator-style event at halftime of the semifinal game between the two schools.

Running around the court inside a large plastic ball, Bobby had no trouble getting past the much slower bubble-bound Gorilla.

What made this most amusing was that Bobby reminded me of the pet hamster I once owned as he scurried around in an exercise ball.