That Settles It. Try as we might to squeeze in a little R&R during a relatively slow week for the Terps (a road game against an 0-7 ACC opponent, Virginia Tech, and a rematch against a good Wahoos team . . . but a team that Maryland had already beaten on the road . . . and this time the Terps would be playing at home), we learned a valuable lesson. There's no such thing as a "slow" week for fans of Maryland basketball. No, despite the best laid plans of mice turtle fans and men women, we managed to miss an overtime thriller from Blacksburg and a come-from-behind nail-biter win over the Cavs at Comcast. But what we missed most was seeing Shay's number raised to the rafters.

We were sailing the Atlantic Ocean when we first heard the news that Shay would be honored at halftime of last Friday's game. And in case you're ever planning to take a vacation cruise of your own, you should know before you board that the captain will absolutely refuse to turn the ship around for a banner-raising ceremony. Trust us! However, our cruise director "Soozy" did tell us that one of the most interesting questions she was asked by a passenger was whether the crew sleeps on board. She answered (quite seriously) that "No, every evening they swim ashore." After hearing that, we considered joining the nightly exodus . . . but since one of the BasketCases is still recovering from shoulder surgery, we decided that as much as we wanted to be there for Shay, alas, it was impossible.

While we were extremely disappointed not to see Shay honored in person, fortunately Shay's Official website has a marvelous photo gallery of the event that practically made us feel like we were there. Even though most of you, our loyal readers, were there, we think you'll enjoy scrolling through the 100+ photos of this wonderful event. The BasketCases send a Titanic-size thank you to Noam Galai for the fabulous photographs!

So last week, while most of you were enjoying watching the Terps play the Hokies for 45 minutes on ACC Select, the BasketCases were reduced to filling their time swimming with stingrays, snorkling in crystal Langhorne clear turquoise waters, or simply sipping margaritas on a deck overlooking a tropical Caribbean port.

If that doesn't make you feel sorry enough for us, just remember that while you were busy anticipating the upcoming (Friday) game that would honor breast cancer survivors and Shay, we had to distract ourselves with a visit to Mayan ruins on the coast of the Yucatan Peninsula.

And if that weren't bad enough, while you were experiencing that oh-so-special night at Comcast, all we got to do was enjoy see some street performers at Mallory Square in Key West, watch the famous sunset over the harbor, and sip some umbrella-topped drinks in a restaurant garden full of flowers and palm trees wrapped in strings of sparkling lights.

The same way we don't like to complain (too much) about officiating, we also don't believe in wallowing in self pity . . . so we can assure you that we did our very best to distract ourselves from the disappointment we were feeling. It wasn't easy, but like true Terps fans, we soldiered through.

"Soozy" our cruise director also told us that a passenger asked her if our ship generated its own electricity. As she explained to this feeble enquiring mind, "No, it runs off a long extension cord plugged-in back in Charleston." So luckily, by week's end, Captain Ronny was simply able to follow the cord back to South Carolina and deposit the BasketCases on dry land. And speaking of "cords," while we missed quite a lot last week, we did not miss news of any "cords" of another kind being cut (as far as we know). So now that your officially unofficial bloggers are back on the job, if we hear of any cuts of that variety being made, we promise to keep you, our loyal readers, well-informed.

Photo Credits: Stingray: Juan Carlos; all others: DC BasketCases