This man is now getting the same AARP mailings as my Dad!

As usual on Christmas Eve, we wish a very Happy Birthday to the Man Who Saved Hofstra Basketball, Jay Wright, who turns 50 today. FIFTY. FIFTY FOR GOD'S SAKE HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE?! He's supposed to be 32 and inheriting the reigning East Coast Conference champions forever. But don't worry Jay. Even though you are now getting the same junk mail as my Dad, you're still much hipper.

And as usual today, I also wish a very Happy Birthday to the Woman Who Saved Me From A Lifetime Of Reading Old Hofstra Media Guides Alone. She reads them with me! Happy Birthday to my wonderful wife, and Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to the entire DD readership! Thanks for your loyalty and patience this year as I drown in joyous Day Job work. Hopefully I'll do a better job of carving out time to write in 2012. Along those lines, we'll have a gift for you tomorrow to digest after you wolf down your ham, turkey and pumpkin pie, so stop by.

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

In which, for the 3rd straight year, I wish a Happy Birthday to Jay Wright (oh, and my wife too!)

Yes! Another excuse to use the 1994-95 schedule pic!

Want to feel old? One year from right now, Jay Wright will be eligible for AARP. How the hell did that happen? And he still looks younger than me.

As always, we take this opportunity on Christmas Eve to wish a very Happy Birthday to the man who saved Hofstra basketball, as well as to the wonderful woman who saved me from decades of awkward conversations and coexistence with a spouse who didn't enjoy sports or mid-major basketball in particular. Some may think it coincidence both individuals came into my life the same year, but I know better. Happy Birthday, Jay and Michelle!

In which, for the second straight year, I wish Jay Wright (and my wife) a Happy Birthday and all of Dutch Nation a Merry Christmas

Whoohoo! Another excuse to post the photo of the '94 pocket sked!

Some of us celebrate our birthdays by going to a favorite restaurant, where we quench our hunger for nostalgia as much as we do for nourishment. Jay Wright celebrates by pounding Delaware.

Eighth-ranked Villanova cruised to a 97-63 win over the Blue Hens last night, one day before Wright turned 48 (yes, he does look younger than me despite his 12-year head start, I don’t want to talk about it) and a mere eight years and change since Wright recorded his final victory on the Hofstra sidelines by directing the Flying Dutchmen to their second straight America East title game win over Delaware. I’m just going to presume that the Villanova fans observed Wright’s birthday by storming the court and surrounding him as he climbed a ladder and cut down the nets.

Happy birthday Jay, and thanks for saving Hofstra basketball!

And while I’m here, I should conclude Operation Keep My Ass Married by wishing the world’s best Hofstra fan a very happy birthday. You know you married up when your wife believes she shares Wright’s birthday, and not vice versa.

And judging by the freaking psychopaths I encountered this week at Costco and other big box stores, Christmas, apparently, is tomorrow as well. So on behalf of the entire Defiantly Dutch family, I extend to all of Dutch Nation our wishes for a very happy and safe holiday season and offer my sincere thanks to you for visiting the site this year and making this project so fulfilling for me. Hopefully 2010 is the year we finally get to chronicle (get it? Chronicle? I’ll be here all week! Well, not really) a trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Flying Dutchmen basketball team…as well as provide regular reminders of the injustice that was perpetuated on Dec. 3.

I had hoped to post a story about the relationship between Bob McKillop and Tom Pecora before the holiday, but OKMAM occupied far more time than I anticipated, so stop back Monday morning for that story. In the meantime, may you spend your long weekend like I plan to spend mine: Pigging out and adding a few more pounds to the weight loss goal for 2010!

Email Jerry at defiantlydutch@yahoo.com or follow Defiantly Dutch at http://twitter.com/defiantlydutch.

Happy birthday, Jay Wright! (Oh and my wife too)

That's right, The Man Who Saved Hofstra Basketball turns 47 today. If that depresses you and reminds you of misspent youth (and tuition dollars), welcome to my world. As my wife says: "By the time he was your age, he'd already been Hofstra's coach for three years."

Thanks honey. Happy birthday to you too, despite all the havoc you've wrecked over the last 24 hours. :)

Happy birthday, too, to Flying Dutchmen guard David Vallins, who turns 20 on Christmas Day. I hope nobody combines gifts for him. My wife always hates that.

And a happy holidays and a joyous Festivus to all of you from all of us here at DDHQ (even Butterfingers Sully Ray, who is still scurrying around for the T-shirt he let slip through his fingers last night). Thanks for stopping by this little corner of the Internet the last four months. Have a great holiday weekend and we'll see you Monday.