Purdue Boilermakers (16-2, 5-0 B1G) vs. Minnesota Golden Gophers (13-5, 2-3 B1G)

11 AM, Historic Williams Arena Minneapolis, MN

TV: ESPN2

Line: Purdue -8.5 O/U 152.5

Measure a shot of Yukon Jack, drop it into a big glass of cold Blatz. Drink. “Enjoy.”

You may look at that and cringe a bit, and I get it. I can still taste it a bit when I think about it. The whiskey was much closer to rubbing alcohol than the poison I consume, but that doesn’t matter. Grandma would have one nearly every night, and she earned them. Being a farmer’s wife isn’t easy, even when the farmer had retired. Occasionally when I would help out at the neighbor’s farm I’d get a quick sip. Every single time I would excitedly partake, even though I should have known better. It was my Bart vs. the Cupcake moment when I was I was roughly the same age as my oldest Daughter is now. (It’s ok. It’s perfectly normal to share alcohol with kids in Kindergarten on the farm.) Anyway, it’s been about 30 years since I’ve had one. It’s not that Grandma passed, oh no. She’s pushing 90 and is going to outlive us all. To this day she is the fiercest, most temperamental, sharp-tongued, cantankerous, grumpy battle-axes one could ever meet, and I love her for it.

Nah, Grandma just decided that she wanted to drink a little better now that she’s starting to age a bit. So there’s just beer, no more Boilermakers. But if she ever does pass, I’ll have one more good Boilermaker even though I should know better.