'Twas a good St. Paddy's Day in Milwaukee. (That's the original one in Wisconsin, not the spelling-challenged namesake in the Portland, Oregon suburbs.) The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee men's basketball team upset the University of Alabama to move on to the second round of the NCAA tournament. It's the school's first win ever in March Madness play, and the Panthers, as they're known, get to try for two in a row tomorrow against Boston College.

I spent a "formative" summer in Milwaukee in the mid-70s, staying with some friends I adored there on my Great Solo Journey West. And during that time I noted well that the locals were very fond of "UWM." The school never enjoyed the reputation of its Big Sister, the main campus of the state university, out in Madison. And as a basketball power, they were nothing in those days next to the heavy hitters down the road at Marquette. Heck, even Wisconsin-Stevens Point had glory days when Milwaukee native and Trail Blazer-to-be Terry Porter (now coach of the NBA team the Milwaukee Bucks) led that team as its point guard. But UWM... well, it was kind of like the Portland State analog in Wisconsin.

Today dawns on a new era there, however. Congratulations to the team and the school, and may the Cinderella slipper fit over the weekend.