'Nova
In one glorious title game, Villanova and UNC reminded us why the fight to save college basketball is so important to so many.
How great was Nova's thrilling 77-74 win in Monday's title game that included a 3 pointer from each side in the final six seconds including Kris Jenkins' game-winning buzzer beater for the Wildcats? Well, Rollie Massimino, the coach of the Wildcats when they won this tournament 31 years ago with a miracle upset of Georgetown described last night's game to the Sporting News as such:
"This is 1. We're 2."
It was a back-and-forth affair that was well-played and well-defended. It had drama and intensity and emotion. It had great offensive and athletic defense. And it finished with a magical exchange that put this title game on the short list of the best ones ever.
After a free throw extended the Wildcats lead to 74-71 with 13 seconds left, Nova called a timeout. Regardless of their strategy, the Wildcats could not stop Marcus Page's double-clutching 3-pointer that tied the game with 4.7 seconds left. That set the stage for Jenkins' heroics, as he drained a 3 after point guard Ryan Arcidiacono drew a UNC double team. The shot looked true when it left Jenkins' hand, and that truth left us with a few hard facts and some perspective.
Fact: Villanova is the national champ. Are the Wildcats the best team in the country? No, but as Monday night reminded us, this tournament can be so special at times - even just hours after it was so stagnant during the Final Four semifinals - that best when it comes to college basketball is a relative term. And that relation wears multiple hats, be it the excellence of Kansas, which won a mind-blowing 12th consecutive Big 12 title this season, or the magic of Villanova, which saved the tournament with a Monday night masterpiece.
Fact: This game reminded a lot of us why we loved college hoops at some point. OK, we've bagged on college hoops, and the value of the regular season has to be viewed in the same prism as buying a new car as it feels like each year it depreciates. That said, when played right there's still an amount of excellence mixed with uncertainty - a fact that vanishes for the most part on the next level in the NBA - the game can be aesthetically great.
Fact: One and done is a curse and a pleasure. Yes, and yes. Follow along: With all of the seniors and juniors in the mix Monday, we got to see the value of experience and cohesiveness for these teams. We also got the benefit of knowing something about these rosters. (Marcus Page is a throwback in a lot of ways, not the least of which is that he feels like he arrived at UNC with Tyler Hansborough back in the day.) The one-and-done for players hurts the game in a multitude of ways. As for the pleasure, well the one-and-done nature of this tournament is spectacular.
Washington Nationals second baseman Daniel Murphy, left, avoids Atlanta Braves' Nick Markakis, right, while turning a double play on a ground ball hit by Hector Olivera in the seventh inning of a baseball game Monday, April 4, 2016, in Atlanta.A Braves new world
OK, we are going to wear the hat of optimistic Braves fan. It's too easy to be a negative Nelly on this bunch. Heck, when Bud Norris is your No. 2 starter - yes, that Bud Norris of the 3-11 record and an ERA near 7 last year - well, we can all see the problems.
First we need a Braves' optimist name. We could go with Positive Paul or maybe we should go with Jovial Jay - or even the Faithful 5-at-10 - as we try to find the good in this Braves' march toward the No. 1 overall draft pick and closing the Ted like Cortes, who burned his ships when he arrived to the new world.
Thoughts?
OK, round one for Braves Belief with your host, tentatively named Positive Paul.
"Good morning, and our Braves lost a close one to the Nationals on Opening Day. As we like to do here on Braves Belief, we are going to focus on three positive things from the game and try to make the most of every chance. Remember, you gotta be Brave. (See what we did there?)
First, there's Freddie Freeman. Man, he's great. And did you know that he's on pace for 162 home runs this year. (That would be a record.)
OK, secondly, the throw home that should have stopped the tying run from scoring was on target. Yes, A.J. Pierzynski dropped it on the slide, but hey, those things happen, right? RIGHT? (Sigh.)
Finally, with Bud Norris pitching today, here's betting the Nationals are so overconfident, they went out drinking all night.
Go Braves, and stay positive."
In this April 9, 2015, file photo, Arnold Palmer hits an honorary tee shot before the first round of the Masters golf tournament, in Augusta, Ga. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)
Masters contest
We are off to a fast start on our Masterfully Mastering the Masters Challenge here at the 5-at-10. We had a good 20 or so players sign up Monday.
Here's the rules: Pick five golfers, best four finishers count. Where each golfer finishes is your score. (So if you have the winner that's 1 point; if you have someone tied for seventh, that's 7 points, etc.) Add the score together and lowest score wins some Masters swag and some food gift cards.
Deal? Deal. Who's with me?
It's open to everyone, and here are some tips for picking some contenders.
Course knowledge matters. Look at the guys who consistently contend here, and some very familiar names continue to pop up.
Length matters. (It normally does no matter what anyone says.) Of the last seven winners, dating back to Angel Cabrera in 2009, six of them really pound it. (OK, last year's champ Jordan Spieth is not the longest guy on tour, but dude is still plenty long enough.)
Experience matters, especially Augusta experience. Only three Masters champs won the tournament in their first appearance, and two of those guys were Horton Smith, who won the first Masters in 1934, and Gene Sarazen, who won it the following year. (Fuzzy Zoeller in 1979 was the third.)
Right now, here's our five and why we like them:
- Jason Day. Well, what's not to like. He crushes it off the tee, making some of the long par 4s manageable and making all of the par 5s exploitable. PLus, no one is playing better.
- Adam Scott. Also playing very well, and meets a lot of the previous checkmarks.
- Phil Mickelson. Because we want him to be in the mix.
- Bubba Watson. Because we don't want him to be the mix, which means he will be.
- Hideki Matsuyama. Because there's always an outlier in the mix, and it's been a while since the interview room needed an interpreter for the post-match news conferences.
In this Saturday, June 13, 2015 file photo, Washington Nationals' Bryce Harper hits an RBI single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers in Milwaukee. Bryce Harper has become the youngest unanimous MVP winner in baseball history, capturing the NL award during a season in which his Washington Nationals missed the playoffs. Harper got all 30 first-place votes from members of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in results announced Thursday, Nov. 19, 2015. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File)This and that
- Kudos to NL MVP Bryce Harper, who homered in the opener against the Braves and also wore the "Make Baseball Fun Again" hat. Well-played indeed.
- This is big news. Twitter has won the bidding for the streaming rights to Thursday night NFL. http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15138355/twitter-wins-digital-streaming-rights-nfl-thursday-night-games
- Women's semifinal ratings were noticeably higher than a year ago. They averaged a 1.4, up from a 1.0 last year. The UConn women had a 1.7, up slightly from the 1.6 of last year. Still, for all the talk about UConn's dominance being bad for the game, the TV numbers being up is significant.
- Baseball opening day ratings for Royals-Mets was 2.1 by comparison.
- The overnight numbers have last night's title game at a 12.0 TV rating. (For comparison, last year with Duke-Wisconsin did a 17.2.)
Villanova's Kris Jenkins high fives fans after the NCAA Final Four tournament college basketball championship game against North Carolina, Monday, April 4, 2016, in Houston. Villanova won 77-74. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip) Today's question
Remember the Masters contest.
Also, where does last night's game rank on the March Madness Rushmore?
Also, how cool is it for Kris Jenkins to have this moment forever? Man, that would rock.