UTC women
Jim Foster told us on Press Row last week that he wanted his team to take a flight to their first-round NCAA tournament game.
Alas, the committee shipped the Mocs to Louisville for their NCAA opener against the fourth-seeded hosts.
That trip is 307 miles of interstate, or roughly five hours of travel time.
If UTC so inclines to take a private jet to the home of the YUM! Center and the Kentucky Derby, that would be 223 miles as the crow flies and take a little less than an hour.
There were plenty of options for the Mocs to get that elusive plane ride and, as Foster explained last week, get a different view of the country.
With the top four teams hosting - other than Stanford, the two-seed in the West who is headed to Kansas State because The Cardinal facilities are being worked on - the committee could have sent UTC to L.A. or Miami to face fourth-seeded UCLA or Miami.
As for the opponent, well, the Mocs lost to Louisville earlier this season.
And yes, the factors are different for the men and women, considering the women still have host sites in the first two rounds before going to neutral tournament locales.
Still, the same mumbo-jumbo - and in some ways the same hypocrisy - comes from the folks the NCAA charges to make meaningful decisions.
How else can you explain some of the choices. Maryland was ranked No. 4 in the country, with 30 wins and regular-season and tournament Big Ten titles. It got a 3 seed.
The kicker may have been South Carolina, considered the second-best team in the country and the champs of arguably the best conference in the country. Dawn Staley's team is the 1 seed in the Stockton, Cal., regional.
"It made the most sense for the good of the game and the student-athlete experience to go out to Stockton and have Baylor go to Oklahoma City," tournament selection committee chair Terry Gawlik told ESPN.
Whatever.
Well, at least the committees are consistent in their inconsistencies.
But this is the one way the growth of the women's game should not try to match the men's.
Good of the game and the student-athlete experience, huh? What do you tell Foster and his bunch, who have already played against the team and in the gym you sent them?
And no, "At least it's not Starkville," is not a good enough answer.
UCLA's Lonzo Ball comes down with a rebound against Washington during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 4, 2017, in Seattle. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)30-for-30 on Ball-ers
Here's hoping the ESPN folks are already collecting footage for the amazing 30-for-30 documentary that in unfolding before our eyes with the entire Ball family.
Quick background: LaVar Ball is the father of three hooping sons - Lonzo, a UCLA freshman and soon-to-be lottery pick, LiAngelo and LaMelo, high-scoring high school stars who also are committed to UCLA.
LaVar has made a ton of headlines with his mouth, saying things that ranged from Lonzo being better than Steph Curry right now to challenging Charles Barkley and saying if Barkley thought like Ball did, he would have won a championship.
In fact, Ball's most outrageous claim - yes, even more so than believing his freshman son is better than two-time NBA MVP Curry - came this weekend.
And no it was not his suggestion that his three sons would only sign a shoe deal that started at $1 billion - yes, billion with a 'B' friends.
LaVar Ball said this weekend that he, back in his heyday, would wax Michael Jordan in one-on-one. Yes, Ball, who averaged two points a game at Washington State before transferring to Cal State-Los Angeles and being an all-conference player in whatever Divisionn II conference Cal-State-Los Angeles is in.
Here's Ball's full statement via USA Today Sports:
"I would just back (Jordan) in and lift him off the ground and call a foul every time he fouls me when I do a jump hook to the right or the left,'' Ball said. "He cannot stop me one-on-one. He better make every shot 'cause he can't go around me. He's not fast enough. And he can only make so many shots outside before I make every bucket under the rim."
Why don't you stop talking for a while there, Champ. Maybe sit the next few plays out, huh?
That said, the most overblown and over-quoted sports parent since, well, maybe since ever looks to be a delusional cross between Todd Marinovich's dad, who never let Todd have a Big Mac and Roy Turner, the manager of the Denny's Yankees team that bested Buttermaker's Bears even after Turner smacked his kid on the mound during the title game.
Lions, Tigers and Balls.
Oh my.
PSG's Angel Di Maria, second left, celebrates after scoring the first goal of the game during the Champion's League round of 16, first leg soccer match between Paris Saint Germain and Barcelona at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris, Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2017. (AP Photo/Francois Mori) We're officially there
Cue D-Day from Animal House.
"That's it. War's over. Werner dropped the big."
Bluto: "What? Over? Did you say "over"? Nothing is over until we decide it is! Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?"
We lamented early last month that in today's protest-crazy society in which everyone needs safe spaces and havens of like-minded lattes and gender-neutral pronouns, that maybe Falcons fans should have staged a sit-in or signed a petition to null and void the result of the Super Bowl because, after all if we can pretend the President is not the President, then any outcome is fair game right?
Even in sports, where winners and losers are the most clear, if we don't like a result that doesn't meet with our delicate sensibilities, well, we don't have to accept it right?
Wrong.
Until now.
Yep, the amazing finish to the Barcelona- PSG match, in which Barcelona scored three goals in the final five minutes of extra time to win 6-1 and get the needed goal-differential to advance is now being protested.
No, not in a disbelief state of "What a classic meltdown by our side" fan lament that has carried disappointed sports supporters through more offseasons than Jack Daniels and Winstons combine.
Nope, there is officially a petition at Change.org demanding a the game to be replayed.
Amazing, right?
Wait it gets better. And worse.
Take a guess how many nonsensical folks have signed that puppy.
Did you say as many as 100,000. That's nuts right?
Now double it.
More than 200,000 people have signed the petition, which offers insight to why so many online idiots reply to that email from the member of the royal family of an African nation who is wanting to send you $12 million, and he needs is your social security number and back account so he can deposit the sum directly.
Oy.
Ona side and somewhat serious note: This in some ways is part of the ripple effect of all the bellyaching people do toward referees in the moment. The petition claims the refs cheated the PSG side, and details some calls the fans thought were missed or made up.
It's part of the universal descent into a social malaise that starts with everyone gets a trophy.
If you start from the premise that everyone wins, then that by definition means no one loses.
And if no one loses, then the basic rationale is not "what can we do better to improve our outcome next time," but rather, "We did not win, we must have been cheated."
And that's sad.
Germans?
Forget it he's rolling.
This and that
- San Antonio now has matched Golden State for the top record in the West. Important race for home-court advantage throughout the playoffs and for the simple fact that the 1 seed gets Utah in the conference semis rather than Houston.
- We meant to post this last week. Sorry. Here's an interview with Mike Golic about the swirling rumors and talk that radio tag-team partner Mike Greenberg may be moving on.
- Just because we are such a big fan of the show, here's a Game of Thrones update: Pop star Ed Sheeran reportedly will make an appearance on the GoT landscape next season. We're betting he'll be killed off pretty quickly.
- Dallas star running back Ezekiel Elliott has had some domestic dust-ups in his past. Now a video of Elliott pawing a female's breasts and shirt during a St. Patrick's Day party last weekend almost assuredly will make its way to the Commish's office. Stay tuned.
- The Masters is trimming the field at the Par 3 tournament. It's an understandable move and one that makes sense. Still, there are some former major champions who were bummed about it, which also makes sense, because let's be honest, having any chance to do any golf-related activities at Augusta National is a sure fire bucket list-type of deal. Still, the glad hand The Masters extends to all former major winners - passes for the player, plus-1 as well as $1,000 - is pretty sweet.
- Speaking of the Masters, how cool would this keepsake be? That's Arnold Palmer's hand-wriitten notes and playbook on how to play Augusta National.
- Speaking of Palmer, his trademarked multi-color umbrella will be a ubiquitous insignia this week at the Palmer Invitational. Cool story.
- And because, well, Baylor is Baylor, they have fired another football staffer for inappropriate text messages. As reported by KWTX, Bears associate director for football operations DeMarkco Butler has been fired for sending inappropriate messages to a teenager. Oh my. He is the second staffer under new coach Matt Ruhle to be dismissed in the last two months. No es bueno.
Today's questions
It's a Tuesday. You know how we roll.
True or false, you will be part of the 70 million Americans to do a bracket.
True or false, there will eventually be a women's bracket pool.
True or false, without the bracket you would not really care about the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
You know the drill, answer and then ask it forward.
Also, remember the college basketball, "First-Out, Last-In" Challenge.
As for a Rushmore, let's do two.
First, today is March 14, also known as 3-14, also known as Pi Day (3.14 and all). Rushmore of pies. Go.
As for birthdays, well, Steph Curry is 29. (True or false, if you are starting an NBA franchise with all the players in the league as they are right now, Steph Curry does not crack the top 10 players you would pick with your No. 1 overall pick.)
Also, Billy Crystal is 69 today. Rushmore of Billy Crystal movies. (Also, Crystal may be one of the most recognized sports fans among celebrities. His love for the Yankees ranking right there with Jack's love for the Lakers.)
Go, and remember the college basketball contest.