And he's off
Matt McCall is the new coach at UMass.
Here's college hoops guru and TFP ace sports columnist Mark Wiedmer's view on the situation, and how UTC would love to have a coach that stays with the program for more than two years. (Three of the last four coaches - Jeff Lebo, Will Wade and now McCall - dropped a two-and-see-ya on the Mocs.)
Here's an interesting list of potential replacements from TFP UTC beat ace Mean Gene Henley. Is the next UTC basketball coach on that list? Maybe. And maybe not.
Was Tom Arth among the initial names tossed around when the UTC football gig was open three-plus months ago? Was Jim Foster's a few years ago?
In truth, this morning as the Mocs are wondering who will be responsible for rebuilding the basketball program (more on this in a moment), today among all the mornings since UT hired John Currie, UTC fans should be counting their lucky stars that David Blackburn is still in the 423. Say what you want about the side stories that got overblown in the mudslinging that became the UT AD race and any of the concerns about the fund-raising going on around the UTC program right now, but know this: Blackburn may have as good a track record going right now in the hiring department.
And that's a good thing for a job that will require some coming in here and reworking the program.
Is there some talent on the roster? Yes, but it's almost all young or relatively inexperienced.
The new coach - and this makes the hiring timetable even more important - must quickly try to keep the current roster as in tact as possible and re-recruit the signees since a lot of them understandably could be curious about the future with the Mocs.
Say all you want about the perfect-world scenario of players committing to schools and not coaches or programs, but the primary reason the incoming hipsters are coming to UTC is hoops. And their primary connection was McCall and his staff, so it seems logical for them to be uneasy about the immediate future.
So time is of the essence, and while Weeds' point is fair that a little stability would be nice, consider us to be in the camp of finding the next big gun and hot shot and letting him work his magic is A-OK.
This job, no matter how much we know can be done here, will never be a destination job. And we'd always take two-to-three highlight-filled years and starting over to a decade of in between with a random dance here and there.
The time frame of the contract - and why not put in some added incentives along with the buyout of having a home-and-home with the next school to hire Blackburn's next ace hoer - is an interesting talking point, but considering the work to be done, the timeframe may be even more important.
And there's no one around who UTC fans should want making those calls and decisions more than David Blackburn.
Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry (30) drives around San Antonio Spurs forward LaMarcus Aldridge during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, March 29, 2017, in San Antonio. (AP Photo/Darren Abate) NBA items of interest
The Golden State Warriors are in full control of the race for the top seed throughout the playoffs after last night's impressive performance at San Antonio.
After digging a 22-point first-half hole, the Warriors leaned heavily on the Splash Brothers - Klay and Steph went 8-of-17 from 3 and combined for 52 - and toppled the Spurs 110-98.
It was a throwback performance for the Warriors, who were amazingly efficient - 51.2 percent on FGs, 50-percent from 3, 100-percent from the line and 31 assists on 43 baskets - and prevailed despite getting beat on the boards and outscored by double digits at the free-throw line.
It raises an interesting question about the smoothness and comfort of this group with Kevin Durant as opposed to without him. Make no mistake, every basketball team everywhere is better with a talent like Kevin Durant on the floor.
But Warriors have won nine straight, including two in two nights on the road at Houston and San Antonio, the second- and third-best teams in the league right now. (Also of note, the Warriors have not lost since Steve Kerr started the national 'resting players' debate when he sat everyone on that Saturday night against San Antonio.)
The Warriors got good news Wednesday that Durant's knee is progressing well. And that's great. But right now, so are the Warriors. Speaking of great, how about the stat line Russell Westbrook dropped last night?
Dear Lord and hide the children.
Russ went for 57 on 21-of-40 shooting with 11 assists and 13 rebounds. It is his 38th triple double of the year, moving him within three of the Big O's single-season record. For the year, Westbrook is at 31.8 points, 10.6 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game.
Wowser.
(And for those with the thought that Russ is chasing the triple-double averages just for the notoriety, well, there's some validity to that. But there also is this: In OKC's 43 wins this year, Westbrook's line is 31.9 points, 11.8 assists and 11.4 rebounds; in OKC's 31 losses this year, it's 31.6 points, 8.5 assists and 9.4 rebounds. The Thunder need him doing all this, and this is abeam with a chance to still win the Northwest Division.)
FILE- In this March 17, 2017, file photo, North Carolina head coach Roy Williams, left, and players Kennedy Meeks, Theo Pinson and Justin Jackson react during the second half against Texas Southern in a first-round game of the NCAA men's college basketball tournament in Greenville, S.C. Williams has long emphasized the importance of rebounding and his Tar Heels lead the country in rebounding margin entering the Friday, March 24, game against Butler in the NCAA Tournament's South Region semifinals. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt, File) Final Four
Well, we are here. This weekend is the Final Four, and through a fun if not fully Mad March tournament run, there are a few things we need to cover before we close the week. (We already have some of you folks wanting pick advise, so we will include that in the mailbag. Deal? Deal.)
In the shoe wars, it would have to seem that both Nike and Under Armour have something to smile about. Nike's most important client in basketball is UNC, the home of Michael Jordan and his all-consuming sneaker logo. (Face it, the Jump Man is almost as recognizable as the Nike Swoosh.) Then add in Oregon - the alma mater of Phil Knight, the Nike founder - and another Nike school in Gonzaga and that's almost a clean swoosh.
But Under Armour has its first Final Four team ever in South Carolina, and that fact can't before overstated for the UA brand. (Plus, the South Carolina women, as well.)
Under Armour has made great strides in the apparel race against the overwhelming market heavyweight that is Nike. There were a record 12 UA-sponsored teams in the field of 68, and South Carolina's memorable run gives the Maryland-based company its first glass slipper run to college basketball's biggest dance. And it's the shoe side that gives UA the biggest bounce, a branch of the company that has enjoyed recent gains with Steph Curry's growing popularity.
"It's all about the marketing side of this," sports marketing analyst Matt Powell told bizjournals.com. "The exposure can be worth a lot of money and everyone is going to be seeing [Under Armour'] logo on the uniforms. It's a dream for any brand."
It also can only help the UA schools on the recruiting trail against the power players popping the Swoosh. Speaking of changing times. We have all become all-too-familiar that the word fan is short for fanatic.
In fact, we are at amazing place in which the riots in the streets and the disappointed UK fans burning TVs and couches after Sunday's loss are not all that surprising. http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/ncaa-tournament-2017-upset-kentucky-fans-burn-tv-couch-following-unc-loss/
We now have reached a place that referee John Higgins is trying to work with authorities because he has received death threats since calling the UNC-UK Elite Eight game that featured UNC advancing on a last-second basket.
Death threats. http://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/final-four-ref-who-worked-kentuckys-loss-to-unc-is-receiving-death-threats/
That puts a whole new spin on the final in Final Four.
This and that
* Speaking of the Final Four, we have made contact with Carl and Kyle, the two finalists who tied with Xavier and then with the same number of points after the first tie-breaker in the "First-Out, Last-In March Madness Challenge." Since each only had Gonzaga heading into the Final Four, we offered this tie-breaker: Pick a player still left in the tournament, and whomever has the guy who scores the most points the rest of the way wins. Of course, they each picked Nigel Williams-Goss, but since Carl submitted his first he got dibs. Kyle took UNC scorer Justin Jackson with his second choice. Good luck.
* Jason Wolf of The Tennessean newspaper reported that the Tennessee Titans had Josh Dobbs in for a workout. We can see Tennessee being one of the best possible fits for Dobbs and his skill set as a back-up in the NFL.
* Speaking of UT quarterbacks, according to TFP UT ace - and short-timer - Downtown Patrick Brown, UT football boss and all-around champion of life Butch Jones was less than tickled about the play Wednesday of the fellows trying to be Dobbs' replacement.
* Speaking of UT coaches, here is a CBSsports.com report on how UT hoops boss Rick Barnes views the Final Four field. If you are wondering why that's important, remember that Barnes is the only guy who game-planned this season against each of the Final Four teams still left standing. (And for good measure, UT also played Georgia Tech, which is in the NIT title game tonight.)
* If you are interested in the details of Wednesday's Press Row interview with Auburn coach Bruce Pearl, here's the Q&A from TFP all-around SEC ace David Paschall. The podcast can be found at espnchattanooga.com.
Today's question
Warren Beatty is 80.
Eighty. Eric Clapton is 72 today.
Two other mega-stars - power vocalist Celine Dion and Ian Ziering, who played Steve Sanders in 90210 and starred in Sharknado - have birthdays today too.
As for a Rushmore, well, did you know that MC Hammer is 55 today? Did you know that Hammer was born Stanley Kirk Burrell? MC Stanley does not have the same power as MC Hammer.
We could offer a Rushmore of best name changes for famous people, and John Wayne (formerly Marion Morrison, which is not going to play as tough in The Searchers or True Grit as John Bleepin' Wayne) is right there with Hammer. (So too would be Cary Grant, which is a boss leading man, A-list Hollywood star name. He was born Archibald Leach.)
Instead, let's go with the Rushmore of most all-time popular rap songs. Does Hammer Time make it?
Go, and remember the mailbag.