Weekend winners
John Calipari. His team made a great run through the SEC tournament, and Kentucky looks to be playing its best at the best time of year. Normally we think listening to Coach Cal go on and on is about as entertaining as listening to Gilbert Gottfried’s book on tape version of “The Polysyllabic Spree: a Hilarious and True Account of One Man’s Struggle With the Monthly Tide of the Books He’s Bought and the Books He’s Been Meaning to Read.” But Sunday night, after catching a quick flight home, Caliper was truly entertaining and engaging. (Did anyone else see him? Was he in the vino a bit?)
Jim Boeheim. Speaking of gas bag coaches who make our ear drums hurt, Jimmy B is normally high on that list. But he was gracious and forthright Sunday night in the difficult circumstance of his Syracuse team being left out of the tournament. It was actually a human moment for Boeheim, who said more than once, “We did not do enough” about his team and the tournament. Class move, coach. (And it a nice twist of irony, Boeheim, who was his gas-baggery self before Sunday when saying that the ACC tournament should stay in NYC and never go back to Greensboro, and Syracuse will face UNC-Greensboro in the first round of the NIT. Good times.)
Northwestern basketball. The Wildcats are in their first tournament ever, and that’s a cool story. They were announced near the very end – something that TV did for effect – and it was a fun moment sharing that with the thousands gathered at NU. Plus, coach Chris Collins got a ton of face time. Now add in the fact that Elaine Benes from Seinfeld is celebrating in arguably the best social media post of the weekend. (Julia Louis Dreyfus’ son is a walk-on on the NU basketball team. So there’s that.)
James Harden. The Beard made the most of Sunday night’s center stage, dropping a triple double on LeBron and the Cavs in a 117-113 overtime win. This MVP race is shaping up to be a humdinger.
Illinois State’s Phil Fayne (10) is unable to score between Wichita State’s Markis McDuffie (32) and Darral Willis Jr., right, during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game in the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game Sunday, March 5, 2017, in St. Louis. Wichita State won 71-51. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson) Weekend losers
Wichita State. Through no fault of their own, the Shockers were handed a 10 seed – with a date with Kentucky in round two, which is eerily familiar and just as unfair as a few years ago. How undervalued are the Shockers? Well, they are 30-4, and Vegas has them as a 7-point favorite of seven-seeded Dayton in round one. That sounds more like a 5 than a 10 to the 5-at-10.
Oregon. The Ducks looked the part of legit Final Four contender with most of last year’s Elite Eight team in tact. Then, on Friday, senior center Chris Boucher tore his ACL and is done. That’s a huge hole in the middle for the Ducks.
ABC and the NBA. Saturday night in prime time, the Warriors and Spurs. The two best records in the NBA. Except, Kevin Durant has a knee injury. The Warriors rested Curry, Green, Thompson and Igoudala. The Spurs were without Aldridge (heart) and Leonard (concussion protocol). San Antonio leads by 20 at halftime and wins 107-85 despite 36 from some dude named Ian Clark for Golden State.
PGA Tour. Another first-time winner for some youngster that all the announcers are guffawing over. That’s great and all, but know this PGA, and all individual-driven sports: Parity works in team sports, but unknowns hoisting trophies makes for boring viewing. Golf needs stars now more than ever.
The 5-at-10’s ping-pong skills. Friend of the show David Barker and the good folks at Signal Presbyterian host an annual ping-pong tournament each year. It was great to see a bunch of folks, and to meet a few who are fans of the column and of Press Row. SAL-loot. But our paddle skills leave a lot to be desired. Cue the manager from “Bull Durham” – “How’d he ever win one?” It’s a miracle.
FILE – In this April 4, 2016, file photo, Villanova players collapse on the court after they defeated North Carolina 77 in the championship game of the NCAA Final Four college basketball tournament in Houston. The selection committee for the NCAA men’s basketball tournament is getting into the bracketology business and borrowing an idea from the College Football Playoff, hoping it will get more fans thinking about March Madness in February. The NCAA and CBS Sports announced Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2017, that for the first time the committee will give a look at its top 16 seeds one month before the 68-team field locks in on March 12. (AP Photo/Morry Gash, File) Tournament time
OK, we have dealt with some of the best and worst breaks from the NCAA tournament brackets, which were revealed Sunday.
We have a couple of other thoughts, but before we get there, now is an excellent time to go over the “Last-In, First-Out, Tournament Challenge” here at the 5-at-10. The rules are relatively simple. Submit the double-digit seed (10 or higher) who you think will be in the tournament the longest and the No. 1 seed you think will be bounced first among the 1s. (Remember, the correct double-digit seed is worth 1.1 points, so the max score is 2.1. Tie-breakers will be announced as needed. Deal? Deal.)
We heard a fair amount of belly-aching during the bracket coverage Sunday. It’s par for the course.
In this world of great need to belly-ache – seriously, if there was absolutely nothing to complain about, how many people do you know who complain about everything being too good? – the brackets are an easy target. But they do not have to be.
The committee is 10 people doing their best. But that is no longer good enough. And think how easy the following steps would be to clarify this entire process.
First, put a TV camera in there as they are picking the teams and seeding the field. Transparency removes the thought of tampering and silences the whispers of bias. That would cut the belly-aching by at least half and probably more.
Secondly, all of the people in the room are affiliated to teams or conferences that are affected directly by teams getting into the tournament. Even for the most pure of heart, that is at least the appearance of a conflict of interest, and in terms of bias and conflict, the perception of it is just as bad as the actual influence of it.
Replace the entire committee with basketball-focused people. Pay those people $100,000 a year on the grounds that they have to be extremely well-versed on all of college hoops. That’s a million bucks – from a tournament that generates billions, mind you – to get a room full of legit experts picking the best teams in the country.
Is the tournament great? Of course it is. Even as Jay Bilas pointed out Sunday night, it’s glorious and “idiot-proof.” But shouldn’t the NCAA do everything in its power to make this glorious event as good as it can possibly be?
Thoughts?
This and that
– One more tournament tid-bit. Here’s Mark Widener’s bracket breakdown. As always, it’s worth the price of admission.
– The Best of Preps banquet landed Vic Beasley, Falcons pro bowl defensive end, to be the speaker this year.
– Remember you can sign up to get morning sports updates, including the 5-at-10, through the Times Free Press. Sign up here if you are interested.
– If we said an SEC football coach took to Twitter to question the officiating in a basketball game this weekend, the only two options are Bret Bielema and Ed Orgeron, right? Well, it was Big Bret, who questioned the refs in the Hogs’ 17-point loss to Kentucky in the SEC title game. Woo Pig, indeed.
– Speaking of Coach O, sweet buckets of moola, the details of his deal with LSU are a bit eye-popping when you get to the buyout. Orgeron’s buyout in 2017 is $12 million, $8.5 million in ’18, $6 million in ’19 and still $4.5 million in 2020. Good work if you can get it.
Today’s question
There’s a lot to get to of course.
Contests – you can win stuff – and regular Monday attractions. Also, an interesting day in history.
On this day in 1781, William Herschel looked to the sky and thought he saw a comet. He actually was discovered the planet Uranus, and middle science teachers since have cussed ol’ Billy Herschel for that stupid name. On this day in 1897, San Diego State was founded. It was likely 72 degrees. On a serious note, few schools can post a better football-baseball combo of professional stars like the Aztecs with Tony Gwynn and Marshall Faulk.
Speaking of college baseball players, Will Clark turns 53 today. That dude could swing it.
Finally, one of the more underrated thespians of our time, Mr. William H. Macy, turns 67 today.
Rushmore of current actors that you would never think were actors upon first glance. Macy’s a contender, but Steve Buscemi has to be far left, right? Does Paul Giamatti make it?
Go, and remember to enter the contest.