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Hail the victors
Michigan won the natty Monday night in a game that was several things, and not all of them good.
First, the game was a slow and physical slugfest, which, as UConn coach Danny Hurley told CBS sideline interviewer/in-game pest Tracy Wolfson, was the only way the Huskies could win.
He was right about that, too. As for Wolfson, she is likely the MJ of her role, but it’s long since time we retired that position. Finding an interesting in-game answer is like finding a four-leaf clover in the Sahara. Again, Wolfson is better than the rest, but it’s an impossible task, and one coaches view with the giddiness of getting kidney stones.
But aesthetically, the title game felt like a physically tough October scrimmage.
Second, the current CBS announcing crew may not have the name recognition of a Nantz-Packer or Enberg-McGuire in the pantheon of announcer accomplishments, but the Ian Eagle-Bill Raftery-Grant Hill trio was aces throughout the entire Final Four. Well done, fellas, and major credit to Eagle and Hill (Eagle-Hill sounds like a military post Spy would write about) for knowing their roles and letting Raftery be the star he is. Onions.
Third, the best team won, and amid this time of upheaval when upsets are becoming more and more rare, the best team winning matters. At least to me.
And this is at least three years in a row that we got a champion worthy of being called a champion.
Fourth, has the court of public opinion started to turn on burley Hurley, the embattled and intense UConn coach? He seems as cuddly as barbed wire, but his kids love him. His approach is undeniable. His teams are built in the old-school way. And he’s light years from being the biggest (bleep)hole in his own athletic department.
I don’t want to, but I think I like Bobby’s older brother.
Here was UConn with a very non-Geno sportsmanship act after the disappointing loss. Here also is Hurley with a very classy answer about the officiating after the defeat.
Fifth, maybe we should have expected Danny to be good at this. His daddy was great at this. But how surreal is the career arc of his top assistant Luke Murray, who is headed to Boston College to be its head coach?
Yes, that’s Bill Murray’s boy.
Sixth, the intro video last night with the marathon runner and the players reading congratulatory texts was the best part of the broadcast that did not involve Raftery.
Finally, the (not-so) Lil’ 5-at-10 watched the title game at a buddy’s house. Said buddy had Michigan winning the title in his ESPN.com bracket. Yes, that’s a big team picture.
Want a smaller team picture? Said buddy got every winner right from the Sweet 16 through the title game. Yes, all of them.
He won $2,000 from the ESPN contest and missed out on $50K because his tiebreaker of 140 (the final was 69-63) was not the closest.
True or false, you enjoyed Monday’s title game.
Heated seats
Does your car have heated seats? My truck does not. True or false, you enjoy the heated seat option. I answer false there. Who needs pre-event crack sweat? Know what I mean?
Anywell, hot seats in sports are real. And commonplace.
Big expectations come with big jobs which deliver big paychecks.
It’s all part of the equation, and part of the intrigue of fandom.
So on a True or False Tuesday, let’s explore some of the sizzling seats across the sports world in a yay or nay scenario.
Shall we? I think we shall.
Kim Caldwell. 100% true. Center of the sun hot, in fact. The Lady Vols coach led UT to a disastrous back half of 2025-26. The Lady Vols are now a meh program in the ever-tough SEC, and she is the pilot of a plane going nowhere quickly.
Now, she has zero returning players with graduations and a portal fuller than Spy’s emerald-handled stein on Oktoberfest.
Yes, that’s a scalding seat.
In fact, the names in Knoxville on seats that range from warm to wickedly scorching is longer than those who sit comfortably in their workplace BarcaLounger. (Ask your parents.)
First-year baseball coach Josh Elander best keep his head on a swivel. Josh Heupel’s shine is as faded as Vader’s acid wash jeans he won’t let Mrs. Vader toss. And that leads us to their boss, AD Danny White, who needs to work Rick Barnes’ name into every interview from now until Labor Day.
Thoughts?
Sports communism
So the discussions in and around college basketball got me thinking. Yes, Spy, that is truly dangerous.
But when did we get to sports fan communism?
Yes, the playing rules should be as fair as possible.
Those are the universal guidelines.
But when on the field does “fair” matter?
Linebacker: “Uh, Lamar Jackson is too fast? Can we make him wear ankle weights so the lesser among us have an equal chance, please?”
And the same applies to outside the lines, especially in the chasm that exists in college sports.
No one promises you anything in this life. You get the sunshine and your last name. Make do with the rest.
Wonder how many hate the Rooney Rule or applaud the anti-DEI efforts but champion the “powers” that run college sports?
We’ve had frequent conversations here this winter about power programs scheduling mid-majors.
That’s simply not the power schools’ job. Think Starbucks gives two rips about “Jelly Bean” or “Mugs of Hugs” or whatever corner coffee house with the next clever name on whatever beverage pun they can imagine?
Should college sports in this abyss be communistic in its approach?
Should the have-nots either decide whether they can make it the world today (“Cheers” forever underrated) or find other options?
Because as they are looking for guidelines and direction, these questions matter.
Should Auburn give two rips about what Troy is doing or how their bottom line looks?
The questions are endless and difficult. The answers are few and far between.
And worse yet, the leadership is so devoid even Hoover thinks, “Dang, that’s a monster vacuum.”
This and that
> We are hosting the Masterfully Mastering the Masters contest (Masters degree optional) this year. Send me five golfers (don’t include Tiger or Phil), and your best four scores count. Winner with the lowest score among those finishers gets some Masters swag.
> This article about Jerry West and a post-career interview about the differences between great and truly great players was cool. West said: “If you’re young, if you’re going through your life, you have to be able to kind of see things that other people don’t see, learn your weaknesses, your strengths, and it might lead you on a correct path to having success, but your mind really separates the great players, the truly great players.” That’s strong advice for all of us. God bless the Logo. (A boss nickname, by the way.) Among his assertions was that the word “great” is the most overused term in sports?
> D.J. Shockley will speak at UGA’s graduation this spring. Cool for him. Covered him in high school at North Clayton High School, where he played for his dad, Don Sr. Good dude. Both of them.
> Buckle up, the portal opens for college hoops today, and the rush to get in there makes the Friday-at-5 285 look like Route 66. According to this report, 23% of all rostered women’s players have entered the portal (again, including all former Lady Vols). As for the men, well, that number will be similar — if not higher — and here are the top 25 players, according to USA Today, in the portal. And if you think those dudes won’t make that much of a difference, well, know that the top-ranked portal player a year ago was some dude named Yaxel Lendeborg, who went from UAB star to Michigan national champ.
> Here’s a recap of Melissa Gilbert (of “Little House” fame) standing by her man, Timothy Busfield, amid the allegations that he sexually abused folks. Man, nothing like this happened on the Prairie back in the day.
> Rules, people. Here’s Paschall with some UT goodness. The headline read “Pendleton assisting in developing young QBs,” and I thought, “Good, UT’s QBs need to be developed.” Then I thought, “What the heck does Terry Pendleton know about QB play?”
> Jason Day telling the truth about what the rest of us are talking about in regard to Tiger Woods.
Today’s questions
True or false, it’s Tuesday. Morning, Ernie.
True or false, “great” is among the most overused terms in sports, like The Logo suggested.
True or false, Kim Caldwell is on the hottest seat in the SEC across all sports.
True or false, your are a communistic sports fan.
True or false, “Cheers” — even as decorated as it was — is perpetually underrated.
True or false, Luke Murray has to be at least a little bit funny.
True or false, you will enter the Masters contest.
As for today, March 7, let’s review.
Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone on this day 150 years ago. Well done, AGB.
Cool Papa Bell died on this day in 1991. Have we ever done a Rushmore of paternal sports nicknames? (Kidding.)
Joe Carter is 66 today.
Rushmore of best sports moments for Canada.
Go.