64 Is Enough

Every year at this time, as bubble teams are left out of the NCAA basketball tournament’s 64 team field, there are calls from angry fans to expand the size of the tournament.  I am not in favor of this idea because I don’t think the question “when is enough enough?” can ever be adequately answered.  At what number does the selection committee stop at in terms of adding teams?  72? 80? 128?  No matter what number the field is potentially raised to, someone will still feel like they got jobbed.  Look, this tournament is a privilege, not a birthright for Division I schools.   Part of what makes the tournament so alluring is that not everyone can go.  You have to earn your way in.  Now, I’m not saying the process is always perfect.  Yes, some good teams do get left out. (Such as Penn State this year)  But that is part of the collateral damage associated with putting together a competitive, exciting field of teams.  I think the selection committee has a tough job, but year after year they seem to get it right.  When was the last time March Madness was a disappointment?  I can’t remember there ever being one.  64 teams (I’m ignoring that ridiculous play-in game where the winner is then sacrificed to the overall #1 seed in the tournament) is a perfect, balanced amount of teams and it makes for smooth scheduling for TV and a known routine for participating teams.  Expanding the tournament to include more teams would just water down the product.  There’s a reason why the NFL and Major League Baseball playoffs are so exciting to watch-  because a minority of teams make it in.  That is not true in both the NBA and NHL where 16 teams make it in each league, which is roughly half.   That’s too many teams and it produces some lackluster playoff series.  The NCAA should remember that as the catcalls of jilted teams and fans increase.  Keep the tournament the way it is and realize that the status quo is perfect.  Expansion won’t make the whiners go away.  It will just push the sour grapes further down the list.  Want to make the tournament?  Play the type of schedule the NCAA deems competitive and simply play better!

Go Ahead, I Dare You

I am issuing a personal challenge to Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwayne Wade. According to ESPN News, these three imbeciles have decided that they will seriously consider offers from European basketball teams when negotiating after their current contracts expire with their respective NBA teams. My challenge to them would be to go ahead and do it, put your money where your mouths are and leave the NBA for the “greener pastures” of Europe. Let’s see how that turns out. We’ll get to see how much your “brands” grow when you are all playing outside the United States and in the obscurity of Europe. It drives me nuts when millionaire athletes make comments like these three just did. It is an obvious negotiating ploy and another reason why half of America couldn’t care less about the NBA. The trio represent the cycle of pampered NBA “ballers” looking for more money and making idiotic comments before they get it. I’m sure leaving the NBA is the answer to their financial “dilemmas.” Give me a break. Half of America may not care about the NBA but the other half seems to make the sport quite popular. I’m sure this trio will be much better off in Europe. After all, what has the NBA ever done for them? I hope they all head over there and are never heard from again so that these “heroes” end up looking like the fools they really are. And David Stern wonders why his league has image problems.

Here We Go Again

O.J. Mayo received illegal benefits totaling up to $30,000 while in high school and his one year of Division I basketball at USC. Wow, what a shocking development. This is a kid who was being touted as the next big thing when he was in grade school and people are now all up in arms over the latest developments with this kid? It was inevitable that the reports about Mayo receiving cash benefits so that he would sign with a certain agency to represent him in the NBA would surface because he is part of a corrupt system that is constantly being manipulated. Sure, the NCAA talks tough when one of these cases pop up but in the end they say “we looked into it but found nothing improper.” What do you expect? The way the NCAA lets players use their member schools as one year stop-overs allows scenarios like Mayo’s to happen. By the time the NCAA wakes up and attempts to do something the player is usually gone. It’s one year of college and any sanctions are too late. It was clear from his entry date at USC that Mayo was a one and done player. So, unless USC won the National Championship and would then risk being stripped of their title, Mayo and his “people” knew they could do whatever they wanted and receive no penalty. Now he’s off to the NBA and everyone knows he took the money and other benefits, denials be damned. ESPN’s Outside the Lines, which first broke this story, isn’t breaking any historic ground here. Let’s be honest, money is a powerful force. It makes many honest people do dishonest things in order to get it. I’m not saying it’s right, but if you were a high school kid and somebody offered you $30,000 to let him/her represent you later in life you’d jump all over that because you’re human and you probably ain’t rich just yet. So Mayo is no saint in this but he did what most would probably do. I blame the parasites all around him who are supposed to act like adults. Until the NCAA comes up with a policy with some teeth, incidents like this will continue to happen. Now we’ll have to spend the next week listening to denials from all the parties involved. But remember, as is usually the case in sizing up stories like this, if it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.

NCAA Final: Kansas vs. Memphis

For the first time since 2004, the NCAA Mens Basketball Tournament will crown a new champion other than North Carolina or Florida. That’s because Memphis rolled over UCLA 78-63 and Kansas surprisingly pounded North Carolina 84-66 last night at the Final Four. The Tar Heels were out hustled and out muscled by the Jayhawks early in the game as they beat Carolina at their own speed game by racing out to a 40-12 lead midway through the first half. Carolina made a furious rally and cut the lead to as few as 4 in the second half before Kansas ended the game on a 17-5 run to close it out. As for Memphis, the Tigers showed why they have been one of the two best teams the entire year as they simply had too much size and firepower for a UCLA team that was making their third straight Final Four appearance. Memphis had too much depth for the Bruins, who sorely need another scorer to help them take the next step. The Tigers were able to run and play at their pace and didn’t allow UCLA to slow the game to a crawl as the Bruins did in their ugly 50-45 win over Memphis in the West Regional Final two years ago. This sets up a great championship game between the two winners. Coaches Bill Self of Kansas and John Calipari both deserve to have their teams here as they have done a great job all year long. This will be the first championship game appearance for each. As for the game, I like Memphis. Unlike UCLA, Kansas really has a lot of quality depth and good size on their front line as they showed in controlling Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough for a good chunk of the game. But Memphis’ front line is also very talented as they dominated UCLA freshman sensation Kevin Love and made him a minimal factor in their game. Memphis also has a great point guard in freshman Derrick Rose. He has the ability to control the tempo of games and dominate. He’s very strong for a guard and is not afraid to take it inside to the glass. I think two things will decide this game- Rose will be the difference maker and the fact that Kansas had to expend a lot of energy to hold off Carolina will be a factor. At points in their game, Kansas was simply holding on for dear life so I see them being a bit tired come Monday night as a result of the max effort they put out against the Tar Heels. It should be a great final with lots of up and down the court action. Memphis has certainly proved they can play with anybody in this tournament. There were doubters coming in but it’s nice to see the Tigers prove their worth. They are very good and take a backseat to no one in this Final Four. I think it will be a close game for about 30 minutes but in the end I see Memphis just being a bit fresher and pulling away to win 82-72.

Smelling Like A Rose

To follow up on an earlier blog I did (from Feb. 7) on former basketball coach Bobby Knight, I think it is appropriate to comment on the current state of the basketball program at Indiana since his departure. Knight was at Indiana for 30 years and ran a squeaky clean program. Not a peep was heard from the NCAA, he graduated almost all of his students on time, instilled discipline, and produced outstanding citizens who actually contributed to American society. Since he left, the Hoosiers have been to one Final Four, in 2002, losing in the final game to Maryland. Besides that, the program has been in disarray. Indiana fired the coach that replaced Knight, Mike Davis, a former assistant, because he didn’t win enough. Then, they were dumb enough to hire former Oklahoma coach Kelvin Sampson to “rescue” the program even after Sampson was reprimanded by the NCAA for making 577 illegal phone calls to potential recruits at Oklahoma. So what does Sampson end up doing? Continuing with the illegal phone calls upon arriving at Indiana in March of 2006 even after he was barred by the NCAA from recruiting off campus and from making any recruiting phone calls. I mean, is Sampson a brainiac or what? He was expressly told not to make illegal phone calls and he ignores the advice and fallout from the previous sanctions and ends up having to resign for the same reasons he got into trouble at Oklahoma. You just can’t make this stuff up. What does all this have to do with Knight? Well, for me, it just proves that as loud a mouth as he has, Knight is vindicated for the way he ran things at Indiana. When he was there, accountability was expected and his program’s image reflected that idea. Since he left, the inmates have been running the asylum. But, now, it looks like Indiana may have finally found the way back to respectability. It was announced today that Marquette coach Tom Crean has agreed to take over the coaching reigns at Indiana. This really looks like a great move. Crean has an impeccable reputation as a quality assistant under Tom Izzo and Ralph Willard and he has had a successful 8 year run as the head coach at Marquette, a Big East school, including a Final Four appearance in 2003. It looks like stability is about to return to the program for the first time since Knight was fired. I suppose somewhere The General is smiling about the whole situation, as well he should.

Now That’s More Like It

NCAA Tournament Day 2 was much different from Day 1 in terms of excitement. In the just-completed afternoon session we saw a buzzer beating 3-pointer by #12 seed Western Kentucky finally put away the #5 seed Drake 101-99 in OT in the game of the tournament so far. It was a stunning finish to a great game that set a tourney record for 3-pointers as the teams combined to make 30 of them. Also, #13 seed San Diego stunned an over-rated Connecticut team 70-69 in OT on a last second basket by De’ Jon Jackson of San Diego. UConn seemed to play very uninspired for most of the game as they lost point guard A.J. Price to injury and lost for the first time in the first round of the tournament since the program’s revival in 1990. Combine these two great games with Belmont’s near upset of another over-rated team, Duke, last night and now this tourney is really starting to cook. The Bruins fell a point short to Duke, 72-71, but showed that the Cinderellas are ready to finally crash this party. It took a while, but they are here to stay and at least one double digit seed, Western Kentucky or San Diego, will advance to the Sweet 16 because they will meet each other on Sunday as a result of their upsets today. In the night session, we saw two more Cinderellas step forward as #13 Siena shockingly crushed #4 Vanderbilt 83-62 and #12 Villanova overcame an 18-point first half deficit to defeat #5 Clemson, a team many felt could make it to a Regional Final, 75-69 as coach Jay Wright’s Wildcats had a complete turnaround in the second half to put away another over-rated ACC school. This sets up another 12 vs 13 matchup for the right to go to the Sweet 16 as Villanova and Siena meet on Sunday. I was shocked at how Siena dominated Vandy, a solid SEC team, all game. Vandy just could not get a shot to fall and it really cost them as the Saints had their way with the Commodores the entire game. This is what watching this tournament is all about: hoping for the unexpected and then actually getting it. There is no better sporting event in terms of excitement than these first 2 days of the tournament. It’s when the little guys have the chance to step to the forefront of the sporting world. Even if they lose these next games, it has been a great ride already for Western Kentucky, San Diego and Siena. Even Villanova, a Big East team, can feel good because they are doing it primarily with all sophomores and freshmen. They got a 12 seed and weren’t expected to do much, but look at them now. This is a tournament of dreams and for two of these double digit seeds, the dance will continue into next week. It’ll be a great ride to witness as the Madness continues this weekend.

The Chalk Holds

Well, the first afternoon session of March Madness is complete and so far it’s a pretty dull tournament. Form has held and there have been no upsets as all the higher seeds have won and won convincingly. The best two games so far were #3 Xavier vs. #14 Georgia, where the Bulldogs scared the Musketeers for about the first 30 minutes, including leading 35-26 at the half before Xavier recovered by winning the game at the foul line for a final of 74-61. The only other competitive game was between #6 Marquette and #11 Kentucky in a back and forth game won by Marquette 74-66 for their first tourney win since beating Kentucky in a regional final in 2003. The rest of the day has just been a series of routs, especially in the 2nd half of the afternoon session where Pittsburgh, UNLV and Purdue all won big. UNLV led Kent State 31-10 at the half so that was over quick and Pitt, after trailing early 13-10, used an 18-0 first half run to pound Oral Roberts 82-63. Baylor was a great story entering the tournament after the program was almost shut down two years ago after the shooting death of one of its players by a fellow teammate. The Bears were the final team selected to the field last Sunday but Purdue shot the ball very well and quickly sent the Bears home 90-79. Other winners were Michigan State over Temple 72-61 and #1 Kansas over Portland State 85-61 this afternoon. Stanford leads Cornell 66-36 as of this writing and they will advance to meet Marquette on Saturday. The best two games tonight in the evening session are #7 West Virginia vs. #10 Arizona and #6 USC and freshman sensation O.J. Mayo vs. #11 Kansas State and their super frosh Michael Beasley. #5 Notre Dame vs. #12 George Mason is also worth a look later tonight. Hopefully we’ll see more excitement than the afternoon games produced as the Madness rolls on. By the way, the fearless Final Four picks for me this year are Tennessee, Kansas, Texas and UCLA with Kansas defeating UCLA on Monday night to win the title.

He Did It His Way

Word this week that legendary coach Bobby Knight resigned and turned his Texas Tech team over to his son Pat caught the sports world by surprise. After 902 victories, Knight decided that he’d had enough. His timing was odd, though. He said he did it with 10 games left in the season in order for his son and players to get accustomed to each other in hopes it will set them up better for next season. It remains to be seen how that plays out. But now that he is gone it should be noted that Knight was good for college basketball. Yes, he made some comments (“If rape is inevitable, relax and enjoy it”) and did some things (showing up with a whip at a press conference, and throwing a chair cross court) that were idiotic but overall Knight did what a college coach is supposed to do- graduate all his players and make them better people by instilling discipline and responsibility. For that, there can be no argument. He was never caught up in any cheating or recruiting scandals, made sure his kids went to class, and turned out quality citizens after four years with him. Yes, there were those who have sour grapes with Knight after realizing that he was tougher than they thought but that is to be expected. His toughness is what made him effective but isn’t for everyone. He never wavered from how he ran a program. The NCAA is one of the most corrupt institutions in sports in my opinion, yet Knight rose above the nonsense and didn’t buy into their hypocrisy. He could see through their bullshit. They would not tell him how best to run a program because he seemed to know the NCAA is just a bunch of politicians. Knight should be commended for the way he did things. Of course, now he is considered a dinosaur because his ways are no longer effective in a world where conscience means less and less every day. Knight’s methods failed to get through as effectively in recent years because people just don’t care about listening to authority when it doesn’t suit them. As soon as they hear something they don’t like they turn a deaf ear and that hurt Knight. People seemed to take him less seriously as time went on. No, the man wasn’t perfect but he was far better than 90% of the college coaches currently out there. In an environment where corruption reigns (the NCAA) Knight was a breath of fresh air. You always knew what you were going to get and never had to worry if Knight’s programs were on the level. Those were two things you could always depend on. For that he will not be forgotten. I do not have children but if I did, Bob Knight could coach my son any day. I know he’s either loved or hated but I think the world needs more Bob Knights. It might make the world a better place.