NCAA Quiz: 1) Who was the Final Four MVP for Arizona in
1997, the year they defeated Kentucky for the title? 2) Who has
the most wins for an active coach in Division-I? Answers below.
NCAA Basketball Ratings
I haven”t seen what the ratings for this year currently are but
there is no doubt that the television ratings have been
plummeting over the years. Actually, they peaked in 1985 with
the Villanova – Georgetown title game drawing a 23.3 share.
Last year”s UConn – Duke game posted just a 17.2, the lowest
since the championship game was moved from a Saturday
afternoon to Monday night in 1973.
Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim comments, “People have more
options, they have more channels, and they have shorter attention
spans.” All true.
Sportswriter Mike Vaccaro adds, “More likely (people) have
become wise to the fact that the product simply isn”t as good
anymore. The best players stay two years, tops, killing the elite
teams, sucking the life out of rivalries, giving the game a
transient feel. Those that remain are mostly a lesser pedigree.”
[Tiger Woods in contention this weekend doesn”t help ratings
either.]
Only 2 of this year”s 8 first-round sites were advance sellouts.
But hey, how ”bout Gonzaga?! They ruined my pool, how about
yours? And now, writing this after the Duke / Kansas game, what
a tourney! The “product” is better than I expected. Too bad
probably no one is watching.
Jayson Williams
If you live in the New York area, one of the simple pleasures is
having the New Jersey Nets Jayson Williams around. There is
no more popular athlete and he does a world of good for the
community. But poor Jayson can”t buy a break, sorry, poor
choice of words. Yes, his mega-contract assuages some of the
pain, but he”d be the first one to tell you he”d trade it in just to be
able to play. Following is the awful stretch he has gone through
the last 14 months.
–Jan. 15, 1999: Agrees to a six-year, $84 million contract.
–Jan. 30, 1999: Breaks his thumb and suffers ligament damage
during training camp (reminder…camp started late due to the
strike).
–Feb. 6, 1999: Has his nose broken during the first game.
–April 1, 1999: Suffers a displaced tibial plateau fracture of the
right leg and a torn meniscus in his right knee in the final minute
of a game against Atlanta (the same team that gave him the
broken nose).
–April 2, 1999: Undergoes five hours of surgery in which five
screws, a metal plate and a bone graft from his hip are used to
repair the damage. His surgeon tells Williams” family and
friends that his leg looked as if it had been in a motorcycle
accident.
–Sept. 14, 1999: Undergoes surgery to clean out particles in his
knee, on crutches for six more weeks.
–Nov. 2, 1999: Regular season begins without Jayson.
–March 8, 2000: A strength test finally shows that, after months
of excruciating rehab, his leg is strong enough to resume
practice.
–March 15, 2000: Breaks his left foot during a full-court
scrimmage when he lands on the foot of a teammate. It was
described as a “bad break” and Williams isn”t due back until
training camp next October at the earliest. [Source: Star-Ledger]
Nick Van Exel
On one hand you have class acts like Jayson Williams, on the
other hand you have dirtballs like the Denver Nuggets Nick Van
Exel. Sports Illustrated reported this week that Firstar Bank of
Cincinnati is suing Van Exel for fraud after he said he couldn”t
pay a $19,000 credit card balance. Now understand that Van
Exel is making about $8 million this season. A Firstar employee,
who didn”t know that Van Exel was a NBA star, accepted
$12,000 to settle the account.
John Wooden
But back to class. Rick Reilly wrote a great tribute to the UCLA
coaching giant. In part…
“There has never been another coach like Wooden, quiet as an
April snow and square as a game of checkers; loyal to one
woman, one school, one way; walking around campus in his
sensible shoes and Jimmy Stewart morals. He”d spend a half
hour the first day of practice teaching his men how to put on a
sock. ”Wrinkles can lead to blisters,” he”d warn. These huge
players would sneak looks at one another and roll their eyes.
Eventually, they”d do it right. ”Good,” he”d say. ”And now for
the other foot.””
One day, center Bill Walton showed up with a full beard.
Walton was a rebel back then. It was amazing he was able to
play for Wooden.
“It”s my right,” Bill told the Coach. Reilly writes, “Wooden
asked if he believed that strongly. Walton said he did.”
“That”s good, Bill,” Coach said. “I admire people who have
strong beliefs and stick by them, I really do. We”re going to miss
you.” Walton shaved it immediately. Today he calls Wooden
once a week to tell him how much he loves him.
Reilly concludes. “(Wooden”s) almost 90 now.A little more
hunched over than last time. Steps a little smaller. You hope it”s
not the last time you see him. He smiles. ”I”m not afraid to die,”
he says. ”Death is my only chance to be with her (his wife)
again.””
“Problem is, we still need him here.”
Wilson Ferebee
Ferebee died last week. He was the bombardier who dropped the
atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Aug. 6, 1945. At the age of 26,
Ferebee had already been a veteran of more than 64 missions
when the Enola Gay took off for Japan with the first nuclear
weapon ever deployed. The Enola Gay”s pilot, Brig. Gen. Paul
Tibbetts, had hand picked Ferebee for his crew and called him
“the best bombardier who ever looked through the eyepiece of a
Norden bomb site.”
Ferebee also participated in the first U.S. bombing raid on Nazi-
occupied France in 1942 and was the lead bombardier for the
Allies” first 100-plane daylight raid in Europe.
In 1970, Ferebee commented on his historic mission. “I”m sorry
an awful lot of people died from that bomb, and I hate to think
something like that had to happen to end the war.” But he also
never felt guilty.
The Nagasaki bombardier was Kermit Beaham, who died in
1989. Japan surrendered on August 14, five days after Nagasaki.
Top 3 songs for the week of 3/18/67: #1 “Penny Lane” (Beatles)
#2 “Happy Together” (Turtles) #3 “Baby I Need Your Lovin””
(Johnny Rivers…another underrated artist).
What is the most valuable sports franchise in the world?…
Soccer club Manchester United…recently valued at $1.6 billion.
Quiz Answers: 1) Miles Simon (now be honest, how many forgot
this already? I did.) 2) Jim Phelan, Mt. St. Mary”s. He entered
the ”99-”00 campaign with 800 career wins. Bobby Knight was
2nd with 743. The all-time leader is Dean Smith with 879.
*A Wake Forest friend, Jimmy D, reminded me that one of last
Friday”s quiz answers, Bob McAdoo, played only one year at
UNC and couldn”t have possibly graduated (McAdoo was at
junior college prior to transferring to Chapel Hill). Us Wake
guys just like to rub it in whenever we get the chance. Of course,
on the other hand, we don”t have any championships.
Next Bar Chat, Wednesday…it”s a surprise “Ladies Day!”
