[Posted early Wed. a.m.]
College Basketball Quiz: Who did UCLA defeat in the finals for its seven-year title run from 1967-73? [Seven different schools.] Answer below.
March Madness
Final AP Poll (Mar. 14) before the tournament….
1. Kansas 30-4 (63 first-place votes)
2. Michigan State 29-5 (2)
3. North Carolina 28-6
4. Virginia 26-7
5. Oregon 28-6
6. Villanova 29-5
7. Oklahoma 25-7
8. West Virginia 26-8
9. Xavier 27-5
T-10. Miami 25-7
T-10. Kentucky 26-8
20. Seton Hall
–So have you recovered yet from CBS’ decision to turn the Selection Sunday show into a marathon? I wrote this on 2/29 in this space:
“CBS announced that this year’s tournament selection show will be two hours instead of one. Oh brother. They better get the brackets out in the same amount of time.”
It was painful, and all compounded by the leak of the brackets online. And then you had the likes of Charles Barkley attempting to use the touch screen, which was I guess meant for laughs, but what everyone knows is that Sir Charles doesn’t even follow the sport.
–CBS bracketologist Joe Lunardi:
“Every once in a while, I simmer the entire offseason when a blatant committee ‘miss’ goes on my score sheet. Last year it was UCLA and Temple; the year before SMU and whomever.
“This year? I almost don’t know where to start….
“First of all, why is Kansas leading the South Region in Louisville (slightly farther than the Midwest Region in Chicago?) Especially when Virginia is a good bit closer and should be in the South. It looks like a consolation prize for Michigan State, which would make sense and would also not be necessary if the Spartans were a No. 1 seed above either Virginia or Oregon.
“The committee is clearly protecting North Carolina from a potential regional final against Villanova (in Philadelphia) by moving the Wildcats to the South and Xavier to the East. Haven’t we been told for years that the committee doesn’t project matchups? So Michigan State gets desired placement as a No. 2 seed [Ed. and Chicago, a huge fan base for them], but the top Big East seeds don’t. I don’t get it, unless Rich Kotite got the committee’s mileage chart wet. (Aside: If Michigan State was a No. 1 seed, the committee wouldn’t be stuck flying the Southern/Holy Cross First Four winner to Spokane, Washington, as St. Louis would have been an available and a far more sensible alternative).
“Further down the bracket, two of the questionable at-large choices – Vanderbilt and Syracuse – won only six of 23 road games combined, including 1-9 against Top 50 teams….
“Tulsa. I don’t even know what to say. And the committee chair didn’t have a good answer or wasn’t prepped very well…. I have nothing against the Golden Hurricane and know Tulsa as a fine university, but its basketball team lost twice in 12 days (by a combined 32 points) to a Memphis team that was an absolute train wreck all season long. Did the committee lose its cable signal during the American quarterfinals (or, for that matter, during Vanderbilt’s SEC tourney loss to Tennessee)?
“I really am fine missing teams. St. Bonaventure, Saint Mary’s and San Diego State all had reasons for and against their selection (well, not so much San Diego State). All we ask is that they be replaced by truly worthy alternatives, with a pattern of winning more than losing against tournament-level competition.”
–Yes, how does Seton Hall beat Xavier (twice) and Villanova in the span of about two weeks, yet still receive only a No. 6 seed while Xavier is a 2?
While the committee would say no, clearly they were influenced by the fact Seton Hall wasn’t ranked going into conference tournament week.
–Kentucky coach John Calipari had a legitimate beef. His Wildcats beat Texas A&M 82-77 in overtime for the SEC tournament title, but his boys got a 4 and A&M a 3 seed.
“Did we not play a basketball game today?” Calipari asked in an interview with ESPN’s Rece Davis.
Once Kentucky dispatches with 13-seed Stony Brook, they would face 5-seed Indiana, with the two schools having stopped playing each other the past four years…which is exactly why the committee decided to play its mind games.
–In a final defense of my San Diego State Aztecs, after their early season losses to Arkansas-Little Rock, Grand Canyon and San Diego, the only truly hideous loss was to San Diego. UALR made the NCAAs with a 29-4 record and Grand Canyon was 25-6 (11-3) in the WAC.
So they hit conference play with a dismal 7-6 record but then went 16-2 in the Mountain West, winning the conference regular season title by three games over Fresno State (13-5), five games over third-place Boise State (11-7). And the Aztecs’ two losses were to Fresno and Boise, before Fresno beat SDSU in the MW conference title game.
No one else won their conference by three games. The Aztecs did virtually everything right after what is really one disastrous loss early, San Diego.
Monmouth, on the other hand, as I pointed out a few weeks ago, had some nice early wins but then losses to Canisius and Army in their conference. Trust me, Fresno and Boise would destroy those two.
My point is the Aztecs deserved a heckuva lot more respect, though as I said at the time, that regular-season loss to Boise State two weeks ago, when they missed their last seven free throws, was the killer. Totally inexcusable.
Lastly, Joe Lunardi and Seth Davis thought the Aztecs would still receive an at-large bid, but when Joe Castiglione, the chair of the NCAA selection committee, was asked about them, he said SDSU wasn’t among the last five schools fighting for the final spot. Castiglione pointed to their 2-3 record against the next two best teams in the Mountain West, the loss to San Diego, and scheduling two nonconference games against non-Division I opponents.
I’m not angry, just frustrated. The Aztec players know it’s on them, but 16-2 in a conference that has received two bids every tournament since 2002, isn’t worthy of the death penalty. And that’s a memo…Charles Krauthammer is here….
—As for my own bracket – and I only do one; don’t write me and say, “Well I’m doing real well on my third bracket.”
If I was president of this fine country that is nonetheless deteriorating at light speed, I would mandate you get only one bracket for the NCAAs, plus only one lineup in DraftKings and FanDuel. Otherwise you face a substantial fine and/or 30 days in jail. But I digress….
Like I was saying…in my Elite Eight I have Kentucky vs. West Virginia; Virginia vs. Seton Hall; Kansas vs. Miami; Oregon vs. Oregon State.
Then, Final Four…Kansas vs. Oregon; WVU vs. UVA.
Then…Virginia over Kansas.
I don’t have a single 12-16 upset.
–In Tuesday’s play-in games, Florida Gulf Coast destroyed Fairleigh Dickinson 96-65, while Wichita State schooled Vanderbilt 70-50. Go Shockers.
–Since 1990, only four teams that entered the tournament No. 1 have finished the tournament No. 1 – most recently Louisville in 2013.
—Jack Montague, the Yale basketball captain who was expelled last month for sexual misconduct, responded to the allegations Monday with a statement through his lawyer saying his sexual encounters with a woman were consensual.
Montague’s attorney, Max Stern, said his client slept with the unidentified woman four times. According to Stern’s statement, the woman went to the school’s Title IX coordinator a year after the alleged misconduct and that a school official, not the accuser, filed the complaint that resulted in his expulsion.
“There is no doubt that institutions of higher learning must take the problem of sexual abuse seriously and take effective steps to protect its women students,” Stern wrote in a statement, which was first reported in the Yale Daily News. “But that obligation cannot justify imposing so drastic a punishment on the basis of such flimsy evidence.”
Hundreds of students at Yale have been writing messages in chalk in support of sexual assault survivors. Many of the students are upset at the basketball team’s support of their captain after his expulsion.
Stern is arguing that Montague has been slandered “as the named culprit and a rapist. He was never accused of rape and Yale took no steps to correct these actions. As a result, Mr. Montague has no choice but to correct the record.”
An independent investigator hired by the university reported on the four occasions where the two had sex and the dispute arises from the fourth episode, where the woman states she did not consent to it (yet she returned later the same night). Montague said she did.
“Only two persons could have known what happened on that fourth night,” Stern wrote. “The panel chose to believe the woman, by a ‘preponderance of the evidence.’ We believe that it defies logic and common sense that a woman would seek to re-connect and get back into bed with a man who she says forced her to have unwanted sex just hours earlier.” [Susan Svrluga / Washington Post]
Yale plays Baylor on Thursday.
—LSU opted to reject an NIT bid, meaning Ben Simmons, who doesn’t sound like he went to any classes, can focus on retaining an agent as soon as possible. Yahoo’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports it will be Rich Paul, LeBron James’ longtime friend and rep.
Simmons attended LeBron’s Skills Academy in 2014.
—Johnny Dawkins was fired after eight seasons of coaching the Stanford men’s hoops team. Dawkins guided the Cardinal to the Sweet 16 of the 2014 NCAA Tournament and NIT championships after the 2012 and ’15 seasons. He compiled a 156-115 record. Stanford was 15-15 this season, 8-10 in the Pac-12.
–At least three former University of Louisville men’s basketball recruits have confirmed to NCAA investigators that they attended parties inside an on-campus dorm where strippers danced for them and prostitutes were paid to have sex with them, a source close to the investigation told ESPN’s Outside the Lines.
“There’s no question this stuff happened,” the source said. “There’s no question the people at the University of Louisville know this happened. Katina Powell is not an admirable person, but she told the truth.”
But still no evidence as yet head coach Rick Pitino knew.
NBA
Golden State 60-6
San Antonio 57-10
Warriors and Spurs, in San Antonio, Sat. night, 8:30 p.m. ET, ABC.
NFL
An NFL official has acknowledged a link between football and the brain disease CTE for the first time.
Jeff Miller, the NFL’s senior vice president for health and safety, spoke about the connection during an appearance Monday at a congressional committee’s roundtable discussion about concussions.
Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) asked Miller: “Do you think there is a link between football and degenerative brain disorders like CTE?”
Miller began by referencing the work of Boston University neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee, who has found CTE in the brains of 90 former pro football players.
“Well, certainly, Dr. McKee’s research shows that a number of retired NFL players were diagnosed with CTE, so the answer to that question is certainly ‘yes,’ but there are also a number of questions that come with that,” Miller said.
“Schakowsky repeated the question: ‘Is there a link?’
“Yes. Sure,” Miller responded.
Brian McCarthy, a league spokesman, said: “We want the facts, so we can develop better solutions. And that’s why we’re deeply committed to advancing medical research on head trauma, including C.T.E., to let the science go where the science goes. We know the answers will come as this field of study continues to advance.”
Like I’ve been saying, franchise values are close to peaking, if they haven’t already in some cities.
–The Jets are said to be far apart with quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, who wants to return to the team but is apparently asking for a Brock Osweiler-like $18 million-per-season, with the Jets offering far less and definitely waiting him out.
Clearly, Fitzpatrick thinks he’s worth more than anyone in the NFL does. Give him two years, $26 million.
–The NFL suspended talented Pittsburgh wide receiver Martavis Bryant for at least one year following another violation of the league’s substance abuse policy. It is the second league-mandated discipline for him, Bryant having sat out the first four games of last season following a violation during the off-season.
After returning in Week 6, Bryant caught 50 passes for 765 yards and six touchdowns, and then he accounted for more than 200 yards of total offense in a loss to Denver in the divisional round of the playoffs.
This is a big blow for the Steelers.
—Defensive tackle B.J. Raji said he was taking a hiatus from the NFL and would not play in 2016 following seven seasons with the Green Bay Packers. He did not rule out a return. Interesting move.
MLB
–Barry Svrluga / Washington Post
“Sunday’s message, after (Yankee pitcher CC) Sabathia needed 49 pitches to get five outs and yielded three runs on five hits before his work was done, fit right into the larger story line: Hide your eyes.
“ ‘It is what it is, man,’ Sabathia said. ‘I’m 35 years old. I’ve thrown a lot. It is what it is.’
“What it is, from the Yankees’ perspective: a $25 million salary this year and, barring a left shoulder injury that would void next year’s vesting option, $25 million for 2017, all for a guy who is essentially battling Ivan Nova for the fifth spot in New York’s rotation.”
Then you have Sabathia’s alcohol rehab situation in the offseason.
“So there is a very real human element to this story, a six-time all-star and former Cy Young winner trying to redeem himself on a personal and professional level. But there is also a crass reality involving dollar signs and years on a contract, and given the current economic climate in baseball, this is just one version of what teams across the sport will be facing at some point.
“Consider the past two winters; David Price, seven years and $217 million at age 30; Max Scherzer, seven years and $210 million, also at 30; Zack Greinke, six years and $206.5 million at 32; Jon Lester, six years and $155 million at 31. It’s not just that the price of pitching is going up. It’s that the contracts it’s taking to land such pitchers are coming in a format that could make the back end of those deals absolutely painful – particularly if you don’t win in the first few years….
“(The) reality is that only three starting pitchers with $100 million contracts have won World Series: Sabathia in 2009, when he had just turned 29 and was in the first year of his deal; Matt Cain of the San Francisco Giants in 2012; and Barry Zito of the Giants in 2010 and 2012, and in the first of those two years he was left off the playoff roster altogether.”
–White Sox designated hitter Adam LaRoche suddenly announced on Tuesday he was walking away from the game following a personal issue. Teammates asked him to reconsider during a nearly two-hour-long meeting and he said out of respect for the Sox he will consider their requests before saying more on the topic.
LaRoche would be leaving $13 million on the table. He struggled mightily last season after signing a two-year, $25 million contract with the White Sox, batting just .207 with 12 homers.
He has 255 home runs in his 12-year career with a .260 average.
–So you know how you’re driving around and a sports name from the past just kind of pops into your head? The other day, for whatever reason, I thought of former pitcher Terry Forster (1971-86), a spot starter turned situational reliever. But he popped into my head because I had remembered him as being an awesome hitter.
Incredibly, in the 7 or 8 minutes it took for me to reach home, I actually remembered to look Forster up. [You see, I’ve killed almost all the brain cells responsible for such action.] And lo and behold, wow, talk about a great-hitting pitcher!
Forster was 31 for 78 in his career. .397! In 1972 when he was with the White Sox, he was 10 for 19, .526! He also struck out just 9 times in his 78 ABs.
.397 in a rather large sample size. Terry Forster, you are officially in the Bar Chat Hall of Fame! [Someone tell him there is no cash remuneration.]
Golf Balls
–So here’s something you won’t find anywhere else. While there has been a lot of talk over No. 1 in the world Jordan Spieth’s recent mediocre play, let’s take a look at the B3+1 (my little play off the Iran deal P5+1…the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).
The B3+1 is the Big Three plus Rickie Fowler. So how have they done on the PGA Tour since Jan. 1st?
Jordan Spieth: 1 (won Tournament of Champions), T21, cut, T17, T18
Rory McIlroy: T20, cut, T3
Jason Day: T10, cut, T11, T23
Fowler: 5, cut, P2, T6, T8
So Jordan won the T of C by 8 and everyone thought he was off and running just like 2015 but he’s struggled since. Rickie has four top tens, but failed to close the deal miserably at the Phoenix Open. And Rory and Jason are, like the other two, earning nice pay checks but no ‘Ws’.
Not exactly a B3+1 thus far.
But it’s early. However, the ‘early’ label ends with Augusta…and The Masters…a tradition unlike any other…on CBS.
–I failed to mention the super effort of amateur Lee McCoy at the Valspar Championship. That was a cool story, the University of Georgia senior having grown up at the Innisbrook Resort where the event was played. He ended up shooting 66-69 over the weekend to finish fourth, just three shots behind winner Charl Schwartzel.
McCoy was only the fifth amateur since Phil Mickelson won the 1991 Northern Telecom Open in Tucson to finish in the top five in a PGA Tour event, posting the best performance since Justin Rose had a T-4 at the 1998 Open Championship.
By the way, McCoy would have won about $300,000 had he been pro.
–Adam Schupak writes in Golfweek that it is very disappointing how few top Americans are playing in Arnold Palmer’s event this week at Bay Hill. Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Adam Scott, Henrik Stenson and Justin Rose are, but there’s no Jordan Spieth, no Rickie Fowler, no Dustin Johnson and no Patrick Reed. No Phil Mickelson, too.
“Pure and simple, it is disrespectful to The King,” Schupak concludes. I agree.
Stuff
–Sports Illustrated’s “Sign of the Apocalypse”: “On Feb. 28, the (Boston) Bruins waived Zac Rinaldo after he received his third career suspension for an illegal hit. The winger reported to the AHL, and in his first game he delivered another head shot. He was suspended indefinitely.”
–In an even more serious “Sign of the Apocalypse,” a 40-year-old man stabbed a 24-year-old to death early Sunday morning in Philadelphia after the two got in a fight over the victim wearing a New Jersey Devils hat.
–Follow-up to the story of the mountain lion suspected of killing the koala at the Los Angeles Zoo the other day. This is but the tip of the iceberg.
Louis Sahagun / Los Angeles Times
“Natalie Riggs was sickened by the sight of the carcasses of cherished pets ravaged by a mountain lion.
“Blood streaked the ground in the pen where her two sheep, Blanca and Blackie, had their throats slashed. Blanca’s hindquarters had been eaten. [Ed. I’d sprinkle a little rosemary on ‘em.] Blackie was killed for no apparent reason.
“ ‘It was a scene of almost incomprehensible violence,’ said Riggs, a real estate agent and yoga teacher, shivering at the memory of the mid-January attack at her 5-acre ranch in the Santa Monica Mountains.
“It was one in the growing number of attacks over the last year that is changing the relationship between humans and mountain lions in Southern California.”
Dakota Semler, ranch manager at Malibu Family Wines, said a mountain lion has killed two llamas and an alpaca at his place since November.
Actually, the problem isn’t necessarily a growing number of mountain lions in the area. An expert on them, Jeff Sikich, said the mountain lion population is self-regulating.
“The landscape will support only about 10 to 15 of them at a time,” he said. “The males will fight and kill others in their territory, which is limited.”
But statewide, there are said to be 6,000.
Actually, last year the state issued 265 permits to kill individual lions that posed a threat to humans or livestock, resulting in 107 of the predators being taken.
And get this: “Local (Santa Monica area) mountain lions have been known to kill up to 10 domesticated animals at a time – but eat only one of them.”
Needless to say, people move around carefully at night in Santa Monica. As Natalie Riggs said, “We don’t go hiking in the moonlight anymore.” [I wish they would. It’s good for my ratings.]
By the way, another problem in this particular region is people increasingly have ‘hobby’ pets, like llamas. So the ranch that lost the llamas and alpaca also has water buffaloes, zebras and camels roaming different corrals.
But ranch manager Dakota Semler says, “A lion wouldn’t mess with the zebras – they’re too mean.”
Which might explain why we don’t see zebras in the Kentucky Derby.
–This is cool. An Israeli hiker on a trip in the eastern Galilee region found a rare gold coin minted in Rome nearly 2,000 years ago, the Israel Antiquities Authority announced Monday.
Lori Rimon was with a group when she discovered the shiny object on the ground. She then handed it over to the IAA.
“It was hard to part with the coin,” said Rimon. “After all, it’s not every day that one finds such an amazing item, but I hope I can see it displayed in a museum in the near future.”
The coin displays the portrait of the Emperor Augustus and dates back to the year 107 AD. It is the second of its kind known in the world. [Jerusalem Post]
–I know some of you receive Rolling Stone Magazine. In the March 24 issue, did you see the picture of Katy Perry on p. 33? Yikes. On the other side of the page is Taylor Swift, however. Can’t comment…don’t want to lose my International Web Site Association license.
Reminder: Always look for the IWSA label for your assurance of Web quality.
Top 3 songs for the week 3/14/64: #1 “I Want To Hold Your Hand” (The Beatles) #2 “She Loves You” (The Beatles) #3 “Please Please Me” (The Beatles…these guys are pretty good…)…and…#4 “Dawn” (The Four Seasons…one of their best…) #5 “Java” (Al Hirt…just another example of how great the 60s were…that a song like this could become a hit amidst the British Invasion and all the upheaval…) #6 “Navy Blue” (Diane Renay…one of the last gasps for a song like this…) #7 “Fun, Fun, Fun” (The Beach Boys) #8 “California Sun” (The Rivieras) #9 “See The Funny Little Clown” (Bobby Goldsboro) #10 “I Love You More And More Every Day” (Al Martino…see #5…)
College Basketball Quiz Answer: UCLA’s run from 1967-73.
Victims:
1967: Dayton
1968: North Carolina
1969: Purdue
1970: Jacksonville
1971: Villanova
1972: Florida State
1973: Memphis State
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
Copyright 2016. IWSA approved.
