[Posted early Wed. a.m.]
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NCAA Basketball Quiz: The Naismith award for college basketball’s top player of the year has been around since the 1968-69 season. The Wooden award for same has been handed out since 1976-77. Since 1995-96, the two have been given to the same player each year (Marcus Camby that season). 1) Name the only two players to win the Naismith award three times. 2) Who is the last ACC player to win both the Naismith and Wooden awards. Answers below.
March Madness
–So I posted last time before the conclusions to the Northern Iowa-Texas A&M and Wisconsin-Xavier games, but I watched them, stunned, like the rest of the you.
The Northern Iowa loss was the worst in tournament history (and all of college basketball); the Panthers blowing a 12-point lead in the final 44.3 seconds of regulation. Simply has never happened before.
[In fact, in all NCAA games, the record comeback was 11 points in the last minute, done by UNLV in 2005 and Canisius in December.]
And like the rest of you, I’m sure, I was watching in amazement as after the second turnover, with panic heavy, Northern Iowa didn’t just lob the ball over midcourt, which would have resulted in a scramble and it would have taken at least 5 to 7 seconds for Texas A&M, assuming they got to the ball, to get organized for a shot against a set defense. Do that twice and the Panthers would have killed 10-15 seconds, no doubt….game over. In fact I know I wrote of a similar contest last year…it happens all the time in college basketball, just not with 12-point leads and less than a minute to play on the biggest stage.
Adam Kilgore / Washington Post
“(It all) led to a 92-88 double-overtime loss that left your voice hoarse from screaming at the television, screaming something like, ‘Throw the ball down the court!’ or ‘Nooooo!’ It left you scraping yourself off the living room carpet. It left you cringing hours later, sitting in bed, despite a clear dearth of stakes.
“After further examination of the horror-show final 45 seconds of regulation, it is easy to understand why this had never happened before. Every possible decision, bounce, action and twist of fate had to go against Northern Iowa for it not to win in regulation. The game wasn’t tied until 1.8 seconds remained, and it’s staggering how much had to happen to preserve those 1.8 seconds.
“What’s truly amazing is not that Northern Iowa made an unparalleled series of panicked, boneheaded mistakes. It’s that Northern Iowa could make those exact panicked, boneheaded mistakes in precisely the same sequence and still not have blown the lead. It was neither heroic comeback nor historic choke. It was a force majeure.”
Kilgore then listed scores of ways the Panthers could have won the game, including “Northern Iowa could have grabbed one rebound. With 35 seconds left and UNI still up 12, A&M guard Alex Caruso missed a three-pointer. Freshman 6-foot-3 guard Admon Gilder rose to snare an offensive rebound in front of 6-7 forward Klint Carlson and put back a lay-up. With that one defensive rebound, the game would have been over – UNI would have been shooting free throws with a 12-point lead, the ball on the A&M end of the court.”
Yup, that simple. But the nightmare was just beginning.
–Meanwhile, Wisconsin’s Bronson Koenig buried an off-balance 3-pointer to tie the game against Xavier with 12 seconds to go, but after Zak Showalter drew a charge with 4.3 seconds left, Wisconsin coach Greg Gard made the decision to have his team rush up the court and call timeout once it crossed the mid-court stripe. Gard was then able to set up a play for Koenig, who got the inbound pass in front of his own bench and buried another fallaway 3-pointer.
–Aside from the upsets, the story thus far is the dominance of the ACC, going 12-1 in the first two rounds and placing six in the Sweet Sixteen for the first time in tournament history, the previous record being five, held by both the ACC and Big East.
The funny thing is, this was far from a dominant year for the conference, with some really, really lousy teams (see Wake Forest and Boston College) and highly mediocre ones.
On the other hand, of the seven Pac-12 teams that received tournament bids, only Oregon survived, and they had to rally from seven down in the second half of their contest with Saint Joe’s.
–With sixteen teams left, USA TODAY’s Steve Berkowitz and the Washington Post’s Matt Bonesteel reported on the amount of money the remaining coaches could rake in. Nine of the 16 are public institutions where the contracts are public (Wisconsin’s Greg Gard just had his non-interim contract approved; no details released as yet).
Of these, they already have earned a combined $2,145,001 for winning conference titles, making the NCAA tournament and then winning NCAA tournament games.
And if the nine should win the whole thing, the amounts vary wildly, from Texas A&M coach Billy Kennedy’s mere $83,334 bonus, to Tony Bennett’s (Virginia) $900,000.
Matt Bonesteel adds: “The schools themselves are also raking it in. As noted by ESPN’s Darren Rovell, each NCAA tournament game eventually will be worth at least $1.59 million to the teams that play in them (the NCAA makes these payments over a six-year span). And this year, that means big bucks for the ACC, which has a record six teams alive in the Sweet 16. ACC teams have played in 13 NCAA tournament games so far and have at least six more to come, meaning the conference will bring in at least $30.3 million over the course of the six-year payout. That number will only grow if any ACC teams advance to the Elite Eight (and with six in contention, one would think that’s going to happen).
“The conference divides its NCAA tournament payout equally to all its members, meaning even bad teams like Wake Forest and Boston College are getting a windfall.”
Yippee!
—Oklahoma State announced it had hired former Stephen F. Austin coach Brad Underwood to become its new head men’s basketball coach. Great opportunity for him.
Underwood went 89-14 in three seasons at SFA. He played college ball at Kansas State, where he was an assistant from 2006-12, and he spent a season at South Carolina before taking the reins at Stephen F. Austin.
—Pitt coach Jamie Dixon is leaving for his alma mater, TCU, where he played on the last Horned Frogs team that won an NCAA tournament game nearly three decades ago. Dixon replaces Trent Johnson who won only eight Big 12 Conference games in his four seasons.
Dixon, 50, had a contract with Pitt until 2023. The Panthers went to the Sweet Sixteen three times in his first six seasons, but haven’t gotten that far in the NCAA tournament since 2009, when they made it to the Elite Eight.
In his 13 seasons at Pittsburgh, Dixon was 328-123. This season they were 21-12, losing to Wisconsin 47-43 on Friday in the first round.
–Just a note on the NIT, Monmouth looked not ready for prime time, again, in losing to George Washington 87-71 on Monday in the second round of the tourney (Wake Forest transfer Tyler Cavanaugh with 22 points and 12 rebounds for GW), while San Diego State appears to be playing with a chip on its shoulder in whipping Washington 93-78 to move to 27-9. Oh, what might have been.
SDSU now hosts Georgia Tech on Wednesday in the quarterfinals, with the winner going to New York for the semis, which would salve some wounds from not receiving an NCAA tourney bid.
–And a high school hoops note. Legendary coach Bob Hurley Sr. of St. Anthony (Jersey City, NJ) won his 13th Tournament of Champions title the other day, having earlier won his 28th state title. Hurley, 68, said afterwards, “This might be the last one…I’m coming to the fragile end of my coaching career.” But no one really believes this.
In his four decades at St. Anthony, Hurley, enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, is now 1,162-119. [Steve Politi / NJ.com]
NBA
[Thru Tuesday]
Golden State 63-7
San Antonio 59-11
The Warriors defeated the Timberwolves 109-104 on Monday, though Stephen Curry was only 2 of 9 from three, making him 3 of 21 his last two games.
But San Antonio stumbled in Charlotte, losing to the Hornets 91-88, even though Tim Duncan, who played only eight minutes against the Warriors on Saturday, had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 4 blocks. The problem for the Spurs was Boris Diaw and Danny Green were a combined 0 for 12 from the field.
So that’s it for San Antonio in terms of any hopes they still harbored of overtaking Golden State for the top spot in the Western Conference.
—LeBron James unfollowed the Cleveland Cavaliers Twitter account on Monday, and then didn’t answer a question on the issue following his 41st career triple-double in Cleveland’s 121-94 win over the Nuggets, though he does have a history of shutting off social media for the playoffs.
Nonetheless he knew exactly what he was doing, which makes it even more uncomfortable for the Cavs.
–The Houston Rockets were warned by the NBA over Dwight Howard’s admitted use of Stickum in a recent game against the Hawks. The NBA notified all 30 teams that the Rockets were issued a formal warning because of “the team’s use of an adhesive substance on a player’s hands during a game.” Use of any adhesive substance “is strictly prohibited,” and “during games” means the time period from 90 minutes before tipoff through the final buzzer.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said that referee crew chief Monty McCutchen investigated when Hawks forward Paul Millsap questioned what was on the ball after Howard had applied Stickum spray to his hands from a can covered in white tape while waiting to re-enter the game in the first quarter.
So then as McCutchen went to each bench to warn them the Journal-Constitution says Rockets coach J.B. Bickerstaff slid in front of the can, which was still at the scorer’s table, in an attempt to hide it.
After the game, Howard said he has openly sprayed the substance on his hands for the past five years.
“I don’t know why people are making a big deal out of it,” Howard said, according to the Houston Chronicle. “I do it every game. It’s not a big deal.”
It’s illegal, you jerk.
NFL
—New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft said Monday he wrote to Commissioner Roger Goodell over a month ago asking to have the team’s first-round pick in next month’s NFL draft reinstated.
The Patriots had been stripped of the pick as one of their Deflategate penalties.
Meanwhile, the NFL has appealed a federal judge’s ruling last year that overturned Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, with the league and the NFL Players Association awaiting a decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
But since the NFL is seeking to reinstate Brady’s suspension, it’s highly unlikely they would relent on Kraft’s request for the first-round pick to be returned. The NFL Draft is April 28.
–New York Giants president John Mara said concussions are the “No. 1 issue we have right now.”
“We have to do more. It’s a long process, and we need to understand more about it, particularly how to prevent it,” Mara told reporters on the sidelines of the NFL’s annual league meeting. “There’s going to be a lot of research done on helmets going forward. Can we make the helmets safer?”
Mara said the NFL’s competition committee, of which he is a member, has watched film of every concussion suffered in the league last season where the instance of injury can be identified and he said the committee found no one major cause.
“They (concussions) come from all different (things). They’re not all helmet-to-helmet. In fact, most of them are not. It’s hitting your head on the ground, hitting your head on a player’s knee.”
Mara, in talking about how the league will explore all kinds of ways to make the game safer, said one potential rule change is moving the line of scrimmage after a touchback on a kickoff from the 20- to the 25-yard line. The rule would be intended to encourage fewer kick returns, because Mara said the league has identified kickoffs as the most dangerous play in the game. [Jordan Raanan / NJ.com]
Meanwhile, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he isn’t buying there’s a link between head trauma in football and brain disease like CTE.
“We don’t have that knowledge and background, and scientifically, so there’s no way in the world to say you have a relationship relative to anything here. There’s no research. There’s no data. …We’re not disagreeing. We’re just basically saying the same thing….
“There’s no way that you could have made a comment that there is an association and some type of assertion.”
Yes, Jerry Jones’ name is thus thrown in the December file for “Idiot of the Year” consideration.
And he also said nice things about Johnny Manziel on Tuesday, which has many wondering if the Cowboys will sign him.
Sexist Jerk(s)
Raymond Moore was the tournament director and CEO of the BNP Paribas Open tennis tournament in Indian Wells, Calif., before he stepped down on Monday following controversial remarks of his on Sunday.
Moore said in his Sunday session with reporters, “In my next life, when I come back I want to be someone in the WTA because they ride on the coattails of the men. They don’t make any decisions and they are lucky. They are very, very lucky.
“If I was a lady player, I’d go down every night on my knees and thank God that Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal were born because they have carried this sport. They really have.”
Speaking of Serena Williams, Moore said Williams is “arguably the best female player of all time.” However, he also said, “I think the WTA have a handful – not just one or two – but they have a handful of very attractive prospects that can assume the mantle. You know, [Garbine Muguruza], Genie Bouchard. They have a lot of very attractive players. And the standard in ladies’ tennis has improved unbelievably.”
Asked to clarify whether he was talking about their physical attractiveness or competitive attractiveness, Moore responded, “I mean both. They are physically attractive and competitive attractive. They can assume the mantle of leadership once Serena decides to stop. I think they’ve got…they really have quite a few very, very attractive players.”
After losing to Victoria Azarenka in the final, Williams was asked about Moore’s comments.
“Obviously, I don’t think any woman should be down on their knees thanking anybody like that….If I could tell you every day how many people say they don’t watch tennis unless they’re watching myself or my sister….I think there are a lot of women out there who are more…are very exciting to watch. I think there are a lot of men out there who are exciting to watch. I think it definitely goes both ways….
“Yeah, I’m still surprised (at Moore’s sexist remarks), especially with me and Venus and all the other women on the tour that’s done well. Last year, the women’s final at the U.S. Open sold out well before the men. I’m sorry, did Roger play in that final or Rafa or any man play in that final that was sold out before the men’s final? I think not.”
Larry Ellison, the owner of the event, said in a statement: “Nearly half a century ago, Billie Jean King began her historic campaign for the equal treatment of women in tennis. What followed is an ongoing, multi-generational, progressive movement to treat women and men in sports equally.”
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic weighed in, unfortunately. Speaking after his win over Milos Raonic in the men’s final, Djokovic said women deserve the money they get, but men should fight for more because their game attracts more viewers.
“Obviously it’s a very delicate situation. Women deserve respect and admiration for what they are doing. You know, equal prize money was the main subject of the tennis world in the last seven, eight years.
“I have been through that process as well so I understand how much power and energy WTA and all the advocates for equal prize money have invested in order to reach that.
“I applaud them for that, I honestly do. They fought for what they deserve and they got it. On the other hand I think that our men’s tennis world, ATP world, should fight for more because the stats are showing that we have much more spectators on the men’s tennis matches.
“I think that’s one of the reasons why maybe we should get awarded more.
“Women should fight for what they think they deserve and we should fight for what we think we deserve.”
Then Djokovic insisted he was not entering a men versus women debate and accepted that women face more challenges than men to succeed in the game, including battling “hormones.”
“Their bodies are much different to men’s bodies. They have to go through a lot of different things that we don’t have to go through. You know, the hormones and different stuff, we don’t need to go into detail.” [Irish Independent]
Uh oh….
Arnie
Sunday I wrote how it was depressing seeing Arnold Palmer’s health deteriorate so much in one year. A few others then chimed in Monday morning.
Tim Rosaforte / Golf World
“The procession outside Arnold Palmer’s office last week at the Bay Hill Club & Lodge never seemed to end. Young and old, they came to see the 86-year-old host and thank him for what he had done for their lives, and for the game of golf.
“Two of the admirers paying homage to Palmer were high-profile amateurs competing in the Arnold Palmer Invitational on sponsor’s exemptions. Maverick McNealy, 20, and Bryson DeChambeau, 22, met Palmer last year in Latrobe, Pa., as part of a visit organized by U.S. Walker Cup captain Spider Miller….
“ ‘Take your hat off. Give time to the media and the fans, because they’re really what makes golf so much fun and such a big deal for us,’ McNealy noted when we talked on the Bay Hill range about some of the principles Palmer passed down. The Stanford junior who was the 2015 college player of the year added looking a person in the eye, offering a firm-but-not-too-firm handshake, writing a legible autograph and composing hand-written notes as other Palmer staples he emulates.
“Not surprisingly, McNealy told me he has a stack of personal stationary in the desk drawer of his dorm room. ‘Just those little things that show the true character of [Palmer] are really, really cool,’ he said.
“So was having Palmer in a golf cart following him on the back nine Thursday, when McNealy shot 69 while paired with Arnold’s grandson, Sam Saunders. It was a tale McNealy plans to share with his children and grandchildren someday. ‘That was the coolest moment of my life for sure,’ he said.
“DeChambeau, the U.S. Amateur and NCAA champion who will be turning pro after the Masters, said he ‘teared up’ after leaving Palmer’s office on Wednesday afternoon. ‘It was tough on me because I have so much respect for him as an ambassador of the game,’ said the former SMU physics major. ‘He’s got such a solid heart, even at this age.’….
“DeChambeau looks forward to soaking up a little more quality time with Palmer in two weeks at Augusta. ‘I don’t know how much longer I’m going to see him or be able to see him, and it’s tough to even say that,’ he said. ‘I want him to keep going for however long he can.’”
Jamie Diaz / Gold Digest
“Yes, Arnold Palmer is history’s most important golfer. But what truly speaks to the power of his legacy is that he’s getting more important all the time.
“Last week at Bay Hill was an occasion of sadness and profound appreciation. Palmer, 86, didn’t hold a press conference at the tournament he has hosted since 1979. He also announced he won’t join Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player in hitting the ceremonial opening tee shot at the Masters next month.
“The too-swift movement of time left a hollow feeling, but also the realization that Palmer is timeless. His example of how players should represent golf – always vital but especially so in the challenging environment the sport faces – has gained increased relevance.
“Why are Jordan Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler all considered so refreshing? Though only Day was born before Palmer’s last victory (the 1988 Crestar Classic on the then Senior PGA Tour), all four are reprising their version of the King’s behavior, becoming willing heirs to his legacy. Why did their more immediate mentor, Phil Mickelson, start his post-round ritual of fulfilling nearly every autograph request? Seeing Palmer at the 1994 U.S. Open at Oakmont go to the volunteer tent and stay for more than an hour, inscribing his perfect signature for countless numbers of people.
“Asked last week to define Palmer’s gift, Tim Finchem considered the moment at hand and came up big. ‘He draws energy from the reaction he gets from people, and he takes great pride in his diligence in reaching out to people and reacting to people,’ the PGA Tour commissioner said. ‘He has this other dimension that you can’t articulate. It’s just that people see him and they love everything about him. He does things that reinforce that for people, and he is so open and so engaging, and he never says so, but he just has that something, and it just sets him apart from anything I’ve ever seen in sports.’
“As Michael Bamberger succinctly put it in his recent book, Men in Green, ‘He let us in.’”
Stuff
—Men’s College Hockey Poll (March 21)
1. Quinnipiac
2. St. Cloud State
3. North Dakota
4. Providence
5. Boston College
20. St. Lawrence
–We extend our best wishes to Turner Sports reporter Craig Sager, who revealed he is struggling again with leukemia, which is no longer in remission. Sager has been told he has 3 to 6 months to live.
—FanDuel and DraftKings have given in, for now, to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and will not allow New York state residents to play their fantasy sports contests per a deal with the AG. In return, Schneiderman might end lawsuits against the two claiming the businesses constitute illegal gambling.
Instead, DraftKings and FanDuel will attempt to get a bill authorizing daily fantasy sports through the state legislature, and hopefully in time for football in the fall, but that’s a tall order.
Yes, I still play DraftKings for golf and now I’ve been trying my hand at NASCAR, with far more success in the former.
–Longtime TV personality Joe Franklin died in January 2015, but a collection of his celebrity memorabilia is coming up for auction in Saco, Maine.
Talk about cool stuff. He has a baseball glove used by Babe Ruth, Frank Sinatra’s fedora, Walt Disney’s Mouse Ears, Steve McQueen’s racing jacket and far more.
An anonymous collector had been buying memorabilia from Franklin for years and Franklin, who was said to have hosted more than 300,000 guests during his decades-long career, would ask celebrities to leave a souvenir. [Crain’s New York Business]
–The New York Daily News reported that five people were killed in back-to-back elephant attacks in India on Sunday and Monday.
“A 40-year-old man walked out of his rural West Bengal state home Monday to find five elephants bearing down on him, said senior forest official Ajay Das.
“One of the elephants tossed Prakash Boyra in the air and trampled him to death….
“Boyra’s death in Baghasole followed an even deadlier attack that killed four people elsewhere in the district Sunday, Das said.
“One adult male elephant, an adult female and a calf trampled and gored the people fatally in Nashigram village before the male was tranquilized and the two others ran away….
“Over 250 people and 400 elephants die each year in encounters in India and Sri Lanka, the Associated Press reported.” India is home to about 30,000 pachyderms.
So my brother wondered if these attacks would impact Elephant’s No. 2 standing on the All-Species List.
Seeing as how Man has been encroaching on Elephant’s territory for decades, Elephant remains at No. 2, but he is being placed on probation for one month. There are no travel restrictions and Elephant’s passport(s) does not have to be surrendered.
–Brad K. passed this one on, from the Daily Mail’s Jennifer Newton:
“An American tourist is in critical condition in a South African hospital after being head-butted by a giraffe, leaving her with serious injuries.
“The 59-year-old, whose identity had not yet been revealed, was at a game park in Zambia on Friday when she came across the animal.
“It is believed she had been walking in the bush between two lodges when the giraffe attacked and injured her with its head.
“She was later found seriously injured lying in a thorn bush and taken to a local hospital.”
The woman was later airlifted to South Africa.
It turns out this isn’t the first head-butting incident in Zambia, according to a local official.
But can you imagine the force of their head on yours?
Giraffe, No. 84 on the All-Species List, is hereby suspended for six months and fined $495.
–The Atlantic’s Big Question in the April issue is: What are the best last words ever?
Margalit Fox, obituary writer, The New York Times, chose ones every American should be familiar with.
“Those of John Adams, before his death – fittingly, on July 4 – in 1826. To reassure his compatriots and, one assumes, himself, that the fledgling nation remained in good hands, he was reported to have said, ‘Thomas Jefferson survives.’ Unbeknownst to Adams, however, Jefferson had died about five hours earlier.”
Ann Patchett, novelist:
“Oscar Wilde’s last words were reportedly ‘This wallpaper and I are fighting a duel to the death. Either it goes or I do.’ That would be funny, except I once had a hideous case of food poisoning in Paris at L’Hotel, where he died. Truly, the wallpaper was as bad as the oyster I had eaten.”
I have seen Wilde’s tomb in Paris, the same cemetery where Jim Morrison is buried. It has lots of graffiti on it, befitting the man’s lifestyle.
Charles Langs, New York, NY:
“Dylan Thomas: ‘I’ve had 18 straight whiskeys. I think that’s the record.’”
–It turns out Steve G. was at the Springsteen concert where the kid received a note from Bruce for his teacher should he be late the next day for school. Steve said the show itself was the most energetic he’s seen since the early ‘80s. The usual 3 ½ hours.
Top 3 songs for the week 3/26/66: #1 “The Ballad of The Green Berets” (SSgt Barry Sadler…died in 1989 from his wounds after being shot in a robbery attempt in Guatemala City…) #2 “19th Nervous Breakdown” (The Rolling Stones…in my top five of theirs…) #3 “Nowhere Man” (The Beatles)…and…#4 “These Boots Are Made For Walkin’” (Nancy Sinatra) #5 “Homeward Bound” (Simon & Garfunkel…I think my favorite of theirs…) #6 “Daydream” (The Lovin’ Spoonful) #7 “California Dreamin’” (The Mamas and the Papas) #8 “(You’re My) Soul And Inspiration” (The Righteous Brothers) #9 “Elusive Butterfly” (Bob Lind…just because I like this sappy song doesn’t make me a bad person…I was a vulnerable 7-year-old at this time…) #10 “Listen People” (Herman’s Hermits…this was a pretty, pretty good week…)
NCAA Basketball Quiz Awards: 1) Two to win the Naismith award three times: Bill Walton (1971-74) and Ralph Sampson (1980-83). The Wooden award went to Danny Ainge in 1980-81, not Sampson. 2) North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough is the last ACC player to win both (2007-08).
2008-09: Blake Griffin
2009-10: Evan Turner
2010-11: Jimmer Fredette
2011-12: Anthony Davis
2012-13: Trey Burke
2013-14: Doug McDermott
2014-15: Frank Kaminsky
Next Bar Chat, Monday.
