Oh, March Madness, how do I love thee, let me count the ways…
Early in the regular NCAA basketball season, my dad and I kept saying how we couldn’t wait for the tourney to start because it was sure to be nuts – and we haven’t been let down! This is easily the most entertaining tournament I can remember.
But people are getting on my nerves complaining constantly about all the underdogs taking down the high seeds this year. Seriously? You cannot be a true college basketball fan if you are complaining! Do you want all #1 seeds to make the Final Four and the top overall to win it? How fun is that? Are my brackets trashed? yes. Am I out a few bucks? yes. Did I cringe when my hometown Orange failed to overcome a 5 seed? yes. But let me repeat… I love this tournament! This is how college basketball is supposed to be. 64 teams chosen with the possibility of anyone from a 1 to a 14 seed walking off the court victorious.
Upsets are what make college basketball what it is. A large percentage of the top players in the game right now can thank an upset for getting them where they are. When the 1966 Texas Western team took down legendary Adolph Rupp’s top-ranked Kentucky, history was made. The game was historic before the upset, as five black players were introduced as starters for the first time in NCAA championship history. The highly favored Wildcat opponents were an all-white team. (The movie Glory Road revisits this season. I highly recommend it if you haven’t yet seen it).
More memorable for most, though, was just a few short years ago in 2006 when George Mason took down top-seeded Connecticut to make it to the Final Four. The Patriots were the second 11 seed to make it that far in the tournament. Of course, in proper Cinderella-story fashion, it took more than regulation to pull off the upset. George Mason went 5-for-6 in overtime to get the 86-84 win to advance.
As I said before, 2010 is living up to all the March Madness hype. The Final Four will consist of just one top seed (Duke), a 2 seed (West Virginia) and two 5 seeds (Butler and Michigan State). The Elite Eight saw a 12, 11 and 10 seed battle it out. And let’s not forget #14 Ohio taking down #3 Georgetown in the first round and a #9 Northern Iowa dismantling overall #1 Kansas in Round 2 – and that was just in the Midwest region!
Fans don’t remember the tournament for top teams pummeling lower seeds. March Madness is not a national phenomenon because of uneventful, predictable games. It is cherished for its instability, its uniqueness and for the madness it creates.
**As a side note, I can’t conclude a blog about college basketball on this fine day of March 28 without reminding you of what many believe is the greatest shot ever in college hoops. So, enjoy watching history be made exactly 18 years ago today:
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
The majority of people think of today’s holiday as a drinking fest. I am guilty as all for enjoying a few too many green beers on March 17th, but it is also important to recognize the real reason for this day, just like we should for Easter and Christmas and so on.
So in honor of the real reason for the celebration, here’s a little background on the real St. Patrick:
When he was a boy, he was taken as a slave from Scotland to Ireland. During his captivity he continually turned to God for help, and he answered him. When he was 20 years old, God told him in a dream to go to the coast in order to leave Ireland. He did so and was taken aboard a ship and back to his family. He started studying to be a priest and then became a bishop and was sent to take his faith to Ireland. Patrick began teaching and converting the land of Ireland and building many churches along the way. On this day in 461, he died after a life of true devotion. The shamrock is related to him because he used the three-leafed plant to explain the Holy Trinity.
Today, I hope you enjoyed a beer or two… or too many, but I hope you also take a moment to reflect on why this is considered a holiday to begin with. St. Patrick traveled around Ireland for 40 years, living in poverty and teaching so many that emerald Isle is now known for its abundant Catholic faith.
In conclusion, I’ll leave you with some old Irish blessings:
May love and laughter light your ways
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to your and yours.
May God give you…
for every storm, a rainbow
for every tear, a smile
for every care, a promise
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share.
For every sigh, a sweet song,
and an answer for each prayer.
Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers.
Miles and miles of irish smiles
for happy golden hours.
Shamrocks at your doorway
for luck and laughter, too.
And a host of friends that never ends
each day your whole life through.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
So in honor of the real reason for the celebration, here’s a little background on the real St. Patrick:
When he was a boy, he was taken as a slave from Scotland to Ireland. During his captivity he continually turned to God for help, and he answered him. When he was 20 years old, God told him in a dream to go to the coast in order to leave Ireland. He did so and was taken aboard a ship and back to his family. He started studying to be a priest and then became a bishop and was sent to take his faith to Ireland. Patrick began teaching and converting the land of Ireland and building many churches along the way. On this day in 461, he died after a life of true devotion. The shamrock is related to him because he used the three-leafed plant to explain the Holy Trinity.
Today, I hope you enjoyed a beer or two… or too many, but I hope you also take a moment to reflect on why this is considered a holiday to begin with. St. Patrick traveled around Ireland for 40 years, living in poverty and teaching so many that emerald Isle is now known for its abundant Catholic faith.
In conclusion, I’ll leave you with some old Irish blessings:
May love and laughter light your ways
and warm your heart and home.
May good and faithful friends be yours,
wherever you may roam.
May peace and plenty bless your world
with joy that long endures.
May all life’s passing seasons
bring the best to your and yours.
May God give you…
for every storm, a rainbow
for every tear, a smile
for every care, a promise
And a blessing in each trial.
For every problem life sends,
A faithful friend to share.
For every sigh, a sweet song,
and an answer for each prayer.
Wishing you a rainbow
For sunlight after showers.
Miles and miles of irish smiles
for happy golden hours.
Shamrocks at your doorway
for luck and laughter, too.
And a host of friends that never ends
each day your whole life through.
May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the palm of his hand.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Spring Training is... Spring Training
Don't get me wrong, I always have the countdown going of when pitchers and catchers report and then one for when the first pitch of spring is thrown, but some people put way too much emphasis and consideration into spring training games. Now, I do think that for individual players who are under close scrutiny spring training is important, but as for correlation between a team's spring training performance and their performance in the upcoming regular season? Spring training isn't much of a telltale sign.
The World Champion Yankees started off their spring with a 6-3 walk-off win over the Pirates. The dramatics came off the bat of a game-winning homerun by Colin Curtis. Who, you ask? Exactly. Good news for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; the Bronx boys will care maybe in a year or two. Should Yankee fans be worried that they narrowly won over the Pirates? Well, last year, they opened the spring the same way and as we know, the Yanks went on to win it all while having the best record in baseball and the only team with more than 100 regular season wins (103-59). The Pirates didn't see any playoff action, finishing dead last in the NL Central with only three more wins than the Yankees had losses (62-99).
New York's second game was all hyped up because of the World Series rematch against the Phillies and aces CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay going head-to-head on the mound. In the Yankees 3-2 loss, CC let up two hits and two walks while Halladay had no hits and three strikeouts -- each only pitching two innings. Two innings! You really can't coincide the performances in their short-lived spring debut with how they may pitch season long in the regular season, you just can't.
In Friday's game, everyone was anxious to see how battling starters Joba Chamberlin and Phil Hughes would do. Hughes started and gave up a homerun and a walk in two innings. Joba followed with two innings of his own, letting in five runs on three extra-base hits and a walk while striking out just one batter. But again, can two innings really be a precursor to an entire regular season? No. Posada's back-up Cervelli was good offensively, which we hope will continue, and MLB's Bryan Hoch noted that Jeter and Cano looked sharp up the middle -- duh, they've been doing that for how long now?
With the 7-12 loss in the third game to the Rays, the Yankees are now 1-2 in the Grapefruit League. But even the Grapefruit's final standings need to be lightly considered. In 2009, the Bronx Bombers won the Grapefruit League and went on to be the best team in baseball that year. But, four of the top eight Grapefruit finishers didn't even make the playoffs last season.
So, let me reiterate. Yes, I do love spring training. Not much other than Opening Day gets me as giddy. However, I do think people try to take way too much out of spring training as a basis for the regular season. Watch it. Check out the lines. But always remember, when it comes to baseball, anything and everything is possible to happen in the long stretch from May to September.
The World Champion Yankees started off their spring with a 6-3 walk-off win over the Pirates. The dramatics came off the bat of a game-winning homerun by Colin Curtis. Who, you ask? Exactly. Good news for Scranton/Wilkes-Barre; the Bronx boys will care maybe in a year or two. Should Yankee fans be worried that they narrowly won over the Pirates? Well, last year, they opened the spring the same way and as we know, the Yanks went on to win it all while having the best record in baseball and the only team with more than 100 regular season wins (103-59). The Pirates didn't see any playoff action, finishing dead last in the NL Central with only three more wins than the Yankees had losses (62-99).
New York's second game was all hyped up because of the World Series rematch against the Phillies and aces CC Sabathia and Roy Halladay going head-to-head on the mound. In the Yankees 3-2 loss, CC let up two hits and two walks while Halladay had no hits and three strikeouts -- each only pitching two innings. Two innings! You really can't coincide the performances in their short-lived spring debut with how they may pitch season long in the regular season, you just can't.
In Friday's game, everyone was anxious to see how battling starters Joba Chamberlin and Phil Hughes would do. Hughes started and gave up a homerun and a walk in two innings. Joba followed with two innings of his own, letting in five runs on three extra-base hits and a walk while striking out just one batter. But again, can two innings really be a precursor to an entire regular season? No. Posada's back-up Cervelli was good offensively, which we hope will continue, and MLB's Bryan Hoch noted that Jeter and Cano looked sharp up the middle -- duh, they've been doing that for how long now?
With the 7-12 loss in the third game to the Rays, the Yankees are now 1-2 in the Grapefruit League. But even the Grapefruit's final standings need to be lightly considered. In 2009, the Bronx Bombers won the Grapefruit League and went on to be the best team in baseball that year. But, four of the top eight Grapefruit finishers didn't even make the playoffs last season.
So, let me reiterate. Yes, I do love spring training. Not much other than Opening Day gets me as giddy. However, I do think people try to take way too much out of spring training as a basis for the regular season. Watch it. Check out the lines. But always remember, when it comes to baseball, anything and everything is possible to happen in the long stretch from May to September.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
