You gotta love March Madness. I have attended many of the NCAA basketball tournament games over the years, many as a reporter and a number of others as a fan. It’s always entertaining and unpredictable. I was in the old Civic Arena in the mid 90s and witnessed number 15 seed Coppin State upset second seeded South Carolina. It was one of the biggest upsets in tournament history. I really didn’t think we’d see a number one seed lose to a sixteen seed. UMBC’s win over number one seed Virginia was as improbable as any game I’ve ever seen. That they won was hard to believe. That they blew out the Cavaliers defied logic. I was following the games late Friday night when I saw the score and tuned in for the last several minutes. I didn’t believe it, and I still find it hard to believe. Games like this are what make sports and the NCAA Tournament the best event in American sports.
• So, how is your bracket? Number one Virginia is gone. Number two Carolina, who won it all last year, was blown out by Texas A&M. Number three Michigan State fell to Syracuse. Arizona was shocked by Buffalo. When will the madness end?
• We have a great local story with the IUP women’s basketball team. The Crimson Hawks play Monday night in the Elite Eight in South Dakota. Tom McConnell’s team has had a storybook season and they’re not done yet. IUP has had a lot of injuries lately and those could factor into their matchup with Stonehill. Here’s to hoping the Crimson Hawks keep winning and our own Jack Benedict finally gets to call a winning national championship game.
• We have a chance to have two local girls high school basketball teams meet in the state finals. Blairsville and Penns Manor both play in the state semifinals on Monday night. With a win they make it to the state championship game on Thursday. Good luck to both teams.
• I make no secret of the fact that I love Penn State wrestling. The Nittany Lions won their third straight national championship. and seventh in the last eight years, over the weekend in dramatic fashion in Cleveland. Penn State wrapped up the title when Bo Nikal pinned Ohio State’s Myles Martin. Had Martin won the Buckeyes would have ended up winning the title. College wrestling is so much fun to watch. Those of us who follow Penn State wrestling are spoiled. What Cael Sanderson and his teams have done in Happy Valley is flat out amazing.
• The Pens are back in action this week after a few days off. They had a total meltdown in New York in a game they should have won easily. I give them credit for coming back the next night and playing the way they’re supposed to play in their win over Montreal. Goalie Matt Murray is back practicing with the team. Hopefully Murray is back in the lineup soon as the Pens get ready for the playoffs.
• I don’t know if the Steelers’ signing of linebacker Jon Bostic is the answer for the Black and Gold. I do know that the team desperately needed help at linebacker and Bostic was available at a reasonable price. Bostic has bounced around the league, thus he did not command big bucks. Look for the Steelers to draft a linebacker high in the draft. I’m not sure they’ll ever replace the talented Ryan Shazier, but at least the Steelers will try to shore up a defense that couldn’t stop the run to save them once Shazier left the lineup.
• The Pirates’ home opener is just a few weeks ago and plenty of tickets remain. I don’t recall this much apathy for a Pirates’ opener in decades. I’m glad I’m not working in the team’s ticket office.
• Tiger Woods is now the favorite to win the Masters. I’d still be surprised if he wins at Augusta. That said, he’s looked really good the last few weeks. Woods challenged at Bay Hill over the weekend in Arnold Palmer’s tourney. No golfer moves the meter like Woods. The Masters is always a tough ticket. Now that Woods is a contender again that ticket is even tougher to get.
