The IUP women are off to the Elite Eight in Columbus for the second year in a row. Tuesday afternoon they’ll take on Azusa Pacific. It’s been a storybook season for the Crimson Hawks. They keep finding ways to win. I can’t predict what they’ll do at this point of the season. I do know that with so many veterans on this team you can count on IUP to play forty minutes of tough basketball. Here’s to hoping they prevail and that our Jack Benedict finally gets a national championship ring along the way.
• Penn State’s wrestling dynasty is one that doesn’t get a lot of attention, but it should. The Nittany Lions won their eighth national title in nine years over the weekend and forth in a row. Think about that for a minute. It’s astounding. Penn State even had the team title wrapped up before the finals began on Saturday night.
• I happen to be a huge Penn State wrestling fan and was in Pittsburgh for the championships. Pittsburgh was a terrific host. This is a wrestling hot bed, which made the location a great choice. There are also so many schools within an eight hour drive of Pittsburgh that it made for a good destination for fans. Not surprisingly, there were a ton of Pennsylvania and New Jersey wrestlers in the field. Here’s to hoping the championships come back to Pittsburgh again soon.
• Hats off to Jason Nolf of Penn State. The area native won his third straight individual national championship and was a member of four straight Penn State national championship teams. Nolf was a legend at Kittanning High and will go down in the books as a Nittany Lion Legend as well. He’s a heck of a wrestler and standout in the classroom. Way to go, Jason!
• March Madness is under way. We nearly had a major shocker when Duke held off UCF. You won’t see a better game in this year’s tournament and probably ever in the NCAA Tournament. Wow, what a game. I couldn’t resist texting my long-time friend in the Duke Athletic Department. There weren’t many shockers in the opening week of the tournament. This would have destroyed millions of brackets. I’m a long-time Duke fan and hope they can win four more games. I just hope they don’t make them so close.
• It was nice to see the Penguins bounce back the last two games after blowing games against Philadelphia and Carolina. The Pens won tight games in Nashville and Dallas. Their four game road trip ends Monday night at MSG when they take on the Rangers. I feel pretty confident that the Pens are back in the playoffs. I don’t know how far they will go, but I think fans can breathe easier knowing they’re playoff bound, even if it’s not official.
• Are you ready for baseball? The Pirates open the season in Cincinnati on Thursday. It’s hard to believe the Pirates are a contender. They didn’t do much to improve their team from last season, and have even managed to slash their payroll, much to the dismay of fans. I like the pitching staff, but wonder where the runs are going to come from. And I have major questions concerning the Pirates’ defense, which hasn’t been very good during spring training. I think the Buccos will be lucky to place fourth in their division. I’m not even sure if a winning season is possible with this group, but I’ll pick them for 82 wins again.
• The Pirates continue to send out special ticket offers. Opening Day tickets that were usually tough to get in the past, are still easy to purchase. The Pirates are also putting out other offers they don’t usually make until the team is way out of the race late in the year. That tells me fan apathy is very high. It’s going to take a competitive club to get fans back to PNC Park, and I’m not sure the Pirates are going to be that team again in 2019.
• It was nice to see Mike Trout give up some of his free agency years and sign a long-term deal with the Angels. That’s unusual these days. Instead of trying to get every dollar he could get in two years, and believe me he would have gotten even more money had he waited, Trout decided to stay with a team he likes playing for and in a place he likes to live in. Good for him. Wish more players did that.
