Let the madness begin! March is here, and hopefully that means that both IUP basketball teams will make a nice run in the NCAA Tournaments. First, the Crimson Hawks, winners of the PSAC West titles, will try to bring home the conference tournament titles. Combined, the two IUP teams are 51-4. That’s absolutely incredible. The men finished 25-2 while the women ended their season 26-2. Tom McConnell’s women made it to the Elite Eight last year. Can’t wait to see what each team accomplishes in 2020.
• What the heck is the matter with the Penguins? They’ve now dropped six straight. That should be cause for concern. The Pens figured to get better after their trade deadline moves. Instead, they lost all three of their west coast games against some really bad teams. The Pens are in a free fall and they better get their act together soon. The playoffs will be here before you know it. For a team that’s trying to “go for it”, the Pens are looking like anything but a contender.
• It was nice to finally see the Pirates win a spring training game. The Buccos had a pretty good weekend in sunny Florida. I watched part of Sunday’s game and enjoyed seeing the Buccos hit three homers in one inning against the Blue Jays. I’m intrigued by prospect Oneil Cruz, the six foot-seven shortstop. He blasted one to straight away center field. The kid is raw but has a lot of talent. He’s a guy to keep an eye on in the coming years.
• Until recently, this was a breakout year for Penn State’s basketball program. Pat Chambers’ team was looking like a team that could earn a high seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. Since then the Lions have dropped three of their last four games. Not the kind of streak the Lions need with the tournament right around the corner.
• Pitt is another team trending in the wrong direction. The Panthers have dropped six straight and are on the outside looking in for the NCAA Tourney. Jeff Capel knew it wasn’t going to be easy to turn this program around. He also knew it would take time. Pitt simply doesn’t have the players. At least not yet.
• The Big Ten holds its wrestling championships this weekend. It’s a great event, and will come to Penn State next year. The Nittany Lions aren’t the favorite this time around, even though they’ve won eight of the last nine national championships. Iowa, with five wrestlers from Pennsylvania, is the team to beat. They’re also favored to end Penn State’s national championship dominance later this month in Minneapolis. It should be a great month to watch wrestling.
• Though it draws lots of viewers, I don’t watch the NFL Combine. I think it is highly overrated. Too many guys who didn’t do much in college become hot names because they turn in good performances at the combine. I’ve always believed that if you want to evaluate a football player you simply need to look at his tape. The tape doesn’t lie.
• I still haven’t watched a minute of the XFL. I still don’t think it will be around for more than a year or two, not that I care.
• Those of us who do football games on our Indiana Renda Broadcasting stations should ask for a raise. CBS has agreed to pay football analyst extraordinaire Tony Romo seventeen million dollars a year. Good for him, he’s that good. But if Romo can get nearly a million dollars a game, why can’t we? Just asking!
