It’s going to be a fun Final Four with surprise teams Gonzaga, Oregon and South Carolina joining traditional power North Carolina in Arizona. Carolina figures to be the favorite, and for good reason. They are surely motivated after last year’s heartbreaking loss to Villanova in the title game. I’ll be honest, I’d be happy to see Gonzaga, Oregon or South Carolina win it all. All three teams are great stories and are capable of cutting down the nets. I just hope that Carolina doesn’t win the national title. But if I had to bet, I’d put my money on the Tarheels.
• Kansas fans aren’t happy these days, and who can blame them. The Jayhawks looked like a sure bet to make it to another Final Four, played the regional final not far from home, and still came up short. Coach Bill Self is getting a lot of heat, and for good reason. Self’s teams have won thirteen straight Big 12 titles, but are now 2-7 in the Elite Eight. Yes, Kansas has made it to two Final Fours under Self, and also has a national title under his direction. But this latest failure isn’t going over well in Lawrence. In this world of what have you done for me lately, some coaches would lose their job over so many failures. Self won’t get fired, but the heat is surely going to be turned up in Jayhawk land.
• I’ve never much liked Indiana’s basketball program, mainly due to the fact that I never cared for Bob Knight. I do wish new coach Archie Miller the best, however. It’s a great hire for IU. Archie was the starting point guard, and later assistant coach when I sold sports sponsorships for NC State. He was a really good player and you could tell early on that he would be a heck of a coach. Miller had several opportunities for good jobs but waited for the right one before leaving a good situation at Dayton. I think he’ll do really well in Bloomington.
• It seems that no one wants much to do with Duquesne basketball anymore, and that’s a shame. The Dukes have been turned down by a few coaches already for their coaching vacancy, and at least three players have asked for their release. I wouldn’t want anything to do with Duquesne either if I was a coach. The team hasn’t won anything in decades, goes through coach after coach, and fan support for the program isn’t much to speak of. That is a shame, because back in the Red Manning days Duquesne was a consistent winner and a fun team to watch. I feel bad for my longtime friend Ray Goss, who has been broadcasting the Dukes’ games for close to a half century. Ray is one of the best play by play guys around. Unfortunately, the program he’s associated with is terrible.
• Sidney Crosby continues to dazzle us with his play. Just when you think you’ve seen it all from Crosby he shows us something we never thought imaginable. Crosby’s spectacular goal against Buffalo has to rate as the goal of the year in the NHL. An end to end rush through the Sabres’ defenders, topped off by a one handed backhand shot was why Crosby is one of the few superstars in sports you can say you’d pay to see. He’s that good, and his goal was simply amazing. When asked about it after the game Pens’ announcer Mike Lange, who has seen them all, just shrugged his head without saying a word. That said it all.
• As much as I like Crosby, I don’t like some of his other antics on the ice. There’s no place in the game for spearing a defender between the legs. Crosby also did that in the Buffalo game. And his slash in Ottawa, where he took off part of a Sens’ player’s finger, was clearly uncalled for. There’s too much unnecessary slashing and stick-work in today’s NHL. Crosby is the victim of a lot of it, for sure. He’s also guilty of dishing it out. I, for one, don’t like it at all.
• Who knew the Steelers would be so aggressive in free agency? Count me among those who are surprised the Black and Gold have added so many players. Don’t think these newest additions will solve all the Steelers’ pressing needs, because they won’t. The newest Steelers were signed to add depth to the team. They may contribute, and hopefully they will. But it’s doubtful they will make the impact that the Steelers expect from their draft choices.
• Has Jung Ho Kang played his last game for the Pittsburgh Pirates? It’s quite possible. Kang won’t be around when the Buccos open up in Boston on April 3rd. Whether or not he even plays this season is also up for discussion. And then there is the matter of whether the Pirates should just part ways with their troubled third baseman. Callers to The Fan in Pittsburgh the other day were mostly in agreement that they’d like to see the Pirates flat out release Kang. I’m not sure the Pirates’ brass feels the same way. Still, the reaction from the fans was quite interesting. Kang may be back, but I doubt he has much of a future in Pittsburgh, if at all.
• I’m still on cloud nine after watching Penn State win its sixth national title in the last seven years in wrestling a week ago. It was a performance for the ages. The Nittany Lions won the team title before the finals even began, and then had all five of their wrestlers win individual national titles. It was the greatest night in Penn State wrestling history, and that is saying a lot. The Lions will be loaded again next year. I can’t wait.
