The Yankees opened the Grapefruit League with a 22-10 blowout of the Detroit Tigers.
Yeah, I’m thinking about World Series Banner #28 now. But hold on, basketball is still red hot with high schools and colleges battling it out for March Madness.
What the heck? Houston is at #1 at 24-3. Is it 1983 all over again? Is NC State ranked? As Yogi always said, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” Anybody can get hot, win their conference tourney and keep dancing till the magic ends. I see you Marquette ranked #6 at 21-6 overall. Is Al McGuire smiling down from heaven thinking about that 1977 title run? UCLA is only at 15-14 but could some old-school John Wooden inspiration help them make a miraculous run? Put your socks on straight and tie your shoes tight – March Madness is just around the corner and Spring Training is in full swing.
For some reason, I’m full of optimism for my Yankees. Must be spring fever. I’m hoping the Ole Miss Rebels can catch something on both the basketball court and baseball diamond. The Lady Rebs will make March Madness an exciting adventure. And hey, those boys and girls in that maroon shade are making noise about playing in March as well. We shall see.
And even though I despise the Big 10/Little 14 conference, I have to give props to Iowa’s Caitlyn Clark. She’s shattering scoring records and has played only four years. At press time, she’s 51 behind Pistol Pete’s 3,667 that he set in three years at LSU with no three-point line and when freshmen couldn’t play. We all know he’d have close to 5,000 points otherwise. But she’s done it with class and hard work. And with the COVID rules, she actually has a fifth year of eligibility should she choose to use it. If Iowa falls short of a National Championship, I see her coming back. I checked the NIL stuff for her and she’s making about $900,000 in college. The highest WNBA salary is $242,000. That’s some easy math right there.
And by the way, how did Tennessee get good in basketball? Hey, I lived in Knoxville for a few months and if it wasn’t a football or Nascar or Pat Summit, the Vols didn’t have any interest. And everything was a nasty orange color. I almost got to meet The Monkees at a TV station I was applying to work for but just missed them. Story of my life. In my undergrad days, I was just a few points away on two separate occasions while covering the Lady Rebels basketball team in getting to the Final Four. That still hurts.
Is Kentucky basketball still a thing? I know they are a pedestrian – for them – 20-8 and ranked 16th. If they are not near #1 do the folks in Kentucky even care? They’ve been spoiled for far too long. Adolph Rupp and Joe B. Hall must be commiserating.
But NC State is sitting at 17-11 and not ranked. They were 17-9 back in 1983 before the ACC Tournament. They went on a 3-0 run to take the ACC Title then put that incredible six-game run and had their one shining moment with the late Head Coach Jim Valvano looking for someone to hug after the big win over Houston. The Cougars had won 26 straight with plenty of blowouts by Phi Slamma Jamma.
I’m sure Yogi and Coach V will be watching March Madness together. With “it ain’t over till it’s over” and “never give up, never ever give up” resounding from the heavens.
