Thinking out loud…while wondering if part of being an adult is just walking around and wondering what you’re forgetting…
April Fools? Trust nothing and nobody. Just like any other day, amiright?
Did you know? Rhode Island is a sports-obsessed state. JustGamblers.com released a survey this week telling us something we obviously already knew…but they Googled and analyzed data related to searches on the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS, UFC and WWE anyway, just to be sure.
Based on that research, Rhody ranks #4 nationally in most sports-obsessed states based on search habits, behind 1) Nevada 2) Delaware and 3) New York. Massachusetts ranks 5th.
Delaware? Do they get outside at all?
Three teams are playing in their first-ever Final Four this weekend. It’s the first time this has happened since 1970. Parity is ruling right now in college basketball, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing for a sport that keeps threatening to change itself up and make itself over.
But consider this – sometimes, the blue-blooded influence is a good thing. Ticket prices for the games this weekend on most secondary ticket markets are down anywhere from 30-to-45% over a year ago. You can actually get a ticket to the Monday night championship game for as little as $75.
We’ll see what the TV ratings report. But maybe…we don’t really know what’s good for us.
PC’s Kim English has at least two of the “Three E’s” as far as I can tell: Energy, Enthusiasm, Effort. We’ll find out soon about the effort part, and the initial results are certainly trending in a positive direction.
I mean, how can you not love a coach who challenges one of his players (Jayden Pierre) to a game of one-on-one, and if coach wins, the player has to remove his name from the transfer portal? That should be the new standard for transferring in college basketball.
You gotta beat your coach. And Jayden didn’t, but no definitive word yet on if he’s staying or leaving.
Two players – one a former Top 100 recruit and the other a two-time all-A10 big man – are following him to Friartown.
As for the women’s side on a historic day at Providence College, where the school introduced BOTH head coaches in their signature programs Wednesday: Erin Batth is not messing around. Her personality is infectious, her enthusiasm is off the charts…just like English’s.
Steve Nap, you won the press conference. Time to win some games.
As an aside to Wednesday’s mega-event that drew well over 1000 fans to Alumni Hall on campus, Kevin Kurbec is staying on at PC and not following Ed Cooley to Georgetown. He’ll be in an assistant AD role, still working with basketball and assisting in assorted duties.
UConn can take another step toward true blueblood status in college basketball if they capture a fifth men’s national championship this weekend. I mean, if Villanova has reached that rung of the ladder, why not UConn?
They’ve already taken another step toward villainous status within the Big East, rest assured.
This is the first-ever Final Four without a 1, 2 or 3-seed playing in it. That explains the wreckage among millions of brackets across the country.
It’s also just the third time since the Associated Press poll was introduced in 1961 that NO ONE from the preseason Top 10 reached the Final Four. Dumb writers, what do they know?
And FAU? The fifth team since the current seeding plan was started in 1979 to make a FF run without a SINGLE previous NCAA tournament win.
There are NO Top 30 recruits playing in this Final Four, either. The top-rated player is UConn’s Donovan Clingan, who was #37 as a high school senior. In fact, the Huskies have four of the Top 5 rated players in this Final Four…which may or may not mean a thing.
13 of the last 15 NCAA Tournaments have been won by either a 1-seed or a 2-seed. The exceptions?
3-seed UConn in 2011, 7-seed UConn in 2014. UConn is a 4-seed and the highest seed left in this year’s Final Four.
And how about this nugget, from Eric Single of The Athletic – every Final Four team is either a current Big East member (UConn), a former Big East member (Miami), a future AAC member – which was formerly the Big East (FAU), and a former Big East invitee (albeit briefly, San Diego State).
Statistically, this year was the best Big East NCAA performance since realignment in 2013-14. The league earned 15 NCAA Tournament ‘units,’ which will translate into roughly $30 million for the membership to be paid out over the next six years…or just under half-a-mil per school, per year.
Except for Georgetown. Shouldn’t there be some sort of ‘coach poach’ tax in there, somewhere? Just sayin’.
Ed Cooley was the Naismith Coach of the Year last season, and this year Marquette’s Shaka Smart will claim his fair share of honors. He’s already been selected as the National Association of Basketball Coaches COTY.
Yeah, the Big East has had a pretty good year. But consider Conference USA for a moment – 18-2 in the postseason, with Florida Atlantic in the NCAA Final Four, and both North Texas and Alabama-Birmingham in the NIT title game.
UNT topped UAB – with both schools heading to the AAC – for the NIT crown.
If you’re following at home, and I know Edward in East Providence is…this will be just the second women’s tournament in history that didn’t feature UConn, Tennessee, or Stanford in the Elite 8.
Former Friar star Al Durham just wrapped up a championship season playing for the Caledonia Gladiators in the British Basketball League.
The Providence Pirates of the ABA, who play their home games in Pawtucket, won the Northeast Region and have advanced to the ABA nationals in St. Louis. This American Basketball Association, unlike the old pro ABA league from the 1970’s, is comprised of more than 160 teams in the US, Mexico, and Australia and primarily plays a regional schedule.
Not for nuthin’, but there are now 1200+ student-athletes in the basketball transfer portal and counting. Not all of them will see that the grass is greener on the other side.
The NCAA and compliance offices across the country are stressing it will be very difficult for two-time transfers to earn immediate eligibility. Coaching changes will not be accepted as a reason for transfer. Court cases are likely to ensue, but does any athlete really want to gamble with their playing time?
And the clock is ticking…the NBA Draft early entry deadline is April 23rd. The portal will close for next season transfers on May 11th. The early withdrawal deadline for staying in school or turning pro is May 31st.
Rick Pitino has, in effect, a complete rebuild ahead of him at St. John’s. Both Posh Alexander and Dylan Addae-Wusu this week decided to transfer. And each has two years of eligibility remaining. Kolby King and O’Mar Stanley have also departed.
Former Red Storm guard Rafael Pinzon transferred out and landed at Bryant this week. Big East all-freshman team guard AJ Storr is also out and has heard from more than 30 schools – including Big East members UConn, Xavier, Creighton, Butler, DePaul and Georgetown.
Marquette will likely remake its’ bench, with Emarion Ellis, Zach Wrightsil and Keeyan Itejere all headed for the portal. Playing time was hard to come by.
Coach Cooley already has his hands full at Georgetown – seven Hoyas are in the portal. They’ve got a revolving door in DC like the one I have trouble with at Macy’s in NYC.
Rhody lost one and got one via the portal this week – with Lou Hutchinson departing and 6-9 JUCO transfer Tyson Brown arriving in Kingston from Florida Southwestern.
Brown shooting guard Paxson Wojcik announced this week he’s transferring to North Carolina, to play for the Tar Heels as a grad student next season. That…is an upwardly mobile move.
Speaking of upwardly mobile…Brown did it again this past week with freshman baseballer Olivia Pichardo becoming the first woman to appear in an NCAA Division I baseball game, pinch-hitting for the Bears in their home opener against Bryant.
She now probably owns, at least, one of the most famous ground ball outs to first base, ever. Olivia’s helmet is headed to the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. Very cool.
Another hockey Friar is turning pro – senior co-captain Parker Ford has signed a two-year, entry level deal with the Winnipeg Jets. Ford will be skating with their AHL team in Manitoba for the remainder of this season.
If we’re moving toward college athletes becoming “paid” employees of their schools, you could be kissing sports good-bye within the Patriot League. Which includes Holy Cross and Boston University.
Commissioner Jennifer Heppel this week told the House Energy and Commerce Committee hearing on college sports and NIL if Congress were to move this direction, it’s likely that the Conference, and perhaps the schools in the Patriot League, would no longer sponsor sports.
Speaking of NIL, there’s a new national king – or queen – on the basketball throne. LSU forward Angel Reese has 17 NIL deals, according to a recent SponsorUnited report. Only four other athletes in Division I have more, and none shoot hoops.
Her earning potential for next year? $392K, ranking sixth. In women’s basketball.
With eight games left in their regular season, the Providence Bruins remain on a roll. They’ve got an eight-game win streak, have the best record in the AHL Eastern Conference and can clinch a first-round playoff bye with a win in Hartford and a Charlotte loss in Springfield this weekend.
It’s been contagious throughout the organization, hasn’t it? The Big Bruins remain on their roll as well, clinching the President’s Cup trophy for best overall NHL regular season record this week and claiming a franchise-record 58th single-season victory.
They need five wins in their last seven games for the all-time, single season NHL record for team wins (63).
But wouldn’t that be kind of like winning a booby prize at the State Fair? Pulling a plastic toy truck out of the claw machine when you wanted the pair of Air Pods?
The only Cup that will do is the one that has Lord Stanley’s name on it. Expectation, thy residence is in New England.
Can someone please explain how the Celtics can get punked on the road at 34-42 out-of-the-playoffs Washington, and then do the punking themselves at 55-22 Eastern Conference-leading Milwaukee in the same week? #smh
ICYMI, Kyrie is killing the Dallas Mavericks. I hate to say to the Mavs, “I told you so.” Because we ALL told them so.
Buried in a lot of good stuff going on is the start to the season for the New England Revolution. They’re off to a 4-1 start and in first place in the East with their teenage stars, starting three players aged 18 (and younger) for the first time ever.
And all three players are products of the Revs’ own homegrown Academy.
My buddy “Big E” sez he will spend his April Fools’ Day productively. He’s going to put sticky’s on car windows in the Walmart parking lot that say “Sorry for the damage.” Then watch people look for it. Gettin’ his popcorn ready.
Lamar Jackson? Really? No, not really. DeAndre Hopkins? Really?
Maybe. If the price continues to tumble downward.
At the annual NFL owners’ meetings, held this week in Arizona, 17 potential rule changes were created and will be voted upon in the upcoming Annual League Meeting.
So, a meeting to decide what we’re going to vote on for the next meeting. Got it.
And among the items up for change: a fourth-down attempt instead of an onside kick (like they have in the XFL), roughing-the-passer becoming a reviewable call, and punt touchbacks starting at the 25-yard line like kickoff touchbacks.
Good work, men. Put ‘em all in there. A rule change will require at least 24 affirmative votes from the 32 owners.
Oh, and Roger Goodell is still the Grand Poobah. He had his contract extended by his, um, bosses.
But here’s something that could use a little work: More flexing? Sunday games could be flexed to Thursday nights with 15 days’ notice. What about the people who buy Sunday game tickets and can’t make Thursdays because of, you know, work?
Mark your calendars. The Patriots’ workout dates have been set, but they won’t be open to the public. April 17th kicks things off, followed by May 22-23, May 25, May 30-31, June 2, June 5-6, and June 8-9. Then, minicamp June 12-14.
70-1 odds for the Patriots to win the Super Bowl next season? Those are the longest odds of the BB era, the longest since they were 100-1 in ’93. Last time they were at least 50-1, was in 2001. And I think I remember what happened that year.
The Red Sox did not disappoint in their opener this week. Oh, they lost alright. But it was expected. They’re not good. Ready for another last place finish?
Yeah, yeah. It’s one game. Big deal. The only improvement the pitch clock will make on this team is that the misery won’t last quite as long.
Over/under on wins, 78.5? I’ll take the under. The Sox were 78-84 last season in case you’ve forgotten. And the Division around them may be better than a year ago. Ask Baltimore.
You might need to take a look at a little college baseball this season if you want a winner around here. Both Boston College and UConn were nationally ranked in the Top 20 this past week by D1baseball.com.
Now let’s see, what am I forgetting again?
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