Thinking out loud … while wondering if the lights at the end of a tunnel signal an oncoming train…
-- CBS’ Jon Rothstein reported Friday morning URI was parting ways with head basketball coach David Cox. It had been rumored for some time, since Rhody’s season turned south more than a month ago. Some have said it turned south after losing to Providence in December, but I don’t believe that’s fair.
Rhode Island’s issue is finding talent – motivated talent, not talent worrying about themselves, their playing time or their numbers. Getting everyone on the same page is one of the more difficult things to do in team sports.
And the Rams, after losing in the A-10 tournament this week to Richmond and ending their year at 15-16, now have some time to work on it. David Cox, by all appearances, is a good coach.
You need the right coach to get where you want to go.
-- The Friars have gotten where they hoped to go… for the most part. Big East Coach of the Year, Ed Cooley. One of Providence’s own, too. Still think he can’t coach?
Were the Friars snubbed with the all-BE awards? Not really. We’ve said all along this team is the sum of many parts. Good parts. Good players. You always want to see your teams do well in comparison to others.
In my way of thinking, there was recognition (from the coaches, remember) and there was the ever-so-slight indignation of “you’re just not good enough” hanging in the air. Future fuel to burn, perhaps, for a fire when it’s needed.
-- Know what’s been fun this week? The buzz is back on the streets of New York. We’re coming out of the pandemic (albeit slowly). Fans are back in the building. The bands, cheerleaders… the electricity. Never more will we appreciate the word ‘normal’ than this week in the basketball world. All appears to be well again. Cross your fingers. And keep your masks in your pocket, just in case.
-- I sorta see Coach K’s last home game at Duke being a loss – to rival North Carolina, no less – as a way for the basketball universe to correct its karma. In case you’re not keeping count, the total amount of NIL deals (Name, Image and Likeness) have earned student athletes a grand total of $579 million in the first calendar year, which will officially end in July 2022. The kids are doing ok. They’ll probably do better. But amateur athletics? Dead as a doornail.
-- Why can’t we have nice things around here? The episode at Bryant in the stands at the Chace Athletic Center was embarrassing. Why can’t we do things the way the rest of the sports world seems to do them? You know, like win a game, or a championship, without mayhem ensuing?
I mean, Providence has an arena that, from time to time, has issues with its floor and its roof that get laughed at by outside media. Students and fans who are only having fun, but they throw things (like booze cans) on the floor and don’t comport themselves like they’ve ‘been there before.’
In truth – no one does in similar situations. Floor rushes are as American as apple pie and bowl games. But it is also true that some leagues are fining schools for creating and allowing situations that could potentially spin out of control.
Like what happened in Smithfield this week. Could it have been averted? A fight in the stands marred an otherwise memorable moment for Bryant in gaining its first-ever NCAA Tournament invitation.
It doesn’t matter who started it. It’s all that anyone outside of our area is going to remember. “Oh yeah, the school that threw punches in the stands when they punched their ticket.” Just wait as you watch coverage over the next week. Hope I’m wrong.
Maybe it’s who we are. We battle. We scratch, kick and claw. We fight to get where others routinely go. But is it possible to fight to win, and show a little class, too? Just sayin’.
Still, Bryant going dancing after waxing Wagner 70-43 in Tuesday’s NEC final is remarkable. Peter Kiss, for all his swag and brag, is playing at an elite level. National scoring leaders tend to do that from time to time.
But the last eight NEC champs have started the Big Dance as Big Underdogs – 16th seeds.
The First Four in Dayton likely awaits. But life for their opponent should be uncomfortable, at the least.
-- Might be uncomfortable for Bryant’s neighbors in the NEC, too… with the Bulldogs apparently kicking the tires on a move to America East. From a basketball (and other sports, too) perspective, it’s a good move. But does football have a forever home? Yes, football still drives the bus.
-- The UMass women are also celebrating a dance invite, knocking off A-10 favorite Dayton along the way. It’s their first trip to the NCAAs in more than two decades.
-- Brown’s Jaylen Gainey, Tamenang Choh and Kino Killy each received all-Ivy honors as Defensive Player of the Year, all-Ivy second team and Rookie of the Year. Gainey led the league in blocks and finished 5th in rebounding.
-- Is UConn assistant coach Kimani Young in the mix at UMass? His name has certainly been bounced around coaching circles this week.
-- Friar hockey has moved into the Hockey East quarterfinals this weekend at UMass, with a win over Vermont. Mullins Center in Amherst, Saturday night. Would be really big move toward the NCAAs with a win against the Minutemen.
-- My buddy “Big E” sez he was late to work last week and told his boss it was just too slippery outside to get there in time. “It was so slippery, for every step I took, I slipped back two!” His boss didn’t buy it. “So how ever did you get here?” Big E told him “I just gave up and started for home.”
-- MLB and its players finally swung their way out of that paper bag, it would seem. The primary issue, it seems, was $$$. Wow, that was a tough one to figure. (Said sarcastically, of course). Billionaires negotiating with millionaires. It appears a rather large difference of opinion between the two sides has been settled for now, but the dollars don’t mean the same to them as they do to us.
The vote was not unanimous within the MLBPA in accepting the deal. But the salary minimum will reach $780K over the next five years.
-- Sorry to see Kyle Van Noy cut from the Patriots this week. But let’s admit what we all know – this team needs youth and speed more than wisdom and experience at linebacker.
-- Guess that trade for Calvin Ridley isn’t going to happen now, is it? And honestly, with the way the sports world is embracing – inviting – gambling into the party, why should we be surprised that some players (ostensibly, adult players) do the wrong thing?
-- Bet on more and more of this type of thing happening. Players want to gamble (even on their sport) just like you do. They want their cake, and they want to eat it, too.
-- Not surprised Green Bay found a way to keep Aaron Rodgers. But this signing is like mortgaging a million-dollar home and earning only a thousand dollars a week. At some point, it will catch up to you – you can’t afford this.
-- Russell Wilson’s trade to Denver does, in fact, put the Broncos in as a legit contender in the AFC West. Pat Mahomes now has company. So does Justin Herbert. What did you get yourself into, Josh McDaniels?
-- The Seattle Seahawks, on the other hand, have a do-over on their hands with more than $50 million in cap space on their ledger…right, Patscap?
-- Jaysom Tatum’s recent performances have been nothing short of spectacular. 163 points over a four-game stretch is, well, stunning. Has he turned the team around? And can Jaylen Brown stand it? Just wondering.
Please stop with the lame “MVP!” chants in the stands. No, he isn’t. And you killed the guy a couple of months back. But Tatum is having a helluva hot streak.
-- And the Bruins, too. Winners of eight of their last 10. As the late, great Slim Pickens once intoned, “What in the wide, wide world of sports is goin’ on here?"
-- ESPN announced this week that Doris Burke has re-upped with the network. I remember her when… subbing in on Providence radio games with me, doing women’s hoop for little-to-no pay or attention. Is there any analyst in the game, today, better than she is? That’s no train coming down the track to run you over, Doris. It’s a bright spotlight. And it’s deserved.
Interested in having your questions on local Rhode Island sports (and yes, that includes the Patriots, Red Sox, Bruins and Celtics) answered in a somewhat timely fashion? It’s your chance to “think out loud,” so send your questions, comments and local stories to jrbroadcaster@gmail.com. We’ll share mailbag comments/Facebook posts/Tweets right here! Would appreciate the follow on Twitter, @JRbroadcaster…and join in on Facebook, www.facebook.com/john.rooke ...
Don’t forget to tune into Providence’s 103.7 FM, every Saturday from 7:00-9:00 am for Cordischi and Coit! Call in at 401-737-1287 or text at 37937.
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