This past week, two different friends of mine casually put Sidney Crosby into the same category as Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux (among others) when it comes to all-time hockey greats. One of the friends was a Pittsburgh Penguins fan, so I was able to dismiss that on the basis of personal bias. But the […]
Spring Madness starts tonight. The NHL playoffs combine the length of the NBA postseason with the anything-goes feel of the NCAA Tournament. A lot of leagues talk about their playoffs being a “second season”, but the NHL truly lives it. GREAT 1980s SPORTS MOMENTS Start reading today. There’s a chaotic fluidity in the bracket that makes […]
At the end of Monday night’s NCAA final, with Villanova’s thumping of Michigan beyond a reasonable doubt, Jim Nantz informed the viewing audience that the city of Philadelphia had pulled off an unprecedented parlay—to win the Super Bowl and Final Four in the same calendar year, within a couple months of each other. That’s true, […]
In a blog post earlier this week, I noted that I should be more excited about the Boston Red Sox this season. This is my 22nd year as a Sawx fan and for the first time, I’m living in New England on Opening Day. But the locals are known for being pretty demanding of their […]
I’m enjoying the Sister Jean storyline with the Loyola Ramblers as much as anyone, on their improbable (dare we say divinely inspired?) run to the Final Four. But I’m confident even the good nun would affirm the Catholic Church’s belief that God’s miracles are usually worked through ordinary human means. And in that spirit, we’re […]
The 2018 MLB season begins insanely early this year, with Opening Day coming up on Thursday, March 29. It’s the first time I can ever recall the full-scale opener (not counting isolated games played in Japan) coming before the Final Four. The result is that I feel a little behind the curve (no pun intended). […]
Notebook Newsletter: Sweet 16 Edition A review of the Sweet 16 games, broken down by TV time slot The Madness of last week is over. The run of 48 games in four days, with final scores and eliminations hitting you from every angle are gone. Now is the time when we get serious about settling […]
The percentages suggest West Virginia’s season will end on Friday night in Boston Garden against Villanova—the Mountaineers are a 5 ½ point underdog to a Wildcat team that’s the favorite to win the NCAA title. But in a March where percentages get torn up left and right, West Virginia basketball’s national championship odds deserve a […]
It’s been twenty years since a college basketball program reached the NCAA final in three consecutive seasons. At the end of January, North Carolina didn’t look like a threat to set a new precedent—the Tar Heels lost five of their first nine ACC games and this appeared to be a team that could—at most—get up […]
Those of us who consider ourselves Big Ten purists have generally disliked the conference’s decision to play its basketball tournament in the major markets of the East the last two seasons, going to Washington D.C. last year and Madison Square Garden this season. It’s safe to say that any purists among the Michigan fan base […]
This has been a banner year for Rhode Island basketball—quite literally, as the school has clinched the first outright conference championship in school history, running away with the Atlantic 10. It must be something about the eighth year of a decade—in 1988, the Rams upset Syracuse in the NCAA Tournament and made the Sweet 16. […]
It was in January that Michigan State hit a lull in their season. They lost at Ohio State and at home to Michigan. The Spartans needed overtime to survive Rutgers. Michigan State looked uninspired in the process. I took to this space at the time and wrote the following: “Their conference hopes are hanging by […]
