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3.31.2004
A Girl Can Dunk, Too: It wasn't an eight-foot rim, either. Candace Parker, a 6-foot-3 Naperville, Ill., high school senior, beat five male competitors Monday night to become the first female to win the POWERade Jam Fest slam dunk competition.
The dunk contest was held in conjunction with the McDonald's All-American boys and girls games, to be held Wednesday.
The judges gave Parker 223 points, 75 points ahead of second place Joe Crawford, who has said he will sign with Kentucky.
Parker, who will be a freshman at Tennessee next season, finished off the competition with the "Peek-A-Boo," a one-handed jam while covering her eyes with a forearm.
"I've been dunking the ball since I was 15," she said at a press conference, the Associated Press reported. "I just wanted to get my first one down and knew I'd be all right."
Parker was named the Naismith Prep Basketball Players of the Year in 2003 and 2004.
Parker is the second female participant in the dunk contest. Last year, McDonald's All-American Brittany Hunter competed but didn't complete any dunks.
3.30.2004
UConn Settles a Score: When the women's NCAA basketball brackets came out two weeks ago, many were surprised that UConn slipped to a #2 seed behind Penn State. On Monday, the Huskies proved the selection committe wrong, demolishing the Nittany Lions, 66-49, to advance to the Final Four. The ladies joined the UConn gents in their respective Final Four.
It should be no surprise that the NCAA scheduled UConn, despite the fact that they were the #2 seed, to play in Hartford. It should also be no surprise that Tennessee needed some help from the refs in the final minutes of their game to survive, that Stanford has somehow awoken from a slumber and pulled off to upsets, and that Duke will undoubtedly be a final four team for the women. The only question is whether Stanford or Tennessee will round out the Final Four - we'll give the edge to Tennessee because they're further east than Stanford.
Well, at least we know it's not just the men cheating.
3.29.2004
Men?s Final Four Set:The big boys asserted themselves this weekend in the NCAA men?s college basketball tournament and there will be no Cinderella. The Final Four of Georgia Tech, Oklahoma State, Duke and Connecticut showed the power of the major conferences, while teams like Xavier and St. Joseph?s saw their dream seasons end. We have to admit that this Final Four seems a little lackluster despite there being four quality teams. The romance of the tourney is that of the little guy sneaking in, but that doesn?t happen nearly as often as many people think.
Kwan?s Reign Ends: Michelle Kwan, a five-time world figure skating champion, finished third in Dortmund, Germany, behind Japan's Shizuka Arakawa and Amercian Sasha Cohen.
In an odd and disturbing moment, a 30-year-old man jumped on the ice right before Kwan skated. Ron Bensimhon, a Canadian was briefly detained and then released; he was not armed. The New York Times described him as ?a male exhibitionist who had leapt out of the stands and skated to center ice wearing a mask and pants before stripping down to a tutu and his bare chest.?
Jones Finishes Eighth: A week after publicly declaring she?s a lesbian, pro golfer Rosie Jones finished eighth at the Kraft Nabisco Tournament. Jones finished seven shots behind Grace Park, who won her first career major.
Hubert Mizell, a longtime columnist for the St. Petersburg (Fla.) Times showed that people can learn acceptance as they grow older. He wrote this about Jones? decision to go public: ?All this puts an old sports columnist's mind into a different gear. I don't know how many LPGA lesbians there are, or how many lesbians play tennis at the highest levels, or how many are involved in Olympics or softball or basketball or other sports. Probably dozens. Maybe hundreds. But the educational process is finally running at a higher speed. ? Move on, my friends. These are not your grandmother's professional sports.?
3.27.2004
Turning Japanese: One of the mantra's of US pro sports is that they need to "internationalize their brand". Decoding the marketing-speak, they need to expand their potential fanbase beyond the 48 contiguous states, as the population ages and kids increasingly turn to non-traditional sports, both as participants and consumers. The NBA has done better than most of the pro leagues, largely helped by the popularity of Michael Jordan. Major League Baseball continues their baby steps in to this somewhat uncertain future starting next week, when the New York Yankees play the Tampa Bay Devil Rays for two games in Japan.
Both teams landed in Tokyo on early Saturday morning, after typically grueling flights across the international date line. The teams will play exhibitions against Japanese teams and then officially open the 2004 season on Tuesday, play another game on Wednesday before heading home to play games on Saturday in the US. These trips can help to spread the word about baseball, sell a bunch of jerseys and hats and get kids in the host country interested about playing the game. While some areas are not even worth trying to do this in (see: Europe), there's a great untapped market in Central America and Asia. It seems the novelty of the Expos playing in Puerto Rico has already worn off, but perhaps a more realistic strategy could be implemented. Considering how poorly major league baseball is run these days, we're not holding our breath for there to be much done beyond these quick tours, but baseball has to do something, as polls continue to indicate a declining interest among teenagers in the United States.
3.26.2004
Chariots of Fire: In 1896, the modern Olympics were born when Greece hosted the Games. In a few months, the Summer Olympics will return to Greece for the first time since then. Thursday was a milestone in that the Olympic torch was lit in Ancient Olympia, Greece, ready to make its way around the world before being run in to Olympic Stadium in Athens, thus opening the 2004 Games. But questions are being asked about whether the venues for the events are going to be completed in time for the Games. With about 3 1/2 months to go until the Opening Ceremonies, venues are still under construction, the roof of the Olympic Stadium will probably be unfinished, the site of the swimming and diving competition will not have a roof, thus exposing the competitors to the scorching Grecian summer heat and the transportation could be a nightmare with many projects unfinished or being scaled back. While the venues might be completed, there will be little or no time to do dry-runs in a lot of them. With security a top priority, potentially unforeseen problems could arise. All that and those pathetic NBC up-close-and-personal segments. What did we sports fans do to deserve this?
It Was 25 Years Ago Today: 1979, in retrospect, turned out to be a pivotal year for basketball. In the wake of drug scandals, a TV contract that had the Finals being shown at 11:00 PM and so forth, the NBA was in trouble. Little did the NBA know that their saviors were right around the corner. Magic Johnson's Michigan State beat Larry Bird's Indiana State 25 years ago today, 75-64 to win the NCAA men's basketball title. Later that year, Johnson would go to the Los Angeles Lakers and Bird to the Boston Celtics, helping setting in motion a renewal of one of the great rivalries in American sports history. Despite the popularity of college basketball's March Madness these days, amazingly enough that MSU vs. ISU final is still the highest rated basketball telecast ever.
3.25.2004
Jim Furyk Out: U.S. Open champion Jim Furyk had surgery on his left wrist and will be out for at least three months, making it unlikely he will defend his title at Shinnecock Hills and raising questions about him playing in the Ryder Cup, the Associated Press reported.
"I'm not going to come back until I feel like I'm 100 percent," Furyk told AP.
Furyk tried for three months to allow rest to heal his injury, but it only got worse. He had arthroscopic surgery Monday in New York to repair torn cartilage in his left wrist.
Bryant Spends Time with Accuser: Kobe Bryant spent several hours behind closed doors with his accuser, among others, to determine whether his accuser's sexual history can be entered into discussion during the trial. The 19-year-old woman sat just a few feet for three hours during the session, detailing some of the most intimate details of her sexual history.
3.24.2004
Oh My God, An Upset in Women's Basketball: Big upsets in women's sports are rare. So, when the seventh-seeded Minnesota Golden Gophers beat the second-seeded Kansas State Wildcats in the NCAA tournament Tuesday night, it was a big deal. And, the fact that they did it by a score of 80-61 just led more to the mystique of the Gophers' accomplishment.
It took a giant effort by the Gophers, and their top player Tuesday night. Janel McCarville had 15 points and a career-high 18 rebounds; Lindsay Whalen added 15 points and Shannon Schonrock contributed 14 for the Gophers in a balanced "Big Three" attack.
Jets Close to Moving to New York: The New York Jets have for years been squatters in Giants Stadium. Not for long. The Jets are reportedly near a $1.4 billion deal that would put them in a stadium in Manhattan's West Side.
The deal would have the Jets playing in Boys Town - Chelsea, in New York City. But, it wouldn't be the gay boys putting up all the money; the Jets would actually throw in $800 million for the deal, while the city would contribute the remaining $600 million.
3.23.2004
NHL Gets Tough: The NHL is finally taking the well-being of its players seriously by handing out stiff fines for dangerous conduct. Mark Messier was ejected in the New York Rangers' 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday, when he speared defenseman Martin Strbak during a New York power play.Wade Belak of the Toronto Maple Leafs will serve an eight game suspension for his two-handed chop to the face of Colorado defenseman Ossi Vaananen. The stiff penalties come after Vancouver's Todd Bertuzzi broke the neck of Avalanche forward Steve Moore with a cheap shot to the back of his neck.
Women's Longest Win Streak Ended: Vanderbilt ended the 27-game winning streak of Chattanooga by beating them, 60-44, Monday night to advance to the round of 16. Chattanooga was seeded 10th while the Commodores are seeded 2nd.
3.22.2004
And the NFL Cheered: The most hated stadium in all the NFL came crashing down Sunday morning to the elation of all the torn ACL's and booed pitchers in the pros. Veterans Stadium in Philadelphia was infamous for having the worst field conditions in all of sports. It was so bad that a preseason NFL game between the Eagles and Baltimore Ravens a couple years ago was cancelled due to the field conditions. Parts of the stadium have collapsed. Fans have booed Santa Claus. But it all came down Sunday. No one outside of Philly shed a tear.
Upset Specials Two 1-seeds and two 2-seeds fell in the second round of the NCAA tournament leaving the likes of Xavier, Alabama, Alabama-Birmingham and Nevada in the Sweet 16. We were hoping that, after a nearly upset-free first round we wouldn't have to hear about "Cinderella" for the rest of the month. Oh well.
3.20.2004
Day Two: Day two of the NCAA men's basketball tournament was much less interesting than day one. Everything pretty much ran to form: Midwest Regional (what's up with re-naming the regions after the cities that the regional finals will be played in?) #1 seed Kentucky romped 96-76 over Florida A&M, perennial power Kansas had a laugher against minnow Illinois-Chicago, 78-53 and so forth. The only real upset of the day was Stockton, California's University of the Pacific Tigers beating Providence's Friars 66-58. The second round starts tomorrow and it will separate the men/women from the boys/girls in our tournament pool.
Finally: The completion of the on-again, off-again, on-again swap of NFL wide receivers Keyshawn Johnson and Joey Galloway finally was completed on Friday when Galloway agreed to terms with Tampa Bay Bucaneers. The deal was held up due to Galloway being unable to come to contract terms with the Bucs, but it's done and so the plotline is clear: Johnson is reunited with his ex-Jets coach Bill Parcells in Dallas. He's out of excuses, though; he left Tampa Bay under less-than-ideal circumstances and the pressure will be on him to immediately make an impact in Dallas. That might be hard when the guy throwing you the damn ball is Quincy Carter or Chad Pennington or Drew Henson. If nothing else, reporters will probably find Keyshawn's tendency to shoot his mouth off still intact, guaranteeing a lot of quotes for the daily sports page.
3.19.2004
Day One: Day one of the NCAA men's basketball tournament was the usual mixed bag of predictable outcomes (Duke thrashing Alabama State 96-61; Stanford beating Texas San Antonio 71-45; St. Joseph's romping over Liberty 82-63) and nail biters (Wake Forest beating VCU 79-78; Maryland scraping by UTEP 86-83). One of the other standbys is the upset. Florida's Gators, ranked #5 in what used to be called the East Regional, but which is now named after the city it's held in, were stunned by #12 ranked Manhattan, 75-60. The wonderfully named Jaspers, who actually play their games in a gym in the Bronx, almost upset eventual champs Syracuse last year, so this wasn't all that shocking.
In the St. Louis region--formerly known as the Midwest--Nevada's Wolf Pack notched their first NCAA tourney win ever by beating Michigan State 72-66. Perhaps the best individual performance came from Syracuse's Gerry McNamara, who poured in 43 points in the Orangemen's 80-75 win over BYU. McNamara was in one of the zones where the basket must have looked about 3 feet wide; he nailed 9 three-pointers. There's still a lot of basketball to go in the first round, which concludes tomorrow.
3.18.2004
Roid Rage: Brady Anderson, one of the all-time favorite baseball players among gay fans, has been accused by Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer of using steroids.
In a muddled accusation, Palmer, a star pitcher with the Baltimore Orioles in their glory days, said this about Anderson, who played 13 years with the O?s: "I like Brady, and it doesn't mean he's a bad guy because he took steroids. But I'm sure he wanted to enhance his performance," Palmer told a Baltimore radio station. But when pressed by the Baltimore Sun, Palmer said, ?I said it's something baseball needs to deal with. I don't know if Brady took steroids. How would I know? But he did go from [16] home runs [in 1995] to 50 [in 1996]." After Anderson hit his 50 home runs in 1996, he never had more than 24 in a season, which fueled Palmer?s comment. Steroids have been implicated in the surge of home runs being hit in the past decade and in the recent investigation into Barry Bonds and other players. Anderson last played in the majors for Cleveland in 2002.
Anderson?s amazingly chiseled and muscular bod (that he seemed to delight in showing off) clearly suggests supplementation of some sort, though we have no idea if he ever ingested anything illegal. Maybe it was just hard work and clean living.
3.17.2004
Then There Were 64: The play-in game wasn't much of a game. The Florida A&M Rattlers (15-16) whipped the Lehigh (20-11) in the opening game of the NCAA men's basketball tournament, 72-57, in Dayton, Ohio.
Next up for the Rattlers is the #1 ranked team in the whole tournament, the Kentucky Wildcats. Florida A&M fans shouldn't expect much from their team from here on. In the previous three tournaments with a play-in game, Northwestern State, Siena and North Carolina-Asheville lost their opening game in the round of 64 by an average of 26 points. A 16-seed has never beaten a 1-seed (though a couple have come very close). A win over Kentucky would give them the biggest upset, arguably, in the history of men's collegiate basketball. Chances aren't good.
Sports Illustrated Founding Editor Dies From swimsuits to slapshots, field goals to fencing, he was there. Last Thursday, though, Sidney L. James, who served as the founding editor of Sports Illustrated has died. He was 97.
He was there on Aug. 16, 1954 when SI published its first issue and, for the first 15 years, he helped guide the world's most popular sports magazine. James is survived by three children, Christopher James of Alameda, Calif., Timothy James of New York and Sidney Kistin of Corrales, N.M.; eight grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Memorial arrangements are still pending, according to the family.
3.16.2004
The Gay Sports Schism Cont.: We have tended to let the two sides in the Federation of Gay Games vs. Montreal state their case on our Discussion Board. But some news has occurred in the past week when the European Gay and Lesbian Sports Federation voted 47-13 to pull out of the Federation.
It?s hard to determine how much this matters in the decision of individual athletes from Europe deciding where to participate in 2006. Montreal supporters have called it a body blow to the Federation. Yet Kevin Boyer, a spokesman for Gay Games VII in Chicago, said he was at the meeting in Amsterdam and that ?when the vote occurred Johan (EGLSF co-president from the Netherlands) repeated again that this was not an opposition to the Gay Games and that EGLSF would support the Gay Games in Chicago. At that point the entire room burst into enthusiastic applause in support of the statement.? Our advice is to take the latest communiqu￩ from either side with a grain of salt since the events are still more than two years away.
Yes, the Women are Playing, Too: We got a couple of e-mails from members worried that we didn't realize the women were playing a college basketball tournament as well. Rest assured, we are well aware and Mike Bryant, a women's basketball expert, will have a preview later this week. But for most of our readers, there is only one tournament in March, and that's the men's NCAA basketball tournament, which is why it is a focus. For those who were watching the women's selection show, no doubt your mouths dropped too when #3 Connecticut was left without a #1 seed for the first time since cigars were being smoked in the White House.
3.15.2004
Winky? No, this is not a typo. The new undisputed 154-pound champion of the world is named Winky. Once relegated to chasing fights, according to CNNSI.com, Winky Wright upset "Sugar" Shane Mosely Saturday night, winning a unanimous 12-round decision that stunned many.
Shocker: Mosley had a rematch clause written into the contract. So, before his scheduled $10 illion fight with Felix Trinidad in November, it wouldn't surprise use is Mosely just happened to win the titles back by the end of summer.
The Tournament It's the biggest news of the weekend, but it's already so played out, we figured boxing would take top billing here. Still, there's no avoiding the best sporting event of the year: the NCAA men's basketball tournament (we love the NFL, too - but, for drama and excitement, barring a Super Bowl like we had last month, year in and year out, the tourney has it all).
While Dickie V. was left complaining about Utah State, and St. Joseph's was left whining about "no respect," the rest of the country was busy watching over three hours, between CBS and ESPN, of "bracketology." While the tournament's first game is a ridiculous play-in game between the two teams unlucky enough to not be playing in the NIT, the action will begin Thursday morning - accompanied by about a million phone calls to bosses from employees who just, quite suddently, got a cough, sneeze, sore throat, and headache known as "the tournament flu."
Money, It's What I Don't Want: In a story so rare that it might never be repeated in our lifetimes, an athlete has actually turned down money contractually due him/her simply because they felt that it was right to get paid for being injured. Who is this weirdo? Dominick Hasek, twice NHL MVP, winner of six Vezina Trophies (given to the top goaltender in the league) and an Olympic Gold medal for his native Czech Republic. Hasek is under contract with the Detroit Red Wings but recently announced that he was out for the season with a groin injury. It turns out that he hasn't accepted a check/direct deposit from the Wings since January 9th. He is owed $6 million for the season; he's not going to be starving on the streets any time soon as he's collected about $3 million of that so far. Hasek tried to return from his injury in early February, but it proved too much to come back from. So he's on the sidelines, saving the Red Wings $3 million in salary. We can't think of another professional athlete that's done this. We somehow suspect that Hasek's gesture will not start a trend.
3.12.2004
Don't Dream, It's Over: One bit of business in men's college basketball was concluded on Thursday: the defeat of the only remaining undefeated team in the top men's division. St. Joseph's of Philadelphia had put an incredible run of 27 straight wins together but it all came crashing down in a 87-67 loss to unranked Xavier in an Atlantic 10 Conference quarterfinal. The partisan crowd in Dayton rubbed it in by chanting "Sloppy Joe's!", but St. Joseph's will still be highly ranked come seeding time.
Stanford, ranked #2, had no problem dispatching Washington State, 68-47, in a Pac 10 quarterfinal and they too should be a #1 seed in one of the regions come Sunday. They will play Oregon, who beat Cal 87-82, spoiling a good rivals matching in the semi-final. Pittsburgh, ranked #6, cruised to a 74-61 win over Virginia Tech in the Big East and #16 Cincinnati used a bank shot by Armein Kirkland with 16.9 seconds left to beat unranked Louisville. Arizona has sort of a down year as they're only ranked at #21, but they waited until there was less than 1 second left to defeat a valiant USC, 79-76.
One thing USC did really bugs us. The score was tied at 76 with 'SC in possession. They dribbled the ball around until there was only about 7 seconds on the clock and as we've seen so many times before when teams do this, they panicked and threw up a horrible shot because the shot clock was running out. Result: the Wildcats get the ball back with about 4 seconds to go, dribble the ball down the court and hit a 3-point jumper to win it. We understand the concept (don't leave the other team enough time to score) but why don't teams run a regular play instead of just standing around until it's almost panic time? More action on Friday as March Madness continues.
3.11.2004
T-Mac Is Back: Rumblings of Tracy McGrady being overrated have overshadowed the bright young stars last couple of years. But his performance Wednesday night stole the show.
McGrady scored a team-record 62 points in the Orlando Magic's 108-99 victory over the Washington Wizards, completing a season sweep. McGrady broke Shaquille O'Neal's old team record of 53 in a game by scoring 55 in the final three periods alone.
The outing puts McGrady in very elite company. It was the most points scored in the league since O'Neal scored 61 points in a Lakers victory over the Los Angeles Clippers over four years ago on Mar. 6, 2000. It was only the third time a player scored at least 62 points in the last 12 years, joining David Robinson (71 vs. the Clippers on April 24, 1994) and Michael Jordan (63 vs. Orlando on Jan. 16, 1993). That performance by Robinson was a farse, his team feeding him the ball incessantly so he could beat Shaq for the scoring title that year.
Three More Teams in the Tourney: Automatic bids were handed out to three teams Wednesday night: Illinois-Chicago (24-7 from the Horizon League), Monmouth (21-11 from the Northeast Conference) and Louisiana-Lafayette (20-8 from the Sun Belt Conference). These teams can all look forward to 14 or 15 seeds.
3.10.2004
The Bids Keep Rolling In: It's that time of the month. The conference tournaments are coming to an end and automatic bids to the NCAA men's basketball tournament are being handed out to the tourney champs. In all, 31 automatic bids will be signed, sealed and delivered by this Sunday afternoon.
The latest recipients are: Gonzaga Bulldogs, who went undefeated in the West Coast Conference and, at 27-2, only lost to St. Joseph's and Stanford; Northern Iowa, whose 21-9 record coming out of the Missouri Vally Conference should be good enough for a 15-seed; and Valparaiso, who beat IUPUI, 75-70, in the final of the Mid-Continent Conference tournament, and will be handed a 16-seed to go along with their 18-12 record.
3.9.2004
BC Women Pull Shocker: Regarded as one of the three or four teams vying for a national championship, the UConn women looked like a sure bet to win the Big East tournament - until they met Boston College. The Eagles stunned the Huskies, 73-70, in the semifinals of the Big East tourney to improve to 24-6 and dramatically improve their NCAA tournament seeding.
The Huskies, having beaten Boston College 27 of the last 28 times they played, slipped to 25-4 with the loss and may have lost their #1 seeding in the East.
Two More Teams Get NCAA Berth: Two more 16-seeds got into the NCAA tournament by winning their conference tourneys Monday night. The Virginia Commonwealth Rams, at 23-7, are making - get this - their seventh tournament appearance. They've been their seven times? Have they even won a single game?
The Manhattan Jaspers (24-5) will make their second straight NCAA tournament appearance after beating Niagara, 62-61. Manhattan was a rumored bubble team before the MAAC tournament, whic may open another bid for a mid-major team waiting out there.
3.8.2004
Stanford's Choke Artist: On Thursday, Matt Lottich hit an off-balance, fade-away three-pointer at the buzzer to keep Stanford perfect. On Saturday, he was the biggest reason for their first defeat of the season as the Stanford Cardinal fell to the Washington Huskies, 75-62.
The loss ended Stanford's 26-game winning streak - which tied for the longest in the country and gave them, along with St. Joseph's, one of the two undefeated records in NCAA Division I basketball.
Matt Lottich, who has shot over 40 percent on the season, shot 1-for-11 on Saturday. That sudden cold streak that doomed his team was no surprise to many Stanford fans. Lottich's career at Stanford has been marred by games in which he shoots at will and, sometimes, misses many more than he hits. Stanford's success in the NCAA tournament will depend largely on Lottich's willingness to pass to the ball to other playmakers like Josh Childress.
Five Teams Punch Dance Cards: Five men's basketball teams have won their conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. They are: Central Florida Golden Knights (making their 3rd NCAA apearance from the Atlantic Sun Conference); Liberty Flames (2nd, Big South); Princeton Tigers (23rd, Ivy); Murray State Racers (12th, Ohio Valley); and East Tennessee State Buccaneers (7th, Southern).
3.6.2004
Madness: March is one of the best times on the sports calendar for one reason: college basketball's (men and women's) March Madness. That usually means the NCAA tourament, a crazy, action-packed few weeks that weeds out the pretenders from the contenders. But this year, there's still a few story lines that need to play out before the tournament begins.
One of them is: will Stanford go unbeaten in the regular season to join St. Joe's in that exclusive club? It's looking that way after the Cardinal's amazing comback win against Washington State on Thursday. Down by 5 points with only 20 seconds to go, the Cardinal got a 4-point play (a 3-pointer and a foul shot) by Dan Grunfeld, his only points of the game. After a chaotic final few seconds, the much-derided Matt Lottich tossed in a prayer 3-pointer to give the Cardinal the win.
On Saturday night, two of the most storied programs in college men's hoops will face off when Duke meets North Carolina. Duke has more to lose going in to the punishing Atlantic Coast Conference tournament so North Carolina, under prodigal coach Roy Williams, would like nothing better than to knock off the Blue Devils. The seedings for the men's tournament will be announced soon and so all the speculation and office NCAA betting pools will begin. The women's side is a bit more predicable with Tennessee?s Lady Vols and UConn's Lady Huskies likely to dominate the woman's side. The NCAA men and women's basketball tournaments are huge and we can't wait for them to start.
3.5.2004
School's Out: College basketball coach Jim Harrick is known in Los Angeles for two things, mostly: winning UCLA's only non-John Wooden championship in 1995 and later being fired for lying about an expense report. Since he left ULCA, most of his other jobs have ended badly, usually under a cloud of wrongdoing allegations. On Wednesday, his job history took almost a farcical turn.
Jim Harrick Sr. and his son, Jim Jr., were a coaching tandem for the Georgia Bulldogs when it all went sour again. Amid allegations of academic fraud and improper benefits, Jim Sr. was suspended and then resigned, while his son was fired outright. The school admitted wrongdoing and in 1,500 pages of documents that the school released this week during an NCAA investigation, one thing really stood out. College athletes are often derided for being given virtually free passes in the college courses, but one class that Jim Jr. offered, Coaching Principles and Strategies of Basketball, offered perhaps the easiest exam in the history of academia for the players that took it. Among the questions:
5. How many halves are in a college basketball game? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4
6. How many quarters are in a high school basketball game? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4
7. How many points does one field goal account for in a game? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4
and perhaps the best one of all:
8. How many points does a 3-point field goal account for in a game? a. 1 b. 2 c. 3 d. 4
Jim Harrick Sr. and Jr. are gone from Georgia's program, but the infamy of this test might live on for a while. Our only question: did anyone fail the test?
3.4.2004
All Streaks Come to an End: Duke hadn't lost a home game in over three years. They hadn't lost to Georgia Tech in over six. Those streaks came to a streaking halt as the Yellow Jackets upset the Blue Devils at Duke, 76-68.
Georgia Tech's 7-foot center Luke Schenscher was solid in the second half, making several key baskets and rebounds. One defensive play in the final minutes disrupted a Duke rally that threatened to tie the game. Schenscher finished with 14 points.
The game could have had serious tournament implications. At 21-8, with a big win on the road in the final weekend of the regular season, Georgia Tech has assured itself of a berth in the tournament. While any question about Duke being in the tournament was laid to rest weeks ago, the Blue Devils may have just cost themselves a #1 seed. They will play North Carolina at home on Saturday before starting the ACC tournament. Duke may need to win the rest of their games to get that coveted #1 seed.
3.3.2004
Steroid Scandal Grows: It wasn?t just the baseball?s that were juiced. The baseball world was rocked Tuesday by a newspaper report that said Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield were among six major leaguers who received steroids from a lab implicated in a drug-distribution ring.
"The baseball stars allegedly got the illegal performance-enhancing drugs from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative through Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal weight trainer and longtime friend," according to information furnished the government and shared with the San Francisco Chronicle. "In addition to Bonds, Giambi and Sheffield, the other baseball players said to have received steroids from BALCO via Anderson were two former Giants, outfielder Marvin Benard and catcher Benito Santiago, and a former A's second baseman, Randy Velarde," the Chronicle reported. "Oakland Raiders linebacker Bill Romanowski also was said to have received performance-enhancing drugs."
Bonds' attorney, Michael Rains, issued a statement Tuesday saying: "We continue to adamantly deny that Barry was provided, furnished or supplied any illegal substances at any time by Greg Anderson. This latest pronouncement is a complete disregard to the truth."
These allegations are a black eye for baseball, which has been dogged by rumors that the explosion of home runs in recent years was caused primarily by players bulking up with illegal drugs.
Manning Strikes It Rich: Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning signed a seven-year, $98 million deal that includes a guaranteed a $34.5 million signing bonus. The contract, in the convoluted world of the NFL salary structure, helps the Colts because it reduces by $10 million the money due to Manning this season, allowing the team to keep some players and sign others.
3.2.2004
Big NFL News Comes In: While the Cincinnati Bengals were shoring up their quarterback of the future, the San Francisco 49ers were shaking up the future of theirs.
Second-year gunslinger Carson Palmer was named the starting quarterback for the Bengals after sitting the entire 2003 season. He will replace Jon Kitna who damn near led the Bengals to the playoffs. Meanwhile, the San Francisco 49ers are said to be shopping around Jeff Garcia to teams at the very top of the draft order.
Running back Clinton Portis is now the highest-paid running back ever after agreeing to terms with the Washingotn Redskins that will give him $50.0 million over eight years. He was acquired by the 'Skins in a trade sending cornerback Champ Bailey to the Denver Broncos.
3.1.2004
Bad Injury for Wilson: Blaine Wilson, one of U.S. gymnastics
most talented and charismatic athletes, saw his 2004 Olympic dreams possibly end after he tore his left biceps muscle Saturday at the American Cup in New York. Wilson was injured on the still rings.
Watching the injury live on television, it was wild to see Wilson's left bicep suddenly "pop," like it had, in fact, given out. He immediately grimaced and fell from the rings.
On Sunday, after an examination, doctors expressed some hope that Wilson might be ready for the Athens Games, which start Aug. 13. The gymnast was able to curl his arm, and there wasn't much swelling or bruising, Miles Avery, Wilson's longtime coach, told AP. "He can still curl his biceps, and that hints that it's not a total rupture of the tendon," Avery said. "So there are some encouraging things. We just have to be prayerful. Hopefully in a couple of months we'll say, 'Wow, how close we came to almost not making it.' And people will be amazed."
The American Cup, which pitted four U.S. gymnasts against four from other countries, saw Americans Carly Patterson and Jason Gatson win the women's and men's title respectively.
Pitt Streak Ends: To shoot .346 and win a game, you have to have defense. To do it on the road against a team with a 40-game home winning streak, you have to have strength. On Sunday, however, all Syracuse needed was overtime.
The Syracuse Orangemen defeated the Pittsburgh Panthers in overtime, with a dismal score of 49-46. The game was tied after regulation at 42. The Panthers, ranked #3 in the nation, shot .293 for the game.
2.28.2004
Idiots: In 2001, Northwestern University football player Rashidi Wheeler died of bronchial asthma, compounded by possible neglect by the trainers, during a conditioning drill. You would think that college football coaches would be hyper-vigilant about the condition of the players under their guidance during practices to make sure there were no repeat incidents of the Wheeler tragedy. Apparently not.
Ball State issued reprimands to its head football coach Brady Hoke and conditioning coach Aaron Wellman after freshman receiver Chris Jackson suffered frostbite due to the boneheaded decision to discipline him by having him work out in minus 7 degree temperatures. And although a friend of ours doesn't believe in wind chill factors, in the interest of fairness, it must be reported that the wind chill factor in Muncie, Indiana at the time of the incident was minus 12. It will surprise no one reading this item to find out that Chris Jackson suffered frostbite to several fingers as he and several other team members carried 25 lb. sandbags up and down the steps of the team's stadium. Couldn't they have used the basketball facility?
2.27.2004
Closure?: In a week where steroids in baseball, the arrest of the Baltimore Raven's star running back Jamal Lewis on federal drug charges and other calamities have dominated the sports headlines, it was nice to see a bit of silliness happen on Thursday. Last fall, when Cubs fan Steve Bartman interfered with the catching of a foul ball that would have gone a long way towards helping the hapless Cubs reach their first World Series since before most of us were born, Mr. Bartman and that ball achieved a sort of infamy in Chicago. The ball was bought for $113,824 on behalf former Cub announcer Harry Caray's restaurant at an auction. The restaurant announced at the time that the ball would be destroyed, helping to bring "closure" to grieving Cubs fans.
Hollywood special effects guru Michael Lantieri was brought in, the ball was placed in a bulletproof glass container and, through a combination of heat, pressure and explosives, reduced to a smoldering pile of ex-baseball. While it's all in jest, hopefully Cubs fans will take the opportunity to realize that Bartman interfering with ball was but one aspect of the Cubs collapsing with only five outs standing between them and the World Series. Reports from Chicago indicate that Bartman is still pretty reclusive, perhaps fearing an attack by a nutso Cubs fan. He should just tell any fans like that the Cubs still had a Game 7 they could have won, but of course, logic often goes missing when it comes to sports nuts. Here's to hoping that Cubs fans can move on and enjoy the upcoming 2004 season, where their loaded pitching staff should again carry them far.
2.26.2004
Montreal 2006 Welcomes Labatt's: Montreal 2006, the multisport gay athletics event to be held in just over two years, has welcomed Labatt Breweries as a sponsor. Details of the agreement were not made available.
By signing this agreement, Labatt joins Montr￩al 2006's circle of supporting partners, including the Governments of Qu￩bec and Canada, the City of Montr￩al, Tourism Montr￩al, and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Gay Games Welcomes Bruce Hayes: Bruce Hayes, 1984 Olympic swimming gold medalist and two-time Gay Games participant, has announced his support of both the Chicago and Los Angeles bids to host Gay Games VII in 2006.
"I spent my undergraduate years at UCLA and earned a masters' degree in journalism at Northwestern, so I know both cities very well," said Hayes. "It will be a tough choice for the Federation board because both cities have a strong sporting tradition and active LGBT communities."
The winning bid to hose the 2006 Games will be announced next week.
With Mark Tewksbury playing a major role in the Montreal 2006 organization, both groups now have a gold-medal Olympic swimmer to boost their cause.
2.25.2004
More From New York on Jeter-ARod Relationship: David Letterman weighed in on the controversial relationship between the Yankees infielders, throwing in some reference to the marriage debate as well:
"Everybody here in New York is excited about Alex Rodriguez playing third base for the Yankees, but there are reports now, insiders are suggesting there may be trouble between shortstop Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. There may be some friction, they may not be getting along. But, listen to this, the San Francisco Giants have a very different problem. I was stunned when I heard this. Their shortstop and their third baseman got married."
Redskins Building Winning Formula? The Washington Redskins are on the verge of landing their second big offensive weapon. After signing quarterback Mark Brunell last week, the Redskins are near a deal to acquire running back Clinton Portis for cornerback Champ Bailey.
With those two weapons joining new head coach Joe Gibbs, the Redskins are making a serious run at some preseason buzz that could easily put them among the elite in the NFL.
2.24.2004
Jeter says his relationship with A-Rod is fine: Derek Jeter interupted his workout on Monday to clear the air about his relationship with Alex Rodriguez.
"We don't have problems," Jeter insisted Monday. "Let's get that out there."
Sunday, Rodriguez admitted their close relationship was bruised in 2001 after he made less-than-praising remarks about Jeter. Even after A-Rod was traded to the Yankees, there seemed to be some distance between the two.
"We're going to be together for a lot of days," Jeter said. "We're going to be together from now until the end of October."
Whether they'll be sharing a room on road trips has not yet been determined.
King James earning his nickname? After beating the defending champion San Antonio Spurs and winning at Madison Square Garden over the weekend, the Cleveland Cavaliers came back from a 25-point deficit to topple the New Orleans Hornets Monday, 104-100.
LeBron James lead the charge with 21 points, while fellow rookie Jason Kapono finally showed some life in scoring 19 points - his career high.
