The brackets for this year’s NCAA Men’s basketball tournament were announced last night. Games start on Wednesday with the First Four in Dayton Ohio. Here is the schedule and networks for the tourney:
First Four: March 18-19 (TruTV)
First round: March 20-21 (CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV)
Second round: March 22-23 (CBS, TBS, TNT, TruTV)
Sweet 16: March 27-28 (CBS, TBS)
Elite Eight: March 29-30 (CBS, TBS)
Final Four: April 5 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (CBS)
NCAA championship game: April 7 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas (CBS)
Auburn was announced as the No. 1 seed playing out of the South region. Duke is the No. 1 seed in the East, Houston is the No. 1 seed in the Midwest and Florida is the No. 1 seed in the West
Full disclosure; your editor is a graduate of the #1 seed in the East region, Duke University, and will be rooting for the Blue Devils throughout the tournament.
For all you sportsball lovers out there, today is the day; Superbowl Sunday. This year’s contest sees the reigning champs the Kansas City Chiefs take on NFC champion Philadelphia Eagles at the Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. Kickoff is scheduled for 1830.
The Chiefs are a 1 1/2 point favorite and the over/under is set at 48 1/2 points.
The real draw, at least for me, are the commercials. The return of ‘quality’ commercials is very welcome. Carl’s junior is leading the way. Watch:
Leave your favorite commercials, game moments or announcer flubs in the comments.
Not long after President Trump signed the “Keeping Men Out of Women’s Sports” executive order, the National Collegiate Athletics Association changed their rules and banned men from competing in women’s sports.
The Board of Governors made the announcement on the NCAA website this afternoon. The changes mostly affect women’s sports, where all males are banned. The changes also affect female-to-male transitioners. If a FTM athlete is taking any testosterone, they are banned from women’s athletics.
NCAA women’s sports:
A student-athlete assigned male at birth may not compete for an NCAA women’s team.
A student-athlete assigned male at birth may practice on an NCAA women’s team and receive all other benefits applicable to student-athletes. Division I leadership is planning to adopt roster limits in place of scholarship limits and new practice squad policies are still in development.
A student-athlete assigned female at birth who has begun hormone therapy (e.g., testosterone) may not compete on a women’s team. If such competition occurs, the team will be subject to NCAA mixed-team legislation, and the team will no longer be eligible for NCAA women’s championships.
A student-athlete assigned female at birth who has begun hormone therapy (e.g., testosterone) may continue practicing with a women’s team and receive all other benefits applicable to student-athletes.
Individual schools have the autonomy to determine athletics participation on their campuses.
NCAA schools are subject to local, state and federal legislation and such policy supersedes the rules of the NCAA.
Sports with mixed men’s and women’s NCAA championships are exempt from this policy (e.g., rifle).
FTM athletes and anyone else can participate in Men’s athletics after completing a hormone treatment waiver.
NCAA men’s sports:
Regardless of sex assigned at birth or gender identity, a student-athlete may participate (practice and competition) in NCAA men’s sports, assuming they meet all other NCAA eligibility requirements.
*Student-athletes taking a banned substance (e.g., testosterone) must complete the medical exception process.
I have some issues with allowing male student-athletes to continue to practice with females. One can only assume they would use the same locker and shower facilities as the females after practice.
Regardless, this is a good start. It is also another indicator that we are rolling back all the leftist nonsense of the past 10-15 years, and doing so effectively. Now if we can just get the finishing places, medals and trophies to their rightful places . . .
This year’s class of inductees to the Baseball Hall of Fame has been announced. Ichiro Suzuki, CC Sabathia and Billy Wagner all surpassed the 75% vote threshold for induction. They wil be honored alongside Dave Parker and the late Dick Allen, who were elected by the Classic Baseball Era Committee last month in Dallas.
Ichiro, 51, is the first Japanese player elected to the Hall. He received 393 votes or 99.746 percent of the vote in his first year of eligibility and missed being unanimously selected by one vote. The only player in the 81 year history of the HoF to be selected unanimously was Yankees reliever Mariano Rivera.
Ichiro Suzuki
After spending nine seasons in Japan to start his professional career, during which he amassed 1,278 hits with a .353 batting average, he came to Major League Baseball. In 2001, his first season stateside, he won Rookie of the Year and MVP while helping the Mariners to an MLB-record 116 wins. In parts of 19 MLB seasons, he would rack up 10 All-Star Games, 10 Gold Gloves, three Silver Sluggers, two batting titles, 3,089 hits, 1,420 runs and 509 stolen bases. Ichiro spent time in Yankee and Marlin uniforms but will enter the Hall as a Mariner.
CC Sabathia was also in his first year of eligibility. He got 342 votes or 86.8% of the vote.
CC Sabathia
Sabathia, 44, began his 19-season career in Cleveland as the runner-up to Suzuki for the AL Rookie of the Year Award in 2001 and went on to post a 251-161 record with a 3.74 earned run average and 3,093 strikeouts – 18th all-time and third among left-handers behind Randy Johnson and Steve Carlton. Sabathia won the AL Cy Young Award in 2007. A year later, a mid-season trade to Milwaukee resulted in his finishing sixth in National League MVP voting after going 11-2 with a 1.65 ERA and seven complete games, including three shutouts, in 17 starts for the Brewers. The next year, he anchored the Yankees’ staff enroute to a World Series title and was the 2009 AL Championship Series MVP (2-0, 1.13 ERA). Sabathia is one of only six pitchers in history with at least 250 victories, a .600 winning percentage and 3,000 strikeouts.
Billy Wagner was in the last of his 10 years of eligibility for the Hall. He wound up with 325 or 82.5% of the vote.
Billy Wagner
Over 16 seasons with the Houston Astros, Philadelphia Phillies, New York Mets, Boston Red Sox and Atlanta Braves, Wagner, 53, had a 47-40 record with 422 saves, the eighth-highest career total in history and the second highest among left-handers, just two saves behind John Franco. Wagner’s 2.31 career ERA is the lowest among retired left-handed pitchers with at least 500 innings pitched in the live-ball era (post 1920). His career walks-plus-hits-per-innings-pitched ratio (WHIP) of 0.998 is lowest among all retired relievers with at least 700 innings pitched.
Baseball legend Bob Uecker has died. He was 90 years old.
Robert George Uecker was born January 26, 1934 in Milwaukee Wisconsin. He enlisted in the US Army in 1954 and eventually made the rank of corporal. Following his military service, Bob signed a minor league contract with his hometown Milwaukee Braves in 1956.
Uecker made his big league debut as a catcher with the club in 1962. In 1964 he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals. He was part of the World Series champion Cards that year. He would be traded to Philadelphia after the 1965 season. The Phillies would trade him to the now-Atlanta Braves in 1967. That would be Bob’s final year playing baseball.
In his six years in the majors, Bob played in 297 games and had 731 at bats, 146 hits, 14 homers, 74 RBI and had a .200 batting average. That line put him near the bottom for hitters of that era. What set him apart was his .981 fielding percentage behind the plate. That number would have been higher if it weren’t for a full season of catching knuckleballer Phil Neikro.
In 1971, Bob would make his debut as the radio play-by-play announcer for the Milwaukee Brewers. He would call games for the next 54 years. He is the second longest tenured radio announcer in Baseball after Royals broadcaster Denny Matthews.
Along with his radio announcing duties, Bob hosted a sports bloopers show, Bob Uecker’s Wacky World of Sports. He also appeared as an announcer for the WWF, calling matches at WrestleMania III and WrestleMania IV.
Uecker appeared in several commercials, TV shows and movies. He was the face of Miller Light in the 1980s. His best known film role was as broadcaster Harry Doyle in the Major League series.
Today is the 125th edition of the Army-Navy game. Today’s game is being played in Northwest Stadium in Landover MD at 1500 today.
The Line
11-1 Army is favored by 6.5 points over 8-3 Navy. The over/under line is at 39, considerably higher than last year’s 27.5.
Commander in Chief’s Trophy
The Commander in Chief’s Trophy is up for grabs at this year’s Army-Navy game. 5-7 Air Force lost to both teams and has already been eliminated from contention. Whoever wins today walks away with the Trophy. The United States Military Academy at West Point currently holds the trophy.
Uniforms
The big draw in recent years has been the distinctive uniforms each team wears for the matchup. This year is no different. Each team has a special uni for the game.
The Army uniforms pay homage to the 101st Airborne and the Battle of the Bulge.
The Navy is honoring the Jolly Rogers, a legendary fighter squadron.
Regardless of which team you’re rooting for, this year’s game should be an exciting, high-scoring affair.
Most of you will recognize those words. They were the catch phrase for Chico Escuela, played by the late Garrett Morris on Saturday Night Live. I’d post a clip, but for some reason — read political correctness — any video of Chico has been scrubbed from YouTube. (Don’t believe me? Head to YT and search Chico Escuela yourself. The closest thing you’ll find is an interview with Garrett Morris about his time on SNL.)
Why do I bring up Chico Escuela? Because today is Opening Day for America’s Pastime. The season kicks off at Citi Field in Queens with the New York Mets hosting the Milwaukee Brewers at 1310 1510 EDT with The Baltimore Orioles hosting the Los Angles Angels of Anaheim. The Metropolitans and the Brew Crew got rained out.
I make no secret that I am a HUGE Yankees fan, but I love all baseball. Hell, during the covid shortened season, I’d stay up till 0400 to watch KBO – Korean Baseball Organization – ball on ESPN just to get my fix. Over the course of the 162 game season, I’ll either watch or listen to — yes, listen to, as in on the radio — around 120 Yankees games plus any of the marquis matchups that cross my radar. That doesn’t include any of the Syracuse Mets games that I’ll go to during the minor league season.
The best part about opening day is the fact that every team is playing and nobody is eliminated from the post-season yet. Well, except for the Oakland A’s and the Colorado Rockies, they both suck. Hopefully neither of those teams are your favorites.
Here’s to a competitive and fun season. And Go Yankees!
