Did you know that sixty-seven of the sixty-eight teams in the NCAA Basketball Team will lose its last game? The one team that I do not think will lose its final game this year is Virginia. The Cavaliers beat a very good Purdue team in an instant classic to reach the Final Four. This team has been together for years now and should emerge from a Final Four that includes Michigan State, Auburn, and Texas Tech.
Speaking of Purdue, did you know that Carson Edwards of the Boilermakers, not Zion Williamson, leads the tournament in scoring. The Purdue guard put on a shooting clinic while his team eliminated the likes of Tennessee and defending champion Villanova.
Speaking of Virginia, did you know that the “one and done” philosophy of recruiting is not lending itself to national championships of late? All four Final Four teams this year have been together for multiple seasons and four of the last five national championship teams do not follow the “one and done” thinking. Only Duke in 2015 won a title with freshmen laden teams. The other schools with championship rings of late include Villanova (2016 and 2018), North Carolina (2017), and Connecticut in 2014.
Did you know that the AAF professional football league went under this week? Yes, the league did not even make it through its inaugural season this spring? Word has it that the league founder lost his $70 million dollar investment. I wonder if Johnny Manziel joining the league a few weeks back brought the league down? Yes, the same Johnny Manziel who partied himself out of the NFL and got banned from the CFL after one season.
Did you know that Major League Baseball started last week? And did you know that the Baltimore Orioles are in first place in the American League East? Yes, the same Baltimore team that lost well over 100 games last season. They are 4-1 so far in 2019 while division rivals Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees have won just three games between them.
Did you know that the Philadelphia Phillies are the only remaining unbeaten team in baseball as I write this? It looks like the Bryce Harper $340 million (for 10 years) signing during the offseason may work out. I wonder what it feels like waking up in the morning the day of a game knowing you are about to make $210,000 that day? Yes, I did the math. $34 million a year divided by 162 games a year.
Did you know that Russell Westbrook of the NBA’s Oklahoma Thunder pulled off a 20-20-20 triple double Tuesday night against the lowly Los Angeles Lakers? Westbrook became the second player in league history to record 20 or more points, assists, and rebounds in a single game. Did you know that the only other player to accomplish the feat is Wilt Chamberlain? I would have taken those numbers as my career high school totals.
Did you know that LeBron James will be embarking on his 17th NBA season next fall? Aging myself here when I say that it seems like just a few years ago that he came straight to the Association out of high school.
Did you know that NFL teams charge fans the same ticket prices for exhibition games as they do for regular season games? Talk about greed. Have you ever wondered why college football seems to do just fine without exhibition games?
