After notching closer than expected victories in the national semis, two one seeds, North Carolina and Gonzaga, will meet for the NCAA Basketball crown in Glendale, Arizona tomorrow night.
In the opening game yesterday, Gonzaga, just (1-3-1) vs the spread thus far in the tournament, dissipated a double digit second half lead, before surviving vs the upstart, game Gamecocks of South Carolina.
North Carolina, which will seek to break a three way tie with Indiana and Duke for the third most NCAA basketball crowns (all three have 5, UCLA has 11, Kentucky has 8), nearly dissipated a similar lead, before ousting Oregon, which was in its first national semi, since winning the first NCAA crown in 1939.
In one of the greatest upsets in sports annals, Mississippi State “semi’d” the University of Connecticut’s women’s basketball team, the Lady Bulldogs “barking” outright as 20 plus point underdogs, and will face South Carolina, which “semi’d” Stanford, in the national final tomorrow night.
Morgan William’s shot with no time remaining ended Connecticut’s incredible 111 game win skein and denied The Lady Huskies a shot at a 5th straight national crown.
Instead it is Miss State that will take on South Carolina, a school that also has a men’s national semis participant and a state which houses the national football champions (Clemson University). South Carolina is a slight favorite.
Miss State players and fans celebrate an incredible upset victory.
Last night in Montreal, Tim Raines newly and in my opinion, rightfully elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame, received a great ovation when he was introduced before a National Hockey League game between the Canadiens and Florida Panthers.
I could not help but recall a night nearly 30 years earlier, Saturday May 2, 1987, when I spoke with the always friendly and personable Mr. Raines via phone from a New York City hotel room where he and the baseball Montreal Expos were staying.
Earlier in the day, Raines had returned to baseball with an incredible performance in his first game of the season.
We shared a laugh as we speculated that with the Canadiens easing to a 7th game “quarters” victory, Raines’ exploits would be relegated to page four.
Last year, the record breaking Golden State Warriors and the Washington Capitals grabbed the top regular season records in their respective leagues, the NBA and NHL.
All they had to show for it, were playoff losses to the league champions, the Cleveland Cavaliers with league commissioner Adam Silver an MVP of sorts for unjustly suspending Dray Green for game 5, taking the Warriors in #7 of the finals while the Pittsburgh Penguins “quartered” the Caps.
After wins last night, the Warriors impressively as solid underdogs at San Antonio and the Caps as huge favorites at Colorado (Avalanche), it is very likely both the Warriors and Capitals will gain their respective league’s top marks.
It does not mean all that much but both teams say “let’s try again.”
It is hard to believe that thirty years have passed since Rabbi and math teacher, Harry Goder was honored at Northeast Jewish Center in Yonkers, New York.
Much of what happened after is truly sad and not even a recording remains of that day’s ceremony honoring a truly brilliant, unique and humorous man.
He prepared us for the Regents examination in trigonometry calling the quadratic equation an “automatic,” warning we better get the question involving it correct, if nothing else.
Additionally, his “regular” exams often were actual old regents exams, perhaps from the 1930’s. The class did not react well to this.
Mr. Goder (Mr. Goder in high school, Rabbi Goder in Hebrew School, I was fortunate to have been taught and encouraged by him in both places) said to the class, “I know what you are thinking, but my parents were indeed married when I was born.”
Not many years later, I was the public address announcer for The College Of White Plains basketball games. An official made a questionable call, the reaction was somewhat severe. I applied Mr. Goder’s words/humor/joke to the official. Did he get it? I was “asked” to leave the game.
It was worth it, telling my friend Harry Goder the story and repeating thirty years ago today, when as is the case now, I pay tribute to a wonderful man.
In a great, cozy even intimate setting at IRT Theater (154 Christopher Street in New York City) the cast of Tom Block’s “Sub-Basement” dazzled the audience with his superb writing and Hunter Bird’s direction.
The story of “Adrienne” her career, romances and psyche, as she interacted with three male characters, is performed, in beautiful fashion by Veronique Ory.
I have been fortunate to see Ms. Ory in other performanes on the stage, as well as her YouTube comedy webseries, “Common Ground.”
Watching her perform, it is no wonder she has received awards from the likes of Entertainment Today and Metro L.A.
The men Zenon Zeleniuch as “Gustav,” Patrick K. Dooley (“Simon”) and Barry Phillips (“Arnaud”) also deliver excellent performances.
“Sub-Basement” is another great production of of Athena Theatre. Performances are (Thursday-Saturday) at 8 P.M. and Sundays at 3 P.M. through April 15th, with an additional performance on Wednesday April 12th at 8 P.M.
Click below for ticket information
Click below to gain information about the fabulous Athena Theatre
Athena Theatre – NYC-based non-profit theatre company
Yesterday for the second straight day, teams from neighboring states won regional finals games to advance to the national semi-finals next week.
Saturday the neighboring states of Washington and Oregon advanced as Gonzaga and Oregon University respectively, won regional finals games.
On Sunday it was the Carolinas as first South Carolina upset Florida and then North Carolina won by 2 points as 2 point favorites vs Kentucky.
Gonzaga is a nice favorite vs South Carolina in the first national semi tilt next Saturday while N.C. is a little less the perceived choice in its game vs Oregon.
Spelled differently, pronounced the same, the great Jim Nabors pictured above.
Alas his “Gomer Pyle” was from North Carolina, one of the states with a team in the national semis.
In a two year, three season span 1977- and 1979, teams from states in the northwest United States, Oregon and Washington, won their only NBA titles.
The Portland Trail Blazers won it all in 1977 but not since that time.
Meanwhile the ’79 title winning Seattle SuperSonics, coached by Len Wilkens, not only have not “titled” since, but are now in Oklahoma City as the Thunder.
Yesterday, college basketball teams from each state ended national semi-finals appearances droughts.
First Gonzaga rolled as a nice favorite, vs Xavier, to its first ever national semis appearance. They will face the winner of today’s East Region final between a pair of SEC teams, favored Florida and South Carolina, each of whose football teams were once coached by Steve Spurrier.
Then Oregon pulled a big upset vs and virtually at Kansas.
The Ducks (Oregon), which won the very first NCAA Basketball Tournament in 1939, will be in their first national semi since that time.
Luckily for Kansas coach Bill Self and the Jayhawks, they took the ’08 title when it was virtually handed to them by a John Calipari coached Memphis team.
Mario Chalmers, who hit some big shots as a two time NBA title winner with the Miami Heat, hit an all-time type clutch shot, to send the ’08 final into overtime, in which Kansas prevailed.
Otherwise the fact Self and Kansas have lost 4 times in a regional final as the one seed, would hurt even more than the considerable amount it does.
Coincidentally, today Calipari, who finally titled with Kentucky in ’12 is with them in Memphis for the South Region final, vs one time Kansas coach Roy Williams, a two time title winner with current team, North Carolina.
The winner in that Memphis tilt, as is the case with Gonzaga vs a yet unknown opponent, will be the favorite vs Oregon, in one national semi next Saturday.
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It was exactly fifty years ago today, on Saturday March 25, 1967 that the then Lew Alcindor led U.C.L.A. to the first of seven consecutive NCAA crowns, in a finals victory vs Dayton.
The Bruins, coached by the great John Wooden and with such great players as Gail Goodrich, Bill Walton, Keith Wilkes and Sid Wicks–many W’s, as in wins and Wooden, Walton, Wilkes and Wicks—-won 10 titles in 12 seasons, a fine “W” player, Richard Washington hitting the key shot in Wooden’s last title season, in his penultimate game, the semis win vs Louisville.
After another team from the state/commonwealth of Kentucky, Kentucky University pulled a slight upset eliminating U.C.L.A. in last night’s round of sixteen game, the once dynastic U.C.L.A. Bruins have but one crown in the 42 seasons following the dynasty.
Alas 42, the number of points Mr. Goodrich “filled” (tire joke and a poor one) in leading UCLA to the ’65 crown.
As a result of top seed Gonzaga winning by 3, the projected number vs West Virginia and Xavier pulling off a big upset vs two seed Arizona, tomorrow’s West Regional Final will produce a first time national semi-finals participant.
There is more pressure, perhaps on the top seed, Gonzaga, (the Zags), but Xavier, an eleven seed, has also been denied in a regional final twice.
Gonzaga favored by eight tomorrow, should get the job done. Hail Xavier’s great comeback win vs ‘Zona but in the end, that will be a key to Gonzaga’s first national semis entry. Alas, they do have to play the game!
