bugatti

If Boston does not make it out of the East, that would be an all-time epic fail. Seldom do you go into the playoffs with a team at minus odds, but here we are. The West is as wide-open of race as I can remember. Going into last night, I would have said the only teams you could cross off would be Sacramento and Golden State (since eliminated). New Orleans may be without Zion (shocker!) so they are on the scratch-off list. So seven teams with a legit shot. That's insane.

Do players still use smokeless tobacco? I assume some do, but figured that was a bygone practice given how in tune pro athletes are with their health today. But yeah, spitting just to spit has always been one of life's great mysteries.

I caught myself watching half an hour of the WNBA draft last night. I am willing to say casual fans are as likely to name as many of the young ladies drafted last night than the young men that will be drafted in June.

I'm sorry, but if a college basketball coach at the high D1 level is not talking about the NBA in some capacity (even limited), they are stuck in 1987 and going to be looped by their competition in no time. Rallying behind school pride and "playing for the name on the front of the jersey" is great for the fans, but it means very little to a kid who was 7 years old when UK won a title.

Interesting. You can sign up for presale tickets for the two games (MSU/KU, UK/Duke) through State Farm's Champions Classic website, so that would be a shock to the several thousand that have probably already gone that route. But this guy did say it on Twitter, so it must be true. The game is also in Atlanta, but I am sure it autocorrected to Chicago. It happens.

I've mentioned this before, but coaching college basketball is a diminishing proposition and not attractive; hence why you see all programs dice rolling these days. It is 2024, not 1994, and college basketball may not exist in 5-10 years.

I do not doubt if Pope goes 42-29 over the next two seasons BBN will be nothing but incredibly supportive and upbeat about things.

One month ago UK was coming off its best game of the year, taking out one of the best teams in the country (UT) in their house. Calipari had his glow, Reed Sheppard was the toast of the town, and people were starting to convince themselves of a potential deep tournament run. If God himself came down from heaven and told me in one month the people that own Tyson Food would be sending a troll package to BBN since Calipari’s is their new coach and two days later Mark Pope will be named the new head coach of UK, I’d called him a damn liar. Or just plain twisted. Life comes at you fast.

All about the hire before the hire… that’s what I keep telling myself at least.

Much of this stuff is semantical. Does offer mean discussing terms or does it mean a contract was written up with pending board approval? These things are discussed and talked about through third parties. I have no doubt he "interviewed," or whatever that means in the context of a coaching search. From there it would be open to interpretation. And frankly, who cares? On to the next candidate.

He would love it. Then if he were ever to win another title he could cover it with the UK emblem.

I was merely making a joke. By all accounts, he seems like a grounded individual. Most do not realize he has been at Baylor for over two decades. That's admirable.

Makes you wonder? He would have a first-class ticket to hell. There is not much redeeming about the late OJ Simpson other than his role in Naked Gun.

I'm telling you, college basketball needs this in the worst way. Cue up the entrance music and make it happen.

The ole, "I'll throw my family under the bus" trick. I like it.

You completely misread what I was saying. I was co-signing on your post in about 200 less words 🙂 People believe bringing back Rick will turn the program back into 1996.

As you are alluding to, people do not want Pitino. They want the results and energy UK was having from ‘92-‘97.

Love it!

This cracked me up:

Indeed, it is real. In her tenure the chances WNBA salaries catch up to what she could earn in another college basketball season is unlikely. But I think of this as the Tiger Woods long-game effect. When Tiger got on tour, some of the top guys were making in a year what they now make per tournament.

Money cannot buy happiness. It can sure as hell put a good down payment on it though.

It is rare to see a head coach change jobs after winning a title in their respective sports. In football, I can think of: Schnellenberger leaving for the USFL, Bobby Ross to Detroit, Jimmy Johnson to Dallas, and now Hargbaugh leaving for the Chargers (but if we are being honest, that is just as much about him escaping possible NCAA punishment). These would fall under the "promotion" category going from college to the pros. I can't think of any in basketball, let alone a back-to-back title winner. Pitino was a year removed before returning to the NBA.

What does this even mean? Conference alignment being driven by football?

I'm assuming Hurley is a no. Outside of that, it is a bunch of "whomp whomp" for me. I'd rather roll the dice with a guy like Golden at Florida.

Someone who is gay took a pro-transgender stance. Breaking news! Look, I am in agreement with you on the subject, btw, as I believe most people are. But in the twisted media entertainment world in which we live, we use a post-championship game press conference opportunity to ask a hot-button transgender trigger topic that the reporter knew the answer to, just so they could queue up the Riley Gaines bat signal. For every transgender person devoting their energy into breaking into a female sport (it ain't many transgender people looking to play sports, I assure you), there are thousands of people there in opposition.