This and That
Each week I'll give my thoughts on the world of sports:
• The basketball world suffered a major loss with the passing of legendary women's coach Kay Yow. There is no question that she had a tremendous run as a coach that was so impressive: over 700 career wins; inducted into the Hall of Fame; made it to the Final Four; coach of 1988 Olympic gold-medal winning team. Her legacy will be the incredible she waged against breast cancer for over two decades. She provided inspiration to so many people, affecting so many lives. Kay Yow will be sorely missed.
• The Super Bowl is coming up and there are plenty of interesting storylines. Arizona coach Ken Whisenhunt goes up against Ben Roethlisberger. You may remember Whisenhunt was Pittsburgh's offensive coordinator before landing the job with the Cardinals. Is there bad blood there? Then you have Larry Fitzgerald, a star at the University of Pittsburgh, trying to spoil it for the city that loved him in college. Can Edgerrin James, who looked like he was finished, have another strong showing? I am so excited since this game is in my backyard, Tampa, baby! My pick is upset city as Kurt Warner and company win, 28-21.
• Jeff Kent announced his retirement recently. Is he a Hall of Famer? In my book he is since he hit more home runs than any other second baseman. Kent was consistent, had several solid seasons with the glove, drove in a lot of runs. I think he deserves a spot in Cooperstown, but we will have to wait five years until he is on the ballot.
• Shane Mosley came through in the big championship fight against Antonio Margarito. The 37-year old scored a ninth-round TKO and was dominant throughout the fight. There was some controversy before the bout as Margarito's hand wraps were deemed illegal and he had them re-wrapped. Mosley put on quite a show to add to his collection of title belts.
• What a great performance by the University of Connecticut men's basketball team. Jim Calhoun's Huskies snapped Notre Dame's 45-game home win streak. The Irish were simply too one-dimensional with Luke Harangody putting up more big numbers but with little support. The quickness of Connecticut in the second half was the difference. When the Huskies play run-baby-run they are tough to stop. Connecticut will probably move up to number two in the polls. Jeff Adrien had an outstanding performance with 19 rebounds and his leadership skills were displayed when he got emotional during a timeout. Lead by example with hard work and solid play and a guy like Adrien gets his team to the winner's circle.
• Duke was sensational against Maryland. It was one of the worst beatings ever suffered by the Terps, and incredible when you consider Kyle Singler and Jon Scheyer didn't even shoot the rock well. Duke's defense has been outstanding and Gerald Henderson is developing into a true superstar. Now the Blue Devils have a tough road challenge this week at Wake Forest. I can't wait to get to Winston-Salem to call that contest. Dino Gaudio's team will be well-rested and hungry after a loss to Virginia Tech. Can the Dukies stay at number one? The Blue Devils have won just once in the last five trips to Lawrence Joel Coliseum.
• Craig Robinson is doing an incredible job at Oregon State. The Beavers did not win a Pac-10 game all of last season, yet Robinson's squad has had an impact in league play already. How about a pair of road wins at California and Stanford last week? It's just an amazing turnaround in a short time. Robinson also enjoyed his stay in Washington, DC as he saw his brother-in-law's inauguration as President of the United States!
• The Australian Open is the first major of the tennis season. The men's draw has incredible talent with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, defending champion Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Andy Roddick and James Blake all in the round of 16. The women's side saw its share of upset city, starting with Venus Williams' departure in round two. Top-seed Jelena Jankovic and highly regarded Ana Ivanovic didn't make it to the second week. There is a lot of excitement down under.
