It’s a good day for women’s college basketball. The UConn women have chalked up another championship for Coach Geno Auriemma who is now in the same class as John Wooden. Some will say that it’s bad for the sport but SU disagrees. It’s not just that Auriemma has been able to recruit some of the best players every year (which he has). It’s because his teams play basketball the right way. There is constant motion on offense, they push the ball every chance they can and he often presses full court for much of the game. There is no walking the ball up the court, no isolation plays where every player stands with their hands on their knees on the 3-point line while someone goes one-on-one (see former Knick coach Mike Woodson’s pamphlet on how to run a pro offense). Year in and year out, this team is a pleasure to watch. Their style of play makes them that much more interesting and their achievement that much greater. The reality is that women’s basketball is somewhat of an acquired taste and SU does not watch much other than the UConn games. I have often said that the WNBA would be well served to have a team of just UConn graduates as a way to generate a higher level of interest.

SU is often asked to make a prediction for the Masters tournament and is happy to oblige. SU loved the recent survey of PGA TOUR professionals where they were asked if a particular player was getting beaten up in a parking lot and you were walking by, would you go and help him? Apparently, Bubba Watson is just about the most disliked and despised player on the Tour. He clearly needs to avoid those parking lots. However, SU believes this will just fuel his desire to win the Masters this year and he has had success here in the past given his style of play. He is my pick to win. Of course, I will tune in to check out Tiger Woods who always makes things more interesting although just finishing a round is now becoming a major achievement for him.

Yankees no doubt hoping for the rainout tonight in cold, wet conditions. They cannot afford to have Pineda pull something covering first base on a grounder to the right side. Red Sox coming in this weekend and it could get very ugly early in the Bronx. The cold weather and the frequent rainouts in April make spring training batting averages a moot point as the conditions change so dramatically. Good news for Stephen Drew on that point.