SU is closely monitoring its usual terrible NCAA Tournament picks. Seriously, I would be better off closing my eyes and just pointing. I do have Arkansas in the Final Four so there is some limited drama there but this year has been especially bad. SU has been watching a lot of the games though and observes the following:

• Some of the refereeing in the earlier games has been pretty bad. I think the college refs are especially bad at calling the offensive fouls. There is way too much flopping – and in the post, you have a 280 pound center fall down after one slight bump and he gets the call. They have to do better and start calling the flop warnings. I know it’s a tough call in general. Then the moving screen calls – again, ridiculous. If you watch an NBA game, moving screens are part of the game. In college, it’s a 180 degree difference. SU’s point here is that you put teams in the bonus early or put players in foul trouble based on ticky-tack calls. And if one half has no calls, you can bet the other will have a ton. SU did notice that this weekend, the refs were letting the player play and that is the better approach. I know it’s a hard job – but there needs to be more consistency.
• Gonzaga seems to be heads and shoulders above the rest of the field. They play at such an up tempo pace and have a lot of shooters. They may run into a team with great defense before the end but for now, they are dominant.
• SU is very excited about Michigan’s run without Isiah Livers. Juwan Howard is proving to be a great coach. He does not have an NBA ready roster like other teams but they play like a team which for me is what makes basketball one of the great spectator sports when it’s played that way. So many other teams are more gifted athletically but basically just push the tempo, throw up shots and crash the offensive boards. The Mt. Vernon high school teams in Westchester County have won a lot of championships playing that way but for SU, not fun to watch.
• Check out UConn vs. Baylor tonight in the women’s NCAA Tournament. Great rivalry and this could have been a Final Four match-up.
• Baseball starts on Thursday! This is great. SU will come out with its fearless predictions soon enough for the season but this is sorely needed.
• Mike Woodson is the new coach at Indiana. No doubt he will bring his offensive playbook (er, make that pamphlet) of isolation offense. But he’s a good guy and SU wishes him well.
• The US Men’s National Soccer Team has failed, again, to qualify for the Olympics. It is hard to explain how the women’s team is the best in the world while the men’s team lags so far behind on the world stage. Is it that other countries don’t make the same investment in their women’s programs? I watched one of the games this week against Mexico. I know soccer is the world’s most popular sport and I do try to get engaged but it’s a struggle for me.
• SU has been told, on multiple occasions, that I am not showing enough love for YOUR NEW YORK KNICKS. Truth be told, I still don’t watch them very much. It’s the stain of Isiah Thomas that I cannot shake. He just ruined it for me and then the Carmelo Anthony era cemented it. I do peek in here and there and they play hard – every game. And they play defense – every game. They are on the upswing now and the trick will be to build with the youth vs. bringing in the wrong free agents. So far, so good as Randle has really changed his game in NY. He has been outstanding. A playoff run would be great for NY and maybe by then some more fans will be allowed into MSG.
• Brooklyn is signing LeMarcus Aldridge on top of Blake Griffin. If Durant can get healthy (seems possible) and if Kyrie can somehow straighten out his personal problems (seems impossible), they should be the favorites to win it all this year. I know there is only basketball but Harden had adapted his game so far. SU is not sure how this works under the salary cap but here they are.

We are entering a fun time of year now for sports. NCAAs, start of baseball and soon the NBA playoffs. And for some of you, the NHL playoffs as well. People are getting vaccinated; fans in the stands soon enough.