SU forgot to mention the UConn women’s game Friday night.  Very interesting match up vs. Notre Dame who had lost 4 players to ACL injuries during the season.  It was nip and tuck and UConn lost on a buzzer beater in the semis for the 2nd year in a row.  A few comments:

• Geno Auriemma, for all his greatness, is only 11-7 in NCAA semifinal games.  SU says this shows just how hard it is to get there and make it through to the finals.  That is still a great record.  But no guarantees.
• Auriemma is committed to his seniors and upper classmen players.  He really only goes 6 players deep.  On Friday night, Samuelson had 4 fouls for the last 7-8 minutes of the game and Notre Dame really exploited that.  She basically stopped playing defense and escorted her man to the basket on a series of drives to avoid getting that 5th foul.  If this were a men’s NCAA tournament game, that player is on the bench for a few minutes.  SU says that was a tactical mistake.  Sure, you want her outside shooting and scoring (for which she got none in those minutes) but you need to substitute offense-defense or just sit her for a few minutes.  That was a key to the game.
• While SU loves to watch UConn, it’s actually good for the women’s game that they lose once in a while.  They had a great team this year but in a close game, they blinked.  Notre Dame played zone for much of the game and UConn did not really respond well to that.  That was surprising.  They struggled to run their offense.

You have to say this: Michigan finds a way.  They have played one complete game in the NCAAs – against Texas A&M.  The rest of the games have been offensive struggles with their defense being consistently tough throughout.  Last night’s first half will not go into the time capsule – that’s for sure.  Moe Wagner kept them in the game along with Matthews.  SU says Jordan Poole must get more minutes – he is the offensive spark – and that whatever you lose on defense is worth it.  He was the key in the 2nd half and scored on two quick driving lay-ups to provide some offensive firepower.  Against a team like Loyola that switches on everything, you need to drive the ball to the basket.  As we all know, not every player is good at that.  He can efficiently do it.  SU felt that if they could just get the lead in the 2nd half, Loyola would fold.  They are a scrappy team with no size that had a terrific run.  Great story.  So, where will the Loyola coach be next year?  No doubt he is destined for something bigger.

Villanova is a stud team and a heavy favorite tomorrow night.  No weaknesses.  However, SU says that they played their best game last night blowing out Kansas.  Rained down 3s from all over.  SU says sometimes teams fall in love with the 3-ball and if you are off, then it’s a different game.  Maybe, just maybe, that will be the case tomorrow night.  Michigan should be loose – few will expect them to win.  I feel this may be a closer game than one would expect.  Or not…  SU would have much preferred facing Kansas.

So, what does a $200 million payroll get you?  If you are the Yankees, you are down to 3 healthy outfielders for the next week with Judge in centerfield.  Billy McKinny ran into the wall yesterday and is now on the DL and Aaron Hicks is already there after pulling something on opening day.  Ellsbury does not come off the DL until next weekend from his latest paper cut injury – for $22 million a year, the dude cannot stay healthy.  SU does not like playing Judge and Stanton next to each other in the outfield – that is a collision waiting to happen and nothing good will come from that.  Adam Warren took a line drive off his ankle yesterday.  Andujar was called up – this is the chance for the youngsters to shine and take advantage of these opportunities.  The issue is that with the 40-man roster, you can’t just call up some random minor league player without releasing someone from the 40-man roster who can then be picked up by an team.  SU says Cashman will be conservative and hope for rain every day this week.

Todd Frazier with a 2-run double for the Mets – could he be the signing of the year?  SU says no.  Settle down.  The Mets are off to a quick 2-0 start and their starters are pitching to form.  That is the key for them plus avoiding injury.

Trey Burke with 18 points and 15 assists last night – 1 turnover.  How is he not your starting point guard next season?

Novak Djokovic has split with Andre Agassi. Ominous sign for his comeback.  He may be officially done both physically with the elbow and mentally.  Unless you are Roger Federer, you have to appreciate the moment because you can’t guarantee your health (see David Wright).

OK, we are a full one game into the 2018 MLB season.  As we live in the era of analytics and Artificial Intelligence, SU has done the math on what to expect now going forward:

• The Mets, who always seem to win on opening day, are projected to go 162-0, and Todd Frazier will hit .250 and score 162 runs.  Great news for the Mets.
• On the Yankees side, Giancarlo Stanton is clearly not worrying about making the transition to the American League and had an impressive debut.  SU has run the numbers and he is projected to hit 324 home runs this season – a number which even Barry Bonds would be proud of and who no doubt will wonder if he should have used a more potent formula while he was playing.

Of course, as we know, it’s a looooonnnnngggg season and no reason to get ahead of ourselves.  We have also seen players have torrid Aprils and then rapidly come back down to earth (see Graig Nettles for the Yankees back in the day).  SU read that the Yankees had not won on opening day since 2011 during the Joe Girardi era.  SU says the common denominator there was pitching either CC or Tanaka in those games who both usually were terrible to start the season.

John Sterling had a chance to try out his Stanton home run call on radio and as expected, no one knows what he’s talking about as it seems to relate to some Italian opera singer or something or other.  Look for him to make the call to the bullpen to bring in a new home run call before the end of April.

SU is ready for the Final Four for both the men and the women this weekend.  I do feel Michigan will benefit from playing a team that looks like them while Villanova’s defense will be the difference in a win over Kansas.  The women’s match-ups are very good – these are the 4 best teams and UConn is not a shoe-in here which is good for the game.

Finally, for the 7 people who watch the Tennis Channel, there is a new American on the scene in the women’s game – Danielle Collins – who learned to play on public courts and went to college 4 years at UVa.  She is 24 (old by tennis standards), has a big game and appears to have her head on straight as she has not been playing with a large entourage for many years and apparently doesn’t even have a clothing contract as of yet if you see how she’s dressed on the court.  Someone to keep an eye on this year.

Greg Bird is starting to remind Yankee fans of Nick Johnson.  Left-handed first baseman with a sweet swing for Yankee Stadium but who cannot stay healthy long enough to be on the field.  The news yesterday that he would be out 6-8 weeks with a broken bone spur is, I suppose, better than being out all year, but on the other hand, the start of what he went through in 2017.  He is still young but you wonder at what point do the Yankees just decide to go in a different direction?  SU is disappointed as he is my favorite Yankee so far this season but I will adapt.  The hope is that they have properly diagnosed the problem (based on last season, not a sure thing by any means).  Clearly, this line up can absorb the blow but they are very right-handed now.

So, Knick fans, Trey Burke has started the last 2 games.  And last night he took advantage of that opportunity to score 42 points and dish out 12 assists – 35 points coming in the 2nd half and OT.  Jeff Hornacek will get credit for finally deciding to start him but please – SU was imploring management to bring him up to the parent team back in November and to play him once he was here.  Coaches who have a feel for the game and the players can figure this out much, much sooner.  SU has nothing against Hornacek – seems like a nice guy – but to wait this long to start him was clearly ridiculous.  On any other team, you might think that this is your starter for next season.  But with the Knicks, of course, you cannot think that way.  No-one would even be surprised to see them trade Burke for Carmelo Anthony during the off season (just kidding – won’t work with the salary cap!).  SU says he is your starting point guard now.  He is under-sized but there is so much pick and roll in the NBA and switching, it’s just not that much of a factor.  He can score, create his own shot and penetrate.  Please: do the right thing.

But the big news of the day is that John Sterling, the 80-year old radio voice of the Yankees, got cataract surgery during the off season and apparently can see again.  This is huge for the home run calls that are often actually fly balls to short center field.  Fans will, hopefully, no longer have to listen to the crowd noise to know what is going on during the game.  As important as the trade for Giancarlo Stanton.

Well, we saw the big boys play yesterday in a great game between Duke and Kansas.  It was only fitting that Grayson Allen’s shot at the end of regulation roll off the rim.  He should not be allowed to be a hero.  Allen makes Christian Laettner look like a choir boy with all of his dirty plays over the years.  If you are a “clean living” player, that shot drops through the net.  When you have a career full of trips and hip checks, it drops out.  Good riddance to him.

Watch out for Marvin Bagley III in the NBA.  He will be a force and a high pick in this year’s draft.  Loyola has had a great run but SU likes the match-up with Michigan in the first Final Four game Saturday.  They play very similarly, are not big and don’t have the tall players with giant wing spans that look to disrupt the offensive flow.  They can certainly beat Michigan if they shoot well and whoever makes shots from 3-point land will win this game.  SU is hopeful that Michigan’s assistant coach who is in charge of the defense and came from Illinois State is familiar with Loyola as they were in the same conference.  Michigan will be very challenged against either Villanova or Kansas and I will stick with my prediction of Villanova winning it all.

Leonard Hamilton of Florida State had a brain freeze at the end of that game by not fouling with 11 seconds left and only down 4 to a Michigan team that is challenged from the foul line.  After watching Kansas State foul in the last minute down 15 points, you wonder what he was thinking?  His post-game interview was cringe worthy as he had no clue what the sideline reporter was even asking him about.  SU did see that he put out a statement yesterday trying to explain himself and apologizing for any dis-respect he may have shown to her.  That was a class move by him.  She asked the right questions and it’s the coach’s job to answer as best he can.  Clearly, they should have fouled there and extended the game.

Baseball predictions are coming out for 2018.  Sports Illustrated has the Nationals beating the Yankees in the World Series and has the Mets as a wild card team.  Tyler Kepner in the New York Times likes the Astros to repeat (over the Cubs in the Series) but has the Orioles as a wild card team.  No team has repeated since the 2000 Yankees but SU says the Astros are a good bet to do so this year.  The Nationals always find a way to choke in the playoffs – they are actually very creative in that regard.

SU sees it this way:

American League

The Yankees, Indians and Astros win their divisions, with the Red Sox and Angels as wild cards.  I don’t see the Twins repeating as wild cards this year – hard to do for low budget teams.  Astros come out of the AL.

National League

Washington, Cubs and Dodgers take the divisions with the Cardinals and Mets as wild cards (assuming the Mets can keep their starters on the field which as we know is a big if).  Cubs win the NL and then lose to Houston in the World Series.

SU never likes to make predictions but the fans demand it.  Let’s hear from the experts in the SU intergalactic subscriber base.  It’s your chance to look very smart come late October as we can refer back to your incredibly insightful prognostications.

Announcement from the Yankees this afternoon:

“The Yankees announced that Greg Bird had an initial exam with a specialist in Tampa and will undergo “further diagnostic tests”; will include a CT scan and an MRI in his right foot. Bird was scratched from a split-squad game today due to a sore right foot and was then examined by a doctor. The 25-year-old first baseman had surgery to remove a bone from his troublesome right ankle last year.”

Unreal.  He has been terrible this spring – similar to the first couple of months last year.  Same foot that was operated on.  SU says not good.

Yankee fans cannot be happy this week as Judge and Stanton are on the cover of SI.  Now, the Sports Illustrated jinx may be all myth but it’s been around a long, long time.  SU is not happy and would prefer to temper the expectations.  A few thoughts today on the eve of the Elite 8 games in the NCAAs and of course, the Stormy Daniels interview on 60 Minutes:

• SU was reading today’s New York Times and saw that Aaron Boone is seriously considering batting Judge lead-off in certain games.  While I am a believer in all of the sabermetrics and analytics data, I am not sure if I see the logic of this move.  True, he has a high on base percentage and you do want to give your best hitters the most at bats so I get that part of it.  Also, after the first inning, in the AL, with a circular line up, the lead-off hitter is no longer what it is in the 1st inning.  I just envision Judge striking out on a low and away slider to lead off these games.    But I am prepared to be proven wrong.
• Didi Gregorius should be the hitter placed in the middle of Judge and Stanton in the line up.  I know it’s spring training but Greg Bird has been awful.  Didi hits lefties just fine – he needs to bat 3rd.
• The Michigan bandwagon has gotten very crowded and SU is having trouble finding a seat these days.  But Florida State is a big challenge tonight as another tall and athletic team.  SU believes Michigan is most impacted by early foul trouble to Wagner and Simpson – not necessarily opposing defenses.  That’s what you need to watch out for in this game.  They won’t score 99 points again and won’t shoot 3s that well either.  Teams that bank on that are gone pretty quickly in college hoops.
• Interesting article here on John Beilein’s coaching techniques relying on the fundamentals.  Sounds a lot like John Wooden who used to instruct players on how to tie their sneakers and pull their socks tight to avoid blisters:

https://www.detroitnews.com/story/sports/columnists/john-niyo/2018/03/23/niyo-beileins-focus-basics-set-table-success/33233733/

Novak Djokovic lost in his first match in Miami after losing in his first match at Indian Wells a couple of weeks ago.  His career is starting to look a lot like Tiger Woods’ last 5 years after Woods backed his car into a tree on Thanksgiving night.  Djokovic had some mystery personal issue a couple of years ago after winning the French Open and has since been battling elbow issues with limited success.  He has taken months off at a time, had some minor procedures but no progress.  SU believes he will need major surgery on the elbow which tracks with Woods’ many back and knee surgeries.  The reality is he may be done as a top player which is a shame at 30 years old.  In fact, the men’s game is missing Murray, Nadal, Djokovic and Wawrinka now due to injuries which is allowing Federer to continue to flourish.  It’s a great time for the young American players to make their move.

New York says good bye to Jason Pierre-Paul who was traded to the Tampa Bay Bucs.  Too bad – he had a great run in NY but it is probably time for a change of scenery.   Is Eli Manning soon to follow out of town?

SU is not following the Jets’ logic of trading so many high draft picks to move up in the draft for this year.  If they are intent on drafting a quarterback, the guys out there are good but no sure thing.  Definitely rolling the dice.

There is a lot of hype about the addition of Giancarlo Stanton on the Yankees and how they are surely World Series bound.  This may all be true as they were just one game short last year of making it to the final round.  But SU asks: have they really improved themselves in the areas that needed improving?  Let’s take a look:

• Everyone loves having Stanton on the team.  SU has been lukewarm on this from the start as he is a big strikeout guy and tends not to stay healthy for a full season.  True, he adds a lot of home runs and batting practice is a must see event now for any fan going to a game.  The team scored plenty of runs last season.  Was this really the issue?
• Cashman talked about going young and they rolled out Andujar at 3rd base and Torres at 2nd base this spring.  Well, both are now down with the minor league teams as Neil Walker will play 2nd base until he gets hurt and Drury will be slotted into 3rd base.  Starlin Castro was very good last year at 2nd base – hard to think Walker improves on that.  Drury is probably an improvement over the Headley/Frazier combo but I guess that remains to be seen.
• From what I can tell, the pitching staff is identical to last year.  No upgrades.
• Clint Frazier has had a concussion all spring and will have to play his way back up to the majors in April and May. Ellsbury beat the rush and got his oblique injury out of the way.  He is supposedly healed from that but now has flu like symptoms.  I think it’s safe to say that Cal Ripken’s consecutive game playing streak is safe.

Soooooo, you win the Wild Card game last year which is always a crapshoot and then beat the Indians in 5 games and lose to the Astros in 7.  Have you improved enough to beat Houston?  Cleveland is probably worse given some roster moves.  Cashman may still look to add a stud starting pitcher during the season.  Chance Adams had a bad spring unfortunately so he did not threaten to make the starting staff.

Bottom line: still a very good team that should make the playoffs but not a sure thing to win it all.  SU would still prefer to go with the youth movement and look to get both Andujar and Torres up to the parent club sooner vs. later.  I cannot say there is a marked improvement over last year but they will be interesting to watch if you like home runs and strikeouts.

Yankee fans: how optimistic are you for this season?

Those of us who are old enough to have watched ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” growing up are very familiar with that phrase.  The agony of defeat in the opening was the ski jumper crashing on the launch and flying right off the ramp onto to the slope.  Last night, Michigan and Houston had one of those moments in the final seconds of what had been a brutal game to watch if you are a Michigan fan.

SU must say this having now watched a few games in this year’s NCAA tournament.  I know how the Big Ten refs its games (badly) and my sense is that the other conferences are better in that regard.  But it seems like the NCAA has instructed its officials to put a stop to any minor infractions – especially early in games.  In the NBA, it’s no big deal – you get 6 fouls and coaches don’t worry much about 2 early fouls for a player.  However, in college with 5 fouls, most coaches whose players get 2 early fouls are sent to the bench for the rest of the half.  If it’s an obvious call, we all get that.  But last night, for example, Mo Wagner picked up a foul in the post where he was battling with the opposing player for position.  In the NBA, this would be seen as business as usual.  In another one, a player drove on him and elbowed him in the face and the foul was called on Wagner.  To top it off, the refs stopped the game to review on replay if the elbow to Wagner’s face was in fact a flagrant foul.  Explain that one.  SU says the refs need to see how the game unfolds and then react accordingly on their calls.

Last night’s game had no flow in the 2nd half.  The last 10 minutes were a lot of foul shots, touch foul calls and little action for long stretches.  Michigan played its 2nd consecutive awful game offensively but SU has a theory on this.  In the Big Ten Tournament, they got away from their offense a bit and just stretched out the floor and allowed their guards to go one on one to make plays on drives to the basket.  That is not their normal offense.  I feel like they are still playing that way in these last 2 games and the guards are struggling big time to finish at the rim.  They don’t get any calls on those drives (unlike Houston) and their 3-point shooting has been terrible.  Wagner has been invisible.  They should have lost last night – SU was resigned to that in the last minute – and in the end, you never blame the refs.  You have enough possessions and opportunities to overcome it.  Find a way to win – that is your mission.  Overcome adversity.

SU did demand on the last possession that Jordan Poole get that shot (we have text proof on this).  The fact is that Beilein does not play him enough.  He is instant offense and can take anyone 1-on-1 which given how they are playing now is critical.  He needs to be on the floor much more.  SU says expect him to be out there more Thursday night.  The celebration was great but they were really, really lucky,

While my bracket is busted due to Virginia’s amazing blowout loss in the first round, I am enjoying the games.  Loyola’s last second heroics have been great and Buffalo’s win over Arizona was not on many people’s bracket.  At least for a few weeks we don’t have to hear about the FBI investigation and you notice that the announcers never bring it up.

One more request: get rid of the reviews by the refs late in the games.  If you can’t resolve these more quickly then don’t bother.  They take forever and don’t always get it right in the end.  I always felt the calls were part of the game and over a lifetime, they come out around 50-50 in your team’s favor.  Combined with the play clocks that seem to stick in every game, who needs it?  The Michigan – Montana game ended around 12:30 am and included a blowout of the scoreboard that took 15 minutes to fix.

Actually, one more request.  In these early round games, the top seeds get to play in an arena close to home.  Kansas played in Wichita for example.  But if you play their game first, many of the fans leave and don’t stick around for the 2nd game which makes for a quiet arena.  SU says play them 2nd.  Their fans may not come to the 1st half of the first game but they will filter in for the 2nd half.  When you watch on TV, you have to wonder where are all the fans?

Michigan will play the winner of the North Carolina – Texas A&M game in LA Thursday night.  They were blown out by Carolina back in December on the road but that was a long time ago.  The Tar Heels are good but often go long stretches with not scoring (like Michigan) and are not unbeatable.  SU has Michigan in the Final Four but they have been fortunate to get to the round of 16 – really in both games.  If they continue playing at this level, they will lose by 25.  SU just needs 2 more weeks to get me to the start of the baseball season.  I have confidence.

The brackets are out for this year’s NCAA tournament.  Here is what you need to know as you fill out your brackets:

• How did Oklahoma get in this tournament?  18-13 record, 4-11 in their last 15 games.  SU says ridiculous.
• And the same goes for Syracuse who no-one was talking about as even being a bubble team.  Clearly the NCAA did not want some other bubble teams in there as they are the subject of the FBI investigation into the NCAA.  Let’s face it: this is not an exact science despite all of the “quadrant” wins and losses.
• SU says the experts are not expert.  They are like you and me – trying to forecast this year’s upsets and who will get hot for 3 weeks.  Jay Bilas of ESPN is predicting Michigan State.   Maybe he knows something the rest of us don’t but even when winning 13 games in a row, they were not blowing people out in the Big Ten.
• Be bold and this is the year to do that.  There is no one clear favorite despite Virginia being the #1 overall pick.

SU sees it this way.  I think Villanova is a seasoned, veteran, experienced tournament team that if they can stay fully healthy should win it all.  I also think Michigan will have a deep run as teams don’t like to play them in the tournament and John Beilein does a good job of preparing his team.  SU’s final 4: Villanova; Auburn, Virginia; and Michigan (OK, I prefer to pick them to go far vs. predicting with my head and having to root against them).  Villanova over UVa in the finals.

Key upsets: Loyola over Miami; St. Bonaventure over Florida; Michigan over everyone; and Auburn over Kansas.  Make your predictions and if you are right you will have the enduring admiration of thousands of SU subscribers around the world.

Yankees sign Neal Walker as clearly Cashman is concerned that Glayber Torres will not be ready to start the season at 2nd base.  They will keep him at Scranton for a few weeks until Walker is injured (who is from the Jacoby Ellsbury school of not playing a full season).  SU actually likes Walker and is ok with the move.  Clearly an upgrade over Danny Espinoza.  But Torres needs to get hot in Scranton and then make the case for getting the call to the majors showing he deserves it.  Hitting .130 in March is not cutting it.