SU has watched most of the UConn women’s games this year. As I have said before, they play the game the right way – team-oriented, up-tempo, constant movement on offense. They were definitely an over-achieving team and getting to the Final Four with this 8-player roster represents a master class in coaching by Geno Auriemma and his very capable staff. You have to realize that he is so hard on his players that he needs assistants to build the egos back up of his players – especially the freshmen. SU thinks Paige Bueckers is one of the top 3 players in the country and will be a huge draw in the WNBA and the Olympic team going forward.

UConn was down 9 or 10 points late and fought back to have a shot at the game with 9 seconds late. Impressive. Bueckers had a tough game as Iowa employed a similar approach that UConn had on Caitlin Clark with a smaller player basically face guarding the whole game. Still, she should have had more shot attempts in this game and that actually falls on Geno who did not alter the offense enough to free her up.

So, was that screen by Edwards a foul? SU says no – not by the standards that college basketball calls screens. Forget the NBA where illegal screens are a staple of the game. However… UConn had been called 3 times for a similar screening foul earlier in the game, and you have to be aware that these refs were calling it a foul. Iowa had none. SU believes that it was marginally an illegal screen but you don’t call it at that point in the game. The Iowa defender did a good job of jerking her head back and got the call.

It’s funny: if they don’t make the call, Bueckers gets the last shot under pressure. Maybe she gets hit and there is no call and then that is the argument. SU has to say that she does not get the respect from the refs that Clark does. Several drives she was hit and knocked to the ground – no call. To her credit, no crying about it, no arms flailing or not getting back on defense, i.e.., no LeBron behavior.

General observations:

1. NCAA women’s basketball refs are really bad. If you watch regular season games, it’s embarrassing at times. Just inferior. So many missed calls or incorrect calls. SU actually thought this game was called pretty well last night. Sure, the calls were favoring Iowa but UConn could not afford real foul trouble to any of the top 5 players and they survived for the most part.
2. Love Ryan Rucco. Great announcer.
3. There was a drive by Clark where she pushed off KK Arnold in the lane – sent her flying. Obvious offensive foul – no call. That’s what I mean about the officiating at the women’s games – not the same quality. So many games, nothing is called in the 1st quarter and then all of a sudden, everything starts to be called in the 2nd quarter.
4. SU does not believe that you can blame the officiating for losses. You have too many chances to win the game in the rest of the game. Missed foul shots, turnovers, missed layups, etc. That’s where the game is lost. If the game comes down to the last play, you are at the mercy of the officials. Do you want to put yourself in that situation? You hope they call the play correctly but it’s not an easy job and there are misses.
5. It is still super frustrating to see this game decided on that screen call. Wrong call at the wrong time.

If UConn can stay healthy which seems to be a big lift for them, they will have a really good team next year. South Carolina is much deeper and physical. SU will be surprised if Iowa can keep it close on Sunday. Bueckers and Clark are great ambassadors for the sport going forward. SU is not an Angel Reese fan – trash talker supreme. She is disrespectful but SU knows that I am not of this generation and many love this stuff. Act like you’ve been there before. Respect the opponent. Is it so hard?

The Yankees are off to a good start but the warning signs are flashing. Loaisiga is now on the 60-day IL and you know he will not be back. Despite being 6-2, the run differential is only +4 and they have won games where line drives late in the game found a glove. SU loves the left-handed bats in the lineup – who would have thought that was a good idea?? Will Stanton get untracked before he gets the annual injury? At least he is thinner this year but at some point, SU hopes he has to earn the at bats to be in the lineup. Dominguez will return this summer and then we will see who is playing.

While the Mets looked horrible for the first 5+ games, they have now eked out a couple of wins. Remember this: teams are not as good as they look when they are winning, and they are not as bad as they look when they are losing. The truth is somewhere in between. It’s a really long season. But for Yankee fans, it’s never too early to start complaining!

Full disclosure: SU has not had the staff do the normal deep dive into the analytics for this year’s baseball season predictions. I must say I am amazed at how all of the preseason prediction articles seem to be very analytics-based to the point where I have no idea what they are talking about.

SU goes by feel. So, here is what I feel:

1. SU is not excited (at all) about the Yankees for 2024. They did a number on me in 2023 to the point where I no longer cared. Never happened before – even going back to the dark days of the late 1960s (OK, SU is old). Hal Steinbrenner is managing to a budget this year – clearly – and it seems very apparent now that if Gerrit Cole does not return later this year, and is not effective even if he does, they are going nowhere. The Yankees traded so many of their pitching prospects the last two years that there is no depth. It all comes down to Carlos Rodon being really good, and hard to feel confident about that. The offense will be better and there are even some new left-handed bats in there (amazing) but the Yankees will need to out-slug their opponents all year. There is not much of a bench – at least at the moment.
2. So much talk about Giancarlo Stanton and the “chip” he is carrying around from last season. SU says what chip? You are paid $34 million a year to perform and be in the lineup. He has done neither the last few years. Stanton is a good guy and he stands up in the locker room but please, just produce and everyone will love you. Glad he is leaner and maybe that will help him stay healthy. SU prediction: hot start and then plays in cold weather and we get the inevitable hamstring pull and 2 months on the IL. Hope I am wrong.
3. The over/under for the Yankees for SU is 90 wins which gets them a Wild Card and a loss early in the playoffs. Cashman no longer has the magic touch at the trade deadline. Not sure Judge can stay healthy, LeMahieu is already hurt and in decline. SU is not feeling it.
4. The Mets appear to be in a rebuild. How did that happen? Are they just a .500 team this year? Met fans will complain that Yankee fans are entitled but your owner has deep, deep pockets and is willing to spend to be good. It’s hard to say they are good right now.

Predictions: Atlanta over Baltimore in the World Series. SU believes it is the Braves’ time. They certainly have the players and the experience now. I think the gambling scandal with Ohtani’s interpreter will drag him down for much of the season. Yamamoto is not a sure thing. The Dodgers will win the division but making it out of the NL will not be easy – a number of solid teams there. It would be hard to believe that Ohtani was actually betting on games himself or having this guy place bets for him but time will tell what they discover in the investigation. No doubt there will be the chants from fans on the road. You have to assume he has never faced that type of thing before in his career.

People are very positive about the Orioles – almost too positive for SU. They should still win the AL East as it is no longer such a powerhouse. But they are very young and sometimes, teams do not progress in a straight line. Still feels like they are good enough to emerge from the AL.

The floor is open for your predictions. Am I being too negative about the Yankees? Are the Mets better than a .500 team?

SU has been enjoying the early rounds of the NCAA Tournament – both men’s and women’s games. I have to admit that I am much less familiar with the players on the men’s teams this year as compared to any other season. It’s a direct result of watching fewer games this year (thank you Juwan Howard for making Michigan basketball unwatchable) but also a function of the transfer portal and the impact of NIL money. Players switch teams to get more playing time or earn more NIL money every off-season and it’s hard to know who is playing for what team. When you combine that with the “one and done” players who jump to the NBA after their freshman seasons, well, you end up with new rosters every season for many teams.

Having said that, SU has observed something this year which I believe is a trend at the college level. I believe college coaches, mostly on the men’s side, run offenses that are basically exclusively one-on-one basketball. There are teams that literally don’t have an offensive scheme from what I can tell. Maybe they run a pick and roll to free up the guy going one on one. It harkens back to Mike Woodson when he was the coach of the Knicks. His offensive playbook was a pamphlet: give the ball to Carmelo on the wing, let him jab step 17 times while everyone else stands on 3-point line hoping for a pass.

SU watched the Northwestern – Florida Atlantic first round game and the FAU coach ran this offense. Northwestern’s Chris Collins knew this and had his team double team the one-on-one player as he started his move. Brilliant move as the FAU players had no idea where to throw the ball. None. Caused lots of turnover. But FAU is not alone – many other teams play the same way. Some are up tempo and it’s masked a bit but others play a slower pace and it’s all one on one.

For SU, this is unwatchable and unenjoyable. The beauty of basketball is constant movement, passing and finding the open man. It’s why I enjoy UConn women’s games so much. Those teams, no matter the talent which is top notch, are so unselfish, and they enjoy making the extra passes. There are men’s teams that do it as well – Duke, North Carolina, UConn. But so many do not and then they are exposed in the NCAAs when they play better teams who can defend a limited offensive scheme. If SU was ever coaching against one of these teams, I would do what Collins did at Northwestern. Man, that was easy and so disruptive. The FAU coach is the new Michigan coach (gulp) and I hope he does not bring that style of play to Ann Arbor.

SU saw an interesting stat on Tom Izzo at Michigan State. Preseason, his teams are always forecast to be top 10 – almost every year. And when you compare the preseason prediction with where his teams finish, well they always fall short. This tells me he is a great recruiter but not a great developer of talent. Or his talent is over-hyped. Few of the Michigan State players really shine in the NBA.

Am I old school and out of step with the times? I mean this is more of an NBA style of play in large part but it’s not fun.

Baseball starts this week! The Yankees refused to overpay for a free agent starting pitcher and will hope that Cole can return in a couple of months. For SU, this season hinges on whether Carlos Rodon is actually good. It will come down to that. SU will make its fearless predictions later this week for the 2024 season.

SU saw that ESPN’s Buster Olney has the Yankees making it to the World Series this year where they will fall to the Phillies. I have to believe he has access to insider information that indicates that the Yankees have pitching depth this year that is not available to larger public audience.

Their only chance to having a decent year in 2024 is for Gerrit Cole to be healthy. Twitter (uh sorry, X) is reporting that Cole is having an MRI on his pitching elbow according to Bryan Hoch of mlb.com. So far, we have seen Nestor Cortes get rocked in his starts as well as Rodon and Schmidt. If Cole is out for any length of time. SU’s over/under of 90 wins will be in jeopardy. Will Hal open the purse strings for Snell or Montgomery? Or do we just tank the season now and call it a day as the tickets are already sold?

A few random observations and thoughts today:

SU knows that Caitlin Clark is the real deal and a generational talent (Soto? Giancarlo Stanton?). However, SU says do not lose sight of Paige Bueckers on UConn who is bigger and stronger this year and is a force. She fills up every statistical category. The UConn women are still SU’s favorite college hoops viewing. They play the game the right way.

Man, the NY Knicks play hard every night but are just lacking the offensive players right now. If you watched the Sixers last night, they doubled Brunson and were not worried about leaving others unguarded. Someone needs to come off the injured list and soon. Or Alec Burks who was having a good year, needs to get comfortable and do what he was traded to do, as in score off the bench.

March Madness is almost upon us. Given the transfer portal, this is the first year that I can remember where I know almost nothing about the men’s college basketball teams. Michigan was unwatchable (which equals less viewing for SU) and the Big Ten always underachieves despite getting 8 – 9 teams in the dance every year. SU will make its fearless picks soon enough but this year will be wide open – which is a good thing.

Check out the New England Patriots Dynasty series on Apple TV. Very well done and interesting with behind the scenes interviews with all of the major players including Roger Goodell, Bob Kraft, Tom Brady, etc. SU is not a Pats’ fan but this has been a fun watch.

You have to give Mahomes his due. This year’s edition of the Kansas City Chiefs lacked Tyreek Hill, and they struggled for much of the year to find receivers who could actually catch the ball. Rashee Rice definitely emerged but even Kelce was dropping passes for much of the season.

The Chiefs did little for much of the first half and while SF dominated, they did not put the game away or build a big enough lead. The Niners also did nothing in the 3rd quarter – literally. Frankly, not the most exciting game but it was close throughout and we did get an overtime which is unusual for a Super Bowl.

Watching Mahomes, one of his greatest assets is knowing when to take off with the ball. He is certainly fast enough and is masterful at picking his spots. Late in the game and in OT, he made some very good decisions to pick up big yards.

A bad night for the Niners special teams with the blocked extra point and the big fumble on the punt which hit the foot of one of their players. It will be interesting to see what happens to SF now as they lost in the Conference championship last year and now the Super Bowl. Few teams are able to keep the pieces together to make it all the way back for 3 straight years. The window may close for them although they certainly have key pieces on offense that are young enough. The salary cap will tell the story in the end.

SU was off as always on its prediction although we had good intentions. Props to long-time subscriber, M. Levine, for putting his score out there.

Comment on sports viewing for Super Bowl Sunday. It is a sign of the rising popularity of women’s sports that FOX had the Iowa-Nebraska college hoops game on to showcase Caitlin Clark, and ESPN had UConn vs. South Carolina. Btw, South Carolina is a powerhouse team – what a collection of All-Americans.

SU is not a Tony Romo fan – not anymore. Just too enamored with himself making predictions that he hopes come true or imploring coaches to go for it on 4th down deep in their own territory. And enough of the talk about “leverage.” What is that exactly?

It is an annual Super Bowl tradition for SU to inaccurately predict the outcome for the big game. SU is proud to say that I have not read any of the pre-game shows/podcasts/articles but I did watch a A LOT of NFL football this season following our under-performing fantasy football team (note to readers: do not select Stefan Diggs anymore for your fantasy team). It is that time.

Prediction: SF 31 – 27 over the Chiefs.

I do see that many are on the Kansas City bandwagon and it is hard to predict against Patrick Mahomes. Btw, why all the hate towards the Chiefs and Mahomes? And I am not referencing the MAGA crowd and their obsession with Taylor Swift. Is it that Kansas City is always in the Super Bowl and a desire for something different? Too many Travis Kelce commercials?

For SU, Kansas City really struggled for much of the year. True, they are playing a lot better of late, and their defense has been very good down the stretch and in the playoffs. Mahomes has won with far fewer weapons on offense, and is a master of buying extra time in the pocket. I think Christian McCaffrey is a difference maker for the Niners, and will actually be the game’s MVP. He should be fresh with the bye week and see an extra workload both running and receiving.

SF’s defense looked pretty pedestrian last game vs. the Lions, and you have to figure they have made some adjustments there. The Niners have a rookie kicker in Jake Moody, and I don’t think they will rely on him much in this game, i.e., they will go for it on 4th down and short more often than not. Feels like this game will be close throughout and will come down to the final possession which for SU has the Niners stopping Mahomes on the game’s last drive to hold on to a small lead.

As always, the floor is open for anyone to insert their prediction in the Comments section, and be eligible for the SU logoed umbrella and key chain. Your chance to gain the admiration of thousands with your correct prediction!

SU is firmly on the Knicks’ bandwagon this year after an absence spanning many, many years (thank you Isiah Thomas, Stephan Marbury and Carmelo for that). This is a likeable team that plays very hard at both ends, has a true superstar in Jalen Brunson and now has the pieces, if and when healthy, to make a deep run in the playoffs. New York will totally embrace this team in May if they can get to the Conference finals.

Finally, stumbled across this on the ATP Men’s Tennis Tour. Just 5 minutes but amusing: https://twitter.com/atptour/status/1755275229633384956

SU will withhold any Yankees’ commentary as we near the date where pitchers and catchers report. That’s because they have not done anything of late to supplement the pitching staff, and I will not get excited over the 2024 team going into this season with this roster. Can’t do it. 90 – 72 is the likely landing spot and early golf tee times for the players come October.

So, enjoy the game and let’s hear from you!

Wow, job security for NFL coaches – be it head coaches or assistants – is not what it used to be. Probably better to rent a house vs. buying. SU is sorry to see Jim Harbaugh move on to the LA Chargers but he has earned the right to do so. He has checked all of the boxes at Michigan in his time there and you can only wish him well as he starts Chapter 2 in the NFL. He was very successful in SF with the Niners but the reality is that he is a high maintenance hire. He knows what he wants and is unafraid to ask and go for it. He wore out his welcome in SF and SU is certain he will do the same with the Chargers in a few years. The key will be if he can deliver some playoff success to LA and justify all that goes with it. SU has the over/under at 4.5 years for Harbaugh with the Chargers.

Meanwhile, Michigan will likely give the head coaching spot to the offensive coordinator, Sherrone Moore who has earned it. SU sees him as a great hire who will be highly effective on the recruiting trail. Good for him and he can hopefully hold on to his assistants – especially Jessie Minter for the defense. I must say that there should be a rule that college coaches who depart for the NFL are not allowed to poach their assistants from the school. Somehow that seems unfair although I suppose the new incoming head coach could choose to gut his staff anyway. Just feels wrong to me.

SU comment on college sports. Players should get paid – I have no issue with that. But the combination of NIL money and the transfer portal has ruined college football and basketball. It is very clear now that the top college football schools have to pony up millions of dollars to compete both for high school recruits and transfers. It is total free agency with no salary cap. Line up the boosters, give out the SUVs, bags of money. This is a good thing? As a fan, the disruption in rosters – especially for college hoops – with all of the transfers makes me less interested in watching. Part of the fun was rooting for your team’s freshmen to see how they develop over time. No more. SU is not loving this.

Djokovic went down in Australia to Sinner in a beatdown. He looked like an MLB starting pitcher who just did not have it – at all. Not to take anything away from Sinner who is a great, rising player but Djokovic had nothing. I cannot recall another time that he played that badly. Is it age catching up? Maybe but SU feels it’s a blip for him and something that will get his attention to not repeat it. Sinner is well coached and continues to add to his game. He is pure power but can now hit the topspin angle shots to move the opponent off the court. Tennis fans will be treated to the Alcaraz – Sinner rivalry for years to come. Fun to watch and both are good guys which SU appreciates.

Yankee fans remain in a holding pattern. This roster is a 90-win team. Are you excited?

At least NY fans have the Knicks who play hard every night and are a true team. They do need one more scorer to provide some cushion in the event of injury but they will contend in the East come April. And yes, NY fans have the Rangers! I know someone would have pointed that out to me.

Clearly, Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic is reading SU. See what he wrote this afternoon about Marcus Stroman. 

Rosenthal: Yankees’ rotation additions must continue beyond Marcus Stroman – The Athletic

It is not a pretty picture.

So, the Yankees big move on the pitching front is to sign Marcus Stroman to a 2-year deal. He is the consummate .500 pitcher who is not a great clubhouse guy. And he is always injured. Otherwise, checks all of the boxes.

As a Yankee fan, SU does not see great things for the 2024 campaign – not with this rotation and not with a bullpen that is also in a rebuild. You can say the offense will bounce back with the trade for Soto and that may be true but they will need to be an offensive juggernaut this season to offset a really bad starting rotation. Cole was almost perfect in 2023 – it’s not fair to expect that level in 2024 although he will be very good. We still do not know if Rodon can pitch in New York, Clarke Schmidt may have reached his level which is OK, and Cortes is often hurt. Consider that starters are always getting hurt: is there any depth in the minor leagues? Or did they trade away 3 Major League starters in the Soto deal (the answer is yes).

Clearly, Cashman fully expected to land Yamamoto. A huge loss – just as not signing Ohtani originally was a huge loss several years ago. It’s become clear now that the Yankees can no longer outbid other teams for the top free agents, and that they will have to build talent through the farm system. SU likes that approach but they used many of the bargaining chips in the mid-season trades the last 2 seasons that landed Joey Gallo, Frankie Montas and other under-performers. 

The one guy who has value and is on the younger side is Gleyber Torres, and the Yankees have depth in the infield. Surely, some team has a younger pitcher and needs a solid 2nd baseman with power.

SU will be thrilled to be surprised and see Marcus Stroman win 15 games, pitch the full season and turn into a good guy. Just not feeling it, and not feeling like 2024 will be a season to remember. For older Yankee fans, it is starting to feel like the mid-late 1980s with a mis-matched team of stars and not being good enough to compete for a championship with a high payroll, i.e., the Don Mattingly era.

Prove me wrong.

Michigan put a bow on the season with a hard-fought win over Washington last night. As predicted by many, it came down to Michigan’s defense vs. the Washington high-powered offense, and the defense clearly won out.

Michigan jumped out early and then relied on its defense to hold the line in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. SU has seen games like this before this season – the Maryland game certainly comes to mind. Get the big, early lead and then rein in the offense by running it over and over again. As a fan, it is very frustrating (many on X would agree who were Xing last night about this. Btw, how stupid is the name X? Not a winning move). Washington loaded the box and dared Michigan to throw. JJ McCarthy was a bit jumpy in the pocket and seemed intent to always throw to the first option even though he had time in the pocket. After opening up the offense against Alabama, the game plan last night was overly conservative once they had the lead. I mean, at least run JJ McCarthy on the zone read plays as Washington was packing it in for the runs up the middle.

Penix had a few shots for big plays but he took a beating. He must have had bruised ribs by the end of the game as he was turning away after every throw to protect his mid-section. Washington is a fun team to watch with an imaginative offense and NFL-quality receivers. They were a deserving finalist but Michigan makes great defensive adjustments at half time every game, and last night was no exception. They held them to 3 points in the 2nd half which is pretty amazing for that offense.

SU will enjoy this one. The NCAA will do its NCAA things next season in the way of penalties, etc. Btw, keep an eye on the Catapult software scandal where some some college team or teams stole information from other teams. Both Alabama and Michigan were victims of this one which goes back a couple of years. 

Harbaugh may jump to the NFL now feeling he has restored the Michigan program and it’s the right time to fulfill his NFL dreams. He certainly has the right to do that. If he leaves, it won’t be that Michigan’s contract offer was not big enough ($12 million a year for 10 years or something like that?). For SU, it feels like the NFL style of play has passed him by and he is also very high maintenance so owners should beware. SU believes the smart move in the NFL these days is to hire the younger coordinators but for sure, some owners will be tempted to go after guys like Harbaugh, Belichick, etc. SU also feels that JJ McCarthy could certainly use another year of college ball as he is not as dominant as some of the other quarterbacks coming out this year. This is a QB rich draft and he will be better positioned next season.

If Harbaugh does leave, SU believes Michigan would elevate Sherrone Moore to head coach, and even though he might not be 100% ready, he can grow into the job. And I know high school kids will want to play for him. Of course, next year’s schedule features games with preseason top-10 ranked teams: Ohio State; Oregon; Washington; and Texas. For SU, I would much prefer to see those games against high quality teams vs. the Arkansas States.

Great season for the Michigan fans (and it will help to cover up for a bad basketball team this year). Go Blue!