For the first time in a while, I actually don’t have just one topic to whine about, but alas, there are quite a few things in the sports world that deserve to be addressed.
Miss Rodney Dangerfield
For starters, there’s the MSU women’s basketball team and LaToya Thomas.
Most of you either saw the score or the game itself Monday night and wondered “how could that happen?”
I’ll tell you how. “The Pit” happened.
The Lady Dawgs deserved the No. 3 seed in the midwest region, but what they didn’t deserve is the snow job they received.
Not only did they have to play in front of 17,000-plus screaming New Mexico fans, they were hosed in almost every possible way one could get hosed by officiating.
Women’s college basketball is a funny sport because it’s so top-heavy. It will be like that for a while until they build a big enough fan base and generate enough money to where they can even things out like the men’s game.
Proof of that came Monday when the Lady Dawgs had to play the No. 6 seeded Lobos on their home floor. Not fair. Just like I said last year with the guys–if that game was played anywhere else but Albuquerque, MSU would still be dancing. I guarantee you that.
Earlier that day, when the Naismith Player of the Year Award was announced for the women, MSU was snubbed again.
Yeah, Diana Taurasi won. Does she deserve it? No. So why did she win? She plays for Connecticut.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that if Thomas played for UConn, Tennessee or Duke, then she would get more respect than she does. There will be more on this later, trust me. We’ve got a much more thought out and coherent argument about it.
Have you noticed?
How many people on this campus realize that the Diamond Dawgs are 19-3-1 and ranked in the top 10? I’ll tell you, if I didn’t HAVE to keep up with this stuff, it probably would have slipped under my radar, too.
Coach Ron Polk has his boys playing as well or better than any MSU team has played in the last few years and they head into Oxford today for a key three-game road series against the Rebels who have not beaten State since the Mayor’s Trophy Game last March.
Bracket banter
It’s kind of hard not to talk about basketball these days. Especially since they have that thing called “March Madness” going on. There have been some great games to start the tournament, and they were followed by more great games last night, but some of the best games of both the men’s and women’s tournament could occur on the women’s side this weekend, with matchups like LSU vs. Louisiana Tech, Duke vs. Georgia and Purdue taking on cinderella Notre Dame.
Opening Day
Opening day in the major leagues is upon us. All 4,860 games of it. Time to dig in for the long haul, baseball fans.
I’m not a baseball guru, but I do know these things are true:
1. Even with Lou Piniella, the Tampa Bay Devil Rays will still be the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
2. Even with Don Baylor, the Chicago Cubs are still the Chicago Cubs.
3. Hideki Matsui is the real deal.
4. The American League West is the best division in baseball.
5. The American League East is a race for second place.
6. I don’t care what he says–Barry Bonds is on something. It’s still fun to watch him hit the ball 600 feet, though.
7. The Anaheim Angels will not repeat.
8. The Red Sox will be denied–again.
9. Ken Griffey, Jr. is back.
10. It’s a long time until October.
Sticks and pucks
I don’t get much of a chance during the year to talk about hockey, but now that I DO have the chance, I’m going to seize it. The NHL playoffs will begin in a couple of weeks and for the few of you who might have payed attention to the playoffs in years past, it is one of the most exciting and emotional playoff seasons in all of sports.
Where else do you regularly get four and five overtime games in the first round nightly?
Although both conferences have great teams, the most fun race will be in the west where Dallas, Detroit and Colorado lurk at the top.
Oh, the things those hockey players do to get a kiss on Lord Stanley’s Cup.