LLT Sports Roundup
by Guest Editor Aaron M. Fugate
Madness is upon us! The NCAA Tournament has busted more brackets than ever before and provided many last-minute heroics. One of the most exciting games happened just last night. The University of Northern Iowa may be responsible for the worst collapse in Tournament history.
The question has been asked whether the game was a great choke or a great comeback. Let me make the case for the former. A&M was the right team in the right place. UNI may have had the worst clock management ever. Let's run through it. The whole last minute + 2 OTs were just atrocious. 4 turnovers in the last 44 seconds. Players who couldn't even inbound or throw the ball off an opponent out of bounds. Inbounders not moving along the baseline. Guys not moving or getting open to help out a teammate being trapped.
20 seconds to go in regulation, they finally throw it long and a man gets open. But instead of wasting clock, he heads straight for the hoop. Had he wasted two seconds, A&M wouldn't have had enough time to come back. Even the points he got were no good. He could have just as easily made them up after a few seconds and a foul.
End of 1st overtime, tie game... UNI opts not to go 2 for 1. Yes, the three went down, but your chances are much better with a quick score than with a three from a guy who hasn't scored all day. Play for the last shot.
Speaking of last shots, there were 4 seconds (four seconds!) left and the UNI player heaves up a desperation three from Tulsa. Pass the ball! Get it to someone who can take a better shot!
Finally, in 2OT, the last two-pointer they missed was just dumb. Why not pass the ball to someone who can take a better shot? Don't force up a terrible look. Bad ball movement will kill you.
I'm no Aggies fan, but I was glad to see them pull it out when the zebras were against them. It seemed for a while that they were letting 'em play under the Aggies' hoop, which is fine for the the situation, but they sure were calling touchy fouls in UNI's favor on the other end. Looked like the refs wanted the crazy upset to happen to make March Madness more interesting. Wonder how common that is. It sure isn't necessary.
All in all, we saw a team that knew nothing of how to close with a big lead. We may have seen the worst choke ever in college sports -- certainly the worst clock management in a very, very long time.
Well, there it is! Your LLT Sports Roundup for 3/21/16. Enjoy the madness!
Madness is upon us! The NCAA Tournament has busted more brackets than ever before and provided many last-minute heroics. One of the most exciting games happened just last night. The University of Northern Iowa may be responsible for the worst collapse in Tournament history.
The question has been asked whether the game was a great choke or a great comeback. Let me make the case for the former. A&M was the right team in the right place. UNI may have had the worst clock management ever. Let's run through it. The whole last minute + 2 OTs were just atrocious. 4 turnovers in the last 44 seconds. Players who couldn't even inbound or throw the ball off an opponent out of bounds. Inbounders not moving along the baseline. Guys not moving or getting open to help out a teammate being trapped.
20 seconds to go in regulation, they finally throw it long and a man gets open. But instead of wasting clock, he heads straight for the hoop. Had he wasted two seconds, A&M wouldn't have had enough time to come back. Even the points he got were no good. He could have just as easily made them up after a few seconds and a foul.
End of 1st overtime, tie game... UNI opts not to go 2 for 1. Yes, the three went down, but your chances are much better with a quick score than with a three from a guy who hasn't scored all day. Play for the last shot.
Speaking of last shots, there were 4 seconds (four seconds!) left and the UNI player heaves up a desperation three from Tulsa. Pass the ball! Get it to someone who can take a better shot!
Finally, in 2OT, the last two-pointer they missed was just dumb. Why not pass the ball to someone who can take a better shot? Don't force up a terrible look. Bad ball movement will kill you.
I'm no Aggies fan, but I was glad to see them pull it out when the zebras were against them. It seemed for a while that they were letting 'em play under the Aggies' hoop, which is fine for the the situation, but they sure were calling touchy fouls in UNI's favor on the other end. Looked like the refs wanted the crazy upset to happen to make March Madness more interesting. Wonder how common that is. It sure isn't necessary.
All in all, we saw a team that knew nothing of how to close with a big lead. We may have seen the worst choke ever in college sports -- certainly the worst clock management in a very, very long time.
And did you see John Calipari getting outcoached by Tom Crean in the IU-Kentucky game? That was embarrassing for Coach Cheatipari. Crean adjusted to the pressure on his best player and the injury to Robert Johnson. Calipari didn't adjust to IU's defense and that cost his team the game. IU is a dangerous team that has been improving all year. Look for them to challenge and maybe upset UNC later this week.
In the NFL, many rule changes are being proposed, but none of them are addressing the real issues. The list of proposed changes is here. The things that aren't being proposed are absolutely atrocious. NO fix for the catch rule. NO fix for the fumble-through-the-endzone rule (the offense should keep possession of a ball fumbled through the EZ. Anywhere else on the field, the defense has to control the ball inbounds, but not in the endzone? Makes no sense.) NO fix to the ridiculous overtime rules (just play an extra quarter!). And suggesting that touchbanks on kickoffs be moved to the 25? Absurd. Let's define what a catch is, let's change the fumble possession rule, let's have a fair overtime, and let's have real kickoff returns again. Otherwise it's time to move on from the NFL. It needs competition anyway.
In Major League Baseball, former pitcher and current washed-up madman Goose Gossage has been in the news lately for saying that a classy man like toronto Blue Jays outfielder Jose Bautista was a "disgrace to the game" for his famous bat flip in the AL Wild Card round against the Rangers last year. Boston Red Sox Designated Walker and Home Run Hitter David Ortiz had some smart things to say about the controversy, from CBS Sports' Eye on Baseball:
“When a power hitter does a bat flip, you don't hurt nobody. If I hit a homer, did a bat flip, threw it in the stands and break a couple of people's heads, I understand. But that's not what it is,” he added. “When you see a pitcher do a fist pump when they strike out any one of us, or jumping on the mound, I don't see anybody talking about that. Nobody's talking about that. Act the same way when we do a bat flip. It's emotion. It is, ‘I got you.' Just like a pitcher does, ‘I got you,' when they strike [you] out. As a hitter, I don't mind. You got myself out? Good for you. They work hard to do [that]. But when I get you, good for me. Period.”I've long felt this way. If you hit a home run, make a slam dunk, catch/rush for a touchdown, win a Grand Slam, or score a goal, you've earned the right to celebrate (not excessively, but still. The problem is with guys who celebrate routine plays that they should be making. Bautista's bat flip is not the problem). Especially in the playoffs. I'm glad Ortiz spoke up and said this, because Goose Gossage should not be the prevailing voice on baseball etiquette.
Well, there it is! Your LLT Sports Roundup for 3/21/16. Enjoy the madness!
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