The topical thing to write about today is March Madness, and we will mention it.
But the best thing you will read today, and probably even this week, is this amazing story on Larry Bird's 60-point game in 1985.
There are so many great parts of this oral history, much of it nostalgic for those of us who grew up during that time. But it's fantastic even for those who weren't around back then.
The best part, from this corner, is hearing about and watching the reaction of the Hawks' players as he piled on the points while trash talking and calling his shot. Just unbelievable.
But it was a shot that came a few moments before - one that didn't count - that is remembered more than any of Bird's 22 made field goals that did count. With 14 seconds left, Bird catches a pass in front of the Hawks bench, takes one dribble to his left, and launches a step-back jumper with Rickey Brown draped all over him. The shot falls through the net just as Bird, nudged by Brown, falls into the lap of Hawks trainer Joe O'Toole. The shot did not count -- a foul was called on the floor - but that makes it no less amazing. As Hawks announcer John Sterling shouts "Larry Bird! Larry Bird!" while proclaiming it the greatest shooting performance he has ever seen, the players at the end of the Hawks' bench - particularly Levingston - can't even pretend to contain themselves now. They fall all over each in giddy amazement. Only later did we find out the real reason for the reaction: Larry Bird called his shot.
RIVERS: He said 'in the trainer's lap' coming down the court, which meant it was going to be a three and it was going to from deep. Then he said, 'who wants it?' Then I think Rickey Brown, I'm not sure who it was, ran out after him, he shot this high rainbow, it goes in, Rickey bumps into him -- and accidentally knocks him on our trainer's lap. So it was exactly what he said, it was an accident but it was almost fate. They show a shot of our bench, Cliff Levingston and Eddie Johnson are standing up giving each other high fives. It was pretty awesome.
CLARK: I not sure who it was, but I could swear one of the guys on their bench tried to give Larry a high-five.
RIVERS: That night was not awesome. We had to go back to the locker room, and Mike Fratello, instead of going out to eat, he had a team meeting and put the film in and says, 'It's one thing to be in awe, it's another thing to cheer for the other team.' And he shows this back and forth, and kept rewinding the high five. It was awesome. ^^^^^
FRATELLO: We're trying to beat these people. We're not going to the movies to enjoy a show. This is our competitor. I didn't appreciate they way they handled it, I let them know that, and we moved on. A lesson learned. Their lesson was that they got fined.
And how about something that had nothing to do with basketball? Dude decided to run a five-mile race and did it in 33 minutes, 40 seconds after running the final mile in under five minutes.
It's a long read, but well worth the time.
A few Monday links:
-- Nichole Auerbach of USA Today says the committee got all the top seeds right.
For all the grumbling about snubs and surprising NCAA tournament selections this year, give the committee credit where credit is due: It nailed the top seed lines.
Not only were all four No. 1 seeds all deserving, but the No. 2 seeds were assigned to appropriate regions as well. Undefeated Kentucky, the obvious choice for the No. 1 overall seed, drew Kansas as the No. 2 seed in its region. The Jayhawks, according to the selection committee's seed list, were the weakest of the No. 2 seeds.
That pairing, of course, only matters if both teams reach the Midwest region final. For Kansas to set a date with Kentucky - the Jayhawks enter the NCAA tournament with uncertainty surrounding the availability of suspended freshman Cliff Alexander, and they're a little banged up in general health-wise - it will have to potentially beat No. 7 Wichita State in the Round of 32 and No. 3 Notre Dame in the Sweet 16.
"I had actually prepared our guys that we'd probably be the 2 in Kentucky's region," Kansas coach Bill Self told USA TODAY Sports on Sunday night. "But the whole thing is, I just talked to them and said, it's not about how anything can happen in the tournament. It's about winning a two-game tournament (the first weekend). So, forget about who's with who, the second weekend. ...
"I'll be honest: I wasn't excited when I saw (the draw) because of the difficulty of it, but you go back and look at the other brackets and you can make a case they're all hard. And a lot of times it doesn't play out the way you think it will play out. It's weird how it works."
-- In The Sporting News, Tavaris Barnes says Vic Beasley is "a freak" and "a square."
Barnes and Beasley were part of the same recruiting class at Clemson. Now they are both on the cusp of NFL careers. Barnes hopes to hear his name called before the draft is over while Beasley is a slam-dunk, first-round prospect.
Barnes, a 6-4, 283-pound defensive end, spoke with Perform Media on Thursday about his NFL potential, but also provided some insight on Beasley.
"Since we were freshmen, Vic was the guy who wasn't going to parties, he was really into his religion," Barnes said. "A lot of other guys like me weren't. I used to think Vic was a square, but that's really the way to live. He did it right. He wasn't partying. He stayed true to God and God has rewarded him. I'm happy for him."
And this:
The three best games of Barnes' career were in 2014 - in consecutive weeks against Boston College, Syracuse and Wake Forest.
"The Wake Forest game was the first time I had the other team's head coach come up to me and say, 'That's how you play football,'" Barnes said of Demon Deacons coach Dave Clawson. "I had a lot of instrumental plays in that game. I was all around the ball, moving and making plays."
He earned a start against Wake because of his previous two games. He had four tackles, two for loss, with a sack and forced fumble against Syracuse and had a pair of sacks a week earlier against the Eagles.
"I was loose and ready to compete," Barnes said. "I was comfortable."
And this:
He ran a disappointing 4.8-second 40-yard dash - "It was awful and I knew it," he said. He also recorded 22 bench press reps of 225 pounds. He'd hoped to put up better numbers, but had a second chance to impress at Clemson's pro day on March 5. The 49ers, Titans, Cardinals, Bengals, Texans and Raiders showed the most interest. He had a private workout the day after the pro day in Clemson with the Titans, along with Beasley, Stephone Anthony and linebacker Tony Steward.
"When I was training, I was getting lower times," Barnes said of the workout. "But everything else, I feel like I did really well in the position drills. I think I helped myself there."
-- At MMQB, Peter King says Chip Kelly is this era's Jimmy Johnson.
A little history here: When Jimmy Johnson took over the Cowboys a quarter-century ago, he was Chip Kelly. College coach with a satchel of ideas he would bring to the big leagues-a small and fast defense, a willingness to trade in a league that hated trading (Dallas made 55 trades in his tenure), hubris, believing that what won in college could win in the NFL, and being married to no individual player or coach. It worked. Dallas won three Super Bowls, two with Johnson as coach and then one with Barry Switzer coaching Johnson's players.
So here comes Kelly, with his own ideas the way Johnson had them. Big on sports science; running more plays than anyone in the league; a willingness to deal in a league warming to the idea of building through trades; hubris; believing that was won in college could win in the NFL; and being married to no one.
"Does Kelly remind you of you, 25 years ago?" I asked Johnson the other day.
"Well, in some ways," Johnson said. "I really like what I have seen out of Chip Kelly. Chip called me and we visited a couple times, and what I heard from him, I liked. No one can say from the outside-right moves, wrong moves. You gotta let 'em play out. You won't know until you see the results. I felt I was right when I did the things I did, but who knew? I traded away my starting quarterback, Steve Pelluer, to Kansas City. The leading receiver, I don't remember his name [it was Ray Alexander] we got rid of. I talked to Danny White, and he retired. Then I traded Herschel Walker. You can't be afraid to make moves. Chip's not. So some of it is similar. But there is one big difference: We were the worst team in the league two years in a row [1988, 1989]. People were ready for a big change.
"The similarities? We're both confident, both competent, both know how to win. We talked after he got the new responsibilities this year. I just said, 'Go with people you believe in, and go with players who fit your personality and fit your system.' I have talked to Bill Belichick about this too. Certain players are going to be successful in his system and not in others."
Also, interesting stuff on Jameis Winston:
"That was a big thing with him. It is with most quarterbacks. He didn't look anybody off. He's a competitor, though. He threw three interceptions in this game and he just kept throwing. He wasn't scared of us."
-University of Louisville cornerback Gerod Holliman on Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston, to Robert Klemko of The MMQB. Holliman led the nation with 14 interceptions in 2014, including two off Winston.
And this:
Jameis Winston does not intend to attend the draft in Chicago. Rather, he plans to spend the draft with his family and friends down south. At least, that's the plan for now.
Which got me to thinking: When is the last time the first pick of the draft-Winston is the leader in the clubhouse-did not attend the draft to be congratulated by the commissioner?
-- Once upon a time, Oliver Purnell had Clemson in the ACC Tournament title game for the first time since something like 1876. And Paul Hewitt had Georgia Tech in the Final Four.
Now they're out at DePaul and George Mason, respectively. Crazy.
Here's today's story on Hewitt.
George Mason has parted ways with Paul Hewitt after four seasons, the school announced Monday.
Hewitt, 51, took over the Patriots program after Jim Larranaga left for Miami. He went 66-67 during his time in Fairfax, including a CBI runner-up team in 2013, but struggled once the program left the Colonial for the Atlantic 10.
The Patriots were 9-22 (4-14) in 2014-15.
Hewitt was 24-12 in two seasons in the CAA, but 8-26 in the A-10. Mason finished 12th during his first season in the league, and 13th this past season.
"Mason made a significant commitment to its athletic programs, especially men's basketball, when the university moved to the Atlantic 10 Conference two years ago," athletic director Brad Edwards said in a statement. "The university has high expectations for the program and thus determined a change was needed.
"Paul has always been a tremendous advocate for the sport of college basketball and we are extremely appreciative for the manner in which he has represented the university and for his service to the student-athletes and to the program."
And on top of all that, Larry Shyatt is going dancing.
After the game ended, the party began.
It was a celebration 13 years in the making, like a dam filled to the gills with water that finally, mercifully broke. Finally, the Wyoming Cowboys had captured a Mountain West Championship. Finally, for the first time since 2002, they would play in the NCAA Tournament.
On Saturday, in Las Vegas, finally became reality.
"We came here, and coach [Larry Shyatt] promised we'd be a piece of something bigger," senior forward Larry Nance Jr. said. "If I remember right, that court just about 20 minutes ago was something bigger.
"That's what we're taking back to Wyoming -- all those fans, this trophy, the tournament MVP, and an NCAA Tournament berth."
LW
This post was edited on 3/16 9:13 AM by Larry_Williams
