Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Six officials sent home from tourney
Parts of the NCAA’s finely honed plan for playing March Madness amid the pandemic came into question Tuesday as teams began gearing up for practices to tune up for the games later this week.
One referee tested positive for COVID19, forcing him and five others who went out to dinner with him, out of the tournament.
Their excursion ran counter to a protocol that called on all players and staff to eat at their NCAA hotels, but because the refs’ rooms weren’t ready and there was no food available, they were given a pass.
It resulted in a big shake-up of the officiating corps for the games, 52 of which take place Thursday through next Monday at different arenas in Indianapolis, Bloomington and Purdue. Though the NCAA brought plenty of backup referees, the mass departure served up yet another illustration of how things can go wrong.
“It’s not ever going to be perfect in a pandemic,” NCAA vice president Dan Gavitt said. “It’s an unfortunate and disappointing circumstance for all involved. But I don’t think there’s something that can be pinpointed as a kind of failure here. Just an unfortunate set of circumstances.”
Earlier, questions arose after coach Rick Pitino ran a late-night practice with his Iona team as part of the NCAA’s late and unannounced change in testing protocol, first reported by The New York Times.
Gavitt portrayed that as a “practical adjustment,” and not a major change.
He said players were initially going to be required to pass two COVID-19 tests no less than 12 hours apart on different calendar days to be eligible to practice after they arrived. Iona took its two tests in the same day, and Gavitt said the change had been OK’d by the NCAA medical advisory group and the local health department.
Pitino said he was given the green light for the Sunday night workout, and so, he went. Iona missed 60 days in the middle of the season because of the virus.
On another front, Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner announced a member of his school’s traveling party tested positive. He didn’t disclose whether it was a player, but noted the person will not be back unless the Yellow Jackets advance to the Sweet 16.
“It’s a gut punch,” Pastner said. “It stinks.”
Gavitt said there were five positive tests out of 2,300 that had been analyzed so far in Indianapolis.
All-America team: Gonzaga and Baylor spent almost the entire season holding down the top two spots in the Top 25.
Makes sense they’d hold down a bunch of spots on The Associated Press All-America teams.
The Bulldogs’ Corey Kispert and the Bears’ Jared Butler led the way with firstteam nods Tuesday from the national panel of 63 media members that vote each week in the AP Top 25 poll. They were joined by unanimous pick Luka Garza of Iowa, a two-time selection, along with Ayo Dosunmu of Illinois and freshman Cade Cunningham of Oklahoma State.
The Bulldogs also landed big man Drew Timme and freshman Jalen Suggs on the second team while Joel Ayayi was an honorable mention pick. The Bears had Davion Mitchell on the third team and MaCio Teague as an honorable mention.
Layups: The NCAA announced that if BYU makes the Sweet 16 it would swap the schedules for the East and Midwest regions so the Cougars aren’t forced to play on a Sunday. The Mormon school’s policy prohibits competition on Sundays. ... New Mexico hired Richard Pitino as its coach less than 24 hours after he was fired by Minnesota after eight season. Pitino, 38, replaces Paul Weir, who was fired after four seasons leading the Lobos.
This lockdown is getting to me. As a food and travel writer it has been challenging. I’ve been able to do lots of things such as take walks, exercise with online classes, read novels and cook interesting new dishes, but what I really need is a getaway. Best I can do at the moment is to take a vacation in my kitchen. Enter this delectable shrimp dish. It somehow just fills the bill.
Shrimp gets a Thai twist in this recipe when marinated in lime, ginger and cilantro, and then it is threaded onto skewers for grilling. The shrimp becomes wonderfully caramelized as it is basted with the marinade during the grilling process.
Use flat bamboo skewers soaked in cold water for at least an hour to prevent them from burning on the grill. Or try flat stainless-steel
skewers. Flat skewers are best because they make it easier to cook everything evenly. Look for 9- or 10-inch length bamboo or stainless steel skewers.
Serve the shrimp over your favorite vegetable rice dish, and pour the
lime, ginger and coconut sauce over the top. The tart yet slightly, sweet sauce is supposed to be thin so that it serves as a flavor enhancer for the shrimp and the rice underneath. Quickly sauteed snow peas or sugar snap peas make a nice accompaniment.