American Conference deserves better from NCAA, Elmore says
Len Elmore isn’t a homer for teams he covers, but he does think the American Athletic Conference has gotten a raw deal from the NCAA Tournament selection committee the last couple of years.
He expects that to end Sunday, although the University of Houston Cougars could make things considerably more interesting on that front.
Elmore, who is calling some of the American tournament games on ESPN networks, including UH’s 6 p.m. Friday opener on ESPNU, holds with conventional wisdom that Temple, Connecticut and Cincinnati are the conference front-runners for the road to Houston and that the league’s claims that it is better than its reputation has been vindicated this season.
Even SMU’s absence because of NCAA rules violations has in some ways been a plus for the American, Elmore said.
“In many ways it allowed people to focus on teams because of SMU starting 18-0 and fighting for an undefeated season, even though that ended,” he said. “It put a spotlight on the conference and allowed teams to be seen. That was important.”
Elmore said he can make a case for UH making the 68-team field even if it makes it to the tournament championship game and loses. A Cougars win for the automatic bid, however, could make the Connecticut-Cincinnati game at 1 p.m. Friday on ESPN2 a potential elimination game for NCAA purposes.
Tulsa’s outside shot at a spot could fade away, too, with a loss to Houston in the semifinals if both teams advance past Friday, Elmore said.
Optimism for any appetite
So I’m taking a break from the U.S. Olympic Committee’s Rio de Janeiro Olympics media briefing, as would any East Texas Baptist of Jewish extraction, by eating a chopped liver sandwich at Nate ’n Al of Beverly
Hills when a friend calls from home.
“Have you heard? The town is blowing up,” he exclaimed. “The Texans have signed Brock Osweiler and Lamar Miller. Can you imagine how Houston is going to be when the Texans are the home team in the Super Bowl?”
First off, yes, I had heard about Osweiler and Miller and, no, I can’t imagine the Texans as home team in the Super Bowl at NRG Stadium next February. But NFL Network reporter Rand Getlin suggested Wednesday afternoon that maybe I’m being too much of a scrooge.
“I’m really encouraged by what I saw from the Texans,” Getlin said. “I’m not going to hand them the Super Bowl trophy just yet, but if I were a Texans fan, I’d be damned happy with what they did. I’ll never knock a team beginning the season with an optimistic outlook.”
Along with Osweiler, the Texans are getting a “home run hitter,” Getlin said, in Miller, to create a solid core on offense with DeAndre Hopkins and, pending a resolution to his legal issues, Jaelen Strong.
“That’s a pretty good core of young players who can play together for a long time, and the defense already has some incredible pieces,” he added. “And now they can fill in elsewhere in the draft.”
Four DVRs, no waiting
Mike Ditka is out as a panelist on ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” but has signed a two-year contract extension to remain at ESPN as a contributor to “SportsCenter.” Matt Hasselback, who announced his retirement Wednesday, will succeed Ditka on the Sunday and Monday studio shows. … ESPN says it averaged 3.1 million viewers for North CarolinaDuke on March 5, making it the mostwatched regular-season game of the year. Kentucky-Duke on Nov. 17, 2015, was second at 3.12 million. … ESPN’s Selection Sunday “30 for 30” documentary is “Fantastic Lies” on the 2006 Duke University lacrosse scandal at 8 p.m. … Texas A&M basketball coach Billy Kennedy’s struggles with Parkinson’s disease is the subject of a feature at 9 a.m. Sunday on ESPN’s “SportsCenter.” … Rockets-Hornets, 6 p.m. Saturday, Root Sports Southwest. It’s the second half of a road back-to-back after a Friday game for the Rockets at Boston.