San Diego Union-Tribune (Sunday)
• Nick Canepa’s take on NCAA tourney.
Sez Me …
Basketball is similar to Pong. The real one isn’t played much anymore — unless it’s the rarest of rare gems, the aberration that was Gonzaga-ucla.
The NCAA Tournament semifinal was one of the greatest games played since Naismith emptied his baskets of peaches, one that reminded us basketball can be the most beautiful of games. Unfortunately, it may have had moderns/millennials who couldn’t have been watching the game 40 years ago, asking: “What the hell is this they’re playing?”
It’s called basketball. Harder to find than the Nazi gold.
A shame, because I’ve always loved college basketball, especially the NCAA Tournament. Still do. Just not as much.
And I coveted the NBA. Freak, I was. Now most love is lost.
My world used to stop when March Madness came around. I couldn’t eat enough of it. Now I get full rather fast. I only can take so much before loosening my belt, sitting back and closing my eyes.
Recall what Bobby Jones said of Jack Nicklaus and convert it to basketball: “They play a game with which I am not familiar.”
And the game the pros play, I do not like. So much unabashed — and uncalled — traveling. So much of these ridiculous athletes being allowed to put their hand under the ball, with nary a carry-over call.
I’m sorry. If you catch the ball on the f loor, leave the f loor, and come back down with the ball, it’s traveling.
If you stay in the lane until you need to ask permission to go to the bathroom, it may be a three-second violation.
The dunk stinks. It hinders shot development (see Kareem’s sky hook when the dunk was outlawed) and millions of kids can do it. What is the thrill of watching a tall, athletic specimen jamming the ball through a hoop 10 feet off the ground? I, along with the late John Nettles, will take the high jump.
But now, Steph Curry is more to blame than anyone. Not everybody could be like Mike, but they can act like Steph, putting up 3s. And they can’t be Steph, or close to Steph.
The mid-range jumper has all but taken a cab.
If a player gets the ball beyond the 3-point line and can make a move to get a better shot, odds are a step-backjames-harden-travel-3 is coming, and it often winds up on the next fairway.
So much creativity has been taken out of the game.
As the Aztecs discovered vs. Syracuse, living by the 3 can lead to an early airplane ride home.
Creating a shot is exciting. The great pass is the best thing in the sport.
A great defender now is the player who gets in front of the ball handler every once in a while.
And the college game can be interminable. The last few minutes can last a half-hour.
Every so often we get a reminder, such as the haunting of hallowed halls by the still-notperfect Gonzaga-ucla ghost, but the real game has gone away from home. And it ain’t coming back. …
And how bad was officiating in the Tournament? Maybe/ probably cost UCLA the game. That was a foul on Jalen Suggs .…
Religious history tells us it’s hard to crawl out of Hell. Sports history tells us Baylor did it secularly. …
Tough cupcakes. The Zags beat Kansas, Iowa, West Virginia, Virginia and Auburn. …
Sean Miller ,as Rick Smith would say, “got the big haircut” at Arizona. Barber was cooling his clippers too long. …
No men’s basketball program has underachieved more in this century than Arizona. Not close . ...
Inevitable prolonged. Fernando Tatis Jr. plays the game violently, savagely. By the end of the year — probably by the end of the season — he will be recovering from shoulder surgery. …
I don’t know how many times I’ve said Tatis will be a center fielder, but I’m sticking to it. …
Can’t change Fernando’s style. Robin Yount had to move from shortstop to center due to shoulder issues. Hall of Famer . ...
Stink O’ The Season Sezment: Starting extra innings with a runner on second. What’s beyond stink? Extra stink. …
Tiring Stink O’ The Week Sezment: “Tom Brady remains motivated by doubters.” So was Moses, but Tom ain’t talking to The Burning Bush . ...
Signing Ryan Smith means the Judases are at least thinking about something which for years they haven’t given much thought — special teams. …
Nike has suspended its Deshaun Watson endorsement deal. Know what that means? Not good. …
The last person to need 40 massage therapists was King Edward VII .…
When I see smoke somewhere, there’s usually a fire or a gathering of stoners . ...
Now that the 49ers have signed Nate Sudfeld, was giving up three No. 1s to draft a QB really necessary? …
The pressure is on Joe Musgrove to match Johnny Vander Meer .…
Prior to Joe’s, the last Padre to pitch a no-hitter was Sammy Ellis, who threw one at the Tacoma Giants in 1962. …
At the very least, the Ham & Eggers should name a bike lane after Musgrove. …
Painful, but Jayce Tingler admirably kept the hook in his pocket . ...
San Diegans who have thrown MLB no-nos: Point Loma High’s Don Larsen and
David Wells (amazingly, Yankees perfectos), Hoover’s Dave Morehead, Grossmont’s Musgrove, Rancho Bernardo’s Cole Hamels. Hamels was also in on a combined no-hitter, as was Mt. Miguel’s Mark Williamson .…
MLB moving the All-star Game to Denver means the Home Run Derby will resemble Russia’s Battle of Seelow artillery barrage at the end of WWII. …
Hate to say it, but Sen. Marco Rubio asking Rob Manfred if he plans to give up his membership to Augusta National is not a bad question. I’d ask Rob if he will order the Braves, who have minority players, you know, to move out of Atlanta . ...
Padres fans who sell their home tickets to Dodgers fans are not Padres fans. Now, more than ever, they are Capitalists. …
Among coaches who would win a crying contest, do you go with Dick Vermeil or Roy Williams? I pick Vermeil. Close. …
Williams’ Carolina teams haven’t produced an NBA allstar since 2008. …
Stanford, with a $29-billion endowment, cuts 11 sports . ...
Tiger was doing a cool 85 in a 45, no skid marks, and yet cops didn’t check for impairment? Hey, I’m just a concerned citizen who drives every so often. …
Mike Pence has a two-book deal. The tough decision will be deciding which one not to read first. …
Notable: Arizona women’s basketball coach Adia Barnes ,a superb player at Mission Bay High, is daughter of the late
Pete Barnes, linebacker for The NFL Team That Used To Be Here. …
The baseball has been deadened? Guess Fernando’s 465foot homer would have landed in Julian a year ago . ...
“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” — Mark Twain on COVID vaccines. …
I continue to marvel at how stupid and thoughtless so many Americans are . ...
Memo to NFL players who hate the 17-game schedule: You voted for it. Go to union meetings. …
Oh, by the way. The Masters begins this afternoon.