1. I know we debate the important stuff here like who's going to be the third string outside linebacker? And, why does Mizzou only have two commits? And did Jim Sterk destroy the sport of softball by hiring the Hofstra coach? But you've probably heard it's Memorial Day. We all know someone, or at least know someone who knows someone, who has sacrificed his or her life defending our country. So in the midst of your grilling and drinking and driving your boat around today, take a couple of minutes to think about the men and women who allowed you to be able to have all the freedoms you have by being more courageous than the rest of us. To all of those on this board who have served or are serving, thank you. To all of those who have lost a love one to the service of the country, we are forever in your debt.
2. So, now, on to the important stuff. Missouri hired a new softball coach. Her name is Larissa Anderson. She seems to have done a pretty good job at Hofstra. She might do a pretty good job here. She might not. I'm not going to pretend to have any idea. The only thing I've read about it that I object to is the idea that this will in any way serve as any sort of a referendum (or really even have an impact) on Jim Sterk's ability to do his job. Just as I said when he fired Ehren Earleywine (and, for the record, even if I think firing him was justified, the timing still makes no sense), no athletic director is judged on how he handled the softball program. It's just not a thing that happens.
3. Missouri finds out its NCAA baseball tournament fate at 11 a.m. on ESPNU. Most think they won't be in. The 16 regional hosts were announced last night. I don't have strong feelings about whether Mizzou should be in or not. If they are, I don't think anyone should have a major problem with it. They beat a lot of good teams this year (14 top 50 RPI wins last I looked). If they aren't, I also don't have a major problem with it. They went 12-19 in SEC games and missed some chances to take the decision out of the committee's hands. So whichever way it goes, I find it hard to have any outrage (real or manufactured) over it.
4. Back to the AD, Sterk settled his lawsuit with Dawn Staley on Friday. The University will pay $50,000. I know the reaction here is "Dawn Staley sucks." I can tell you the reaction pretty much everywhere else that I've seen is "Why in the world would Sterk say what he said?" And you know what? I agree with that. You're the AD. You don't say what Sterk said on the radio. Now, I don't think it was worth a lawsuit and I don't think it's this major story that shows Jim Sterk is a moron or anything. But you don't say what he said--especially about a coach in your conference (the same conference that spends every second of every day talking about unity and how everyone loves each other where fans chant the conference's name at events that have nothing to do with the school for which they root)--in public. You just don't. Understand, I'm not saying what Sterk said happened didn't happen. I don't know why he'd make it up. If it happened, it's deplorable. Guess what? There's deplorable in every fan base. Including this one. But to say publicly that Dawn Staley promoted that kind of behavior? Nah. I don't know if it should have cost him 50 grand, but he shouldn't have said it.
5. The one moment I'll remember from the Eastern Conference finals involved LeBron James...but not in a good way. I don't have any desire to get into whether he's better than Michael Jordan or not. He's one of the top 2-3 players of all time and wherever you want to put him on that list, fine by me. But the moment I'll remember is this:
Jayson Tatum is quite good. That dunk reminded me of one of my all-time favorite lines in one of the most rewatchable and underrated movies of all time. After Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) puts about four balls in the water on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open (one of those moments in a sports movie that sports fans watch and say "Do people who don't love sports understand how completely unrealistic this is?") Rene Russo's character says to him: "In 20 years, no one will remember who won the U.S. Open. But they'll remember your 12 Roy!"
6. Conference USA has a hell of an experiment going. In an effort to help its league get more teams in the NCAA Tournament, the league is trying a really interesting scheduling idea. The upshot is that all 14 teams in the league will play 14 games. Those games will be a round robin and then each team plays its "travel partner" or "traditional rival" twice. That will leave four games on the league schedule for every team. What CUSA is going to do after 14 games is seed the league before it sets the schedule for the final four games of the year. The top five teams will then play each other for the final two weeks of the regular season. That will boost the strength of schedule of those five teams (realistically the only ones with any shot in the league to make the tournament). The reward for being in that group and playing a harder schedule is that those five teams will be the top five seeds in the league tournament. If you're one of the top five after 14 games, the worst you can be seeded in the conference tournament is fifth, even if you lose the final four games. It's creative. I'm interested in seeing how it goes. Smart approach to me. Worst case, you only get one team in the tournament...which has been the case for CUSA each of the last six seasons anyway.
2. So, now, on to the important stuff. Missouri hired a new softball coach. Her name is Larissa Anderson. She seems to have done a pretty good job at Hofstra. She might do a pretty good job here. She might not. I'm not going to pretend to have any idea. The only thing I've read about it that I object to is the idea that this will in any way serve as any sort of a referendum (or really even have an impact) on Jim Sterk's ability to do his job. Just as I said when he fired Ehren Earleywine (and, for the record, even if I think firing him was justified, the timing still makes no sense), no athletic director is judged on how he handled the softball program. It's just not a thing that happens.
3. Missouri finds out its NCAA baseball tournament fate at 11 a.m. on ESPNU. Most think they won't be in. The 16 regional hosts were announced last night. I don't have strong feelings about whether Mizzou should be in or not. If they are, I don't think anyone should have a major problem with it. They beat a lot of good teams this year (14 top 50 RPI wins last I looked). If they aren't, I also don't have a major problem with it. They went 12-19 in SEC games and missed some chances to take the decision out of the committee's hands. So whichever way it goes, I find it hard to have any outrage (real or manufactured) over it.
4. Back to the AD, Sterk settled his lawsuit with Dawn Staley on Friday. The University will pay $50,000. I know the reaction here is "Dawn Staley sucks." I can tell you the reaction pretty much everywhere else that I've seen is "Why in the world would Sterk say what he said?" And you know what? I agree with that. You're the AD. You don't say what Sterk said on the radio. Now, I don't think it was worth a lawsuit and I don't think it's this major story that shows Jim Sterk is a moron or anything. But you don't say what he said--especially about a coach in your conference (the same conference that spends every second of every day talking about unity and how everyone loves each other where fans chant the conference's name at events that have nothing to do with the school for which they root)--in public. You just don't. Understand, I'm not saying what Sterk said happened didn't happen. I don't know why he'd make it up. If it happened, it's deplorable. Guess what? There's deplorable in every fan base. Including this one. But to say publicly that Dawn Staley promoted that kind of behavior? Nah. I don't know if it should have cost him 50 grand, but he shouldn't have said it.
5. The one moment I'll remember from the Eastern Conference finals involved LeBron James...but not in a good way. I don't have any desire to get into whether he's better than Michael Jordan or not. He's one of the top 2-3 players of all time and wherever you want to put him on that list, fine by me. But the moment I'll remember is this:
Jayson Tatum is quite good. That dunk reminded me of one of my all-time favorite lines in one of the most rewatchable and underrated movies of all time. After Roy McAvoy (Kevin Costner) puts about four balls in the water on the 72nd hole of the U.S. Open (one of those moments in a sports movie that sports fans watch and say "Do people who don't love sports understand how completely unrealistic this is?") Rene Russo's character says to him: "In 20 years, no one will remember who won the U.S. Open. But they'll remember your 12 Roy!"
6. Conference USA has a hell of an experiment going. In an effort to help its league get more teams in the NCAA Tournament, the league is trying a really interesting scheduling idea. The upshot is that all 14 teams in the league will play 14 games. Those games will be a round robin and then each team plays its "travel partner" or "traditional rival" twice. That will leave four games on the league schedule for every team. What CUSA is going to do after 14 games is seed the league before it sets the schedule for the final four games of the year. The top five teams will then play each other for the final two weeks of the regular season. That will boost the strength of schedule of those five teams (realistically the only ones with any shot in the league to make the tournament). The reward for being in that group and playing a harder schedule is that those five teams will be the top five seeds in the league tournament. If you're one of the top five after 14 games, the worst you can be seeded in the conference tournament is fifth, even if you lose the final four games. It's creative. I'm interested in seeing how it goes. Smart approach to me. Worst case, you only get one team in the tournament...which has been the case for CUSA each of the last six seasons anyway.
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