Remember when I said this tournament lacked excitement and wasn’t up to typical March Madness standards?

Yea, me neither.

The basketball Gods were confused this year, and gave us April Madness instead of March Madness.

Final Four Saturday was incredible, and that is an understatement.

Wow.

The undercard was a heavyweight fight between two teams that were familiar to one another. Florida and Auburn played back in February, and the out come would be the same this time around. Florida outlasted Auburn to advance. It wasn’t easy, which has been the Gators M.O. during this tournament.

Down at halftime, the Gators quickly went on an 11-0 run to grab a second half lead. Then it was back and forth for the remainder of the game. The difference was pretty obvious. One team had Walter Clayton on their roster, while the other did not.

I have been saying for two months that Walter Clayton is the best player in the country. He spent the last three weeks proving me correct. He and the Gators would move on to the Championship Game.

The main event Saturday night looked like a one sided snooze fest for most of the night. Then all hell broke loose late in the game. Duke was solidly in control of this game for approximately 38 minutes of game action.

Here is a reminder.

 

Up 9 with 2:06. And lost.

How, you ask?

 

Even after the technical foul for reaching over the end line, it looked like Duke would win. Then they couldn’t inbound the ball, a common problem for many teams against the press. Sprinkle in some missed free throws and one very bad call.

 

I couldn’t tell you the last time Duke got a bum call at a crucial time. Is it possible that was karma rearing its ugly head?

The fact is Duke made just one field goal over the last 10:30. One. In need of one shining moment in the last few seconds, all everything Cooper Flagg came up short as he had earlier in the season. See, Duke played in only a few close games and lost all of them. Flagg couldn’t come up big in any of those instances. The ACC was terrible this year and Duke wasn’t in any close games for the past two months, aside from the Clemson loss.

It was the reason I didn’t pick Duke to win it all. They never played anyone. Head coach Jon Scheyer said so much, acknowledging that he didn’t give them enough in a situation his players weren’t used to.

As for Houston, it was a typically ugly, keep grinding type of game. They never quit. Kelvin Sampson won’t allow it. Still, they needed some help from Duke. When they go that help, the Cougars were ready to capitalize. Bad free throw shooters made free throws, inbounds passes were stolen, and big rebounds were corralled and turned into points.

It was something else.

Houston moved on to Monday. Duke game its haters exactly what they yearn for.

 

That brought us to Monday night.

Florida.

Houston.

Wow again.

It was nothing new for either team. For 30 minutes Houston dominated by controlling pace, playing stifling defense, and frustrating Florida.

For Florida it was another game with a double digit deficit in the second half. They never flinch, and slowly but surely they crawled back into it. Walter Clayton was muzzled all night long, but he kept playing. He got some buckets, got to the foul line, but most importantly played great defense.

It went back and forth in the last three minutes. Florida finally wrestled a two point lead with 19 seconds. Houston would get one last shot at a win or at least sending the game to overtime.

 

I don’t understand not going to the basket there. I don’t understand waiting until the last couple seconds to get a shot. Kelvin Sampson is a master motivator. He creates a culture and wants a certain type of player. X’s and O’s are not his strong suit. J’Wan Roberts never got the ball in the post in the last few minutes. That is inexcusable. Houston had three possessions inside of a minute to play and never got a shot off. Three turnovers. It was great defense by Florida, but poor offense from Houston. And it cost them.

The three games this weekend were tremendous. The three Final Four games saw the team that was trailing at the under four timeout win each time. Florida became the first team to beat Houston without scoring over 70 points.

 I thought Florida was the best team in the country for at least two months. I am told this is the time to remind everyone that this guy is back, and he is going to let everyone know about it.

The Two Cent Cracked Crystal Ball(#TCCCB) and I had a Florida over Houston final. Our preseason picks weren’t so hot, but we led you to the money with our bracket.

A less than stellar tournament was turned into one of the most memorable Final Fours in recent memory. And let’s face it, the only thing better than March Madness is April Madness. That and picking winners.

Two Cent Takes(Masters Edition)

~The music, the azaleas, those perfect greens and fairways, the magnolias, Amen Corner. The Masters means spring is officially here and the golf season can start being taken seriously.

~Let’s see if Jim Nantz still has a voice after cheering on his Houston Cougars all weekend.

~Frank Nobilo will do just fine in the 16th tower, but boy will I miss hearing Verne Lundquist.

~Can the American players rise up to challenge the European players? American players have struggled to reach the winner’s circle this year.

~Who will win?

  • Statistically speaking, Colin Morikawa is hitting the ball the best tee to green.
  • Can Rory finally win a green jacket?
  • Scottie Scheffler is the favorite at 4-1.
  • John Rahm has the best odds of LIV players at 13-1.

My pick to win is Ludvig Aberg at 20-1. Aberg was runner up last year and is going to win many majors. He is the smoothest player on tour. He doesn’t get rattled and has proven he can play well at Augusta.

If you are looking for a long shot, I would direct you to 55-1 Will Zalatoris. Zalatoris has finished top ten at Augusta all four times he has played there.

~It is Masters week which means Chris Vernon is prepping for his now famous Master’s updates. They are some of the most creative and funny things you will see all year.

 

To hold you over until Thursday, here is one from last year.

 

The Weekly Shiny Penny

In the throws of victory, and not just any victory but a national championship, Walter Clayton still showed the class to console Emanuel Sharp. Class is always cool.

 


A Penny For My Final Thought…

It is bad enough Pittsburgh Pirates ownership and management can’t run a successful baseball team, but they stink at public relations, too.

Opening day weekend turned into a public relations nightmare.

With boos chorusing down upon manager Derek Shelton when he was introduced to chants of “Sell the Team” ringing forth from the far too tolerant patrons that chose to support the crappy product on the field to Yankees broadcasters hammering Pirates ownership, this was not exactly five star opening day.

Meanwhile, while his team was kicking the ball around en route to another loss faithful owner Bob Nutting spoke in glowing terms. About himself.

Nutting spoke of how important it was to win and how he absolutely has provided the resources for his team to win. 

 

Hmm.

If winning is important then:

  • Why is Endy Rodriguez playing first base?
  • Why is Adam Frazier starting at second base?
  • Why is Adam Frazier on the roster?
  • Why is Tommy Pham the starting left fielder?
  • Why is there nobody in the bullpen that can, you know, actually get people out?
  • Why is Isaiah Kiner-Falefa playing shortstop?
  • Why is Ben Cherington still employed?
  • Why is Derek Shelton still employed?

From bottom to top, Derek Shelton should have been fired at the least after last season. His teams always, and I do mean always, lack discipline and fundamentals. He mishandles the pitchers regularly. Six years is far too long considering this stat.

Ben Cherington is also in year six and I would challenge you to name the best player in Pittsburgh that is there because of Cherington. I’ll save you the trouble. Obviously Paul Skenes, whom Cherington lucked into with the draft lottery. Other than that, it would have to be catcher Joey Bart and pitcher Bailey Falter. Neither are exactly all star caliber. That’s it. Six years. It is now being hinted at that Cherington spent more money on coaches and other personnel than he did players. Cherington should have been gone last year at the latest.

All the other bullet points can be combined. Other than Endy Rodriguez, who is playing out of position, the rest are just embarrassing. All dumpster dive acquisitions, in which Cherington specializes.

This is focusing on winning? These are resources that promote winning? Nutting says these things with a straight face.

Then on Sunday, as the Yankees scored three runs to tie the game in the ninth inning, if I would have closed my eyes I would have assumed the game was being played in Yankee Stadium. If the Pirates continue on their current trajectory, this will be the case all summer. More opposing team fans than Pirates fans.

Finally, over the weekend people noticed that the Roberto Clemente 21 sign on the right field wall had been replaced by a Surfside advertisement.

 

Was this a huge deal? Not to most, although Roberto Clemente, Jr. released a negative statement towards the team. He is a bit of a pain, in fairness. Still, others noticed and it became a story. Another bad publicity story.

This issue has been rectified, and team president Travis Williams issued an apology. I didn’t even know he was still alive. Anyway, the cat was already out of the bag.

The thing is this is standard practice for the Pirates. Remember the other year when they ran out of hot dog buns on dollar dog night?

Every other team makes fun of the Pirates. Tampa Bay’s broadcast showed a graphic with all the pitchers that left Pittsburgh and went on to have success elsewhere.

The team stinks. The owner is an idiot and either a bold face liar or delusional. The people under him are incompetent. To top it off, even though the organization has great history and they play in one of the best parks in MLB they can’t manage good public relations.

Pick your adjective. Inept, dysfunctional, laughingstock.

The Pittsburgh Pirates just can’t get out of their own way.

Just my two cents…