Author Archives: Kent Sterling

Indiana Basketball – Victor Oladipo Will Declare for NBA at 4p; Unsolicited Advice – Don’t Go

by Kent Sterling

Victor Oladipo should heed the great Thornton Mellon’s advice to graduates, “Don’t go!”

I get it. Leaving Indiana University early in exchange for $10-million is a decision I would have made with glee. When I was approved as a senior for a Sears Credit Card with a credit limit of $260, I threw a party. Telling a kid not to leave is lunacy.

But that’s what I’m doing anyway.

College is a cocoon for late blooming adults who enjoy soap operas, beer, and opining. There is nothing quite like it, and once it’s over, it’s over. That sense of belonging is long gone once we leave, and it does not return. Ever.

The friendships remain, but the daily interaction and feeling of shared misery and elation is forever lost. There is a joy to killing time is college that is taken for granted. Free time is fleeting once life starts, and for Indiana University guard Victor Oladipo, life is about the start.

The great Pauly Balst is famous for saying, “College is where I was most content.” People have written books about the wisdom of returning to a collegiate lifestyle where worries don’t exist. Don’t ring up debt, don’t spend more than you need to, and spend your days laughing. Sign me up.

Oladipo will announce that he plans to short circuit his contentment for the riches that come to those drafted in the top ten of the 2013 NBA Draft. That will take him away from Hoosier nation and to a city that hosts the team that might draft him.

I’ve seen mock drafts that have Oladipo going to Detroit at #5, and my question is whether Oladipo has ever been to Detroit. Millions of dollars can make anyplace livable, but Detroit is the city that Memphis makes fun of. But I digress.

Oladipo is a really interesting and centered guy. I have no doubt he is going to be a member of the minority of professional basketball players who take care of their money, so the financial argument that NBA riches are fleeting won’t fly, but the lifestyle available in Bloomington is so completely singular and positive that a lot of hard thought should be given to sticking around for another year.

There are two great reasons to stay, and 18,000 pretty ones.

First is the bond shared with those on your collegiate team. Those are friendships the likes of which he will never enjoy again. Pro ball is a business without any significant level of camaraderie. Teammates playing for their livelihood are less team oriented than Will Sheehey and Yogi Ferrell. Coaches are less mentors, and more taskmasters.

The second is that another freshman class gives Oladipo a chance to help take six adolescents and educating them about the Indiana Way. He could have a profound effect on those kids – something he could take pride in for years. As they become upperclassmen, they would share the same messages of sacrifice for the good of the team. Those six would also become future former teammates. There is nothing like looking into the eyes of those with whom you have shared a meaningful challenge.

College is wasted on students, and Oladipo will announce this afternoon that he is foregoing 25% of his experiences at Indiana University in exchange for a ton of cash – literally a ton of cash. He will do it with the same enthusiasm as I would have.

And he will regret it in 20 years, just as I would have.

Michigan Basketball – In Defeat, John Beilein Shows Humility and Class in Explaining Error

by Kent Sterling

John Beilein wasn’t just a coach last night – he was an example for his student-athletes and peers.

It doesn’t happen everyday, but there are still coaches out there who take responsibility for a mistake in a big moment of a huge game.

Michigan coach John Beilein stood up and publicly took a bullet. In doing so he hopefully set an example that other coaches and business leaders might follow.

During the final minute of last night’s loss, Michigan did not foul as quickly as they should have with five team fouls. They needed two to move Louisville into the bonus so the Cardinals would shoot, and perhaps miss foul shots giving Michigan a chance to cut into the lead.

He was asked about it in the postgame press conference, and here’s what he had to say:

“I thought we were in the one-and-one, so it’s a coaching error on my part. I thought we were in the one-and-one, and so I thought that foul was going to end up being… we were trying to foul the right guy – number ten. We wanted to foul him, so I was actually happy that ten was going to the foul line, and then I didn’t realize we (weren’t) in the one-and-one, so that falls right on me as a coach.”

Everything I have ever heard about Beilein is that he is a classy guy who can flat out coach. Throughout this tournament, he proved he is a very solid basketball coach, but during the press conference, he proved he is a great leader.

People spend a lot of time talking about the importance of admitting mistakes, but almost no one actually does it. Some tiptoe close to it, but then can’t help themselves in bringing the hint of an alibi to the party that negates the initial good act and renders the admission moot.

Beilein’s behavior shows the character of a man who doesn’t simply teach the game, but provides an excellent example to those players and students that he is committed to educating.

He could have said that there was miscommunication, and the players didn’t completely understand his message. I’ve heard lots of coaches go that route. Beilein sacked up, and gave the University of Michigan something to be proud of after a tough loss.

Ten Reasons Why Indiana Will Win the 2014 NCAA Tournament

by Kent Sterling

When Indiana cuts down the nets in Cowboys Stadium in a year, it will be because Yogi Ferrell is the leader who got the Hoosiers there.

I’m calling it right now. Indiana will win. Yesterday, I picked Louisville to win by six. What happened? Louisville won by six. I’m on a roll, and this top ten is an effort to strike while the iron is hot.

10 – Indiana won their last two titles in 1981 and 1987. Prior to last night, Louisville won their two previous titles in 1980 and 1986. Lousiville’s titles seem to precede Indiana’s by one year. That math is easy. Louisville in 2013 means Indiana in 2014.

9 – The Hoosiers have the #3 freshman class ready to report for duty, and while the players on their way out of Cook Hall were instrumental in bringing Indiana back into the national conversation, the new blood is dynamic as any class in my excellent memory. Noah Vonleh, Troy Williams, and Stanford Robinson are coming to Bloomington ready to earn minutes and wins. Luke Fischer, Collin Hartman, and Devin Davis are long and skilled.

8 – Yogi Ferrell gets the keys to the car this season as a sophomore. On a team with a bunch of upperclassmen, Ferrell deferred to more established leaders. While that was the right thing to do for the benefit of the team, it negated one of his greatest assets – leadership. Not to continue the unfair comparison between Ferrell and hall of famer Isiah Thomas, but Bob Knight was smart enough to let Thomas run the offense halfway through the 1981 championship season. We’ll see if Tom Crean has the same faith in Ferrell.

7 – The players on the 1975, and 1980 Indiana teams thought they had a great chance to win the NCAA Tournament, only to win it the next year. The 1986 season was the “Season on the Brink.” The 2012 season was supposed to see the coronation of Indiana’s latest banner winning squad. Obviously, the 2013 team is destined to be something.

6 – College basketball is incredibly difficult to predict because it’s so difficult to project what freshmen will do, and what the vacuum created by departing future NBA stars will create. The question in #6 isn’t “Why Indiana?”, but “Why not Indiana?”

5 – The returning players will take the leap forward into roles that starters kept them from filling in 2012-2013. Will Sheehey can flat score the basketball, and is a clever rebounder and defender. Jeremy Hollowell was stunted by an inability to mesh with the more seasoned players his freshman year. Hanner Perea is incredibly athletic, and will develop the court awareness needed to contribute on both ends. Peter Jurkin’s foot will heal, and he will begin fulfilling the JaJuan Johnson-esque promise scouts predicted. Remy Abell will shoot it like he did early last season for the entire year. That’s a lot of hoping, and in my hope for Abell’s 2014, shooting 80% from beyond the arc is not likely, but the first practice for next season is more than six months away and that is when hope blossoms.

4 – There is still no guarantee that Victor Oladipo and Cody Zeller will declare for the 2013 NBA Draft. It’s a longshot that both will be back, but if they do, the starting five will be Ferrell, Oladipo, Sheehey, Vonleh, and Zeller. That is a preseason #1 lineup. If only Oladipo heads to the pros, the Hoosiers supplant him with Abell or Robinson. If both leave, Indiana coaches, players, managers, and fans need to take shifts working with Perea like the cast of “Back to School” did with Thornton Mellon as he studied for finals.

3 – Success occurs at completely random intervals, and nothing is more random than Indiana not going to the Finals four after one, 13, 20, 3, 5, 6, 5, and 10 years. When the Hoosiers make it in 2014, that will be a completely random 12 years after the last trip. It doesn’t escape me that #10 on this list would debunk our random success theory, but as long as both yield the most positive result, they can coexist happily.

2 – The Big Ten is long overdue for hoisting the hardware after losing in five straight championship games, dating back to Indiana’s loss to Maryland in the 2002 Championship.

1 – Tom Crean is going to be a better coach. He’s closing in on 50, and that is the age that leaders learn what behaviors cause the desired result. Crean will relax more, enjoy more, and stop trying to prove how good a coach he is. He’ll just be that great coach that is inside him.

2013 NCAA Tournament – Louisville Gets Trophy; How to Make 2014 Better

by Kent Sterling

Next year’s Final Four will be in Dallas, which means only one thing – ice storm!

Last night, Louisville did what they do. They won by finding a way to make a couple of two-minute stretches break the backs of their opponent. Luke Hancock knocked down shots, and Michigan didn’t have enough second half answers to get over the hump that got bigger with every possession.

As with all NCAA Tourneys, there were magnificent upsets that began when these college students were shooting in a gym as fourth graders because they hated losing their last game, and came to fruition because of the faith they had in each other.

Florida Gulf Coast played with a fearless joy, and became the first team to go to the Sweet 16 as a #15 seed. Their coach cashed in on the run with a multi-million dollar contract to take his leadership to USC. His players are back in classrooms wondering where they will get $30 to take their girlfriends to a movie.

There was a lot to revel in, and almost as much to hope for in the future. Sixty-three teams that began play on the first Thursday of the tournament went home ready to work hard to get another bite at the apple next year, and Louisville showed how much fun playing the game with deliberate mania can be.

Rick Pitino showed that being a partner on the ride is better leadership than the tight-fisted micromanagement other coaches showed.

There is a lot that can be done to improve this event, and while I know most of the below are pipe dreams that will never be acted upon, but dreams are where change starts, so I guess there is always hope.

I love ESPN, but for the love of God it’s time for Digger Phelps to move on. The first thing a coach must do to succeed is to outcoach the fans, and the first thing an analyst must do is out-analyze them. Digger is a victim of bad casting by being paired with an incredibly well-prepared sharp guy like Jay Bilas. Phelps not only appears to be a dolt because Bilas is really good, but because while watching, viewers believe they know more about the game than he does.
CBS needs to stop prodding Jim Nantz to be energetic. He is who he is – broadcasting’s answer of Bill Lumbergh in “Office Space”. He is milquetoast personified, and that’s okay. His job is to keep the show moving and set the table for Clark Kellogg and Steve Kerr. The “Hello, friends” schtick is tired, but not offensive enough to cause viewers to opt out. If Nantz continues to evolve into a hyper-emotive personality, he will alienate and – more importantly – worry viewers. Yelling platitudes and grinning broadly is not Nantz’s game, and he should back off the throttle.
Limiting timeouts would help the broadcasts move with better pace, and keep the coaches from taking the game out of the players’ hands. Coaches trying to be the stars of the games is tiresome, and trimming timeouts from five each to three will help.
The block/charge call is being hammered by people who know a whole lot about basketball. I don’t understand what is so screwy about it. If the offensive player creates contact with a player in correct defensive position, it’s a charge. If the defensive player hasn’t established position, it’s a block. I’m good with that. Officials in last night’s game missed an obvious goaltend, an obvious kicked ball, and allowed a pass to a player who hadn’t yet established both feet inbounds. Changing the charge/block should be done with care. The potential for unintended consequences by altering rules are significant.
Get rid of replay. No offense to either Michigan or Louisville, but no matter who won that game, the sun was going to come up today, and for every disappointed gambler, there is always an ecstatic gambler. It’s a zero sum game. Stopping the game to check for flagrant fouls and minor clock issues is a bad use of technology. Try like hell to get the call right at the time, and trust that close is good enough. If you have to screw around with replay, get it done as quickly as we know the correct call at home.
The relentless fouling at the end of games makes the final minute or two of games incredibly difficult to watch, but the alternative would be worse. When a team’s only way back into a game is fouling, the consequence of taking that option away (or making the penalty for a foul so onerous that fouling no longer makes sense) would be to end the game. That would make the finish more certain/less dramatic, and that’s bad for fan interest.
Move the field back to 64 teams. Call the games played on the first Tuesday and Wednesday what you like, but they are meaningless and unnecessary contrivances designed only to expand the inventory networks have to sell. The bracket is the key to the broad popularity of March Madness, and the play-in games make it impossible to fill out a bracket with any precision until Thursday morning. This is a pipe dream as CBS and Turner run things, and contracting the number of events available for sale is simply not what networks do.

The NCAA Tournament is now and has always been the most consistent dramatic event on the sports calendar, and tweaking it should only be done with great care. Most of the needed changes are cosmetic, and I’m not holding my breath because the motivation for all things in media is cash. None of what I want will make anyone an extra dime. Money wins.

Ernie Banks Interview on WGN Perplexes with Bizarre Factual Errors

by Kent Sterling

Always an intertaining interview, but now for all the wrong reasons.

Thank God for DVR technology. Otherwise, I never could have kept up with the spate of simple autobiographical blunders that peppered an uncomfortable interview with Len Kasper and Jim Deshaies in the top of the seventh prior to Mr. Cub singing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” during today’s home opening 7-4 loss.

Don’t get me wrong – I love Ernie Banks. He was the first professional athlete I cared about, even though he was at the very end of his career when I watched him flip those powerful wrists. During a time when race relations prompted riots, Ernie smiled and enjoyed his job.

He’s still smiling, but I wasn’t as the interview became odd. And it’s not like Ernie just started to get foggy. WGN never should have spoken to the poor guy, regardless of his iconic status at Wrigley Field.

Here are some of the odder recollections:

Oddly, Ernie hijacked the interview from the first moment to recall that Deshaies played college basketball. Deshaies said that he did not play college basketball. Ernie said that he believed Deshaies went to Syracuse. No, Deshaies said, he went to Lemoyne. Then Ernie turned to Len, and correctly recalled that he went to Marquette, and then said they produced only one great player, “David Wade.”

It got worse.

Len: “How old were you when you came here for the first time?”

Ernie: “I was 19 years old. I looked out here and was singing the song by Shirley MacLaine, ‘Is that All There Is’.”

Oh boy. Twenty one words, and nearly as many errors. Ernie was born on January 31, 1931. His first game at Wrigley Field was September 17, 1953. That would make him 22 for his debut. “Is That All There Is?” was first recorded in 1968, but the rendition that was a hit was sung by Peggy Lee, not MacLaine, in 1969 – a full 16 years after Banks believed he sang the song.

Ernie: “…when Bob Pappas pitched his no-hitter”

Yes, old Bob Pappas. Maybe they called Milt Pappas “Bob” in the clubhouse?

Ernie: “I came here in 1954.”

Yeah, no. 1953. If you had come to Wrigley in 1954, he would have been another year deficient in his assessment of being at Wrigley for the first time when he was 19.

Normally, Len continues with the interview to the end of the half inning, but Ernie was cut a little bit short as the situation started to spin into interview chaos.

WGN never should have put the poor guy on.

Hoosier Rising – DVD Chronicles Indiana Basketball Tradition at Its Best

by Kent Sterling

Tonight two teams other than Indiana University will play for the National Championship, but this afternoon was a perfect time to relive some of the moments and people who have made the Indiana Basketball program unique in its purity and success.

There was a time when March came with an air of certainty that good things were in store. This DVD clears the cobwebs of the memory and reminds fans what makes Indiana special.

I remember the championship games from 1976, 1981, and 1987 like they were yesterday, and so do the people in the video who discusses the players.

The 1976 game was played exactly six days prior to me moving with my family from Chicago to southern Indiana, but we watched the Hoosiers throttle Michigan 86-68. That was the last game I watched without being immersed in the culture of college basketball. In Chicago, college basketball was so far down the list of favorite sports to watch on TV that you couldn’t see it. In New Albany, college basketball was an easy #1, and the championship for May, Buckner, and Benson was a great primer.

In 1981, I was a freshman at Indiana, and when the Hoosiers broke the game open with a great second half against North Carolina, the campus exploded with joy and a swath of destruction from Showalter Fountain to the Monroe County Courthouse that would have made Civil War General William Sherman blush. Anything that could be knocked over was, and the fish from the fountain were recovered quickly after being dismantled and deposited all over campus.

In 1987, I watched alone in an apartment in Harrisburg, Illinois, where I had taken a job after graduation at WSIL-TV as a news photographer. Keith Smart’s jumper, and Syracuse’s lack of presence of mind to call a timeout set off a celebration in that dump that was as ridiculous as it was joyous.

Everyone has their own memories of those wonderful nights, as well as the disappointments of 1975, 1993 and 2002 are discussed at length as well.

The real fun is remembering how very special the program was from Bob Knight’s arrival until the mid-1990s. Indiana Basketball meant something. What it stood for was special. The lunkheads that allow Knight’s hubris and lack of couth to define his 29 years in Bloomington won’t understand what it was like to be a fan of both the results and the culture of Indiana Basketball.

All that moral highground was destroyed during a two-year reign of terror authored by Kelvin Sampson and Rob Senderoff. That important era is given a frank discussion, as is the rebuild by Tom Crean.

The DVD can be purchased at IU Bookstores and online at www.traditionofsports.com, and a big part of the presentation is the listing of the top ten teams in Hoosier history, as well as the top 25 players. The difficulty is that very few of those evaluating the players ever saw guys like Don Schlundt, Walt Bellamy, or Jimmy Rayl play.

That aside, I have no quarrel with the rankings. There have been so many wonderful players at Indiana, that it’s impossible to screw up completely. It’s not like they threw Steve Bouchie in at #6 or anything like that.

Basketball is special in Indiana – special in a way that people who have never lived in Indiana can’t understand. It’s like what gymnastics is to Romania, distance running is to Kenya, and marrying cousins is to Kentuckians. Basketball defines Indiana to many, both inside and outside the state, and that history is covered at the top of the video.

After two trips to the Sweet 16, Indiana fans want another chapter of greatness so the DVD will need an update. After 26 years since the last championship, and 11 since a Final Four, it’s long overdue.

For right now though, I’ll settle for kids going to IU because of criteria that don’t include cash paid to relatives, student-athletes going to class and getting their degrees, and playing a style of basketball that best represents the history of Indiana Basketball.

Until next year, this DVD will serve as a reminder of what once was, and what may be again.

As tonight, as we recall fondly the 1981 and 1987 championships, let’s remember that both immediately followed a Louisville NCAA title.

Who Is Kent Sterling, and What Is He Going to Do?

There was a time when I thought education ended with graduating from college. Now I’m sure it doesn’t begin until long after. Learning about life requires living life, and there isn’t a professor who can help any of us with that.

I’m not a huge fan of writing about myself, but every once in a while I wander into the serendipity of putting word together in the right order to illuminate – at least for myself – what my life is about. So occasionally I indulge in a bit of self-immersion in the hopes that I come to a better understanding of how my decisions impact others.

A few weeks ago, I left a good job in radio. I was the program director of one of the top sportstalk stations in America. It required that I live in St. Louis while my wife and son live in Indianapolis. My wife made the drive week after week to and from St. Louis, so we could be together Thursday night through Monday morning. At first, it was great. Every weekend was like a mini-vacation.

The plan was for us to sell our house, and for Julie to move to St. Louis. The house didn’t sell for the price we needed to make the move worthwhile, and we shelved the whole relocation. At that point, life became less joyful. Without light at the end of the tunnel, the routine became drudgery.

Julie told me in February that she had prayed I would find a way home, so I did. There are two ways to respond to a revelation like that. One is to move home. The other is not to. My advice to husbands is to listen to wives’ prayers.

So what happens now that I’m back in Indianapolis? One of the surprises in moving back is how many more people I know and like than I remembered. Out of sight, out of mind works in both directions, and frankly I didn’t want to be one of those guys who tries to hang on in his old hometown while spending all his time in the new one.

I’ve done that before, and while it feels good initially, it makes the transition to the new place more protracted and weird than necessary. When my family moved to New Albany, Indiana, from Lake Bluff, Illinois, I was one miserable eighth grader. I saved quarters, so I could call my old school’s pay phone between classes. It was $2.05 for three minutes, and they were the highlight of my week. Eventually, I became comfortable in New Albany, but for awhile, I was the weirdo who was alive only when he was on the phone.

Better to just move on, so that’s what I did. In addition to being a hell of a lot better prepared to deal with adversity now than as a 14-year-old, Julie’s visits made huddling in a hotel room and then an apartment easier.

Now it’s time to move on again – at least professionally. I hope to always maintain the friendships I made in St. Louis because those are some of the best people I’ve met. One thing I’ve learned about life is that you don’t turn away from really good people. I haven’t always been that smart. I have a couple of friends that I don’t communicate with nearly enough – one from grade school I haven’t talked to in 30 years. What a disgrace.

So now that I’m back as a part of the family that has given my life purpose and validation, toward what end do I invest my efforts?

I used to live to make people laugh. That was great fun, and there was damn near nothing I wouldn’t do to get a laugh. I was especially keen on doing things that made me laugh, and it wasn’t always an exhibition of which I should be proud. There were several episodes at my 10-year high school reunion where people accosted me about comments I had made. I had no recollection of what most were talking about, but the message that words can cause lasting angst if not pain was understood.

There are still times when indulging in pointless acts are worthy, but overall what I value in others and myself is the decision to find the truth and tell it. The older I get, the more everything else pales in comparison to the importance of the truth. When I write, I try to get to the essence of something. When I talk, I want to represent a pure thought – that’s the goal at least.

The bullshit that regularly spews from the mouths of those in power offends me. When Dr. Laura was on WIBC, when I worked there, I hated her show. She was arrogant and judgmental advising people to avoid telling the truth if it would hurt someone. Christ, the truth is the truth, and the only truths worth tell are the difficult ones. To advise people against that represents everything that sucks in our society.

Arrogance is a miserably foolish and fear-based trait, and there is nothing I enjoy more than using whatever portal at my disposal the bring humility to the arrogant. Whatever I do is going to have a lot of that in it. Whether I’m writing or talking, the people who try to build themselves up while sacrificing the careers of others will be penalized to the extent I can.

The other thing I really enjoy is telling the stories of those who unflinchingly face adversity. If they overcome it, all the better, but those who stand up for what they believe when it’s tough are worth writing and talking about. The fear of adversity is paralytic and cheats people out of the purpose of life, which is to learn as much as we can, and to pass those lessons along to the following generations, so they can move beyond our level of wisdom.

People work like hell to gather money without giving any thought to the wisdom that life used to be all about. Not understanding or nurturing the character of yourself or others while amassing material wealth is so absolutely wasteful it defies all that we purport to be as spiritual members of a supposedly enlightened and fortunate society.

I want to tell the stories of those who live full and rich lives, and I also want to bring the consequence of transparency to those who don’t – or at least use them as examples of the people who just don’t get it.

If I can live up to those two missions, I’m going to sleep well knowing that I’m at least making an effort. If at the same time I can make myself laugh, I’ll claim victory.

None of it has anything to do with money. We’re in okay shape financially, and that’s all I need. Trying to love what I can make money doing has gotten me here. Doing what I love and trying to make money at it will take me to whatever is next.

Managing the programming for great radio stations was fun, but now I’m focused on telling the stories that matter to me.

With my family intact, I have nothing to lose, and nothing to lose is a powerful place to be.

Chicago Cubs Opening Day – They Are Who We Thought They Would Be

by Kent Sterling

Wrigley Field, where the outside always looks better than what’s on the field.

It sucks that Major League Baseball mandated that the Cubs opened the 2013 season on the road because Cubs fans will not get to see a .500 team at Wrigley Field for another entire year.

The Cubs are terrible, and they know it. There are three potentially dynamic players on their roster in Jeff Samardzija, Anthony Rizzo, and Starlin Castro, although my assessment of Castro is different. The rest of the roster is a historically awful conglomeration of middling-and-worse one or two tool players.

This roster has no chance at all to win more than they lose. The starting rotation is the strength of the team, but ranks no better than third in the National League Central. The Cardinals and Reds, if they stay healthy, have outstanding talent. Even if the Cardinals lose one or two guys, they can plug in Trevor Rosenthal or Joe Kelly to fill the holes. The Reds have a weakness in the five hole in Mike Leake, but other that that are very solid, if not spectacular.

Cubs president Theo Epstein knows the score, and on ESPN’s Mike and Mike this morning isolated Samardzija, Castro, and Rizzo as cornerstones of the rebuilding project that may make the construction of the Taj Mahal look quick.

There is something a little more humane in this methodology in that even on Opening Day, there is no hope. The Cubs have been occasionally cruel in building hope, and then crushing fans with a dizzying collapse.

The first year I can remember as a Cubs fan was 1968, and at the end of May, they climbed to within a game-and-a-half. I can still remember seeing the Cubs listed first in the May 31st edition of the Sun-Times. I jumped up and down look a loon. That was that. They went 10-18 in June. 1969 is well known among even passive sports fans for the Cubs collapse. The nosedive in 1977 is less memorable, but stunning. The Cubs were 47-22 on June 28th, and I can still hear broadcaster Lou Boudreau say, “Once you hit 25 games over .500, it’s impossible to fall below even money.” My response was that the comment reflected a cynicism I didn’t much care for.

The Cubs were up 8 1/2 games on that beautiful June 28th on the northside of Chicago. They lost eight of their last nine that year to drop to an even money 81-81, good for fourth place in the NL East, 20 games back of the Phillies.

There were other celebrated messes in 1984, 1989, 1998, and of course the Bartman debacle of 2003 that started a still active nine-game postseason losing streak.

There will be no collapse to mark the tenth anniversary of the Bartman incident. It will pass with the Cubs losing early and often on their way to an equally dour 2014 before the hoped for renaissance of 2015 when the minor league system Epstein and GM Jed Hoyer are creating finally sends talent to Wrigley.

For now, the marquee outside Wrigley Field is dressed with giant photos of 12 current cubs – Matt Garza (on the DL since July, 2012 and not expected back until May at the earliest), Castro, Samardzija, James Russell (hey, he was 7-1 last year), Darwin Barney (his fielding is so good and bat so bad, he should hit with his glove too – also on the DL), Scott Feldman (sports a 5+ ERA in four of the last six seasons), Rizzo (born of the first anniversary of the first game played at Wrigley under the lights), firestarter Carlos Marmol (who has yielded a WHIP of 4.8 in 1 2/3 innings – including six hits, two home runs, two walks, one hit batsman, and five earned runs), $18-million per year mess Alfonso Soriano, reliever Kyuji Fujikawa (sporting a wonderful 11.57 ERA), professional inning eater Edwin Jackson (overpaid by $16-million with his four year, $52 million contract), and David DeJesus, who despite his current batting average of .111, I like as a ballplayer.

Above the marquee is a picture of fans cheering, and the word “COMMITTED” to its right. That about sums it up. Paying the ticket prices the Ricketts Family believes are fair to watch a team that was assembled with the express purpose – the admitted purpose – of not competing is insane.

The world is more fun for Cubs fans when they have a sporting chance to be competitive, but that won’t be the case for multiple seasons – by Epstein’s own admission.

The Ricketts and their resident “genius” Crane Kenney will continue to whore out the only class act in the organization – the building that houses this miserable excuse for a team, and fans will pay to visit what has become a mausoleum of memories. It’s shameful.

My hope for the Cubs in 2013 is that they have to write some gigantic checks to alderman to be allowed to erect video screens in left and right field. Make them pay an unfair tariff so they know what the fans feel like.

2013 NCAA Championship Game – I’ll Take Louisville Over Michigan

by Kent Sterling

Good guys, good sports, and John Beilein and Rick Pitino will coach a good game tonight.

After two-and-a-half weeks of craziness, the matchup between Louisville and Michigan is hardly an upset. Louisville was the overall top seed, and Michigan was a millimeter away from a putback dropping to tie Indiana for the regular season Ben Ten Championship.

Tonight at 9:23p, the Cardinals and Wolverines will play 40 minutes of basketball to decide a winner of the most viewer friendly championship event in sports.

Despite the late start time – an attempt to engage the west coast population, while ignoring the school bound kids in the east aside – the game is a sexy and fun matchup between two teams with a lot to like.

Michigan has the National Player of the Year in Trey Burke and the best freshman in the tournament in Mitch McGary. Louisville counters with superb point guard Peyton Siva and the mercurial Russ Smith, who can score – or not – depending upon whether he gets hot.

Key to the Championship

The key to the game for Michigan is to limit the inevitable second half Louisville run to 8-2, or something that doesn’t even appear to be a run.

Louisville will turn up the energy on their press, and try to generate transition offense with their defense. If Michigan can attack that press successfully to create their own offense, they win. Forget about the McGary (17 points/12 rebounds per game in the tournament) vs. Gorgui Dieng matchup. That will be important only during the part of the game that won’t determine the winner.

Conversely, for Louisville to win, the Michigan backcourt must turn the ball over when the Cardinals decide it’s time to win the game. If they are able to go on a 12-2 run or better, Louisville wins.

This is a 40-minute game, but it will be decided during a five-minute period during the middle part of the second half.

“Guard Play Wins in March”

For years and years and years, the prevailing media wisdom has been to mimic those who say that the NCAA Tournament is determined by the strength of teams guards, and this year won’t help those who will try to contradict that.

Louisville’s backcourt of Siva and Smith, and wings Luke Hancock and Wayne Blackshear, along with Burke and Tim Hardaway Jr. have been excellent. McGary has also been outstanding, and maybe the best player in the tourney to this point, but without a special backcourt, it would seem advancing to win five straight is dependent upon great guards.

Coaches

The match up of coaches is interesting as well. Louisville’s Rick Pitino has been phenomenal everywhere he’s gone, and tonight will try to become the first coach in tournament history to lead two school to titles. It’s amazing that no one has to this point. Pitino is one of the best coaches in basketball, and what I’ve enjoyed so much about him this season is that it seems he has evolved as many do as they get older to understand the most important thin in coaching is the relationship developed with the kids.

John Beilein is just a flat-out great coach. He’s quiet and unassuming, which I also like. The game is not about him. He’s not in any performance mode on the sidelines. He prepares, processes, and adjusts. When Michigan needed an answer for the Syracuse 2-3 zone, he told them to get the ball in the middle. They did, and the offense succeeded. Go figure.

Nauseating Media Storyline

There is also the made for CBS storyline of the grotesque injury to Kevin Ware that serves to galvanize the media’s attention, as though the Cardinals have been better because they lost the services of a hell of a good player, which of course is ludicrous.

I hate that Ware suffered the injury, but my pity has turned to annoyance as CBS has turned his presence on the sideline into an idiotic and irrelevant subplot designed to pluck the heart strings of female fans.

There appears to be a chapter in the CBS Playbook that mandates the use of some kid’s misery to place the events it broadcasts in some mythical context that defies logic.

I hate that, although I would probably do exactly the same thing if I were in charge.

Two Best Teams Play Tonight

As is not always the case, the two best teams made it through the gauntlet of five games to make it to the championship. The selection committee didn’t screw too much up, but the seeding of Michigan was one of them. They have everything needed to win the game tonight.

The game will be won or lost during the stretch where Louisville tries to assert its frenetic dominance. If Michigan overcomes it, they win their first championship since 1989. If not, Louisville wins their third, joining the 1980 and 1986 teams of Denny Crum.

Prediction

I believe Louisville will blitzkrieg Michigan from the 13-minute mark of the second half to the under eight TV timeout to build a lead that Michigan will not be able to overcome. Louisville wins 68-62.

2013 Final Four Saturday – Let’s Get Back to Basketball

by Kent Sterling

The best action in college hoops has been off the court with some firings, hirings, and the whole Rutgers mess, but today let’s hope that the backroom dealmaking and administrative stupidity can take a back seat to what really matters – the kids on the floor who are living their dreams.

The losers this week were the Rutgers players, who are now saddled with being a part of a program in ruin. It was no playground before with five and six wins in the Big East during each of Mike Rice’s three seasons, but because of the fallout from the video showing Rice shoving and throwing basketballs at players, it will take years for them to be respectable again.

The NCAA doesn’t need to cripple the Scarlet Knights program, the buffoons running the school have done that for them. Former athletic director Tim Pernetti is a winner as he will receive $1,200,000 to pack a box and keep his mouth shut. He may say something, but it won’t be the part of the truth Barchi wants to keep in house. People don’t payoff an outgoing employee out of compassion.

When people moan about the media, and how they should be muzzled, usually the cause has nothing to do with sports, but the Rutgers story is a great example of why a free press is so vital to what we do. The truth has no place in the operation of governments, universities, corporations, or any entity run by self-important bureaucrats. Without ESPN doing the work necessary to gain access to the videotape, this story would never have seen the light of day, and Rice would still be bullying a bunch of college students.

But, again, today is about hoops, and the two battles to earn a spot in Monday night’s championship game. The first game will pit the frenetic and inspired Louisville Cardinals against the upset minded Wichita State Shockers, who are aptly named because anyone who says they expected Wichita State to punch their ticket to the Big Dance is lying. Louisville is expected to run Wichita State out of the gym, and they probably will.

The thing Wichita has going for it is that for 40 weird minutes, anyone can ride a hot hand. It’s hard to fathom that a team that lost at home to Evansville five-and-a-half weeks ago on their coach’s 50th birthday can be in this position, but here they are ready to play the best team in the country.

Gregg Marshall has proven himself to be a hell of a good coach over the last 15 years, but before this tournament, his NCAA tourney record was 1-8. The evolution of Wichita State in Marshall’s six years there has been a study in consistent improvement. After his 11-20 record in Marshall’s first season, the Shockers have gone to the second round of the CBI, to a first round loss in the NIT, to an NIT Championship, to a first round loss in the NCAAs, and now to the Final Four.

Success is going to cost the university some cash. Even the boobs running athletic departments will have to accept that he’s a damn good coach. If you can name a single player for The Shockers, you’re way ahead of most college basketball fans, and Marshall has turned them into this year’s Cinderfellas.

The main event will pit Michigan’s multi-faceted offense and player of the year Trey Burke against Jim Boeheim’s vaunted 2-3 zone. I’ve picked against Syracuse in every round (even in the opener against Montana) because of my disdain for the zone. Men play man-to-man, and zone are for pussies. That said, I’m going with Syracuse today to try to switch the mojo, and because they are playing too well to lose. When the Orange decide they want to play, they are beasts, and I’m going to guess that they will be sufficiently motivated today.

There is an axiom in basketball that defense travels, and Syracuse is playing better defense than anyone this tournament – even in that dicked up 2-3.

It will be a nice story that in the last season of Big East basketball, two of its members will play in the championship. Both Syracuse and Louisville will slide into the ACC in the near future (Syracuse next year, Louisville in 2014-2015), but before that happens, the league every basketball fan but those in the east hates will roar one more time.

In the Big East Championship, Louisville used a 31-6 second half run to destroy the Orangemen. It will be an interesting rematch with an even bigger trophy on the line. Pitino vs. Boeheim – the only matchup I would rather see is Knight vs. Krzyzewski, but those days are long gone.

All that said, now that I called today’s results so emphatically, Wichita State and Michigan will probably win tonight.