Sunday, April 6, 2008

Sunday Stories

Pete Thamel of The New York Times writes about William Wesley...never heard of him?...then you should read about this powerful man in sports... "In recent years, he has extended a puzzling and powerful reach throughout sports. A confidant of Michael Jordan, a close friend of James and a sideline presence from summer basketball games to the N.B.A. finals to the Super Bowl, Wesley has gained power through his connections. He has the ear of N.B.A. owners and junior high phenoms alike. He had strong enough ties in the music and sports worlds to introduce James and Jay-Z." ...
  • Pete Thamel


  • Harvey Araton of The New York Times writes why he would rather cover the Women's Final Four instead of the Men's... "Here I am at another Women’s Final Four, an event I have been covering, it seems, since the days of six-on-six, when defensive players were not allowed to play offense, and vice versa, or just before Pat Summitt and Geno Auriemma met for lunch to reinvent the sport." ...
  • Harvey Araton


  • Mike Lupica of The New York Daily News writes how Memphis stud Derrick Rose would look good in a Knicks uniform... "The shot that really ended it, the shot made by a player who could begin to change everything at Madison Square Garden if the Knicks could ever get him, came with a little over three minutes left at the Alamadome. Derrick Rose, the best player in this game against UCLA and probably the best in the country, this year's freshman guard at the Final Four, came hard at the basket one last time and then put up this shot with all this playground spin on it and of course it went in and now Memphis was ahead by 11." ...
  • Mike Lupica


  • John "Junior" Feinstein of the Washington Post writes about how this year's freshmen in basketball will soon be wearing an NBA uniform next season... "It would be wonderful if we could watch Rose and Love for another three years at this level, not to mention players such as Indiana's Eric Gordon, Southern Cal's O.J. Mayo and Kansas State's Michael Beasley -- all freshmen who almost undoubtedly will be NBA rookies this fall. It would be great to get to know them better as people, to watch them grow and mature and become comfortable as public figures. By the time Grant Hill graduated from Duke in 1994 after playing in three Final Fours, most college basketball fans felt as if he was an adopted son. But today's reality is that no one wants to wait to get rich anymore than anyone wants to wait for a dial-up Internet connection." ...
  • John Feinstein


  • Ed Hardin of the Greensboro News-Record writes how North Carolina got ambushed in Saturday's semi-final game... "With a howling Kansas mob awaiting, the top-ranked Tar Heels walked into an ambush at the Alamodome that will go down in Carolina history as one of the greatest defeats ever. Kansas ran up a 28-point lead in the first half, withstood a UNC comeback in the second, then ran away for a stunning 84-66 victory before wild-eyed Kansas fans." ...
  • Ed Hardin


  • Jason Whitlock of the Kansas City Star writes that Kansas' whoopin of Roy Williams made many Jayhawks fans happy... "The Kansas Jayhawks served Roy Williams revenge steaming hot, blazing to a 28-point advantage to open their Final Four semifinal showdown and settling their emotional divorce from Williams on terms KU fans can live with." ...
  • Jason Whitlock


  • Jeffrey Flanagan of The Kansas Star writes how CBS' Jim Nantz is dealing with his father's illness... "Nantz said it feels OK these days to discuss his father’s illness, so much so that Nantz wrote a memoir Always By My Side, which looks at not only his broadcasting career but the struggles inherent in coping with someone with Alzheimer’s. The book comes out in early May." ...
  • Jeffrey Flanagan


  • Scott Cacciola of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes how Memphis' Chris Douglas-Roberts is tired of people saying the Tigers are not that good... "All season, the University of Memphis has been fueled by what the team's players and coaches describe as disrespect, by doubters, by people who have no idea what the Tigers do, or how they do it, or why. But during the Tigers' romp through the NCAA Tournament, this team is turning skeptics into believers by making roadkill of opponents. And sometimes they do it by posterizing all-Americans." ...
  • Scott Cacciola


  • T.J. Simers of The Los Angeles Times writes that UCLA head coach Ben Howland should not take the fall for UCLA's third straight loss in the Final Four... "Second-guess, if you like, but Memphis was just better than UCLA. It happens. That's usually why only one team emerges the champion, and three others go home wondering what happened." ...
  • T.J. Simers


  • Jay Mariotti of the Chicago Sun-Times writes about Memphis star and Chicago native Derrick Rose... "He is painfully modest, which is shocking in a way, knowing his talents are the loudest and most dynamic in college basketball. Everyone wants to talk about Derrick Rose except Derrick Rose, who actually winced by his locker Saturday night when it was suggested he could go down in history as a freshman who leads his team to a national championship." ...
  • Jay Mariotti


  • Doug Feinberg of the Associate Press writes how Tennessee head coach Pat Summitt admits that Candace Parker is the best playe she ever coached... "I went into the season thinking she's one of the best ever," Summitt said. "Now that we're approaching the end of her career -- I've coached Cheryl Miller, Chamique (Holdsclaw), Lynette Woodard, Nancy (Lieberman), Anne Donovan -- Parker is the best." ...
  • Doug Feinberg
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