The Ides of March Madness
One of the great sports stories of this season has been the rise of the IU Hoosiers to national prominence after a disastrous (for Hoosier fans anyway) 2014-15 campaign. Fans were screaming for Coach Tom Crean’s scalp and parents were threatening to pull their sons from the program and transfer them to other schools. The Big Red compilied the best record in the Big Ten and became a force to be reckoned with this year. The Hoosiers finished 25-7 and a fourteenth ranking in the AP‘s final regular season poll. A disappointing opening loss to Michigan has been forgotten and the Hoosiers are in the Sweet Sixteen for the third time in five seasons. Hoosier fans expect a championship team every season and older fans expect the coach to be the second coming of Bob Knight both in attitude and method. Obviously those are nearly impossible expectations to live up to. Many IU fans never attended the university but just follow the basketball team. They even regard the students and faculty with some suspicion and annoyance. The basketball team is regarded as a state sponsored public utility to be run by the state and rewarded for success and financially punished when it disappoints, But I digress.
The Hoosiers meet number one ranked North Carolina in Philadelphia March 25 for the next round of the NCAA Tournament. This week everyone in the state is an IU fan and we are all pulling for Tom Crean and his Big Red Team to go all the way. We also salute Coach Crean on a job well done this year.
Racing Feuds are Old News in Indy Cars
Carlos Munoz readily admitted to being at fault for the 10 car pile up at the beginning of the St. Petersburg Grand Prix. Jockeying for position, Munoz bumped another car and started the mess. One of the cars eliminated was Graham Rahal’s Steak and Shake Honda. To say that Rahal was angry was an understatement. Rahal called Munoz brainless and in a confrontation after the race he told Munoz that he had been around too long to do anything so stupid.
Squabbles among drivers is nothing new. A.J. Foyt once punched driver Steve Krisloff in the victory circle at the Texas Motor Speedway. After Foyt won the race, Krisloff came running up yelling that Foyt had cut him off during a yellow flag lap that nearly caused Krisloff to crash. Foyt silenced him with a knuckle sandwich. Gordon Johncock and Johnny Rutherford really didn’t like each other and had a number of post-race confrontations during the course of their careers. Several of them came close to fisticuffs. Parnelli Jones hit Eddie Sachs after the 1963 Indy 500. Jones won the race but several other drivers, Sachs included, felt Parnelli should have been black flagged because his car was badly leaking oil which caused several cars to spin out. Sachs would not let up on his confrontation so Jones decked him.
Dancing with the Stars Opens Season 22
DWTS broadcast its first program of the 2016 Spring season. Crabby icon Len Goodman is back and all the judging is right again. The big shock of the night had to be deaf male super model Nyle De Marco paired with Peta Murgatroyd. If DeMarco’s hearing condition is a handicap for him, you couldn’t tell it by his performance which was brilliantly executed. That he is a hunk with a great bare chest is just whipped cream on top of the sundae. Peta is to be commended for coming up with a great routine to show off their combined talents. Bruno was really impressed. Good Morning America weather girl Ginger Zee just had a baby but was in fine form as she bogeyed with partner Val Chmerkovskiy. She looks like a contender. Dancer Keo Motsepe is parted with actress Jodie Sweetin and finally has a partner worthy of his talent. The previous two season Keo has been paired with partners who were seriously out of their league. Good luck to Keo and Jodie.
At the low end were Mischa Barton, Doug Flute, and Geraldo Rivera. Ms. Barton and her partner Artem Chigvintsev were accused by Goodman of walking not dancing. Former NFL quarterback Doug Flute has a great deal of personality, but absolutely no rhythm but his partner Karina Smirnoff is very popular and that could save him for a couple of rounds. The 72-year-old Rivera was as stiff as a statue with no foot movement and was rather painful to watch. He will most likely be the first one eliminated. Anyway, it looks like another exciting season for the fans of DWTS.