He departed from earth nearly 500 years ago, but the famous 16th century French physician and reputed seer Nostradamus is still cited today by some as being a prophet. His alleged hits contain several prophecies of enormous magnitude, including the death of King Henry II in 1559, the Great Fire of London in 1666, the rise of Napoleon and Hitler, the atomic bombings in 1945, the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in 1963, and the World Trade Center attacks on Sept. 11, 2001.
Conversely, many historians remain skeptical to several of his alleged prophecies, claiming them as coincidences that have been misinterpreted. Even so, the name Nostradamus is still used for folks who accurately predict future occurrences.
I can hear many of you already asking, “What in the world does this have to do with sports, old man?
Well, this is merely my feeble attempt at letting you know that I realize I am no Nostradamus, and that is true for each and every one of us, especially when it comes to forecasting what is going to happen in the world of sports.
The most recent glaring example is the recently concluded Final Four, where I picked Michigan to lose to Arizona, and the Wildcats to win the title on Monday night with a victory over Connecticut. In the unlikely scenario where you’ve been completely out of the loop, you already know that the Wolverines claimed their second national championship with a 69-63 win over the Huskies, ending UConn’s run at six consecutive wins without a defeat in the title game.
The win showed the mettle of a Michigan team that had steamrolled its way through the tournament, scoring at will until Monday, when they prevailed by draining free throw after free throw, finishing 25-of-28 at the stripe. The officials had little choice but to let both teams play with brute force throughout the physical contest. Otherwise, the game would’ve lasted much longer than it did.
It was apparent from the start that part of the strategy involved being physical and crashing the boards with reckless abandon, and defensive intensity became the name of the game since both squads had major issues finding the basket with any frequency whatsoever.
To many observers, it was yet another ugly championship game, with some speculating that shooting in a cavernous domed stadium is far from ideal. That’s where the game is these days though, and as usual, the answer as to why is money. After all, there were 70,720 fans packed into Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, and the future Final Four sites will undoubtedly be similar.
Neither team could buy an outside shot, with UConn managing just 9-of-33 from beyond the arc, and Michigan connecting on a paltry 2-of-15 from deep. Instead, the game became a battle of free throws, which is where the Wolverines cashed in. Somewhat surprisingly, the Huskies outrebounded the imposing Michigan front line 46-39, including a whopping 22 offensive boards, but the added opportunities only resulted into brick after brick for UConn.
The Huskies had 13 more field goal tries than the Wolverines, but converted only 21-of-68 attempts for a dismal 31 percent from the floor. Michigan wasn’t much better, shooting 38 percent on 21-of-55, but their 89 percent night from the free throw line was more than enough to fend off the cold-shooting Huskies.
It was far from pretty, but you have to give coach Dusty May credit for assembling a team that started five transfers and turning them into champions. That had never occurred in the history of the Final Four, but it will likely become more of the norm in the future, with the transfer portal becoming the best and quickest way to build a winning team.
Many of us don’t like it but that’s the way it is, and if you want to compete at the highest level, you better have a coach who can recognize the right talent and mold them into a cohesive unit, which is precisely what May just accomplished in his second year at Michigan.
Pressure mounting on Kentucky coach
There’s little doubt that Kentucky head basketball coach Mark Pope was taking notes while watching the Final Four. Pope mistakenly thought the Wildcats would prosper and make a deep run, but they fell short partially due to injuries, and partially due to not putting together a roster that meshed.
With his third season arriving next year, Pope and his staff have a huge challenge ahead of them. The Cats have tons of work to do in the portal after seeing player after player after player announce their intentions to leave Lexington for perceived greener pastures. He has yet to sign a single high school recruit, making his reliance on the portal even greater.
Kentucky will likely be retaining just two key pieces from this year’s 22-14 team in center Malachi Moreno and shooting guard Collin Chandler, so playing time is certainly more than available for what could be a slew of incoming transfers.
The issue becomes finding the right pieces, and if Pope is unable to accomplish that challenge, the hot seat will only get hotter.
Reds on a roll despite hitting struggles
We mentioned in the Saturday column just how anemic the Cincinnati Reds’ offense performed during the first week of the season – with the exception of rookie Sal Stewart — and the bats have improved just slightly since that time. However, as of this writing, the Redlegs have won four consecutive games, leading to the question:
How?
There are several reasons, not the least of which is the pitching staff, which has compiled a 2.93 ERA while tossing three shutouts in the Reds’ first 10 games. The latest example of a young Cincy hurler getting it done on the mound was Brandon Williamson, who baffled a not very impressive Miami Marlins lineup on Monday night. The rail thin lefthander allowed just three hits in 6 2/3 innings in the 2-0 victory in front of the usual scant South Florida audience.
Add Andrew Abbott, Rhett Lowder and Chase Burns to the mix, and Cincinnati potentially has the makings of one of the most impressive young groups of starters in baseball. Sustaining that kind of success will be the challenge, and getting the often-injured Nick Lodolo and Hunter Greene to return and fulfill what could be promising careers will only add to the rotation.
Another explanation surrounding the club’s 7-3 start has been the stellar defensive effort, which up to this point has played errorless baseball. Defense has been a major issue in recent years for the Reds, and again, if they can sustain this kind of effort, it will only lead to even more success.
Despite the offensive woes, the team has produced some timely hits, yet another issue from the past few seasons. Credit also has to go to Terry Francona; the Reds skipper has pushed all the right buttons thus far in the young season, and the players seem to love playing for the personable future Hall of Famer.
There’s still 152 games remaining, so kneejerk reactions to what has occurred in the first couple of weeks can be overblown, but if the Reds can continue progressing by playing “crisp” baseball – as Francona likes to call it – this could turn out to be a special season in the Queen City.
*************************
“The most outrageous lies that can be invented will find believers if a man only tells them with all his might.” – Mark Twain
Leave a Reply