SantaFeToday.com Santa Fe’s Hometown News
By Arnie Leshin
You can tell that the coronavirus pandemic isn’t as dreadful as before by checking the sports pages, turning on the television, and listening to the radio.
No doubt there’s still COVID-19 victims, but there will always be sports in the good old USA. No other nation comes close to fielding teams, no other nation gobbles it up like us, even on Thanksgiving, and no other nation can suffer so long when the red, white and blue flag isn’t part of the opening ceremonies involving sports.
And not only is sports back on the scene as the country takes a collective deep breath, but not much is missing. Just a glance at sports news and you will find college and profession basketball running, the National Hockey League, NCAA and NAIA March Madness hoops for both the men and women, Major League Baseball finally settling its bargaining and into spring training, and can’t forget that Tom Brady has changed his mind and will return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his 23rd National Football League season.
Can’t say that the 45-year-old Brady just found time to make the news, announcing that he still belongs on the playing field and not yet in the stands.
“Sorry,” said the seven-time Super Bowl champion,” but I just love football, got the itch again, and didn’t mean to steal the spotlight from the NCAA’s Selection Sunday. I also enjoy hoops and will of course watch the tournament.”
This came six weeks after Brady announced his retirement. Now he unretires, and there’s joy back in Tampa Bay as it lines up now for perhaps another Super Bowl trip.
Meanwhile, the women have now followed the path of the men, going from 64 to 68 teams, and with four play-in games as the men do.
Last year was a shortened season because of the pandemic. This time it’s all back. For about seven decades I’ve covered sports, all sports, and welcomes them back. In the world of sports, no other country can match the United States.
In the NCAA March Madness, the first round for the men starts on St. Patrick’s Day Thursday, the opening round for the women on Friday, except that the brand-new eight-team play-in is similar to the men, but with different seeds. For the women, it’s a pair of 11th seeds Dayton (25-5) and DePaul (20-10) playing Wednesday, and Missouri State (24-7) and Florida State (17-13) Thursday, with the other two games featuring 16th seeds Howard (20-9) and UIW, the lone below .500 selection at 13-16 playing Wednesday, and Longwood (21-11) against Mount St. Mary’s (16-12).
These survivors then make the main field against another 11th and 16th seed. South Carolina (29-2) is seeded first and followed by Stanford (28-3), North Carolina State (29-2), and Louisville (25-4). No. 6 overall and a two seed is a true threat in perennial power UConn (25-5) in quest of its 12th national title. Beware, the Huskies are at full strength with sophomore star Paige Bueckers returning after a lengthy recovery from knee surgery.
As for the men, the play-in contests are between 12th seeds Wyoming (25-8) and Indiana (20-13) playing Wednesday, and 11th seeds Rutgers (18-13) versus Notre Dame (22-12) also on Wednesday, and the two 16th- seeded games have Texas Southern (18-12) against Texas A & M-CC on Tuesday, and Wright State (21-13) facing Bryant (22-9) on Wednesday. Wyoming and Indiana got in as final bubble choices.
Gonzaga (26-3) is No. 1 seed seeking its initial national championship, and next comes Kansas (28-6), Baylor (26-6), and Arizona (31-3). Baylor is the reigning champion, defeating UCLA in the title game. Surprises? They are always there, but for both the men and women it’s a guessing game once the tip-off comes.
The Bears turned back Texas twice in the regular season but the Longhorns won in the Big 12 final, 67-58. Same in the American Athletic Conference contest when Houston dropped both previous games to Memphis but came out on top, 71-53, over the Tigers in the conference final. Red-hot Iowa won its ninth of the last 10 starts by disposing of Purdue, 75-66, in the Big Ten final, and in the SEC, Tennessee rolled past Texas A & M, 65-50, for the conference title, and such be deserving of better than the 3rd-seed it was given.
Can’t forget the National Invitational Tournament, the longest running college tournament in the land. Oklahoma (18-15) was one of the last out in the national tourney, and becomes No. 1 in the NIT along with SMU (23-8), Texas A & M (23-11), and Florida (19-13), which will play its opener against Iona (25-7) under head coach Rick Pitino, who lost the MACC quarterfinals game to Rider after it won the regular season. Texas A & M’s loss to Tennessee in the SEC final bumped it into the NIT.
In the National Basketball Association, the Los Angeles Lakers are in dire-straights in the Western Conference and are now nine games under .500., with the Phoenix Suns and Golden State Warriors presently on top of the heap. In the East, Kevin Durant of the Brooklyn Nets is still looking like the MVP, the best player in the league, after scoring 51 against the New York Knicks for their third straight win. They are currently eighth in the East behind the likes of the Miami Heat, the Milwaukee Bucks, the Memphis Grizzlies and the Boston Celtics.
In Major League Baseball, all is well as April 13th becomes opening day after a frustrating 80-day lockout. Pre-season camp officially began Sunday. Anything new? Well, the big news is playing ball again. Who will be the teams to beat? Who knows.
In the NHL, it’s the Eastern Conference Atlantic having the Florida Panthers with a 5-point lead over the defending champion Tampa Bay Lighting, in the Metropolitan, the Carolina Hurricanes are up 7 points over the Pittsburgh Penguins, and eight over the New York Rangers. In the West, the Central leader is the Colorado Avalanche a huge 13-point lead over the St. Louis Blues, and in the Pacific, the Calgary Flames are up by seven points over the Los Angeles Kings.
College softball is underway and the top-ranked unbeaten reigning champions from Oklahoma are 20-0 with a dozen shutouts and 12 run-rule mercy games. Last year’s runner-up Florida State and UCLA figure to be up there, but right now it’s the Sooners all by their selves with a mixture of experience, heavy hitting, baserunning and pitching.
Did we miss anything? Maybe so, but this alone covers the full slate of what’s happening these days in place of the pandemic.
