No 15 and No 16 seeds are winning in the NCAA tournament more than ever before and by some distance. Is it a statistical anomaly or the outcome of a broader trend?Upsets have always been a defining element of March Madness and this year has been no different. The 2023 tournament had barely tipped off when No 13 seed Furman, the smallest school in the field by enrolment making their first appearance in 43 years, sent fourth-seeded Virginia packing. By the end of opening weekend, half of the four No 1 seeds were already out. But none of this is terribly unusual in an event where fans have come to expect the unexpected.What is unusual is the teams who are...
This week’s roundup also features an Australian Grand Prix washout, the best of Gigi Buffon and an outrageous rally move1) Formula One 2018 is go, go, go – starting with Sunday’s Australian Grand Prix. Since moving to Melbourne Park, the race has become a regular curtain-raiser, but it used to end the season when held on the streets of Adelaide. Here’s a potted history of the race, and Ralf Schumacher taking off on the first lap in 2002. The 1991 edition was the shortest race in F1 history, abandoned after 24 wild and wacky minutes in a torrential downpour: Continue reading...
The Retrievers’ stunning takedown of Virginia reminded us why March Madness endures as one of America’s best sporting traditionsThat whoosh you heard on Friday night was the sound of millions of brackets across America simultaneously bursting into flames. The sporting spectacle whose overarching allure is chaos was finally graced with the mother of all upsets as University of Maryland-Baltimore County upended top-ranked Virginia to become the first ever No16 seed to defeat a No1, springing the greatest of NCAA men’s basketball tournament surprises in the most shocking way imaginable. Related: Ultimate upset: UMBC stun Virginia to become first ever No16 seed to top a No1 Continue reading...
By criminalizing violations in college sports, the US Department of Justice will make it so that it is not just the NCAA who runs the market but the state as wellA bombshell was dropped on the college basketball world this week as an FBI probe into the seedy underbelly of the sport has resulted in the arrest of 10 men, including four high-level assistant coaches under charges of “bribery conspiracy, solicitation of bribes, honest services fraud conspiracy, honest service fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and Travel Act conspiracy.”That laundry list of charges is impressive, but for those with any experience in how the world of college sports really works, it should come as no surprise. Under-the-table cash contributions to...
Hall of Fame coach Rick Pitino has become the first high-profile victim in the FBI’s investigation into college basketball corruption, but he won’t be the lastRick Pitino, the Hall of Fame college basketball coach who over his 31-year head coaching career has led his teams to seven Final Fours and two national championships, has almost certainly coached his last game. The University of Louisville placed Pitino, its figurehead for the last 16 years and the highest paid head coach in all of college basketball, on unpaid administrative leave Wednesday citing allegations of corruption detailed by the acting US attorney for the southern district of New York that implicated Pitino’s program and led to the arrest of 10 people including four...