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...
MLS has long been derided as a retirement home for aging stars. But some young English players are choosing to kickstart their careers in the StatesOver the last decade, Major League Soccer has attracted its fair share of British footballers. Since the league’s watershed moment with David Beckham’s acquisition, the likes of Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Jermain Defoe and Ashley Cole have taken their talents to North America.Of course, they all had one thing in common: their careers were in their twilight years when they made the move to MLS. It took a few years for Beckham’s superstar sheen to settle down enough for him to play quality football. Gerrard struggled to adapt to the league after his love affair...
Rare is the player who arrives in the NBA ready made for greatness, so how do teams ensure their draft picks have the tools to thrive in the pros?Predicting NBA performance from a handful of NCAA games is, at best, an imperfect science. And identifying and drafting talent is only half the equation, trusting the process requires time and patience. This is especially true in today’s NBA, where seven-footers are expected to shoot threes and handle the ball, and point guards have to be ready to match up with bigger players off the pick and roll. So often, especially with younger players entering the NBA, there are weaknesses — shooting, ball-handling, physicality — that need to be corrected. Rare is...