Monday was a rare off night for the entire NBA, with the spotlight placed exclusively on the NCAA’s title game in Houston between North Carolina and Villanova. [Read more…]
On Saturday night, while most basketball fans were watching the Final Four, the NBA playoffs got under way. Not officially, of course. That doesn’t happen until April 16. But for the Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls and other teams fighting for the bottom of the brackets, the postseason already has started. Detroit’s 94-90 victory at Chicago on Saturday wasn’t quite a Game Seven. The Pistons aren’t quite home free just yet, and the Bulls aren’t quite dead. But it sure looked an awful
An NCAA Tournament dominated by favorites finally had a pair of (mild) upsets on Saturday evening in the regional finals. [Read more…]
NBA players aren’t the only ones susceptible to rookie mistakes. NBA writers and editors are, too. I spent nearly 20 years in newsrooms, and every year in late March, we received a staff-wide email warning us of April Fool’s jokes masquerading as news releases. At a later point in my career, I became the one writing these emails, cautioning the staff. Be careful. Don’t assume, no matter how innocuous the release may be. Make a phone call. If something sounds hinky, it
Editor’s Note: Whether coaching or forecasting, Bobby Gonzalez knows college basketball. He went 8-0 picking games in the Sweet Sixteen a year ago, 7-1 in that round this year and 3-1 in last weekend’s regional finals. This is not some Bozo. It’s Gonzo. He knows what he’s talking about. It was 1991 and I was standing in the crowd at the Final Four as a New York City high school coach, watching All-American Larry Johnson of the dominant, unbeaten UNLV team
After going 7-1 on his Sweet 16 picks and 3-1 on his Elite Eight picks, Bobby Gonzalez has only added to his aura of being a basketball savant. He knows more about hoops than just about any columnist in the country. In this interview on WFAN in New York, Gonzo takes a look at the Final Four matchups of Kentucky-Wisconsin and Michigan State-Duke. You will love it. [Read more…]
Media pundits argue all of the time about which athletes contain the “clutch gene.” Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Ray Allen, Tom Brady, John Elway rank among the greats in the respective sports. Even players like Tim Tebow have garnered acclaim for playing big in the clutch moments. Kentucky Wildcats guard Aaron Harrison has proven himself to be a major “clutch” player with ice in his veins. For three games in-a-row heading into the NCAA National Championship game, he has hit the go-ahead three-point
With 2.3 seconds remaining and the NCAA Tournament’s last Final Four spot on the line, Kentucky’s Aaron Harrison gave us our tournament moment. A good three feet behind the 3-point line, Harrison rose with confidence over Michigan’s Chris LeVERT, an outstanding defender that was constantly impacting the game on that end of the floor all game. Swish. [Read more…]