Before you think you have any shot at winning this year’s March Madness office pool, please remember George Mason, will you?
George Mason, of course, was the Cinderella story of the NCAA Basketball Tournament last March, the first Colonial Athletic Association team in two decades to earn an at-large bid before shooting all the way to the Final Four by beating Michigan State, North Carolina, Wichita State and Connecticut. No matter where there is a Top 10 list for national sports stories of 2006, George Mason’s run is somewhere near the top. Yes, even ESPN’s Terrell-infested nonsense.
And yet, it is more the symbolism of what the school accomplished that will be more remembered in coming years than the actual achievement. With the bigger schools of the country losing its stars earlier and earlier to the NBA, or not getting them at all from high school, the gap between the Dukes and Illinois of the NCAA and the George Masons and Vermonts, where players tend to nurture over a four-year period, has drastically gotten closer. Which is why that No. 1 UConn seed isn’t even going to be a given come March against a No. 16, usually the poor sacrificial soul of the tournament.
That’s no longer the case. Florida is going to repeat based on the strength of its returners, but don’t be shocked if there’s more than one team joining them in the Final Four again this year that normally would have no business being there.
In other news:
Theo Epstein trades Bronson Arroyo to the Reds for Wily Mo Pena, sparking a season-long debate among fans. While Pena shows some glimmer of power, he’s a mess in right field, to the point that the Red Sox went out and spent $70 million on JD Drew, in the uncertainty still that Pena can be an everyday player. Arroyo makes the All-Star team, wins 14 games, proving to be the pitcher the Sox desperately needed in 2006. ProTrade.com ranks it the fourth-worst trade of the year. No. 1? Oh, just the Sox tossing Andy Marte, Kelly Shoppach, and Guillermo Mota for Coco Crisp, David Riske, and Josh Bard, the latter two whom don’t even play in Boston anymore. Can’t argue with that assessment.
Red Sox pitcher Julian Tavarez lays into Tampa’s Joey Gathright in a spring training game. It will be his most impressive knockout of the season, which isn’t really saying all that much.
Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams release “Game of Shadows,” a detailed account of Barry Bonds’ steroid use. Both writers face prison time for refusing to disclose who provided them with confidential grand jury information. Bonds signed a $16 million one-year deal with the Giants earlier this month. Yeah, this is fair.
Grady Little gets a scare when Andre Ethier takes a 3-0 pitch in an exhibition game. “I was a little scared he was into that Oakland thing,” Little said. “We swing here on 3-0.” Upon hearing this, Nomar Garciaparra rushes to sign a new deal.
Only after watching him trade franchise players Joe Thornton and Sergei Samsonov do the Bruins decide they’ve seen enough of Mike O’Connell, which proves they’re still just five years behind their fan base.
Michael Keaton stars in “Game 6.” Moviegoers ignore it, but flock to YouTube for the fantastic RBI Baseball reenactment of the fateful game’s final inning.
Enrique Wilson says that Manny Ramirez wants to stay in Boston.
