Category Archives: NCAA

Louisville’s Rick Pitino Is a Man of His Word and Gets Inked Up

Posted on by
Reply

NCAA_Final_Four_Michi_Park2_t618

If Louisville Head Coach Rick Pitino makes a deal with his players – he keeps his end of the bargain. In this case, the promise was to get a tattoo if the Cardinals won the 2013 NCAA Championship. Welp, lucky for Pitino the birds were crowned the Champs at the beginning of April.

pitino-tattoo-louisvilleHe may be a 60-year-old grandpa of four, but that didn’t stop Pitino from getting his “Championship Tattoo”. It appears to say “2013 NCAA Champions” with a snazzy-looking Louisville “L” logo as well. They made sure to get the Championship trophy in the shot as well.

The deal was struck in the middle of the season when Pitino told his team if they won the tournament he’d get himself some ink. It may have started as a joke or motivational talk, but as the Cardinals banded together and upped the ante as the tournament unfolded, Pitino’s mid-season promise became a reality.

Will there be a tat-encore? The birds star guard Russ Smith decided to stay in the NCAA for another year so Louisville will still be a dominate force again in 2014. Will Pitino’s motivational tattoo become a tradition?

Jabari Parker Makes His Collegiate Choice

Posted on by
Reply

JP20

Simeon basketball star Jabari Parker has accomplished quite a bit at the age of 18. He’s ranked no. 2 in the country, he’s already had his own spread in Sports Illustrated, been named the Gatorade National Player of the Year and is one of the most anticipated high school players since Lebron James. Last night Parker finally made his collegiate decision and our Chicago native has decided to play basketball for Mike Krzyzewski and the Duke Blue Devils next year.

6634_10151197712561429_1404530589_nThey were all lined up like ducks in a row, a Stanford hat, a Michigan State hat, a Florida hat,   a Duke hat, and BYU hat. Media was literally almost drooling to see which brim Parker put on his head. In the end, Duke represented the “best fit” for the young player’s talents, personality, and academic goals.

To Jabari the quality of the education he will receive is just as important as the quality of competition he’ll see on the basketball court.

During his Thursday afternoon press conference Parker said, “It’s been a blessing just to get an opportunity to be able to go to school for free. It’s a good thing for me as well as my family to be able to save them a couple of dollars in their pocket.” I don’t think he’s looked at the bigger picture yet…if he performs up to expectations he’ll be able to pay for 100 kids tuition with his NBA salary. What a modest young guy.

images (3)One thing that sets Parker apart from the rest of the new recruits is his devote Mormon faith. At the end of his freshman year in college Jabari will have to decide whether he will declare for the NBA draft or—like thousands of other Mormon men who turn 19—embark on a two-year mission to spread the faith in the U.S. or a foreign country. This missionary service is considered an obligatory “priesthood duty” in the Mormon faith.

That’s a pretty tough decision for someone with such strong religious beliefs. We’ll all see what Jabari chooses when the time comes even though we all know deep down inside he follows in the footsteps of Derrick Rose and choose to play for his hometown Chicago Bulls :-) .

Blue Demons to the UC?

Posted on by
1

It looks as though I stand corrected. DePaul University has switched gears and is now considering moving their men’s basketball home games to the United Center instead of the All State Arena in Rosemont, reported the Chicago Tribune on Monday. Back in March the reports were saying DePaul president Reverend Dennis Holtschneider wanted to build an arena in Chicago specifically dedicated to the Blue Demons, but now it looks like DePaulians will be sharing a house with the Bulls and Blackhawks.

It’s definitely time for a change. The bus ride from Lincoln Park down to Rosemont in weekday rush hour traffic is pee-your-pants kind of tragic. DePaul has played at the arena in Rosemont for the past 30 years – it’s since gone through some name changes Rosemont Horizon and currently the AllState Arena. 

Here are a few things to consider:

  1. The United Center is closest to UIC’s campus – definitely not DePaul in Lincoln Park.
  2. There isn’t a direct CTA bus/L route from LP to the UC. I’m sure students will get bussed, but driving through city traffic can be just as rough as traffic on the expressway. The United Center is most accessible from the Loop on the lovely express Madison bus.
  3. DePaul fans barely filled up the All State – we’re going to look pathetic at the massive UC unless we significantly build up our fan base – maybe get a team with a winning record.
  4. Playing at the United Center has a prestigious aura since players like Derrick Rose and Michael Jordan have played/are playing on the very same court. It may very well be an excellent recruiting tool!

So all in all, we will see. More to come soon!

NCAA Slams Penn State with Sanctions

Posted on by
1

Penn State’s athletic program got served. I think it’s safe to say the Nittany Lions football program may never recover from the Jerry Sandusky child abuse scandal – emotionally or financially. Two weeks ago coach Joe Paterno and other top university officials were found guilty of concealing child sex abuse allegations against a retired assistant coach for years to avoid bad publicity. Well the “bad publicity” is much more severe now. The NCAA’s President Mark Emmert spoke at a scheduled press conference early this morning to deliver Penn State’s punishment.

Big Ten Network reported the NCAA’s sanctions as follows:

* Four-year bowl ban
* Reduction of 10 initial scholarships + 20 total scholarships each year for four years.
* $60 million fine
* All wins vacated from 1998-2011 (112 wins to be exact)
* All current PSU players can transfer immediately
* The athletic department will also serve a five-year probation period.

NCAA President Mark Emmert said that no punishment could change or mitigate the damage done by Sandusky to children, but “the culture, actions and inactions that allowed them to be victimized will not be tolerated in collegiate athletics,” reported the Washington Post. 

If you didn’t see Sunday, the school removed the statue of Paterno from the campus outside the football stadium as well. In less than a year, Paterno’s entire legacy has been washed and a man held with utmost respect in the NCAA for so many decades will forever be tarnished.

The punishment is steep, but well deserved. There is no excuse possible for covering up a colleague’s horrible crimes. The moral of the story is: if you find your friend committing a heinous crime, turn them in because their stupidity isn’t worth disgracing an entire organization or your own reputation. Bad people need to be held responsible for their wrong doings.

Big Ten Mascots Break-it-down

Posted on by
Reply

Some of the Big Ten mascots put together their own rendition of Carly Rae Jepsen’s Call Me Maybe. The Buckeye’s Brutus and that Wisconsin Badger were really getting down. It looks like Purdue Pete, Michigan’s Wolverine and the Northwestern Wildcat missed the show-stoppin video shoot. Oh the busy life of a team mascot…

Cuba and the U.S. Play Ball!

Posted on by
Reply

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

A team of collegiate baseball stars are currently representing the United States in a 5-game series in Havana, Cuba after a 16-year hiatus. The match-up between our college hot shots and the veteran Cuban national squad is a revival of a series between two baseball-lovin countries that had been suspended indefinitely.

Players and fans stood together in Cuba’s storied Latin American Stadium on Thursday night as both the Cuban and U.S. national anthems played over loudspeakers — I’m sure the U.S. national anthem is not frequently played in the communist country.

The last time Cuba and the U.S. played a series like this outside of a world tournament was in 1996. Because of the political situation between these two countries, this quick weekend series took years of relationship building to get the ball rolling again.

(AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

The U.S. sent 22 players and 5 managers to the Caribbean for a weekend to play ball. The series is considered a warm-up for the upcoming Haarlem Baseball Week in the Netherlands. Jonny Field of the University of Arizona told the AP:

“This is awesome. I’ve never been out of the country before, so this is my first time,” said USA outfielder Johnny Field, a 20-year-old sophomore who won a College World Series title less than two weeks ago with the University of Arizona. “We’ve heard all the hype about how great the stadium is, and Cuba is at baseball, and it’s already shown since we got here. … We’re fired up to be here.”

The ultimate plan is for the Cuban national team to pay a reciprocal visit next summer. Victor Mesa, former star outfielder and current manager of the Cuban national team, explained how important it will be to maintain this match-up between the two countries. He told the AP:

“In the past, the big stars from the United States played against us. Barry Bonds. Mark McGwire. Frank Thomas,” Mesa said. “We are a measuring stick for the major leagues. We are an elite team with pitchers who could pitch at any level, so if one of these boys stands out against us, he has the talent to play in the majors.”

Baseball is considered the “American Pastime” but Cubans are equally as obsessed with the sport. Hopefully the borders will be opened someday soon and U.S. citizens could even go and watch the series!

Anthony Davis Trademarks Unibrow

Posted on by
Reply

Forget the beard, “fear the brow.” Anthony Davis was making headlines last week because of his talents, but also because of his attitude toward a rather unfortunate facial hair. You can now let your dream of making a profit off of your excess eyebrow hair go because Anthony Davis has trademarked the “unibrow.” I honestly didn’t think someone would ever want to trademark such a thing – but it has happened.

Davis was the first round draft pick in the 2012 NBA draft and picked up by the New Orleans Hornets where I’m sure fans will quickly adapt to the brow. During his one year at the University of Kentucky, fans got very creative, making signs and t-shirts that said “Bow to the Brow” and “Brow Down.” Even the mascot sported a unibrow! He’s not the least bit offended about the attention his facial hair has created; and not only is he refusing to groom it, he’s making it his signature, legally.

“I don’t want anyone to try to grow a unibrow because of me and then try to make money off of it,” Davis told CNBC. “Me and my family decided to trademark it because it’s very unique.”

In addition to registering the popularity of his eyebrow hair, Davis has trademarked the phrases “Fear the Brow” and “Raise The Brow.”

Davis has some ridiculous talent, so he can rock any kind of facial hair he wants. I just hope the “unibrow” doesn’t replace the “beard” in popularity. Unibrows cannot be the norm!

I bet Bert is kicking himself for not beating Davis to the uni trademark

Diddy’s Son Awarded Full Scholarship to UCLA

Posted on by
1

Drama has ensued in the realm of college sports. Justin Combs, son of multimillionaire Sean “P. Diddy” Combs, received and accepted a full scholarship to the University of California Los Angeles to play football.

Little Combs sealed the deal last week after graduating from high school in New Rochelle, New York, where the 18-year-old stud finished with a 3.75 GPA – you can’t say the boy didn’t work hard.

The full-ride is worth a reported $54,000 and people seem to think Justin doesn’t deserve it because his daddy is so filthy rich.

J. Combs just chillin on his 300,000 Maybach during his graduation party

At 5 feet, 9 inches and 170 pounds he’s rather small for college football, but apparently effective on defense.  As a collegiate athlete, athletic programs don’t just offer you thousands of dollars unless you’re scouted, recruited and the school believes you’re the type of player they’re looking for. Yes I understand Justin Combs doesn’t “need” a scholarship for school, but who’s to say the boy doesn’t deserve it? He absolutely has lived a privileged life thus far (I mean I obviously took pictures on my $300,000 car when I graduated from EGHS), but maybe his rich daddy will donate millions to UCLA to give other students the same great opportunity the university provided to his son? I’m sure the university sees it as an investment for the future.

So what do you think friends? Should Sean Combs return the scholarship money and pay for his son’s education? Or does Justin Combs deserve a scholarship for working hard on his football game and GPA?

The Fray Butcher National Anthem

Posted on by
Reply

The Fray kicked off the men’s NCAA Championship game against the Kentucky Wildcats and Kansas Jayhawks last night in New Orleans. Yowza, this was really rough to listen to (from a musical perspective at least). I don’t understand how the producers could have listened to their sound check and thought “Yes, yes this is how I want my show to begin tonight.”

I’m a little confused what the strange acoustic guitar and tambourine were doing in this emo rendition. The arrangement on the whole was a bit of a disaster. Bottom line, I don’t think the Fray are going to be asked to perform the any more national anthems, but at least they knew the lyrics. Everyone should just have Jim Cornelison sing the anthem, he knows what’s up!

DePaul Interested in Building Arena in Chicago

Posted on by
2

DePaul University is trying to get back on the NCAA maps for men’s basketball, and the first step in their strategic plan is creating a new arena near the school’s campus in Lincoln Park. YEAAAA! Reverend Dennis Holtschneider (the school president) is making moves!

This plan requires approval from the university’s board of trustees and will be on the agenda for their May meeting. They currently have two rumored potential locations: the Finkl Steel property which is walking distance from the DePaul campus and the Morton Salt Company property on Elston Avenue near both the Kennedy Expressway and the Chicago River.

DePaul’s current contract with the All State Arena in Rosemont only runs through 2015, if approved, this project would move forward in a very timely manner. The new arena is part of the master plan to attract Chicago area basketball stars to choose DePaul for their collegiate careers. Chicago has plenty of talent in this city, but DePaul did not have much to offer in comparison to other universities around the area, “Come play at our school and take a 20-minute bus ride to your arena” – yea no thanks. From the late 1970′s through the mid 1990′s, DePaul was one of the nation’s top college programs and completely dominated the Chicago area, bringing back this success is the ultimate goal.

As a DePaul alumna, this idea is thrilling. DePaul students do not want to get on a bus, sit in traffic on the Kennedy Expressway for over an hour (I had a few bathroom scares during that trip – it’s so long), and go all the way out to Rosemont to cheer on their Blue Demons. There is a true disconnect having the stadium so far away from the actual school, it definitely didn’t help promote school spirit. I also have a little theory, the two programs that currently house their stadiums on campus, Women’s Basketball and Women’s Softball, are DePaul’s most successful programs…I say, bring on the new stadium! I would love to one day get the chance to cheer on my alma mater during March Madness!