I like everyone else was left scratching my head with the hiring of Thomas by FIU last summer. The destroyer of the CBA, the demolisher of the Knicks and yet here is a school willing to give complete control of their basketball program over to him. Maybe the school thought his high-profile name would draw recruits, give some publicity to their institution other than being known for that massive on field brawl with Miami a few years back in football.

It has been a tough month for Thomas, I will give him that. Magic Johnson came out and bashed him in his book and now his team can't even win their first exhibition game against a team that is not even in the NCAA. 

Continue reading "Joy at Florida International basketball team Loss Focused on Isiah Thomas"

Probably biggest of these scandals to me was the Rick Pitino scandal where he was allegedly being blackmailed by a former lover with whom he allegedly had an extra-marital affair. Pitino was always one of those guys who seemed to do everything right, at the college level at least, and when he became front page news, it was a real shock to many.

The other scandals, Billy Gillispie's drunk driving trial, the Kansas Jayhawk basketball team (the No. 1 team in the nation in the polls) fighting the Kansas football team along with a score of other issues made us wonder what was going in this sport that we love.

Continue reading "NCAA Basketball Season Beginning Will Hopefully Down Play Off Season Woes"

Famed ESPN college basketball sportscaster Dick Vitale has decided to pay the costs of a cemetery plot for a high school student who was inexplicably murdered last week outside of Southeast High in Bradenton, Fla.

According to authorities, Daniel Floyd Williams, 18, approached a vehicle idled in the school’s parking lot with four girls inside of it and asked for one of the females to give him a Lewinsky.

The girls flatly denied Williams’ lewd request for fellatio. Williams momentarily retreated before he walked back, pulled out a gun and fired four shots at the car. Jasmine Thompson, a 17-year-old cheerleader who planned to study criminal law in college, was struck by one of the bullets and she died almost instantly from her wound.

Continue reading "The World Would Be A Better Place If More Dick Vitales Were In It Derek Jeter is Number One"

According to authorities, Daniel Floyd Williams, 18, approached a vehicle idled in the school’s parking lot with four girls inside of it and asked for one of the females to give him a Lewinsky.

The girls flatly denied Williams’ lewd request for fellatio. Williams momentarily retreated before he walked back, pulled out a gun and fired four shots at the car.

Jasmine Thompson, a 17-year-old cheerleader who planned to study criminal law in college, was struck by one of the bullets and she died almost instantly from her wound.

“Here’s a 17-year-old girl, Jasmine Thompson, who really did nothing wrong in her life except for being in the wrong place at the wrong time,” Vitale, 70, told the New York Daily News last week.

Continue reading "The World Would Be A Better Place If More Dick Vitales Were In It"

Continue reading "Centsports Is Sweet"

Continue reading "UK Wildcats ready to rock"

While those games are daunting enough, the single game schedule is no less appealing to Cardinal fans. While Louisville will welcome the likes of Georgetown, Notre Dame and Villanova to Freedom Hall, the Cardinals will have to travel to Pittsburgh, Marquette, Providence and West Virginia.

The Big East is the toughest conference in college basketball but to see those opponents lined up in a row must be a little nerve racking to any coach. But if anyone can handle the challenge of defending the conference crown in the toughest league in the country, it is Rick Pitino.

Continue reading "Louisville Will Have a Tough Road This Season"

But you can't blame bloggers and media types for trying. I am sure Coach K's name came up as a possible candidate in some brief conversation but the fact that it has been reported is more a product of the time of year rather than the actually likelihood that it would happen.

In the sports world, we are in the certified doldrums of the year. The NBA Finals are done, baseball is only halfway through its marathon season and NFL training camps are still about a month away. What is a sports writer/blogger to do? Of course the Laker story and Phil Jackson have made some entertaining reading so far. Jackson floats a coaching only at home scenario (maybe Jackson could coach via Twitter while sitting at home in his recliner watching the game on a big screen tv). The signing of Ron Artest has added new drama with his love for Kobe. Why not throw Coach K in there?

Continue reading "Summer Malaise Probably Led To Coach K Rumors"

Last night Penn State put the emphasis on the redemption of the Big Ten season by knocking off Baylor and securing the NIT crown at Madison Square Garden. And the Nittany Lions won the National Invitational Tournament by knocking off some quality opponents.

Penn State not only beat George Mason, Rhode Island and Florida to get to the Big Apple, but Penn State then finished off their title run with wins over Notre Dame and then last night against Baylor. And Big Ten fans could not be happier.

Continue reading "Penn State Win Is Redemption for Big Ten"

Mike Anderson agreed to a new extended contract at Missouri, keeping him a Tiger for the next seven years and ending rumors that he would jump ship to coach Memphis.

And signing that contract may have been the best decision Anderson has made all year (and this from a coach who took his team to the elite and an impressive win over that same Memphis team).

In his time with Missouri, Anderson has transformed the Tigers from a mid level contender in the Big 12 to conference front-runner, with a flashy style and up pace game plan that he perfected at UAB. With all that going for him, why would he even consider Memphis?

Continue reading "College Coaches Staying Put Was The Right Call"