BUSTING BRACKETS

BY STEVE DUNN

Tournament darling (or Cinderella) Florida Gulf Coast went down last night to Florida after being the first 15th seed to make it to the Sweet Sixteen.  When they knocked off Georgetown, most brackets were busted big-time.  Georgetown was the first of my Final Four predictions to bite the dust.

Brackets be darned.  For a time I was hoping for an All Big Ten Final Four (just to silence Charles Bsrkley among other things) but Friday Indiana got busted by Syracuse and my second Final Four pick exited the tournament.  Michigan State's loss last night to Duke reduced that fleeting fancy even further but Michigan's upset of Kansas still makes an All Big Ten Final a possibility. I had just intended for Ohio State to triumph over Indiana instead of the Wolverines.

One of the clear stars of the tournament to date is Aaron Craft, that Findlay OH native (I am a Findlay OH native) who  defended and three-pointed his team to eleven state victories.  He is one of the reasons that the commentators continue to lean towards my prediction of Thad Matta's Buckeyes winning it all.

Today begins the Elite Eight and with my brackets busted, here are my revised prognostications.

Louisville over Duke

Ohio State over Wichita State

Florida over Michigan

Syracuse over Marquette

Ohio State over Louisville

Syracuse over Florida

BIG ONE - Ohio State over Syracuse

 

Interestingly, I am currently living in Shippensburg PA, the home of FGU's coach Andy Enfield Needless to say, most people were rooting for them in this location, myself included.  Most Buckeye fans have an aversion to Florida sports teams.

MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS - THE BEST SUPER BOWL COMMERCIAL

BY STEVE DUNN

Four million dollars for a 30-second commercial.  People who don't even like football watch the Super Bowl to see the creative commercials, or to see which companies utterly wasted four million Big Ones!  For me this is the best use of that money.  Thanks to Chrysler and its Jeep division.

STAN "THE MAN"

  by STEVE DUNN

This weekend one of baseball's greats, Stan Musial died.  Although he played for the small market St. Louis Cardinals, Musial left a deep impact on America's game.  Unlike today's "business" side of baseball, Stan played his entire 22 season career with the same team.  During that time he won seven batting titles, five NL MVP awards, and helped his team win .three World Series. His career batting average was an astonishing .331. He was an Allstar 20 of his 22 years as a major leaguer.

His final game was September 29, 1962 at age 42 and in 1969 he received 317 votes on the 340 ballots cast to be named the the baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.

But there was more to the man who went by the name "The Man."  He served his country in World War II and in 2011 received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.  Although a superstar, he was a man of humility and hospitality, graciously representing his franchise and baseball.  He was "notorious" for his approachability as a person and his encouragement of young players.

One, named Albert Pujols, remembers Stan this way: "There will never be anyone else wearing that Cardinal uniform who will be the face of the franchise. You can talk (about his accomplishments) but the man himself is what made him so great. What he did for his community, for his country, that's what made him so special."


When Pujols became a Los Angeles Angel last season, he found his new team marketing him as "El Hombre", which infuriated the Latino star.  "There is only one baseball player that should be called The Man ... Musial." The Angels cancelled the marketing.

That person for baseball fans everywhere will forever be "Stan the Man."

MONDAY MORNING REFLECTIONS - WAY TO GO PENN STATE

BY STEVE DUNN

More than a year ago devastating revelations about Jerry Sandusky and the cover-up by Penn State's highest leadership and legendary coach Joe Paterno rocked Happy Valley.  Next to the victims of Sandusky's sexual atrocities, there were other victims of a different order--the young men who had been recruited to play football for Penn State University and the rich heritage of the excellent athletes and model citizen leaders who graduated from "Linebacker U."

The NCAA, before leveling its unprecedented punishment, gave the remaining young men and incoming recruits the chance to pit their football fortunes in another program.  Some took the opportunity, but many young men of great character and loyalty to their school chose to remain. Penn State brought in a coach, Bill O'Brien, who proceeded to create a "new day" for Penn State football and to help shape a team again into a competitive squad that could hold its head up with dignity and be more than competitive on the gridiron.

Penn State succeeded beyond many people's expectations.  After a slow and sometimes agonizing start, the Nittany Lions grew into one of the class teams of the Big Ten. Their only two losses were close contests against eventual division leaders--Penn State and Nebraska/  Even with no bowl game or Big Ten title games to validate their efforts, these young Lions pressed and worked and performed at a great level.  When they faced the Ohio State Buckeyes, they were very much in the hunt to capture or share the Leader Division title of the Big Ten.

Personally, I am a life-long fan of The Ohio State Buckeyes and rejoiced as Urban Meier and his charges went 12-0 in a season when like Penn State, they would have no further reward. But no football program in America had as much as adversity to overcome and as much to prove as the Penn State Nittany Lions.

So with great respect I must say, Way to go, Penn State!

A GUTSY MOVE

I have been a baseball player, a manager, a third base coach and, yes, an UMPIRE.  I have never been an organist - in church or otherwise, but THIS organist has a lot of guts.

SATURDAY SPORTS SHORTS

It's Saturday. The Tigers-Orioles game has not started.  I was surfing the net observing the culture.  Just some random thoughts.  Not earth-shattering, but perhaps you'll find them interesting.

The best quote from the Olympics came from Gabby Douglas:

"What's wrong with my hair? I just simply gelled it back, put some clips it and put it in a bun. Are you kidding me? I just made history? And you're focusing on my hair? I just want to say we're all beautiful inside out. Nothing is going to change."

The baseball season is coming in its final weeks and with the new wild card options, pennant races seem tighter than ever.  There are some very surprising teams still in the hunt for one of those cherished play off spots: Pittsburgh Pirates, Washington Nationals, Baltimore Orioles are the three that seem most prominent.  There are some ones we expected to be there: the Yankees, Tigers, Rays, Rangers, Angels, White Sox, Braves, Giants and Dodgers.  The Cincinnati Reds have endured the injury challenges of this lengthy season and are of this writing the best team in baseball.  The Phillies have pretty much died on the vine and the Miami Marlins surrendered to a season-ending fire sale.  The most controversial demise, although they still are kicking and still claim the spotlight on ESPN, are the Boston Red Sox.

The big question right now is "who should be fired--Bobby Valentine or the team?"  Frankly, it's the team that is not performing; but it's easier to fire the coach.  Despite their protestations of support, you really have to wonder what the Red Sox management will ultimately do.

Now the dumbest thing I heard this week came from Dallas, where a Cowboys' fan is suing the team because she burned her tush on a dark bench that was out in the sun at the team's practice facility.  My thought was, "Why didn't you just stand up when you realized it was hot?"  It's not the first dumb thing I have heard from that football organization with its egocentric owner Jerry Jones.  The dumbest thing I might here next is that they settled out of court.

A SINNER LOVED BY A SAVIOR

Sarah Pulliam Bailey writes in GLEANINGS a weblog of Christianity Today about Webb Simpson who yesterday won the US Open.  I am reposting because I think it is this kind of unashamed faith that we should honor-STEVE.

Webb Simpson, who won today's U.S. Open golf tournament, might be the newest member of the "holy hall of fame." His Twitter bio describes him as a "*sinner* loved by a Savior."

Simpson, who trailed by four entering the final day, finished at 1-over-par 281 to beat Michael Thompson and Graeme McDowell by one stroke. He studied religion at Wake Forest University and has hosted a Youth for Christ Challenge golf tournament.

"It was a cool day. I had a peace all day," Simpson told reporters. “I probably prayed more on the last three holes than I’ve ever done in my life, and that kept me calm and got me home in 2 under."
He won his first PGA Tour victory at the Wyndham Championship last August.

“I’d be stupid not to thank my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, because it was tough out there and I was nervous, and I felt his presence all day,” he told CBN.

In an interview with Beliefnet's Chad Bonham, Simpson described how faith directly plays into golf ethics.

Our deposit of the Holy Spirit living inside of us, more than anything, has allowed me to make those tough decisions. It’s happened probably 10 times in my life where I had to make certain calls and call penalty shots on myself. For me, it’s not as much the nature of the game but the fact that the Holy Spirit is prompting me to call a penalty on myself. Within our own nature, we don’t want to call a penalty on ourselves. We want to see how much we can get away with. That’s been a part of every tough decision I’ve made in golf.

OLD SCHOOL, OUT OF DATE, OUT OF STEP

 by Steve Dunn

Last night Cole Hamels did a stupid thing. In a crucial game with the Washington Nationals, Hamels intentionally threw a pitch at Nats rookie phenom, Bryce Harper.  In the first inning he hit Harper in the small of the back.   In the language of baseball, he "plunked" him. "I was trying to hit him," Hamels, a two-time All-Star left-hander, said Sunday night. "I'm not going to deny it. I'm not trying to injure the guy. They're probably not going to like me for it, but I'm not going to say I wasn't trying to do it. I think they understood the message, and they threw it right back. That's the way, and I respect it."

Baseball responded promptly and issued a five game suspension.  It is a small punishment.  He will be pitching again right after the suspension is up without basically missing a beat in the rotation.  One baseball blogger wrote: "In any event, regardless of how you feel about Hamels's "old school" affectations, five-game suspensions of guys who appear only once every five days remain pretty toothless." The Nats Ryan Zimmerman, of course, retaliated.

So often people defend their actions as being "old school" and wear that as a badge of honor  Yet so often "old school" describes out of date and out of step.  Out if date because it lives in the past and excuses not living constructively in the present.  Out of step because it is so often a reflection of a reactionary lifestyle that has not bothered to understand or value the present.

We do not live in the past. We live in the present.  "Old school" seeks to return to a time before the world changed, thumbing its nose at the present and refusing to participate in making a better future.  "Old School" often lays claim to the "values" position as if anything "new" is amoral or immoral.  No, the values are just different.  History will judge which values were better,  God certainly will judge.

"Old School" in America thought separation of the races was the natural order, that women should have no other career than homemaker, that quality music should have a minor key and not played by anything that required electricity.  Yet now we know that that separation foster virulent racism, that women kept the war machine functioning and the national financially healthy while men went off to repel the Nazis. A pipe organ connected to an electrical circuit produces a sound of majesty and joy.

Baseball does not need an "old school" tactic that could seriously injure or even ruin a man's career and lifetime earning capabilities.  Those of us who love baseball  prefer to win because of a timely home run or a daring steal or at light's out pitching with a fastball across the plate as the power hitter flails to catch up with its speed.

Cole, to paraphrase John Kruk on Baseball Tonight,when did the MLB hire you as the welcoming committee for  bright young rookies? Your kind of Old School needs to close its doors.

TUESDAY SPORTS DESK: MILE HIGH MANNING

I am having a bout with pneumonia. As a result, I have been home a lot and last week probably watch at least fifty different sports cycles on ESPN.  Last week was filled with Manning's journey to Denver, the on again-off trade of Tim Tebow to the Jets, the NCAAs as they began heading from the Sweet Sixteen to the Final Four, spring training news, and the bad news story of the New Orleans Saints and bounties.  As a result, a whole lot of my posts have been focusing on sports.  I know only a part of my subscribing readership (29 on Blogspot and 13 on Wordpress (Both versions of the blog are visited 50-60 times a day not counting the Facebook views through Networked Blogs) are interested in sports, so I am starting something new.  I call it Tuesday Sports Desk. Tuesday is the day to hear my commentary on sports.  I will generally restrict my sports posts to that day, unless something in the world of sports has become major news in our culture.  Hope this gives you some more clarity on what to expect from this blog.

I suspect the biggest news of last week was Peyton Manning's signing with the Denver Broncos and its ripples across the contract negotiations across the NFL. Once the face of the Indianapolis Colts (plus the Circle City's most popular citizen), he has become Mile High Manning.  I continue to be impressed with Manning, who did not drag out negotiations, who signed a contract designed to actually protect the financial viability of the Broncos, and the positive way he handled his relationships with people like Tim Tebow.  Rumor was that the owner of the Titans was literally prepared to make him part own of the franchise, and to give him say so in the coaching staff, the draft, etc.  Fortunately, the self-effacing Manning just wanted to play football.

I am going to refrain from commenting further on Tim Tebow.  I have already surrendered a 50 year allegiance to the Cleveland Browns, who are now a case study of locker room and front office ineptitude. The Broncos have become my team, and I will root for the Detroit Lions; but all of that is now months away, which is fine. Opening Day for Major League Baseball is now eight days away. Now that's America's game - or at least this American's.

Last weekend's Sweet Sixteen contests were among some of the most exciting in years. One of my Final Four picks, Missouri, didn't even get that far.  I had been rooting for Ohio and Indiana, even though Kentucky is my pick for the ultimate winner.  Aaron Craft continued to be a powerful on-court force for the Buckeyes.

My sentimental Final Four was Kentucky, Ohio State, Kansas and Baylor with the Buckeyes winning.  My realistic Final Four was Kentucky, Ohio State, Missouri and North Carolina with Kentucky winning. Ironically, the Final Four I picked with my heart rather than my bracketology seems to be the more accurate. Kentucky, Ohio State, Louisville, Kansas.  Dare I hope now that the Buckeyes win?