Friday, March 1, 2024
One of the best sports events of each year is the NCAA's Men's DI Basketball Tournament.
I was fortunate to attend the Final Four games at the Los Angeles Sports Arena way back in 1968 while on Spring Break from the University of Washington.
Those 1968 Final Four teams were #1 Houston (32-0), #2 UCLA (27-1), #4 North Carolina (22-3) and unranked Ohio State (20-7).
In a famed regular season game that season played in the Astrodome in Texas, Elvin Hayes led the undefeated Houston Cougars to an epic 71-69 win over the Lew Alcindor led, defending NCAA Champion UCLA Bruins.
The first day of the Final Four tournament would be epic as the top two teams in the country, Houston (32-0) and UCLA (27-1), would face each other in one of the semi-final games.
NO CONTEST, Hall of Fame UCLA coach John Wooden had his team ready for the challenge.
Semi-Final Results
UCLA (28-1) 101 - Houston (32-1) 69
North Carolina (23-3) 80 - Ohio State (20-8) 66
In those days, the NCAA had a third place game on day two, just before the championship game. The heartbroken Houston club played a dispirited effort as one might expect.
Third Place Game
Ohio State (21-8) 89 - Houston (32-2) 85
In the title game, UCLA was not to be denied on their way to a second straight NCAA Championship, their fourth in the past five seasons.
Championship Game
UCLA (29-1) 78 - North Carolina (23-4) 55
With this as background, I was excited to find out that the NCAA's DIII Men's 64 team Tournament was starting today with games scheduled to be played at California Lutheran University in nearby Thousand Oaks.
At CLU, two games on today
The winners would play again on Saturday night while the losers would go home to prepare for next season.
With these kind of average prices
for tickets to pro sports, the DIII
Tournament was an incredible bargain
Tickets to watch the two games on Friday cost $15 for Adults and $10 for Students and Children under 12. Thus I was joined by Michael and Jacob for the trip to CLU.
The first game today started at 3:05 p.m. which, due to Jacob's middle school soccer practice, we could not attend.
In that game the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (SCIAC) second place team, the 20-6 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps College (CMS) Stags were taking on the measure of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's runner-up squad, the 20-6 St. Thomas Celts out of Houston, Texas.
Final Score
CMS (21-6) 78 - St. Thomas (20-7) 71
We were excited to be part of
the 6:05 p.m. nightcap game
In this contest, the Northwest Conference Co-Champion Whitworth University Pirates (19-8) from Spokane, Washington were battling the home team, SCIAC Champion California Lutheran University Kingsmen (23-4).
It was a highly competitive game
as one would expect
At the Halftime break, CLU led comfortably, 30-21.
Our favorite Whitworth Pirate
The Pirates #0 is point guard Garrett Long, a Junior out of Wenatchee, Washington.
Long was a gritty player as expected from an athlete wearing goggles, a shoulder harness and those funky shoes. He finished the night with eight points and seven rebounds.
Did we have a favorite CLU player you ask?
Of course we did, none other than #2, Sophomore point guard Ze've Remer out of Los Angeles basketball factory Shalhevet H.S. He scored six points and grabbed three rebounds.
Our two favorites battling one-on-one
Ze've Remer, on the left, sporting both a yarmulke and, we believed, a pair of Donald Trump's latest sports shoes.
We might be wrong about the shoes.
At the end of regulation play it was CLU 59 - Whitworth 59.
Overtime it was!
The bonus five minute period saw the Pirates take control of the game and thus advance in the Tournament.
Final Score
Whitworth (20-8) 78 - CLU (23-5) 73 (OT)
A disappointing end to CLU's great, SCIAC Championship season.
The three of us had a great time!
As a result of Friday's two games, on Saturday night, in an NCAA DIII Second Round game at CLU tipping off at 6:05 p.m., it will be the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags (21-6) vs. the Whitworth Pirates (20-8).
Football news from abroad . . .
The Varese Skorpions game on
Sunday vs. the Firenze Guelfi
will be streamed live
Varese's Davide Vuolo is one
of Italy's best Defensive Ends
The Catania Elephants open their season
on Sunday against Palermo Eagles United
Both clubs are playing in Italy's DIII this season with team's only playing the nine player version of American football.
Speaking of Italian DIII football, the following photos were posted on the Roma Legionaril's FaceBook page.
The field says it all, grass roots players playing for the love of the game. It is what constantly draws me to the desire to coach overseas again.
Nope, that is definitely NOT field turf
I wonder if any gladiators died on
this field 2,000 years ago?
Then there was this brilliant comment from the NFL Combine . . .
Is Texas Tech truly providing their
students with a quality education?
Of course, Texas is part of the USA's Bible Belt so this belief might indeed be more easily explained.
Reading Is FUNdamental!
A good read with those pesky Nazis
once again being portrayed as more
than a tad evil
Our hero, Florence's Inspector Bordelli, is more than somewhat flawed much like fellow fictional Italian policemen Sicilian Inspector Salvo Montalbano and Venetian Commissario Guido Brunetti.
I have a soft spot for all three of these crime fighters who are repeatedly richly written by, in order, Marco Vichi, Andrea Camilleri and Donna Leon.
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