Mad for March with hoops tourneys, start of baseball
- col-aaron-dorksen
- March 20, 2024
- 1044
A few thoughts from the week in sports …
March is one of the best months for sports — it even has a nickname: March Madness.
At the top of the list of what makes this time of the year special is the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, which has provided many of the greatest sports memories of the last half century.
If you’re a longtime sports fan, you most likely remember some or all of these moments below that will forever be ingrained in my memory:
—NC State’s last-second win over Houston for the 1983 title and the Jimmy Valvano running around afterward looking for someone to hug.
—Christian Laettner connecting on “The Shot” after a three-quarter court pass from Grant Hill to stun Kentucky in the 1992 Elite Eight.
—Keith Smart game-winner lifts Indiana and Bobby Knight to 1987 title over Syracuse.
—Michael Jordan’s game-winner for North Carolina against Georgetown in 1982.
—Much closer to home, Cleveland State’s magical run to the Sweet 16 led by coach Kevin Mackey and guard Ken “The Mouse” McFadden in 1986, where the Vikings lost to Navy and David Robinson.
—I was too young to pay attention to games in 1979, but Magic Johnson and Michigan State over Larry Bird and Indiana State in the final was an iconic moment.
We watch the NCAA Tournament for moments like those above, but also the pure joy of seeing Cinderella teams knock off higher seeds, unlikely heroes and buzzer-beater shots.
No. 1 seeds own an all-time record of 150-2 in round one vs. No. 16 seeds. Fairleigh Dickinson shocked Purdue and 7-foot-4 center Zach Edey 63-58 in 2023, and University of Maryland Baltimore County knocked off Virginia 75-54 in 2018.
It’s a little more common for 15 and 14 seeds to win, with this happening 15 and 22 times, respectively.
I love seeing the unlikely heroes emerge. Do any of you veteran sports fans reading this remember the likes of Bo Kimble (Loyola Marymount, 1990), Antonio Gates (Kent State, 2002) or Bryce Drew (Valparaiso, 1998) using the March stage to turn in legendary performances?
NCAA basketball has changed a great deal in recent years. With one-and-done players and the transfer portal, I’ll admit I don’t even know many of the players’ names who will be suiting up in this month’s tourney.
What’s crazy is I know just as much or more about the 2024 NCAA Women’s Tournament teams thanks to the incredible Kaitlin Clark of Iowa, her talented rival Angel Reese of LSU and some other stars.
NCAA women’s basketball has never been more popular, but the selection committee made a huge mistake.
They had one job to do: keep Iowa and LSU in different parts of the bracket so they could possibly meet in the Final Four in Cleveland. So what did they do? The No. 1 seed Hawkeyes and No. 3 Tigers are grouped together in the same Albany Regional and would meet in the Elite Eight. Ohio State is seeded second in the Portland Regional.
Filling out a tournament bracket may be the best part of March Madness. Where else can someone who lives and breathes sports lose to an office co-worker who picks teams to win based on school colors, geographic location or which mascots they like better?
I’ll fill out a bracket this year like I always do, but I’d probably have a better chance of rolling the dice to make my picks.
More March Madness
One of my favorite single days of the sports calendar is MLB Opening Day, which will be March 28 for most teams. (Note: The Dodgers and Padres will actually play games that count in Korea March 20-21.) The Cleveland Guardians will open at Oakland March 28.
Adding to the fun of March is following NFL free agency and following NBA teams on the final push to the playoffs.
Parting shot
Like countless others in this area, I was deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Dr. Michael Knapic on March 15. Knapic, a Wooster resident, was on vacation when he died unexpectedly at age 55. My prayers go out to his family and friends.
Knapic leaves an amazing legacy in Wayne County. He was a family man, respected orthopedic doctor and surgeon, musician, youth coach, and Wooster City Schools board member. He was known for a great sense of humor and was an outstanding football player at The College of Wooster and Rittman.
After suffering a stroke at the young age of 48, Knapic showed amazing strength and character returning to life — and work.
My wife Angela and the rest of the staff at the Wooster Ambulatory Surgery Center thought the world of Knapic. So did I when we’d talk, whether it was at WASC, on the sidelines at football games or elsewhere. He was known for always being friendly, asking people how they were doing and actually listening. He visited a WASC nurse recently after she was briefly hospitalized just because that’s the kind of guy he was.
Mike Knapic, you will be deeply missed and never forgotten.
Aaron Dorksen can be emailed at aarondorksen24@gmail.com.