Are we witnessing the last few games of the Nevada careers of Luke Babbitt and Armon Johnson? Both are the two best basketball players ever produced by Northern Nevada high schools. They said this week that they will make their decisions after the season. Are either of them ready for the pros? Of course not. But that didn't stop JaVale McGee from leaving as a sophomore. All that matters is whether or not your name gets called in the first round of the draft. Nobody but their closest friends and family members should have the nerve to tell Babbitt and Johnson what to do. All we hope is that they don't lose sight of the fact that college basketball is going to be the most enjoyable time of their lives. This team is on the verge of becoming special. Next year could be a whole lot of fun, certainly more fun than sitting at the end of the Bucks' bench or playing in Europe or the D-League.
It now looks like Tiger Woods is going to play in the Masters. So much for putting his personal life ahead of golf. He never put golf on the back burner. If he comes back in a month it's obvious the only thing he was ever worried about was his career and taking care of his sponsors. Golf and his sponsors are the reasons why he made a public speech. If he was all that serious about repairing his life, he would take more than a few months off in the winter. If he plays in the Masters, he really hasn't given up anything in terms of golf.
Brittney Griner from Baylor sucker-punched Texas Tech's Jordan Barncastle with a roundhouse punch to the face. Griner should not be allowed to play another game for Baylor this season. If this happened in the NBA, the public would be demanding a 50-game suspension for the bully who threw the punch. Athletes should not be punching each other in college sports. Oregon made the wrong decision by allowing LeGarrette Blount back on the field last year after he smacked a Boise State player in the face. Yes, it was just one punch. But go ask Rudy Tomjanovich and Kermit Washington about the damage just one punch can do to your life. Griner is just a freshman. She'll have plenty more games to play in college and the WNBA. She needs to learn a valuable lesson.
More than two dozen Maryland fans were arrested Wednesday outside the College Park arena for rioting after Maryland's win over Duke. Really? For a regular season win? Maeyland fans stormed the floor after the game as if their heroes had just won a national title and the celebration obviously was carried outside. This wasn't Villanova over Georgetown, North Carolina State over Houston, Texas Western over Kentucky or even Chaminade over Virginia. This was one big-time school beating another big-time school in a conference game in late February. Relax.
Chad Ochocinco is going to take part in this season's Dancing With the Stars. OK, he is not a star. And he's not a dancer. Then again, he's also not a football player anymore. He's a look-at-me egomaniac whose only concern is to make sure the cameras are pointed his way. He should be worried about participating in the Bengals' off-season conditioning program. Instead, he's going to be bouncing around the dance floor with Cheryl Burke. Do you think Jerry Rice would have missed an off-season conditioning program during his career to go dance on national TV. What about Fred Biletnikoff or Raymond Berry? Way to dedicate yourself to your profession, 85.
Guy Morriss, the head football coach of Texas A&M-Commerce, said he was proud of his team after they removed all 2,000 or so copies of the student paper from racks around campus. It seems there was a "crap" story in the paper about two football players being arrested on drug charges. There were no comments from him about how disappointed he was in the two who were arrested. Of course not. He was just upset that the school paper had the audacity to print the story. Once again, it's the media's fault for reporting on the legal troubles of college athletes. Texas A&M-Commerce's student-athletes, after all, are all good kids. Instead of taking responsibility for what happened, the university scolds the media. It seems we've heard this one before.
- Josh Newman - RotoKingdom Staff Writer