Let's be honest. Didn't most of us, when we heard George Mason made the NCAA tournament, first say to ourselves: OK, that's fine, but what are the names of the other four guys George plays with? And will George still be there in the NBA draft when the Warriors pick? And can Baron Davis get along with him?
I'm a curious George when it comes to George Mason University. It's not every day a commuter school has a basketball team in the Final Four. This is like taking the bus from your parents' house to sing at Carnegie Hall. Could happen. If George Carlin was the guy writing the script.
George Mason University offered the country's first doctoral program in conflict resolution. Ah, there you have the seeds of it. Nothing says "conflict resolution" better than beating almighty UConn to make it to Indianapolis next weekend. Nothing says "I love the NCAA tournament" better than a Final Four team whose school has been around for only 39 years and named after a man who died 214 years ago.
George Mason would be proud of his basketball team. One of America's founding fathers, chiefly responsible for creating Bill of Rights, Mason was obsessed with individual freedoms. The US against Britain in 1776 or George Mason University against UConn in 2006, both were 500-to-1 shots. Refusing to bow to a superior force, George Mason already had won the Final Four once before, 230 years ago.
George Mason might be the sentimental favorite again this weekend if it weren't for a disquieting fact.
There's no Darth Vader. This is a major code violation of the Sanctity In Sport. Games need bad guys, lines drawn, venom cast. Black and white are the colors of the day. Not this Final Four. Everyone is wearing baby blue.
George Mason? Its charm already has been mentioned. Florida? Basketball? What basketball? Who cares? Spring football is starting, dude. Louisiana State? It has a 300-pound butterball in its lineup ("Big Baby" Davis) that talks like Charles Barkley without the poison and plays like Shaq without the bling. These three teams have never won a national title.
The fourth is UCLA, which might inspire rancor because it has won more titles (11) than anyone else. But the Bruins are so far removed from the smug Wooden days, not only in time but in style. UCLA doesn't play opponents as much as it mugs them, trips them, climbs on their backs and beats them on the top of their pointy heads. The Bruins are from that sissy Pac-10, the elitist Big East snickers, as if physical contact can exist only there.
But UCLA can trade bruises and sharp elbows with anyone and, in fact, prefers to do so.
There's not a Dukie or Tar Heel or a Bob Knight or a Jim Boeheim anywhere to be found. No bad guys or puffed images to be poked. In other words, no Adam Morrison or J.J. Redick wearing a scarlet bull 's eye. They can all cry underdog because they all indeed are.
"Everyone disrespected us. No one gave us a chance. We shocked the world!" Now we wait a few days to see what team says it.
Root for everyone, I say, because everyone in the Final Four is playing with house money. Love is in the air everywhere. It's just, who do you love more? George Mason, of course. It's the statue and how can you not love the story behind it.
There's a seven-foot bronze statue of Mason on the Fairfax, Virginia, campus. As legend has it, if a student kisses one of Mason's toes before taking a test, he will do well.
Yes, you've already guessed it, haven't you? A photo opportunity. Sometime this week we will see a basketball player kissing George's toe. In fact, he'll be asked to kiss more than one. He'll do three more. And why not? It's the Final Four.
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS