By Bob Priddy, Missourinet Contributing Editor
(NCAA)—First, let’s wish that sportscasters (and others, but mostly sportscasters who have a tendency to use worn-out phrases more often than normal people) would quit referring to the NCAA men’s tournament as “The Big Dance.” It’s not a dance unless you consider bunches of heavily-perspiring big people running, jumping, and banging into each other on a basketball court a weird dance of some kind.
We would say the same thing about the women’s tournament except that our grandmother once told us, “Horses sweat, men perspire, and ladies glow.”
Now, having gotten that off of our chests, we can move along to:
(MIZ)—The Missouri Tigers will beat Utah State in the first round of the NCAA Mens’ Tournament, at 12:40 p.m. Thursday. If they win, they’ll get either second-seed Arizona or (unlikely but not impossible) Princeton. It’s a TNT cable game. The Tigers are seeded seventh. Utah State, a Mountain West Conference Team, is 26-8. The Tigers are 24-9.
While the menfolk will be playing in Sacramento, California, the womenfolk will play Illinois State from the Missouri Valley Conference Thursday evening at 7 in the Women’s NIT. Missouri finished the regular season at 17-13. Illinois State is 24-8. Missouri will have the home-court advantage, playing in Columbia. They’ll try to avoid a third straight first-round loss. (ZOU)
(OTHER ROUNDBALL)—The Southeast Missouri State Redhawks will meet Texas A&M-Corpus Christi this evening in the play-i1n game for the NCAA men’s tournament. The winner becomes the 16th seed, which earns it the honor of playing #1 Alabama. The Red Hawks are 19-16 after winning the Ohio Valley Conference tournament. A&M-CC is 23-10 and won the Southland Conference tournament. Game time is 5:40.
Missouri State women will go to Omaha to open the Women’s NCAA Tournament at 6 p.m. tomorrow night. The WNIT does not seed teams. Missouri State Lady Bears went 20-11 n the regular season, fourth in the Missouri Valley. Nebraska is the Big Ten automatic qualifier because it had the best record of any conference teams not invited to the Women’s NCAA. Nebraska is 16-14.
(FOOTBALL)—Before the first edition of the XFL folded, St. Louis fans had enthusiastically adopted the team. The new version of the league and the team have picked up right where that left off. The largest crowd in XFL history—and the largest crowd for any spring pro football game—38,310 fans—watched the Battlehawks whip the Arlington Renegades 24-11, running their record to 3-1.
Quarterback A. J. McCarron was 14 of 27 for 214 yards and a pair of interceptions. Running Back Brian Hill had 115 all-purpose yards.
(BASEBALL)—Both of our teams continue to play strong spring baseball although both are missing some key players who are taking part in the World Baseball Congress championship. Kansas City is 14-2, tops in the Cactus League. Boston leads the Grapefruit League but the Cardinals and the Blue Jays are kind of tied for second. Toronto is 11-6 and the Cardinals are 9-5. Boston is on top at 9-4.
The Royals’ Bobby Witt Jr., is the youngest player on the USA team, the only one born in the 21st century. Clubhouse talk is that the Royals phenom is on the road to greatness. Last year as a rookie he became the 5th player in major league history to hit 20 home runs and steal 30 bases in the same season before reaching 22 years old.
High praise has come from none other than the two biggest starts on the St. Louis Cardinals. Third baseman Nolan Arenado says, “He’s already a star. He’s going to be a great one…He’s going to be a superstart in a matter of time.”
Adam Wainwright started the first game for the USA team, gave up a home run in the first inning against Great Britain that he blamed on “being kind of amped up.” He says he “just had to get back under control, just a reset of the mind, go out there and make pitches.” He did and the USA won 6-2, thanks in large part ot a 3-run homer by Kyle Schwarber.
But the USA got hammered by Mexico in the second game to drop to 1-1 in the start of the tournament.
Back in Florida, the Cardinals got a little scare when top prospect Jordan Walker slid awkwardly head-first into second base. He left the game but was examined in the clubhouse and found to be okay. The team said he didn’t need an MRI but was held out of the game on Sunday and should be back in the lineup today.
Now, the Racin’: Byron doubles up
(NASCAR)—William Byron took two tires while his closest competitors took four in the late-race pit stops, then held on to win his second NASCAR Cup race in a row. Ryan Blaney and Tyler Reddick finished ahead of Kyle Larson and Kevin Harvick. Larson had led more than two-thirds of the laps before Harvick passed him. Both lost positions during the last pit stop and could never challenge for the final couple of laps.
Harvick’s fifth-place finish marked the twentieth straight time he has finished in the top ten at Phoenix.
NASCAR has wrapped up its early-season west coast tour and heads to Atlanta next weekend.
(FORMULA 1)—Formula 1 circuits sometimes have names and the one chosen for this fall’s race in Las Vegas has a fine double entendre name. It’s “The Las Vegas Strip Circuit.”
No, not that kind of strip. It commemorates the famous Las Vegas Strip that has been the citiy’s trademark center of gambling. The race is November 18, the next-to-last race on the schedule. Ticket prices are for high-rollers. A three-day standing-room only pass in the cheapest zone costs $500. Paddock zone tickets sold out quickly at $15,000 a seat.
The Saudi Arabian Grand Prix, event number two on this year’s schedule, is next weekend.
(INDYCAR)—INDYCAR doesn’t race again until April 16 when drivers take to the streets of Long Beach. Scott Dixon, who as third in the first race, tied Mario Andretti for the most top-five finishes in INDYCAR history. It was his 193rd. He’s a six-time series champion hoping he can equal A. J. Foyt’s record of seven. His 53 victories put him alone in second place. Only Foyt, with 67, has more.
Also in sight is Tony Kanaan’s consecutive start streak of 318 races. Dixon stands at 306 with 16 races to go this year.