Act III Comes To Town

OK, you have had fair warning. March Madness is in full swing. The venerable CIAA and its 10 member schools descended upon Charlotte to kick-off the month of college basketball revelry by bringing both its Men’s and Women’s Tournaments to town. The schools, concentrated in Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina are from as far away as Bowie, Maryland, and as near as Beatties Ford Road, here in Charlotte. The fans came from all across the Country in the basketball equivalent of a Family Reunion. The sporting part of the event was highlighted by crowning the new Champions, the Lady Bears, of Shaw University in Raleigh, for the Women, and the home standing Johnson C. Smith Golden Bulls, for the men.

Two weeks ago, the ACC followed suit by bringing fans of its 12 participating schools from as far North as Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, as far South as Coral Gables, Florida, and as near as Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The event culminated in the University of North Carolina prevailing as the Tournament Champion. Winning the Tournament propelled the Tar Heels, already the #1 Ranked team in the Country to one of four #1 Seeds in the NCAA Tournament, as well as the overall Tournament #1 Seed.

This week, Act III comes to town Thursday, as the NCAA Tournament East Regional visits Charlotte for a segment of the Sweet 16. The East Regional (Charlotte), South Regional (Houston), Midwest Regional (Detroit), and West Regional (Phoenix) each hosts 4 teams. One team from each Regional will advance to the Final Four in San Antonio at the end of this weekend’s games. The Final Four will take place the following Saturday and Monday, April 5th, and 7th, at the Alamodome, with the 2008 NCAA Men’s Basketball Champion crowned at the end of Monday’s game.

Of the four Regionals, the East is the only one that held to form, with Seeds 1-4 winning two games this past weekend to earn the right to continue play in Charlotte this week. On Thursday evening, #4 Seed Washington State University (Pullman, Washington) will play #1 Seed University of North Carolina (Chapel Hill, North Carolina) in the first game, and #3 Seed University of Louisville (Louisville, Kentucky) will face off against #2 Seed University of Tennessee (Knoxville, Tennessee). The winners will play each other Saturday for the right to advance to the Final Four. GO HEELS!

By the way, it should be noted that Mecklenburg County’s own Davidson College (Davidson, North Carolina) is also a Sweet 16 participant. Davidson, Seeded 10th takes on #3 Seed Wisconsin (Madison, Wisconsin), while #12 Seed Villanova University (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) takes on #1 Seed Kansas University (Lawrence, Kansas).

Now that you have the particulars for the games (in Charlotte), I am going to introduce subject that has generated a fair amount of controversy in some circles. This time of year, frequently referred to as March Madness, is an apt time to explore the question of whether athletes who play “revenue sports” at major colleges are exploited. Take college basketball for example. With television contract worth an estimated value of several billion dollars, it would seem, at the very least to be a viable topic for consideration and exploration.

Of course many pundits and prognosticators regularly weigh in on this subject. Not surprisingly, the so-called experts, and Monday morning quarterbacks (or point guards) vary widely in the opinions expressed on the matter.

The long held traditional view is that students receive a free education in exchange for their services, and as such are paid. A popular counterpoint to this notion is that by reaping billions of dollars, millions of which is directed to, the social contract is significantly unbalanced. There are also a number of rules, regulations, and restrictions that apply one way to coaches, who may leave on a whim, to pursue a more lucrative contract, while the student-athlete must sit out a year if he or she transfers to another school.

Part of the outrage, or at least grave concern emanates from the fact many schools appear to do just enough to keep kids in school until they have exhausted their eligibility, at which point they become expendable, and are often cut loose. For example, an article by Associated Press writer Travis Reed notes that the University of North Carolina is the top #1 Seed academically, in the Tournament, graduating 86% of its players over a six-year period. Of the other three #1 Seeds, one graduated 45 %, and the other two 40% during the same period.

While those numbers are dreadful enough, in and of themselves, Richard Lapchick, head of the University of Central Florida's Institute for Diversity and Ethics in Sport, who conducted the study these statistics were derived from, was mainly concerned with the disparity between black and white players.

He found that thirty-three schools graduated at least 70 percent of their white men's basketball players; only 19 graduated that many black players. Further, at least 50 percent of white players earned degrees at 45 schools, but black athletes had that much success at only 36 schools. The good news is the numbers are trending upward.

So as I draw to a close, once again I ask you the reader to weigh-in. Are these gifted and talented athletes exploited? You make the call! By the way, just in case you are wondering what I think…in a word, yes!

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com, or by Googling thesphinxofcharlotte. A new post is published each Wednesday


http://www.charlotte.com/hoops/story/551656.html

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http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/03/17/ap/sportsline/main3944606.shtml

http://www.wral.com/sports/basketball/ncaa/story/2589347/

http://www.yourblackworld.com/short_pieces/ncaa_boycott.htm

http://www.charlotte.com/hoops/story/550271.html

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CEEDC1631F935A1575BC0A966958260

http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D02E6DC1339F932A15752C1A963958260

http://sun.menloschool.org/~sportman/ethics/project/topics/collegeathletics/

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http://www.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/stories/010407aag.html

http://ezinearticles.com/?Paying-College-Athletes---Why-It-Should-Be-Done-And-How-To-Do-It&id=928183

http://www.blackamericaweb.com/site.aspx/sayitloud/phillips327

http://www.fftodayforums.com/forum/index.php?s=2113de4c1685cb2b7be1b7975d2d3dad&showtopic=268425

Was (W)Right Wrong?

Great truths abound, always. As we turn the corner on mid-March one great truth most of us triumphantly embrace is, even if Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow in Punxsutawney, a burg in the Northwest quadrant of Pennsylvania, on February 2nd, it has been more than 6 weeks. Spring is near! Another great truth thrust upon us this spring is, the Democratic candidates vying for President are still running a race to Denver.

Last week’s discussion centered on sports, as the ACC Tournament came to Charlotte. This week, the Road to the Final Four will begin to be littered with the casualties of also-rans. The first victim of this year’s NCAA Tourney was Coppin State, which fell to Mount St. Mary’s (MSM), 69-60, Tuesday night. As their reward, MSM travels to Raleigh, NC to play the North Carolina Tar Heels Friday. GO HEELS!

While the temptation is to take a closer look at the plethora of college basketball that is about to unfold, including the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournaments, the NIT, a first-year event, known as the College Basketball Invitational (CBI), and several other lower division tourneys, it is the sport of politics that is currently enthralling major news outlets, bloggers, and the populace at-large.

The title quite intentionally gives away the central theme. The Reverend Dr. Jeremiah Wright, recently retired Senior Minister of Trinity United Church of Christ, a 10,000-member mega-church in Chicago, Illinois, has been a major news story. Most Americans not making like an ostrich, burying their head in the sand, or emulating Rip Van Winkle, nestled in extended sleep-time, recognize Dr. Wright as the man Senator Barack Obama referred to as his Spiritual Adviser.

Viewed in isolation, that is not news. The related hot topic has been the widely perceived, incendiary comments made by the Reverend Dr. Wright. Many of the comments were considered so controversial, that news agencies across America set up virtual vigils awaiting official reaction from Senator Obama or his Campaign.

Initially, Senator Obama distanced himself by eliminating the minister’s involvement in his campaign, and denying being present when any of the comments were made. Then yesterday, after several days of continued seismic turmoil, Obama disavowed Wright’s remarks in a wide ranging speech on issues of race and reconciliation, calling Wright’s comments, “profoundly distorted.”

Senator Obama, spoke at a televised news conference at the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, nearly 300 miles southeast of where Phil saw his shadow. Yet there is now doubt, the desired outcome was to ignite a spring thaw to melt away the great American racial divide. He prevailed upon all Americans to move beyond old racial wounds, warned that we cannot ignore the significant issue of race, urged whites to acknowledge the legacy of discrimination does not exist, just in the imagination of African-Americans, and challenged blacks to respect our history; but not be victims of it. I must admit, very nicely done.

While Team Obama artfully navigated the usual choppy waters of race in America, ever mindful of the Campaign’s singular goal, “elect Obama,” a tacit, secondary conversation is making the circuit among many African-Americans. For 36 years, The Reverend Wright served as the Senior Minister at Trinity. The congregation is currently estimated to number more than 10,000. Suffice it to say, the good Reverend Dr. has numerous supporters and defenders. People who matter-of-factly state, he said nothing wrong. There-in lies the crux of the rhetorical question I will leave you the reader. Was (W)Right Wrong?

I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com, or by Googling thesphinxofcharlotte. A new post is published each Wednesday.


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremiah_Wright

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http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,256078,00.html

http://www.investors.com/editorial/editorialcontent.asp?status=article&id=285292746454291&secid=1501

Bring On The ACC

The venerable CIAA has come and gone. Now it’s time for the new look Atlantic Coast Conference, familiarly known as the ACC, with its span-the-East Coast fandom to descend upon the Queen City. Traditionalists still prefer to think of the ACC as a southern institution, which for many years it was. We will cover more about that later.

In the mean time, I would be remiss to fail to at least mention, Senator Obama, as expected prevailed over Senator Clinton yesterday in the Mississippi Democratic Primary. In a development, somewhat slower to unfold, the Senator from Illinois also bested Clinton in the Texas Caucuses last week. This results in Obama winning more delegates in Texas than Clinton, even though she won the State’s Primary.

The Republican and Democratic Primary scenes continue on very different paths. Senator John McCain has clinched the Republican nomination, and as such continues to click off the contests in an all but ceremonial fashion.

On the other side of the aisle, the Democrats move forward seeming destined to battle until the Convention. While many pundits and analysts theorize the combination of Obama’s current delegate total, combined with the current trend line, amount to his having built an insurmountable lead. The rub, of course is, that same trend line suggests it’s impossible for him to secure the 2,025 delegates necessary to clinch the nomination. For the candidates and their supporters, it appears to be, “Denver here we come.”

Now, back to basketball…The ACC will arrive in Charlotte Thursday, and with it, teams and their fans from as far away as Boston and Miami, and as near as Winston-Salem. Twelve teams in all, each looking forward to the possibilities of a new season, at least theoretically. The fact of the matter is, especially with seeding being used, the chances of a bottom seed winning four games in four days, against progressively stiffer competition are slim and none. It has never happened before, and with two of the Top 7 teams in America likely waiting, it is probably not going to happen this year either.

The Conference Tournament is held each year to determine the official Conference Champion, the school that wins the ACC Tournament will carry the designation of Conference representative in the National Collegiate Athletic Association, or NCAA Tournament, which commences the following week. There will also be at-large representatives, selected based on their success during the course of the college basketball season.

CBS, which has broadcast the NCAA Tournament, and several conference tournaments for many years coined the phrase, The Road to the Final Four. After the ACC and other Division I tournaments are completed, next Sunday afternoon, Selection Sunday will ensue. The ACC hopes to send as many teams as possible to the Big Dance, as it is called.

The ACC was formed in 1953, by 7 member schools, 6 of which remain. The 7 original members were Clemson, Duke, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, South Carolina, and Wake Forest. Virginia was admitted later in the same year.

South Carolina left the Conference in 1971. Georgia Tech was added in 1978, and Florida State joined in 1991. Miami and Virginia Tech were added in 2004, and Boston College joined in 2005, completing the current complement of schools. The 12-member Conference is comprised of 8 public institutions, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Maryland, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Virginia, and Virginia Tech, and 4 private, Boston College, Duke, Miami, and Wake Forest.

As was the case with the CIAA before it, and the NCAA after, the ACC will bring lots of fans who will attend lots of parties, and spend loads of money, bolstering the local Charlotte economy. There will be a vigorous mixture of sport, spending, and general revelry. Roy Williams, coach of the North Carolina Tar Heels has frequently referred to the Tournament as a great cocktail party for the fans.

Williams is not enamored with the Tourney because in order to win it, his team will have to play, three consecutive days, at a high level. As the Number 1 team in the Country, the Tar Heels are assured of continuing play the following week in the NCAA Tournament, even if they lose the first game in Charlotte. He is concerned about fatigue, and this year especially, injury. Several Tar Heel players have been injured during the season, and one was lost for the season in December. The starting point guard missed nearly a month of the season. It is obviously a sensitive subject.

Other coaches of teams on the so-called bubble have a decidedly different perspective. Because their teams need to win additional games, or the Tournament itself, in order to advance and play in the NCAA Tourney, they embrace the ACC Tournament as a new season, complete with the opportunity to prove themselves worthy to keep playing for a Championship.

A variety of columnists, analysts, and other pundits have weighed in with what they expect to happen here this week. As a fan of the game, I am excited for Charlotte. As a Tar Heel fan, I am happy for Coach Williams, and the members of the team. But mostly, as a card-carrying Carolina alum and member of the Tar Heel Nation, I am proud and elated that this Tar Heel team has had a great year to date, and that they have an opportunity to continue in pursuit of their goal to join the great Tar Heel teams of 1957, 1982, 1993, and 2005 by winning a National Championship. GO HEELS!

OK, I’m done; holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com, or by Googling thesphinxofcharlotte. A new post is published each Wednesday.

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http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/tournaments/conference/ACC

Half-way There!

Early last night, Arizona Senator John McCain achieved what had been considered nearly inevitable for weeks; securing the Republican Nomination for President. McCain swept yesterday’s 4 primaries in Texas, Ohio, Rhode Island, and Vermont with overwhelming majorities. The sweep propelled McCain to more than the 1,191 delegate total needed to clinch the nomination. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee, who had committed to remain in the race until a winner was determined, withdrew after receiving the results.

By wrapping up the nomination, McCain causes his party to examine some key questions that have been actively debated among both republican insiders, as well as casual observers. Early in the campaign, several candidates competing with Senator McCain questioned his conservative credentials. Some ideological soul-searching will be required to put concern around this issue to rest.

There are those, especially among the Republican faithful, for whom McCain will fail the conservative litmus test. He has been associated with a number of positions bona fide arch-conservatives characterize as maverick liberal positions. Taxes, guns, and judges all make the list of issues McCain has frequently been on the wrong side of, according to those steeped in traditional conservative dogma.

The question of age is sure to arise, also. If elected, Senator McCain will be 72 by the time of the election, and he will be over 80, by the end of a second term, if he is elected and serves. Previously Ronald Reagan was the oldest man elected President. He was 69 when he defeated Jimmy Carter in 1980.

The reality of the political process is the perfect candidate is a rare find indeed. To wit, for the most part, party regulars will find a way(s) to assuage their discontent, and will subsequently gird themselves for the battle ahead. After the National Conventions, when the one-on-one battles ensue, the real contest begins. At that point, republicans of all stripes will put aside their differences and close ranks to take on their one true foe; whoever happens to be the Democratic Nominee.

In related developments, on the democratic side, New York Senator Hillary Clinton may have averted total disaster by not only ending a long losing streak, winning in Rhode Island, but by also taking the populous States of Ohio, and Texas. Meanwhile, Senator Barack Obama is projected to have won in Vermont, and still maintains a lead in total delegates. At this rate, earlier projections that the Democratic race will go on for quite some time appear solidly on target.

OK, I’m done. Holla back!

Read my blog anytime by clicking the link: http://thesphinxofcharlotte.blogspot.com, or by Googling thesphinxofcharlotte. A new post is published each Wednesday.


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