The Fab 5: Attack of the Baldheads

As a young impressionable preteen in the early 1990s, my life's mosaic included hard hitting DJ Premier beats, choreographing dance routines to Slam by Onyx, memorizing M-E-T-H-O-D Man, watching Homey D. Clown, wearing baggy jeans w/ combat boots, falling in love with Omar Epps as Q in Juice and declaring the Fab Five my favorite college basketball players.  

And for this reason, I can't think of a greater sports moment worth reliving more than The Fab Five Era, despite the unfortunate ending.  The story of how hip hop bred, inner-city youth Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, and Chris Webber forever changed college basketball's culture will be chronicled during The Fab Five on ESPN, Sunday at 9PM/ET.

Jalen Rose spearheaded the project and recruited Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King to join him.  Chris Webber, involved in a federal investigation for money laundering which eventually led to NCAA sanctions and the removal of Final Four banners, declined to participate in the production of the documentary with his friends and former teammates. 

However, Chris Webber's lack of involvement does not mean the documentary will overlook the role he played in the sudden rise and eventual fall of one of college basketball's most memorable recruiting classes.  Nor, should Webber's charges overshadow the significant impact the Fab Five made on an entire generation.

There's a reason their story is being told twenty years later.  Be sure to watch ESPN on Sunday at 9 PM/ET.

If you're like me, eagerly awaiting the premiere of The Fab Five documentary, wet your appetite with a little taste below.

PRESS PLAY: ESPN FIRST TAKE W/ JALEN ROSE, JIMMY KING, AND RAY JACKSON



PRESS PLAY:  THE FAB FIVE DOCUMENTARY TRAILER

UCONN Lady Huskies Capture No. 89. Clap For Them!

 Major congratulations to Coach Geno Auriemma, Maya Moore (setting a career high 41 pts., 10 rebounds), Tiffany Hayes, and the rest of the University of Connecticut's Women's Basketball team and program.  Unsurprisingly, they have officially made history by surpassing UCLA and legendary Coach John Wooden's 88 game winning streak after beating Florida State 93-62. 

During last year's Big East Tournament, I wrote about the Lady Huskies Rewriting HERstory and looked forward to this day.  At the time, it seemed so far away, yet still very conceivable because that's how stellar, consistent, focused, prepared, and dominant these ladies are.

Their remarkable feat should be celebrated and appreciated by not just female sports fans, but sports fans.  Period.  The fact that only one other sports franchise came this close to achieving such greatness speaks to how amazing this accomplishment really is.  Game recognize game and give these ladies their props.

The Lady Huskies simply can't be stopped.  It's extremely exciting to bear witness to history as they play to keep the streak alive.  Can anyone say back to back to back NCAA championships with zero losses?  No pressure, of course.

Ballin'!!!

Take a brief step away from the madness, and let's talk money and college basketball.  As we all know, the sports industry is a huge moneymaker, but what exactly does that mean for these basketball programs at D1 schools?

For the third consecutive year, Forbes.com has ranked the Top 20 Most Valuable College Basketball teams, based on the following four factors (in order of weight):

1. The value of contributions to the institution for academic purposes, including scholarships for basketball players.

2. The net profit generated by the basketball program retained by the athletic department.

3. The value contributed to conference peers via tournament revenue.

4.  Estimated direct spending by visitors to the county attributable to home basketball games.

Ranked at #1 for two straight years and valued at $29 million are the North Carolina Tar Heels.  Coming off of their 2009 Championship, the Tar Heels are stacking their chips and saving for a rainy day.  Good thing they are, because ladies and gentlemen, that rainy day has arrived!  Last year, 2009 NCAA Champs, this year, a round-trip ticket straight to the NIT.  Can't wait to see how a disappointing season impacts their 2011 ranking. 

And, because you simply can't mention UNC without hearing Duke (or vice versa), the Blue Devils are ranked #11 with a value of $16.4 million.  For the second consecutive year, their value has dropped.  The steady decline is attributed to their enormous operations budget which is 50% more than any other team.  This seems a bit excessive, especially when they share a market with UNC.  Anytime twice as much money is spent to do the same job, questions should be asked, eyebrows should be raised, and people should be fired.  Just sayin'.

For the complete list of rankings, check out the article and slideshow. 

You may now return to your regularly scheduled program with beer in one hand, bracket sheet in the other.

Gus Johnson: Mr. March Madness

If you've been following the NCAA Tournament for the past 15 years then you know that Gus Johnson aka Mr. March Madness, as I like to refer to him, is the man!  He's so good that he also serves as the play-by-play announcer for the Knicks, Big Ten Network, NFL and a few other sports.  

However, I love him most for the value he contributes to the NCAA Tournament.  There is no one better at calling the play-by-play of these games.  Period. Point blank.  End of discussion.  Gus gets into the "holiday spirit" and truly. loses. his. mind.    There's no way he can contain himself.  What I love most is that he doesn't even try.  His overt and unapologetic passion and excitement shows his pure and genuine love of the game.  For that reason, his level of hypeness gets me amped.  It's contagious! 

His calls go something kind of like this...wait for it...wait for it...wait for it...SCREAMING + SCREAMING! + MORE SCREAMING!!!  Nothing but pure awesomeness!  I love it!!!  As he's yelling at the top of his lungs, it's almost guaranteed that everyone in the bar is yelling right along with him.  Jumping up and down and making themselves dizzy from whatever they just witnessed. 

Everything about Johnson's play-by-play delivery is what makes this tournament so great. The unpredictability of each game always makes Johnson's outbursts seem like they come out of nowhere.  If you, for whatever reason, walk away from the TV for 5 seconds, all you need to do his hear Johnson's voice go 10 octaves higher and you'll know you missed something amazing.  Shame on you.


When Gus isn't calling a game, I often wonder if he's somewhere screaming like he's doing it for TV.  I think I curse CBS at least five times during the tourney when I realize that another play-by-play team is covering that game.  I feel cheated.  It's almost as if I wish they'd just patch Gus in and have him deliver the last minute or two of each game, just because.  I'm sure anyone who matters would be ok with that.

In case you're wondering, here's Gus Johnson's NCAA Tournament first round announcing schedule:

• Fri, 3/19 @ 12:15 ET – #2 West Virginia v #15 Morgan State
• Fri, 3/19 @ 2:35 ET – #7 Clemson v #10 Missouri
• Fri, 3/19 @ 7:10 ET – #8 Gonzaga v #9 Florida State
• Fri, 3/19 @ 9:30 ET – #1 Syracuse v #16 Vermont

Gus will then be announcing the winners of these games on Sunday.

If you're interested in anyone else's schedule, check it out here. 

We'll have to get through Day 1 without Gus, but on Friday, it's Gus (and Len Elmore) all day long.  Until then,  enjoy this. 

Lady Huskies Rewrite HERstory!

In honor of Women's History Month, I felt compelled to write about Women's sports.  It's only right.  I didn't really put any thought behind what the focus would be, but then the University of Connecticut's Lady Huskies won 71 consecutive games by defeating Notre Dame 59-44, today.  This was suddenly a no-brainer!

What's even more incredible is that they rewrote their own history!  Yep, they previously held the record for most consecutive victories with 70 wins from 2001-2003. Today, they're sitting pretty at the top of women's college basketball with 71 wins.  What other sport organizations, pro or collegiate can boast such an accomplishment?  OK, the '71-'74 UCLA Bruins, coached by Hall of Famer John Wooden, are still clutching to their 88 wins, but besides them?  What an amazing feat!

First of all, much respect to coach Geno Auriemma. The Lady Huskies have been under his leadership since 1985.  His resume is stacked with 6 National Championships, 10 Final Four appearances, and over 25 combined Big East Conference and Tournament Championships.  After 25 years, the University of Connecticut women's basketball program continues to dominate.  Whether it was Nykesha Sales, Rebecca Lobo, Diana Taurasi, or current team leaders Tina Charles and Maya Moore, the goal is always the same...WIN.  And, don't expect their program to fall off anytime soon.  They're constant success will only result in continuing to win over the top recruits in the country.  Get used to it!


I know I'll be rooting for them as they compete in the Big East tourney and move on to the NCAA Tournament.  My hope for them is to cut down the nets in April, lace up in November, and continue the streak.  Go after the Bruins record.  Let's get it!  Big East, stand up!