True, Calipari’s approach to recruiting stars, who are lured to his team at least in part by their chances at making it in the NBA, may make him millions. But it also makes his job harder: Losing six players to the draft in one year, including two extremely promising freshmen, means he can’t coast through the next couple of years with an experienced team of veteran players.
Seriously?
BOSTON — The game-winning goal that Joel Ward of the Washington Capitals scored against the Boston Bruins in overtime on Wednesday did two things, both embarrassing to Boston. It knocked the reigning champion Bruins out of the N.H.L. playoffs, and it unleashed a flurry of Twitter slurs against Mr. Ward that summoned an old, familiar image of this city as a den of racist white sports fans.
All good liberals prefer Barcelona; Real Madrid was Franco’s team.
BARCELONA, Spain — Cristiano Ronaldo scored in the 73rd minute to send Barcelona to its first loss in 55 home games and put Real Madrid on the cusp of breaking the Catalan giants’ three-year hold on the Spanish league crown with a 2-1 win Saturday.
Sami Khedira opened the scoring in the 17th minute with Madrid’s league-record 108th goal of the season. Ronaldo sealed the victory with his league-record 42nd goal moments after Alexis Sanchez tied it for Barcelona.
Madrid’s 19th league game without a loss lifted it seven points ahead of Barcelona at the top of the standings with four rounds to go.Cristiano Ronaldo lifts Real Madrid by Barcelona, close to title – ESPN.
Palo Alto, April 17 – Five of Stanford University’s top computer science students today announced they are leaving school early and declaring for the tech sector draft this spring, prompting more calls for rule changes that would require student-mathletes to spend at least two years in college.
Internet security sensation Anthony Davis is expected to go number one to Google. Some pre-draft projections have power programmer Michael Kidd-Gilchrist headed to Apple with the second pick. Interface design phenom Terrance Jones is believed likely to end up at Facebook. Twitter is said to be high on 140-character specialist Doron Lamb. The National Security Agency is widely rumored to covet search engine wunderkind Marquis Teague.
The student-mathletes are all expected to sign lucrative, multi-year contracts.
“It’s a travesty,” said college computing analyst Dick Vitale. “These kids made a commitment to these universities and to these fans. The integrity of the program really needs to be called into question, and I think the tech sector needs to act stop this exodus.”
Ludicrous, right? I mean, who would really care if a computer genius left college early and went pro, earning millions of dollars (ahem/Bill Gates/Steve Jobs)? Nobody. But if basketball phenoms do the exact same thing, it’s a sign of the decline of western civilization? Please.
I think it’s time we admitted that the concerns about early entry to the NBA are selfish. Fans, including me, want to see these guys in play more than one year of college ball. The NCAA and the schools want them to stay longer so they can make more money off them. We romanticize and idealize the idea of college basketball, and the news conference being held at Kentucky this evening lays bare the reality. An elite few players are ready to pursue professional careers after only one season. They won’t play four years. Won’t graduate. And that was their intent all along.
So what?
John Calipari is more honest and less sanctimonious than just about anyone else on this issue. The rules are the rules; he wishes they would change. But it’s his job to make these guys the best players they can be, win championships and yes, make it to the NBA. Done, done and done.
None of these players come from wealthy backgrounds. All of them have devoted thousands of hours to their chosen craft. They brought joy and honor to their university, and on draft day, they are going to live out a quite wonderful version of the American dream.
Not a thing wrong with that.
I am voluntarily watching a hockey game – Caps-Bruins. Hockey wasn’t exactly big in Northern Kentucky, so I just never got into it. But the Caps are good and I have to say, it’s a pretty cool. I’m totally lost, can’t figure out what’s illegal and what isn’t in terms of hitting, but I’m enjoying it.
