As I started my article for this week, I was watching the Duke versus Siena game. Duke survived and won the game 71-65. I feel bad for Siena. As a 16 seed, they were obviously underseeded by the selection committee. I think the best NCAA tournaments have most of the favorites winning and then one or two Cinderellas coming out of nowhere. That will produce the best drama possible in the tournament.
I picked Michigan and Houston to be in the championship game, with Michigan winning the title. Houston lost last year to Florida in the championship game. Michigan is one of the No. 1 seeds. I think it will be fitting for them to win the championship in this new era of college basketball. With the unlimited amounts of money, these college players can get paid now in order to play. I remember when Michigan's 1993 trip to the Final Four was vacated because some players were paid by boosters. I’m in favor of them getting paid something, but there have to be some limits. Hopefully that will happen soon.
Cameron Young won the Players Championship by one shot over Matthew Fitzpatrick from England. In an exciting finish, Young birdied the famous 17th island green hole on the way to his second victory on the PGA Tour. I think he’s going to win a lot more in the near future. Ludvig Åberg from Sweden had control of the tournament for the first three days, but really struggled on the back nine on Sunday to give Young and Fitzpatrick a chance to win. I hope the Masters in the second week of April has another exciting finish.
Team Venezuela beat the USA in the World Baseball Classic final by the score of 3-2. I think it is actually good for the future of the tournament that neither USA or Japan won to prove that other countries are also very good at baseball.
Phillie Bryce Harper actually had the most important hit for the USA team in the championship game. He hit a long home run to center field to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth inning. Venezuela then scored a run in the ninth to go ahead and win. When you only have three hits in the championship game, you’re not going to win doing that.
If they play this tournament on the usual three-year timetable, it’ll be next played in 2029. I don’t know if that’s going to happen because the the 2028 Olympics will have baseball and softball as well, so they might play the next tournament in 2030 instead. It will be interesting to see how it pans out.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
