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Sidelines: March Madness brings redemption for Virginia

April 12, 2019

The University of Virginia men’s basketball team won the NCAA basketball championship last Monday by defeating Texas Tech in overtime.

Considering these two teams were two of the best defensive teams in college basketball this season, this was a surprisingly high scoring game, with Virginia winning with a score of 85 to 77. The fact that Virginia won the whole thing this year is a great story in itself, because last year they became the first number one seed to lose to a 16 seed in the history of the tournament. To come back the next year and win it all is pretty cool.

It was great that Texas Tech made it all the way to the championship game, proving just how important good defense can be in a single elimination tournament like this. It shows that any team can win this tournament, not just the well-known teams you hear about all season leading up to March Madness.

It really was a good tournament to watch. Both the men and women's teams had some outstanding games. I do wish that the final games would be on a weekend night. It's a real shame that so many people miss watching the final men’s game. Especially a great one like this year gave us.

It’s Masters week in golf, and, as most of you know, this is one of my favorite sporting events to watch every spring.

This course is truly one of the most beautiful courses played. It will be an interesting weekend with all the rain that's expected when they have already received two inches of rain. This will make the course play a lot longer than usual. It's a 7600 yard course, which is already long in today's golf world. 

I hope the weather forecasters are wrong about the prediction of thunderstorms on Sunday. It's always a disappointment to end a major tournament on a Monday. When that happens, it takes a lot of the drama out of the finish. 

I think the favorites will be Dustin Johnson and Ricky Fowler. Dustin Johnson crushes the ball, so if he's on his game, this wet course will be in his favor. Ricky Fowler is a favorite this year, after finishing in second place last year to Patrick Reed.

Tiger Woods always has a shot to win and he will probably be in contention come Sunday. I actually think that he has a better chance to win the U.S. Open at Pebble Beach in June because it is a much shorter golf course, but I hope he fairs well at this year’s Masters.

See you on the sidelines!

 

 

  • 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.

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