Sports Then and Now

April 1, 1985 marks a special day in NCAA college basketball history.

College basketball players, fans, coaches and pundits have claimed that on that memorable day 31 years ago the Villanova Wildcats emerged as the closest a team has ever come to playing a perfect game.

Also, many have cited that April 1, 1985 marked the greatest upset victory in the history of NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship Games.

The iconic win captivated college basketball fans. At Lexington, Kentucky’s Rupp Arena, Villanova captured its first ever NCAA men’s tournament crown under its likeable chubby coach Rollie Massimino.

Seeded #8, Villanova remains the lowest ranked team to ever win an NCAA title. The Big East team bested #9 seed Dayton Flyers, #7 seed UNC Tar Heels, #5 seed Memphis State Tigers and #2 seed Michigan Wolverines to advance to the Big Dance’s biggest party.

On that special Monday night on April 1, 1985, Villanova played brilliantly against the previous year’s defending champion and dominating #1 overall seed in the field. Led by legendary coach John Thompson II, the Hoyas were odds on favorite to defeat the undersized and undermanned Wildcats. Read the rest of this entry →

Going from having millions of fans worldwide watching your every move and genuinely being one of the best – if not the best – at what you do on the planet, to the realms of being mere mortal is a difficult transition. And it isn’t one that every sportsman is able to navigate successfully. Largely due to a combination of a startling lack of business acumen, poor decisions, lavish lifestyles and divorce (reputedly around the 80% mark for top US athletes), it doesn’t take long for one time heroes to become zeros – sometimes literally when it comes to finances.

In 2009, Sports Illustrated published a report highlighting just how bad this problem is. It found that an astonishing 78% of NFL players find themselves in “financial distress” within just 2 years of retiring. Around 60% of NBA players, who with an average salary of $5million is higher than every other sport, are bankrupt within 5 years of calling it a day on the court.

This isn’t always the case however, here are some examples where top sportsmen have gone on to build a successful – and occasionally surprising –  career after retiring from their former profession.

1. Magic Johnson

One of the finest basketball players of all time, the point guard achieved practically everything there was to achieve in the game. During his 14-year career which included 2 comebacks, Johnson won 5 NBA titles, 3 Final MVPs, and 3 regular season MVPs, and even found the time for an Olympic gold medal. He still has the highest average assists per game in history – 11.2, and playoff assists – 12.3.

His career since retirement has been no less successful. Despite a less than auspicious start (his TV show was pulled after 2 months) Johnson found a taste for business and never looked back. He was one of those who invested in Starbucks before anyone had even heard of the now omnipresent coffee shop brand. His company – Magic Johnson Enterprises – has its fingers in many industries from banking to entertainment and has helped the former Laker star earn a reputed $500 million.

2. George Foreman

Foreman’s recent career has become so successful and high profile that anyone who can’t remember back to a time when everyone didn’t have a cell phone could be forgiven for thinking that this is what he has always done. The rest of us of course know that he was one of the most formidable and talented heavyweight boxers of all time. He will always have a place in boxing folklore due to his part in the Rumble in the Jungle – one the most famous and entertaining fights of all time, but his record stands up for itself: 81 fights, 76 wins, 68 of those by way of KO, and just 5 defeats. And don’t forget that most of those were during the golden era of heavyweight boxing.

When he came out of retirement at age 45 to knock Michael Moorer (then 27) out, he became the oldest heavyweight world champion in history.  When he finally retired for good, he teamed up with Russell Hobbs Inc, and launched the George Foreman Fat Reducing Grill, which he had helped design. It was an instant success and has sold over 100 million units in less than 15 years. Though he has never disclosed how much he has made from the grill, it is believed at its peak the preacher was earning $4.5 million a month. In total, it is estimated he has earned in excess of $200 million from the endorsement. A lot more than he than he ever made in the ring, actually. Read the rest of this entry →

Will the bubble burst for the Syracuse Orange come selection Sunday in another two days? That is in the hands of the NCAA selection committee. While ESPN bracketologist Joe Lunardi forecasted earlier in the week that the Orange were his last team to receive entry into the field of 68, Syracuse will have to sweat it out over the next couple of days. What happens with other “bubble” teams in conference tournaments will largely dictate whether or not the Orange receives a bid.

In his 40th season as head coach of the Orange, Jim Boeheim finds his team sitting  on the NCAA bubble.

One of these teams is Oregon State. The Beavers lost to California 76-68 in the PAC-12 tournament quarterfinals leaving them at 19-12. Oregon State, who went 9-9 in the PAC-12, won three of their last four in conference play. The Beavers split their regular season series with conference champion Oregon, Utah, and California who all finished in the top four of the final PAC-12 regular season standings. Their best win is against the Ducks who went 14-4 in the conference and 26-6 overall. As of press time, Oregon is still alive in the PAC-12 Tournament.

Other teams battling with Syracuse on the bubble include Monmouth (27-7, 17-3), Michigan (21-11, 10-8), Tulsa (20-10, 12-6), Connecticut (21-10, 11-7), Texas Southern (18-13, 16-2), St. Mary’s (27-5, 15-3), and Holy Cross (14-19, 5-13).

The fates of all these teams – along with that of Syracuse – are still to be determined with how they do in their postseason tournaments being a big factor. Yet, the committee will also be looking at their full body of work during the whole season. Where teams place in the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) is always a big factor along with what a team’s record is against any top-25 teams that they faced during the season.

Some of the issues facing the committee will be projecting a team from a non-power conference into the field versus a team from a power conference that might have had a down or sub-par year but still has a decent overall resume like the Orange. How a team finishes the season is also looked at in addressing its’ whole body of work.

For example does a Monmouth team who gained national prominence this season behind head coach King Rice, the former North Carolina starter for the late Dean Smith, get an edge over the Orange who had a down but competitive year in a tougher and power conference in that of the Atlantic Coast Conference? Syracuse finished 19-12 in the regular season and went 9-9 in the ACC where they placed 10^th. Monmouth lost to Iona 79-76 in the championship game of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Tournament on March 7. The Hawks beat Notre Dame, Georgetown, UCLA, and USC this year. While perennial NCAA Tournament participants Georgetown (15-18, 7-11), UCLA (15-17, 6-12), and USC (21-12, 9-9) had down years, those are still positive wins for the lower profile Hawks. Read the rest of this entry →

Steph Curry and the Golden State Warriors are shouting out their claim for the best record in NBA history.

With just 19 games left in the 2015-2016 season, the defending NBA Champion Golden State Warriors are on pace to break a record many thought was unbreakable, the 72 regular season victories of the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls.

If the Warriors are to hit jackpot city and break the record, they will need to win 16 of their final 19 games. Considering that they have gone 17-2 in their most recent 19 games, it is certainly within reach.

After winning their first 24 games to start the season, the Warriors have endured an occasional lapse, but for the most part have been the most dominant team in the league. Though they were surprisingly stuffed last Sunday by the Los Angeles Lakers 112-95, they have rebounded with consecutive wins to get back on track.

Having raised his game to MVP level a year ago, Steph Curry has been even better this year raising his scoring average from 23.8 points per game to a league best 30.4 per contest. Considering that he has sat out the fourth quarter of many blowout wins, his average might have been even higher.

Providing a great second offensive punch is fifth-year forward Klay Thompson. Like Curry (son of Dell Curry), Thompson is the son of a former NBA star as his father, Mychal Thompson won two rings with the Los Angeles Lakers of the 1980s.

During the recent NBA All-Star Weekend, Thompson showed he could hold his own as he defeated Curry in the three-point shooting contest. He is averaging 21.8 points per game and would probably be considered the top three-point shooter in the league were it not for Curry.

Much was made of a recent outburst by power forward Draymond Green. However, it is Green’s feisty competitiveness that gives the Warriors a dynamic edge. Green is averaging 13.5 points and 9.6 rebounds per game while anchoring the Golden State defense. Read the rest of this entry →

As the NCAA basketball season inches towards tournament time, allow me to highlight my favorite place on the planet to watch college hoops.

As Philadelphia’s most revered sports venue, the Palestra is appropriately called the Cathedral of College Basketball.

Recognized as the birthplace of college basketball, this hallowed arena opened its doors on the University of Pennsylvania campus on January 1, 1927. On that seminal day, Ivy League rivals Penn and Yale tipped off in what would become the first of thousands of games held in this building.

Named after an ancient Greek rectangular enclosure, the sparkling new facility was designed to house 8,722 spectators.

However, more than 10,000 excited fans crammed into the Palestra to witness Penn beat Yale 26 – 15 on its opening day.

Since then, the Palestra has hosted more NCAA college basketball games than any other arena in the country.

Beginning 1955, the Palestra has also served as the home court for the round robin of Big 5 college basketball games. Though not an official league or athletic conference, the Big 5 boasts five successful college basketball programs located within a 17 mile radius of center city Philadelphia. Read the rest of this entry →

The Philadelphia 76ers will need to get moving if they hope to not finish with one of the worst records in NBA history.

The Philadelphia 76ers have started the 2015-2016 season with 17 straight losses, but they have a long way to go to be considered even the worst team in franchise history.

That honor currently rests with the 1972-73 76ers squad that remains the only team in NBA history to finish a complete (82 game) season with fewer than 10 victories.

With a roster that included future Hall of Famer Hal Greer in his final season and leading scorer Fred Carter, the 76ers had won 30 games the previous season, but started with 15 straight losses and were 3-35 before the calendar turned to 1973.

Head coach Roy Rubin was fired after a 4-47 start and replaced by guard Kevin Loughery, who was nearing the end of his 11-year playing career. Loughery was listed as a player-coach having played in 32 games earlier in the season, but after not scoring in the second game he served as coach, Loughery did not see action again and focused on his coaching role.

The 76ers were marginally better playing for Loughery with a 5-26 record, but all five of those wins came during a seven game stretch in mid-February. The team lost the first 11 games coached by Loughery and the last 13 to complete their miserable campaign with a 9-73 mark.

Given that the current 76ers have not won a game since March 25th, a string that includes their final 10 games of last season and first 17 so far this campaign, they certainly have a chance to match the futility of 1972-73.

However, given that the 76ers also started last season by losing their first 17 games, but finished with 18 wins on the year, there certainly could be time for the team to achieve respectability.

In comparing the 1972-73 76ers with the current team, the most striking difference is in the experience level of the team members. In addition to Greer, who was in his 14th season, the squad included three other players with 10 years of professional experience and only one rookie. Read the rest of this entry →