Read more about the article College basketball’s March Madness showing us everything college football lacks

College basketball’s March Madness showing us everything college football lacks

PHOTO (Loyola Chicago Athletics): Loyola Chicago's Ramblers celebrating upsetting No. 1 seed Illinois. By TOM SHANAHAN Oh, how we missed the NCAA basketball tournament. The 2021 resumption of March Madness upsets has resoundingly reminded us a year after the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the 2020 tournament. The 2020 college football post-season, though, played out as if we wouldn't have missed anything. The College Football Playoff was the same old, same old. Alabama won the national title – this time…

Continue ReadingCollege basketball’s March Madness showing us everything college football lacks
Read more about the article From a snap judgment call to a call for accountability, we’ve come a long way with a long way still to go

From a snap judgment call to a call for accountability, we’ve come a long way with a long way still to go

PHOTO: Marquette coach Al McGuire (L), Jerome Whitehead (54) and Bernard Toone celebrate winning the 1977 NCAA title. By TOM SHANAHAN The basketball gods can turn quickly, even on a star athlete described as a “gentle giant.” March Madness is in full swing, making this a good time reflect on Marquette center Jerome Whitehead's story. From one NCAA tournament to another, he went from a hero, justly, to a goat (lower case), unfairly. Whitehead emerged a Final Four…

Continue ReadingFrom a snap judgment call to a call for accountability, we’ve come a long way with a long way still to go
Read more about the article My trip down March Madness memory lane watching Butch Lee as the most decorated player, Magic as the best and John Shoemaker the top all-around athlete

My trip down March Madness memory lane watching Butch Lee as the most decorated player, Magic as the best and John Shoemaker the top all-around athlete

PHOTO: John Shoemaker (right) the night he was honored at Dodger Stadium as the franchise's "Captain of Player Development" in 2015. Then-Dodgers catcher A.J. Ellis stands with him as one of the 133 big-leaguers Shoemaker has helped groom. Shoemaker was one of the first college athletes to take advantage of an NCAA rule that permitted signing as a pro in one sport and retaining college eligibility in another. Magic Johnson and Shoemaker are both Dodgers now, but on…

Continue ReadingMy trip down March Madness memory lane watching Butch Lee as the most decorated player, Magic as the best and John Shoemaker the top all-around athlete