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…

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Duke basketball takes a step back with a thud

By TOM SHANAHAN Duke is Mike Krzyzewski winning five NCAA titles and 1,091 games. Duke is annual 5-star and 4-star talent stocking the roster. That usually doesn’t add up to the Blue Devils impressively winning two in a row followed by a sudden thud. But that was Duke in Monday night’s 77-75 loss at Miami. And this was Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski, who didn’t like what he saw in Sunday’s practice: “I thought we were soft and I…

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Duke’s lost football season giving way to basketball’s late start

PHOTO (Duke Athletics): Porter Wilson has been one of Duke's few bright spots, averaging 44.6 yards per punt with six downed inside the 20-yard line against Miami. By TOM SHANAHAN Basketball long ago crept into into football season, but the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated the overlap. Even though basketball started nearly a month later in late November, football has extended into mid-December. Some schools – especially those with strong hoop programs – that are suffering through a disappointing…

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