Yesterday was a good day to be a Guinness distributor and a #12 team in the NCAA tournament but not so good if you’re a tobacco-chewin’ Chicagoan.
Hang on to your hats as it’s a wild weekend full of March Madness basketball. Don’t feel bad if you didn’t pick Yale (#12) or Little Rock (#12) to win in your bracket, neither did President Obama and he has the NSA on his side.
One point for the underdogs,
The Last Night’s Game Team
NCAA BASKETBALL (COLLEGE)
Boys don’t cry. As promised, the game between a #5 team and a #12 team is statistically a prime game for an upset. We love it when we’re right, just don’t look at our brackets. Yale upset Baylor and University of Arkansas at Little Rock rocked Purdue.
What about us? Not to be outdone by the #12 teams, two #11 teams upset the #6 teams. Wichita State took down Arizona and Gonzaga beat Seton Hall.
Total domination. As expected, the #1 ranked teams (Kansas, Virginia and North Carolina) dominated. End of story.
Excitement overload. Virginia coach Tony Bennett (no, not THAT Tony Bennett) collapsed on the sideline during his team’s win. He said, "I think I was crouched down and was a little dehydrated and blacked out a little bit, but I'm OK."
Check to see if your bracket is still perfect after the first day here
MLB (MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL)
Da’ Dip. Chicago is the fourth big league city to institute a ban on smokeless tobacco at amateur and professional sporting events. (They also raised the smoking age from 18 to 21). Chicago Cubs and White Sox players and coaches aren’t thrilled about it as some have to kick the habit but others are peeved about the government intervention in the dugout. Better buy stock in nicotine gum.
#familyfirst. White Sox player Adam LaRoche announced his retirement after he was told by the White Sox front office that he was no longer to have his 14-year-old son around 100% of the time; that the locker room is a place where kids can visit but there needs to be time for the team to focus and be men. LaRoche, son of a former MLB player, would leave $13 million on the table if he retires. There are opinions and conspiracy theories flying around about the motive in this whole thing. You can draw your own conclusions. Or maybe this will be the next chapter on Serial.
FORMULA ONE (F1)
Vroom vroom. The Formula One race season starts this Sunday with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne. (You can catch the race at 1 am (EST) on Sunday on NBCSN). Check out our Coaches’ Corner to learn more about F1. You never know when you might run into a cute Brit in a bar who wants to talk racing.
OVERTIME
David Beckham’s former team, Manchester United, is playing their crosstown rivals, Manchester City this weekend. Anything can happen. This English rivalry is up there with the best; Yankees vs Red Sox, Ohio State vs Michigan or brunch vs happy hour. Watch it live on Sunday at 12 pm (EST) on NBC.
SIDELINE STAT
In NBA news, Golden State Warriors are playing the San Antonio Spurs on Saturday (5:30 pm (EST)) on ABC. The Spurs have won 42 straight home games and the Warriors are chasing a record of 73 wins in a season. Steph Curry, bring your A-game.
COACHES’ CORNER
The 4-1-1 on F1. Formula One (F1) is not NASCAR. Yes, they have cars and checkered flags but they’re more like cousins than sister sports.
Lewis Hamilton, who has been previously linked to Nicole Scherzinger, was last season’s back-to-back winner with his teammate Nico Rosberg in a close second. There’s more tension between these two than a Republican debate, although the drivers try to hide it.
There are 21 grand prix’s this year, more races than ever.
The only stop in America is the U.S. Grand Prix is held in Austin, Texas in the fall.
Don’t blink as pit stops (for new tires for instance) typically take only three seconds.
A Formula One driver loses about 6.5 pounds (3 kg) of weight during a race as a result of high G-forces and temperatures. That’s one way to fit into an evening gown.