Read and React: Cinderella hasn't arrived at the NCAA tourney yet
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Happy Friday, Read and Reactors! Good news: your bracket’s probably in pretty good shape! Bad news: so is everyone else’s. Day 1 of the NCAA tournament is in the books, and so far, Cinderella hasn’t made it to the dance. Did her Uber get lost? Can someone text her and see if she’s on the way?
Ja rules a first round that’s not very fiery
We’re smack-dab in the middle of two of the greatest sports days in the year. Unfortunately for chaos-lovers, the action ran pretty chalky on Thursday.
The prime highlights were individual: Murray State’s Ja Morant established himself as the likely No. 2 pick in the NBA draft with the first NCAA tourney triple-double in half a decade. And Fletcher MaGee, who’s a Wofford ballplayer and not a gumshoe 1950s detective, set an NCAA record for career three-pointers.
But Yale couldn’t buy its way past LSU, Auburn skated on a curious last-second New Mexico State decision, and Belmont just barely missed upsetting Maryland on a complex “Panic Reverse” backdoor play.
Save us, Friday!
The NCAA tournament has a way of balancing the karma scales, and that means Friday ought to have an overflow of buzzer-beaters and upsets. Let’s look at the slate:
Our Jeff Eisenberg ranks Oregon-Wisconsin as the best game to watch, another strong candidate for a 12-5 upset. Keep an eye out for players like UCF’s 7-foot-6 Tacko Fall and some guy on Duke named Zion Williamson, an up-and-coming baller who might just start drawing attention soon.
And then, of course, there’s Virginia. No one will ever give the first #1 seed to lose to a #16, as the Cavs did last year, the benefit of the doubt … but we wouldn’t be surprised if UVa hung 300 on poor Gardner-Webb.
So before Friday’s games, give your bracket a kiss and some love. This time tomorrow, it might not look so pretty. Enjoy the tournament, everyone!
NFL report: League paid under $10M in Kaepernick settlement
When Colin Kaepernick and Eric Reid settled their collusion claims against the NFL, conventional wisdom held that the players must have banked an oil tanker full of money, given the secrets they (theoretically) could have unveiled. The true figure, according to the Wall Street Journal, appears to be much smaller. Why? No one’s saying … yet.
NBA: Warriors’ Thompson doesn’t worry about ‘fickle’ fans
This is how it will end for the Warriors: not beaten from the outside, but blown apart from within. Klay Thompson took another shot at the most privileged fans in sports, saying Warriors fans are “fickle” and he can’t worry about pleasing them when he needs to focus on his game. Sure, Klay, you’ve won three titles in the last four years, but what have you done for the fans this year?
NFL: New rules could include pass interference review
One year too late for the Saints to go to the Super Bowl, the NFL is considering a rule change that would allow video review of pass interference calls. Other proposals would alter overtime and onside kicks. The NFL’s owners will vote on the proposals next week; to pass, a proposal must get approval of 24 of 32 of the league’s ruling elite.
WETZEL: Nobody should be shocked when Tom Izzo rips his own players
THAMEL: Ja Morant vaults his way onto the national stage with flair
KEYSER: Do Arizona fans even know who they got in Goldschmidt trade?
In-your-face tournament action!
Unfortunately for LSU, spilling delicious new Orange Vanilla Coke Zero is an NCAA violation.
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