Basketball And Football Thoughts

By: Pete Yanity News Channel 7 Sports | News Channel 7
Published: March 31, 2009 | 0 Comments | Post a Comment

The good news about this year’s NCAA Tourney is that the selection committee did a very good job with the match-ups and seedings.

The bad news about this year’s tourney is that the selection committee did what’s mentioned above.

It’s pretty much been a yawner. Although Villanova/Pittsburgh was a great game in the Elite Eight, for me there was very little zest because neither was a David compared to a Goliath. Each hails from the same power conference that was regarded as the nation’s best this season and although Pitt was trying to finally make the Final Four and Villanova hadn’t been there since it made history there still wasn’t enough “little guy” in the game.

And that’s why this tournament has drawn yawns from all corners. As much as the NCAA and CBS need the brand names to move accordingly through the tournament, the casual fan needs that little guy (see G. Mason, 2006) to also hang around because we’re a country that loves that kind of team.

But so it goes. In a year when we really needed the Big Dance to give us something else to think about sadly it doesn’t come through.

On another subject, as spring football proceeds for Clemson and USC a couple of players are interesting stories for each.

Clemson’s Rendrick Taylor has always looked the part with a Mr. Universe body but he’s been plagued by injuries. He’s being used as a running back as well as wide receiver this spring and maybe head coach Dabo Swinney said it best when he noted that Taylor’s a hard guy to explain to NFL scouts. With his 6-2, 235 pound frame and decent speed he could provide another weapon between tackles as well as a big target downfield in the passing game.

If his final year in a Clemson uniform is one in which he stays healthy then a year from now we could be talking about a player who’s intriguing the NFL folks.

At South Carolina, defensive end/linebacker Cliff Matthews is also being given a shot at tight end because of his size and hands. In a recent scrimmage he caught a ball and went 40 yards on the play. With Jared Cook gone to the NFL the Gamecocks need someone besides Weslye Saunders at the position.

Although Matthews will spend the bulk of his time on defense he did play tight end extensively in high school. Now, he could go from secret weapon to reliable receiver.