{"id":164770,"date":"2023-04-04T03:45:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-04T08:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/?p=164770"},"modified":"2023-04-04T03:46:00","modified_gmt":"2023-04-04T08:46:00","slug":"random-thoughts-hoops-hardball","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/2023\/04\/04\/random-thoughts-hoops-hardball\/","title":{"rendered":"Random Thoughts: hoops, hardball"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

SCOTT TRUXELL\/<\/strong>independent editor<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The latest installment of Random Thoughts centers around the national champions, Major League Baseball\u2019s pitch clock, LSU, Ohio women\u2019s hoops, Mother Nature, Lamar Jackson and a reminder for coaches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

National champions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Unlike many tournament games this year, there was no wild and wacky ending to the game. UConn dominated from start to finish and handily defeated San Diego St. 76-59 last night, giving the Huskies the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It doesn’t take away from perhaps the most entertaining tournament in recent memory. What a tournament it was. Looking back, UConn was probably underseeded but given what happened to anyone seeded 1-3, that may not have been a bad thing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Regardless, it was a tournament we won’t soon forget. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pitch clock<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know I\u2019m probably in the minority here but that\u2019s okay. I like Major League Baseball\u2019s new pitch clock. There \u2013 I said it. Yes, it\u2019s going to take some getting used to and if they need to make some tweaks to it, that\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Baseball purists don\u2019t like it but how many people like sitting at a game in mid-July or August when it\u2019s 90 degrees, watching pitchers take forever on the mound, or batters step out of the box after every other pitch? Sorry, but that\u2019s not fan friendly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

MLB games used to take between an hour and 45 minutes to roughly two hours and 15 minutes. Last year, a lot of games ran three to three-and-half hours. That just doesn\u2019t seem like a lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m also not buying the argument that concession sales will plummet since breaks in the middle of and between innings are limited to 2:15. If people want something to eat or drink, they\u2019ll still get it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

LSU<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

LSU looked impressive while beating Iowa for the women\u2019s NCAA basketball national championship, but the sideline antics of head coach Kim Mulkey were appalling. She badgered the officials for what seems like start to finish, spent a sizable amount of time actually on the court and made quite a spectacle of herself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I don\u2019t doubt she\u2019s a top notch coach, a legendary coach, but the university should be embarrassed after that display.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women\u2019s hoops<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What an exciting women\u2019s postseason in the Buckeye State.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Ohio State advanced to the Elite Eight, Bowling Green advanced to the WNIT Fab Four and Ashland University won the Division II national championship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Nature<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hey Mother Nature \u2013 can we get some more spring sports in? Please?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lamar Jackson<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I could be wrong but it seems like Lamar Jackson\u2019s time in Baltimore is nearing an end. It\u2019s not good for anyone when your quarterback requests a trade, which he did in early March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personally, I think he\u2019s overvalued himself. Yes, his regular season record is nice but he\u2019s won exactly one playoff game. 1-3 in the postseason. Isn\u2019t that what it\u2019s about? Playoff wins?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s the injury factor. He hasn\u2019t played a full schedule since his rookie year. There\u2019s no doubt he\u2019s dynamic but he\u2019s not helping anyone if he can\u2019t play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Coaches<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A reminder to spring sports coaches \u2013 please send (or have someone send) your postgame stats, numbers etc. to help us get the word out about your teams. The email address is sports@thevwindependent.com.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As always, if you have thoughts or comments on any of the above subjects, feel free to email me at sports@thevwindependent.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

SCOTT TRUXELL\/independent editor The latest installment of Random Thoughts centers around the national champions, Major League Baseball\u2019s pitch clock, LSU, Ohio women\u2019s hoops, Mother Nature, Lamar Jackson and a reminder for coaches. National champions Unlike many tournament games this year, there was no wild and wacky ending to the game. UConn dominated from start to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-164770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-08-04 08:58:51","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164770","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164770"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164770\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":164773,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164770\/revisions\/164773"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164770"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164770"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thevwindependent.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164770"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}