I can’t say that I never heard of UMBC before. A former colleague is a curator at the gallery there. And I knew that it was in the Baltimore area. But I thought it was actually located near the Inner Harbor – that’s a different school in the University of Maryland family – and I certainly didn’t know it had a Division I basketball team.
Well, that’s changed. But the thing I like the most about their one-for-the-ages upset of Virginia, however, is not the upset but the two articles about the school in the NY Times. One gave an overview of a college that has become a leading research university and one of the leading sources of African Americans with PhDs; the other looked at the rather low level of excitement the upset produced on campus. It’s good to see that a school can accomplish something in intercollegiate sports without entirely losing its soul.
And now we get ready for a Sweet 16 with only seven seeds ranked 1 to 4, and only the East resembling chalk. The South winner will be a 5 seed – Kentucky – or higher. And while two top seeds remain, I don’t think anyone is confident in any predictions. Should be exciting.
Elsewhere, the sports world buzzes about:
- The Jets trade for the #3 pick. Is it worth it?
- Nine days till baseball season
- Get well soon, Ty Lue!
- Rory McIlroy wins for the first time in two years, and Tiger contends again. The Masters might be very good.
As ever, all sports topics welcome.