Acknowledging Greatness

If you haven't seen HBO's "Thrilla in Manila," it's a must see for boxing fans, Muhammad Ali fans and definitely those of us who grew up during the Golden Age of heavyweight boxing, the 1970s. It's amazing more than 30 years later how much disdain Frazier still has for Ali and even Larry Holmes throws a jab at The Greatest by saying he was overrated as a boxer. What each legend fails to realize, however, is how much they have profited by being part of Ali's lore. How much would we talk about Joe Frazier now if there wasn't Ali attached to it?

And the painful fact for both Frazier and Holmes is that their greatest boxing victories each occurred over Ali. Let's look at Smokin' Joe's career: Just ask yourself, what quality opponent did Frazier really beat besides Ali in their "Fight of the Century." Remember, Frazier only fought 37 times and his most notable victory other than Ali came over Jerry Quarry or Jimmy Ellis, both second-rate heavyweights. Ali made Frazier and Frazier's remarkable night in March 1971 defined not only his career but his life. You have to credit Ali for a portion of that respect.

Now to Holmes. As we did with Frazier, let's look at Holmes' biggest win other than beating a 38-year-old Ali in 1980. I can still remember my uncle believing Ali was pulling the rope-a-dope until about the 10th round. OK, Holmes' biggest wins besides Ali are over an overrated Gerry Cooney, aging Ken Norton, hard-hitting but little else Earnie Shavers (and Ali beat a younger Shavers in 1977) and contenders such as Mike Weaver and James "Bonecrusher" Smith. Not exactly, Dempsey, Tunney and Jack Johnson. So while it is easy to be critical of Ali because of his current state, Frazier and Holmes have to acknowledge that Ali has put more money in their pocket and notoriety to their name than anyone else.

The Greatest has that kind of power -- still.

Let's remember Lyman Bostock

The tragic death of Angels rookie pitcher Nick Adenhart conjures memories of another Angel player who tragically died in August 1978 after being shot in a car by a jealous husband of one of the car's passengers. Bostock was just 27 years old. After struggling his first month of a large free-agent contract with the California Angels, Bostock offered to give his salary back to management. He was talked out of that by team owner Gene Autry. He batted .336 for the Minnesota Twins the previous season and could have emerged as one of the game's great hitters. It was a tragic loss and we should be reminded that athletes, despite their status and affluence, are not beyond the brutal realities of life. Keep Lyman Bostock and Nick Adenhart in your thoughts.

Geno Auriemma is right

The never-at-a-loss-for-words Connecticut women's coach kept it real Saturday when he basically said that the perception is teams with mostly white players are soft and disciplined and teams with majority black players are perceived to be tough and undisciplined. The Lady Huskies, who are 36-0, take on Stanford on Sunday night in the National Semifinal in St. Louis. While the Huskies are filled with talented African American players, including the brilliant Maya Moore, Stanford's team has mostly white players.

In past years, Stanford has featured an African American playmaking guard such as Nicole Powell or Candice Wiggins, who as a Cal grad I was glad to see graduate after four years of absolutely embarrassing my Bears. This year's team doesn't have that dominant African American player. Redshirt junior Rosalyn Gold-Onwude and freshman Nnemkadi Ogwumike (a future star) are compliments to standout players Jayne Appel and Jeanette Pohlen.

Stanford is hardly a soft team. While Appel has a girl-next-door look, she is treacherous in the paint and an intense competitor. Stanford, because of its high academic standards, has to recruit a different type of student athlete. Just because an athlete is smart or from an affluent area doesn't mean they are soft, however. Auriemma was right. The perception is that Stanford has a bunch of private school girls who hardly like to break a sweat while his crew of African American players are rugged and undisciplined.

While coaches don't like to talk race or acknowledge that stereotypes even exist in recruiting and how teams are perceived, Auriemma did an admirable job of taking on a difficult topic. We don't live in a race-free America nor do we understand completely other environments and communities that are not ours. We live off perceptions. We stereotype. We assume kids from lower socioeconomic backgrounds are tougher and have more desire while kids from upper class backgrounds should flourish because they have had it easy. We assume black kids from big cities grew up in poverty while white kids from suburbs were reared with two parents, two siblings, a housekeeper and a dog named Sparky.

We assume that every Stanford player has the same monolithic story, as does every player from UConn. Let's hope Auriemma's comments will allow us to look at the Final Four a little differently and force us to do our homework when it comes to learning about those who are different from ourselves.

Washburn's Final Four Picks

(2) Michigan State vs. (1) Connecticut at Ford Field in Detroit (UConn by 4) So the Spartans ruined my bracket and made it all the way to Detroit, a mere 90 minutes from the East Lansing campus. You have to give credit to Tom Izzo, this Michigan State team may not have an NBA first-round pick on its roster and yet it continues to knock off more talented teams as Sunday, when Louisville looked lost and uninterested in a 64-52 decision. The Spartans play great defense, but the one thing I noticed is that they hit every big shot to beat Louisville. They were 8-for-16 from the 3-point line and got 19 points and 10 rebounds from Goran Suton. That won't happen against Hasheem Thabeet, although I am not so sure Thabeet needs to bolt UConn for the NBA Draft in June.

The Huskies won't take Michigan State lightly as Louisville did and the home-court advantage won't be much of a factor. Remember, North Carolina dismantled the Spartans in the same arena in December. Look out for Jeff Adrien, a grown man in the paint, to have a big game and lead UConn to the national title game. UConn 68, Michigan State 59.


(3) Villanova vs. (1) North Carolina (UNC by 7 1/2) The Wildcats could be a team of destiny but it's a stretch to compare them to the '85 bunch that beat Georgetown in one of the bigger upsets in sports history. The Tarheels are playing like a national championship team, breaking down Oklahoma with relative east last weekend. North Carolina is an elite team with Ty Lawson at point guard, so much so that Tyler Hansbrough (above) was the fourth option. That is depth. And while Villanova won't go down easily, the North Carolina players remember how terrible they played in the first half last season against Kansas in the national semifinal. Scottie Reynolds and Dante Cunningham will need to replace Gary McClain and Ed Pinkney as far as heroic efforts to push the Wildcats to the title game, but they will fall short. North Carolina 71, Villanova 66.

Calipari to Kentucky, a good choice

John Calipari taking the Kentucky job is a good move for both sides. There was only so much Calipari was going to be able to accomplish at Memphis as long as the Tigers were in Conference USA. We have learned that if Memphis does not get any competition in conference play, which it hasn't the past few years, it is not going to be able to compete with the major programs of college basketball.

The loss to Missouri in the Sweet 16 proved that. Kentucky needed a charasmtic coach and perhaps the Big Blue faithful are lamenting their treatment of Tubby Smith. Bill Gillespie was a terrible fit at Kentucky and did little with the emmense talent the Wildcats possessed. Obviously Calipari is a sparking recruiter who already knows how to recruit the mid-South as well as nationally. The Tigers' style of play was attractive to prep standouts who want to play in the NBA and the competition against the Southeastern Conference and in non conference will allow Calipari to take the Wildcats to Rick Pitino days.

A good choice for Kentucky.

Washburn's Saturday NCAA Picks

(3) Missouri vs. (1) Connecticut in Glendale, Ariz. (UConn by 5 1/2) The Huskies have looked great in their first three games but they will need to slow things down against the speedy Tigers, who beat Memphis at their own game in the Sweet 16. UConn has enough experience and solid guard play to withstand the Missouri onslaught. The key players to watch at Huskies guard A.J. Price and Craig Austrie and how they handle the full-court pressure. Missouri played a sparkling game against Memphis and it's likely it won't be able to repeat it. UConn 75, Missouri 65.

(3) Villanova vs. (1) Pittsburgh in Boston, Mass. (Pitt by 2) It's an old Big East battle for a trip to the Final Four and Pitts lost to Villanova in January. But this will be different because the Panthers are a team that appears destined for the Final Four. Levance Fields willed the victory over Xavier on Thursday and he and DeJuan Blair will do it again. The Villanova defense stifled Duke but the Blue Devils had no beef inside and that made them vulnerable. That won't happen against Pitt. Pittsburgh 63, Villanova 59.

Washburn's Friday Picks: 2-2.

Washburn's Friday Tourney Picks

(12) Arizona vs. (1) Louisville in Indianapolis. (UL by 9) Does the Wildcats' luck run out in Indy? Or can Arizona's three NBA caliber players continue their unlikely NCAA run? The trio of Nic Wise, Chase Budinger and Jordan Hill have finally played well together for a prolonged time, but the Cardinals are on a mission and Terrence Williams is the best player in America that nobody knows about. Arizona won't be rattled by the Louisville pressure because it has endured a treacherous schedule but the Cardinals will prevail in the end. Louisville 78, Arizona 69.

(3) Syracuse vs. (2) Oklahoma in Memphis (Okla by 1) Many folks are picking the Orange to move to the Elite Eight but I think there's something special about this Oklahoma team that will carry it to the Final Four. The Orange have no answer for Blake Griffin besides fouls from Rich Jackson and Arinze Onuaku. They are going to have to rough him up and Jonny Flynn will have to win the matchup with Austin Johnson but the Sooners are a team of destiny. Oklahoma 67, Syracuse 60.

(3) Kansas vs. (2) Michigan State in Indianapolis. (MSU by 1 1/2) The Jayhawks weren't supposed to be here. They lost nearly everybody from their National Championship team but thanks to the coaching of Bill Self and the amazing seasons of Sherron Collins and Cole Aldrich. Kansas lost to Michigan State on Jan. 10, but this is a different team. And the Spartans weren't exactly impressive in the past few weeks, losing to Ohio State in the Big 10 Tournament and then needing some favorable calls down the stretch to beat USC in the second round. This is not a great Michigan State team and it will find that out tonight. Kansas 65, Michigan State 58.

(4) Gonzaga vs. (1) North Carolina in Memphis. (UNC by 8 1/2) The most interesting of the four games because no one knows how Gonzaga will reach against one of the nation's elite teams. The Zags didn't fare so well against Memphis last month, getting blown out at home on national television. But if Jeremy Pargo, Josh Heytfelt and Matt Bouldin want to go down as one of the great teams in Gonzaga history, they need to find a way to win this game. The Tarheels struggled with LSU in the second round and are vulnerable. This will be the stunner of the tournament. Gonzaga 69, North Carolina 68.

Washburn's Thursday record: 3-1.