Man, guys. What an NIT. What a championship! Good luck matching that, tournaments of lesser stature (not you, WNIT, Seton Hall @ South Dakota State tomorrow at 3:00 PM EDT on CBSSN should be incredible).
Xavier Triumphs
We cannot say enough about Jonas Hayes’s performance as Xavier’s head coach these last three weeks, nor will we likely ever be able to say enough. We’d have to dig into this, were we to figure it out, but Hayes well might be the only interim head coach to ever win the NIT. A great sendoff for Madison Square Garden—at least for now.
On the court, it was Jack Nunge doing it all for the Musketeers, though Colby Jones had a big day himself, and was much more exposed to the Texas A&M pressure. Texas A&M did bring that pressure, Quenton Jackson was sensational yet again, and…it just wasn’t enough. Just not enough for A&M to get that national title for which the fanbase so vigorously yearns. They will, of course, be well set to compete in next year’s NIT, should they make it, but there’s a long road to get back, as previous runners up will tell you.
If you’re looking to laugh, cry, and generally reminisce on the glory that was the 2022 NIT, this year’s One Shining MomeNIT is up and out and about. Still waiting on Mason Ramsey to congratulate the X-Men, but we’re a patient bunch. He’s from near the Ohio River, right? Same valley, Mason!
The White Sox Trade from a Strength
Though Joe Kelly won’t take the mound for the South Siders until later this month (happy April, pals), he’s already making a difference within the organization, as today the team shipped Craig Kimbrel out to Los Angeles in exchange for A.J. Pollock. When your bullpen is solved, you can do such things.
Bone-in or Boneless? Sens Take on the Wings
Split series this weekend, first game tonight at 7:30 PM EDT in Detroit (ESPN+), second game Sunday at 1:00 PM EDT back in Ottawa (also ESPN+). The big story here is that Tim Stützle gets to play against his buddy from back home (home is Germany, in this case), Moritz Seider. Fun matchup between two of the NHL’s worst teams.
Burnley’s Back
Burnley returns to the pitch this weekend, hosting Man City tomorrow at 10:00 AM EDT on Peacock Premium. It doesn’t sound like Ben Mee will play, and Nathan Collins is suspended for his red card at Brentford. Not a good setup against a team who frequently scores goals in bunches against the Burnleys.
The challenge here is not so much getting a point as keeping it close. If Burnley gets a point (or three, dare we dream), it will verge on the miraculous. One of Burnley’s few advantages in the relegation race, though, is its goal difference, so it’d be nice to keep that closer to even than that of Everton and Watford, and to hold onto the big lead over Leeds in that category.
On the topic of that race, scoreboard watching interests this weekend consist of Watford visiting Liverpool (tomorrow, 7:30 AM EDT), Norwich visiting Brighton (tomorrow, 10:00 AM EDT), Brentford visiting Chelsea (tomorrow, 10:00 AM EDT), Leeds hosting Southampton (tomorrow, 10:00 AM EDT), Everton visiting West Ham (Sunday, 9:00 AM EDT), and Newcastle visiting Tottenham (Sunday, 11:30 AM EDT). Everton and Leeds losing are the highest priorities there. Watford and Norwich are fairly safe relegation bets (safer than Burnley, at least at the moment), and Brentford and Newcastle are pretty likely to stay up.
NASCAR Goes to Richmond
To be honest, I don’t remember a ton of great races at Richmond, but it’s possible I just haven’t watched enough action at the track. Short track, kind in recent years to the Joe Gibbs guys, but with them struggling recently, who knows. Green flag on Sunday sometime shortly after 3:30 PM EDT. Broadcast on FOX.
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Two closing thoughts:
First, Butler—who fired LaVall Jordan—should hire Jonas Hayes, obviously. That’s a no-brainer, and him beating Xavier two or three times a year for the entirety of the Sean Miller era is going to torture those poor Xavier fans. At least they got a ring before their program made the mistake that will define them for the rest of time.
Second, America isn’t going to pay attention to this World Cup, are we? I made the mistake today of watching parts of the draw (I’ve wasted my time in a lot of ways in this life, but that was the most actively shameful one), and right afterwards people started tweeting about how everyone in the country was going to be watching the USMNT play England on Black Friday morning, and I just…I don’t know, guys. I mean, yeah, probably going up against a crappy college football game and not much else at that hour, but do you really think we’ll care? I know soccer households will, but the average household won’t. The holiday season/football combo is a disaster for the World Cup in America. Thankfully, we’re a women’s soccer school as a country, and the 2023 World Cup is happening in July and August in Australia and New Zealand, as God intended. So that’ll be good.
Have a great weekend, everybody. We’ll see you Monday.
