This is VCU's second appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and first since 2009. Unlike the men's team at VCU, the distaff Rams are led by seniors. 5'10" senior guard Taya Robinson led the Rams in scoring and steals. Her classmate, 6'0" Kiwi guard Tera Reed, scored 11.7 points, grabbed 5.0 boards, and led VCU in assists. 5'10" senior forward and Richmond native Sydnei Archie scored nearly 10 points per game and grabbed 7.4 boards. And serving notice for the future, diminutive frosh guard Sarah Te-Biasu scored 19 in the A-10 title game and averaged 11 points, 3. 4 boards, and nearly three assists per game.
The Rams, coached by Beth O'Boyle, have a roster that's decidedly diverse. Eight of the Rams' 16 players grew up out outside the U.S., hailing from places as far-flung as Russia, Lithuania, Australia, New Zealand, and...Canada. Lotta Canadians in black and gold.
Indiana's pretty heavily favored, but it's the tournament, and things happen.
Things, for example, like the NCAA completely shitting the bed on accommodations for the women's tournament. Gross incompetence or neglect? You make the call. I think I'll let Sally Jenkins air it out, as she did in this Washington Post editorial. After laying out the case in detail, she closes with this: "If they seem to seethe with a special intensity, that’s because they’re not small slights; they’re a lifetime worth of frustrations, of chronic insults and grudging advance, of being told that they’re worth less. And they’re tired of it. Forty years worth of tired."
So let's go Rams. And let's fix it, NCAA.
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11 comments:
Is the NCAA really worth fixing? It is a cartel that requires member institutions to actively participate in their actions. They can keep those institutions in line by making payouts from marquee events - football and men’s basketball. I know that Jenkins tosses around some large numbers for what the Women’s tournament now generates but the disparity is still huge when you talk about revenue dollars from TV. The women’s tourney is on a $500M 24 year deal ($20M per year) vs the CBS deal for the men which pays the NCAA 1 BILLION PER YEAR. The women’s tournament generates only 2% of the TV revenue that the men’s tournament does.
Jenkins is spot on that the disparities between the treatment of the men and women are gross. In a perfect world, the NCAA would use $$ from the men’s tournament to subsidize more equal conditions for men and women. The member institutions of the cartel have the power to demand that, but they don’t. I suspect it is because of a combination of sexism on the part of the AD’s at most schools, but more importantly not wanting to upset the apple cart of financial incentives the NCAA pays their cartel members to stay in line.
The power 5 conferences have the power to fix all of this, but will they do it...
that's a great point, marls. there are a bunch of arguments to just blow it all up. you're right (and jenkins notes it) that the financials are driving the inequities in treatment. a better system that's focused on student wellbeing as opposed to sponsor welfare is long overdue. the vcu men are a case in point. the a-10 played its tournament semifinals on 3/6. they waited until 3/14 to play the final. instead of having nearly two weeks to fully quarantine and avoid potential exposure, they had less than one. et voila.
on a related note, every single top seed won in yesterday's ncaa women's first round action. which means that vcu is certain to win today. heard it here first.
if alabama and/or houston make it to the regional final of the men's tournament, that game will be the first time either of them face a single-digit seed.
My wife pays zero attention to sports, but learned of the facility discrepancy for male and female athletes. I tried to explain that the NCAA is a garbage organization that gave the men better facilities because they exploit them for more money than the women. I should have called Marls for a better take.
Speaking of youth sports:
https://www.roadandtrack.com/news/a35901077/mclaren-just-signed-a-13-year-old-american-karter/
one of these years i'll remember that i have a built in bias for the big 10 and acc and fill out my brackets accordingly. this ain't that year.
and oregon is dumptrucking iowa.
i put the mush on the vcu ladies, too. they got hammered by the hoosiers.
Can't believe New Mexico pounced on an underachieving Richard Pitino after Minnesota canned him. Pitino had two NCAA tourney appearances in eight years, as well as one NIT championship.
My wife and I were in Sea Island in 2019 and ran into the whole Pitino clan. Did not seem like a happy family, and my wife loved all the sordid stories. I'm not a fan of Team Pitino and do not love seeing the kid flop along into new multi-million dollar contracts.
TR is against Italian American exceptionalism. Who would have guessed?
I saw the Pitino coached Providence team with Billy Donovan in the first and second round of the tourney back in the late 80s. Fun squad.
i commend to you grant wahl's podcast this week with chris jones. great stories about soccer and other things. jones is funny, and the two are old friends who have a rapport that comes across.
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