Jay Smith

I support this… …as long as you’re broadcasting the tournament at the reception.

The Big Ten now owns college sports. Three straight college football titles and the trifecta this year: a football title and men’s and women’s titles too. This is the first Big Ten men’s title since 2000, it has been a long time in the title wilderness.

the Final Four airing on TBS/truTV/HBO Max as opposed to CBS is a neat microcosm of the American decline

Having reffed both sports at a very high level, I can tell you that the atmosphere in basketball and dealing with coaches is very different. It’s all game long, a constant back and forth, and there is a mutual understanding between basketball refs and coaches. It’s part of what makes reffing it so much fun. I’m happy that Roger Ayers (who always referees games at a Final Four level) handled the end of the game the way that he did. This was not a confrontational situation. Uconn hit a buzzer beater a few seconds before the viral moment between Ayers and Hurley. Ayers is telling Hurley that the game isn’t over yet (there was a clock adjustment from 0.02 to 0.04 - which is notable for catch and shoot). Hurley isn’t physically contacting him, he’s just between Ayers and the scorer’s table. I’ve been in some wild environments/end of game scenarios both in basketball and football. They feel surreal and you are in a state of shock to an extent. This is how great officials handle these situations, so kudos to Roger Ayers and congrats to UConn.

Pete Golding was asked about Luke Ferrelli and Dabo Swinney’s comments from January. Here is what Golding said.

The Heat kept fouling the Wizards to get the ball back so Bam can break Kobe's record... And the Wizards kept sending Bam to the free throw line FOURTY-THREE free throws 😭

Check out the Freedom 250 course for IndyCar's race in August. Seven turns, 1.7 miles...but look at what those 1.7 miles go past.