WEEKEND MUSINGS: NBA PLAYOFFS HEAT UP, TIGER GETS CAUGHT ON VIDEO, THE NFL DRAFT APPROACHES

Warriors Can't Pull Out a Close One: Without guard Steph Curry to take the last shot, the Golden State Warriors turned the ball over with a second left in Game 2 of their NBA Western Conference playoff series and lost by a point to a resurgent Houston Rockets team. Does this mean that the defending champs are in trouble against a team that barely showed up for two games in Oakland? Probably not, but it certainly underscores Curry's importance to the Warriors. Although they still took a late lead, Golden State didn't look particularly in sync offensively and the Rockets' James Harden had far too much room to operate against the Warriors' defense. Fortunately, Curry will have an extra day of rest for his injured foot/ankle, as Game 4 isn't scheduled until Sunday. The loss also gives us a glimpse of how fragile the Warriors' jump shooting style may be as they move forward in the playoffs. The play is rougher, less fouls get called and unlike last season, Golden State has already been affected by an injury, much like their opponents during last year's run to the title. And much like UNC's defensive lapse that allowed Villanova to get an open look at the game-winner in the NCAA championship game, Golden State allowed Harden to take the ball into the lane, push off and nail a jumper to give the Rockets the lead with 2.7 seconds left. Somehow, I get the feeling this isn't going to be 2015 all over again.

Cavaliers Look Brilliant in Game 2: After beating an inspired Pistons team by five points in Game 1, the Cleveland Cavaliers spread the ball around and eventually showed just how powerful they can be with healthy Lebron James, Kevin Love and Kyrie Irving playing together and with purpose. I've said all season that I felt the Cavs were wrongly dismissed as a worthy contender after losing to the Warriors in six games last year. After all, Love and Irving sat out the finals and Lebron was still able to will his team to a two games to one advantage before falling short, most likely from shear fatigue. The Cavs moved the ball well in Game 2, setting up Love for easy three pointers and dribble drives by Irving. Of course, there is always the Lebron factor, as his size and talent give him the ability to almost score at will. Can someone in the East defeat the Cavaliers in a seven game series? If they stay healthy, it's unlikely. The bigger question is can someone slow them down enough to take a couple of games and wear them down a bit prior to The Finals. Once again, it's unlikely. You can join me on the Lebron, Kevin and Kyrie bandwagon anytime. You'll have about six weeks to jump on board.

Spurs Beating Up on the Diminished Grizzlies: As good as the Spurs are, it's tough to tell how well they're playing because their opponent is so physically beaten up. It's too bad, because the Grizzlies are gritty and fun to watch as they battle for wins. But it's a pretty fair bet that the Spurs will sweep the series and be well rested for the Thunder series.

Tiger's Return Imminent? After video was released showing Tiger Woods ripping drivers and stinger 2-irons at a clinic, speculation is that the former number one player will be returning to action sooner than had previously been thought. Is it possible that he could be ready to come back as soon as the Wells Fargo on May 5, in time for a tuneup for the Players the following week? If so, that would put him in great position to enter the U.S. Open at Oakmont in June. However, a few shots on a driving range are hardly an indication that Woods is ready for competitive golf at the highest level, but for those of us that would like to see him return to action, at least it's a positive sign. Even with the great young crop of players, no one generates the same buzz as Tiger Woods. I've been privileged to see him in action many times, including at major championships and the Players, and there is no one close in creating fan interest. Here's to a successful return for Tiger and the PGA Tour.

Big Trades Signal Interesting Draft: I'm not particularly interested in the NFL Draft, but the trades by the Rams and Eagles to get to the top two picks, presumably to take a couple of fairly mediocre quarterbacks, indicates that this year's version could be a bit more entertaining. Actually, it already has been. I think there might be some more jockeying for position, especially given the plethora of picks the Titans and Browns received when they traded down. The Browns in particular are interesting, as they try to turn around a dismal draft history and get past the Johnnie Manziel mistake. Heck, I might even tune in this year!

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

TUESDAY SPORTS MUSINGS: NBA PLAYOFFS UNDERWAY, CAPITALS DOMINATE IN NHL, NEW PGA PRO MAKING A SPLASH

Thunder Squander Chance at Home: Since it's unlikely that the Oklahoma City's dynamic duo of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant will have a repeat of Monday's horrendous shooting percentages, I still believe that the Thunder will eventually take care of business in their first round series with the Dallas Mavericks. But for a team that has actually been mentioned as a possible finalist in the western conference, their fourth quarter collapse against a clearly over-matched opponent could be troublesome. If they get past Dallas, they'll take a significant step up in class against the San Antonio Spurs, who will no doubt find a way to take advantage of any weaknesses in the Thunder's approach.

Super Steph on the Bench For Game 2: After tweaking his ankle, last season's MVP and leader of the defending champion Golden State Warriors sat out game two of his team's opening round game against the Houston Rockets. It didn't look as if it mattered much to the team that set a record for victories in a season with 73.  Of course, it didn't look like it mattered much to the Rockets either, as defense seems to be a concept they are still attempting to grasp. And for the record, they appear to have a long way to go. The only drama left in this series involves how many games Curry will play and how many contests that the Rockets decide to show up for. My guess on both is one at the most.

Cavaliers Withstand Hot Piston Shooting: In a game that could have gone the other way, the Cleveland Cavaliers used some good ball movement and a strong effort from Kevin Love to hold off a feisty Detroit Piston team that shot almost 52% from three-point range. With Love and Kyrie Irving combining for 59 points, it left Lebron James in a position to distribute the ball, ending up with 22 points and 11 assists. If the Cavs continue to play the way they did on Sunday, it just doesn't appear likely that anyone in the eastern conference will be able to take four games from them. And a rested Cavalier team could be a true threat to anyone out of the west that will probably have to go deeper into series to get advance.

Caps Put a Beat Down on the Flyers: Monday night saw the Philadelphia Flyers come out in inspired fashion and score in the first minute of the game against the Washington Capitals, the winningest team in the regular season. Unfortunately for Flyers, it was their only score of the night and by the time it was mercifully over some two and a half hours later, the Caps had beaten them 6 - 1 to take a commanding 3 - 0 lead in the series. The Flyers tried physical play, they tried finesse, they even turned to downright violence in a late game hit, but nothing worked. As a Caps fan and with their history of playoff disappointment, I'm hesitant to heap too much praise on them, but they sure looked good in the win. With winger Alex Ovechkin scoring and goalie Braden Holtby stopping virtually everything that is shot his way, the Caps are dangerous in almost every phase of the game. I just hope I'm still writing about them in early June.

PGA Tour Rookie DeChambeau Opening Eyes: From his Ben Hogan style cap to his unilength irons, reigning U.S. Amateur champ, NCAA individual champ and Masters low amateur Bryson DeChambeau is beginning to look a lot like Tiger Woods and Jordan Spieth. The rookie has seven sponsor exemptions in which to earn enough money to qualify for the PGA tour without having to go to qualifying school for the Web.com tour. His almost $260,000 for a fourth place tie at the RBC Heritage is a nice jumpstart which also qualified him for this week's Valero Texas Open without having to use one of those precious exemptions. The fact that all of his irons are the same length is a curious trait, one that gives him an upright swing on every shot and makes him unique in his look. Will he be able to advance to the PGA Tour this season? Given his success in the past year, I sure wouldn't bet against him.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

MASTERS TOURNAMENT SUNDAY: NO TIGER, NO PHIL, NO RICKY, BUT PLENTY OF DRAMA

Tiger Woods is nursing his surgically repaired back, Phil is practicing his putting and Ricky is probably hanging out, waiting for one of his buddies to do again what he has yet to do. Meanwhile, on the grounds of Augusta National Golf Club, a few more players have hopes of winning the Masters  than did after Jordan Spieth walked off the sixteenth green holding an imposing four shot lead. A double bogey and a bogey on the last two holes, while still providing the defending champion with the lead, brought a lot of other scenarios into play. Fifty-eight year old two time champion Bernhard Langer, despite giving up to forty yards on his drives to his younger competitors, is lurking, ready to pounce if the nerves get to some of the kids, many of whom weren't even born when he last slipped on the green jacket in 1993. Dustin Johnson, who would probably be leading if he could have sunk a few very makeable putts, has the physical ability to overpower any course, and in particular this one. Jason Day, who has been playing under the radar since a triple-bogey six at Thursday's sixteenth hole, figures to be in the mix as well. But there's one guy down the leaderboard that despite never winning a major, has a solid game and has contended at the Masters before. Forty-two year old Lee Westwood, in the anticipated calm conditions, could make an early run and erase some of the four shot deficit before the last pairing tees off. If Speith struggles with his ball striking and his composure as he has the last couple of days, look for seasoned veterans like Westwood to contend. Of course, the second-ranked and probably best player in the game could just as easily put it all together and run away on the back nine today. Being paired with Smylie Kaufman, a tournament rookie, will most likely benefit Spieth, as the two go way back to their junior golf days, like five years ago.

If you look as far as six shots back, which realistically is probably a bit much to make up, the leaderboard is dotted with others who could make a run. Danny Willett is playing great and has quietly worked his way up to twelfth in the world rankings. Also at one-under par is Brandt Snedeker, a great putter who has a tendency to erupt with a great round now and then, as he did to win in San Diego earlier this year in horrendous conditions. Rory McIlroy, despite an awful, birdieless round yesterday, stands at two-over, just in front of major winner Justin Rose and past Masters champ Angel Cabrera at plus three. If you discount Kaufman, not just because of his inexperience but also the fact that just a single Masters rookie has prevailed, Spieth still has a couple of shots in hand over the closest realistic challenger. He's held the lead by himself now a record seven consecutive rounds, so momentum and recent success is clearly on his side. But should he slip, it could be one of the most interesting back nines at Augusta that we've seen in a long time. Just remember though that you heard it here first: Beware the Westwood.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

NCAA MAJOR COLLEGE MATH: IT DOESN'T QUITE ADD UP

It's interesting that what is lost in the debate over whether to pay college football players for their services is simple math. This is especially intriguing because the institutions for which these supposed student athletes play are colleges and universities, which I assume teach things like mathematics, finance and economics among their many course offerings. Forgive me if I've overlooked it, but I watch and listen to a lot of sports talk shows and even have my own segments on a variety of programs, and I've never seen anyone apply math to the argument. Well, it's time someone did.

First of all, I'm not about to propose any specific changes to the way things are done today in major college football and basketball. My purpose is simply to provide some thought provoking numbers and let you make your own decision on whether and how things could be improved. I'll start with college football. Currently, the football programs at most schools have to earn or raise money to pay the school for the value of the scholarships they provide their players. If you believe most administrators, this is supposedly a significant hardship. Really? I'll be conservative in my example, so that I can't be accused of using extremes, like Alabama or Michigan.

My assumptions for this exercise are as follow: A power conference school, average ticket sales of 50,000 per game, seven home games a year and average ticket price of $40. Most can agree that in the majority of cases, those numbers, with the exception of the of home games, can be much higher. So in an average season, ticket revenue alone is $14 million. Now let's say this same school has a total cost of attendance, the new value that is provided the athlete, of $40,000. Once again, for most public institutions, that number is high, but I'm trying to make sure I don't use values that clearly skew the results in the favor of my thesis.

So at 85 scholarships, the maximum allowed under NCAA rules, the football program owes the university a whopping $3.4 million. On ticket revenue alone, the school still earns a profit of $11.6 million after accounting for the cost of their labor pool. Oh, but wait, we have to pay the coaches. Okay, once again, I won't use the big time programs as examples, because those coaches make, on their own, more than the entire cost of the scholarships of the players they coach. But let's say the head coach makes $1 million, and the rest of the staff makes another $2 million. We're still $8.6 million dollars in the black in gross margin. Travel costs to away games, even at $1,000 per play per game, is less than $500,000. I'll say it once again...Really?

It's even better in basketball. Once again, conservative numbers here. 8,000 a game, 15 home dates and $25 a ticket. That's $3 million in revenue. Twelve scholarships with a $40,000 cost of attendance is an almost impossible amount to afford of $480,000. Coaching staff salaries of $1.5 million and we're still ahead by over $1 million. Both of these scenarios are before television money, other advertising revenue, booster contributions and bowl or NCAA tournament shares from the conference are taken into consideration. I'll let you be the judge, but it doesn't take a tremendous leap to get to exploitation, especially when the people getting  all of the money also have all of the freedom to go where they please in the system. Coaches can move around without restrictions from the NCAA, the so-called ruling body with the student-athletes' best interest at heart. However, if the coach that recruited a player into a particular system, provided him playing time, etc. leaves and a less favorable coach is hired that hurts said player's chances at success, the player can transfer but has to not only sit out a season, but loses a year of eligibility in the process.

 A case in point is Christian Hackenberg, the former Penn State quarterback who started his career under Bill O'Brien, a coach who had a pro-style offense. O'Brien left for the NFL's Houston Texans and was succeeded by James Franklin, who instituted a spread offense that was not conducive to utilizing Hackenberg's skills. O'Brien gets a great NFL job, Franklin gets to move from Vanderbilt to a Big Ten school, and Hackenberg gets shafted.  The two coaches in this example made a fortune, yet Hackenberg will most likely lose a significant amount of career income as a result. It's patently unfair and something needs to be changed. And given the economics that I outlined earlier, there is no way for the college athletic system to be able to justify the status quo based on financial hardship.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

MARCH MADNESS FINALE ONE FOR THE AGES, NOW IT'S MASTERS TIME

Villanova and Carolina Don't Disappoint: There were a lot of people, me included, that not only hoped that last night's NCAA Basketball Championship game would be a great game, but also felt strongly that it probably would deliver. It certainly did, most likely exceeding a lot of expectations in the process, and possibly becoming the best ever. Even before Marcus Paige's acrobatic three-pointer tied the game with just shy of 5 seconds on the clock, the last six minutes were electric. The Tar Heels crawling back from what looked like an insurmountable deficit by doing something they aren't known for doing well, making three pointers. And Villanova grabbed that lead by dominating in the paint, something no one really expected them to do against a bigger UNC squad. But a play that was as key to the game as the winning jumper by Kris Jenkins was the four point turnaround at the end of the first half. With Carolina up by seven, they had a fast break opportunity that would have ended the half and given them a nine point lead heading to the locker room. Instead, a block and a basket the other way allowed 'Nova to get within five, a much different feel as they headed to the second half. In terms of quality of play, I thought it was outstanding given the difficulty of the venue and the intensity of the game. I like that the officials in this year's version of March Madness almost universally let the kids play, calling what seemed to be fewer touch fouls, giving the games a better flow and leaving the result to the players. Another positive was the preponderance of upperclassmen-laden teams in the Final Four. Despite the lack of close contests in the semifinals, particularly Villanova's historic beat down of Oklahoma, I still think it was a great tournament that resulted in a very worthy champion. Congratulations to coach Jay Wright and his team!

From One Shining Moment to the Green Jacket: Now that the NCAA Men's Basketball Champion has been crowned, it's time to move onto arguably the most storied place in golf. Pebble Beach and St. Andrews might be able to lay claim to that honor, but neither one hosts a major championship every season. The Old Course gets that chance every five years, while Pebble Beach is on more of a once a decade schedule. So Augusta National, as far as the casual golf fan is concerned, gets the opportunity to open the golf season, at least for majors. With the azaleas in bloom and the patrons lining every fairway and filling the space around every green, we tune in with the familiarity of knowing the holes, remembering the shots from the past and expecting drama behind every pine tree. We're not generally disappointed. This year is also the 30th anniversary of Jack Nicklaus' tremendous 30 on the back nine to secure his eighteenth and final major win. It's fascinating that his total is the same as the number of holes on a regulation golf course, an almost random number that was arbitrarily established way back when golf was getting its start in Scotland. One player that won't be providing any fireworks is Tiger Woods, still four shy of Jack's number. He's been idle since August and although he is said to be making progress, a timetable for his return to tournament golf is still unclear. We have a new crop of stars to fill the void, and they're doing a great job. Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy, Jason Day, Bubba Watson, Ricky Fowler, Dustin Johnson and others are providing wonderful competition while also moving the game forward and showing an appreciation for tradition at the same time. We still have Adam Scott and Phil Mickelson as well, and given the importance of experience at Augusta, you can't count the veterans out. Does it sound like I'm excited for the Masters Tournament? You bet, and with good reason.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

BIG CITY BASKETBALL AND CANADA HOCKEY TEAMS HEADED TO THE GOLF COURSE

NBA Big Market Void: It's hard to believe that the NBA teams from the largest metropolitan areas in the United States will be watching the playoffs from their living rooms or the nineteenth hole of their favorite country club. If the season ended tonight, both New York teams, the Lakers, Bulls, Rockets and Suns would be eliminated from the post-season. Only the Clippers, the perennial red-headed step child of the City of Angels would be playing into May. How is this good for the league? Okay, I guess you can make a case that even though Golden State plays in Oakland, they represent all of Northern California. But it's a harder sell to say that the Boston Celtics carry the torch for the entire Northeast. Add in the AAU team impersonating an NBA franchise in Philadelphia and you have roughly a third of the nations populace without a rooting interest in the NBA playoffs. Charlotte, Indiana, Oklahoma City, Portland, Memphis and Utah? All of them are wonderful cities in their own right and I've enjoyed good times in all but one. However, they're hardly bastions of ratings gold. Even Cleveland with Lebron James, while he carries more of a national following, isn't the population center it was three decades ago. There's no question that a Cavaliers - Warriors rematch would ignite interest. But what about Hawks - Hornets first rounder? Or even the Thunder - Grizzlies, two of the NBA only major cities? Where are the big numbers for the league? If I was commissioner Adam Silver, I'd be concerned. No New York, no Chicago, no Philly, no Houston, no Phoenix, less than half of Los Angeles. Unlike the NFL, whose playoffs comprise a total of eleven games, including the Super Bowl, the NBA stages dozens of games in a format that takes real fan commitment to follow. The NFL doesn't really need to be concerned if the Giants and Bears are left out of the mix. Hell, they haven't even had a team in the nation's second largest market for the last twenty plus years. But the NBA needs to be more attentive as their big ratings franchises fall further into disarray. The casual fan just can't devote the time necessary to make the NBA playoffs viable without fans with a rooting interest.

NHL: Sport without a Country: It's hard to believe that it will be Florida 2 and the entire country of Canada 0 when it comes to teams in the NHL playoffs. If you think Adam Silver has a problem, how would you like to be NHL commissioner Gary Bettman? You're more likely to get a sunburn than a Molson at this year's Stanley Cup playoffs. Teams from Florida (2), Washington, Texas, Tennessee and California (3) give the whole affair more of a college football feel than one that generally features teams from north of the border. Really? What are Canadian hockey fans supposed to do for two months? Oh, yeah, they can watch the Raptors make a run in the NBA playoffs, complaining all the while that Lebron should be called for high sticking. Or maybe gear up for the NCAA lacrosse championships, since that sport is in fact the national sport of Canada. More likely they'll watch anyway, mostly out of habit than support for a particular team. Much like Europeans would tune into a World Cup Soccer final between Brazil and the United States. But on a more serious note, the NHL really needs to be concerned that an entire nation is left out of the playoffs in a sport that is nothing short of a religion in Canada. Americans just don't watch hockey on television, as evidenced by the inability of the league to keep a network contract for any length of time. And if the Canadian fans choose to opt out this year, things could get even tougher for the league from a broadcast perspective.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

FRIDAY THOUGHTS: FINAL FOUR VENUE, U.S. WOMEN SOCCER EQUALITY, NBA PLAYOFS LOOMING, BIG TEN TRANSFER TRAVESTY

Waterskiing Behind an Aircraft Carrier: I can certainly understand the financial motivation by the NCAA to hold its highest profile event in a venue designed for a different sport, but staging basketball's Final Four in a football stadium is just a lousy idea. I was at NRG Stadium in 2011, the last time the championship was held in Houston. The basketball was atrocious, with the players' inability to adapt to the cavernous facility. In order to have all 70,000+ seats available, the NCAA has elected not to place the court at one end of the field and use the end zone as sideline seats for basketball. I attended the South Region games in the Georgia Dome in 2006 and the stadium was basically cut in half. The quality of play was more like what you would expect in a large arena. Does the revenue difference between 40,000 and 70,000 seats really justify the terrible basketball that it creates? I don't think so and the NCAA should rethink the ridiculous practice of playing basketball games in football stadiums. What's next, playing lacrosse games on a golf course?

Why Not Have Equality?: I applaud the five members of the Women's National Soccer Team for filing a claim with the EEOC to get pay equity with their male counterparts. According to reports, the women generate over $16 million in profit for the US Soccer Federation, while the men lose $2 million, yet the players on the men's team make up to ten times per game what the women get. This practice is preposterous on a number of levels, but more importantly, it's illegal. Based on the similarity in the schedules and qualifying processes for both World Cups, it's absurd that the women are so blatantly taken advantage of. In addition, and this is a FIFA issue, the men don't have to play on artificial surfaces, while the women are not afforded the same consideration. Like the corruption scandal that is currently unfolding in FIFA, this issue needs to be addressed. It's not unlike the situation in college athletics, where everyone seems to get their's except the so-called student athletes. As a former HR Director, I can say with confidence the U.S. Soccer Federation is clearly in the wrong, both philosophically and legally. They should get ahead of this by proposing immediate changes, but we all know they probably won't, because it just makes too much sense to everyone but them.

Big Ten Transfer Rule, Big Time Hypocrisy: Talk about doing the wrong thing, how about Michigan's former stance that Spike Albrecht, a player whose scholarship has been revoked by the university and who has already received his degree, can't transfer to a Big Ten school or any school on Michigan's schedule for the next two and receive a scholarship without sitting out a year, which would exhaust his eligibility.  NCAA rules don't prohibit the move, with players who have graduated being allowed to transfer and play immediately. Plenty of players have taken advantage of the rule. What makes this situation even more egregious is that Albrecht can't stay and play at Michigan because coach  John Beilein gave away his scholarship. After a firestorm of criticism, primarily from Yahoo's Pat Forde and ESPN Radio's Mike Greenberg, Beilein has changed course and lifted the restrictions. Maybe good for him, but it's ridiculous that this absurd situation occurred in the first place. Beilein is free to go wherever and whenever he pleases to another coaching job, and make millions in the process. The kids he recruits however, are stuck. Is that fair? Absolutely not. And trying to justify the practice by saying they all know the rules when they get into it is simply a very poor excuse.

NBA Playoffs, Some Surprises on the Horizon: A Cleveland Cavalier team that was decimated by injuries came within two games of winning the NBA championship last season, but all I'm hearing is that Golden State and San Antonio will apparently settle it all in the Western Conference finals, leaving the championship series as something of a coronation. But if you're the Clippers, the Thunder, or even the Jazz, I'm thinking you don't believe the competition ends with the final regular season game. I maintain that even though the Warriors are enjoying arguably the greatest regular season in history, their post-season run might be a little rougher. The Cavaliers might end up arriving at the Finals healthy and rested, and a healthy and rested Lebron James, as he has shown in the past, can put a team on his back and will them to victory. Am I discounting Toronto? Not really, but I don't see them taking four games from the Cavaliers, especially if Cleveland holds onto home court advantage. I'm just saying this thing isn't over yet. As well as the Warriors are playing, they don't necessarily remind me of the Chicago Bulls of the 90's, considered the best team in recent memory.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

THURSDAY MUSINGS: MARCH MADNESS, KIDS IN LOCKER ROOMS AND SO LONG, JOE

Sweet Sixteen: Well, so much for the Cinderellas. The limos to the second weekend of the NCAA tournament turned into pumpkins for the likes of Little Rock, Northern Iowa, Yale and Middle Tennessee State. Sure, we have a couple of double-digit seeds remaining, but they're Syracuse and Gonzaga, hardly Hawaii or Stephen F. Austin. For all of the talk of parity and the strength of the mid-majors, we have 15 of the teams left from the Power 5 conferences, six of the them from the ACC. And that league was without what many people believe to have been the team with the best chance to win it all, Louisville. In the case of the ACC, I guess one could argue that the seeding was advantageous, but outside of UNC grabbing the top of the bracket in the East and Virginia getting a gift at number 1, the rest of the teams were probably fairly seeded, with a three, a four, a six, and two tens. Will they be able to continue their dominance? With Gonzaga advancing, Syracuse ended up with a very winnable game. Virginia faces a beatable Iowa St. squad, Notre Dame dodged West Virginia and Xavier to face Wisconsin, not quite the team that almost won it all last year. Miami and North Carolina have their hands full with Villanova and Indiana, but Duke can probably give top-seeded Oregon a run for their money. So I guess the answer is yes, they can. An intriguing game to me is Texas A&M - Oklahoma, with the Aggies surviving by virtue of an almost impossible comeback against Northern Iowa. With all four top seeds remaining, it's getting more difficult to envision a huge surprise, let alone a glass slipper.

Adam LaRoche Retires: There has been a lot of conversation among sports journalists about Chicago White Sox player Adam LaRoche's decision to retire after his son's access to the team's facilities was limited by his team's management. The fact that the issue advanced to where it did, with LaRoche's son apparently in the locker room and in the dugout on an almost daily basis, probably a mistake by the White Sox. No reasonable person would think that having a thirteen year-old in an adult environment on a regular basis is ideal. I can see an occasional visit, but there are places for adults and there are places for children. What if every player with a kid brought them to the locker room every day? It would be a very difficult situation at best, especially since these guys are professional athletes who have virtually grown up in very masculine and very non-child friendly environments. I can understand that LaRoche feels like he might have had an agreement with the team, but to be fair to the White Sox, they probably did the right thing. Of course, it didn't help his cause that he's a career .260 hitter coming off a season where he batted only .207, with 12 homers and 44 RBI. It won't be too difficult for Chicago to replace that production, especially at what they were paying LaRoche. If he was a .300 hitter coming off 30 homers and 100 RBI, I'm guessing the White Sox would have had a little more difficult decision to make.

Rest in Peace, Joe Garagiola: I grew up in an era when there was only one, or maybe two, baseball broadcasts every week. For a number of those years, former player Joe Garagiola, who passed away yesterday at the age of 90, was behind one of the microphones. His smooth voice and positive demeanor were refreshing, especially for a game that at its best can be poetry in motion. Along with Tony Kubek and the legendary Curt Gowdy, Garagiola brought the national pastime from places like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, St. Louis and Chicago to my living room in Virginia. When I heard of his passing, it felt like a part of my sports past had gone with him. As I'm writing this, there is a small tear in my eye, thinking back to a day when we weren't inundated with games and announcers who have never heard of the saying "less is more". I know Joe Garagiola was also known for his time on "The Today Show", but for me his memory will always take me back to the days, yes day games, featuring Willie Mays, Mickey Mantle, Lou Brock, Hank Aaron, Roberto Clemente, Reggie Jackson, Juan Marichal and the long list of great players from the sixties and seventies. All I can say is to Joe is "Thanks for making baseball enjoyable to watch."

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

MARCH MADNESS: WHEN DOES IT REALLY BEGIN?

It's March and there is tournament basketball being played. The question is are we yet at madness or is it all just maddening? In an era when teams play sixteen to eighteen conference games, do we really need them to add another two or three on top of that? Does it make sense to do away with the conference tournaments, seed all 351 teams and just add a week to the NCAA tournament? Okay, let's take these questions in order.

Are we at madness or is it all just maddening? Yes. What I mean is it's a little of both. If we're talking about the Colonial Athletic Association or the American East, then March Madness begins with the conference tournament because only one school gets to the dance and that is the tournament champ. So in essence, the NCAA tournament begins with the tipoff of the conference tourney. If it's the Big Twelve or Pac-12 or any other power conference, it's just plain maddening. So a .500 conference record turns a little better and an Alabama ends up beating out a Minnesota for an NCAA tournament berth. Big deal.It's a zero sum game with very little overall benefit for the basketball fan. None of them really have a prayer of winning the national championship, just a shifting of number eight and nine seeds from one power conference also-ran to another.

In an era when teams play sixteen to eighteen conference games, do we really need them to add another two or three on top of that? Probably not. I would rather see more games between top non-conference opponents than another round of games involving opponents that are familiar with each other. In the era of eight team conferences, maybe the tournaments were a welcome addition to the regular season. But the glut of conference games and the myriad of tournament formats has added confusion and frankly, an overload of meaningless contests.

Does it make sense to do away with the conference tournaments, seed all 351 teams and just add a week to the NCAA tournament? Okay, maybe it's far-fetched, but think about it. Most conference tournaments require teams to win at least three games to capture a conference crown and the ticket to the dance. So why not just eliminate the conference tournaments and use those sites as NCAA tournament locations and include every team? I know this isn't an original idea, but it's one that I think merits genuine consideration. No one watches the Western Athletic Conference tournament from start to finish. But if the last place team in that league is playing Duke in a first round game, it'll definitely generate interest. Just think about this. We could actually expand the NCAA tournament to 256 teams and only add one more round, if you count the play-in games to get from 68 to 64 teams as a full round. So even though it sounds a bit extreme, it really wouldn't take all that much to pull it off. In fact, you'd end up with the top 160 teams or so getting a first round bye. Now talk about your March Madness!

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.

SPORTS: SUBSTANCE OR HYPOCRISY?

It seems to me that we seem to be expecting a lot from our professional athletes. They need to fit a certain mold, project a particular personality and meet all of our expectations both on and off the field, court or ice. We justify those potentially unrealistic expectations by asserting that their high salaries and even higher public profiles demand that they should somehow be held to a higher standard. Yet there are a lot of people in this country and throughout the world that make a lot of money and frankly, have far more influence over our those things that really impact us on a day to day basis, that somehow escape the scrutiny through which we put our athletic achievers. In fact, the very media that reports every minor indiscretion would probably be hard pressed to undergo the same level of evaluation. I'm not talking about the criminal activities, which is generally inexcusable no matter who it is. But for some reason Robert Downey, Jr., Miley Cyrus and Charlie Sheen, to just name a few, can demand millions of dollars for their talent despite outrageous behavior, yet Cam Newton comes across a little surly in a post-game interview and all of a sudden he's no longer worthy of our respect as an exceptional athlete. Are you kidding me?

We have CEO's of major corporations that could buy and sell these supposedly highly paid athletes and not even worry about how to pay for their mansions, cars and other toys. Athletes, particularly football players, have prime earning years of maybe five or six years if they're lucky. Soccer is longer, so are basketball and baseball. But unlike the players that play the game, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell is making in the $30+ million range, yet the guys who actually do all of the work are prohibited from making that amount of money. As much of a sports fan and commentator as I am, there is a certain amount of hypocrisy that pervades the entire industry. Owners complain when a player tries to "maximize" their value, yet those same billionaires think nothing of holding a community hostage when trying to get the best stadium deal available. In college, coaches can jump from school to school, yet the athletes have to sit out a year if they want to transfer, even if the coach that recruited them bails for greener pastures. Really? How can anyone possibly argue that there is justice in that scenario?

And what about the NBA,  that for no apparent reason, has chosen to ruin not just their own game, but the college product as well by making kids go to college for a year before they're eligible for the draft. Really? Who exactly, other than John Calipari, is this benefitting? The kid who would otherwise get drafted right out of high school gets denied a year of earning power while the college coach that signs him has to figure out a way to build a team knowing that the kid won't be there beyond his freshman season. If a school pays a kids room and board for a few months, clearly knowing that they won't ever aspire to earning a degree, it diminishes the entire scholarship argument. I don't know the exact best solution, but I can certainly tell when the current one isn't even close. From the AAU programs killing high school basketball, to the one and done's killing college basketball and to the fundamentally unprepared players entering and killing the NBA, there is really no good level exhibiting solid and entertaining basketball. One of the reasons I believe the Golden State Warriors are so dominant is that they, along with the San Antonio Spurs, are one of the few teams that actually play basketball the was it was intended to be played.

And going back a few years, the best example of total hypocrisy was the steroid era in Major League Baseball. Are you kidding me? In an effort to rebound from the lost 1994 season, MLB decided to turn a blind eye to the performance enhancing drugs permeating the game. Instead, they promoted the home run race between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa, two obvious juicers, which eventually forced more talented players like Barry Bonds to join the fray so they could remain competitive. And in the ultimate insult, the league then leaked drug testing results which ultimately villified Bonds and others, including Alex Rodriguez and Roger Clemens, for alleged acts that at the time weren't even against the rules. If you think that's insane, it only gets better. Then we have the Hall of Fame voters who arbitrarily decide who gets in and who gets left out based on unsubstantiated claims of innocence when it comes to PED use. How do they know who juiced and who didn't? Okay, Bonds ended up looking like a Zika virus baby, but most others didn't have quite so obvious a manifestation of the effects. I don't believe John Smoltz, Dennis Martinez and some of the others in the latest HOF classes were PED users, but how do we really know? In the prime of their careers, there was no testing and by the way, as I mentioned before, it wasn't against the rules. So how does anyone really know, and great players like Barry Bonds and roger Clemens, both HOF caliber players even before the steroid years, get left out.

And yet, despite of or perhaps because of all of the hypocrisy, we still watch, we still listen and we still comment on the action. Because at the end of the day, it's what happens on the field, on the court, on the ice and on the course that holds our interest. Athletes come, they play and they retire, to be replaced by the next wave. And still we cheer, groan, cry and rejoice at what happens. It's sports and it endures.

Don't forget to check out my new book, "Offsetting Penalties - A PK Frazier Novel" and my first two, "Illegal Procedure - A PK Frazier Novel" and "Roughing the Passer - A PK Frazier Novel", available in print and e-formats at Amazon.com, iBooks and Smashwords.  Tune into www.WPFLRADIO.com at 8:40 am EST every Friday for my Beyond the Commentary segment on "Lou in the Morning" with Lou Vickery and Jonathan McMath.