NCAA Tournament

Congratulations, Louisville!

April 9, 2013 by Shana Renee Leave a Comment

Photo via Andy Lyons/Getty Images

Although I jumped ship and rooted for Michigan in the title game, I can never be mad at a Big East Champion, especially when a team balls out like the Louisville Cardinals did. But the icing on the cake was watching Kevin Ware’s 100 watt smile in the final minutes of the game and of course the lowering of the net for him to revel in his one shining moment. I think I shed a tear.

Overall, it was an amazing finish to a wildly unpredictable college basketball season. Congrats to the Louisville Cardinals and newly elected Hall of Famer Rick Pitino. Way to represent for the Big East one last time.

-@sdotrenee

Filed Under: College Basketball, College Sports Tagged With: Big East, Final Four, Louisville Cardinals, NCAA Championship, NCAA Tournament, Rick PItino

Kid President Makes Bracket Picks!

March 20, 2013 by Shana Renee 1 Comment

kidpresident-620x400

Kid President is back, and still awesome.

He headed into his oval office and made his NCAA Tournament picks with the help of ESPN’s Robert Flores. Like Kid President said, President Obama picked his bracket, now it’s his turn to get in on the #marchgladness.

“Mike Sasowsky!” LOL, so good.

But wait. Why isn’t this kid in school?

Need more basketball action? Check out Watch Like A Champion and get all of your hoop updates, trivia, and tournament talk! Then enter to win a Samsung 60″ LED TV, Galaxy Note Tablet, Panasonic Cordless Phone System, and One Year of Free Service through the Cox Ultimate Entertainment Sweepstakes! http://shout.lt/gD9t/

-@sdotrenee

Video via ESPN

Filed Under: College Basketball, College Sports Tagged With: ESPN, Kid President, March Madness, NCAA, NCAA Tournament, President Obama, Robert Flores

Your March Madness Guide to Multi-Screen Viewing

March 18, 2013 by Shana Renee Leave a Comment

photo via tyandashstand.blogspot.com

Let’s face it, most of you March Madness junkies don’t have the luxury of clearing your work schedules to watch the day games from the comfort of your own home or local dive bar. Instead, most of you will be forced to schlep to the office, pretend to work as you follow the madness and keep the panic attacks to a minimum as your brackets go up in flames.

Notice I keep saying you? Well, that’s because I do have that luxury. This is one of those rare instances when the freelance life pays dividends, and yes, I’m cashing out!

Jealous, yet? Well, don’t be. There’s absolutely no shame in maintaining a job and collecting a steady paycheck. After all, you have to find a way to cover the cost of those exorbitant entry fees for your multiple brackets, right? Plus, the NCAA recognizes how evil bosses can be, and more importantly, how necessary the games are to our health and wellness.

For the third year in a row, the NCAA’s free March Madness Live app has made it extremely convenient for us to follow the action, no matter what we’re doing or where we are.

Two years ago I chose a trip to Portugal over staying put to watch the Final Four and the final game. Although I had to wake up at the crack of dawn to watch the games, nothing stood between me watching Kemba Walker dominate his way to a championship win. Trust me, the March Madness Live app was everything I needed it to be.

Whether you watched the tourney from your office last year and need a refresher, or if you’re a newbie to following the action on-the-go, here’s all the info you need to multi-task like a pro.

The NCAA’s app March Madness Live is still available for free live streaming across .com, mobile and your tablet (yes, droid users too!) as long as you’re a paying TV subscriber. To gain access, you’re required to provide your cable subscriber information, but once you’re in, you’ll have access to every live game. However, if you’ve cut your TV cord to save a few bucks like many Americans, March Madness Live also allows you to stream up to four hours of content without registering. The coverage will be available on NCAA.com, CBSSports.com and Bleacher Report along with Google Play and the App Store.

As great as that is, there are times when a wifi connection is shotty or inaccessible, altogether. That’s when going old school and listening to the radio becomes a life saver. Sirius XM Radio will broadcast every game on channels 91, 92, 93, 94 and 95. If you have XM, the games will be broadcasting on 91, 190, 191, 192, and 85. If you don’t have either, Dial Global Sports owns the broadcast rights. Go here to find your local station.

Also, remember the tournament begins Tuesday, not Thursday! TruTV will do the honors of covering the tip off between North Carolina AT&T vs Liberty NC at 640PM/ET. If you have no clue what channel that is, no worries, just enter your zip code in this handy channel finder. TruTV is airing 13 games total, so you should get familiar with the network, if you’re not already.

If you’re interested in the Women’s tourney, ESPN has you covered! Coverage of their selection show begins tonight, Monday, at 7PM/ET on ESPN. Per, SI, “every game of the tournament (63 games) will air on the ESPN networks. ESPN and ESPN2 will present its telecasts in a whip-around format with home market protection through the first two rounds. (ESPN3 will offer first- and second-round games in their entirety as a supplement). The final 15 games, beginning with the regional semifinals, will have national telecast windows on ESPN or ESPN2.” Please join me in prayer, as I send one up to the basketball gods in hopes we receive a Baylor – Notre Dame final.

For a complete play-by-play of March Madness coverage, go here, here and here.

Now that you’re covered on how to keep track of the action, good luck making your picks.

Enjoy the Madness!

-@sdotrenee

Props: SI.com

Filed Under: College Basketball, College Sports, Featured, Media Tagged With: Bleacher Report, March Madness, March Madness Live, National Collegiate Athletic Association, NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship, NCAA Tournament, Sirius XM Radio, Television, TruTV

Daddy Daycare: Dwyane Wade + Jay Bilas Join Dove Men+Care Campaign; Plus D. Rose’s Generous Offer to Chicago Family

March 14, 2013 by Shana Renee Leave a Comment

photo via multivu.com

In recent years, March Madness fans have become accustomed to the TV ad campaigns executed by Dove Men+Care. They often feature current or former NBA athletes who made a name for themselves during the NCAA Tournament, college basketball coaches and also experts. Magic Johnson, Steve Nash, Shaquille O’Neal and John Thompson are a few basketball greats who have participated in the campaign in the past. This year, the Miami Heat’s Dwyane Wade and ESPN college basketball expert Jay Bilas were tapped to represent the brand. The campaign’s theme is fatherhood and shows the proud papas in ‘Real Moments’ with their real children.

According to the official press release,

The “Real Moments” campaign reveals an unexpected glimpse into Bilas’s and Wade’s life experiences via “how-to” formatted stories with a comedic twist. While fans may believe that ‘mastering the drive’ is a basketball focused activity for Jay Bilas, what he really cares about is finding the time to sit shotgun while guiding his daughter behind the wheel. Dwyane Wade shares that the best method for ‘staying in shape’ is not solely about hitting the gym, but playing in a bouncy house or swimming pool with his sons.

Wade, who’s been very vocal about the role his children play in his life, had this to say about the campaign, “The real moments in my Dove^®Men+Care^™ campaign capture the joy and excitement my boys and I feel when we are all together. Being a father is the most rewarding aspect of my life and my children teach me, just as much as I teach them.”

Take a look at all four of the fun and playful spots below.

Photo via bossip.com

Continuing with the fatherhood theme, but on a much sadder note, another senseless tragedy took place in Chicago earlier this week. A father, Jonathan Watkins, and his six-month-old daughter, Johnylah Watkins, suffered multiple gunshot wounds while changing her diaper in the front seat of his van. Unfortunately the baby, who was shot at five times, didn’t survive.

This story hit Chicago Bulls star Derrick Rose close to home. The new father to a four-year-old son generously offered to cover the funeral expenses for baby Johnylah. While Rose is a Chicago native, it’s often easy to become numb to the senseless violence that’s destroying the community on a daily basis. Not to mention the personal stress he’s dealing with as he continues to rehab from his ACL injury. I doubt his gesture was attention seeking, but I wanted to acknowledge his thoughtfulness because athletes are often perceived as selfish. However, this Rose story does a great job of dispelling that generality. My condolences go out to the family. Chicago, please do better.

Here are details on what took place, in cased you missed it.

-@sdotrenee

Filed Under: Advertising, College Basketball, College Sports, Featured, NBA, Pro Sports, Sports Marketing Tagged With: College Basketball, Derrick Rose, Dove Men+Care, Dwyane Wade, Jay Bilas, Magic Johnson, March Madness, Miami Heat, NBA, NCAA Tournament, Shaquille O'Neal, Sports Marketing, Steve Nash

Rocawear Presents Jay-Z from “Marcy to Barclays” Commercial

April 2, 2012 by Shana Renee Leave a Comment

Today Rocawear premiered its first ever commercial. The 30-second spot, promoting Rocawear’s Spring 2012 campaign, is a retrospective of Jay-Z’s much often told rise from Marcy Projects to moguldom, or in this case Brooklyn’s own Barclay’s Center. The spot will make its TV debut tonight during the Kentucky vs Kansas NCAA Championship game.

Check it:

-@sdotrenee

Filed Under: Advertising, Media, NBA, Pro Sports, Sports Marketing Tagged With: Barclay, Brooklyn, Jay-Z, Kansas, Kentucky, Marcy Houses, NCAA Tournament, Rocawear

Today’s Sports Tweet: Dick Vitale

May 6, 2011 by Shana Renee Leave a Comment

Amid news that the University of Maryland men’s basketball coach, Gary Williams, announced his retirement after 22 seasons with the ACC school, Dick Vitale tweeted the following:

Surprised by the news Gary Williams is stepping down – He brought such passion to every possession – Will be missed big time – HOF BABY!

May 5, 2011 6:11 pm via webReply RetweetFavorite

@DickieV

Dick Vitale

In an interview, the 66 year old coach said that his decision has nothing to do with health issues. After coaching 33 years, Williams simply decided it’s time to move on because he’d like to do other things.

A press conference announcing Williams’ retirement is scheduled for today at 1PM/ET.

Read full story.

In other NCAA Basketball news, Sports Illustrated has reported that Gus Johnson is leaving CBS after 16 years with the network.

However, the NY Daily News suggests otherwise. They are reporting that news of his departure is premature. Although Johnson’s contract with CBS is expiring, and he’s received an offer for an expanded role from Fox Sports, CBS has time to counter the offer in an effort to retain his services.

Sigh.

If Johnson does leave CBS, I’d like to have a moment of silence for the NCAA Tournament that I’ve grown to love. The subtraction of Johnson from the CBS team will forever change my March Madness experience. Johnson’s exuberant play calling unequivocally makes him the most passionate announcer in sports history and a perfect fit for the unpredictable tournament. I’m hopeful that he’ll be able to reach an agreement with CBS, but I’m also bracing myself for the worst in the event that Johnson does indeed decide to walk away.

The news of his possible departure was announced days before he sets to call the blow-by-blow of Saturday’s Manny Pacquiao and Shane Mosley fight on Showtime PPV.

The Fab 5: Attack of the Baldheads

March 10, 2011 by Shana Renee 4 Comments

As a young impressionable preteen in the early 1990s, my life’s mosaic included hard hitting DJ Premier beats, choreographing dance routines to Slam by Onyx, memorizing M-E-T-H-O-D Man, watching Homey D. Clown, wearing baggy jeans w/ combat boots, falling in love with Omar Epps as Q in Juice and declaring the Fab Five my favorite college basketball players.

And for this reason, I can’t think of a greater sports moment worth reliving more than The Fab Five Era, despite the unfortunate ending. The story of how hip hop bred, inner-city youth Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson, Jimmy King, Jalen Rose, and Chris Webber forever changed college basketball’s culture will be chronicled during The Fab Five on ESPN, Sunday at 9PM/ET.

Jalen Rose spearheaded the project and recruited Juwan Howard, Ray Jackson and Jimmy King to join him. Chris Webber, involved in a federal investigation for money laundering which eventually led to NCAA sanctions and the removal of Final Four banners, declined to participate in the production of the documentary with his friends and former teammates.

However, Chris Webber’s lack of involvement does not mean the documentary will overlook the role he played in the sudden rise and eventual fall of one of college basketball’s most memorable recruiting classes. Nor, should Webber’s charges overshadow the significant impact the Fab Five made on an entire generation.

There’s a reason their story is being told twenty years later. Be sure to watch ESPN on Sunday at 9 PM/ET.

-@sdotrenee

Filed Under: College Sports, Featured Tagged With: 1990s, 30 for 30, Chris Webber, College Basketball, ESPN, Fab Five, Final Four, Hip Hop, Jalen Rose, JIMMY KING, Juwan Howard, Michigan Wolverines, NCAA Tournament, Ray Jackson, University of Michigan

Exit Melodrama! Enter Melomania!

February 22, 2011 by Shana Renee Leave a Comment

Exit Melodrama. Enter Melomania!

Honestly, I had no idea how I’d feel after hearing that Carmelo Anthony to the NY Knicks was finally approved.Â The nonstop drama certainly tainted my judgment a bit.Â I spoke with my Dad about the tentative deal early Monday afternoon, and he was convinced that it was only a matter of time.Â Although I followed all of the back and forth, I detached myself a bit.Â I refused to involve my heart in the Melodrama because as a Knicks fan, I know far too well what it feels like to be letdown.Â I refused to set myself up for the fall…again.

Fast forward a few hours.Â I received a two-word text from my Dad saying, “It’s done!”Â I stood emotionless.Â The trade was officially official and not in a “sources say the deal is 90% done we just need Carmelo to approve it kind of way.”Â I called my Dad so he could fill me in.Â Although I was hesitant to celebrate, he didn’t allow me to rain on his parade.Â He was pumped.Â So pumped that I convinced him to guest blog his reaction later this week.Â Stay tuned for that!Â But I digress.

Sensing my lack of enthusiasm, my Dad suggested I go home and listen to WFAN.Â He convinced me that the energy from the fans calling into the station would be so infectious that I’d have no other choice but to get hype.Â My funk would immediately wash away. After listening for a while and reading twitter, I was still unmoved.

But! A short while later, it hit me!! I finally started to get hype.Â It didn’t have anything to do with the callers on the radio, or tweets on my timeline, or ESPN commentary.Â Instead, it had everything to do with me having flashbacks to Melo’s Syracuse days in 2002-2003 and the previous success he’d had in New York.Â My mind suddenly started racing with memories of how he used to light up MSG as a college freshman!!!Â The last time New York had a reason to celebrate anything basketball related, was all due to Carmelo carrying Syracuse to an NCAA Championship.Â I recalled watching Melo in the Big Dance and thinking he was virtually unstoppable.Â I remembered how he went to work in the Final Four against Texas.Â I remembered being pissed that Lebron James was the star of the 2003 NBA Draft based on a high school highlight reel.Â At the time, I thought C. Melo should’ve been #1, no question. And I can’t help but think that Melo’s pairing with Amar’e Stoudemire presents one more hurdle for the Miami Heat to overcome if they want that rock.

And not to overlook Melo’s NBA career, but taking it way back to the days when I first admired his game is what has me most amp’d to see Melo in a Knicks uni.Â He knows what it means to win in New York and this is more than I can say for anyone else within the Knicks organization, aside from Walt Clyde Frazier.Â OK, maybe I’m reaching a bit with that statement, but let me get that.Â No one is messing with my high right now.Â Not even the fact that Mike D’antoni is still the coach or the rumors that Isiah Thomas’ grubby little hands were all over this trade will prevent me from counting down the hours until Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony team up and light up MSG on Wednesday.Â Well done, Knicks.Â Well done.

Filed Under: Featured, NBA, Pro Sports Tagged With: Big East Tournament, Carmelo Anthony, March Madness, NCAA Tournament, New York Knicks, Syracuse University

Congrats, UCONN!

April 6, 2010 by Shana Renee Leave a Comment

My girls did it!Â The Lady Huskies are the 2010 NCAA Women’s Basketball Champions.Â Back-to-back undefeated seasons.Â Unbelievable.Â They are 11 wins away from overtaking UCLA’s record for most consecutive wins.Â And, Coach Geno Auriemma is one championship away from tying Pat Summit’s record of eight championships.Â Both shall be done.

P.S. Notice I didn’t congratulate Duke on their win.Â That was intentional.Â I’m a hater.

Photo credit:Â AP/Eric Gray

Filed Under: Basketball, College Sports, Featured, Women's Sports Tagged With: Big East Tournament, Geno Auriemma, Maya Moore, NCAA Tournament, University of Connecticut, Women's Sports

Ballin’!!!

March 19, 2010 by Shana Renee 1 Comment

Take a brief step away from the madness, and let’s talk money and college basketball.Â As we all know, the sports industry is a huge moneymaker, but what exactly does that mean for these basketball programs at D1 schools?

For the third consecutive year, Forbes.com has ranked the Top 20 Most Valuable College Basketball teams, based on the following four factors (in order of weight):

1. The value of contributions to the institution for academic purposes, including scholarships for basketball players.

2. The net profit generated by the basketball program retained by the athletic department.

3. The value contributed to conference peers via tournament revenue.

4.Â Estimated direct spending by visitors to the county attributable to home basketball games.

Ranked at #1 for two straight years and valued at $29 million are the North Carolina Tar Heels.Â Coming off of their 2009 Championship, the Tar Heels are stacking their chips and saving for a rainy day.Â Good thing they are, because ladies and gentlemen, that rainy day has arrived!Â Last year, 2009 NCAA Champs, this year, a round-trip ticket straight to the NIT.Â Can’t wait to see how a disappointing season impacts their 2011 ranking.

And, because you simply can’t mention UNC without hearing Duke (or vice versa), the Blue Devils are ranked #11 with a value of $16.4 million.Â For the second consecutive year, their value has dropped.Â The steady decline is attributed to their enormous operations budget which is 50% more than any other team.Â This seems a bit excessive, especially when they share a market with UNC.Â Anytime twice as much money is spent to do the same job, questions should be asked, eyebrows should be raised, and people should be fired.Â Just sayin’.

For the complete list of rankings, check out the article and slideshow.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled program with beer in one hand, bracket sheet in the other.

Filed Under: College Sports, Featured Tagged With: College Basketball, NCAA Tournament