Everything just s-l-o-w-s in last minute
If you’ve found yourself getting sleepy by the end of NCAA Tournament games this year, don’t worry. There’s statistical proof to show you’re not just getting old or tired of basketball.
According to figures compiled by Deadspin.com, the final 60 seconds of tournament games this year have dragged on to a long and, at times, painful slog.
Brought on by fouls, timeouts and lengthy officials reviews of crucial calls, the end of these games have drawn criticism from viewers and columnists both.
Deadspin’s statistics show the critics may have a point.
Overall, the website’s numbers show, the final 60 seconds of the tournament’s first 52 games combined to have taken 5 hours, 44 minutes and 51 seconds, which includes the final minute of five overtime games. That’s an average of nearly six minutes (5:57) to play one minute.
The longest final minute came in Wisconsin’s third-round victory over Oregon, which took 15:07 for Wisconsin to expand its two-point lead to an 85-77 victory.
The tournament’s longest game before this weekend’s Sweet 16 started, was Dayton’s victory over Syracuse, which lasted 2:27:42 seconds thanks to a final minute that took 14:09.
SportsOnEarth.com’s Mike Taner concluded earlier this month that the final minute is so long and with so many boring breaks, the final seconds are usually all you need to watch.
“Ten minutes are not really an eternity,” Taner wrote, “but, they can feel that way when you have to go to the bathroom, or are watching a pair of MEAC alsorans.” No need to wait
Cleveland Indians Manager Terry Francona had already decided that right-handed pitcher Blake Wood was going to make the team’s opening-day roster. So Francona didn’t feel the good news needed to wait any longer.
Francona, entering his second season in Cleveland, went to make a pitching change in the seventh inning of a spring training game last week, and told the 28-year old the news right there on the mound.
“I went out there and asked [Wood] if he ever made the team on the mound?,” Francona told Fox Sports Ohio. “He was like no. I go ‘well, you just did.’ After that we came and talked to him in the dugout but you could tell he was pretty excited.”
Francona said he called General Manager Chris Antonetti, who was watching a minor-league game that day, during the game to get approval to spread the news to Wood, who two years ago underwent elbow ligament replacement surgery.
“Just coming back from what I did and making the opening-day roster is really fulfilling,” Wood said. It has given me perspective on a lot of things.”In stride
A magnitude-5.1 earthquake was felt in southern California on Friday night, during the time the Dodgers and Angels were playing an exhibition game at Dodgers Stadium.
The tremor didn’t seem to bother 86-year-old broadcaster Vin Scully, who took the quake in stride and barely reacted while completing his call of what ended up being a 5-4 Dodgers victory.
“A little tremor here in the ballpark,” Scully said. “I’m not sure if the folks felt it, but we certainly felt it here in press box row. A tremor, and only that, thank goodness.”Quote of the day “You’ve got eight
teams right now, and these are the eight best teams in the country, no matter where they were seeded.” Michigan Coach John Beilein on seeding teams in the NCAA Tournament
Sports, Pages 26 on 03/30/2014