Sports fodder for a Friday morning ... Tiger Woods should be ashamed of himself. I understand that is asking a lot from one of the biggest sports frauds in our nation's history. But Woods' latest act of selfishness is in incredibly bad taste even for him. Woods and Nike have released a creepy television ad where a grim Tiger stares silently into the camera while a tape of the late Earl Woods' voice speaks with a fatherly and understanding tone. Earl tells his son that he likes to "promote discussion." He then asks Tiger what his feelings were, what his thinking was and whether or not he learned anything. How nice. What a great dad. Tiger disgraces his family name, betrays his wife and children, makes a fool of all of his fans and all Earl is worried about is promoting discussion? Most dads would have hit their sons on the side of the head with a 9-iron. End of discussion. Why wasn't Earl's voice in Tiger's head when he was cheating on his wife? Tiger, obviously, hasn't learned anything. Earl forgot to ask his son one additional question. What kind of person would exploit the memory of his late father just to sell Nike gear?
•••
The Duke-Butler men's basketball championship game was a great game. Every play was meaningful. It came down to the last shot. It was intense from start to finish. Great theater. But it was a horribly played basketball game. This is what college basketball has become. Neither team could shoot. Both teams were so overcoached to the point where they looked frightened to make a mistake the entire game. And what was Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski thinking, having Brian Zoubek deliberately miss a free throw and giving Butler a chance to win the game with three seconds left? If Gordon Hayward hits that last shot Krzyzewski goes down in his history as making one of the greatest coaching blunders in sports history.
•••
What was Olek Czyz thinking last fall when he decided to quit the Duke basketball team and join Nevada? Is saving a year of eligibility really worth missing out on being a part of a national championship team? This is why you don't ever leave a Duke. Olek, this is Earl Woods. What were you thinking? Did you learn anything?
•••
Don Nelson, who has coached the Golden State Warriors to 24 victories this year, has always been one of the most overrated coaches in the NBA. And now old Nelly owns the NBA record for most coaching victories. Nelly Ball has never produced a NBA champion and rarely, especially in the last decade or so, has produced even a NBA playoff team. Heck, it rarely produces even a NBA player who even bothers to play defense. After getting Nelson the record Wednesday night, one of the Warriors said, 'This is a our championship game." Kind of makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, doesn't it, Warriors fans?
•••
No less than five Kentucky Wildcats (four freshman and a junior) announced this week that they will enter the NBA draft. One of the players (freshman Daniel Orton) averaged 3.4 points and 3.3 rebounds a game. I might have to dust off my old VCR and pop in my tape of the classic movie "Blue Chips." A young actor by the name of Shaquille O'Neal, playing the Oscar-snubbed role of Neon Boudeaux, just might have scored more points for the fictional Western University Dolphins than Orton did for Kentucky this year. I know Orton's Wildcats and Neon's Dolphins won the same amount of national titles.
•••
The NFL Draft is less than two weeks away and it appears that the only Nevada Wolf Pack player with a good chance to be drafted is defensive end Kevin Basped. Safety Jonathan Amaya is another possibility. One mock draft has Basped going to the San Francisco 49ers in the fourth round. Basped, who is giving up his senior year to enter the NFL, will be a big hole for the Pack to fill. He was a one dimensional player for the Pack (in baseball terms he was like a home run hitter who struck out a lot) and his motor seemed to start and stop at times. But it would have been nice to see Basped team up with fellow end Dontay Moch for their senior year in 2010. Elite pass rushers are hard to find.
•••
Please stop comparing Gene Auriemma, Pat Summitt and any other women's basketball coach to the great coaches in men's basketball. Men's basketball and women's basketball are not the same sport. They don't even use the same size basketball. Do you think the pressures and demands on men's basketball coaches are the same for the women's basketball coaches? Do you think the battle for top recruits is the same? Women's college basketball can still be dominated by one great player. Ask the Kentucky Wildcats what it means to have the best talent on the floor in men's basketball. All it means in men's basketball is that you have to recruit a new starting five every year.