Sez Me …
It’s called athletic arrogance. A good thing. The best athletes, the best teams, have it. And you don’t just happen on to the intangible, or have it delivered by Amazon — or Uber Eats, which claims it can deliver anything.
In most cases, swagger is an acquired taste. Few are born with it. Sinatra. And some athletes, some teams, never obtain it. So they lose before they actually have a chance to lace up.
I used to talk with our late, great maestro columnist Don Freeman about ego. If you don’t have it, you’re not going to excel.
It took San Diego State’s men’s basketball program the better part of a century to land this white whale, when Steve Fisher came in with the attitude he built at Michigan, where his Fab Five almost — but not quite — took swagger the length of the court.
But, good as they were, the Fab Five never won a national title. And the Aztecs haven’t either. Not yet. Maybe never. Who knows? But they’re in the pool. They’ve been in it, but they’re starting to swim more laps.
They were John Wayne’d by UConn on Thursday night in the NCAA Tournament’s Sweet 16, totally out-swaggered, pummeled by 30 by the same university (with new players) that took care of them in last year’s national championship game (when they were better than they were in 2024, and the Huskies weren’t as good as they are now, but good enough).
The key thing is that, under coach Brian Dutcher, Fisher’s best student, they won’t be intimidated. They have climbed many steps. They may not be good enough some nights, but they are plenty often — and, more important, they are totally unafraid.
They didn’t panic Thursday. They simply weren’t nearly as good, lacking petrol.
State ran into a woodchipper, but it played the Huskies square for a half-plus, until its remarkable inability to grab a defensive rebound opened the UConn dam’s spillways.
The Huskies had 21 offensive rebounds against a good rebounding team. Can’t say I’ve seen anything like it. You’re not winning when you give a team that many second, third, fourth and fifth (once) chances. The score might have been worse had UConn not failed to convert after so many of them.
I won’t blame the brutal travel schedule, but the Aztecs weren’t fresh. UConn was daisies. After winning last Sunday in Spokane, the Aztecs got home at 3 a.m. Monday . Then they had to fly 3,000 miles to Boston on Tuesday afternoon. Meanwhile, the Huskies’ kennel was but 85 miles from Beantown. A Hound ride, San Diego to Irvine.
Rough. Their best wouldn’t have exhausted their exhaustion. They offered no excuses, but it showed in the second half, when they were on fumes.
Enough of that. What of the future? Dutcher will be losing many guys — including the Guy, Jaedon LeDee. Dutch needs bigger guards, and a point who can distribute. Shooters. He’s always going to have a defense, because if you can’t play D, you’re not playing for Dutcher. But he has to find scorers.
Teams don’t go 7-2 over back-to-back NCAA Tournaments if they play scared. I thought these guys did well getting to the 16. Dutcher’s best coaching job. He will coach-up his newbies.
The Tournament isn’t about seeds. It’s matchups. Unlike last year, these Aztecs didn’t match up. …
SDSU’s basketball budget is lowest among Sweet 16 teams — $21 million less than Duke’s. …
Utah State might have had a chance vs. Purdue — if its coach got ejected early, so he could move on to his new job at Washington. …
Below zero: The chance of the Mountain West again getting six schools in the Tournament. …
The NFL, well on its way of entirely eliminating the tackle — a skill so many players have difficulty performing, anyway — will eliminate the hip-drop tackle. It will be hard for defenders to obey when trying to bring somebody down from behind. …
I can’t wait to see DBs and linebackers having to stop, open the rule book, and think about how to approach tackling a great back in the open field. …
Under the new rule — on a one-year trial in the NFL — onside kicks must be “declared,” so adjustments can be made. Next, defenders have to tell QBs exactly what defense they’ll be in. …
There is no such thing as a “good look” to a 3-point shot. Stop it. Three, three, three, three. Clank, clank, clank, clank. Bad music. …
“Back in the ’70s and ’80s, I wish I had an interpreter. I’d be scot free.” — Pete Rose. It’s still not too late for him to get one. …
Why should we believe Shohei’s interpreter? …
What a job. The subject talks for a minute, and the interpreter comes back with something like: “He didn’t know about it.” And then the interpreter somehow gets total access to your bank ? Shohei is more Babe Ruth than J.P. Morgan. …
I saw a college basketball player doing a tax commercial. Damn NIL. Think of all the kids in the past who got their money without having to pay Uncle Sam. …
Former NBAer Kenyon Martin says Caitlin Clark would not “score one point” in the Big3 league. She would if an NBA player were trying to guard her. …
I’ll tell you right here that, if Draymond Green played for Paul Silas … well, he wouldn’t be playing for Paul Silas. …
The Celtics — The Best Team in Basketball — blew a 30-point lead and lost to the Hawks. They got outscored by 24 points in 5 ½ minutes. The Bucks blew a 19-point fourth-quarter lead to the LeBron-less Lakers. The NBA is an embarrassment to what once was the most beautiful game. To borrow from what Hubert Vogelsinger said about English soccer: “The NBA is not worth the time I don’t spend watching it.” …
Hey, Steve Belichick, how do you differ from your father? “I have a job, and he does not.” Father-son chats had to be long and hilarious. …
Really? Does the eighth-largest city in America need a posse/national search party, to find a fire chief? The Ham & Eggers always are looking for new ways to squeeze unnecessary money out of our tube. …
That’s keeping up with the longtime San Diego hiring creed: “You’re nobody until you’re somebody from someplace else.” …
“If you don’t think too good, don’t think too much.” — Ted Williams, San Diegan. …
From Albert Breer: There are nine NFL quarterbacks who will make more money this year than the entire A’s roster. …
Memo to retiring Boyce Garrison: I never said athletes today aren’t faster. I said — still say — 40-yard dash times are lies. Thanks for everything, Boyce, but as you enter your dotage, try attending a track meet. …
The Oakland Airport may be renamed San Francisco Bay Oakland International Airport. That will make it all better. Maybe if San Francisco Airport adds Oakland to its name, planes there would be on time. …
I usually don’t worry much about April baseball, but the Dodgers’ magic number to win the West is 2. …
I gave the Easter Bunny a little raincoat, galoshes and a skiff.
