I try to avoid the nostalgia trip, but I always find it hard during the Big East Tournament. Tonight's final four is Syracuse vs. Cincinnati, and Louisville vs. Notre Dame. Syracuse is the only original Big East team.
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TGIF everyone, here's my Top 5 for March 9, 2012 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com

1. Quick Hits
  • The newspaper headline reads, "8 reasons why Peyton Manning and the Miami Dolphins are a good fit." Then again, the article is in a Miami newspaper.
  • Question of the day, how many schools from the East made it to the Big East semi-finals? See #2 below.
  • Adam Scott and Jason Dufner lead by two after one round at Doral. Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson are six back. New #1 Rory McIlroy trails by seven.
2. Those Were the Days
I try to avoid the nostalgia trip, but I always find it hard during the Big East Tournament. Tonight's final four is Syracuse vs. Cincinnati, and Louisville vs. Notre Dame. Syracuse is the only original Big East team (not to mention a team actually from the East) of the four and they'll be bolting the conference for the ACC. Back in the day, when I was announcing Big East games in the 80s, the semi-finalists would often be Syracuse, Georgetown, St. John's and Villanova. Pearl, Ewing, Mullin, Pinckney. How can you not think of that as the "Good Old Days?"
3. What's the Point?
One of the players in the Lingerie Football League,
(the eye black is a nice touch don't you think?) believes eventually the skimpy outfits will go away and the women will be wearing more traditional football gear. Of course they'd have to change the name to the Women Playing Football in Outerwear and Will Men Really Watch Us Now League.
4. Friday eMailbag
With the NHL's public service announcement urging the acceptance of gay athletes, Top 5 subscriber A.H. writes, "They might fight more than some would like, and too many of them drink too much, but even with today's inflated salaries hockey players are the most tolerant, caring and simply down to earth athletes of any of the major professional sports. Such a tolerant message makes me proud to be the huge hockey fan that I am." When I tweeted, "Don't you wonder what all this Peyton to the Jets talk is doing to the Sanchise's confidence level about now?"R.P. Responded, "No." On the departure of Sue Simmons from WNBC, B.G. writes, "NY news is losing it grittiness. I don't want some fresh faced kid from Duluth reading the news and not knowing how to pronounce Houston St.!And from E.G. "It seems like NBC leads the league in sacks." Everyone's a comedian. When I used the headline "Met$" for one of my Top 5 items, J.B. wrote that I should have used, "Met¢."
5. Spanning the World
will certainly catch your attention. Let's just pretend the ref really dunked during an "NBA game." Any other explanation would be a letdown.Spanning the World airs monthly on NBC's
Today Show
. Next up: Thursday March 29 in the 8:30am half hour.
Happy Birthday:
Former Yankees third baseman Aaron Boone. 39.
Bonus Birthday:
Actor Emmanuel Webster Lewis. 41.

Today in Sports: There goes the neighborhood. Baseball Commissioner Bowie Kuhn rules that women reporters can enter locker rooms. 1979.
Bonus Event: Abe Lincoln decides to run for office for the first time. He wound up losing a race for the state legislature. 1832.


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