Billion-dollar
Men's Final Four is set
By: Larry Fitzgerald
Minnesota
Spokesman-Recorder
Originally posted 4/01/2004
Too bad the athletes don't make a dime
St. Joseph’s and Stanford were the last two teams to stand undefeated this Men’s College Basketball season. But they are not among the Final Four teams this weekend in San Antonio. In the Final Four, Duke vs. Connecticut is the heavyweight match-up; then powerful Oklahoma State matches up with Georgia Tech. That means two teams from the mighty
ACC. Connecticut was a preseason number one, so it’s no surprise that they are on the doorstep of another NCAA title. But as always, the NCAA tournament is about big money for college basketball and CBS. Lost in the excitement of March Madness is this financial reality.This is a billion-dollar tournament, and what’s sad about it is that the hard-working, talented athletes don’t make a dime. That has to change
soon.
Equal pay for Pam Borton?
Since no one else has looked at the serious state that the Gopher men’s basketball program has fallen into, here’s something more to consider. Dan Monson has failed big time as head men’s basketball coach at the University of Minnesota. He tried to leave a year ago out the back door to the University of Washington; then the U of M found out about it, and he decided to
stay. He is in the fifth year of his contract, and he has
about 1.5 million left on his contract. The program is in the toilet, finishing in a tie for last place in the Big Ten Conference with a 3-13 record. Monson is in way over his head; he can’t keep his players, and his teams don’t play with any
commitment. Former Gopher Assistant Coach Silas McKinnie, now working for the Detroit Lions as a regional scout, thinks that Kris Humphries, the talented All-Big Ten scoring and rebounding champion, is ready to play in the NBA if he decides to leave the U of M after just one season.
If Humphries decides to leave early, like Rick Rickert did last year, I think Monson should follow him out the door. Pam Borton, the talented women’s basketball coach, should be paid at least a dollar more than Monson. Her teams play together and with heart, not to mention that in two years she has guided her teams to the Sweet Sixteen and Elite Eight, with a chance of reaching the Final Four if they can beat Duke."Lindsay Whalen is the best player that I’ve ever coached,” said Borton. “She has the skill, the heart, the intelligence. She’s got the intangibles. She’s a great leader, and it’s going to be a long time before one of those comes around again.”Fitz Notes & QuotesWalter Camp College Football Player of the Year Larry Fitzgerald Jr. will be featured on the cover of U.S.A Today Sports Weekly April Draft Guide. Larry will also be featured on the cover of ESPN The Magazine’s April NFL Draft Issue.Larry was named the inaugural National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, Inc. National Offensive Col
lege Player of the Year Award winner. He will be honored at an awards banquet on Thursday, April 22, at The New York Athletic Club in Manhattan, New York.
Play ball: Fitzgerald live at Bellanotte April 5
I’ll host the Larry Fitzgerald Show next Monday live from Bellanotte Restaurant in downtown Minneapolis at 600 Hennepin Ave. in Block E across from Target Center, with special guest College Football Player of the Year and future NFL number-one pick Larry Fitzgerald Jr. We’ll also preview the Minnesota Twins Home Opener and the NCAA Men’s Championship game 9-10 am on KMOJ Radio, 89.9 FM.
