Sports Watch
U CONN. UCan. And KGMB-TV did. March Madness is finally over, except for the cheering in Connecticut. And what a great NCAA championship game it was, as UConn defeated Duke, 77-74, in a frantic finish to the college basketball season. Hawaii lucky
title game
shown liveAbout the only thing that was better was that fans in Hawaii had the opportunity to see it live on television, just like the rest of the nation that couldn't be on hand in St. Petersburg, Fla.
For that, KGMB-TV should be profusely thanked.
No more being second-class citizens when it comes to watching sports events live.
No close-your-eyes time.
No need to drink five or six beers in some bar with satellite TV just to watch a major sporting event live. MADD must have been glad.
Of course, I was a little worried that KGMB-TV wouldn't carry the title game live as it did the rest of the NCAA tournament.
After all, the final was being held on a Monday afternoon just before rush hour traffic got too heavy. Even a sportswriter in Tucson, Ariz., called to ask if the CBS affiliate here was going to televise the game live. He must have heard about Monday Night Football in Hawaii.
WELL, not to worry, as things turned out.
It was in KGMB's game plan all the way, according to station manager Ray Depa.
"We decided a little over a year ago that we would televise all sporting events live," Depa said.
"With the spontaneity and excitement, sports has to be shown live. There are just too many ways for people to know the score -- the Internet, radio, cable TV. If people want to tape it to view it later, there's something called a VCR," he added.
"Why should KGMB-TV be the VCR of the people?" said Depa, who pointed out that the public's response to showing the NCAA basketball games live was overwhelming favorable.
The championship final more than lived up to its pregame hype: The nation's two No. 1 teams -- only UConn and then Duke held that spot this season -- battling for the national title. Between them, they had won 70 of 73 games going into last night's final.
IT was an upset really only in the minds of the odds-makers. There was simply no way that UConn should have been a 9-point underdog. Not in a game with so much riding on it. UConn's star guard Khalid El-Amin called the point spread "ridiculous."
Despite winning 32 in a row, Duke looked like it could be had in the victory over Michigan State in Saturday's semifinal. Well, so much for the "Duke Invitational" as this year's NCAA Tournament was being called.
But don't go feeling sorry for the Blue Devils. They'll more than likely be back in the Final Four again next season.
As will UConn for sure if Final Four MVP Richard Hamilton returns for his senior year.
There were chants of "One More Year! One More Year!" from the UConn fans, an obvious plea for Hamilton to return his senior year.
Huskies coach Jim Calhoun says he'll understand if Hamilton left school early because of the money involved. Hamilton thought about leaving last year, but Calhoun thought his star needed another season of experience. It turned out to be in UConn's and Hamilton's best interests.
But UConn will be loaded, no matter what. Two red-shirts, 6-foot-11 Ajou Ajou Deng of Senegal and 7-foot Australian Justin Brown, are waiting in the wings for the Huskies.
The rich get richer, as they say.