Welcome to another edition of Inbox-and-One!
We are starting today’s newsletter with a little group exercise. I want you to picture your favorite sports memory. I’ll give you a few of mine as an example:
One of my many treasured sports memories
When I was in elementary school, we didn’t have cable, so any time there was a big college basketball game on ESPN, my parents, sisters and I would drive to my grandparents house and watch on their TV. At halftime my dad would go to the Taco Bell down the street for dinner and I’d always order a crunchwrap supreme.
My hometown hosts the Junior College Baseball World Series every summer and one of my very first sports memories was watching Central Arizona win the title when I was seven. I ran down to the field to try and get a souvenir from one of the players, only to have a batting glove that was tossed my way stolen by a teenage boy (rude). Then, my dad rushed to my assistance and put me on his shoulders. The team’s catcher, who saw the batting glove incident, threw his batting helmet high in the air for me. I caught it and without any regard for how sweaty it was, plopped the helmet right on my head.
When I was a senior in college, the Gonzaga men’s basketball team (where I attended school) advanced to the Final Four for the first time. I watched them defeat Xavier in the Elite Eight with a group of friends at our local bar, Jack and Dan’s. We drank Dirty Shirleys, took way too many photos and enjoyed being a part of history.
Your turn! Picture that memory.
Did it have anything to do with sports betting? Of course not. Which brings me to the ranting section of today’s newsletter. I hate sports betting. I think it ruins the games we all grew up loving. It’s predatory, stupid and ruins the sanctity of sports. Not to mention, as a country, we will have to reckon with an epidemic of young people, particularly young men, who have had their lives ruined by gambling addiction in the next few years.
You can’t watch any sporting event without gambling being advertised or odds being discussed. In December I watched the Optum Golf Channel Games with my golf-obsessed husband. It featured Scottie Scheffler, Rory McIlroy and several other golfers competing in a series of golf-related challenges. It was a made up event in which the participants were constantly asking about the rules. Yet, at the bottom of the screen, there were advertisements for ways to gamble on an event that the literal players didn’t fully understand! That’s how stupid and predatory gambling is.
All that said, even I know some bets are better than others. You’ve heard of a long shot, well get ready for a no shot! A new and exciting wager now being introduced by the gambling industry! A few weeks ago I came across a screenshot on social media with the player odds for the Wooden Award.
Notice anything strange?
One of the options? Kentucky’s Maddyn Greenway. The only problem with that, of course, is that Greenway is still in high school. She will enroll at Kentucky next year. That particular bet is no longer an option, but it was up for a few weeks, so if anyone took a gamble on Greenway, get back to me in April and let me know if you won!
Maggie Doogan is a bonafide star
I’ve long been a believer that mid-major basketball is good basketball. I mean, I went to Gonzaga for goodness sake. So, if you haven't tuned in to watch Richmond’s Maggie Doogan yet this season, I suggest you rectify that immediately. Doogan is one of the best players at the mid-major or high major level. She’s averaging 24.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists per game. On Sunday, Doogan set her school’s single-game scoring record with 48 points in a triple-overtime win over Davidson. Sidenote: The Atlantic-10, where Richmond plays, is an excellent conference this season. Four teams (Richmond, Davidson, George Mason and Rhode Island) are all March Madness-caliber teams. Plus, Rhode Island, the team leading the A-10 standings, made it into my AP top 25 this week!
Krista Gerlich is making history (again)
Texas Tech is one of three remaining undefeated teams in the country, joining Vanderbilt and UConn, with a 19-0 record. This isn’t the first time the Raiders have gone on a 19-0 run, either. The last one came in 1993, when Texas Tech ended the season on a 19-game winning streak, taking home the national championship trophy.
Gerlich was on that team, averaging 12.9 points, 5.3 assists, 4.9 rebounds and 1.6 steals per game, while shooting an impressive 44.7% from long range.
Don’t forget to watch Alicia Tournebize’s debut
The newest (and tallest) gamecock is set to make her debut for South Carolina against Texas on Thursday. The 6-foot-7 French forward signed with the Gamecocks over the holiday break, and after spending some time getting acclimated, she’s ready to play. Her debut could not come at a more exciting time, either. The No. 2 Gamecocks are looking to avenge their early-season loss to No. 4 Texas. Prior to South Carolina, Tournebize played professionally in France and for the French U18 team, where she averaged 12.9 points, 8.9 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game.
She’s also the first Frenchwoman to dunk during a game. Vive la France!