Free Republic

The late North Carolina basketball coach Dean Smith said thank you to all of his former players one last time in his will. About 180 former Tar Heels will get $200 checks from the accountant who administers his trust. The checks contain the notation "Dinner out."

How can they possibly play the Final Four without the assurance that they can violate the religious freedom of Christian bakers and florists in Indiana? With the Final Four a week away from shining a spotlight on Indianapolis, NCAA President Mark Emmert said Thursday that the governing body for college sports is concerned about an Indiana law that could allow businesses to discriminate against gay people. The law would prohibit state and local laws that “substantially burden” the ability of people — including businesses and associations — to follow their religious beliefs. The NCAA offices are located in Indianapolis, and...

Add Keith Olbermann to the now trending #BoycottIndiana mob looking to punish the state over its new religious freedom law — a law that closely mirrors the 1993 Chuck Schumer sponsored, Bill Clinton signed Religious Freedom Restoration Act:

SENATE ENROLLED ACT No. 101 AN ACT to amend the Indiana Code concerning civil procedure. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Indiana: SECTION1.IC34-13-9 IS ADDED TO THE INDIANA CODE AS A NEW CHAPTER TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2015]: Chapter 9. Religious Freedom Restoration Sec. 1. This chapter applies to all governmental entity statutes, ordinances, resolutions, executive or administrative orders, regulations, customs, and usages, including the implementation or application thereof, regardless of whether they were enacted, adopted, or initiated before, on, or after July 1, 2015. Sec. 2. A governmental entity statute, ordinance,...

The first thing to do after you win a huge NCAA tournament game is CURSE OUT THE PRESIDENT ON LIVE TV!

Call it the Marxist theory of surplus value in high-tops . . . On Melissa Harris-Perry's MSNBC show today, David Zirin, sports guy at the far-left Nation mag, called the NCAA tournament nothing less than "the organized theft of black wealth." Zirin expanded his accusation to call the tournament the theft of "youth wealth." Speaking of wealth, Zirin has made a living out of adopting provocative positions, from supporting the boycott of Israeli athletes, to attributing dislike of Barry Bonds to--you guessed it--racism. View the video here.

ST. LOUIS — The greatest day in the history of Ohio State wrestling ended with the university’s most successful wrestler ever capping his glorious career in the grand fashion he long craved. Senior Logan Stieber etched his name into a permanent spot in his sport’s history by becoming only the fourth wrestler to win four individual NCAA championships. Stieber, top-seeded in the 141-pound division, earned his individual immortality on the same day that Ohio State won its first team national title in the 94-year history of the program. “It’s amazing to win my fourth title and a team title,” Stieber...

On Thursday, University of Kentucky men’s basketball coach John Calipari reacted to his team’s performance or lack thereof in his halftime interview during Kentucky’s game against Hampton, an inferior opponent.

One team President Barack Obama didn’t have the opportunity to pick when he joined ESPN this week to fill out his NCAA March Madness bracket was Oregon State, which has yet to recover from a disastrous six years under the guidance of his brother-in-law, Craig Robinson. Robinson, Michelle Obama’s brother, was fired by Oregon State after six straight disappointing seasons as head coach—the team went 39–69 in the Pac 12 and never made the NCAA Tournament or the NIT. Not only did Robinson fail to get results at Oregon State, he also left a mess for new coach Wayne Tinkle....

Welcome back to our 30 for 30 documentary short series. In 1989, the NCAA men’s basketball tournament was at a crossroads. Schools from larger conferences like the SEC and Big East didn’t see the need to keep allowing the mid-major teams into the Big Dance. They always lost, so what was the point? When Alonzo Mourning’s no. 1 seed Georgetown Hoyas entered the tournament, they had their eyes set on the Final Four and a national title. Dealing with the likes of Ivy League champion and no. 16 seed Princeton was more of an afterthought. So when these two teams...

Not long ago, in a galaxy not so far away from wherever Comcast placed truTV in your cable lineup, the era of the dominant men’s college basketball team was over. Last year, no team had more than a 15 percent chance of winning the NCAA men’s tournament, according to FiveThirtyEight’s pre-tournament forecast (Louisville was the best bet). In 2011, the nominal favorite was Duke, with a 22 percent chance. In 2012, it was Kentucky, at 27 percent, and in 2013, Louisville led with a 23 percent chance. While two of those favorites (Kentucky in 2012 and Louisville in 2013) happened...

On Sunday’s “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” on HBO, host John Oliver blasted the NCAA for not compensating its student athletes with anything besides food and a free education.

Basketball is in the headlines, but football is the great corrupter in college sports. Headlines, even in sports, can be deceptive. But it’s hard getting around the contrast in last weekend’s banners regarding two universities that are involved in one of the greatest (though temporarily suspended) rivalries in college basketball. On one side is Syracuse. Having already removed themselves from postseason play due to self-reported academic infractions, the Orange were hit by the NCAA with more severe penalties: five years’ probation, twelve forfeited scholarships over the next four years, and the vacating of 108 wins accumulated with the efforts of...

"“We are aware of the exchange Keith Olbermann had on Twitter last night regarding Penn State. It was completely inappropriate and does not reflect the views of ESPN. We have discussed it with Keith, who recognizes he was wrong. ESPN and Keith have agreed that he will not host his show for the remainder of this week and will return on Monday.”" "I apologize for the PSU tweets. I was stupid and childish and way less mature than the students there who did such a great fundraising job."

K-State stuns KU as fans storm court Have you seen this video? This is going to get worse. I think it is time to put an end to storming the court except for championship games.

George Washington. Famous for being first, but hasn't done anything in centuries. RUTGERS John Adams. Sort of forgotten and small and lost to Thomas Jefferson so...WAKE FOREST Thomas Jefferson. Bought Louisiana, had zero scruples, drank hard, and invented the disgraceful sex scandal. LSU James Madison. Tiny, but punched well above his weight, and lasted way longer in the game than he had any right to via craftiness. BOISE STATE James Monroe. Known for having financial difficulties. MARYLAND John Quincy Adams. Thorny bastard who swam naked in rivers for fun and had big-ass sideburns. WEST VIRGINIA Andrew Jackson. Completely insane. Noted...

Dean Smith, who coached North Carolina to two men's basketball national titles, died Saturday night at the age of 83. North Carolina announced Smith's death Sunday morning. "Coach Dean Smith passed away peacefully the evening of February 7 at his home in Chapel Hill, and surrounded by his wife and five children," Smith's family said in a statement. "We are grateful for all the thoughts and prayers, and appreciate the continued respect for our privacy as arrangements are made available to the public. Thank you."

With a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular-season championship on the line, the top-ranked Iowa wrestling team steps onto the big stage today. The Hawkeyes are expected to compete in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a collegiate dual meet in their noon matchup with defending NCAA champ Penn State. A sellout crowd of at least 16,000 is anticipated at the Bryce Jordan Center, where the Nittany Lions established the existing record of 15,996 a year ago for a dual against Pittsburgh. That doesn’t impress the Hawkeyes’ fifth-ranked 125-pounder Thomas Gilman, one...

Yes: Let’s hope the legendary coach hears the good news I hope there’s a wire service in the afterlife. I hope there’s some celestial Internet cafe where the departed (regardless of their ultimate destinations) can access news about those of us they’ve left behind. For instance, I’d love it if the monsters who murdered the journalists at Charlie Hebdo could take a moment from baking in eternal hellfire to see how their acts only strengthened our resolve to speak out against intolerance. Similarly, I hope Martin Luther King Jr. can recognize, from his lofty perch in heaven atop his beloved...

Some day college football players will learn not everything needs to be shared to the public. Ohio State quarterback Cardale Jones found that out, as you may have heard by now, but things turned out OK for him. Maybe Penn State sophomore safety Bryant Harper will learn a lesson after being publicly scorned by his head coach on Twitter. On Monday, Harper took to Twitter to boast about a B he received on a recent anatomy exam. "B on my first anatomy exam and I didn't study I'll take it" Penn State head coach James Franklin, known to be fluent...