As we head into Super Bowl Week, our Monday sports round-up features Duke’s Coach K notching his 1000th win, our special Deflate-gate/BallGhazi coverage, and phenom Nick Krygios taking the Australian Open by storm, plus bonus Pro Bowl Coverage (now with 200% less relevance!)
___
1. Duke’s Coach K Gets His 1000th Win
On Sunday, Duke coach, Mike Krzyzewski capped an accomplished forty-year career, by becoming the first NCAA Men’s Basketball coach to win 1000 games.
The only one with 1,000. #Coach1K pic.twitter.com/htKBrqfMrA
— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) January 25, 2015
His answer to the question of what the win represents was Coach K class all the way:
“It represents 40 years of being with good people.”
Coach K is a great coach, and has been a great mentor to so many. Some of the reaction from his former players:
Way to go, Coach! So proud to have been a small part of this huge achievement. #Coach1K — Ryan Kelly (@RyanKelly34) January 25, 2015
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free
— grant hill (@realgranthill33) January 25, 2015
Amazing milestone for Coach K! Fortunate to win with Coach at the highest level. He changed my life for the better #Coach1K — Bobby Hurley (@BobbyHurley11) January 25, 2015
♦♦♦
2. Deflate-gate/Ballghazi. Cannot. Stop. Talking About This.
Sometimes the news gives you a gift. A gift from God. And so it was with Deflate-gate.
This must be what Jon Stewart feels like every time he watched Bill O’Reilly. It’s like Christmas morning, creeping down the stairs in your footy pajamas. Or maybe more like hiding in the corner gorging yourself on salt-water taffy. At any rate, its been pretty sweet.
Unlimited references to “balls” and “shrinkage.”
Articles like this. Headlines like this:
A press conference where Bill Belichick dropped a My Cousin Vinny reference to Marisa Tomei’s automobile expert character, Ms. Vito: “But Ms. Vito. How can you be so sure?” #ballghazi
The story had positraction!
It had us “by the balls.” (“That’s an industry term.”)
Enter Bill Nye the Science Guy to tell us that Belichik was full of it.
Enter Saturday Night Live:
Brady: “That’s nerd stuff. Honestly it’s above my pay grade.”
Reporter: “You make $26.5 M per year.”
It. Just. Won’t. Go. Away.
And that’s a good thing. It shouldn’t. Because in the end, we can make all the “balls” jokes we want – and we have! – but it is still about cheating.
♦♦♦
3. Nick Krygios Advances To The Quarterfinals of The Australian Open: Are We Not Entertained?
There is a new tennis star in the making, and his name is Nick Krygios:
This 19-year-old kid, whose upset victory over Rafael Nadal on his way to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon last year rocketed him to stardom, has all the assets and appears set to become the nation’s next big deal. Unsurprisingly, Kyrgios has also fully embraced the world of social media and his fans have unprecedented access to his life off the court. It’s truly a two-way dialogue that has pushed the boundaries of fan interaction to new levels.
Don’t like ads? Become a supporter and enjoy The Good Men Project ad free
And now, after a thrilling comeback from two set downs in the Australian Open against Federer-slayer, Andreas Seppi, Krygios is in the quarterfinals again!
And as The New York Times reported:
This quarterfinal could be the start of something deeper. After a long dormant phase, the Aussies are rising again, and Kyrgios — nicknamed the Wild Thing, with good reason — is not just a special talent. He has the sort of animal magnetism and raw ambition that draw you in and keep you there to find out just what he might do, mutter or throw next.
“He’s dangerous; he’s unpredictable; he’s entertaining,” Murray said.
Kyrgios is a showman in a very different way from Federer, whose elegant strokes and mannerisms keep you at an admiring distance. Kyrgios is prickly and profane, but also hellbent on ensuring that both he and his audience avoid boredom.
Kyrgios is rising. And the world is watching.
Here we are now. Entertain us.
♦♦♦
4. BONUS Coverage: The NFL Pro Bowl
The Pro Bowl happened. Not many watch it any more. It’s not even in Hawaii.
But it had its moments. JJ Watt made some stellar plays on the defensive side of the ball. And there were some tremendous catches, by Greg Olsen, TY Hilton, Jordy Nelson, and Odell Beckham, Jr. For those that stuck around, and didn’t peel off to watch Downton Abbey, in the end, one team beat the other team. (It’s not even AFC vs. NFC anymore; it’s Michael Irvin’s team vs. Chris Carter’s team! Bright Orange vs. Neon Yellow.).
Anyway. Speak of Odell Beckham, Jr., the NY Giants Pro Bowl WR has been highlighted in this column here and here and here and here . . . more than any other human being on the planet. He made some fabulous catches in the game, showing tremendous body control and vise-like hands.
But the pre-game warm-ups. Oh, the pre-game warm-ups. Just take a look:
Of course, he kicked field goals in the pre-game too. Through special Pro Bowl edition extra-narrow goalposts, no less. Ask Pro Bowl kicker, Adam Vinatieri. It’s not easy!
Odell Beckham, Jr. Stud.
♦♦♦
—
Photo Credit: Kathy Willens/Associated Press
—
For back-issues of our weekly “So…This Happened. Three Things in Sports,” see:
-
January 19, 2015 Edition: The epic Green Bay collapse in Seattle, New England pasting the not-ready-for-their-closeup-yet Colts, and King James hating on his coach.
-
January 12, 2015 Edition: The defining plays of Divisional Playoff Weekend in the NFL, The Bills choosing unwisely in Rex, and the Knicks finally begin the process of blowing it up.
-
January 5, 2015 Edition: The passing of Stuart Scott, college football Bowl game madness, and Wild Card Weekend in the NFL starring Chris Christie.
-
Dec. 29, 2014 Edition: JJ Watt’s stellar season, the poor Cleveland Browns, and the NFL playoff picture.
—