Sports

Haters guide to the Final Fo— nah, scrap that. Duke leaves no room to hate anything else

Published

4 weeks ago

April 4, 2025

Haters guide to the Final Fo— nah, scrap that. Duke leaves no room to hate anything else

One of the most thrilling and important games in the history of this tournament that doesn’t get mentioned enough happened on March 30, 1991: Duke’s 79-77 upset of previously unbeaten UNLV at the Hoosier Dome in Indianapolis.

Or maybe it’s been mentioned enough and decades have passed. But I feel like I see Grant Hill to Christian Laettner — which happened one year later — 500 times for every replay I see of UNLV’s Anderson Hunt missing a 3 at the buzzer, into the hands of Bobby Hurley, into scenes of euphoria on his side and disbelief on the other. Keith Smart against Syracuse, Michael Jordan against Georgetown, Mario Chalmers against Memphis, Gordon Hayward from halfcourt against Duke — so close! — the finishes immortalize the games.

But Laettner’s winning foul shots, into Larry Johnson’s regrettable decision to pass to Hunt rather than attack, should warrant more replay rotation considering what that national semifinal meant. Yes, it meant Bob Knight’s 1975-76 Hoosiers were preserved as the last perfect team, fittingly in the Hoosier Dome. It meant no repeat title for Jerry Tarkanian and his renegade Runnin’ Rebels.

Most importantly, it was the last night in American sports history that it was OK to like Duke. More accurately, it was the last night it was OK to not hate Duke.

This was supposed to be a Hater’s Guide to the Final Four, following up similar public services before, such as the College Football Playoff and World Series. But Duke doesn’t leave much oxygen for anyone else. Haters and Duke go together perfectly, like peanut butter and jelly. Or liver pate and Pinot Noir.

Florida’s gator chomp is goofy. At least half of the Auburn and Florida fans on hand Saturday at the Alamodome will have been tricked into believing they’re about to see an unsanctioned spring football game. If Auburn coach Bruce Pearl and Houston coach Kelvin Sampson meet in the title game, it’ll be the show-cause showdown. Are we good here? Back to Duke.

Yes, of course, people hate Duke because of all the winning. Two days after Mike Krzyzewski’s inspiring upstarts upset UNLV — avenging a 30-point blowout loss a year earlier — they took out Roy Williams and Kansas for the championship. It was his first and Duke’s first. He would win four more with the Blue Devils, more in that time than rival North Carolina, Kentucky and Kansas, the blue bloods that laughed at the idea of Duke being part of their club until Krzyzewski forced his way into it.

But Connecticut has won six championships in that time, its first in 1999 coming at the expense of what still might be Krzyzewski’s best team ever. So why don’t people hate UConn like they hate Duke, even with Dan Hurley begging them to do so?

One, Duke has more than a decade’s head start on inclusion in another exclusive club, that of Notre Dame football, the Dallas Cowboys, New York Yankees and the like — sports franchises that boast large followings and engender deep resentment among those not on the respective bandwagons.

And then there’s all the elitism, hypocrisy and objectionable personalities. “Two rings” Hurley may get there some day, but as of yet, there’s no documentary in existence titled, “I Hate Danny Hurley.” It’s been a decade since ESPN debuted “I Hate Christian Laettner.” It took him a year to go from righteous slayer of the UNLV dragon to face of sports villainy.

On the same night he hit arguably the greatest shot in NCAA Tournament history, off the Hill baseball pass to beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight, Laettner also stomped on the chest of Kentucky’s Aminu Timberlake while he was down on the court. It looked like a pro wrestling move. Duke has churned out more than its share of college hoops heels since then.

Forget that for every Cherokee Parks, Steve Wojciechowski, JJ Redick and Grayson Allen — players who annoyed opponents and non-Duke fans to the point of inspiring some to construct websites devoted to hating Duke — there are actually many more Duke players who are easy to like. Guys like Grant Hill, Thomas Hill, Chris Carrawell, Shane Battier, Jon Scheyer and, really, the entire team he’s coaching in San Antonio this weekend. I guess one rotten grape can spoil the whole bottle of Pinot.

Laettner apologized for that kick, by the way, in the documentary, which is a fair and nuanced look at how a narrative can spin out of control.

But see, that’s really the issue with Duke, at least for people who have paid much attention to college basketball in the 40 years since Duke became its most consistent force. The 1991 Duke-UNLV subtext was “program that does it the right way overcomes program that does it the wrong way.”

Time and perspective recast the late Tarkanian as a guy who had the guts to call out the farce of amateurism and big business coexisting, the guy who famously said of the rule enforcers who loved to make an example of him: “The NCAA is so mad at Kentucky, they’re going to give Cleveland State two more years of probation.”

Time and perspective also tell us Krzyzewski had an amazing knack for raking in the best talent in America for a guy who offered only room, board, tuition at an elite private school and his coaching skills. You don’t compete at that level for that long if you don’t swim in some murky waters at times, and if you think Duke never did, search Myron Piggie on Google. Or Marvin Bagley III.

Too many in media have wanted to confer “white hat” status on Krzyzewski as compared to, say, a Tarkanian. That’s not to say Krzyzewski didn’t do things “the right way” or that there isn’t a difference. But “the right way” used to be falsely applied to the farcical idea that some coaches were above having to deal with the underground — but very real — market. It should apply exclusively to caring about players as more than players and enhancing their development as people.

Krzyzewski’s magnificence in that area helps explain why the Duke brand is as strong as ever today. Also, just because you have an elite academic institution with a lot of top students in your program doesn’t mean you take only top students. You have to make exceptions and deal with outside forces to get the best talent all the time. Krzyzewski had the best talent all the time.

Still, there’s a “holier than thou” thing about Duke. Maybe it’s more from the outside than the inside. But it’s there. And that’s where the haters draw their inspiration.

Now that the money’s on the table, things are very different. Except that Duke still gets the best players. Duke might have another great coach, too. Scheyer has handled the enormous task of following his mentor with aplomb, with humility, with no arrogance detected. He’s hard to dislike.

But give him a championship, and some time.

(Photo of Grayson Allen and Mike Krzyzewski: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images)

Related Topics:duke blue devils Featured Men's College Basketball

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Sports

Matt Sauer saves the Dodgers' bullpen in rout of Marlins

Published

35 minutes ago

April 30, 2025

Press Room

Matt Sauer saves the Dodgers' bullpen in rout of Marlins

The Dodgers’ early season bullpen usage had become so much of a concern, even minor-league pitcher Matt Sauer was keeping tabs on it from the team’s triple-A Oklahoma City affiliate.

Which is why when he took the mound following a call-up to the majors Tuesday night, he was determined to give the Dodgers some badly needed innings.

“Even when we’re down in OKC, you still follow the big league club,” Sauer said. “And I knew the bullpen has been used a lot.”

Indeed, entering Tuesday, no other team had relied upon its relievers more heavily than the Dodgers. Thanks to injuries and ineffectiveness from the starting rotation, their bullpen’s 126 innings were far and away the most in the majors.

Despite that the Dodgers had no choice but to deploy their second bullpen game of the opening month. Only this time they were able to stay away from their most important arms.

Instead, in a 15-2 win over the Miami Marlins, Sauer came to the rescue with five innings of relief, providing the type of length that too often has eluded Dodgers starters.

“I had a goal of at least five innings,” said Sauer, a 26-year-old right-hander who earned his first major league victory. “[To] help the boys down in the ‘pen a little bit.”

Shohei Ohtani reacts toward the bullpen after homering in the first inning.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

As pitching injuries have piled up, the bullpen has been strained in order to compensate.

Entering Tuesday only 10 teams had topped 110 innings from relievers The Dodgers had six relievers with more than 13 innings pitched. No other club had more than four.

“The thing that’s probably most disconcerting is the bullpen leading Major League Baseball in bullpen innings,” manager Dave Roberts said Monday, after Tyler Glasnow became the latest member of the starting staff to land on the injured list.

“That’s where my head is at,” Roberts added, “as far as making sure we don’t red-line these guys.”

That will be no easy task over the next couple of weeks. Starting Friday the Dodgers will play 19 games in 20 days. And with Glasnow and Blake Snell on the IL, they will begin it with just four healthy starters on their active roster.

“We thought our starters would be a position of strength for us from a workload standpoint, and unfortunately we lead all of baseball in innings for relievers,” pitching coach Mark Prior said Tuesday. “Sometimes that’s a good thing. But this early in the year, it’s probably not.”

Especially not after what the relievers did last October, combining for 82 innings in a grueling World Series run.

“Guys did some really heavy lifting,” Prior said.

And a short offseason only gave them so much time to recover. Evan Phillips and Michael Kopech both started the season on the IL, nursing injuries they sustained in the playoffs. While Phillips has returned, another key reliever, Blake Treinen, has gone down because of a forearm strain.

It made Tuesday a seemingly daunting task, with the Dodgers opting for the type of bullpen-game strategy they used so often last October.

But then in an unexpected twist, Sauer was able to provide a well-timed reprieve.

After rookie left-hander Jack Dreyer took down the first two innings, giving up a lone run after Teoscar Hernández misplayed a ball in right field, Sauer found a groove in his 78-pitch outing. He gave up just one run on five hits. He recorded four strikeouts. And most importantly, he achieved his goal of five innings.

“I can’t say enough about his performance,” Roberts said. “We needed every bit of it, considering where our ‘pen is at.”

It also allowed the Dodgers (20-10) to go to work at the plate, where they set season highs in runs, hits (18) and walks (eight) en route to their most lopsided victory.

Shohei Ohtani led off with a home run, his seventh of the season and first since returning from the paternity list last week.

Hernández atoned for his defensive miscue with two run-scoring doubles, tying the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge for the most RBIs in the majors with 29.

Mookie Betts had a two-run single as part of a two-hit performance, raising his batting average to .240 as he continues to try to snap out of his opening-month slump.

And Cy Young-winning Marlins starter Sandy Alcantara never found his footing, exiting in the third inning with the Dodgers ahead 7-1.

“Recently it just seems like team-wise we’re beating a starter, creating stressful innings, taking walks, [and] situationally we’ve been good,” Roberts said. “This is what we potentially can do. You just give yourself a fighting chance when you can kind of take those at-bats.”

The game got so out of hand, the Dodgers didn’t even need to use a real pitcher in the ninth inning. Instead, after low-leverage right-hander Luis García pitched the eighth, utility man Kiké Hernández took the mound for the final three outs, a plastic “pitching helmet” covering his cap.

“To stay away from some other leverage guys was big,” Roberts said, “and puts us in a good spot.”

Not only for Wednesday’s series finale but also the taxing stretch of schedule to follow.

Sports

MLB stars discuss their 'important' roles in growing baseball to new fans

Published

18 hours ago

April 29, 2025

Press Room

MLB stars discuss their 'important' roles in growing baseball to new fans

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred’s rule changes may not be loved by baseball purists, but the proof is in the pudding.

As the length of games has significantly shrunk in recent years, Major League Baseball saw increased attendance in back-to-back years for the first time since the early 2010s in the last two seasons.

A Dodgers-Yankees World Series was going to bring in plenty of viewers anyway, but nonetheless, it’s all a good sign for the sport.

Christian Yelich and Dustin May know their roles to grow the game. (IMAGN)

Two of the biggest names in the game know that they, too, have a job to do off the field as well.

“I think it’s important to grow the sport,” Milwaukee Brewers star and 2018 NL MVP Christian Yelich told Fox News Digital in a recent interview. “I think it’s important to attract as many new viewers as possible, obviously keep your existing audience and have it be a good product for everybody to consume. I think if you can have an impact like that as a player, you should do it.”

So, in order to do that, Yelich, Dodgers star pitcher Dustin May, and Cubs shortstop Dansby Swanson teamed up with DirecTV, whose “Nothing On Your Roof” campaign with the MLB stars is telling potential providers that dishes are no longer necessary to enjoy ball games.

Yelich, May and Swanson star in the commercial for the campaign where there is nothing on their roofs – in this case, their heads. Each wore bald caps, which is quite the look for the long-haired May.

“I like my hair, and I have a lot of it, and then they wanted to do the Nothing On Your Roof, and I thought it was really cool twist on things,” the 27-year-old May, who began growing it out as a junior in high school, said. “I was excited to be a part of the commercial to kind of boost that they don’t need anything on your roof to be able to broadcast baseball.”

Don’t expect May’s real hair to be gone any time soon, though.

“I definitely think my wife would be kind of irritated if I cut them off,” he said.

Los Angeles Dodgers starting pitcher Dustin May warms up during spring training camp. (Rick Scuteri-USA Today Sports)

“It was a cool concept that I thought was really unique, and an opportunity to have some fun with a couple of other guys around the league,” added Yelich. “DirecTV did a great job with the set and the concept, and I thought everything turned out awesome. People are able to watch baseball, access Major League Baseball games without having to have satellite. I think it was a unique way for DirecTV to get that message across, putting us in bald caps and the Nothing On Your Roof campaign. I didn’t really know how I’d look bald and stuff, but I thought that was a cool part because it looked so realistic. Once they finished with all the hair and makeup stuff, it was a lot of fun.”

“So being able to partner up with DirecTV with this campaign, show baseball fans that they can consume Brewers games, Major League Baseball games without satellites, it was an easy decision to do the commercial.”

Milwaukee Brewers’ Christian Yelich follows the flight of his solo home run off Colorado Rockies starting pitcher Chad Kuhl, Sept. 6, 2022, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)

As for continuing to grow the game, “We’re here to put out a good image,” added May. “So people want to come back and want to watch.”

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Sports

Prep talk: Beach volleyball playoffs to decide Southern Section champion this week

Published

19 hours ago

April 29, 2025

Press Room

Prep talk: Beach volleyball playoffs to decide Southern Section champion this week

Can any team defeat No. 1 Mira Costa in girls’ beach volleyball?

We’ll find out this week as the quarterfinals, semifinals and finals will be held in Southern Section Division 1.

Edison will take the first chance against Mira Costa in the quarterfinals on Tuesday. The other matchups have Santa Margarita facing Los Alamitos, Redondo Union taking on San Marcos and San Juan Hills playing JSerra.