After the spring signing period ended May 20 without any announcements, many Bearcats fans were left wondering if Mick Cronin would find a backup point guard.

They received their answer Tuesday, June 2, when the University of Cincinnati announced it signed 6-foot-4-inch guard Jaquon Parker to a national letter of intent. 
Parker played point guard and both wing positions for King’s Fork High School in Suffolk, Va., and is expected to help backup Cashmere Wright.

“It was vitally important that we get a guy that can play the point,” said associate head coach Larry Davis, who was the lead recruiter on Parker.  “Getting him was a tremendous relief from a coaching standpoint. He can play three perimeter positions because he’s got size and physically, he’s a powerful kid.”

Although he’s 19 years old, Parker was just in his third year of high school last season.

He was held back in elementary school because his family moved around a lot. Because of his age, Parker found out he was not going to be eligible to play another year for King’s Fork.

“Word got out that he wasn’t going to be able to go back to King’s Fork to finish his senior year because he was too old,” Davis said. “So everybody assumed he wasn’t a good student and they thought he was going to have to go to prep school for a year. Well, really the opposite was the truth.”

Davis did some investigating into Parker’s situation and discovered he was two classes shy of the NCAA core requirements and was only three classes shy of graduating from King’s Fork. He had a good SAT score and he had already passed the Virginia state exit exams.

There were several other schools recruiting Parker, but they thought he was going to have to go to prep school. UC offered him a chance to play in the Big East on national television next year instead of going to prep school and he 
took it.

Parker still needs to pass three classes during the summer before he will be cleared to play for the Bearcats, but Davis said he expects Parker to complete his course load without any problem.

Last season, Parker averaged 18.5 points, 10 rebounds and 4.5 assists while leading the Bulldogs to a 31-1 record and a state championship. The Associated Press and the Virginia High School Coaches Association both named him the player of the year in Virginia for the 2008-09 season.

Davis said Parker is an explosive athlete with a well-rounded game and he competes on both ends of the floor.

“When I saw him play in the state tournament in the semifinal game, he dominated the game offensively,” Davis said. “He took it to the basket, made pull-ups, posted up, got offensive rebounds and stuck it back in. He did a little bit of everything. In the finals, he dominated the game defensively. They were down 21 at halftime and he took the other team’s best player and just shut him out.”

Aside from having the talent to compete in the Big East, Parker has the mentality that head coach Mick Cronin and Davis look for.

“He’s just a tremendous competitor,” Davis said. “He wants to win. I don’t care what he’s doing, if he’s playing pick-up basketball he wants to go 7-0. He called me one night after he committed and he was mad because he went to the rec center and lost two pick-up games. That’s the kind of kid he is.”

Parker is the third member of the 2009 recruiting class, along with Ibrahima Thomas and Sean Kilpatrick. Davis said fans can expect the new class to provide some offense, an area where the Bearcats struggled at times last season.

“I think you are going to see scoring out of those three guys because they can all make shots,” Davis said. “Jaquon and Kilpatrick can both score the ball. They can drive to the basket and finish on big guys, they can make a jumpshot, a three or a pull-up, they just know how to score. And Ibrahima Thomas is one of the best shooters we have, even though he’s 6-foot-10 he can really shoot the ball.”

George Jackson

Although it was difficult leaving behind his players and the coach that gave him his first opportunity to work in the college ranks, the call to come home was just too compelling for George Jackson.

“I’m a Cincinnati guy,” Jackson said. “I was born and raised here and grew up as a fan of Cincinnati basketball.”

The University of Cincinnati announced Wednesday, June 3, that Jackson will be joining the men’s basketball coaching staff for the upcoming season as an assistant.

Jackson had been an assistant for head coach Lou Orr since 2001, following him from Seton Hall to Bowling Green State where the two coached last season. After going 13-17 in their first season at Bowling Green, Orr and Jackson led the team to a 19-14 record and a National Invitational Tournament  berth last season.

But Jackson said he just couldn’t pass up an opportunity to get back together with his family in the Queen City.

“This is a great opportunity,” Jackson said. “To have a chance to work with coach Cronin and the staff and be apart of this program that I believe is on the verge of doing great things is an honor.”

Prior to accepting a job with Orr in 2001, Jackson spent 20 years as the boy’s basketball head coach at Withrow High School. Jackson, who is a member of the Greater Cincinnati Basketball Hall of Fame, compiled a 311-146 record coaching at Withrow.

According to Cats1969, from the Bearcatlair.com message board, anyone who follows high school basketball in Cincinnati should know Jacksson already.

“Any bball person in Cincy has to know Goerge Jackson, he was an ultra successful coach at Withrow for about 20 yrs or so,” said Cats1969. “He coached Ricky Calloway and countless others. He went on to coach at Seton hall and help Orr bring in talent that got them to the NCAA tourney until Seton hall was stupid and fired the staff.”

Over the years, Jackson has earned a reputation as a big man specialist, and has seen several of his former post players at Withrow go on to have successful careers in college and NBA.

“Some people say I’m a good teacher but, I’ve always said the best teachers have great students,” Jackson said. “Tyrone Hill was a great student, Brandon Hunter was a great student and Ricky Calloway was a great student.”

Fellow Withrow graduate Yancy Gates could be the next in that long line of great students
for Jackson.

“Yancy has outstanding potential,” Jackson said. “Physically he has it all and he seems to be a very good person and that’s going to be a key to his development. Just being a willing student is going to enhance his progress a great deal as we work together to get where we all want to go.”

Jackson is also expected to work with post players Steve Toyloy, Anthony McClain and Ibrahima Thomas next season.

“I can’t wait to get going with those guys,” Jackson said. “My tendencies are to be slow and patient with players and I don’t think you can go to XYZ, without making sure you get
ABC solid.”

By ABC’s Jackson means he wants the big men getting from rim to rim in four seconds on every change of possession.

“That’s the best post offense I believe is to get down there before the defense gets set, catching the defense off balance and being able to score before the help becomes available,” Jackson said. “Defensively it’s the same thing. We use the terms in the past of greeting the offensive player, not meeting him there. So we want to sprint down the floor in less than four seconds and greet that guy and keep him out of his comfort zone as far as the position he wants to try to get in inside.”

From what he has seen of the team and staff so far, he is excited about the team’s potential for the upcoming season Jackson said.

“With the staff and the great work ethic of those guys and the personnel we have, I feel like it’s a great opportunity and we can take that next step and be an NCAA tournament team on a regular basis,” Jackson said.

Jackson should also be able to help with in-game coaching decisions on the bench.

“I can tell you he is a salesman,” said Cats1969. “He can talk with anyone and has a great personality. I have known Goerge for 30 yrs. He is a great guy, and like Todd said he will lend a hand during games, which we ALL think is needed. Being a young coach you need a veteran game coach to help you stay calm and make good decisions and I am not sure he had that before.”

Jackson is also expected to help Cronin with recruiting, especially in Ohio.

“As for recruiting I think he will be counted upon to help the Bearcats recruit kids from Ohio and the surrounding Midwestern states,” said Todd Cunningham from the Bearcatlair.com messageboard.

Vince8290 expects Jackson to help out with highly-touted recruit Adrien Payne who lives in Dayton, Ohio.

“His connections are all thru Ohio and the AAU circuit around Ohio,” said Vince8290 on the Bearcatlair.com message board. “He could help alot with Payne. He is close with many minority coaches throughout the state. High school coaches really respect him for all the yrs he put in with High School. The coaches feel he understands what they go thru since he was in their seat.”

Overall, most UC fans are pleased with the hiring.

“If Jackson can use his connections in Ohio and the surrounding areas, Mick can hit the trail in other places and be one step ahead of the game with the Ohio and close to home players,” said Bcat2004 on the bearcatlair.com message board. “Mick needs someone on the bench to grab his collar and get his fiery ass back to the bench when things get heated during the game. He also needs a guy who can help with in game coaching and coach big men. This guy is George Jackson.”

From Hawktime.com

Cincinnati has been home to some of the all-time great athletes in sports, but perhaps the greatest of them all is rarely talked about.

Oscar Robertson, one of the top-5 greatest basketball players ever to live, dominated his opposition at the University of Cincinnati and later for the Cincinnati Royals.

Some argue that Anthony Munoz, who played for the Bengals, is the greatest offensive lineman ever.

Then in baseball, the Reds can boast having one of the greatest second baseman ever, Joe Morgan, the best catcher ever in Johnny Bench and two of the greatest hitters to play the game in Pete Rose and Frank Robinson.

But in my opinion, the greatest athlete ever to come out of the Queen City is Aaron “the Hawk” Pryor, who is often forgotten in discussions of Cincinnati greats.

Pryor had all the talent a boxer could hope for: amazing athletic ability, incredible stamina and elusiveness, he had an unbelievable chin, power in both hands and could throw punches from any angle.

And he had that killer instinct. All the talent in the world doesn’t count for anything if a fighter doesn’t have that killer instinct. And Pryor had it.

Any time he hurt an opponent with one of his punches, Pryor could sense it like a shark smelling blood in the water. He’d throw one punch after another without stopping until the referee stepped in or his opponent’s head hit the canvas.

At the age of 27, Pryor was one of the most feared boxers alive. He held a 34-0 record with 32 knockouts and had knocked out 27 opponents in a row. He held the WBA world light welterweight title and had just defeated Nicaraguan legend Alexis Arguello twice by knockout.

For a little perspective, currently the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world is Manny Pacquiao. Pacquiao, who’s size and fighting style kind of reminds me of Pryor, is 47-3 with two draws.

But Pacquiao also has a few controversial wins on his record, including one to Juan Manuel Marquez, and his last two wins (although against bigger men) were against a past-his-prime and dehydrated Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, who’s career may now be over.

Pryor, on the other hand, fought a constant stream of talented fighters and did not have a single controversial decision on his record. And the reason for that is simple, he knocked everyone out.

But, perhaps Pryor is forgotten among the discussion of Cincinnati greats because his career was essentially over a few moments after it reached its apex.

Pryor’s career never reached the level it should have because he surrounded himself with the wrong people, had a bad reputation and suffered an unfortunate injury in his prime.

Growing up in Avondale, Pryor had a troubled childhood. His mother was an alcoholic and had seven children, five with different fathers.

At the age of 13, Pryor discovered the sport of boxing. He was always too small to play basketball or football, but he was a natural in the ring from the very start.

As an amateur, Pryor went 204-16 and stopped 50 of his opponents in the first round, which is very rare in amateur boxing. Pryor even defeated the great Tommy “the hitman” Hearns in an amateur bout.

Heading into the 1976 Olympics, Pryor was favored to win a gold medal alongside Sugar Ray Leonard. But at the Olympic Trials and the Olympic box-offs, Pryor lost two controversial decisions to Howard Davis Jr.

Most who saw the fights, including Olympic boxing coach Rollie Schwartz, felt that Pryor won both. Some believe the fights were rigged because U.S. Olympic officials did not want Pryor representing the United States at the Olympics.

While Sugar Ray had the “golden boy” persona working for him, people viewed Pryor as a cocky thug from the hood.

Had Pryor made the Olympic team and won the gold medal, his career may have turned out very differently. After his gold medal at the Olympics, Leonard had million-dollar purses lined up for the taking. Pryor had to work his way up from the bottom.

It probably didn’t help that Pryor brought a massive entourage with him wherever he went. His entourage followed him everywhere repeatedly shouting his signature chant: “What time is it? … Hawk Time!”

It was Pryor’s bad-boy image that prevented him from landing a mega-fight with the likes of Sugar Ray. He just wasn’t that marketable and combined with the fact that he was extremely dangerous in the ring, it meant no one wanted to fight him.

No one that is, until Alexis Arguello. In 1982 after Leonard’s retirement, Arguello was rated the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter in boxing and was seeking his fourth title in a different weight class.

At the time of their first fight, Pryor had defended his WBA light welterweight title six times and Arguello had defended his WBC lightweight title five times.

Promoter Bob Arum billed the fight as “The Battle of Champions.” From the opening bell until Arguello hit the mat in the 14th round, it was an all-out war. It was named Fight of the Year and later Fight of the Decade by Ring Magazine.

Arguello hit Pryor with everything he had, but Pryor ate every punch and kept on coming. After the fight, Pryor was on top, but it didn’t last long.

Before their second fight ten months later, Pryor learned he had a detached retina, an injury that causes many fighters to retire. But he decided to fight Arguello for a second time anyway.

Pryor dominated the second fight and knocked Arguello out in the 10th round. It should have catapulted his career to the level of Leonard or Hearns, but shortly after that fight, Pryor’s promising career was over.

Pryor’s wife had divorced him and became addicted to crack. Pryor tried to repair their relationship and in the process became addicted to crack himself. The people who Pryor trusted to manage his finances stole all of his money. He had allowed his sister to live in his Cincinnati house while he was in Miami and she burned it down.

Less than a year after being the undefeated light welterweight champion of the world and one of the hottest boxers in the sport, Pryor was only 28 and a shell of his former self: he was broke, malnourished, he couldn’t see out of one eye and was living in a crack house in Miami.

The only loss of Pryor’s career was to Bobby Joe Young in 1987. Pryor had a detached retina and cataracts in one eye and was a full-blown crack addict at the time.

After a long battle with addiction, Pryor cleaned his act up and eventually became an associate minister at New Friendship Baptist Church.

Pryor’s career may have been derailed before it reached its peak, but among boxing experts, Pryor is widely recognized as one of the greatest boxers to ever live, even if he isn’t always remembered by those in his hometown as one of Cincinnati’s greats.

Loved the interview. “Pretty Boy” Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. is slowly slipping into the dementia that has already claimed his father FLoyd “Joy” Mayweather who is certifiably batshit crazy. 

Here’s how Floyd’s comeback should have went:

July 2009: Shane Mosely

December 2009: Manny Pacquiao

August 2010: Miguel Cotto

If he would have ran through those three fighters then retired, he might have gone down as one of the top-10 boxers of all time. But instead he decided to fight a much smaller Juan Manuel Marquez, which opened him up to the criticism of Kenny that he is not seeking out the toughest challenges.

I predict Floyd beats Marquez by a decision and then knocks out Pacquiao. 

But he’s not going to get past Miguel Cotto, who should be considered the No. 1 pound-for-pound fighter since the only man he lost to essentially fought with rocks in his hand-wraps.

From Mirror.co.uk

To the casual boxing fan, Manny Pacquiao’s vicious second-round knockout of Ricky Hatton might seem like a waste of $60.

The fight lasted just five minutes and 59 seconds. And without James Kirkland (who was forced to withdraw from his fight after violating his probation) the undercard wasn’t even worth watching.

So, why would I gladly spend $60 to watch a two-round bout where one of the fighters (Hatton) landed just 18 punches?

Because that $60 allowed me to witness Pacquiao cement his status as the greatest fighter on the planet with a single punch – his signature left hook.

Pacquiao’s absolutely perfect left hook in the closing seconds of round two placed him in the pantheon of the world’s greatest athletes alongside Tiger Woods, LeBron James, Rafael Nadal and Cristiano Ronaldo – men who absolutely dominate their respective sports.

It may have been one of the most spectacular punches ever thrown in boxing.

Not only did the punch knock down a bigger fighter, Hatton, who had a 45-1 record with the only loss coming to undefeated Floyd Mayweather Jr., it knocked him unconscious before his battered head hit the canvas.

You could see the punch start at Pacquiao’s feet, work its way up his body, with his hips gyrating like Manny Ramirez’s on a home run swing, then it ends up landing like a sledgehammer, square on Hatton’s jaw, sending him crashing to the mat like a sack of bricks.

The referee, Kenny Bayless, didn’t even reach 10 in his count. He waved off the fight after noticing Hatton was out cold, lying motionless on the Rockstar Energy Drink advertisement in the center of the ring. Hatton didn’t move for several minutes and then was taken to the hospital.

The one thing that may have been more impressive than the left hook itself, is what is has done and will do for boxing.

Pacquiao’s meteoric rise to greatness is taking place during a time when the sport of boxing (and the welterweight division in particular) is experiencing a resurgence, and his knockout of Hatton is the defining moment of that rise so far. Pacquiao could do for boxing what Tiger Woods has done for golf.

“I didn’t actually think that Mr. Hatton would be that weak for Manny,” said Dr. Romantic on Yahoo! Answers. “With his stunning and impressive record of winnings, I actually thought Mr. Hatton would be a challenging opponent to Pacquiao. But Manny proved us he’s better; even the experts say he is the best fighter in the world.”

Pacquiao has fought nine times in the last 3 and a half years at four different weight classes, winning each fight and stopping six of those nine opponents in less than 10 rounds. His last nine opponents’ combined record is 414-26-5, and at least four of those nine will eventually be enshrined in the boxing hall of fame.

But it’s not simply his accomplishments that have galvanized boxing fans; it’s his mentality and the way he fights

Rather than running threw a slew of bums like many champions are content to do, Pacquiao has taken on all comers, even moving up in weight to seek out bigger challenges. When he’s in the ring, Pacquiao goes all out, throwing powerful punches from every conceivable angle until the final bell.

And when the unanimous pound-for-pound king of boxing is willing to fight anyone that can only mean good things for the future of the sport.

With Pacquiao on top and fighting at a weight class loaded with talent, the possibilities for great fights looming out there are endless and it has boxing junkies like myself salivating.

First you have the intriguing July 18 matchup between Floyd “Money” Mayweather, who retired as the unanimous pound-for-pound king in December 2007, and Juan Manuel Marquez, who has a draw and a loss against Pacquiao although there are some who feel like he won both fights.

The winner of that bout will fight Pacquiao next. If it’s “Money May” versus the “Pac-man,” it would the most significant bout of the past decade and the chance to go down as one of the top 10 boxers of all time could be on the line.

With all that at stake, you would think making the fight would be a sure thing, but Frederick S. said on Yahoo! Answers that he thinks it might not be the done deal like everyone else thinks.

“Mayweather will fight Marquez in July,” said Frederick S. “If he wins that fight, expect intense negotiations between Mayweather and Pacquiao’s camps. It will all be about money… Actually money will be the big obstacle (and has prevented many dream matchups in the past).

“Mayweather will demand a bigger than 50% payout by claiming he’s the bigger money draw because he appeals to the American audience. Pacquiao will demand 50% because he’s the defending champion. Remember the Pacquiao-Hatton fight nearly didn’t happen until Hatton lowered his payout share by agreeing to a 50/50 share of the payout although Hatton’s core audience (United Kingdom) has a larger money share than Pacquiao’s (Phillipines). Fair or not… It’s going to come down to money. Don’t expect either camp to listen to public cries for the fight to happen.”

Sonofdestroyer, however, thinks the sole reason for Mayweather coming out of retirement is to fight Pacquaio.

“The whole point of Mayweather coming out of retirement is to fight the Pacman,” said Sonofdestroyer on Yahoo! Answers. “There is no other reason. He is hoping to use Marquez a tuneup before he goes for Pacman. Hopefully there will be at least 2 fights between Pacman and Mayweather. One in the States and one in the Philippines.”

After a potential Mayweather Pacquiao fight, there’s Miguel Cotto, Shane Mosely and Edwin Valero waiting for the winner of that fight. Cotto’s only loss came to the now-disgraced Antonio Margarito, who may have had the illegal substance “plaster of Paris” in his hand wraps during that fight.

And Edwin Valero is a bone-crunching knockout machine, who is 25-0 (25 KO) and stopped the first 18 opponents he faced in the first round.

Whatever happens, one thing is for sure; boxing junkies will get their fix by the end of the year.

and

and this one’s for my Dad and his favorite movie.

I also happened to take the photo in the story.

The University of Cincinnati football team program appeared to make “the leap” last season with the school’s first ever BCS bowl berth, but the university may not be ready for a big time football program.

The UC football program doesn’t have the history or tradition of a school like Ohio State. It also doesn’t have the large fan base that comes with a tradition of success on the football field.

Cincinnati has made great strides in the last few years building up its fan base. The school would be lucky to get 25,000 fans at one game in a season four years ago, but last year the average attendance was more 30,000 and ticket revenue soared to an all-time high of $2.8 million, according to a recent article Bill Koch wrote for the Cincinnati Enquirer.

But UC still doesn’t the kind of fan base needed to bring 20,000 fans with the team to a bowl game.

When UC won the Big East championship and earned a trip to the Orange Bowl, the common perception was that it was going to be a financial boon to the athletic department. But it was recently reported by Bill Koch that the school essentially broke even at the Orange bowl.

Although it can be argued that the exposure UC received from playing in the game was worth a lot of money. Todd Cunningham from the Bearcatlair.com message board wrote: “I don’t see it as breaking even. I see it as GREAT advertising for the program. It is already paying dividends with recruiting.”

With the listed payout for BCS bowl games at $17 million, one would think going to the Orange Bowl would have earned the University of Cincinnati a lot of money. But it doesn’t quite work that way. That $17 million is split between UC and the other Big East schools, with UC getting the largest share.

The problem is, the school gets an allotment of 17,500 tickets for the game and it has to pay for any unsold tickets. According to Bill Koch, UC sold 11,568 tickets and it was responsible for the cost of 1,200 complimentary tickets as well as 3,432 unsold tickets.

There are two ways to look at this problem. One is that the existence of second hand ticket merchants like stubhub.com allows fans to bypass the university to get better seats for cheaper prices. Many fans were unhappy with the expensive packages the university put together for the season ticketholders.

Shank Pavillion from the BEarcatlair.com message board wrote: “I’ve heard from a number of long time UC fans/UCATS that they will not buy their bowl tickets from the University next year if the Bearcats qualify for a BCS game. There were plenty of disgruntled UC fans about their seat locations.”

That hurts the university because it doesn’t make any money off tickets that are sold on Web sites like stubhub.com.

One UC fan, jdlhale54 expressed his displeasure with how the university handled its finances for the Orange Bowl.

“My point is it is a shell game and UC football subsidized a boondoggle for a bunch of people,” said jdlhale54. “I would rather see that money go to the sports that were cut by the athletic department.”

The other way to look at the problem is that UC’s football program isn’t ready for big time bowl games. According to Bill Koch, the university made $440,000 on the Papajohns.com bowl in 2007, even though the listed payout for the Papajohns.com bowl was only $300,000.

The reason the university made more money was because it still got a share of the BCS bowl money and it also only had to sell 1,200 tickets for the Papajohns.com bowl.

The program just hasn’t been built up to the level where it can travel 20,000 fans for bowl games, and that’s what it needs to do to become profitable.

While the school gained an unprecedented level of exposure from the Orange bowl, it might have been better off financially by going to a lesser bowl like the Papajohns.com bowl.

Bearcatlair.com’s Todd Cunningham is reporting that John Riek has committed to Cincinnati.

The 7-foot-2-inch center from Sudan will be the tallest recruit ever to play for Cincinnati and should make an immediate impact if he is eligible.

Here are a few highlights:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jNJB39lAv4I

Sports Illustrated – Sudan’s John Riek is a raw gem; where will he land? Cincinnati:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/the_bonus/12/05/john.riek/ 

Jeff Goodman of Fox Sports calls John Riek a “big-time athlete who runs the floor extremely well, rebounds in and out of his area, blocks shots at an impressive rate – and is already a much more adept offensive player than Dikiembe Mutombo (Riek rarely brings the ball down beneath his shoulders). 

http://community.foxsports.com/blogs/goodmanonfox/2007/09/21/RIEK_IMPRESSES_PEARL_GRIEVES_ETC

HoopTV Dunk Of The Day, March 27th, 2007 – If John Riek does this next year, UC fans are going to be very happy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b-4qZGcfTew

And another one: HoopTV Dunk of the Day, February 12th, 2008: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zso7G2ZVfAk

Draftexpress.com did a scouting report on Riek: 

http://www.draftexpress.com/profile/John-Riek-1317/

Last weekend, PlayboyU.com sent me to Detroit to blog about the Final Four. 
Given the chance to cover Final Four weekend this early in my career as a sports journalist, I should have been feeling like John Daly at a Jack Daniel’s distillery.

But, in truth, I wasn’t exactly thrilled when the weekend started.

When I first learned I was going to be covering the Final Four, I assumed I would be sitting courtside with full press credentials, rubbing elbows with all of the great sports writers from around the country and writing a couple feature stories myself.

But then I learned a week before my flight to Detroit that I wouldn’t have press credentials and thus wouldn’t have access to post-game interviews.

Instead, they hooked me up with two mid-level tickets and told me to blog about the whole weekend including the festivities, fans and nightlife.

I was a little disheartened at first, but looking back, I don’t think I would have fully appreciated the whole experience if my assignment was to just write about two games on Saturday and one on Monday.

Without having access to the players and coaches and all the handy stat sheets provided to the press, I had to think of less traditional ways to write about the events.

Instead of sitting in a press conference fighting with dozens of more respected reporters to get my one or two questions in, I had to go to the bars and talk to the fans of all four teams about their expectations and what the Final Four meant to them.

Instead of sitting courtside by myself worrying about deadlines, I got to sit with my dad, who had never been to a Final Four but always wanted to go, and just enjoy the experience.

Instead of trading snarky comments with the big-shot writers sitting next to me, I got to dissect each possession with my dad, who coached basketball at LaSalle High School and Deer Park High School, and get the perspective of a former coach who really knows the game of basketball.

If I would have been covering the games the same way I cover the Bearcats, I feel like I would have had blinders on and been oblivious to what the Final Four means to the fans that make sacrifices to be a part of the event.

When I arrived in Detroit, I was greeted with 35-degree weather and unbelievably strong winds that made it feel more like 10 degrees. I complained about getting sent to Detroit instead of San Antonio where the Final Four was held last year.

But as I walked around the city and saw how the Final Four allowed the people of Michigan to forget about their problems, even if for just a few days, it made me feel a little ashamed that I was complaining about the weather on a free trip to a sporting event when the people who actually lived there were suffering through such hard times. They weren’t worried about the snow, they were worried about surviving in what many call a dying city with 22 percent unemployment.

Things are so bad in Detorit that the Greektown Casino just filed for bankruptcy. In almost every other city with legalized gambling, casinos make boatloads of cash every day. But if the one in Detroit is struggling to survive, what chance do the poor people who live there have?

In addition to the economic boost the Final Four gave the city, Michigan State University’s unexpected run to the championship game gave some people hope.

It may sound like I’m exaggerating the importance of a sports team’s success, but anyone who attended the games would understand what I mean.

Michigan State had virtually no chance to win the game after North Carolina built an early 20-point lead, but the 50,000-plus Spartans fans in attendance never lost faith.

At one point they cut the lead from 23 to 19, and the fans responded with a standing ovation and started chanting “DEE-FENSE! DEE-FENSE!” on the next possession. They never lost faith and hopefully neither will the people of Detroit after the Final Four is gone.

No city in the United States deserved this experience more than Detroit, and I was lucky to be a part of it.