on the launching pad

Two days, two national championship college basketball games played in Texas.

One was electric, dynamic, full of bright and vivid personalities, sensational performances and enough controversy for a year. The other plodded to an inevitable conclusion, glorious for one fan base, largely irrelevant outside of it.

The NCAA women’s national championship won by LSU over Iowa generated nearly 10 million TV viewers, a record high.

Connecticut’s methodical win over San Diego State in the NCAA men’s title one night later drew 14.69 million, the lowest number since the championship final moved to a Monday night half a century ago.

For anyone with a pulse who loves basketball, it was clear which gender fared better. If only we could do them justice both on and off the court.

Simply put, the women’s game is thriving beyond a few select circles. This was the first time since 1985 that the celebrated trio of UConn, Stanford and Tennessee were nowhere to be found in the final eight. And it was great

Look at the great storylines. Miami and Ole Miss upended top seeds in the second round. Virginia Tech rose from obscurity to the Final Four and, at least until the last weekend, unbeaten South Carolina was making a strong case for one of the most dominant seasons of all time.

But they all took supporting roles once Caitlin Clark got rolling.

Even before this tournament, Clark was an Iowa legend for having Steph Curry’s shooting range and Magic Johnson’s passing eye. Then she dropped a 41-point triple double on Louisville and dropped another 41 on South Carolina to propel the Hawkeyes to the final.

Clark’s astonishing skill set is enough reason to watch. That she also had a vibrant, brash personality obscured her teammates and rendered the opposition as a foil to be tolerated, but never celebrated.

LSU watched all this and fumed. Having risen far faster than anyone expected in year two under coach (and lightning rod) Kim Mulkey, the Tigers were just as hungry for its first national title and was in no mood to turn into the anonymous opposition of another Clark highlight reel.

Critical of Manlius board

To the editor:

Our town board, led by Supervisor John Deer, have failed at being pragmatic decision makers. At this point it is clear to me we have elected a town board who is more interested in the success of their ideology. John Deer, Heather Waters, and fellow members have demonstrated an authoritarian way of conducting town business.

The manner in which the police chief departed is the most recent example. In order to resolve this situation our Town Board chose a behind-closed-doors approach. We have seen this approach from our town board on several different occasions. How many times is this acceptable? Re-electing John Deer, Heather display Ads CR: lori lewis, ext. 316, llewis@eaglenewsonline.com

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Random Thoughts Phil blackwell

This made for an epic Sunday in Big D. If only the narrative stayed about, you know, the game.

First there were the fouls. Way, way too many fouls. LSU star Angel Reese sat the entire second quarter. Clark got some questionable whistles, too, including a technical foul that was beyond ridiculous.

The worst thing officials can ever do is become the story. They did here, though LSU handled it better as it gave Clark and Iowa plenty of its own medicine with ridiculous 3-point shooting and, ultimately, 102 on the board to win it all.

Ah, but then Reese, an All-American in her own right, celebrated in the final seconds by invoking the same “ring” gesture Clark had used in earlier rounds.

Cue the breathless commentary, the unequivocal condemnations, the call for Reese to grow up, apologize, do something to atone for her unforgivable sin – something Clark herself didn’t ask for.

Not only did this evoke a whole lot of tired tropes and stereotypes Black women (and Black athletes) have heard for a long, long time, it devalued what both sides accomplished. Clark had one of the greatest tournament performances of all time. Reese, along with her LSU teammates, neutralized it enough to earn a national title no one other than themselves imagined.

Maybe, just maybe, there’s room in this big wide world for all of them to thrive. If done right, the millions who tuned in for the first time to women’s basketball will come back and experience so much more next season.

With Clark still in Iowa City, Reese still in Baton Rouge, Paige Bueckers set to return at UConn and strong programs from Maryland to UCLA with Ohio State and Utah in between and, here in Syracuse, a program quickly finding its footing again, maybe it’s women’s basketball that needs all our attention.

So that means, for those running the sport, to give it all the resources, tools and funds necessary to flourish, and to treat them not as a novelty, but as great athletes whose spotlight should endure beyond a single weekend.

Phil Blackwell is sports editor at Eagle News. He can be reached at pblackwell@ eaglenewsonline.com.

Waters, and company sends a message we approve of their authoritarian culture.

We often watch leaders motivated by ideology use their power to get their way. Pragmatic leaders use their power to bring voices of the effected into the decision-making process. Then, motivate a consensus plan with action items leaders and partners take ownership of.

I respectfully ask, when you cast your votes for town supervisor and board members, this criteria be among the highest of priorities and vote for a change in leadership. It seems to me the time has come to elect new leaders and give new town officials the opportunity to demonstrate their trustworthiness. JosEPH