We have to stop the insanity. I have no question that Pat Summitt is a great coach. I am sure she can really, really coach. Fine. But when she “passed Dean Smith” last night, I almost yacked. Are we so stupid now as a society that we are willing to claim that Pat Summitt’s accomplishments of compiling 880 wins in WOMEN’S basketball rates higher than Dean Smith’s 879 in MEN’S basketball? Not me. But here is how the wire is handling it:
Game Story from last night …
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Pat Summitt stood at midcourt surrounded by her husband, son and 79-year-old mother, smiled and waved to fans who cheered the coach who stands alone at the top of NCAA basketball.
Summitt broke Dean Smith's career victory record Tuesday night, getting No. 880 in the Lady Vols' 75-54 win over Purdue in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Summitt tied Smith with an easy win over Western Carolina in the first round Sunday night and passed the former North Carolina men's coach with another convincing victory.
The 52-year-old Summitt improved to 880-171 in 31 years at Tennessee, while Smith was 879-254 when he retired in 1997 after 36 years with the Tar Heels.
In fairness to Summitt, she is easily the best in her game’s history. And, it is possible, that she could have been a fine men’s coach if we would have ever given her a chance. But it didn’t happen. So, PLEASE STOP THIS SILLINESS! There is no way her record should be compared to Adolph Rupp, Dean Smith, Bob Knight, or anyone else on the all-time victory list!
Should a small-track racer at a small track in Texas ever win 201 races, do we suggest he passed Richard Petty’s career record of 200 wins? What if someone in Japan hits over 800 home runs (it has happened)? Is he the all-time home run leader?
And let’s say the Arena League has a QB that throws over 600 TD’s (they do), when Dan Marino’s record is only 420. Is the Arena League star the all-time TD Leader? NOOOOOO!
So, sorry, but Sportscenter made me want to hurl last night with this absurd comparison.
Links:
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Brian Davis looks at the Knight Tenure in Lubbock …
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NY Times: We won’t have Barry to kick around anymore …
"My son and I are just going to enjoy life," he said. "My family's tired. I'm tired. You guys wanted to hurt me bad enough, you finally got there."
This is typical of Bonds's aversion to accountability. Usually, it is his lawyers who do the finger-pointing for him. "It's always been the U.S. versus Bonds," Michael Rains, his lawyer, told The San Francisco Chronicle. "And they're always just gunning for the big guy."
But big-boy Bonds is the architect of his own trapdoor. He made choices about what substances to put in his body, about what to say to the Balco grand jury, about whom to trust as his mistress.
Now his choices may have caught up to him. Bonds's blame game yesterday sounded like the ramblings from a paranoid man who realizes he could possibly lose it all: his chase for Hank Aaron's record, the faith of his family and the joy of freedom.
Peter King follows up his MMQB …
Can the US Soccer team snap its 0-21-1 record in Mexico? …They shall have their chance on Sunday…
6 comments:
The fact that men play basketball at a higher level than women does not mean that coaching women is easier than coaching men, Bob. It's not like Pat Summitt coached a team of college women against an entire league of elementary school girls. She was coaching against people of the same skill set, which makes her accomplishment just as impressive as Dean Smith's. And this comes from someone who loved Dean Smith growing up. You have some weird issues with women, dude.
I couldn't disagree more Meredith. You make the comment that she was coaching against "people of the same skill set". Then the comparison that Bob made should be allowed as well. When a QB throws for 600 TDs in the Arena League, he is competing against "people of the same skill set". Thus, should that record overtake Marino's TD record? Let's say the NHL is dead forever. Niko Kapanen goes to Finland and in the next 21 years, puts up 1450 goals and 3000 assists. He is clearly playing with "people of the same skill set". Is he better than Gretz? What Pat Summitt did is extraordinary and she deserves a place in the basketball hall of fame for her performance. There can be NO question about that. But to compare what she did with what Dean Smith can't be compared.
I agree with the anonymous one. How great a coach is Pat Summitt when compared to Dean Smith, Bobby Knight, or Coach K? We'll never know as comparing coaching in men's college basketball to women's college basketball is like comparing apples to oranges.
Her accomplishment is extraordinary. But let's tap the brakes a bit before annointing her the greatest college coach in NCAA history.
P.S. Meredith. Go Red Sox.
"Thus, should that record overtake Marino's TD record?"
You can't compare one league with another. In this situation, we are dealing with men's and women's college basketball - THE SAME SPORT. That's hardly the same as comparing Arena League and the NFL. And it's not exactly like people are partying in the streets burning pictures of Dean Smith. I'm fairly certain people still regard him as the most successful men's college basketball coach - just like Pat Summitt is in women's college basketball.
"You can't compare one league with another"
So you don't think men's and women's NCAA Basketball are different leagues? The lack of depth in the women's league is just ridiculous. Also they got to play tournament games on their home court. There are tons of differences. You just can't compare the two, and you shouldn't have to compare the two to validate what the chick coach has done. It's ESPN trying to make something out of nothing. This really isn't a men vs women issue.
Perhaps I heard the wrong ESPN report. Are they claiming her to be the single greatest coach in college basketball history? Are they claiming that she shouldn't even bother to wipe Dean Smith off the bottom of her shoe?
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