![\"Sister](\"http:\/\/itsnotaboutme.tv\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/04\/IMG_2075-e1522806454560.jpg\")
<\/a>Sister Jean. Look at that heavenly face. I adore this picture! Photo by Karen Salkin, as is the one at the top of this page.<\/p><\/div>\n
I took a few notes along the way, all three weeks of it, and I\u2019m happy to say that my very first one was, \u201cSister Jean Dolores Schmidt\u2014Loyola-Chicago.\u201d At their very first mention of her, I was all in. She was a star in my mind, so I\u2019m thrilled that she became the biggest one of the tournament as it went on. I right away tweeted, \u201cI sooo love that when Loyola-Chicago<\/strong>‘s Ramblers won today, instead of interviewing the coach, the sideline reporter interviewed Sister Jean<\/strong>, the team’s adorable 98-year-old chaplain!!!\u00a0 Good call, TruTV!\u201d (But you would know that if you were one of my thousands of Twitter followers! But you can still get in on the fun now; my \u201chandle\u201d there is @MajorCelebrity.)<\/p>\n The Champions filling in the last line of their bracket. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Before I give you the rest of my general thoughts on the March Madness NCAA basketball tournament, let me say a major \u201cCongratulations\u201d to Villanova<\/strong> for their second Championship in three years! That\u2019s some achievement, especially because the team had just a couple of returning players from their 2016 victory.<\/p>\n And also a very big \u201cCongrats\u201d to Michigan<\/strong> for making it into the Championship game. And to Kansas and the exciting #11 seeded Loyola-Chicago for making it into the coveted Final Four. Big props, all the way around.<\/p>\n Some clever person put Donte DiVincenzo’s face (and a basketball) on the Rocky statue because both Villanova and Rocky are in Pennsylvania. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n And even though Nova\u2019s Donte DiVincenzo<\/strong> rightfully won the \u201cMOP\u201d (\u201cMost Outstanding Player\u201d) of the Championship game, for me, the more<\/em> important MOP (which I\u2019m<\/em> using as \u201cMost Outstanding Person<\/em>,\u201d) of the tournament<\/em> is Michigan\u2019s Mo Wagner<\/strong>.\u00a0 I noticed that right after his team\u2019s very first game, which they won, of course, (or they could not have progressed through the tourney to begin with\u2014duh!,) Mo went over to console a couple of his Houston opponents, who were especially upset by their loss to Mo\u2019s team.\u00a0 I knew right away that he was a special kid. I can\u2019t wait to see him in the NBA!!!<\/p>\n Outside of all that, this year\u2019s March Madness featured the \u201cmaddest\u201d thing ever in the many years of this tournament\u2014a #16 seed finally beat a #1! For the first time in history!!! Unknown school UMBC<\/strong> beat the overall #1 seed, University of Virginia<\/strong>. And by 20 points!!! I feel bad for any sports fan who missed this historic event. I have watched every game of every NCAA Tournament for over two decades, and I was finally rewarded with witnessing a #16 seed beat a #1 seed! On top of that, UMBC was seeded 63rd<\/em> out of 68<\/em> teams! And they beat the overall<\/em> #1, not just one of the four #1 seeded teams!<\/p>\n These are some of the biggest upsets in history that now UMBC adds its name to! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I have to give major props to both coaches, the winning Ryan Odum<\/strong> and the very big loser, Tony Bennett<\/strong>, who were both so classy in their post-game demeanors. I\u2019ll root for them both from here on out. (Unless one of them ever coaches the evil school across town from my beloved UCLA.)<\/p>\n I had no idea what UMBC stands for, (as I\u2019m pretty sure no one else did, either,) but I believe the analyst who said it’s \u201cU Must Be Cinderella!!!\u201d The team, the Retrievers, got 4,000 more twitter followers overnight!\u00a0 They went from 6,684 to 10.8k! Wow. [Note: It really<\/em> stands for University of Maryland, Baltimore County, in case you\u2019re curious.]<\/p>\n Before I get to some of my random thoughts on all<\/em> the proceedings, I have to mention just a few of the many TV commentators, announcers, and analysts:<\/p>\n Charles Barkley getting his wish to meet Sister Jean. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n Charles Barkley<\/strong> has always been a man after my own heart, in so many ways. And now he said, (on why he doesn\u2019t want to learn to do his own ties,) \u201cI try to get other people to do as much for me as possible.\u201d I hear ya, bro!<\/p>\n I really like Clark Kellogg<\/strong>. He always appreciates the somewhat competitive banter between Charles Barkley and Kenny Smith, but doesn\u2019t get involved with it. Classy gentleman.<\/p>\n I was never a fan of Kenny Smith<\/strong>, but then I met him at an event in New York last year, along with his gorgeous wife, and they could not have been nicer. So I look at him through different eyes now.<\/p>\n I love sideline reporter Allie LaForce<\/strong>!\u00a0 She\u2019s adorable.\u00a0 And she never tries to make her interviews about her.\u00a0 All the guys she works with seem to adore her, as well, and I can understand why.\u00a0 She\u2019s who I\u2019d like to be when I grow up.<\/p>\n Villanova Coach Jay Wright with Finals MOP Donte DiVincenzo.<\/p><\/div>\n Tracy Wolfson<\/strong> is also very good, and she always seems so happy to be speaking with the players and coaches (especially Villanova\u2019s Jay Wright.)<\/p>\n But the absolute bravest sports floor reporter I\u2019ve ever seen is Dana Jacobson<\/strong>. She had to interview Florida State\u2019s Leonard Hamilton<\/strong> after his team\u2019s loss to Michigan in the Elite Eight, and I\u2019ve never seen a ruder interview-ee. He had basically given up even trying to win the game in the last minute or two, a decision that left just about every single viewer scratching his or her head. So, Dana asked him about that, and he stepped to her in what I considered to be a threatening manner, and she didn\u2019t even flinch! He scared me<\/em>, and I was on this<\/em> side of the broadcast! He started to walk off the interview, but instead came back and got right in her face, challenging her rightful questions. He spoke to her very condescendingly, but that woman did not back down. I give her so much credit for hanging in there with that douchebag. And he\u2019s the only person interviewed during this entire tournament who did not offer even a weak \u201cthank you\u201d at the end of it. I so hope that he\u2019s drummed-out of the coaching biz.<\/p>\n Evil FSU Coach Leonard Hamilton in the middle, screaming at his player whose jersey he’s still grabbing! And the whole scene was so much worse than just this screen grab shows. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I<\/em> would have been terrified to talk to him, especially after seeing him grab one of his own players the week before, and throw him around! How has Florida State<\/strong> not fired him by now??? He should never be allowed to be near students, (or reporters<\/em>!,) ever again!<\/p>\n Last thing about that situation, and the commentators\u2019 reactions to it: The few analysts (like Greg Gumbel<\/strong>!,) who said that Hamilton \u201ctook a bullet for his kids\u201d in that last non-play of that game should be ashamed of themselves. He definitely did not<\/em>; they<\/em> took one for him!!!\u00a0 The FSU player was about to foul the opponent who had the ball, but he clearly heard a call from the bench, looked over, and then backed off. Which means that he was told<\/em> to let it go by one of the coaches.\u00a0 I hate that the TV panel made excuses for that creep of a coach!!!<\/p>\n Now here are just a few of my other thoughts on the entire tourney, in order of what I saw on TV:<\/p>\n Wichita State <\/strong>and Marshall<\/strong> played each other, and not one other person mentioned why that was significant. In 1970,\u00a0both schools suffered horrible fatal plane crashes, within forty-three days of each other!!! What a sad thing to share. (Maybe that\u2019s why no one mentioned it.)<\/p>\n Collin Sexton holding back coach Avery Johnson. Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019ve never seen a kid push his college coach back to his seat so he doesn\u2019t get in trouble, but Collin Sexton<\/strong> rightly did that to Alabama coach\u00a0Avery Johnson<\/strong>. So, good for him!<\/p>\n I love that John Petty <\/strong>and Galin Smith<\/strong> of Alabama stayed after their big loss to watch Duke v. URI<\/strong>.\u00a0 That\u2019s true basketball men!<\/p>\n Some of these games have been dramatic!\u00a0 None more so than Nevada<\/strong>\u2019s win over #2 seed Cincinnati<\/strong>, after being down twenty-two points in that game!!! What a wild game!<\/p>\n I love this font! Photo by Karen Salkin.<\/p><\/div>\n I\u2019m a big fan of the font of the numbers on Marshall\u2019s uniforms.<\/p>\n I love that the Kansas State<\/strong> players, who were coming on to the floor to play their own game, went over to enthusiastically congratulate Clayton Custer<\/strong> of Loyola-Chicago on his team\u2019s win in the Sweet 16, even though that\u2019s who K-State would have to play if they won their<\/em> game!!! [Note: They did<\/em> wind-up playing each other in the Elite Eight, with the Retrievers of Loyola-Chicago coming out victorious.]<\/p>\n<\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a><\/a>