Only two No. 1 seeds are still in the tournament, Houston and Alabama. Purdue lost in the first round to 16th seed Fairleigh Dickinson. The Boilermakers clearly did not live up to the hype they had for most of the season. Kansas lost a close game to the University of Arkansas in the second round. They had the burden of being the defending champions. I will be cheering for Michigan State to win the whole thing, now that my favorite, Kansas, is out of the tournament. Michigan State is a seven seed. I’m rooting for them because of their successful history in the tournament over the years.
On the women's side, I will be cheering for the University of Iowa to at least make it to the Final Four. The defending champion, South Carolina, is a big favorite to go back to back to back with an undefeated season. Go Hawkeyes!
I wasn’t a huge fan of the World Baseball Classic because of the injury risks to the Major League Baseball players. They already play so many regular-season games in the first place, and 10 to 15 more in the spring training games. However, I did watch part of the semifinals and finals of the tournament.
The Phillies’ new shortstop, Trey Turner, was the MVP of the tournament after hitting a record number of home runs. In six possible U.S. games, he had five home runs, including a grand slam to save the U.S. in the semifinal game against Venezuela. He is definitely going to help the Phillies if he keeps that up. And now the Phillies really need his hitting, because Rhys Hoskins appears to have suffered a severe knee injury with only a week left before opening day.
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A 2002 Cape grad and 2007 UD grad, Lewes resident Sumner Spence is one of the Cape area's biggest sports fans. Although he’s used a wheelchair his entire life, he has lived vicariously through his sports-playing father, brother, and friends, who gave him his love of sports. He hopes to provide new and interesting perspectives on the sports stories and issues of the day. Email Sumner at sumspence@gmail.com.
