Monday News and Notes: Rivalries Matter

If there was ever an unsurprising diagnosis- First off, we may completely despise the way Mick Cronin whines during press conferences, coaches while whining, whines at officials, whines about recruiting, and whines about game venues, that does not mean we take any pleasure in seeing someone getting so serious a diagnosis. This is another point in the discussion, started by Urban Meyer's brief retirement, that college coaches are overworked.

Pictures of the week- All credit to CBS for this excellent series. In this iteration, Wichita State players are cavorting with dolphins. The Shockers later played those same dolphins and won handily, raising their strength of schedule in the process. You can also find George W. Bush rocking some pretty sweet shoes and a serious posterization.

Shaka Smart bothers some people, but this is all class- Smart isn't everyone's cup of tea but, credit where credit is due, this is a very neat event that VCU runs.

Keeping rivalries going- Ignore the minor bit of misinformation about the Shootout, this is a really good article about how and why rivalries matter in college ball. Indiana v. Kentucky holds no allure for me, but I'd like to see the Border War back in action. There's also a clarification of the charge rule that probably merits its own article hidden in this one.

Here's a suspension with some teeth- The ACC has come down hard on Montrezl Harrell, suspending him for a crucial Louisville clash against Cal State Northridge. That draconian decree comes after Harrell committing the incidental act of punching another human being in a game against WKU. Way to go ACC, I'm sure that the rest against a cupcake sends a strong message.

Virginia beat Harvard 76-27- The bench was completely emptied in this one. What's incredible is that Harvard is actually a good team. They were 29th in the KenPom coming into this game and still sit at 44th. This is the kind of rout not usually seen.