Double byes need to go bye-bye

After the NCAA, the most exciting and interesting college basketball tournament of the season is the Big East conference tourney.

This year’s version has been particularly entertaining, despite the conference’s effort to dilute the talent pool. Two seasons ago, the Big East made two big mistakes in changing the format of its postseason.

1. What once was a 12-team tournament grew to include all 16 teams in the conference.

2. To reward the teams that got the job done during the regular season, the top four teams were given two byes into the quarterfinals. Teams 5-8 get one bye.

What’s the point of the regular season if everyone gets to play in the tournament? In theory, at the beginning of the week, lousy teams like DePaul, Rutgers and your Providence College Friars had a chance to go to the Big Dance.

In reality, of course, those teams didn’t have a chance in hell, which again begs the question: Why were they invited to Madison Square Garden?

Providence’s season should have mercifully ended after Saturday’s loss to Seton Hall. Rutgers, DePaul didn’t belong, either. The only Big East bottom feeder to make the most of its opportunity was No. 13 seed St. John’s, which upset Connecticut in the first round.

Another flaw in this design is that the double byes don’t seem to be much of a reward. Of the four teams that had them, only West Virginia won in the quarterfinals. Last year, teams with double byes went 2-2 in the quarters.

One bye used to be just fine, and hopefully it will be again. Bringing all 16 teams is a waste of time, and basically guarantees the tournament won’t be worth watching until the second day.

But, by Sunday, all that first-round nonsense will be long forgotten. Because we’ve got three really good games left.

Nomar comes full circle

You know those moments when people will ask, “Where were you when …. ?”

The JFK assassination and the 9-11 attacks are two popular ones, but the most in my life have to do with sports. I remember where I was when the Patriots beat the Rams to win the Super Bowl, and I remember exactly where I was when Nomar Garciaparra was traded.

It was a Saturday afternoon, and I was at my desk at The Berkshire Eagle in Pittsfield, Mass. I remember checking the AP wire relentlessly, waiting to see what the Sox were going to do before the trade deadline. And just when I figured they’d do nothing, BOOM, it came over right before the 4 p.m. deadline.

Truth be told, Nomar was my favorite player, and I was sad to see him go. He’s the reason why I wore No. 5 in college. He was the ultimate fan favorite in Boston, and when he healthy, he could produce with the best shortstops in the league.

Nomar was a member of the “Holy Trinity” of shortstops along with Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Nothing added more fuel to the fire of an intense rivalry than screaming, “Nomaaah is bettah than Jetaaah!” at a Yankees fan. And for a small window of time, it was true.

Soon to be a member of the ESPN staff, Nomar had a tough end to his career. He played for the Cubs, the Dodgers and the A’s in his final years, posting one decent season in 2006, when he hit .303 in his first season with the Dodgers. But injuries took their toll and never allowed him to be the player he was earlier in his career.

It was obvious that although fans were irritated that he forced his way out of Boston (by turning down a 4-year, $60 million deal), he was always beloved here. When he returned in an Oakland uniform in 2009, he was given a great ovation. Retiring as a member of the Red Sox was Nomar’s way of coming to peace with the team and the fans.

And most likely are glad he did.

Rubbed the wrong way

“Rubbin’, son, is racin’.” So said Robert Duvall’s character in “Days of Thunder,” a 1990 Tom Cruise movie about NASCAR.

Twenty years later, those words still hold true.

“Rubbin’,” for those unfamiliar with the term or the sport, basically refers to any contact between cars during a race. Some of it is intentional, some of it isn’t, but all of it would have real-world drivers on the phone with their insurance companies.

NASCAR drivers, though, don’t worry about a ding here, a dent there. Apparently, they don’t even have to worry about rear-ending another driver, sending said driver’s car into a 180-mph cartwheel through the air.

Carl Edwards did that during Sunday’s race in Atlanta. He has some longstanding beef with Brad Keselowski and had his vengeance. Edwards was 156 laps off the lead after he got the worst of some earlier rubbin’ with Keselowski and ended up in the wall.

With no chance to win, Edwards had his car fixed up and returned to the track with the sole purpose of taking out Keselowski.

Mission accomplished, moron.

Keselowski, somehow, was unharmed in the crash. And Edwards, even more astonishingly, was not punished for causing it.

NASCAR instead placed him on probation for three races, whatever the hell that means. So, rather than suspend him, or dock him points in the Sprint Cup standings, Edwards will continue to race.

“We made it very clear to (Edwards) that these actions were not acceptable,” NASCAR president Mike Helton said.

Wow, way to lay down the law. Almost killing a guy, not to mention spectators in the stands, is not acceptable.

Look, I get that NASCAR is popular and people enjoy these driver feuds. And, I’ll be honest, the only reason I watch highlights is to see a crash or hear rednecks talk trash about each other. But this kind of rubbin’ is dangerous, and NASCAR taking no action in response to Edwards’ actions sends the message that it condones vigilante stock car justice.

International bore

Unbeknownst to all but the most hardcore tennis fans, the United States lost its Davis Cup match against Serbia on Sunday in Belgrade, Serbia.

The Americans were seeking the country’s 33rd Davis Cup title, but instead bowed out in the first round. The question is, other than the men who are part of the U.S. team, who cares?

The Davis Cup is rich in tradition, having been around for 108 years. But like most international sports competitions, it’s just not that interesting.

Tennis is at its best on the biggest stage, with the biggest stakes, i.e. Grand Slams. The same way that golf is at its best at the majors, not the Ryder Cup, and baseball’s crown jewel is the World Series, not the World Baseball Classic.

International bragging rights in these events used to be important. But there’s no way Sam Querrey would take a U.S. Davis Cup championship over winning the U.S. Open. No Major League Baseball player would place greater value a WBC title than a World Series ring.

The fact is, other than the Olympics and the World Cup, events pitting country vs. country are pretty much a waste of time. Some would argue that the Ryder Cup is in that upper echelon, but I disagree. Last year’s upset win for the U.S. was a big deal, but I don’t remember a thing about it. That’s mostly because I didn’t watch any of it, but I can recall Italy winning the 2006 World Cup, the same year France’s Zinedine Zidane head-butted an Italian player in the chest.

I can’t recall anything about the WBC, except that every year some of the best players don’t bother to participate. For some reason, they’re more concerned about playing for their professional teams. You know, the ones that pay them millions of dollars a year.

The Davis Cup does feature some top tennis players. But it doesn’t compare to Wimbledon or the French, U.S. or Australian opens.