Phil Mushnick
Sports
same time
Published
April 4, 2024, 9:08 p.m. ET
In a world gone mad, a laugh every now and then can temporarily free us from evil.
Kim Mulkey, the often repulsive, clown-clad, attention-hungry, angry and sidelining coach of the LSU women's basketball team, recently made a quiet comedy when she threatened to sue the Washington Post for painting her in a bad light had – a threat made entirely based on what she expected to read.
Good guess, coach!
What's funny about this is the fact that whatever bad thing has been written about her, Kim Mulkey is the primary source of information – ta-da! –Kim Mulkey.
One only has to see her in action to conclude that she is a representative of the uglier side of college sports – not that “college” is any more relevant – since now, for better or worse, it is also “big.” Money” includes women’s basketball.
Since we know that all college coaches are limited to what they are allowed to do – increasingly limited to anything they want to recruit academically disadvantaged kids who produce far more wins than losses – Mulkey was an overachiever on the dark side.
At Baylor, she specialized in mercilessly beating down opponents and humiliating them in the name of sport.
Here are some of Baylor's home game results against “visitors” – fish-in-a-barrel prey – under Mulkey's direction from the 2019-20 season: 97-29 vs. New Hampshire, 120-46 vs. Grambling, 112-42 vs. Houston Baptist, 90 -28 against Lamar and 111-43 against Arkansas State.
LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey likes to aim for the top whenever possible, writes The Post's Phil Mushnick. Getty Images
She's a regular Attila The Hon.
Naturally, her deep appreciation for her sport made her a must-have for LSU, who signed her to a $3.3 million per year contract.
Their “nothing intentional” explanation for LSU's absence during the national anthem before Monday's Iowa game was inconsistent with the truth. Their teams often ignored the pregame anthem since Brittney Griner, now repatriated from a Russian prison, played for Mulkey at Baylor.
Regardless, she has already been inducted into the College Basketball Hall of Fame, taking her place alongside unsavory male coaches who were allowed by their colleges to win by hook, but more often than not, by crook.
As a disciplinarian, Mulkey appears to be just as prone to tantrums as her players. In the win over UCLA before the Iowa game, star Angel Reese, a transfer from Maryland, despite a proven inability to craft a convincing sentence in public response to a question on Instagram, was fouled late, then retired the way – but stopped to badmouth the UCLA coach. Yes, in a close tournament game she risked a technical error.
At that point, ABC/ESPN bragging analyst Rebecca Lobo — bragging has dominated all media coverage of women's tournaments — said LSU's pregame taunts were a concern. Age! Thanks. Why don't you say it an hour earlier?
And after the mediocre game, the ABC/ESPN cameras left the handshake line before viewers could see whether the two coaches met.
LSU women's basketball coach Kim Mulkey often seems as prone to tantrums as her players, writes Phil Mushnick of The Post. Getty Images
Given that the world has gone mad, rationalized, wistful defenses of Mulkey and her young women naturally followed, everything from dangerous speculative claims of racism to a double standard for male coaches over female coaches, as if no one noticed Bobby Knight's behavior would have . But that is the situation we find ourselves in. Don't believe what you keep seeing, believe what you are told.
Yes, women's college sports have grown in skill and interest.
But as with everything else, compromises have to be made and prices have to be paid.
Understanding MLB and college hoops statistics
Statistics? Do you want statistics? “Statistics of this generation”?
We'll start with an honest statement from, of all things, NCAA affiliate television: Brian Anderson noted during the Clemson-Alabama men's tournament game that Alabama only has one player from Alabama. So many, right?
CBS play-by-play announcer Brian Anderson irby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Next, how would you like to be a Phillies fan and have expensive tickets to the opening game at home to watch five Braves pitchers beat 15 Phils?
That's 56 percent of Philly's outs!
Then there was a 1-0 Mariners win over the Red Sox, totaling 27 K's in 8 ½ innings – 53 percent of the game's outs against six pitchers!
This is where we'll set up camp for the night: With 1:17 left at NC State-Marquette, the teams had a total of five timeouts left.
Reader Gary Seigel: “When ESPN posts late in MLB games that a team has a 92 percent chance of winning, why should anyone still watch?”
This week's standout winner quote is Siena President Chuck Seifert on hiring Syracuse assistant and former SU player Gerry McNamara as the new basketball coach.
Ready?
Here goes:
“Gerry’s illustrious career and championship pedigree at Syracuse University, coupled with his exceptional ability to mentor young talent, fit perfectly with the high expectations and storied tradition of Siena basketball.
“His appointment is not only about restoring championship success – a standard our fans rightly expect – but also symbolizes Siena’s rise in the broader collegiate landscape.”
Given that McNamara is replacing Carmen Maciariello, a Siena graduate who was fired after a 68-72 record, Seifert might have shortened McNamara's greeting to “Siena just win, baby.”
Suspicious results: Gambling investigations go nowhere
Reader Alfred Angiola notes that Shohei Ohtani often hits right behind Mookie Betts (get it?). By the way, all those promised gambling investigations from MLB, Div. I've led colleges and the NBA to the equally suspect due to “irregular” line movement, suspicious results and an interpreter's control of the money of a $70 million player who lost $4.5 million to the bookies: nothing .
Shohei Ohtani Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports
No Joy in Mudville: I was originally going to watch the Yanks-Astros Fox season debut on Saturday, but had forgotten that the show would be tied to John Smoltz, who began with his usual three-hour autopsies of each pitch right from the start. Still, Fox believes we've appreciated his presence for the past decade.
If Ryan Ruocco thought during the LSU-Iowa women's game that 12.3 million people would tune in to ABC/ESPN's LSU-Iowa broadcast to hear him force a tortured signature call on every shot, then he was right completely deceived. Being really good means not having to try so hard.
It's a shame that such a strong NCAA Tournament basketball analyst as Dan Bonner has to be buried behind the obligatory hysteria of partner of the year Kevin Harlan.
Ryan Ruocco Getty Images
Pete Alonso, 29, still presents his rough “LFGM” identity. Isn't there someone in the MLB or the Mets telling him it's time to grow up, clean up and call it a day? Give this to the children in your life, Pete, instead of constantly giving it to the ones in our lives.
Spoilers go, continued: Draymond Green, one of the worst acts in NBA history, appeared as the star of an AT&T TV commercial during the NCAA Tournament. Seems like Rasputin was not available.
Great news: After Lizzo announced last week that she was leaving the music business has announced their comeback! Best thing to happen since Mike Francesa After his long “Farewell To Me” tour, he retired.
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