October 23, 2006
This is a busy time in the world of sports. The World Series has the attention of sports fans in the Motor City and in Saint Louis and they are going bananas, baby! College football and the NFL are in full swing. The run for the championships are heating up.
I can't believe it, but in three weeks we will tip it off with the start of college basketball! I can't wait to head out to Conseco Fieldhouse for the opening round of the NIT. Indiana and Notre Dame are the featured teams in that region and they could meet in the second round. Don't count out Butler or Lafayette either as they try to pull upset city!
Already there has been major news on the college basketball front with injuries. Down at Duke, guard Greg Paulus is sidelined with a broken bone in his foot. When you think about the Dukies without J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams, they already lost a lot of experience. Now with Paulus sidelined, that changed the picture dramatically for Mike Krzyzewski.
Out at UCLA, junior center Lorenzo Mata had arthroscopic surgery to repair cartilage fragments on his knee. He had a torn knee ligament repaired over the summer and this was a follow-up that has him sidelined.
Paul Hewitt received some bad news when Anthony Morrow, the leading three-point shooter in the ACC last season, went down with a stress fracture in his back. I really feel Georgia Tech will be special this season and Morrow will be a vital part of the program when he returns healthy.
Washington received a scare when diaper dandy Spencer Hawes underwent arthroscopic knee surgery. The reports indicated that the procedure went well and Hawes should be back running and could be ready for the season opener.
The one good thing about these injuries -- they happened early. There is still enough time for them to become key elements for their respective clubs in their quest for national acclaim.
Dick Vitale coached the Pistons and the University of Detroit before broadcasting ESPN's first college basketball game in 1979. Send a question for Vitale for possible use on ESPNEWS.
