Instead of arguing about what school has the best duo of football and basketball programs, the Sporting News opted to just crunch the numbers and find out.
The Sporting News ranked the 66 Power Five schools, including BYU and Notre Dame, by winning percentage of their football and basketball programs, and then combined those for a final ranking. The list used records dating back to 2010, and the Cougars rated pretty high, landing at No. 10
“Yes, we know BYU doesn’t play in a major basketball conference. The Cougars, however, technically count as a Power Five school and have had enough success in both sports to make this list. So, when will the Big 12 let these guys in?”
The Sporting News wasn’t alone in doing some offseason rankings. CBS Sports is in the midst of ranking the 66 Power Five football coaches, and Wednesday unveiled where BYU’s Bronco Mendenhall and Utah’s Kyle Whittingham ended up.
The Utes' head coach finished at No. 30.
“Urban Meyer may have built it, but Whittingham has done a fantastic job maintaining the Utah program in his 11 seasons, and now it seems the Utes have adjusted to Pac-12 life," the report read.
Mendenhall finished a touch higher at No. 28.
“It's hard to know if Mendenhall would ever leave BYU, but you have to think he'd be even more successful if a 'bigger' school ever convinced him, too.”
A 9-year old Rory McIlroy called out Tiger Woods
The USA Today sports blog, For The Win, did some digging in The New York Times recent profile on golfer Rory McIlroy, and found a story that was just too good not to share. In short, it was McIlroy at the tender age of 9, calling out the world’s No. 1 golfer — Tiger Woods.
“(McIlroy sat) down one morning at home and fashion a decidedly double-edged fan note to his childhood hero, then holding the world No. 1 ranking. No one can recall the note’s precise wording, but its general thrust, as Brian McIlroy, Rory’s uncle and godfather, paraphrased in an email, put Woods on notice: “I’m coming to get you. This is the beginning. Watch this space.”
Hopefully this is the start of a fantastic Masters duel between the two, and though Woods even playing (nevermind actually playing well) is a long shot, Chris Chase at For the Win had this to say: “Tiger at The Masters is as dominant as the New York Mets aren’t everywhere. To count him out is ridiculous, unless he found that Rory letter during his sabbatical and got super intimidated by the 16-year-old threat. Anything’s possible.”
The best April Fools' Day hoax ever
Thirty years ago, Sports Illustrated ran a story about a pitching phenom that could throw 168 mph. The story, which filled 14 pages of the magazine, featured photos of the New York Mets "prospect" at spring training and quotes from other Mets players and coaches.
It was almost too good to be true — and it was. The story of pitcher Sidd Finch ran on April Fools' Day in 1985 and was nothing but an elaborate hoax. Grantland.com did a short documentary on the fake story, to discover how it all transpired.
Other links:
— The Final Four coaches released a joint statement on Indiana’s controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
— Gary Andersen is quickly establishing himself at Oregon State.