Mike O'Connell

The last two weeks on Math and Musings I’ve discussed Jim Boeheim and Patrick Ewing, legendary basketball men now reduced to playing golf, I suppose, or whatever one does when no longer coaching.

Yup, I’m the new Sports Illustrated cover jinx, with Boeheim and Ewing let go from Syracuse and Georgetown respectively days after their profiles on MAM.

I considered testing the jinx today with an episode describing how I never win the lottery or get a letter from Hogwarts, but decided to go with a chronicle of St. Patrick’s Day instead.

Don’t think they’re going to get rid of that one any time soon, but you never know.

Oscar winners announced on the same night as NCAA Tournament selections? What a delicious juxtaposition.

Other than Top Gun: Maverick I hadn’t seen a single Oscar-winning film, but then, I hadn’t seen a million college basketball games this year either.

But in the next three weeks, I’m going to watch 67.

And zero Oscar-winning films.

It’s not often I get to watch my alma mater play on TV (is it still called “TV”?), but last night I had the opportunity to do just that.

It was fun for about five minutes.

I probably should have expected a thrashing, but I often go into these things like a wide-eyed college kid.

Vermont 79, Binghamton 57.

Honestly it wasn’t even that close.

Luckily for me I’ve got some good TV these days courtesy of the ageless Mel Brooks. To some a hero and to others a mere legend (so he says in the show’s opening), Mel’s still doing his thing at 96. And more than 40 years after he made us laugh with History of the World, Part I, there is now–you guessed it–History of the World, Part II. Streaming on Hulu, it’s basically a 30-minute episode of SNL, which I suppose has always been a 90-minute episode of Mel Brooks. Most of the sketches (can I use that term?) are low-hanging fruit, but hey, it’s Mel Brooks, and he’s got some of the biggest names in the business spouting these corny lines.

Don’t we all deserve to laugh these days, when there’s so much turmoil and bad basketball in the world?

Sandwiched between the worst day I ever experienced (March 2, 2006) and the finest moment I ever experienced (March 5 a few years later) there is this date: March 3. Three-three, if you will. This time of year is always worthy of a little reminiscing.

Today on Math and Musings you’ll hear the tale of my first ever college basketball game, February 17, 1990, a simpler time no doubt, but filled with drama on the court.

Two weeks after the Super Bowl I finally sampled that evening’s signature product: BBQ-flavored Doritos.

Why it took them nearly 60 years to come up with this one I couldn’t tell ya, but they are pretty good.

They kind of taste like…

Barbecue-flavored Doritos.