Larry Brown Sports

If the 2011 NCAA Tournament consisted of a stronger field of teams, UConn probably would not have cut the nets down on Monday night.  Teams like Ohio State, Duke, and North Carolina losing made the Huskies’ path to the Final Four a bit friendlier than it may have otherwise been.  Still, it was not easy.  After winning five games in five days at Madison Square Garden, no one believed Connecticut would have the energy needed to get through the grueling Dance.  They powered their way through March, proving all the doubters wrong.  Above all else, the run proved Jim Calhoun wants you to hate him.

Make no mistake about it: Calhoun has few fans outside the state of Connecticut.  Even in Connecticut, the 68-year-old Boston Irishman has had disagreements with the governor, his athletic director, and the the coaches of other UConn programs (cough, Geno Auriemma, cough).  The more people who want Calhoun to lose, the more motivated he becomes to win.

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The UConn Huskies won their third national championship in school history Monday night, defeating the Butler Bulldogs 53-41. UConn started off the game slowly and was actually trailing 22-19 at the half, but a superb second half effort gave them the win. Butler disappointed with one of the poorest performances we’ve ever seen in a title game, and a lot of it can be attributed to UConn’s defense.

Muscle Milk, which is sponsoring this story, reminds us that anyone can excel on any given day and that Muscle Milk can help you become the best YOU can be. UConn coach Jim Calhoun must have either given his players some Muscle Milk shakes at halftime or lifted their spirits with an inspirational speech, because their defense was impenetrable in the second half.

Check out some of these mind-boggling statistics that tell the story of the game better than any words can:

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In less than six hours, UConn and Kentucky will tip off the second of two Final Four match-ups in Houston.  Jim Calhoun and John Calipari, two coaches who have hated each other for more than 20 years, will lead their squads in an effort to play for the National Championship Monday night.  Unsurprisingly, talk about the actual game has quickly been overrun by news about recruiting violations — excuse me, more recruiting violations.

Calipari and Calhoun run programs that drive college athletics purists insane.  Both coaches are no strangers to being accused of cheating, so they are certainly adept to handling any distractions that the latest news may cause leading up to Saturday night’s game.  In any event, we’re not here to go into the details of the latest accusations.  FOX Sports has an exclusive report about Kentucky that claims a former staffer made illegal contact with several recruits.  The New York Times spoke with former UConn recruit Nate Miles, and Miles is claiming Calhoun lied to NCAA investigators and actually knew illegal benefits were being provided.  The issue to me isn’t about the potential violations, but the timing of the release of the reports.

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A dumbass “activist” (read: pussy) tried to go all Wall Street Journal on UCONN head coach Jim Calhoun as if Calhoun were the CEO of a Wall Street firm taking money from TARP only to spend it on private jets and executive bonuses. This clown, whose name I won’t mention because I don’t want him to get the credit for his idiotic actions, decided a postgame press conference would be the perfect stage to grill Jim over his supposed $1.6 million salary from the University of Connecticut — a public institution. The following exchange ensued:

First of all, that’s not the place to do what he did, and with a photographer’s credentials, the reporter shouldn’t have been asking any questions. Second of all, as Calhoun says, the basketball program generates revenue for the university, meaning the school doesn’t require as much funding by the state government thanks to Calhoun. The $12 million the program brings in (and I’m trusting Calhoun’s figure there) goes to pay for other athletic programs and other ventures around campus, and helps keep tuition costs down. Seems like that’s all positive to me. If this reporter has a problem with the state’s debt, why doesn’t he go after the people taking loans through the state’s CHESLA program and see how many of them are getting 4.0 GPAs in school? Most of them aren’t getting their money’s worth, but Calhoun certainly is giving the school and the fans their’s.