Huskies Are On A Roll

Let’s hate excellence, despise success, revile winning.

Whoa, wait a minute. The New York Yankees, the Boston Celtics, UCLA, they built dominant teams and repeated as champions and became the icons and models of their respective sports. Fans loved them and fans hated them, but fans paid attention. And their opponents knew that if they wanted to be the best, they had to beat the best.

This, apparently, does not apply to the University of Connecticut’s fabulous women’s basketball team. It is getting its shoes squeezed, primarily by columnist Dan Shaughnessy of The Boston Globe, because the Huskies have no true competition. Shaughnessy says UConn’s dominance is bad for women’s basketball, makes it unwatchable.

The Huskies defeated Texas 86-65 on Monday night to reach the women’s Final Four for the ninth consecutive year while pursuing their fourth consecutive title. The Huskies have won 73 consecutive games, 22 in a row in the postseason. The Huskies play Oregon State in Indianapolis in the Final Four while two newcomers to the Final Four, Syracuse and Washington, meet to determine which likely becomes Connecticut’s next victim.

UConn is powered by three seniors – Breanna Stewart, Moriah Jefferson and Morgan Tuck – who all work tirelessly toward the goal of never not being champions. How is this bad for the sport? The very idea of watching UConn to see if anyone can approach its level has an appeal and, as coach Geno Auriemma has pointed out, only forces everyone else to become better (or attempt to be).

UCLA won 10 consecutive men’s college championships in the 1960s. That made coach John Wooden a legend and raised the sport’s profile. When Tennessee won three straight women’s titles in the late 1990s, it only added to Pat Summitt’s luster and brought the game more fans and better competition.

UConn too good for its own good? Sure. And Einstein was too smart.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman