Exclusive club has its own dinner
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
04/02/2007 -
ATLANTA (AP) -During a weekend of dinners, meetings and parties for every group imaginable connected with college basketball's Final Four, one is so exclusive no more than four new invitations are possible each year.
For the second consecutive year, the National Association of Basketball Coaches sponsored the Final Four Coaches Dinner, a reception and meal for those men who have taken a team to the NCAA tournament's national semifinals.
Besides the food and drink, each coach receives a custom-designed blue blazer, kind of college basketball's version of the green jacket that will be presented just a few hours away this weekend to the Masters champion.
Forty-eight coaches were at the inaugural dinner last year in Indianapolis. At this year's event, six men were presented jackets. Dean Smith, Eddie Sutton, Paul Hewitt and Mike Montgomery were attending for the first time.
Jim Larranaga of George Mason and John Brady of LSU, who made it to their first Final Fours last season, were given theirs by Syracuse coach Jim Boeheim, the incoming president of the NABC.
``Most people don't realize that just to get here is such an accomplishment,'' NABC executive director Jim Haney said during Sunday night's dinner. ``It is so good just to see the guys get together like this and have a chance to enjoy themselves in a setting like this.''
The blazer's lining has the colors of a basketball, including the black grains. The buttons are in the shape of basketballs, silver for those who have taken a team to the Final Four, gold for those who have won a national championship.
``That gives me one more thing to shoot for,'' Georgia Tech's Hewitt said with a laugh as he fingered one of the four silver buttons on his sleeve. He took the Yellow Jackets to the Final Four in 2004.
The jackets were designed by Team Sportcoat, the same company that made the blazers issued to each of the players honored during the Super Bowl's 40th anniversary.
``Sure, these are nice jackets, you can wear them anywhere. They're not green,'' UNLV coach Lon Kruger, who led Florida to the Final Four in 1994, said when asked if the blazer ever made it out of the closet except for the dinner. ``This is a great chance to enjoy some time with people you have coached against or watched coach for years.''
After the six new jackets were presented, Haney had everyone in the room raise their glasses for a toast.
``Here's to a special group for their significant contributions to college basketball,'' he said.
When Hewitt went to leave, he was asked if he wanted to put back on the sports coat he wore to the dinner and put his new blazer in a garment bag. He thought hard and twice started to remove the jacket.
``Oh, I guess I'll wear the old one,'' he said, looking at the new blazer one more time before it was zipped up. ``That is a nice coat.''
Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.2006 - Florida 73, UCLA 572005 - North Carolina 75, Illinois 702004 - Connecticut 82, Georgia Tech 732003 - Syracuse 81, Kansas 782002 - Maryland 64, Indiana 522001 - Duke 82, Arizona 722000 - Michigan State 89, Florida 761999 - Connecticut 77, Duke
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Ryder Cup Odds| Europe Tie USA |
4-5 10-1 6-5 |
Ryder Cup Top US point scorer
| Tiger Woods Jim Furyk Phil Mickelson Chris DiMarco David Toms Stewart Cink Chad Campbell Scott Verplank Zach Johnson Vaughan Taylor JJ Henry Brett Wetterich |
9-4 4-1 5-1 7-1 8-1 12-1 15-1 15-1 25-1 30-1 30-1 50-1 |
Ryder Cup Top European scorer
| Sergio Garcia Luke Donald Padraig Harrington Colin Montgomerie Darren Clarke David Howell Lee Westwood Paul Casey Henrik Stenson Jose Maria Olazabal Paul McGinley Robert Karlsson |
5-1 5-1 6-1 13-2 8-1 9-1 9-1 11-1 12-1 12-1 20-1 25-1 |
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