You won’t have to travel far for March Madness. The NCAA will host its entire postseason men’s basketball tournament in Indianapolis and surrounding areas with a bubble-like format, officials announced on Monday. All 68 teams will come to compete for the national championship and play most of the games at multiple venues in Indianapolis, with some games in Bloomington and West Lafayette. Selection Sunday is still scheduled for March 14, and the Final Four is set to be held April 3 and 5 at Lucas Oil Stadium which is the home of the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts.
Tonight in college basketball, the 1-7 Northern Illinois Huskies travel to take on The 5-4 Ohio Bobcats in Athens Ohio. This will be the first match up for associate head coach Lamar Chapman after NIU fired head coach Mark Montgomery.
Yesterday was the NFL’s Black Monday, that is the day after the regular season ends, teams with losing records seem to fire their coaches and general managers. This postseason….
The Jaguars parted ways with head coach Doug Marrone on Monday after the worst season in franchise history. Marrone has one year remaining on his contract and will be paid through the 2021 season. The team fired general manager Dave Caldwell on Nov. 29, and both openings should be highly sought after because the Jaguars hold the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL draft and have four picks in the first two rounds.
Los Angeles Chargers coach Anthony Lynn has been fired after four seasons as head coach. Lynn signed a one-year extension in the offseason, but the Chargers went 7-9 this season, losing seven games by one score. Lynn ends his four-year stint with the Chargers with a 33-31 regular-season record and a 1-1 postseason mark.
All this comes after The New York Jets fired coach Adam Gase on Sunday. ending a short tenure of two disappointing seasons. The move was announced by the team a few hours after New York lost 28-14 at New England on Sunday to end the season 2-14 and the second-worst record in franchise history.
Other teams who fired their head coaches during the 2020 season were the Detroit Lions, Houston Texans and the Atlanta Falcons.
The Bulls tipoff a four-game trip tonight when they take on the Portland Trail Blazers. Chicago will be trying for its second straight win after beating the Mavericks on Sunday. The Trail Blazers are 3-and-3 after splitting two games with the Warriors.
Despite three teams opting out, the American Hockey League is moving ahead with its season. The AHL announced that Charlotte, Milwaukee, and Springfield will not play due to the COVID-19 pandemic but will return the following season. That leaves 28 clubs competing this season. The teams opting out are NHL affiliates of the Blues, Panthers, and Predators.