Through the hoops

Welcome to this week’s Reno News & Review.

Hey, big congrats to the University of Nevada, Reno’s Wolf Pack men’s basketball team for their stunning come-from-behind wins over the University of Texas and University of Cincinnati last week. Pretty amazing that our little university is advancing to the coveted Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.

As I write this, their next matchup is against Loyola University Chicago on Thursday, March 22, at 4 p.m. This issue will be on the stands March 22-28, so if you’re reading this hot-from-the-presses on Thursday, get thee to your favorite sports-friendly watering hole stat. Otherwise, you’ll probably know more than I do.

I’ll be totally honest—I’m jumping on the bandwagon here. I haven’t watched a college basketball game in years. (And I’ve never filled out a bracket.) But this Wolf Pack team seems legitimately exciting. They rallied from 22 points behind in the final minutes of the game against Cincinnati—that’s just wild. It’s apparently the second biggest comeback in the history of the NCAA Tournament.

And, as I’ve heard a few people point out, the more our local teams win, the more likely it is that national sports commentators learn how to correctly pronounce the name of our state. Which is nice.

But do you know what part of this NCAA Tournament I’m most excited about? The fact that March Madness drawing to a close means that it’s almost time for baseball season.

Anyway. Congrats, Pack! Keep it up, and, yeah, let’s all tune in on Thursday.