Zanor column: Clark, a Boston Frozen Four, and other thoughts

Just thought I’d empty out my reporter’s notebook while wondering when the high school baseball and softball fields are going to dry out this spring …

The GOAT

I don’t watch a lot of women’s college basketball or the WNBA, for that matter, which is kind of a blasphemous statement in this neck of the woods. I’ve got nothing against the sport or the league. It’s just that I spend more time watching the NHL, college hockey and college baseball. I know … my sports viewing habits make me an outlier in the Nutmeg State.

But I was one of those record-setting fans who tuned in to watch the Iowa-LSU regional championship game. According to ESPN, the rematch of last year’s NCAA title game featuring Caitlin Clark, women’s college basketball’s all-time leading scorer, was the “most-watched college basketball game ever on ESPN platforms” with 12.3 million viewers, and a peak of 16.1 million viewers.

It was also ESPN’s highest audience for any basketball game since the 2018 NBA Eastern Conference Finals between LeBron James’ Cleveland Cavaliers and the Boston Celtics.

After watching Clark dribble, pass and shoot like a special combination of Carol Blazejowski and Nancy Lieberman, I can see why the GOAT rumblings for Clark had the good folks in Storrs and the rest of the state in a tizzy.

It’s simple: Iowa has Caitlin, and you don’t.

Trivia time

On May 15, 1967, the Boston Bruins traded Pit Martin, Gilles Marotte and Jack Norris to the Chicago Blackhawks. What three players did the Bruins acquire in return?

More: Softball preview: NFA primed for big season, plus players to watch

A Boston Frozen Four

It doesn’t get any better than this Thursday’s men’s college ice hockey Frozen Four in St. Paul, Minnesota. Boston University versus Denver. Boston College versus Michigan.

Of course, I’m rooting for a rematch of the 1978 national championship game between the Eagles and the Terriers. The schools, located just three miles apart, met for the national title on March 24, 1978, in front of 11,668 raucous fans at Rhode Island’s Providence Civic Center.

Boston College lost to BU three times during the regular season, including a 12-5 shellacking in the annual Beanpot Tournament while the Blizzard of ‘78 raged outside the Boston Garden.

In the national final, the underdog Eagles had leads of 1-0 and 2-1 before the Terriers rolled to a 5-3 victory behind a pair of goals from Tony Meagher and Mark Fidler.

The 1978 Terriers, which finished 30-2, were one of the greatest teams in college hockey history. Coached by Jack Parker, BU’s lineup featured 1980 Olympic team members Jack O’Callahan, Dave Silk and Jim Craig (Mike Eruzione had graduated in 1977), along with Meagher and Fidler, a who was fresh off leading Matignon (Cambridge, Mass.) to a high school state championship.

Final Four Mustangs

Putnam Science Academy has two former players appearing in the NCAA men’s basketball Final Four: Alabama’s Mouhamed Dioubate and UConn’s Hassan Diarra.

Dioubate won two national championships at PSA (2022 and 2023) and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2023. He graduated as the Mustangs' all-time leading rebounder and third all-time leading scorer. He is a key reserve for the Crimson Tide, who are in the Final Four for the first time in program history.

Diarra also won two national titles at PSA (2018 and 2020), where he ranks first in school history in points, assists, and games played. He is also second in steals and 3-pointers made, and fourth in rebounds. The Big East’s Sixth Man of the Year is looking to help UConn become the first back-to-back NCAA champs since Florida in 2006 and 2007.

“It’s crazy to see them both in the Final Four,” Putnam Science Academy coach Tom Espinosa said. “They both came to us from Queens (N.Y.) and the same mentor (Rob Diaz), they both did three years here, they’re both going to be PSA Hall of Famers. I’m so excited for them, so happy for them. They’re great young men and they play such an important role on their teams. It’s been fun to watch.”

More: High school preview: Boys, girls golfers to watch this spring

Pitching aces

How good has the Boston Red Sox pitching been during their first seven games of the season? Here’s a statistic from my good friends on X (@bostonsportsinfo):

"Team pitching staffs, thru the first 7 games, since 1920 with … ERA<1.55 and WHIP<0.85 …

Boston Red Sox - 2024, Tampa Bay Rays - 2019, Los Angeles Dodgers - 1965."

For the record, the '65 Dodgers went on to win the World Series behind 20-game winners Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale.

Trivia answer

Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield became Bruins in what is considered one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history. The new trio helped Boston win two Stanley Cups (1970 and 1972).

Stuck in the '70s

On April 7-8, 1979, the California Music Fair took place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The first day featured Ted Nugent, Cheap Trick, The Outlaws, REO Speedwagon and Toto. The following day’s extravaganza saw the Boomtown Rats, Eddie Money and UFO perform before the amazing 1-2 punch of Van Halen and Boston’s Aerosmith capped the memorable weekend with blistering sets for 65,000 sun-baked, rock and roll fans.

One reviewer wrote, “Finally, as dusk fell, British hard rockers UFO assaulted the stage for what turned out to be one of the weekend’s standout performances, and a perfect set-up for local heroes Van Halen (then promoting their newly released sophomore album) and the somewhat chemically hobbled, but still mighty Aerosmith.”

The music fair’s MC duties were performed by Cheech and Chong, whose first feature film “Up In Smoke” had just been released.

Jimmy Zanor is a sportswriter for the Norwich Bulletin and can be reached at jzanor@norwichbulletin.com. Follow him on Twitter@jzanorNB.

This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: Zanor column: Thoughts on Caitlin Clark and the Frozen Four