* Tampa won its bid to host the NCAA Division I Men’s Ice Hockey Championship, “The Frozen Four,” back in 2005. By all accounts the wait was worth it, and Tampa acquitted itself well. From chamber of commerce weather to community hospitality to Channelside events to the venue itself. The Forum’s two-day attendance was just under 38,000, not far from sold out. It was also the largest total for a first-time host.
Consensus among locals and visitors–officials and fans–is that the Final Four will be back. And maybe the wait won’t be so long. The “Frozen Four” has been awarded to Pittsburgh and Philadelphia for 2013 and 2014, respectively. Beyond that, nothing has been set. Yet.
* Enough of the trite, juvenile celebrations that are now de rigueur at the end of too many games. Seeing Carlos Peña take a shaving-cream pie in the face during a post-Yankee game interview wasn’t funny. It was dumb and lessened the impact of a moving homecoming moment. And at one time Gatorade showers for winning football coaches were celebratively cool. No longer. Now they’re just choreographed clichés.