DATE=04/01/02

TYPE=U-S OPINION ROUNDUP

TITLE=BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

NUMBER=6-125627

BYLINE=RALPH ECKHARDT

DATELINE=WASHINGTON

INTERNET=

CONTENT=

VOICED AT:

INTRO: While U-S troops are fighting terrorism in Afghanistan and the world looks for a solution to months of violence between Israelis and Palestinians, Americans' attention this week included the national collegiate basketball championships. The three-week tournament, popularly known as "March Madness", ended with the University of Maryland winning the men's championship and the University of Connecticut women finishing in first place with an undefeated season.

U-S editorial writers are offering congratulations to tournament teams, and voicing opinions on the state of the sport and concerns about its fans, who rioted on the Maryland Campus and on the campus of Indiana University, the home of the team that lost the championship game.

Here with a sampling of U-S editorial comment on the matter is V-O-A's________________.

TEXT: Noting the reasons basketball tournament season is such a popular diversion for Americans, The New London Day says the local University of Connecticut women's team was just plain fun to watch play basketball. The newspaper says the legacy of the team will not be its perfect season, its national championship, or its records.

VOICE: None of those achievements comes close to defining this team. Everything else pales beside the fun, the intensity, the sense of camaraderie and even love among teammates. Those special qualities spawned a statewide goofiness among the public. … the people of Connecticut have followed this team with affection and admiration. The Huskies have shown poise, character, guts and, most of all, genuinely engaging personalities.

TEXT: The Philadelphia Inquirer says the women's championship game was a basketball purist's delight.

VOICE: Deft passes snuck their way through a thicket of hands and legs to hit players in stride for lay-ups. Jump shots splashed sweetly through the net cords. Two strong teams pushed each other all night long to excellence.

TEXT: The Baltimore Sun says the University of Maryland Terrapins, whose team is named after a turtle native to the state, won recognition and respect. The newspaper said the only blemishes to March Madness were the celebrations that turned destructive.

VOICE: Such barbarian behavior is inexcusable. But nothing could diminish the sweetness of the Terrapins accomplishment -- by an exceptional group of players, a coach who salvaged his alma mater's pride and a university community seeking greater national prominence.

TEXT: The Prince George's County Journal congratulates the Maryland team that makes its home in the city of College Park in that county. But the newspaper says reaction to the championship by some fans was a disappointment.

VOICE: Another sorry night of hooliganism in College Park tarnished a wonderful run for the team. It is costing Prince George's County quite a lot to, as acting Police Chief Gerald Wilson put it, "baby-sit"'' college students who ought to be about the business of learning to lead, not mimicking poor examples of behavior. The students' inability to respond responsibly to the University of Maryland's success has been repeated often enough to qualify as a pattern of activity, not a rarity. Only students will bring other students into line, in the long run ...may the student body live up to the teams that represent it.

TEXT: The New York Post also comments on that pattern of post-championship celebrations getting out of hand.

VOICE: Apparently, just having their team play in a championship game is now reason enough for fans to go nuts. Think of it as defining stupid. That is the lesson to be drawn from the antics of Maryland and Indiana rooters… For some time now, vandalism and violence in the "winning" city after a major championship has been routine. Over the years, riots have broken out in Detroit, Chicago and Los Angeles, to name a few. … So it was the same … in College Park, Maryland. But how to explain Bloomington, Indiana? After all, the Hoosiers lost. Why are their fans taking to the streets? The unofficial slogan of the Maryland Terrapins is "Fear the Turtle." Sadly, the better slogan for all these post-game "celebrations" is "Fear the Jerks."

TEXT: That concludes this round-up of U-S editorial opinion on the college basketball national championships.

NEB/RAE/RH