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In case you slept through it, a predawn lunar eclipse occurred at 5:38AM CST this morning (Tuesday, March 3).
The “Worm Moon” (as dubbed by the astronomy community) is a nod to earthworms which tend to emerge from the ground at this time of year during winter thawing.
Anyone living south of I-20 knows a thing or two about thawing of late. Air conditioners here in the deep South have also emerged from hibernation after a recent wave of 80+ degree temperatures – even before the end of February.
As can happen during these full moon events, the weekend featured a number of rather unusual sports stories.
Women’s half-marathon in Atlanta ended with a surprise finish
Sunday’s women’s Half Marathon Championship in Atlanta provided a lead vehicle in front of the leaders pack. These are commonly used for races in major cities. With a little more than one mile to go in the race, the top three women runners followed such a vehicle.
Unfortunately, it led the top trio off the race course and down the wrong street!
The other runners in the field quickly noted the error, made the proper turn, and proceeded on toward the finish line.
The confused race leader needed about 60 seconds to notice that she was running the wrong way. She and the other two leaders quickly made a U-turn. Those unfortunate detour required almost two minutes in order to return to the original course route. By then, the confused trio of competitors would complete the race in 9th, 12th and 13th place.
The top prize of $20,000 went to another runner.
This threesome of wayward runners filed an immediate protest afterwards. It was denied.
Officials claimed that the entry form clearly required each runner to know the race layout prior to the start of the competition.
What about that lead vehicle? Ironically, the vehicle was provided by the host city’s Atlanta Track Club.
Driving in a big city like Atlanta can be challenging, but that was downright embarrassing.
USC’s 26-year old (!) top scoring basketball player is no longer with the team
The 18-11 USC Trojans men’s basketball team has lost five straight games. After the team’s weekend loss to #12 Nebraska, USC announced that its 19 point-per game starting forward was no longer with the team.
Chad Baker-Mazara went down with an apparent injury early in the second half of Southern Cal’s 82-67 home loss to the surprising Cornhuskers on Saturday. Instead of sitting down on the team’s bench, the 6’7” basketball player was found sitting in the stands near the bench between a young lady and another injured teammate.
The trio was seen having a delightful chat during the second half of USC’s fifth straight loss.
USC has fallen from a likely NCAA March Madness selection to a team unlikely to make the field unless they win the upcoming Big Ten basketball tournament.
Second year coach Eric Musselman was unaware of the severity of Chad Baker-Mazara’s injury during the game other than the trainer telling the coach, “He couldn’t go.”
Chad Baker-Mazara is from the Dominican Republic. He has played collegiately for Duquesne (Pittsburgh), San Diego State, Northwest Florida State, Auburn (2023-2025) and at USC this season.
He has a history of being rather temperamental on and off the court.
The 26-year old Baker-Mazara was listed as a graduate student at Southern Cal. However, he was drafted in late January by a professional basketball league based in Puerto Rico.
Perhaps he’s had enough of those tough grad school courses at age 26 to get that degree.
Famed “Bear Trap” snared PGA golfer Shane Lowry in Sunday’s final round
The 15th, 16th, and 17th holes at PGA National’s Champion course are well known to professional golfers.
Called “The Bear Trap” to honor course designer Jack “The Golden Bear” Nicklaus, this trio of holes is among the most difficult on the PGA Tour. Add a stiff Florida ocean breeze and carding a par on each of those three holes is considered a big success.
The 2019 British Open champion Shane Lowry was atop the leaderboard by two shots coming into the infamous “Bear Trap” holes at the Cognizant Classic in Palm Beach, Florida Sunday.
Lowry made a par 3 on the 15th hole to retain his lead.
At the par-4 16th hole, Shane Lowry’s tee shot drifted to the right and splashed down into the adjacent lake. A double bogey six tightened the match and allowed his playing competitors back into the game.
The final “Bear Trap” obstacle was the treacherous par-3 17th hole. With mounting pressure and gusting winds, Shane Lowry’s tee shot again drifted right and sank to the bottom of a lake. That second consecutive double bogey also sank Lowry’s chances to win the golf tournament.
Columbia’s Nico Echavarria held steady and gladly accepted his good fortune to claim a victory and paycheck of more than $1.7 million. Shane Lowry finished in a tie for second place. His payday of $726,000 was one million dollars less than he would have received for first place. Ouch!
Thought about the weekend NFL Combine – New York Jets coach needs more sleep
The woeful New York Jets will have four of the first 44 selections during Round 1 and 2 in late April’s NFL draft in Pittsburgh.
Head coach Aaron Glenn finished 4-13 during his first season with the Jets in 2025. He was in the stands watching the NFL’s annual college player combine over the weekend at Indianapolis.
The NFL Combine is where potential pro draft choices showcase their ability to run fast, jump high, and sparkle in a series of drills in front of all 32 teams.
The Jets coach apparently was so bored by the proceedings that he was caught briefly napping during the Combine.
That’s OK, coach!
I tried to watch about 15 minutes of that stuff over the weekend. It definitely works better than No-Doze in putting you to sleep. Zzzz.
The NFL Combine can serve as a launching point for an athletically-gifted player – especially those coming from the smaller schools. The combine also reveals weaknesses which might negatively affect your potential NFL draft value, too.
Former Arkansas Razorback quarterback Taylen Green is basking in ESPN’s rays of praise
Taylen Green was already ESPN’s #7 quarterback heading into the NFL Combine last weekend. After an impressive showing, he may be moving up some teams’ draft board.
Taylen Green ran a speedy 4.36 second 40-yard dash. Zoom!
He established a quarterback record with a 43 ½ inch vertical leap. Is he playing basketball or football?
Green posted a broad jump of 11′ 2”. Why is that important for a quarterback?
Welcome to the unique world of the annual NFL Scouting Combine.
Taylen Green was quarterback for an Arkansas Razorback football team which finished only 2-10 last year. He passed for 19 touchdowns but also had 11 interceptions.
Taylen Green averaged more than 3.13 seconds from the time he received the snap until making a throw while at the University of Arkansas. That was 4th slowest among all 136 FBS major college starting quarterbacks last season.
He must to trim that statistic by a full half-second in the NFL, or he will be pummeled regularly by speedy on-coming defenders.
Taylen Green may go on to have a terrific NFL career. But, then again…???
Let’s remember a few recent first-round quarterbacks flops after being praised by the ESPN Draft Day hype train!
ESPN’s enthusiastic NFL insider Mel “Hyper” Kiper practically drooled when fawning over former first round quarterback Kyler Murray in 2019. Arizona selected Murray with the first overall pick in that year’s NFL draft.
Seven years later, the Arizona Cardinals are desperately trying to trade Kyler Murray away. He has led the team to just one playoff game over seven seasons and his contract will pay him $40 million this season. Good luck trying to make any deal, Cardinals!
In 2021, the NFL Combine shined the athletic spotlight brightly onto North Dakota State quarterback Trey Lance.
He wowed the scouts at the combine with an exceptional ability to run fast, jump high, and leap over tall buildings in a single bound. (Oops, wrong guy!)
The San Francisco 49ers talked themselves into selecting Trey Lance with the 3rd overall selection in the first round of the 2021 draft.
Sadly, Lance was a flop in his first three seasons in San Francisco. He was traded to the Dallas Cowboys in 2024. Lance was cut loose by the Cowboys after just one year in Big D. The Los Angeles Chargers signed Lance last season to serve as a back-up to starter Justin Herbert.
Don’t forget about 2023’s NFL Combine star quarterback Anthony Richardson
Much like Arkansas quarterback Taylen Green, Anthony Richardson became the darling of the NFL Combine in 2023. Richardson had finally become the starting QB for the Florida Gators in his third year at the school.
He made a number of poor decisions behind center that season but was often bailed-out by his uncanny running skills. The Gators went a pedestrian 6-6, but the team’s quarterback convinced himself that he was ready to play in the NFL.
An impressive showing at the 2023 NFL Combine helped to elevate draft hype about Anthony Richardson. He would vault all the way into the 4th overall selection by the Indianapolis Colts three years ago in 2023.
After just three NFL seasons, the Colts are now practically begging someone to take Richardson off their hands right now.
Anthony Richardson has started only 15 games in three years. He has more career interceptions (13) than touchdowns (11). Richardson suffered concussions in his rookie season from frequently running with the football. Since then, he has dealt with a myriad of injuries.
Anthony Richardson has one season left on his rookie NFL contract which pays him “only” $8.5 million in 2026. With a relatively affordable price tag, Richardson is likely to be traded to another team willing to give him a second chance.
The NFL Draft Combine nearly sunk 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy
San Francisco 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy was the last college football player selected in the 2022 NFL draft.
“Mr. Irrelevant” (the sarcastic nickname assigned to the final person selected in each year’s NFL draft) was a very accurate and successful quarterback for three seasons at Iowa State.
However, Brock Purdy’s participation in that spring’s NFL Combine produced a pedestrian 4.84 second 40-yard dash and a lackluster 27” vertical leap. His perceived lack of athleticism caused Brock Purdy to drop further down the draft boards after an underwhelming showing at the NFL Combine.
Five years later, “Mr. Irrelevant” is the 49er’s starting quarterback, has played in a Super Bowl and now earns $53 million per year.
Moral of the story – Don’t place too much stock in the NFL Combine results when evaluating a future pro football player – especially at the quarterback position!