By Matt "Money" Smith
FOXSportsWest.com and PRIME TICKET
MONEY ARCHIVE
Be honest, before Geno Auriemma lit up a postgame press conference with his comments after win No. 88, you didn't have the slightest idea the UConn women were on the cusp of something very special.
I'm not afraid to say I didn't know. I love sports, I love some women's sports, but, and there's always a but, women's basketball is tough to keep up with. It runs concurrently with the NBA and NCAA men's basketball seasons, during which I call play-by-play for FOX Sports West (Lakers) and Compass Media Networks, respectively.
It's difficult enough to follow 30 NBA squads and the Big Ten, Big 12 and Pac-10 in men's basketball, plus every other sport my readers and listeners expect me to be fully versed in. So I can't claim to know exactly how many wins the Huskies have piled up.
Auriemma might have stolen a moment from his players, who deserved the spotlight to themselves, with his, "I just know there wouldn't be this many people in the room if we were chasing a woman's record" comment, but he's absolutely right.
There wouldn't be a lick of attention from the national media if 88 weren't one of the "special" numbers in all of sports.
Many numbers stand alone in sports: 56, 755, 2,105, 5,084, 215, 18, 100 and, of course, 88. You likely already know what they all represent, but in case you forgot: The 56 belongs to Joe DiMaggio for his 56-game hitting streak; 755 to Hank Aaron for his career home run total; 2,105 and 5,084 to Eric Dickerson and Dan Marino for their single-season rushing and passing totals, respectively; 215 to Wayne Gretzky for his points total for the 1985-86 NHL season; 18 to Jack Nicklaus for his major championship victories; 100 to Wilt Chamberlain for his NBA single-game scoring record; and, of course, 88 to UCLA for its winning streak under legendary coach John Wooden from 1971 to '74.
But back to Auriemma, who didn't stop with that first comment; in fact, he was just getting warmed up:
"All the miserable bastards that follow men's basketball and don't want us to break the record are all here because they're pissed."
I don't know if he was referring to Jamaal Wilkes, who participated in most of those wins while at UCLA (1972-74) and earlier this week said, "Although the Connecticut women may break it . . . I kind of hope they don't for Coach Wooden's sake . . . but even if they do, it's not the same."
That Wilkes went on to mention Maya Moore, Auriemma and a host of other UConn players in his conversation is a testament to how far the sport has come.
I would hope those who demand equal acknowledgment for the UConn women's accomplishment understand why so many in the sports world feel as Wilkes does:
"It's not the same, because the competition on the men's (side) is so much more competitive, and that's to no fault of UConn, it's just the nature of things. But still, it's a great accomplishment."
That's not a condescending pat on the head, an encouragement you would give a child. It's a "Welcome to the club, but please understand where you fit in the hierarchy of things."
Like all sensitive subject matter, you want to make sure you qualify your position, so if taken out of context it can't be interpreted as demeaning.
With their 93-62 victory over Florida State, the UConn women extended their win streak to 89 games, one of the most remarkable accomplishments the sport of basketball will ever know. And wherever it might end, it will never be eclipsed. I truly believe that. And, though the UConn women's feat is not the same as the UCLA men's 88-game win streak, the two marks are a lot closer to one another than most would acknowledge.
Both were accomplished by Division I programs in a sport that crowns a champion in the most grueling of ways through a 64-team, single-game elimination tournament. When you don't lose a single regular-season game, and manage to make it though two tournaments unscathed, you can't help but show the utmost respect.
But, still, it's not the same.
Greg Lee, a guard for the Bruins in 1972, '73 and '74, said before UConn's victory Tuesday, "If they do happen to win it and break the record, or tie the record, or whatever they happen to do, I have a lot of respect for the accomplishment that they have achieved. It's a different sport, women's basketball and men's basketball . . . Geno Auriemma has been nothing but a class act about the whole thing, but it's a different sport."
Did you know DiMaggio had a 61-game hit streak while playing in the Pacific Coast League for the San Francisco Seals? Or that Robin Ventura had a 58-gamer while at Oklahoma State? Just because fewer people pay attention to minor league and college baseball and, thus, the accomplishment isn't celebrated as widely doesn't make it any less worthwhile.
~~This text be replaced with poll. To remove properly, delete this text INCLUDING start and end ~ characters.~~
Women's basketball is less popular than a number of sports in this country, but winning 89 straight games is winning 89 straight games, there's no minimizing that feat.
I agree with Auriemma when he said, "Because we're breaking a men's record, we've got a lot of people paying attention."
True, but it's not just a men's record. It's Wooden's 88-game win streak. That's more than just a "men's record." It's one of the most special stretches of dominance in the history of sports.
So when Auriemma demands that we all take notice of his team's accomplishment, you'd think he, of all people, would have a bit more respect for that particular number and, more important, the coach to whom it belongs.
Matt "Money" Smith can be heard Monday-Friday on The Petros and Money Show on FOX Sports Radio's KLAC-AM 570 from 3 pm to 7 pm (PT).
