Two legends leave the stage: R.I.P., Dick Clark, and farewell, Pat Summitt. And a “wet willy” in the NBA? Yep.

The annals of music history in the 1950s and ’60s are littered with tales of legends.

Elvis. The Beatles. The Beach Boys.
I think one man was as important, culturally, as all of them.
Dick Clark didn’t invent rock and roll music, and he didn’t invent dancing, and he didn’t invent teenagers having a good time.
But he sure as hell put them all together and started a phenomenon. Through the 1950s and 60s, then well into the 70s and 80s, Dick Clark and “American Bandstand” were permanently ensconced in American pop culture.
I grew up hearing stories from my grandparents about how my mom and Aunt would come home from school every day, throw their books down, and boogie in front of the TV to whatever music “Bandstand” was playing that day.

The show changed American culture, exposing millions to music they’d never heard before. He also put African-Americans and whites on TV together at a time when that just wasn’t done.

And Clark, who sadly died of a heart attack Wednesday at 82, was at the center of it all.
The man never seemed to age, seemed to appeal to every demographic, and was a bonafide star-maker. He was a terrific TV show host as well (“25,000 Pyramid” is my favorite game show ever), and New Year’s Eve was a showcase for him for so many years. It wasn’t midnight without him.

Clark lived a tremendous life, filled with a little scandal (he was touched by the payola scandal of the late 1950s) and even after his stroke robbed him of speech a few years back, he still came out on New Year’s Eve.
We needed to see him, and he clearly loved the audience. His passing is a tremendous loss to the world.
But man, what a life he lived.

**The other sad news Wednesday was a little more predictable, unfortunately. One of the greatest basketball coaches of all time, the legendary Pat Summitt of Tennessee, officially stepped down as head coach Wednesday. Summitt has been suffering from early-onset dementia for the past year, but still coached the Volunteer team this past season, leading them to the Elite 8.
But now, she is stepping down, and her longtime assistant, Holly Barlick, is taking over.

It’s truly the end of an era. Summitt was a pioneer in women’s basketball, and a brilliant coach who motivated her players (through fear and other means) and helped so many women reach their potential.

Christine Brennan, the fine USA Today sportswriter, has penned a great tribute to Summitt. Check it out here.

**Finally, while I wonder how my Rangers let another game slip away against Ottawa last night (the series is tied 2-2 and I’m officially worried), and laugh at the Penguins’ 10-3 win over the Flyers (apparently Ben Roethlisberger threw a late touchdown in that one; seriously, TEN goals, Philly lets up?), I was amused by this play that happened in the NBA the other night.

Delonte West gave opposing player Gordon Hayward (he was the dude from Butler who just missed beating Duke with a half-court shot in the national title game in 2010) a Wet Willy. That’s right, West licked his finger and put it in Hayward’s ear during a stoppage of play.

Seriously dude, a wet willy? What was the next idea, to give him a wedgie, followed by a purple nurple (those really hurt, you know).
This just cracks me up every time I watch it.

An amazing national title game. Tiger thoughts. And another great old song is sold out

I think I started breathing again about 45 seconds after Butler’s Gordon Hayward launched a half-court heave at the buzzer that missed going in by about, oh, two inches.

I was at a loss for words at about 11:45 p.m. Monday night. Which is good, since I could hardly breathe.

I’d just seen maybe the greatest NCAA national championship basketball game of my lifetime, and Duke had won.

What. A. Game. What a game! Truly phenomenal. I am so thrilled as a Duke fan that my team won its fourth national title, but a tiny part of me almost wishes that that last shot by Hayward went in.

Because wouldn’t that have been the perfect ending to the most perfect NCAA Tournament I’ve seen? A halfcourt, national title-winning shot by a tiny school from Indiana at the buzzer. As it was, it was an incredible game. Duke scratched and clawed and had to do everything possible to hang in.

I realize I’m not being eloquent or making much sense here, but I’m too emotionally spent to be clever or profound. My wife, who has a devilish sense of humor, decided it’d be fun to videotape me watching the last 10 minutes of the game, as I paced, screamed, and clutched a pillow to my chest while rocking back and forth (Don’t worry, I’m sure it’ll be on YouTube soon enough).

It was just a phenomenal game, capping off a phenomenal tournament. Nobody deserved to lose that game; it was basketball at its finest.

Couple more late-night thoughts on the game:

– Duke and Coach K have now won 4 national titles in 19 years, and I think it’s fair to see he’s the second-greatest college basketball coach of all time now (behind some guy named J. Wooden).

– So happy to see Brian Zoubek, who every Duke fan called “useless” or worse his first three years, get the last big rebound and score the last point. I’ve never seen a player get so much better from January to March than he did.

– If you’re scoring at home, I’ve already ordered the 2010 national title long-sleeve blue shirt, and the 2010 tall glass tumbler. Hey, those were needed purchases at 2 a.m.

– Since I’m like the biggest “One Shining Moment” fan in the world, I must weigh in on Jennifer Hudson’s version Monday night. The singing was fine. The production was awful. First, they showed clips of her singing for like 15 seconds. Why? the whole point of the thing is a montage of the Tournament; they’ve never showed the OSM singer, because the focus is on the players.

Second, there were no highlights of Duke doing anything well in the title game. And third, a minor point but an important one, on the opening “The ball is tipped” lyric, when they always show two guys jumping center, they showed Jennifer Hudson’s face!

Ugh. CBS, you dropped the ball this year, big-time. Check for yourself:

**So against my better judgment, I listened to some of Tiger Woods’ press conference from the Masters on Monday. As much as I hate to say it, I thought he was pretty honest. He still wouldn’t admit he’s a sex addict, nor did he go into details about why he did what he did, hurting the people he loved so much.

But I thought he was pretty honest and vulnerable, and tried to be as open as he could.

Now, can we all move on with the rest of our lives?

**Finally, I realize I’m getting old. I realize this because I remember when I was a kid, in the late 1980s or so, there was a huge uproar from baby boomers when Bob Dylan and The Who songs were being used in car commercials. This is a travesty! the thirtysomething fans shouted. This was iconic rock music that lifted a generation, and now it’s being used to push Hondas?

Well, I thought they were being silly then. And yet … I’m watching TV with Julie the other day, and a commercial comes on playing the classic Technotronic song “Move This.”

I look up, and what’s the song promoting? Garanimals. Yep, a hip-hop song that was an anthem at dance clubs and parties for years is now being used to sell children’s clothing!

What a disgrace. You think the Technotronic people ever thought that 21 years ago when this song came out that little Johnny and his pajamas would be bopping along to this song? Heck no.

I’m faux outraged. Oh well. Have a listen and remember how great this song really was: