UConn's dominance is a drag

Columnist John Smallwood is right on the money with this piece: Dominant UConn is taking all the excitement out of women's basketball

It's always risky to make a foregone conclusion of a sporting event before the title game is played, much less the semifinals, but UConn winning its record 10th title is about as solid a lock as you will ever get.....

Still, being great does not necessarily mean being interesting, and, through no fault of their own, the greatness of the Huskies has made NCAA women's basketball unappealing.

Unless you are an alumnus or fan of Connecticut, you will need to watch only the first 25 minutes or so of next Tuesday's NCAA title game.

By then, the Huskies probably already will have beaten whomever they are playing to a pulp. Or at least gotten close.

At that point, the only question left will be whether the eventual loser stays within 15 points.

For the men's Final Four, Kentucky might come in as the undefeated favorite, but everyone knows the Wildcats can be taken out by any of the other three participants - Wisconsin, Duke or Michigan State.

No one will be stunned if Kentucky does not win the NCAA title.

It is just the opposite for the women.

We have had some of the greatest competition in basketball this past season, and so far in the NCAA Tournament, in the history of women's hoops - except for games UConn played in. Fans know they will probably win the title yet again next week.

I respect what UConn coaches and players have built. I have nothing against any of them. But they've made the Tournament a let-down. Their domination has become boring and passe, except to Husky fans.

I wonder, like Smallwood, what is being done to develop the game and bring up more players? It doesn't seem like much, at the moment.