CHRIS MULLIN and PATRICK EWING coached against each other Tuesday night. GEORGETOWN vs. ST. JOHN'S, the new generation. That makes me feel old and I wasn't even born when they were in college. Also makes me miss the old BIG EAST conference. I'm a LUDDITE when it comes to college sports. The old Big East was catnip for a college basketball fan. The HOYAS, the RED STORM, SYRACUSE, UCONN, VILLANOVA, PITT -- I looked forward to that conference tournament as much as the NCAA TOURNAMENT. This isn't some kind of sepia-toned desperation for the past. Just a remembrance of a fun time in college sports. Conference expansion has robbed the sport of rivalries and broken up institutions. So it goes. I'm sure there are fans clamoring for the SOUTHWEST CONFERENCE or when the BIG 10 was 10 schools. JOHN THOMPSON. LOU CARNESECCA. JIM CALHOUN. JIM BOEHEIM. The six overtime game between 'Cuse and UCONN. The 1985 FINAL FOUR with three Big East teams. The conference was able to bridge generations. No use in sticking to the past, though. College sports is about renewal. It's just fun to look back every once in a while... Two of my favorite stories Tuesday were about perfume and running shoes. The smell of tennis and the search for good looking shoes. I'll never waver away from my NEW BALANCE shoes again, I don't care how they look... The BASEBALL HALL OF FAME voting is broken if ANDRUW JONES gets eliminated from the rolls after one year. He's at risk of finishing under five percent -- the cutoff to stay on for another year. Even if you don't think he's a Hall of Famer, he deserves to stay on the ballot. And he is a Hall of Famer. Tenth all-time in WAR among center fielders. Sixth in home runs. Maybe the best defensive player ever at his position. There's such a long backlog of players worthy of votes and philosophical dissent amongst voters that it risks crowding out great players too soon... The NBA has more presidential candidates than the DEMOCRATS... This is why I don't let my OLYMPICS rivals get my drinks... Counter-programming the Olympics.