O’Donnell: Jordan, Scheffler, slick Olympics and an NBA dud highlight a mixed TV weekend

SO THE SOOTHSAYER TOLD Julius Caesar to beware the Ides of March.

Big Julie wasn't listening.

But if either had a TV remote, DVR and a hankerin' to shake some post-Super Bowl 60 blues, they likely could have navigated the Ides of February.

HITS AND DAGGER WOUNDS FROM a sports weekend that was:

Michael Jordan wins the Daytona 500: Two days before his 63rd birthday — which in itself is a gasp moment — watching Jordan celebrate the unbelievably theatrical victory of 23XI driver Tyler Reddick in stock car racing's most storied event was a hoot. … Reddick barely drew a mention throughout the Fox telecast while hanging in there, then creeping into contention and avoiding pin-balling cars in the final yards.

His Royal Airspeed decided to go all in with NASCAR — and partner Denny Hamlin — during the pandemic. … Now, for the first time since the bittersweet six-feat of the '98 Bulls, he showed that his propensity for major trophy hoisting was only idling.

Scottie Scheffler dazzles at Pebble Beach: Sure, Collin Morikawa won the PGA's $20M mid-winter classic and Scheffler finished tied for fourth, two strokes back. … But Scheffler's final-round 63, including a supernatural six-iron on 18 that set up his third eagle of the day, could only leave CBS viewers thinking “Grand Slam.”

The lanky Texan spotted the leader 10 strokes with a listless opening-round 72. … But his attack style (“wolf play,” as he calls it) overwhelmed on Sunday. … He has won two of the last four Masters, his first PGA and (British) Open last year and can only aim to sustain his brilliance when the U.S. Open rolls into the Hamptons (Shinnecock Hills) in June.

Milan Cortina rolls on: The Winter Olympics are normally a tempering moment for thoughts of American exceptionalism. … But the slick surfaces of northeast Italy have moved NBC coverage and that global needle closer to “humbling.”

From Lindsey Vonn's crash to Ilia Malinin's falls, the password has been “disappointing.” … Add Mikaela Shiffrin's ski bust and Erin Jackson's participation ribbon in speed skating and the best hope may be a frozen-pizza eating contest on getaway day at Milan's Malpensa Airport.

A snoozy NBA All-Star Weekend: Imagineers at NBA headquarters clearly overthink. … The last thing the league needed in a season riddled with at least seven teams tanking and constant fan disrespect via “load management” was a main event crow-barred on to an NBC Sunday afternoon schedule overrun with Winter Olympics.

The host network has claimed that 8.8M “on all platforms” watched the ASG itself, a kookie quartered format about as engaging as “Celebrity TSA Screening.” … If the organic game of basketball is no longer attractive enough for the NBA's February showcase, why not just let all go on holiday to rest their golden achin' dogs?

STREET-BEATIN':

The surprise drop-in of Charles Barkley to help the Cubs get the kinks out at the opening of spring training provided some nice visual opportunities. The bigger hope is that Barkley didn't bet the Cubs (18-1) to win the World Series. (As a gambler, “The Round Mound” is notorious as a kiss of death.) …

College basketball lost a memorable beacon with the death of Bradley's Joe Stowell at age 99. He grew up in a house four blocks from the Peoria campus that he never really left. That included an amazing 68-year stretch as player (1947-50), assistant coach, head coach and radio analyst (1980-2015). Coach Stowell could even recall watching squat slugger Chuck Thome Sr. — Jim Thome's grandfather — smacking 'em out of Bradley Park in the fabled Sunday Morning League during the FDR presidency. …

Regular-season boys prep basketball gets no better than Thursday's night visit of Tom Kleinschmidt and DePaul Prep (24-3) to North suburban Warren (27-2). (Where is “The U” when it's needed the most?) A seasoned core of DePaul University faithful still hold out hope that fellow alum Kleinschmidt will return and lead the Blue Demons back to platinum NCAA levels. (Not going to happen; the capable Chris Holtmann has been all out trying to get the program back to the Big East's middle class.) …

Also rim-topping, Saturday will feature a rare pair of Top 4 college showdowns: No. 2 Houston and Tilman Fertitta's gold-chest hunters host rebounding No. 4 Arizona (2 p.m., ABC). Then, No. 1 Michigan travels to D.C for a neutral court “Duel in the District” against No. 3 Duke (5:30 p.m., ESPN). John Wooden, Al McGuire and Ray Meyer would never schedule an optional heavyweight drainer like the nightcap so close to March. …

Neil Milbert — the grand downtown horse-racing scribe — reports that long-time announcer Peter Galassi has been selected for the Illinois Harness Horsemen's Hall of Fame. No “Voice” has worked harder to acknowledge the standards of Phil Georgeff than Galassi.

And for those attempting to follow the bouncing NIL shenanigans, Montana linebacker Solomon Tuliaupupu has been granted permission by the NCAA to play a historic ninth season later this year. (He started out at USC in 2018.) At that rate, “Hangin' Solo” may become the first collegian to receive his AARP card at a bowl game. …

Jim O'Donnell's Sports and Media column appears each week on Sunday and Wednesday. Reach him at jimodonnelldh@yahoo.com. All communications may be considered for publication.