We already knew Shaka Smart can take a charge, deliver a rousing motivational speech and lead an unheralded team to the Final Four. Now we know the multi-talented Virginia Commonwealth coach isn't quite so adept at carrying a tune.
Though Smart coolly lobbed his ceremonial first pitch right down the middle before Sunday's Cubs-Reds game at Wrigley Field, his seventh-inning-stretch rendition of "Take Me out to the Ball Game" wasn't as flawless. It certainly wasn't Ozzy Osborne or Mike Ditka bad, but Smart's no Whitney Houston, either.
Leading VCU to the Final Four last month has transformed Smart from a little-known up-and-coming coach to a national darling, but few public appearances he's made in the past few weeks have been more significant to him than Sunday's.
Smart described singing and tossing out the first pitch at Wrigley Field as a tribute to his late grandfather Walter King, who took the coach to Cubs games when Smart was a child growing up in Madison, Wis. King, who died at 90 during VCU's tournament run, was born on May 8.
"Some of my fondest memories with him are going to Wrigley Field, sitting on the first base side trying to catch some foul balls," Smart said in a March interview on "The Waddle & Silvy Show" on ESPN 1000.
Of course, Smart couldn't escape Wrigley Field without a few questions about the vacant Maryland job. He reminded CSN Washington that he signed a contract extension at VCU and that he's happy there, but stopped short of saying he has no interest.
"VCU's a terrific school and we have a terrific basketball program," Smart said. "There's a great history of success even before this year going to the Final Four. It's a place where any coach would want to be. We have a great group of young guys. If we keep getting better, we can have a lot of success going forward."
Adrianne Curry Jennifer Gimenez Katie Cassidy Estella Warren Cinthia Moura
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