Friday
-NBA: LeBron almost recorded a triple double (30-13-8 ) as the Cavs destroy the T-Wolves. Does this win him the MVP? Lakers 10-game winning streak is stopped, as they fall to the Blazers 119-111. Does this lose Kobe the MVP?
Saturday
-NCAAB: Ohio State was clobbered in a loss to Minnesota. This just about ruins the Bucks' chances to make it to the Dance. They are just 17-12, and they don't have many quality wins.
No. 5 Texas was upset at Texas Tech, and this does not bode well for the Longhorns. While this didn't look like the same TT team that lost by 44 earlier in the week, Texas still shouldn't have lost. No no. 1 seed for them.
No. 7 Kansas beat Kansas St 88-74 in the ESPN showcase game, but there wasn't really much to showcase. I watched the first half of this game, and neither team really looked great. But you had better watch out for Brandon Rush in the NBA next year!
No. 2 UNC-90, Boston College-80
-AFL: Clint Doelzel tossed 7 TD passes as the AFL returned with a bang in Georgia, as the Dallas Desperados defeated the Georgia Force, 51-41. I'm a big fan of the AFL, and this game certainly got me fired up to watch my Columbus Destroyers defend their conference championship from last year.
-NBA: How about the 76ers? They went into Phoenix and pulled out a 119-114 win, and they are now pushing for a playoff spot in the East as they win their 9th in the last 12. On a sadder note, the Suns fell to just 2-4 with Shaq as their center. Manu scores 30 as the Spurs slip past the Bucks, 96-94.
-In boxing, Israel Vazquez defeated Rafael Marquez to retain his WBC Super Bantamweight title. Boxing fans are going crazy over this fight, which was the third between the two, and are already calling for yet another rematch. cpd3577 has a nice recap of the event here.
-At UFC 82, Anderson Silva defeated Dan Henderson to retain his middleweight title and became the undisputed number one pound for pound fighter in the world. After his easy win over Henderson, what is next for Silva? Heavyweight Heath Herring and middleweight Chris Leben were also victorious on the card. Heavyweight Mark Coleman was also inducted into the UFC Hall of Fame, and it was announced that he is coming out of retirement to fight Brock Lesnar! If you would like to read my complete breakdown of this event from yesterday, then you can find that here.
Sunday
-NBA: Kobe threw down 52 - including 30 in the fourth quarter and overtime - as the Lakers beat the Mavs 108-104 in OT. It'll come down to the wire in the race for the MVP, but LeBron was not to be outdone, as he willed the Cavs to a 95-86 win over the Bulls. Did you see that dunk that he slammed in over Drew Gooden when the Cavs were up just two in the fourth quarter? That's why he's MY MVP (for right now).
-NASCAR: Carl Edwards recorded his second straight victory at Vegas, but he could be docked Cup points, as his no. 99 Ford failed the postrace inspection. I don't think that they will take this win away from him, but he'll be docked about 100 or so points and will be taken out of the Sprint Cup points lead. Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished second.
-NCAAB: No. 1 Tennessee eeked out a win over Kentucky, 63-60. This probably doesn't keep them at no. 1 after their loss to Vandy earlier in the week, but they should still be at least no. 2 when the new rankings come out today.
Kevin Love recorded a double double to get no. 4 UCLA past conference foe Arizon, 68-66. UCLA looks like a team to watch out for in the Dance, especially now that they have a legit big man in Love. Hey, we saw what Greg Oden did for the Bucks last year, right?
No. 15 Michigan St trounced no. 12 Indiana, 103-74. MSU looks like another team to watch out for come tourney time, especially since they still have Tom Izzo as their coach.
-NHL: The BlueJackets lost to Edmonton 4-3 in a SO, and this just about ends their chances at the playoffs. If the fans ever stop caring about the CBJ, then hockey is done in Columbus.
-Golf:: Erine Els recorded his first win in four years with a one-shot victory over Luke Donald at the Honda Classic. Does this mean that Ernie Els is back? Probably not, but he is now the #3 ranked golfer in the world behind Tiger and Mickelson. Just so you know, this is the first weekend of the year when I - a big golf fan - didn't watch at all. Just goes to show that Tiger is very important to the tour.
News
NFL: The Steelers re-signed franchise QB Ben Roethlisberger to an 8-year, $102 million contract. Nice move by one of the best-run franchises in pro sports to wrap up their QB for the long-term future.
The Falcons released veteran RB Warrick Dunn after signing highly sought after Free Agent RB Michael Turner away from the Chargers. Dunn did a great job in Atlanta, but there comes a time when you just have to move on. Great signing of Turner by the Falcons.
The Browns were very busy this past week, signing WR Dante Stallworth from the Pats, re-signing Pro Bowl QB Derek Anderson, signing 3-4 DE Corey Williams (from the Packers) and trading for Nose Tackle Shaun Rogers (from the Lions).
NBA: Veteran PG Sam Cassell is likely to sign with Boston for the stretch run - is it just me, or shouldn't the C's be giving Rajon Rondo more of an opportunity to run that offense? Cavs C Zydrunas Ilgauskas also injured his back. He's out indefinitely, and this is a big loss for the Cavs if he can't play. Good thing they picked up Ben Wallace and can insert Anderson Varejao at PF.
NCAAB: Legendary coach John Wooden is in good spirits after recovering from his fall, but he'll stay in the hospital a bit longer to recover fully - News of this story on Saturday almost led me to start my Who is the Greatest? feature before I wanted to, but thankfully the basketball God is still OK.
In other news, Cornell has clinched the first berth into the tourney. If they play Kansas in the first round, I'm picking the Bears...or whatever they are called (it's the Big Red, by the way).
MLB: Cubs outfielder Alfonso Soriano injured himself in Spring Training - The Curse of the Billy Goat lives! I know he's only out for 5 days, but still...it's baseball!
Tennis: Roger Federer loses his second straight match as he falls to Andy Murray in the first round of the Dubai Championships - The world's greatest tennis player may need a Tiger-like rebirth to remain dominant. There was talk of him winning the Grand Slam this year, but he's already lost one of them. The Grand Slam hopes for 08 now rest solely on the capable shoulders of one Mr. Woods.
Soccer: Chelsea has decided to appeal the red card give to Frank Lampard in their 4-0 win over West Ham in the Premier League. An assistant referee apparently saw Lampard strike Louis Boa Morte in the face, but Lampard could still be found guilty of 'violent conduct' for his shoving match with Morte on the pitch.
Poker: Poker is not a sport.
Blog Schedule
Mon: Weekend Wrapup
Tue: Varies (off tomorrow)
Wed: Random MMA Thoughts (link to Issue 4 from last week)
Thu: Varies
Fri: Draft Talk (link to Darren McFadden piece from last week)
Sat: Varies
Sun: Who is The Greatest? (debuts SUNDAY!)
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