Well, it was a great three weeks, but last night officially brought March Madness to a close.  It was a David v. Goliath story in Detroit, as the hometown Michigan State Spartans took on the juggernaut that is North Carolina.  A lot of people were dismissing the fact that UNC crushed Michigan State on this court back in December, but apparently… that meant something.  A bit of foreshadowing if you will.

The game started off all UNC, and… it pretty much stayed that way.  The Tar Heels had 55 points heading into the half, which is a record for most first half points in an NCAA Championship Game.  It was abundantly clear that UNC was looking to avenge their shocking loss to Kansas in last year’s Final Four.  The entire team returned to win a championship, last night was their shot, and they had no intentions of squandering even one second of it.  Michigan State played “their” game, but UNC was just too strong, and their defense too tough.

In the second half, the Spartans’ Goran Suton put up a nice performance, finishing the game with 17 points, but the game simply belonged to North Carolina.  Their top performers were the marquee names throughout the tournament:  Tyler Hansbrough and Ty Lawson. They finished the night with 18 and 21 points respectively, as the Tar Heels won their 5th championship in school history.  These team was favored from the beginning of the season, and last night they fulfilled their potential.  And the crowd applauded when senior Tyler Hansbrough exited the game towards the end.  Just a fantastic college career.   UNC 89, Michigan State 72.

MLB

And the baseball season kicked off yesterday with some instant surprises.

First off, the new look New York Yankees signed $423 million dollars of new players to ensure they never miss the playoffs again.  Their new, expensive pitcher, C.C. Sabathia took the mound in Baltimore, and just got thwacked.  Meanwhile, the Orioles looked great in their debut, putting up 10 runs in a win over their rival.  Baltimore 10, New York Yankees 5.

And then, in a nostalgic appearance, Ken Griffey Jr. was back in a Mariners uniform.  That’s all well and good, but nobody thought he would homer in his first game.  Yep, that’s right, in the 5th inning Griffey smacked a shot to right field for a solo home run.  It was like we were back in the early 90s.  Griffey is BACK!!!  Perhaps the Mariners will turn it around this season.  Seattle 6, Minnesota 1.