BASKETBALL

In women’s college basketball, it was time to decide a National Champion.  It was between #1 seed Stanford and #1 seed Connecticut.  However, UCONN isn’t just any #1 seed.  They were going for two consecutive undefeated seasons.  The coincidence of it all is that the run started two years ago after Stanford beat UCONN in the 2008 National Championship.  After that, UCONN soared.  This was the ultimate full circle.  Beat Stanford to become, arguably, the best dynasty in women’s sports history.

Well, the game got off to a very rocky start for the UCONN Huskies.  They couldn’t hit a shot, and even air balled here and there.  Going into halftime, Stanford led 20-12.  But, in the second half, UCONN became UCONN and dominated in all areas.  They went on a 17-2 scoring run behind Maya Moore, who finished the night with 23 points.  After that run, UCONN built a scoring gap that Stanford simply could not minimize.  The second half belonged to UCONN.  And with the win, they did the impossible — two consecutive undefeated seasons.  Truly amazing?  Now… can they do it three years in a row?  UCONN 53, Stanford 47.

In the NBA, the Cleveland Cavaliers may have locked up the #1 spot, but they are definitely not taking off the rest of the season.  Reason 1:  They still have to lock up the #1 spot overall, which would give them home court advantage in the championship game.  Reason 2:  It’s not good to cruise.  You need to stay sharp and focused as a team if you want to win the championship.  This means playing your hardest whenever possible.  Experts think the Cavs should rest LeBron to avoid an injury, but that could also make him rusty and potentially lethargic.  So they looked to beat the Toronto Raptors at home.

That wasn’t exactly the hardest task, with a 19 point, 13 assist night from LeBron.  But the highlight of the night came when the Raptors star Chris Bosh took an inadvertent elbow to the face from the Cavs Antawn Jamison.  Reportedly, Bosh suffered a face fracture.  He could be out for the season, and if the Raptors do make the playoffs, they would get quickly bounced.  More importantly, this might hurt Bosh’s free agent stock this summer.  He is one of the top 3 prospects teams want, and if they’re worried the injury is a major setback, he might not get the opportunity he wants.  Cleveland 113, Toronto 101.