BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Chicago Bulls were looking for revenge against LeBron James and the #1 Cleveland Cavaliers.  Many thought LeBron and company would just steamroll the Bulls in Chicago.  Well, that was half-true, as LeBron went crazy for 39 points, but… the Bulls came to play.  They were just jelling for all cylinders.  Derrick Rose, Kirk Heinrich and Luol Deng all had terrific scoring nights with Rose leading the way with 31 points.  After last night’s game, you would have thought the Cavs were a 3 or 4 seed, not the best team in the NBA.  Congrats to the Bulls for a strong showing.  Chicago 108, Cleveland 106.

FOOTBALL

And last night was the first round of the NFL Draft.  This year, for ratings purposes, the NFL decided to air the first round and ONLY the first round on Thursday night.  Even after 2 billion mock-drafts from experts, there were a plethora of surprises.  First, the Rams took Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford.  Not exactly a big surprise, but his name was nowhere near the #1 spot until just a couple weeks ago.

Many thought the star running-back C.J. Spiller would head to the Seahawks, who need a stud runner.  But nope, he surprisingly went to the Buffalo Bills.  And when you think about it, that makes sense.  Their current running back, Marshawn Lynch, is consistently in legal troubles, and because of the cold weather the Bills will be running a ton.  Smart and great pick by Buffalo.

Then, most thought the Denver Broncos would take the hottest receiver on the board in Dez Bryant.  Bryant was the talk of college football heading into last season, but he received a 10-game suspension, so there was no real evidence of his greatness.  Well, the Broncos oddly passed on him, even though they just traded their star wide-out Brandon Marshall to the Miami Dolphins.  Instead, Dez Bryant slipped into the hands of none other than the Dallas Cowboys.  Now with Miles Austin and Jason Witten, that passing attack is going to be fierce next season.

Finally, the biggest surprise of the night came at the QB position.  Many wondered where Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen was going to fall.  Maybe Buffalo, maybe Oakland.  He was the projected #2 QB in the draft and was expected to go mid first-round.  However, the only other QB selected in the first round was Florida’s star quarterback Tim Tebow.  Tebow wasn’t expected to be selected until… maybe the 3rd round.  But apparently Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels really sees something special in TeBow and wants to turn him into the future QB in Denver.  Congrats to Tebow for working hard and earning his way.