BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the San Antonio Spurs were hoping to secure home court advantage throughout the playoffs.  The Lakers have been on their tail with a mean winning streak, but after the Lakers lost to the Nuggets last night, it opened the door for the Spurs to finally shatter the dreams of the Lakeshow. They took on the Sacramento Kings, and you do not want to mess with a very strong Spurs team when they’re in pursuit of a championship ring.  They absolutely trounced Sacramento — they didn’t even know what hit them.  Manu Ginobili had 25 points in the outing as the Spurs looked like a new team.  Meanwhile, the Lakers dropped a very winnable game in Golden State, which sealed their fate.  The Spurs now have home court advantage throughout the playoffs.  And it’s tough to beat the Spurs IN San Antonio.  Spurs 124, Kings 92.

Elsewhere in college basketball, some semi-shocking news out of Duke.  Everyone is now familiar with the unofficial ‘One-And-Done’ rule that’s going on in college hoops right now.  Top recruits are forced to head to a college for at least a year before entering the NBA.  We expect at least 5-10 of these phenoms to declare for the draft after just one year.  But, one school, Duke, has done a better job of holding onto their talent.  Many agreed that Kyrie Irving was the best player in the nation at the beginning of the season.  He was dominating everybody.  But, after just 8 games, he got hurt and was thought to miss the rest of the season.  Then he made a surprising comeback during the tournament.  Everybody thought that Duke had this thing locked up.  But no, they got crushed by Arizona.  Well, now, after just one QUARTER OF A SEASON, Irving is declaring for the NBA Draft, and there’s a good chance he could be the #1 pick.  He was probably concerned that he couldn’t risk getting hurt again and lowering his draft stock.

SOCCER

Finally, in some sports business news, LeBron James has another title under his name:  Soccer Team Owner.  LeBron has partnered with Fenway Sports Management (the organization that owns most of the Boston Red Sox) for marketing opportunities overseas.  This partnership also gives him partial ownership of one of the best soccer teams in the English Premiership:  Liverpool FC.  Soccer certainly isn’t LeBron’s sports, but it will be interesting when they have to consult him on operations every now and then.  Sure, he probably won’t care much, but one thing is almost certain:  Kobe Bryant is jealous. For those of you who didn’t know, he’s an avid soccer fan.  Maybe he’ll invest in Manchester United after he retires.