BASKETBALL

In the NBA, there is no hotter team right now than the Boston Celtics.  They got off to a horrid start this season, but lately they have been nearly impossible to beat.  This all started when they took on the Heat about 10 days ago and truly crushed them.  So how would the Celtics fare when they visited the Heat in Miami?  Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, and Kevin Garnett came ready to play!  And they were prepared to play at the pace the Heat like best:  FAST.  Paul Pierce led all scorers with 27 points, and Rondo had another remarkable night putting up 18 points and 15 assists.  If the Celtics can go into Miami and beat up on them up like this, you have to start asking questions about the Heat.  Boston 115, Miami 107.

FOOTBALL

Elsewhere in college football, some major drama out of Arkansas.  The past few seasons, Arkansas has been one of the top teams in the nation.  In the last 2 years alone, they have gone to a major BCS Bowl — even winning last year.  Much of this is due to the successful coaching of Bobby Petrino.  But, this weekend, Petrino got in some major trouble.  He got into a motorcycle accident, got hurt pretty badly (but nothing serious) and told the athletic director that he was alone.  But… this wasn’t the case, as it appeared Petrino was with a 20-something girl from the athletic department.  They were having an affair.  So even though the Razorbacks have had great success under Petrino, they have decided to part ways with their head coach.  The fans support it, but, at the same time, are wondering how they’re still going to be a top team.

BASEBALL

Finally, in baseball, after the Miami Marlins brought in Ozzie Guillen as manager to their new team, taking the risk that he is a bit of a loudmouth, they are immediately regretting it.  A few days ago, Guillen said to the media that he “admired Fidel Castro”.  Saying that you admire a dictator who has ruined the lives of many people is not the best PR move.  So, yesterday, he held a press conference to apologize to the Latinos in the community.  After all, they were planning a boycott of the Marlins, even going so far as to tear up season tickets.  In other words, the Cuban and mostly Latin community, are truly furious with Guillen.  This is a PR nightmare, and even though Guillen apologized, this may be irreparable.  Guillen was suspended for 5 games, but they might have to let this guy go.

BASKETBALL

In the NBA, in a mutual decision, the Dallas Mavericks have decided to waive their recent addition Lamar Odom.  This was one of the oddest trades in recent memory when the Lakers decided to part ways with Odom.  Unlike other players who totally understand the “This is a business” aspect of the game, Odom is more of a sensitive guy and felt like a part of the Lakers family.  When they let him go, it hurt him badly, and he has not been the same player in Dallas.  On top of suffering a few injuries, Odom just wasn’t playing with heart for the Mavs, and yesterday, they decided to let him go.  Given the situation, Odom’s long-term friend Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) said that he hoped Odom could come back to LA and be their ball boy, and then rejoin the team next year.  This most likely won’t happen, but Odom should feel happy that he’s at least still wanted a little by the Lakers.

BASEBALL

FOOTBALL

Finally, in the NFL, after the whole courting process and the big media frenzy, it was time for Peyton Manning to go to work.  He worked out with the Broncos wide receiving corps, and according to wide receiver Eric Decker, Peyton’s arm is definitely ok.  Decker said it was great to be around such a proud veteran who knows what it’s like to win and try to get that Super Bowl ring.  But the Broncos still have to add some weapons to their roster — including some more wide receivers and a strong running back.  After all, in Indianapolis, Manning had a strong running game behind him — from Edgerrin James to Joseph Addai.  The Broncos will need to get him some help at the Running-Back spot if they want to be competitive.

GOLF

This weekend marked the event that every golfer (both pro and amateur) hopes to win:  The Masters.  Could Tiger Woods make a comeback and put on his 5th Green Jacket?  Would Phil Mickelson continue his greatness streak and put on his 4th? Or… would we have a new champ?

For starters, Tiger Woods has had a bad streak since his affair and turmoil 2 years ago.  He couldn’t do anything, and began throwing fits on the course in Augusta, Georgia.  He kept swearing on TV, and shouting at himself.  One time he even kicked his own club about 10 feet.  Not exactly professional.  Golf is a game of a peaceful mind, and Tiger has anything but that going on.  Mickelson played very well, especially in the final two days, even finding himself in a position to actually win the whole thing.  But in the end, Mickelson fell just a little short of the green jacket, but did finish tied for 3rd place (a $384,000 prize — not bad).

It all came down to a playoff between Louis Oosthuizen and a guy named Bubba — Bubba Watson that is from Georgia.  They played one playoff hole… and tied.  It’s pretty amazing that the difference between winning this one-hole playoff is about $600,000.  The winner getting $1,440,000 and the loser getting $864,000.  Sure, a big win for both, but only one gets to put on the green jacket and say that, even for a day, he is the best golfer in the world.  So, in the second playoff, Bubba Watson played marvelously, and found himself in a position with TWO chances to hit a very close putt.  He missed the first, putting the ball just about a foot from the hole.  But you better believe he took his time on that close putt, and… sank it.  Bubba Watson is your Masters winner!  He cried tears of joy, and get this… he has never taken a golf lesson in his life.  Amazing!  Congratulations to Bubba.

BASKETBALL

And in college basketball, after a super successful tournament run with the Kansas Jayhawks, it looks like Thomas Robinson is going to enter the NBA Draft.  Robinson averaged 17.9 points and 11.8 rebounds per game for the Jayhawks last season.  But he was one of those guys destined to jump into college then jump out.  This year’s draft is absolutely loaded, and it’s likely that the Top 5 picks could all be All-Stars very soon.  This means that if your favorite NBA team didn’t do so great this season (we’re talking to you Wizards, Bobcats, and Hornets fans), you could be getting better very soon.

In the NBA, Jeremy Lin has been sidelined, likely for the rest of the season, with a knee injury.  And Sunday, Lin had microsurgery to try and repair a meniscus tear in his left knee.  Ouch!  However, as optimistic as Knicks fans can get, they’re hoping that Lin would be ready for the first round of the playoffs if the Knicks qualify.  Lin said that he would love to be there if the Knicks can nab that #8 or #7 spot, but it’s likely he won’t be on the floor.  If the Knicks can outlast a top team like the Heat or Bulls in the first round, maybe THEN Lin can join them on the court.  It seems impossible, but the last time we had a short season, 1999, the Knicks entered the playoffs as a #8 seed and made it all the way to the NBA Finals.  You can always dream!

FOOTBALL

In the NFL, more drama from the New Orleans Saints.  They recently suspended their head coach Sean Payton for the season for allowing defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to encourage bounties on opposing players.  Basically, they would get paid for taking out players with injuries.  Now audio recordings have emerged with PROOF.  Williams can be heard telling his team prior to a playoff game against the San Francisco 49ers to lay vicious hits on their opponents.  And he’s specific, saying things like, “We’ll see if Michael Crabtree is a prima donna or tough after we attack his ACL”.  Williams followed this up saying that the Saints should never have to apologize for how they can compete.  And with the NFL trying to crackdown on concussions and injuries, it’s likely that Williams punishment will be severe.  Most likely he will be expelled from the league.

BASKETBALL

Elsewhere in the NBA, there is some major conflict brewing in Orlando.  After the Magic were fortunate enough to keep Dwight Howard, he is now starting to be vocal about what he wants in Orlando.  And it looks like he wants coach Stan Van Gundy fired.  Howard never said this to the media, but sources close to the organization say that Howard wants Van Gundy out.  But Van Gundy said to the media yesterday that he doesn’t care whether or not he will be fired — that he’s just worried about one thing and one thing only:  His next opponent.  Van Gundy said he’s focused on stopping Carmelo Anthony in the next game, not if he’s got a job the next day.  And in this same press conference, Dwight Howard actually came out to the media saying that they are focused on one thing:  winning.  We’ll see how this progresses, but Van Gundy’s days may be limited in Orlando.

GOLF

And in golf, get ready for a great weekend of arguably the biggest majors tournament:  The Masters.  This is the one that they all want because of the coveted prize at the end:  the famous green jacket.  It’s an exclusive club that every golfer (both amateur and professional) dream of wearing.  This year, Tiger Woods started out well, but eventually tinkered off in Day 1.  He’s now sitting at Even.  Not a great start for Tiger, but he could make a comeback.  Lee Westwood, an unsuspecting #1 is sitting on top after Day 1.  But, Louis Oosthuizen and Peter Hanson are sitting in the #2 spot just one stroke behind.  It’s going to be a fantastic weekend of golf with some of the most beautiful scenery you’ll see on TV.  Worth watching.

BASKETBALL

In college basketball, one night following the NCAA Men’s championship, it was time for the women’s championship.  This year featured an incredible match-up between Notre Dame and undefeated Baylor.  Baylor has one of the best women’s basketball players ever in 6’8 Brittney Griner.  This team has been practically unstoppable.  After all, when you have a 6’8 girl towering over other girls snagging rebounds and just tossing them back in, you’re off to a good start.  Could Notre Dame somehow miraculously pull an upset?

Baylor was definitely on a mission this year.  Robert Griffin III, the Heisman Trophy Winner, was in attendance to check out the Lady Bears.  Notre Dame jumped out to a lead early behind a strong night from Skyler Diggins (20 points, 3 assists).  The Irish kept it close the entire first half, but in the second half, Baylor started pulling away.  Once you get down by more than 8 to a team as strong as Baylor, it becomes extremely difficult to catch up.   In the second half, Brittney Griner went 8 for 9 from the field, and the Irish simply couldn’t do anything about it.  It even got to the point when they were triple-teaming Griner, but it didn’t matter.  The Lady Bears won the National Championship and finished a perfect 40-0.  Truly remarkable.  Baylor 80, Notre Dame 61.

In the NFL, the Indianapolis Colts have been hush-hush on whom they plan to draft with the #1 overall pick in April’s draft.  And yesterday, they held a private workout with Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck AT Stanford.  The Colts are pretty much sold on Luck, but when you have all the power with the pick (and you just let go of Peyton Manning), you have to look at your two choices very carefully.  That’s why the Colts also extended an invitation to Baylor’s Robert Griffin III, but he declined the invitation.  Why?  Because RG3 knows that he has a mystique around him right now.  He’s an amazing athlete, had a phenomenal combine, and, at some point, there’s no reason to sell beyond sold.  It’ll be interesting what the Colts decide to do.

Finally, in the NBA, Steve Nash is getting ready to become a free agent this summer.  He has publicly spoken to the media saying that he won’t return to the Suns unless they give him some serious help.  At 38, Nash is still in amazing shape, but he has groaned about back problems the past few seasons.  Yesterday, however, Nash said that his back felt the best it had in years, and that he intends to play for 3 more seasons (past his 40th birthday), which given the ultra-competitive NBA landscape, is an astounding feat.  40!!!!  Nash said he wants to sign a 3-year contract, although there is a high possibility that these final few season will be with the Miami Heat.

BASKETBALL

In college basketball, it was the National Championship between the Kentucky Wildcats and the Kansas Jayhawks — two of the most storied programs in college basketball history.  Prior to the game, Kentucky’s Anthony Davis won the big one, the Naismith award for best college basketball player in America. And Kansas coach Bill Self won the award for coach of the year.  Everybody expected Kentucky to get this far, but the Jayhawks, a team that prides themselves on comebacks was ready to stand in the way.  Kentucky coach John Calipari has had a very successful college coaching career (and recruiting career), but has never won the big one.  So how would it turn out?

Kentucky jumped out to a very big lead early.  Kansas simply couldn’t do anything against the mighty Wildcats.  Anthony Davis only had 6 points on the night, but also posted an alarming 16 rebounds and 6 blocks.  This kid is going to be a beast in the NBA.  Kentucky led at halftime 41-27.  And everybody knows you simply can’t fall behind by 14 points to a team as powerful as Kentucky.

Things remained the same in the first part of the second half, but then something weird happened.  Kansas started to come back.  Thomas Robinson exploded for the Jayhawks, putting up 18 points and grabbing 17 rebounds of his own.  Additionally, Kansas point guard Tyshawn Taylor started working his magic, scoring 19 points and running circles around the Wildcats.  And suddenly, it looked like Kentucky was going to let this game get away from them.  Kansas even cut the lead to 5 points with under 5 minutes to go — and fans were going crazy!  But, in the end, Kentucky was just too much.  Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had an amazing block in the end to kill Kansas’ momentum, and give Kentucky their first title under coach John Calipari.  Once again, Kentucky is hoisting the trophy high.  Congratulations to the young Kentucky team.

And in the NBA, the Los Angeles Clippers hit a skid after the all-star break.  They appeared to be in disarray, and many blamed their coach Vinny Del Negro.  He appeared to have lost the team’s attention.  But now, the Clips have won 5 in a row, and hoped to make it 6 when they visited Dallas to take on the defending champions.  And it was as if Dallas didn’t even show up.  The Clippers came into town and simply had their way with the Mavs.  Randy Foye was the man for the Clippers, putting up 28 points in a night where the Clippers re-established themselves as a threat in the West.  There’s also a rumor that Chauncey Billups has been the one really coaching this team from the bench.

What a weekend it was in college basketball, as the Final Four was finally upon us:

First up, it was the much-anticipated match-up between  Rick Pitino and the Louisville Cardinals against his old team, the Kentucky Wildcats.  At this point, many people were saying that this may be the best Kentucky team ever, if not the best college basketball team ever (however, given that they are mostly all freshman, it’s unlikely).  Kentucky’s starting 5 boasts 5 first round NBA draft picks, including Anthony Davis and Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, who will most likely go #1 and #2 in the draft.  Kentucky jumped out to a big lead early, and it didn’t even look like a fair fight.  Kentucky was just so much bigger than Louisville.  But, the Cardinals had a never-say-die attitude, and made it a tie game with just 5 minutes to go.  And when that happens, it’s anybody’s game.  Problem is, Kentucky was just too athletic, and Louisville too nervous.  The Wildcats were able to pull away again, and Louisville couldn’t catch up.  The Wildcats are headed to the National Championship.  Kentucky 69, Louisville 61.

Next up it was #2 Ohio State vs. #2 Kansas.  The Kentucky teams got the press all week, but this one had a chance for more of a memorable classic.  The key for Ohio State would need to be Jared Sullinger.  Sullinger had a decent first half, and his team kicked in to give the Buckeyes a 9-point halftime lead.  They looked in control.  But college basketball is about never-saying-never.  And that’s how Kansas was able to surge back in the second half, behind a monster 19 point/8 rebound night from Thomas Robinson (probably the #3 or #4 pick in the draft).  And, at the end, the Kansas Jayhawks found themselves in a position to win, just needed some clutch free throw shooting from Tyshawn Taylor.  And, they got it, as Taylor hit two big free throws to seal the game and send the Jayhawks to the championship.  So it’ll be Kentucky vs. Kansas for the championship Monday night on CBS — two of the most storied programs in college basketball.  If Kentucky loses, it will be one of the all-time biggest upsets given their Goliath status.  Kansas 64, Ohio State 62.

Finally, women’s college basketball had their own final four this weekend, a battle between ALL the #1 seeds.  First, Notre Dame and UCONN had a neck-and-neck battle that would require an overtime.  But, in OT, UConn came up short, and thanks to Notre Dame’s Novosel’s strong performance (20 points and 7 rebounds), the Irish are headed to the National Championship.  And in the second game of the Final Four it was Brittney Griner and Baylor vs. Stanford.  Baylor is undefeated with Griner, and they had no intention of losing Sunday night.  Griner had 13 points and 9 rebounds, as they moved to 39-0 and move on to face the Irish.  Again, a win by the Irish would be a HUGE upset.  Baylor 59, Stanford 47 — Notre Dame 83, UConn 75.