BASKETBALL

A female student at Michigan State is suing the University for how it responded to rape allegations against 3 basketball players from an incident in April of 2015. If the allegations are true, the recount of the incident and how the University Counseling Center responded is horrifying. The lawsuit states “MSU has fostered a culture in which female victims are discouraged from reporting sexual assaults when those assaults are perpetrated by male athletes, thus protecting the university, the male athletics programs, and the male athletes at the expense of the female victims.” The University currently has no comment on the case.

FOOTBALL

Indianapolis Colts Quarterback Andrew Luck, who has missed 26 games over the last 3 seasons, admits he hasn’t picked up “The Duke” (the official NFL game ball) and thrown a regulation-size ball yet. He told the media his timetable for his return is unknown, but he’s confident he’ll be back and better than ever.

In some feel-good news, Tennesse Titans quarterback Marcus Mariota made the day of every kid attending the Special Olympics event at the Stadium. Mariota did not leave until every kid caught a pass. One child struggled a bit to make the catch, but Mariota patiently stayed until he was successful. After the event, Mariota said, “I just like seeing their faces light up.”

BASKETBALL

Villanova earned their second National title in 3 years in a big win Monday night over Michigan. The hero of the game was Donte DiVincenzo who scored 31 points off the bench. DiVincenzo is a backup guard, and when he came off the bench and scored 18 points in the first half, the tide of the game turned. DiVincenzo’s career-high 31 points is the most for a non-starter in a championship game. To no one’s surprise, Donte earned the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.  The Wildcats became only the 8th school to win 3 or more titles (1985 and 2016 and now 2018). Villanova 79, Michigan 62.

Philadelphia has now become the first city to win a Super Bowl (Eagles in February) and an NCAA basketball title in the same year.

BASEBALL

Baseball season officially began last Thursday, and the last thing anyone thought would happen is a game would be postponed due to snow, but that’s exactly what happened in the NY Yankees home opener on Monday. The Yankees will now play their home opener against the Tampa Bay Rays today at 1;05 pm. For more on the Yankees and why it’s good for baseball to hate them, watch Mike Greenberg’s “Return of the Evil Empire”. 

BASKETBALL

In one weekend, Arike Ogunbowale secured her place in history. On Friday night she shocked #1 seed U-Conn with a buzzer-beater sending Notre Dame to the National Title game against Mississippi State. Then on Sunday, Arike pulled out another buzzer-beater with a three-pointer to give Notre Dame the title (their second women’s championship). Notre Dame 61, Mississippi State 58. All weekend, Arike received tweets from basketball greats including her hero, Kobe Bryant.

Michigan snapped Sister Jean and Loyola-Chicago’s Cinderella run and Villanova outplayed (with a record 18 3-pointers) Kansas in the Final Four. On Monday night, Michigan and Villanova face off for the National Championship 9:20 pm ET TBS.

In NBA news, the San Antonio Spurs snapped the Houston Rockets 11-game win streak with a monstrous 100-83 rout. The Rockets have secured home-court advantage throughout the playoffs. In other streak news, the Philadelphia 76ers have won their 10th straight game thanks to rookie Ben Simmons.

The Phoenix Suns are amassing one of the worst records in the NBA (a franchise record 15 straight losses), but on Sunday night, the Suns’ Danuel House made a name for himself with a spectacular dunk that lit up social media. House toiled in the NBA Developmental League (G-League) until December when he signed with the Suns. Unfortunately for Phoenix, they still lost the game to the Golden State Warriors 107-117.

FOOTBALL

Many in the sports world have been speculating whether Patriots’ owner Robert Kraft is concerned that tight end Rob Gronkowski will retire this year. After Gronk’s now famous “dance off” with Shaquille O’Neal over the weekend at the debut of Shaq’s Fun House in Miami, Kraft was thrilled with Gronk’s athleticism and said, “I must say, I sort of got excited seeing him vault up on Shaq’s shoulders. For a guy that size to be able to hop up on a 7-foot-2-inch, or whatever Shaq is, is pretty cool. So, that speaks well about his potential athletic moves this coming year.’’ When Gronk does retire, he says wants to win “Dancing with the Stars” and that he’s “the best dancer in the NFL.”

BASKETBALL

LiAngelo Ball, the former UCLA player who was involved in a shoplifting scandal in China and is currently playing in Lithuania with his younger brother LaMelo, has indicated he’ll be available for the NBA draft this year. LiAngelo seems to be playing well in Lithuania, but it’s unclear whether NBA teams will be interested in him.

BASKETBALL

The Final Four is set! After beating Kansas State on Saturday, # 11th seed Loyola Chicago matched only three other teams in the history of the NCAA tournament as the lowest seed to make it to the Final Four. Loyola Chicago will face Michigan, whose defense helped the team cruise past Florida State.

Villanova didn’t surprise anyone with their big win over West Virginia to take their seat in the semi’s. They will take on Kansas who heads to the Final Four after a tough fought overtime battle against Duke. Duke’s loss marks the end of one of the most controversial players college careers, Grayson Allen. Allen was a breakout star for Duke, but bizarrly kept sabotaging his reputation by a series of tripping incidents and inappropriate behavior. Allen had a chance to be hero at the end of regulation, but missed his shot sending the game to overtime, where Duke seemed to lose steam. After the devastating loss, Allen spoke to the press and maturely said, “I’ve learned so much in my four years here, coming out a completely different person and for the better. And the relationships I’ve built with Coach, the coaches. Some of my teammates who are guys I call my brothers now, those will last for a really long time. And that’s one of the things I’ll cherish. Those don’t go away.”

In the NBA, Steph Curry is out again indefinitely after a freak accident on Saturday night in a matchup against the Atlanta Hawks when teammate JaVale McGee fell on his knee causing a Grade 2 MCL sprain.  Curry believes he’ll be back in time for the playoffs, but coach Kerr wants to make sure he’s fully rested. The Warriors are also now dealing with Kevin Durant’s rib injury, Klay Thompson’s hand injury, and Draymond Green’s pelvic issue.  They all expect to be back soon, however.

BASKETBALL

Just another crazy night in the NCAA tournament. Both underdogs, #9 Kansas State and #11 Loyola-Chicago, continue their Cinderella run by overpowering Nevada and Kansas respectively. Loyola-Chicago’s improbable run has created a superstar in their 98-year-old Chaplain and biggest fan, Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt. The athletic department has been sorting through over 75 interview requests (including Good Morning America) for Sister Jean since the team’s success over the past week.  Kansas State and Loyola-Chicago now face each other in an exciting Elite Eight round on Saturday (the first #9/#11 matchup in NCAA history). In other Sweet 16 rounds, Michigan dominated Texas A&M and Florida State overpowered Gonzaga. #3 Michigan and #9 Florida State will face each other in the Elite 8 Round on Saturday.

FOOTBALL

Free agent safety Eric Reid, who has complained he’s not getting offers from teams because he’s been outspoken about racial injustice and knelt all season during the National Anthem, now explains he’ll continue to be active but not by kneeling. He said, “I’m not saying I’m going to stop being active because I won’t. I’m just going to consider different ways to be active, different ways to bring awareness to the issues of this country and improve on the issues happening in this country. I don’t think it will be in the form of protesting during the anthem. I say ‘during’ because it’s crazy that the narrative changed to we were ‘protesting the anthem,’ and that wasn’t the case. I think we’re going to take a different approach to how we’re going to be active.”

Johnny Manziel wants back in the NFL. At Pro Day in San Diego, he attempted 38 passes in front of 13 NFL teams.  The Cleveland Browns took Manziel, former Heisman trophy winner out of Texas A&M, with their first-round pick, but drugs, alcohol and inappropriate off-field behavior, led to his downfall. Manziel is now married and training rigorously to get back in the game.

FOOTBALL

Alliance of American Football (AAF) will debut February 9th, 2019. The 8-league team will run for 10 weeks. According to co-founder Bill Polian, AAF will be a feeder to the NFL, as the games will take place during the NFL off-season. Troy Polamalu, former Pittsburgh Steelers safety and now head of the AAF’s player relations, said, “I think this will be complementary to the NFL.” AAF will look very different from a regular NFL game as the new League eliminated the kickoff and extra point, and the team scoring a touchdown will get the ball back.

The NFL announced a new definition of a catch. The new rule will clarify what has become a controversial issue in many games (including in this year’s Super Bowl). Slight movement of the football in a receiver’s hands will constitute a catch, and the “going to the ground” rule (where a player who has caught the ball and is falling to the ground will need to maintain control of the football while on the ground) will be eliminated.

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Boston Celtics Guard, Kyrie Irving, had the sports world buzzing last year when he spoke about this “flat earth theory”, and now for some more wacky news, Cleveland Cavaliers Guard Jordan Clarkson claims dinosaurs existed but were the pets of bigger people. “So, I think it was bigger people in the world before us, and, like, the dinosaurs was their pets.”

OTHER

For all ESPN “Mike and Mike” fans, April 2nd at 7;00 ET marks the long-awaited debut of Mike Greenberg’s new show. For a behind the scenes look at “Get Up”, featuring Greenberg, Michele Beadle and Jalen Rose, check out their new twitter account.

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In a statement to the press, Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Tyronn Lue announced he’s taking a leave of absence due to health issues. He said he’s been suffering all season from “chest pains and other troubling symptoms, compounded by a loss of sleep”. He went on to say, “I need to step back from coaching for the time being and focus on trying to establish a stronger and healthier foundation from which to coach for the rest of the season.” Lue believes he can be back in a week and is working to improve his health by taking medication, hiring a new chef, getting some exercise and rest.

Is there anything Justin Timberlake can’t do? Timberlake stopped in DC on his concert tour and spent the afternoon before his performance shooting baskets at the Washington Wizards practice court. Timberlake showed off his skills including this shot from half-court. Timberlake and wife Jessica Biel are minority owners of the Memphis Grizzlies.

BASEBALL

For the first time in 50 years, all Major League baseball teams will play their official first game of the season on the same day, March 29th. The reigning National League Champs, the Los Angeles Dodgers, suffered a slight setback to their season after finding out their star third baseman Justin Turner suffered a broken wrist after getting hit with a ball in a spring training game. According to experts, a broken wrist can mean missing 6-9 weeks.

BASKETBALL

What a weekend for March Madness! First, #1 seed Virginia lost to the Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers (UMBC) marking the first time a #16 team has beaten a number one ranked team in tournament history. Unfortunately for UMBC, they lost in the next round to Florida State, but they still secured their place in history and received a special gift from Steph Curry. Under Armour represents Curry and the UMBC team, so after their historic win, Curry sent them his limited released shoes and some miscellaneous items.

In other crazy tournament news, only two #1 seeds are in the sweet 16 round after #1 seed Xavier fell to #9 seed Florida State. One of the most exciting games of the weekend featured Michigan’s Jordan Poole sinking a buzzer-beater three-pointer to secure a seemingly improbable win over Houston. For more on the sweet 16 teams, click here!

In the women’s bracket, #1 seed UConn just keeps setting records. In their first round matchup against St. Francis (PA), they set a record for number of points scored in the first half (55), then a record for number of points scored in the half (94), then finally set a record for number of points overall, 140. Finally, they also set a record for number of assists in a game (38). Is there anything this team can’t do?

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After selection Sunday, many criticized the committee for not including USC in the NCAA tournament. USC is part of the Pac-12 and many wondered how bad the Pac-12 must have been for USC to get snubbed. Well, we’ve now got an answer. After the first day of the tournament, and for the first time in the history of the tournament, ALL Pac- 12 teams are out. According to ESPN stats, “no major conference has failed to send a team to the round of 32 since the formation of the Big 12 in 1996-97”. For a recap of the winners and losers from day 1, click here. And, spoiler alert, Penn will not be the Cinderella story of the tournament, but #13 ranked Buffalo could be with a blowout win over #4th ranked Arizona.

FOOTBALL

The former San Francisco 49er safety Eric Reid is claiming his activism is hurting him in free agency. Reid was the first player to kneel beside Colin Kaepernick during the national anthem. Reid told ESPN, “I would say I understand that’s a possibility. And I’m completely fine with it. The things that I’ve done, I stand by, and I’ve done that for my own personal beliefs. Like I said, I’m fine with whatever outcome happens because of that.” Kaepernick is actively looking for a team to sign him as well.

OTHER

John Skipper, former ESPN president, abruptly resigned last December. In a newly released article from the Hollywood Reporter, Skipper admitted he was being extorted by a cocaine dealer.