On this day in Sports

 For those of you lazy bums, we got another full day of college basketball to watch. Tomorrow I'll do an extensive post discussing the results of the round of 32 and the upcoming Sweet 16. My bracket aint doing so hot but there are some bright spots so stay tuned. As for today though, i leave you with what happened on this day in the past:

1897 - The first intercollegiate basketball game that used five players per team was held. The contest was Yale versus Pennsylvania. Yale won by a score of 32-10.

1911 - The National Squash Tennis Association was formed in New York City.

1914 - The first international figure skating championship was held in New Haven, CT.

1918 - The Toronto Arenas beat the Vancouver Millionaires to become the first NHL team to compete in the Stanley Cup Finals.

1948 - The University of Michigan beat Dartmouth to win the first NCAA men's hockey championship.

1968 - Wilt Chamberlain became the first center in NBA history to lead the league with assists. He ended the season with 702 for an average of 8.6.

1971 - For the first time in NHL history two brothers faced each other in goal. Ken Dryden (Montreal Canadiens) beat Dave Dryden (Buffalo Sabres) 5-2.

1981 - NFL owners adopted a disaster plan for re-stocking a team should a club be involved in a fatal accident.

1989 - It was announced that Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose was under investigation.

1990 - The Los Angeles Lakers retired Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's #33.

1992 - Kenny Bernstein became the first drag racer to break the 300mph barrier. He averaged 301.7mph in a qualifying run at the National Hot Rod Association's Gatornationals.

2004 - Wade Belak (Toronto Maple Leafs) slashed Ossi Vaananen (Colorado Avalanche) in the face. Belak was later suspended by the NHL for 8 games for attempt to injure.

2005 - LeBron James (Cleveland Cavaliers) became the youngest, at age 20 years and 80 days, NBA player to score 50 points in a game (56). The Cavaliers lost the game to the Toronto Raptors 105-98. The 56-point performance by James was a franchise record.

2005 - Major league baseball players and owners agreed to remove fines a possible discipline for positive testing of steroids. This left suspensions as the only punishment.

Thanks www.on-this-day.com/ !!!

Saurday Video Mashup - Sports Edition 2

Yes its that time again, some interesting or funny sports related videos!

And even though this last one has little to do with sports, you guys really need to know who is the champion of the ninjas

Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament is just minutes away!

Well if you're anything like me, you wasted too much of your day yesterday watching teams you know nothing about. There's quite the abundance of buzzer beaters and upsets (WHO CALLED RICHMOND OVER VANDERBILT, I DID). We got 16 more games today, with the first starting at 12:15 EST. So as my brother would say, getcha popcorn ready!

I know you guys are on pins and needles about whether my bracket is holding up. Well, i correctly picked 12 of the 16 games yesterday. I was hoping for even better results, but luckily none of the teams who lost that i picked to win i had going to the Sweet 16. Today is a real interesting day. I have numerous upsets chalked up today, including a 13 seed beating a 4 seed (Texas vs. Oakland).

I'm undecided what sport I'll talk about tomorrow. The sport who gets the most feedback in the comment section I'll make a post about. Only prerequisite is that it must have a decent base in the United States. I'm sorry I'm not covering the European soccer league!

I'm also introducing this segment that will be at the end of most of my future blog posts. Simply called:
WHAT TO WATCH TONIGHT:
1. NCAA Tournament- This will be where im at, so i hope you can join me!
2. NBA- I don't believe there are any prime time games on the major networks tonight but check your local listings.
3. MLB Spring Training- I never spend too much time watching this but if your bored hit up the MLB network.
4. NHL Hockey- LOL
5.  Cricket- Yes the ICC Cricket World Cup is going on right now. I have no idea how you can watch this, but if you know how let me know!

My Official NCAA Tournament Predictions

The tournament has already started! Get your brackets filled out now if you havent! Get all your friends in on it too and make a wager!

You can just use my prediction if you really want, but im warning you im never very good at this!

Ill list all my sweet 16 teams with the underlined ones moving on:

EAST REGION
Ohio State (1) vs. Kentucky (4) and Syracuse (3) vs. North Carolina (2)
I wasnt too creative here, top 4 seeds make it.

WEST REGION
Duke (1) vs. Arizona (5) and Connecticutt (3) vs. San Diego St.
Suck it Duke!

SOUTHWEST REGION
Kansas (1) vs. Richmond (12) and Purdue (3) vs. Florida State (10)
Whoaaaa, a 10 seed in the elite 8?! I must be crazy.

SOUTHEAST REGION
Pittsburgh (1) vs. Kansas St. (5) and BYU (3) vs. Florida (2)
Pittsburgh is overrated, and how can i not pick Florida?


ELITE 8
Now at this post it is highly likely that most of these matchups will not actually occur. But, in the .7% chance im actually right, here are my Elite 8 results:

Ohio State vs. North Carolina
Ohio State is overflowing with talent, they should roll to the finals.

Arizona vs. San Diego State
I havent watched a second of SDSU play, but i like their swagger.

Kansas vs. Florida State
Your bus stops here Semilols.

Kansas State vs. Florida
The state of Florida gets its revenge!


FINAL FOUR
Yes, the time has come to choose the college basketball champion. Underline and bolded signifies a victory and spot in the Championship game.

Kansas vs. Florida
                       vs.
San Diego State vs. Ohio State

The Winner of the NCAA Men's College Basketball National Championship is....







OHIO STATE.


I never root for you Ohio State, but i feel like you are the most complete team and destined for greatness. Share your final four, id love to hear others picks!

NBA Predictions for the rest of the season

With roughly a month left in the NBA season, we see a clear picture painted between the contenders and the pretenders. As with any NBA season, there is really only 4-6 contenders that have a real shot at the title.

From the West we have the San Antonio Spurs and the Los Angeles Lakers. The Mavericks would be included but does anybody really expect anything out of Dirk Nowitzki and his motley crew? I certainly dont.

From the East its a little more interesting then it has been. We have the Boston Celtics, the Chicago Bulls, the Orlando Magic, and of course, the Miami Heat.

Simple predictions: Using the current standings, the Heat defeat the New York Knicks, then the Bulls, and then Celtics. Yes, im jumping back on the Heat bandwagon. I really feel like theyve turned it around for the better. Everyone seems to have a better understand of how start and finish a game (looking at you LeButthead). From the West i have Spurs meeting up with the Lakers in the Western Conference finals and beating them in, we'll say, 6 games. The Spurs are a good team, but Lord Kobe shall not be denied his chance at his 6th title.

That leads us to easily the most anticipated championship series in the history of professional sports. Your Miami Heat vs. The evil Los Angeles Lakers. Who do you think wins this? Heat in 5, lock it up?

Anybody else agree with me? Any other predictions? I'd love to hear what you guys have to say.

On this day in Sports

	1960 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) scored a record 53 points. 1962 - Wilt Chamberlain (Philadelphia Warriors) played every minute of a game for the 47th consecutive time. The streak ended during the Warriors' next game. 1967 - The AFL and the NFL held the first common draft. The two leagues merged in 1970. The first player chosen was Bubba Smith, a defensive lineman from Michigan State. 1972 - The Cincinnati Royals of the National Basketball Association announced that the team's franchise would be moved to Kansas City, Missouri at the end of the season. 1992 - Stacey Augmon (Atlanta Hawks) scored the 6,000,000th point in NBA history. 2005 - Major League Baseball gave a congressional committee about 400 pages of documents related to drug testing. It was also reported that Bud Selig would be willing to testify in hearings planned for March 17.

Kind of a slow news day. Today, and in past years. The Heat play the NBA best Spurs tonight though. Should be a great game. Tune into ESPN at 8 PM EST.

Mens College BBall Bracket is Out!!

The most exciting time of the College Basketball year is upon us. The NCAA Men's College Basketball Tournament is set. Sixty-eight teams vying for the National Championship. Doesn't get much better then that! If you're a fan of cinderalla stories, massive upsets, and just quality basketball this event is definitely for you.

The 4 Number 1 seeds are Ohio State (Overall Number 1), Pittsburgh, Kansas, and Duke.  To have a look at the full bracket, go Here.

So who does everyone think is gonna win it all? My heart says the University of Florida, but my brain says University of Kanas. Make sure you guys fill out your bracket! Fantasysports.yahoo.com has a great set up for it, and you can win a million dollars if your super good at it!

Saurday Video Mashup - Sports Edition 1

Gotta keep things fresh, so on Saturdays ill just post some funny or interesting videos involving the world of sports.

Tons of college basketball this weekend. Yea i know its not that interesting, but this is the time of the year to watch it. The big tournament starts in just a few days.

NFL Players Association decertifies, lockout looming

After weeks of mediation, a new collective bargaining deal just could not get done. A lot of disagreements still occur, and it's hard to really say whos really at fault here. DeMaurice Smith (right) and the NFLPA demanded that if Commissioner Roger Goodell (left) and the NFL wanted an extension of the current collective bargaining agreement, they'd have to provide 10 years of financial records from the owners. The owners, who don't even share records with each other, were not going to budge on that demand.

The owners did release a new proposal for discussion today, but it clearly was not enough. The two sides are reportedly billions of dollars apart and are disagreeing on key issues such as a rookie wage scale, retirement benefits, and the length of the regular season. As a result of the NFLPA decertifying, the NFL will most likely try and impose a lockout on the players, disallowing any roster moves or games being played. The only NFL event that will be allowed is the NFL Draft in April, as stipulated by the previous CBA.

Since the NFLPA is dissolved, the battle will be fought in the courtroom as individual players will sue the NFL for violating anti-trust laws. Can't we all just get along?

Sun will shine bright in Miami tommorow

I'll start by apologizing to Chris Bosh. His post play was relatively effective. Had a solid night overall. The win doesnt solve all their problems but winning reduces most problems. The bench had a nice night, mike miller stood out in the first half. There was still 0 center production offensively but the guard production was as good as you can hope for. LeBron and Wade had forgetable nights shooting the ball but had some clutch plays and an awesome drive and finish to close out the game. 

Thats enough Miami Heat talk for now, tmrw ill be focusing in on the NFL lockout or potential for one. Theres 3 outcomes that could happen. 1- The deadline gets extended. 2- A deal is reached. 3- A deal is not reached and the players union decertifies/leads to a lockout. Ill discuss whichever of these happens. Obviously, lets all hope number 2 happens and we all are assured football this fall!

Erik Spoelstra needs to go

LeBron James is not the problem. Dwyane Wade is not the problem. Chris Bosh is a problem but not a team wrecking one. Erik Spoelstra is a problem and a tream wrecking one. He seems way over his head, unsure of how to properly handle this team. The rotation is completely out of whack. The bench is full of potential scorers, and while some of them may be underachieving, they can average more than 7 points a game. James Jones, the all star weekends 3 point champion doesnt even play anymore. Eddie House, another solid long range threat doesnt play anymore since the acquisition of Mike Bibby.

The center position is a complete joke. I know the 3 people getting time arent exactly world beaters, but the production out of them is beyond laughable. The rotation there seems off too, why did big z only get like 2 minutes of playing time? He couldnt have done any worse at stopping Marcus Camby (who can hardly score) and LaMarcus Alrdrige (who lit up the building in the 2nd half). There needs to be a post presence. Thankfully Chris Bosh is coming to the rescue!!! Oh boy, he said how he needed to get the ball more in the post. You're never in the post Bosh, and you play too soft anyway. Chris Bosh playing in the trenches is not gonna bring much of a solution, though im open to you trying prove me wrong. I really hope im wrong.


Next Heat post will follow the Lakers game on Thursday, cant wait!

Warm winter weather not helping the Heat

The Heats recent struggles have been well documented. Last second missed shots run rampant, as does crying, finger pointing and belly-aching. What has happened to the Miami Heat? It seems to be a combo of things, mental and physical.

Miami's bench (Mike Miller, James Jones, the 2 non starting centers, Mike Bibby, etc.) is not getting production equatable to that of a winning team. This can attributed to 2 factors. The first, that they just arent making enough shots. And the second, that they arent TAKING enough shots. It's not uncommon for this teams bench to score under 15 or even 10 points a game. This isn't necessarily terrible when you have LeBron James, Dwyane Wade, and Chris Bosh scoring upwards of 75 points a game. This system would be ok if 4th quarter production didnt flatline. LeBron and Wade both show  restraint in the 4th. And Chris Bosh decides to hit the showers after the 36 minute mark. It's easy for me to sit here and provide solutions for the team, but ill refrain from that today.

The Heat play the Blazers tonight, i want to see a full game effort. Something thats been lacking. Come out strong, and finish the deal in the 2nd half.