All overtime all the time!

Overflowing with Overtime (NCAA version)

- Saturday night’s Louisville v Notre Dame game provided the fans in attendance something extra, in this case it was an extra 25 minutes of basketball. #25 Notre Dame defeated #11 Louisville in quintuple overtime 104 – 101. The extra periods marked an extra 63% of basketball. Eric Atkins, Notre Dame’s junior guard, played 60 minutes, which is the same as a game and a half. This game set the record for longest regulation game in the history of the Big East (only passed by Syracuse’s 6 overtime victory over UConn in the 2009 Big East tournament).
- Louisville had many opportunities to win the game, including shots at the end of many of the overtime periods which they could not capitalized. With the game tied at 100 in the 5th overtime Atkins scored on a layup, and then made a free throw to give Notre Dame a 103-100 lead, one they would not relinquish.
Chane Behanan of Louisville led all scorers with 30. While three Cardinals scored 20 or more points, none of Notre Dame’s players broke that barrier. However, 6 Irish players scored double figures and created enough offense for the exhausting statement victory.

Overflowing with Overtime (NBA version)

- Not to be outdone, the NBA had their own neverending game, this one the nationally televised contest the day after Notre Dame's win between the Boston Celtics and Denver Nuggets.  Boston had a massive triple double from Paul Pierce who had 27 points, 14 rebounds and 14 assists, 20 points and 18 rebounds from Kevin Garnett and also 26 points off the bench from Jason Terry in 118-114 win.  It was a fitting end given that neither team had lost in quite some time.  Denver came into the game riding a nine game streak and a streak of 10 straight games with 100+ points. 
- The Nuggets led at the end of OT #2 by 3 but Pierce made a game tying 3 pointer and could not contain Boston in the 3rd OT.
- Boston has now won 7 in a row, which is amazing given that they've all been after superstar PG Rajon Rondo went down for the season with an ACL injury.
- Denver is 22-3 at home but only 11-16 on the road yet nearly defeated the Celtics in Boston.
 - Despite Garnett's 18 rebounds, Denver, the #1 rebounding team in the NBA, beat Boston on the boards 65-51. 
- Both Notre Dame and Boston's logos are related to Irish culture.

Indiana loses, Hernandez gets paid

#1 Falls Again

- For the fifth straight week, the #1 basketball team in the country has lost. It started when #1 Duke lost to NC State. The next week, new #1 Louisville lost to Syracuse. Duke returned to the #1 spot only to get embarrassed by Miami (who is quietly the only major conference team who's undefeated in conference play). In all three cases, #1 lost to a top 25 team in their own right.
- Last weekend, the new #1 Michigan (#1 for the first time since 1993) took on #3 Indiana. The Hoosiers knew, that because #2 Kansas had lost earlier in the day, if they defeated Michigan they would be #1 in the land. Indiana got out to a big lead early and although Michigan was able to mount a comeback, they never made it all the way back and Indiana, lead by guard Victor Oladipo, was able to defeat the Wolverines.
- Last night, DJ Richardson led Illinois to a shocking victory over Indiana. Illinois, previously unranked, hit a last second layup to take a 74-72 lead that Indiana was unable to recover from. For the 6th straight week, there will be a new #1in college basketball. #2 in the country Florida lost to Arkansas on Tuesday, so #1 may go back to Michigan who defeated Ohio State on Tuesday, but had to go to overtime.


King Felix earns expensive crown

- "King" Felix Hernandez is now the highest paid pitcher in baseball history.  The 26 year old Mariners ace, who threw a perfect game last year and was widely rumored to be traded by the struggling team, signed a massive 5 year, $135.5 million extension Thursday night. 
- It was initially reported to be a new 7 year, $175 million deal, but it's instead an extension that will begin in 2015.  Hernandez will be paid an average salary of over 27 million, the highest for any pitcher besides Roger Clemens 1 year, pro-rated deal in 2007.
- In 2012, Hernandez went 13-9 (but would have done better if not for the Mariners abysmal offense) with 223 strikeouts and a 3.06 ERA.  He also threw an incredible 5 complete game shutouts including a perfect game against the Rays which was even more impressive when you consider that the Rays were in a stretch of winning 12 out of 14 games.
- The deal is great news for other soon-to-be free agent aces like David Price, Justin Verlander and Clayton Kershaw, all of whom may attempt to garner north of $200 million in their next contracts.

Rockets set mark, Caltech halts futility

- Rockets tie NBA record in win
- The Houston Rockets aren't known as a dominant offensive team but if they have many more games like they did on Tuesday night, that may change.  Houston tied an NBA record and set an all time record for their franchise by making 23 3-pointers in a 140-109 win against the Golden State Warriors.
- Jeremy Lin made a career high five 3-pointers, and Chandler Parsons and James Harden hit four apiece as the Rockets tied the season-high point total for the the entire NBA even though this game did not go to overtime (it tied the mark from a game that did go to OT). They also tied an NBA record with 14 3-pointers in the first half and gave out a ridiculous 35 assists total.
- The most amazing part of this feat is that the Rockets did all this without Carlos Delfino, who is statistically their best 3 point shooter (he missed the game with a right elbow injury).
- After the mark was tied, the crowd got in on the action, shouting, "One more 3," but Houston was unable to break the tie.


Caltech wins a baseball game!

- Caltech, which bills itself as the academic home of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had a great day Saturday on the baseball field. The baseball Beavers beat Pacifica College 9-7.  While this may not seem like a particularly noteworthy game it's amazing simply because Caltech won.  It was their first victory in 10 years.
- The school is to sports what Wile E. Coyote is to catching roadrunners, as the D3 Beavers just ended a 310-game conference basketball losing streak in 2011 and the women’s volleyball program ended a 56-match losing streak last year.  And while the win was something for the baseball team, it was out of conference, meaning they still haven't won a conference game in a mere 463 tries.

Ravens Win Blacked Out Super Bowl 34-31

Ravens Win Super Bowl

- Joe Flacco completed his run of spotless play in this year's playoffs throwing for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns, while completing two-thirds of his throws. Flacco was aided by wide receiver Jacoby Jones who caught a 56-yard touchdown pass and then opened the third quarter with a 108-yard kick-off reception.
- Perhaps the biggest story of the game was a 34-minute partial power outage at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans. Early in the third quarter, with the 49ers facing a tough situation (down 28-6, with 3rd and 13), more than half the lights in the indoor stadium went out. After the outage, the 49ers tried to do what they did against Atlanta in the NFC championship game, come back from a large deficit. 17 straight points very quickly in the third quarter put the 49ers within 5.
- The Ravens kicked a field goal early in the fourth quarter to go up 8 points, 31-23. With about 10 minutes to go in the game 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick scored on a 15-yard touchdown run. However, a heavy blitz on the 2-point conversion attempt forced Kaepernick to overthrow Randy Moss, keeping it a 2-point game. With 12 seconds left and a 5 point lead, Baltimore faced a 4th down from deep in their territory but instead of punting, they told their punter to waste time before taking a safety.  He was able to waste 8 seconds before they 49ers realized what was going on and with only enough time for a kickoff return left, Super Bowl XLVII went to Baltimore.  *Note* There's an NFL rule that states that a team can call for a fair catch on a kicked ball and then attempt a field goal with no defenders, even if there's no time left on the clock.  Unfortunately for the 49ers, they were much too far away to use that rule to their advantage.
- Flacco (who finished the playoffs with 11 TD passes and 0 interceptions) won the MVP award, though many believed Jones deserved it just as much. The 49ers were led by running back Frank Gore who had 119 yards on 19 carries, and the combo of Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis who combined for 11 catches and 213 yards receiving.
- The game marked the final game of Ray Lewis's career, and possibly Randy Moss's, both of which are amongst the greatest players in NFL history.  Despite being on the two best offenses of all-time, Moss has still never won a Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVII

Overall Storylines for the Superbowl

- In case you haven't heard, the Super Bowl is coming up on Sunday, so we've separated today's edition into multiple Super Bowl related posts.  The biggest non-game related storyline leading up to the Super Bowl is the two head coaches who are brothers. Older brother, John Harbaugh coaches the Baltimore Ravens, his brother Jim (15 months younger) coaches the 49ers. This will be the second time in history that two brothers have coached against each other, the first being when the Harbaughs faced each other last year on Thanksgiving when the Ravens won 16-6. Their father Jack was a college head coach, and football has been in their life from the time they were little. Jim was a near Pro Bowl caliber quarterback for a number of NFL teams, while John has been a coach since the mid-80s, and the head coach of the Ravens since 2008.
- This will be the last game for Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Lewis will go down as arguably the greatest linebacker in the history of the NFL. His legacy will include that, at least one Super Bowl (in 2000) but will also include his involvement in a murder soon after that game and steroid allegations over the past few days after his incredibly fast return from torn triceps. Lewis will always been a leader, but will potentially be remembered for emotional leadership and his signature dance.  Strangely enough, Lewis's first ever sack in the NFL was against Jim Harbaugh when he was QB of the Colts.
- New Orleans will host the Super Bowl for the 10th time, in the Superdome for the 7th time. This is the first Super Bowl in New Orleans since 2002, and the first time since the Superdome became a refuge during Hurricane Katrina. It may also be an outlet for frustrated Saints fans to take vengeance on commissioner Roger Goodell, whose cutthroat suspensions probably cost the Saints a more successful season than their 7-9 2012 campaign.


49ers Kaepernick-ing into Super Bowl

- A week 10 concussion to starting quarterback Alex Smith, who led the NFL is completion percentage at the time probably looked bad on the surface for the 49ers, but it seems to have given them the offensive spark they needed to make the Super Bowl this season by opening the path for phenom Colin Kaepernick to take over the job.
- Kaepernick has made waves not only with his superb play both running and passing the ball but also with the internet sensation "Kaepernicking" which is essentially just kissing your bicep (his celebration after a score).  Other Kaepernick facts include the fact that he already owns the NFL's single game rushing record for a QB (set just weeks ago against Green Bay in the playoffs) and he owns a giant pet tortoise.
- In addition to their star QB, San Francisco has a great veteran RB in Frank Gore and are led by a stout defense, the best linebacker in the league (Patrick Willis) and a player that many think has been ever better than him over the past year or two in Navarro Bowman as well as a fearsome combo of defensive linemen.  The 49ers hard hitting defense will likely be the reason the they win the Lombardi Trophy if they do so.


Flacco’s rise lead Ravens to the Super Bowl

- Much beguiled Baltimore Ravens quarterback has had a breakthrough postseason, potentially making millions as he becomes a free agent after the Super Bowl.  While he can technically sign with any team, he'll probably be hard-pressed to leave a Ravens team who he's going to the Super Bowl with and who badly wants him back.
- It will be very interesting if Flacco returns to the Super Bowl next year though, as he'd made waves by calling it "retarded" that the Super Bowl would be played in New Jersey next winter.  The Super Bowl has always been played either in a warm city or inside in a dome.  The stadium in NJ is outdoors and will likely feature a game that's in the 30's or 40's.  Flacco has apologized for using the word retarded but stands by his comments blasting the NFL for a cold-weather Super Bowl.
- No commentary on the Ravens would be complete without mentioning Ray Lewis, whose final game will be this Super Bowl, but since so much coverage has surrounded him, we'll also mention that fellow Hall of Fame lock, Ed Reed, may also be playing his last game as a Raven.  Many experts believe that Reed, not Lewis, has been the most integral part of the Ravens defense since he was drafted and if Baltimore wins, Reed will probably need to have a great game.
- Additionally, running back Ray Rice, conserved during the regular season, looks to cement his position amongst the greatest running backs in the NFL with a Super Bowl Championship.