March 30th update

Dodgers sold to L.A. legend

• The LA Dodgers were sold on Wednesday for a mind boggling amount of $2 billion. This is almost 250% more than the previous high for a baseball team (the Cubs were sold in 2009 for just over $800 million) and almost double the previous high paid for any American sports franchise (the $1.1B paid by Stephen Ross for the Miami Dolphins). However, the headline of the purchase may be that one of main owners is former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson.
• The new owners are a group called the Guggenheim Baseball Management Group and made up of Johnson, the CEO of the Mandalay Entertainment Group, the president of the Guggenheim Partners and Stan Kasten, the former president of the Atlanta Braves and Washington Nationals.
• Kasten stands to be the head “baseball” man in the group, but Johnson says he will be deeply involved with the day-to-day operations of the team. He is particularly interested in helping the players develop both on and off the field. Dodgers players on the other hand, are interested in beating their new owner on the court.


Final 4 Preview

• The Final 4 is upon us, and on Saturday the games will commence. Kentucky's fantastic young squad will take on the other big program in the state of Kentucky and their own former coach in Louisville and Rick Pitino. Pitino, who was considered to be a finalist to make it into the basketball hall of fame, apparently will not be inducted this year.
• The second game will feature two #2 seeds in Ohio State and Kansas. Ohio State has endured a bumpy season in basketball and even moreso in football but they could make it a banner year with 2 more wins. Kansas has had 2 assistant coaches take on new head coaching jobs already (although they will stay on for the Final 4) although that's not as damaging as the news Kansas' Elite 8 foe North Carolina heard this week.
• Kentucky is considered the prohibitive favorite to win it all but they still have a tough road ahead. After the games on Saturday, the National Championship game will take place on Monday night.

March 28th update

Wednesday Spotlight: Britney Griner

• The Baylor Bear’s women’s basketball team has been head and shoulders ahead of their competition this year. They entered the tournament 34-0, and have added 4 more wins in the tournament to get to the final four. The star attraction for the Lady Bears has been junior center Britney Griner.
• Griner, the #1 recruit coming out of high school in 2009, chose Baylor to play for in college. Griner became only the 7th woman to dunk in a college basketball game (and this year became only the second to dunk in the NCAA Tournament).
• Griner and the Lady Bears were the odds on favorites to win the championship, but there may be a major bump in the road. In their Elite 8 games Griner and another teammate left the bench during a scuffle on the floor. This is grounds for suspension. The decision should come down in the next few days, and it could change the landscape of the tournament.

Soccer Update

• Lionel Messi last week scored his 233rd career goal for Barcelona (along with 2 others, giving him yet another hat trick). This milestone goal makes Messi the all-time leading scorer for this storied soccer team. The Argentinean who is still only 24 years old has been named the FIFA player of the year the past two seasons, and looks to continue put distance between himself and the previous top of the Barca scoring list.
• The US Men’s soccer team failed to qualify for the 2012 Summer Olympics after tying with El Salvador in an Olympic qualifying tournament. Needing only to kill a few more seconds in order to win and take a step towards qualifying for the Olympics, US goalkeeper Sean Johnson (not to be confused with Shawn Johnson) could not stop a long shot by Jamie Alas near the end of stoppage time. Johnson misplayed the ball and that lead to the goal that caused the tie and as a result, the U.S. men's team will be watching the Olympics from home.

March 26th update

Final Four Set

• The NCAA Men's basketball championship is finally set. The Final Four teams will be traveling to New Orleans this weekend to battle it out for the National Championship. The #1 overall team Kentucky Wildcats overcame a slow start to defeat the Baylor Bears 82-70. Behind likely #1 NBA draft pick Anthony Davis (18 points and 11 rebounds) the Wildcats took what seems like their rightful place in New Orleans.
• The Ohio State Buckeyes defeated the Syracuse Orange 77-70 behind a strong effort from Sophomore forward Jared Sullinger, two days after Aaron Craft led them past Cincinnati. Meanwhile the Kansas Jayhawks took advantage of the point guard-less North Carolina Tar Heels to make their own way to New Orleans. Tar Heel’s star point guard Kendall Marshall, who fractured his wrist against Creighton in the second round, was unable to play this weekend, a crippling blow that the Tar Heels were unable to overcome.
• The final team of the four is the Louisville Cardinals. The Cardinals ended the game on a 23-8 run to defeat the Florida Gators 72-68. Louisville took the lead with 1:46 left in the game for the first time since 7 minutes into the game. The Cardinals are trying to replicate the run that the University of Connecticut took last year, winning the Big East championship and then the National Championship.
• Louisville coach Rick Pitino, pictured above, will now face his former team. the Kentucky Wildcats, whom he won a national championship with.


Eye of the Tiger

• For the first time in almost 3 years, Tiger Woods has a victory on the PGA tour. Woods defeated a full field to win the Arnold Palmer championship on Sunday, the first time he'd been victorious since 2009 at the BMW championship.
• Woods had to hold off a surging Graeme McDowell, but unlike many instances over the past few years, Woods was able to hold onto a lead without any real drama at the end. He finished at -13, 5 strokes ahead of McDowell and 7 strokes ahead of third place finisher Ian Poulter.
• The tournament namesake was unable to be there at the end. Palmer holds the record Woods is chasing, that of the most Major victories, but spent Saturday night in a hospital for observation of a blood pressure issue.


Hawks beat Jazz in 4OT

• The Atlanta Hawks were playing their third game in as many nights on Sunday and when it came time to finish, they seemingly could not bare the thought of stopping, so they kept playing... and playing... and playing. The Hawks ended up beating the Utah Jazz 139-133 behind 37 points from Joe Johnson in the first quadruple overtime game since the Phoenix Suns beat the Portland Trail Blazers 140-139 in 1997.
• Al Jefferson and Paul Millsap both had big games (before they fouled out in the 4th OT) for the tough-luck Jazz who are fighting for a playoff spot and are currently out of the mix.
• Both teams only managed to score 2 points apiece in the first OT but picked it up afterwards.

March 23rd update

Jets Land Tebow

• As discussed on Wednesday morning’s post, the Denver Broncos' signing of Peyton Manning cleared the way for Tim Tebow to leave town. Later on Wednesday, the Broncos made it official by trading him to the New York Jets. The Jets already have a young, relatively unstable, quarterback in Mark Sanchez which makes the trade curious at best.
• The deal hit a snag when the Jets initially refused to pay a $2.5 million clause in Tebow’s contract. The Jets eventually relented and agreed to pay. The Jets are currently planning on figuring out a way to get both Tebow and Sanchez on the field with Tebow playing the “wildcat” position. One developed by Jets offensive coordinator Tony Sporano while he was the head coach of the Miami Dolphins.
• In probably the most hilarious aspect of the story, the man the Jets signed in the offseason to be Sanchez’s backup, Drew Stanton, demanded to be traded from the Jets. He said he was signed with the expectation and promise of being the backup, and with Tebow in his way he wants out.

NCAA Tournament Update

• Two 1-4 matchups ended different ways on Thursday night. Syracuse defeated Wisconsin in a nail biter. After one of Syracuse’s best free throw shooters missed a free throw that would have iced the game giving Wisconsin a chance to win the game. The Badgers missed two shots and fell just short of the Orange. Meanwhile, the Big East champion Louisville Cardinals, defeated the Michigan State Spartans. The Spartans only scored 44 in an ineffective offensive effort that was beset with sloppy play. The Cardinals will move onto the round of 8 for the first time since 2009.
•  Meanwhile, the Ohio State Buckeyes rolled easily to victory over Cincinnati 81-66. Buckeyes star sophomore Jarad Sullinger scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in the victory. While this game was going on, Bradley Beal was leading his Florida Gators to a 68-58 victory over the Marquette Golden Eagles. The Gators are on a cinderella like run trying to get back to the final four for the first time since their back-to-back championships in 2006 and 07. The Gators will next play Louisiville, where head coach Billy Donovan will face off against his mentor Rick Pitino.
• There are four more games tonight. The Xavier Muskateers play the Baylor Bears. The Ohio Bobcats play the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Indiana Hoosiers play the Kentucky Wildcats, and the North Carolina State Wolfpack play the Kansas Jayhawks.

Saints crushed by penalties

• It appears that New Orleans has not been acting so saintly, with a bounty program that paid defensive player in injure opponents being active for the past few years coming to light. With the NFL wanting to ensure player safety even moreso lately, big sanctions were expected and now the hammer has been dropped.
• Coach Sean Payton will be suspended for the whole 2012 season, GM Mickey Loomis will be suspended for half the season, Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams will be suspended indefinitely (He's now with the Rams) the Saints will forfeit second round picks in 2012 and 2013 and there are still rumors that individual defensive players (Such am Jonathan Vilma, who offered $10k out of his own pocket to anyone who injured Brett Favre in the 2000 NFC championship game) may face sanctions as well.
• The Saints are looking to pick up the pieces and are scrambling to find a coach for the season. Former Rams coach and Giants Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo is one of the first names to be aired as a candidate.

March 21st update

Peyton Makes a Decision

• The Peyton Manning sweepstakes ended on Tuesday when he decided to sign a 5-year $96 million deal with the Denver Broncos to become the highest paid player in the NFL by annual salary. Manning, the most sought after free agent on the market, was released by the Indianapolis Colts two weeks ago so they could avoid paying him a $20 million bonus.
• The Broncos emerged as a leader for Manning over the weekend. Manning will go to a team with a stout defense and a strong running game that went to the second round of the playoffs last year with a quarterback who is not as talented as Manning.
• The addition of Manning to the Broncos makes last year’s starter Tim Tebow expendable. There is a bit of controversy, as Tebow was riding an incredible wave of fan support for his incredible success either real or perceived, after taking over the starting job last season. Rumors are currently swirling about what the Broncos will do with Tebow. There are many teams who could use him, especially the Jacksonville Jaguars, whose fan base is closely linked to Tebow's Florida Gators and who would come out in droves to watch him play.


Big Injury in NCAA Tournament

• Before the tournament started, the most famous wrist in the tournament was of UNC’s forward John Henson. Henson, who injured it against N.C. State in the ACC tournament, returned to play against Creighton in North Carolina's second game of the NCAA tournament and UNC fans breathed a sigh of release.
• Unfortunately, later in the same game of Henson’s return, irreplaceable point guard Kendall Marshall was fouled hard on a drive and landed hard on his right wrist. (Marshall is left handed). Similar to the Henson injury, Marshall played for a while after incurring the injury, but was in noticeable pain as the game neared its end.
• Undergoing emergency surgery on Monday, Marshall has not been ruled out of UNC’s next game, against the Ohio Bobcats on Friday. There is a chance the wrist heals to a point where Marshall can play. UNC Coach Roy Williams has said the team is preparing for the weekend game(s) with the assumption Marshall will not play.

March 19th update

Here at Sportico we are unabashed March Madness Maniacs. During the regular season we treat college basketball like just another sport, but during the tournament (especially the epic first weekend) we treat it like it's the only sport. So with that in mind prepare for our mega-recap of the best of the first 52 games.

2012: The Year of the 15 seed.

• While no 16 seed has ever beaten a 1 seed, coming into this year there had been 4 15 seeds to advance, including Iowa State losing to Hampton after Iowa State PG Jamaal Tinsley barely missed a layup at the buzzer in 2001 and Steve Nash taking his Santa Clara team past Arizona in 1993 (The citizens of Arizona have since come to appreciate Nash).
• That number increased by 50% on Friday as Norfolk State defeated Missouri and Lehigh downed Duke in two of the most shocking tourney upsets this decade. Lehigh's C.J. McCollum took advantage of a subpar Duke defense and could not be stopped, scoring 30 points and Kyle O'Quinn of Norfolk State dominated an agile but small Missouri team for 26 points and 14 rebounds.
• Neither team advanced again, as Norfolk State was obliterated by Florida and Lehigh led for a decent amount of the game but ran out of steam towards the end against a seasoned Xavier squad. While they'll be watching from home for the rest of the tournament, both teams should feel great about their weekends and the history books will reflect as much.


Best of the Rest

• If you thought this year's field was all about 15 seeds, you'd be sorely mistaken. #11 seed NC State made up for ACC brethren Duke's collapse, upsetting #6 San Diego State and #3 seed Georgetown to make the Sweet 16 where they will play Kansas. On the other side of that regional, #13 Ohio beat Michigan and South Florida to become the lowest seed to advance to the Sweet 16 in 6 years. They will play North Carolina next, whose star PG suffered a wrist fracture in their win over Creighton on Sunday. If North Carolina and NC State both win, it would set up an Elite 8 matchup between the in-state "rivals."
• There werent any other upsets really, as very few lower seeds advanced to the Sweet 16. #12 VCU who had a miracle run to make the Final Four last year came tantalizingly close to reaching the second weekend again, losing their second game to Indiana 63-61 on a putback jumper with just seconds left. #6 Cincinnati beat #3 Florida State to become the 4th team from the state of Ohio to make the field of 16 (along with Ohio State, Xavier and Ohio University) and since Cincy plays Ohio State next, there will be definitely be at least one of the teams remaining in the Elite 8. Elsewhere, #1 seeds Syracuse and Kentucky won easily while Michigan State squeaked out a win against St. Louis. The tournament will continue this Thursday with 4 games, followed by 4 more on Friday.

March 16th update

First full day of NCAA relatively tame

• The first full day of the NCAA tournament was exciting, but not as thrilling as the tournament has been in the past, with only a couple upsets. The most notable result was #12 seed VCU downing #5 seed Wichita State 62-59, but even that one wasn't too shocking given that VCU went to the the Final Four just last season as an 11 seed. Bradford Burgess, who sent the Rams to the Elite 8 last year with his last second shot to beat Florida State, was the hero again, making a late 3 that proved to be the final margin.
• The most controversial game of the day was Syracuse's tainted victory over lowly UNC-Asheville. Syracuse, a 1 seed, was expected to destroy Asheville but was instead in a dogfight, leading by only 2-3 points for much of the final few minutes. What made it even worse is that Syracuse seemed to benefit from some awful officiating calls, including a phantom goaltending call, a lane violation that gave the Orange 2 points, and an out of bounds call against UNC-A when none of their players was remotely close to touching the ball. Without those plays, UNC-A, may have become the first 16 ever to defeat a 1 seed. The road doesn't get any easier for Syracuse who is without Fab Melo, one of their best players, who was suspended for the tournament due to academic reasons.
• 16 more games take place today so get ready for more action!


NBA trade deadline passes with flurry

• There was lots of movement at the trade deadline, although Dwight Howard (who will be with the Magic for another year and a half because he signed a waiver saying that he would choose not to become a free agent this summer), Steve Nash and others are still on their old teams.
• Monta Ellis, one of the top scorers in the NBA was traded to the Milwaukee Bucks for former #1 overall pick Andrew Bogut, who has been hurt for most of the year.
• Brazilians were on the move as big man Nene was dealt to the Washington Wizards in a 3 team deal that brought the physical but error-prone Javale McGee to the Denver Nuggets and lightning quick Leandro Barbosa was traded from the Toronto Raptors to the Indiana Pacers.
• The Portland Trail Blazers, who lost to the Knicks by 42 Wednesday night, are giving up on this season seemingly, trading starting Center Marcus Camby to the Rockets and starting Small Forward Gerald Wallace to the Nets for draft picks and young players. The Blazers also waived disappointing former #1 overall pick Greg Oden who is injured again and has only played a total of 82 games in the 4 1/2 years he's been in the NBA.
• Derek Fisher's second Lakers stint ended, as he was dealt to the Cavaliers with Luke Walton and Jason Kapono for Ramon Sessions and Christian Eyenga.


NFL Free Agency begins

• The NFL offseason has begun and lots of players have new homes already (although Peyton Manning isn't one of them yet).
• The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have made the biggest splash so far, signing the best WR (Vincent Jackson) the best offensive lineman (Carl Nicks) and arguably the best CB (Eric Wright) available to long term contracts that were not cheap.
• Former #1 overall pick Mario Williams left the Houston Texans for the Buffalo Bills, CB Cortland Finnegan left the Titans for the St. Louis Rams and RB Peyton Hillis signed with the Kansas City Chiefs where he is expected to form a deadly 1-2 punch with Jamaal Charles.
• Lots of other players, including Drew Brees, Ray Rice, DeSean Jackson, Wes Welker, Matt Forte, Dwayne Bowe and Reggie Wayne will return to their previous teams.

March 14th update

NCAA Preview - Midwest Region

• This region features the 3rd overall #1 seed in the North Carolina Tar Heels. The Heels, the ACC regular season champions, look to make the Final Four for the first time since winning the National Championship in 2009. The Kansas Jayhawks, who the Heels lost to in 2008, are the #2 seed, the Georgetown Hoyas are the #3 seed and the Michigan Wolverines round out the top 4.
• This region features two “first round games” (or as more commonly referred to as “play in games”). The head coach of the Lamar Cardinals (who play the Vermont Catamounts in the first round) is the son of former Indiana and Texas Tech coach Bobby Knight. Pat Knight, was an assistant under his father, and is now making his own way.
• The Baylor Bears who started the season strongly, faltered down the stretch and ended up as the #3 seed in the Midwest. They are lead by future NBA player Perry Jones whose decision to attend Baylor lead their men's basketball team back to prominence.


NCAA Preview - East Region

• The East Region is headlined by the 2nd overall #1 seed, the Syracuse Orange. The Ohio State Buckeyes are the second team in the region, followed by the ACC tournament Champion Florida State Seminoles and the Wisconsin Badgers out of the Big 10.
• The East region is home to the “nerd bowl” when the #5 Vanderbilt Commodores take on the #12 Harvard Crimson. Harvard made the tournament for the first time in almost 70 years, will play one of the few schools who can compete with them in the SAT department as well as on the basketball court.
• In the past day, news broke that should change the landscape of this region, and possibly the NCAA tournament as a whole. Syracuse center, Fab Melo, has been declared ineligible for the rest of the season. Melo’s absence should hurt the Orange as they rely heavily on a big man to clog the center of the defensive end of the court. Melo, who missed a couple games earlier in the year due to eligibility questions, has played in 31 of the 33 games the Orange played this season and should be greatly missed in the tournament.

March 12th update

Conference Tournament Recap

The final pieces of the pre-NCAA tournament were put into place as the last four conference tournaments concluded on Sunday.

• Vanderbilt used a late 17-2 run to stun #1 Kentucky, a team that had only lost one game all season long (on a last second buzzer beater, no less)
• Florida State defeated North Carolina the opposite way, jumping out to a big early lead of nearly 20 points and then withstanding a late Tar Heel rally. North Carolina was without the ACC's defensive player of the year John Henson who should be back for the NCAA tournament.
• Michigan State got a huge game out of guard Brandon Wood who scored 21 points to lead the Spartans to a Big Ten championship in a game that was a de facto play-in game for a #1 seed (more on that below).
• St. Bonaventure beat Xavier handily in a shocking result for the only non-power conference game of the day. An interesting side note was that the tournament committee was prepared to vote on the final team to be inlcuded in the field had Xavier won. But since St. Bonaventure won and automatically qualified for the tournament, the vote was cancelled. Xavier made the field anyway, but St. Bonaventure would not have made the field had they lost.

Today's Sportico will preview one half of the NCAA Tournament. Check Wednesday's update for the other two regions.

NCAA Tournament Preview (South Region)

• The home to the #1 overall team, the Kentucky Wildcats, the South region looks to be the Wildcats' for the taking. The Duke Blue Devils, Baylor Bears and Indiana Hoosiers round out the top 4 in the bracket. This region will go through Atlanta.
• The 5-12 game may be the most interesting of all the first round games in the bracket in which the Wichita State Shockers take on the VCU Rams. The Rams, who made the Final Four last year, only made this year’s field after a miraculous run through the CAA tournament, winning their conference’s championship. The Shockers lost two of their first four games, but then went a 25-3 run to end the season. Wichita State was ranked #19 at the end of the season.
• The #9 team in this region is last year’s NCAA champion, the University of Connecticut Huskies. They will face the Iowa State Cyclones in the first round of the tournament.

NCAA Tournament Preview (West Region)

• This region features the 4^th #1 seed in the Michigan State Spartans. They face tough potential challenges from the Missouri Tigers (the #2 seed) and the Marquette Golden Eagles (the #3 seed). This region will go through Phoenix.
• #5 University of New Mexico will face one of the toughest 1^st round challenges of a high ranked team when they take on Long Beach State. The 49ers played an absolutely brutal schedule including wins over #9 Pittsburgh and #15 Xavier. Long Beach State’s tough schedule could give the team the necessary experience to pull an upset.
• #10 UVA made the tournament for only the second time since 2002. The Cavaliers, led by coach Tony Bennett, have made an impressive turnaround from a team that was in the basement of the ACC for quite a few years.

March 9th update

More Controversy Springs up at Auburn

• The FBI is currently investigating an Auburn basketball player for potential point shaving. Point shaving is when a player purposely plays poorly in order to influence the gambling outcome of the game. Many times players get paid by bookies or other gambling agents to help them make money.
• Auburn Point Guard Varaz Ward has been suspended since February 25th. The investigation centers around losses the Tigers suffered on January 25th and February 7th. Guard Chris Denson was also suspended for a game but was later cleared of involvement.
• Ward has not commented on these allegations yet, and this story is continuing to develop. Last year Auburn QB Cam Newton was accused of being paid to play at Auburn, although no evidence was ever found to confirm the reports. Also, a crazed Alabama fan poisoned the trees at Auburn that serve as a symbol of the university.


Small Schools going dancing

• This coming Sunday is “Selection Sunday” where the NCAA’s selection committee will choose the field for this year’s NCAA basketball tournament. While 41 of the 68 slots will go to “At-Large” teams, the remainder go to “Automatic Qualifiers” these are the champions of the 27 conferences recognized by the NCAA. For many of these conferences, their champion will be their only representative to the tournament.
• Harvard (fresh of the success of their most famous basketball alumni Jeremy Lin) made the tournament for the first time in almost 70 years by winning the Ivy League. Virginia Commonwealth University upset the Colonial Athletic Conference by winning the tournament and setting up a potential run to the final four as they did two years ago.
• Davidson is going to the tournament for the first time since Stephen Curry lead the Wildcats to Elite Eight in 2008. Saint Mary’s won the West Coast Conference, and are probably the most likely of the small conference teams to go far in the tournament, unless you include Murray State, who has only lost one game all season and is likely to garner a top 4 seed, into that group.

March 7th Update

Saints leaders take blame for scandal

• New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton and general manager Mickey Loomis apologized and took the blame for violations that happened under their watch, referring to Defensive Coordinator Gregg Williams' "bounty" system that rewarded players for knocking opposing competitors out of games.
  
• LB Jonathan Vilma even claimed that he had offered $10,000 out of his own pocket to have Brett Favre knocked out of the 2009 NFC Championship game. This ended up happening (pictured) as the Saints were able to force Favre to the sidelines part of the way through their game after a painful looking hit. Other players, like the Chiefs' Eric Berry, have wondered if other teams had bounties on them.
  
• While there is no precedent for what kind of penalties will be enacted, one can only imagine that the NFL's hard line stance on player safety in recent seasons will only make them want to make an example out of the Saints in this situation.

Peyton Manning to be released by Colts

• The Indianapolis Colts are set to part ways with one of the best players in their history, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen. Quarterback Peyton Manning, who has been on the team since 1998, was set to make a $28 million bonus if he was on the roster on Thursday at 4PM. The Colts decided to release Manning instead of paying him this massive bonus
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• Manning, who missed this last season due to a neck injury, had played every other game since he was the number one pick in the 1998 NFL Draft. After 2 neck surgeries in the last off-season, Manning was unable to play this past year. However, in the past few days a very grainy picture has "leaked" of Manning working out and looking pretty good.
  
• With Manning out, the Colts stumbled to a 2-14 record which gets them the #1 overall Draft pick in this year’s NFL Draft. They are widely expected to select Stanford QB Andrew Luck, who many have called the best college quarterback prospect since Manning. Luck is expected to be ready to play for the Colts on Day 1, so the need to keep Manning on the roster is non-existent.

March 5th Update

Monster day for East PG's

• Deron Williams set an all-time New Jersey Nets record on Sunday, scoring 57 points in a surprisingly close 104-101 win over the hapless Charlotte Bobcats. Williams, who also had 6 rebounds and 7 assists to go with his scoring outburst, shot a perfect 21-21 from the free throw line, missing the all-time NBA record for free throws made without missing one by 2. (23 by Dominique Wilkins in 1992). The Nets were actually losing for a good portion of the game but when Williams realized no one else was going to win the game for them, he decided to do it himself. Charlotte is now an abysmal 4-31.
• While Williams led his team to victory by scoring, Boston Celtics PG Rajon Rondo had one of the most impressive triple doubles of all-time, putting up a mind-boggling line of 18 points, 17 rebounds and 20 assists in a 115-111 win over the New York Knicks. The 17 rebounds were a career high and Rondo became just the third person ever to record more than 15/15/20 (PTS/REB/ASSTS) with the other two being Oscar Robertson and Wilt Chamberlain back in the 1960's.
• By comparison, Ty Lawson's near triple double (22 points, 9 rebounds and 11 assists), Derrick Rose's 35 points and 8 assists and Chris Paul's 28 points and 10 assists are not even in the same neighborhood but they do deserve an honorable mention as solid performances, all in winning efforts.


Rory proving he belongs

• Rory McIlroy held off a charging Tiger Woods to win the Honda Classic. Woods, who finished tied for second, shot a 62 which was the lowest final round score in his career, but it wasn’t enough. McIlroy, knowing Woods was closing in on him, was able to eek out a number of clutch shots to give himself a two stroke victory.
• McIlroy’s victory catapults him passed Luke Donald to become #1 in the world. He is the second youngest person in the world to be #1 (behind Woods). McIlroy's ascension seems like the next logical thing as the young Irishman has taken the world by storm since winning the US Open last year.


ACC’s big 2 get a new competitor

• For years UNC and Duke have passed the ACC crown between one another. This year has been partially the same, as UNC finished the regular season #1 and Duke #2, except it seems like there is a newcomer who can play. Florida State defeated UNC by a boatload at home, and then beat Duke on a last second shot a few days later. All this being said, UNC and Duke (both top 10 teams) are still the class of the ACC and represent the conference’s best chance of winning a National Championship.
• Duke (ranked #4 last week) has been playing very well this year. Lead by a trio of NBA progeny (Austin Rivers, Seth Curry and Andre Dawkins) as well as a trio of brothers (Miles, Mason and Marshal Plumlee), the Blue Devils were 26-4 and 13-3 in the ACC coming into this weekend including a last second victory over the Tar Heels in February.
• UNC, lead by Forwards Tyler Zeller, John Henson and Harrison Barnes, (ranked 7 in the country last week) came into the weekend 26-4 and 14-2 in the ACC including the last second loss to the Blue Devils and the beat down to FSU. This weekend, however, the Tar Heels went into Cameron Indoor Stadium and destroyed the Blue Devils. An 18-point beat down avenged the heart breaking loss and gave them the regular season ACC Championship.

March 2nd update

Kentucky Beast of the South East (Conference)

• The 29-1 Wildcats have torn through the competition this season and are looking to continue their domination deep into March Madness. The lone blemish on their record was an early season one-point loss to Indiana on a last second 3 pointer. Kentucky has all but wrapped up a #1 seed at the top of the NCAA tournament. Led by freshman stud Anthony Davis, (and his impressive uni-brow, pictured above) and Michael-Kidd Gilchrist (who's said he will graduate from Kentucky despite being good enough to leave after this, his freshman year) the Wildcats look to be the odds on favorites to win the NCAA championship.
• The Florida Gators and Vanderbilt Commodores are 2 and 3 in the conference respectively but they are truly playing second fiddle to the Wildcats.
• The Alabama Crimson Tide and Tennessee Volunteers also seem to be good bets to make it to the Big Dance but after these five teams the conference quickly fades to mediocrity.


Big 10 Top Heavy with a few title contenders

• The top of the Big 10 has two powerhouse teams who are looking to cut down the nets in early April. The Michigan State Spartans, led by senior forward Draymond Green, are 24-6 and 13-4 in conference. The Ohio State Buckeyes who have been more balanced than people thought they would be, despite having superstar forward Jared Sullinger. Both have both been ranked in the top 5 this year, and are currently both ranked in the top 12.
• The Big 10 is deep with four other teams that should have no trouble making the tournament. The Michigan Wolverines, Wisconsin Badgers, Indiana Hoosiers and Purdue Boilermakers should all be playing in a few weeks.
• Sullinger and to a lesser extent Green should be high picks in the upcoming NBA draft, and their teams will be amongst the short list of teams that have a chance of making the Final Four. Both teams are flawed however and are not atop the list of favorites to be champions this year.


NBA Trade Deadline approaching

• With the NBA deadline only a couple weeks away (March 15) teams are looking harder to see if they should be adding pieces, cutting payroll or staying pat. Here are a few names making news:

- Steve Nash. Despite putting up numbers similar to the 2 seasons he won the NBA MVP, Steve Nash's Suns don't seem to be a playoff team and he'll be a free agent next season. So why not trade him? The issue is that Nash has been the heart and soul of the Suns for years now and has gained such a following in the Phoenix community that most fans (and seemingly the team as well) would rather forgo the value he might return in young talent and see the greatest Sun (and possibly the best PG in NBA history) retire with the team. The Suns have said they will accomodate a trade request if Nash asks, but he's said he wants to finish what he started with Phoenix as well.

- Rajon Rondo. The Celtics PG, known for his ability to get his teammates involved as well as his terrific defensive pressure is said to be at odds with coach Doc Rivers. The Celtics are said to be entertaining offers but a trade of Rondo would probably have to bring back equal or greater value for them to pull the trigger.

- Pau Gasol. Similar to Rondo, it would take a lot to deal him, and the Lakers have never publicly said they'd deal the talented 7 footer. They're starting to round into form after a slow start and Kobe Bryant has even publicly asked the team not to deal him.

- Monta Ellis. The #7 scorer in the NBA has been floundering with a mediocre Golden State team for years, wasting a ton of points. However, it's been said that the Orlando Magic would love to pick up the scoring PG/SG in an effort to give Dwight Howard a reason to re-sign with Orlando this summer. The issue is that Orlando doesn't have much else to offer.

- Raymond Felton. Now with the Trail Blazers, Felton has seen his production severely drop off as he's only putting up 10 points and 6 assists per game. A team like the Lakers or 76ers could use him but he wouldn't provide a big upgrade given his current production.