Woods Out, Small Trades

Woods and McIlroy Out in Arizona

• Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy (the #2 and #1 players in the world) were ousted in the first round of the Match Play Championship. Only the second time in the history of this tournament neither of the world’s top two players made it into the second round. The tournament, was delayed earlier this week by snow in Arizona (take some time to mull that sentence over).
• Charles Howell III defeated Woods by a skinny margin of 2-1. It was the first time the two players have faced each other in a match play tournament since 1997 when both were amateurs.
• McIlroy was defeated by countryman Shane Lowry, who came back in the back-9. McIlroy, who is still the #1 player in the world, has only played 54 holes of golf so far this season after missing the cut earlier this season, and now losing in the first round of this tournament.

Most Incredible Half-Court Shot

• We don’t do this often, but check out this video.

NBA Trade Deadline Passes Quietly

• The deadline for NBA teams to make a trade during the 2012-13 season passed yesterday afternoon with relatively little action. A few contenders made minor moves, like the Boston Celtics acquiring shooting guard Jordan Crawford from the Washington Wizards and the Thunder receiving Ronnie Brewer from the New York Knicks.
• The two biggest moves were perhaps by the Milwaukee Bucks acquiring JJ Redick from the Orlando Magic (in addition to two other players) for a package of players that will help the Magic with their salary cap. This gives the Bucks a perimeter shooter and defender they desperately need.
• The biggest move was probably the Houston Rockets acquiring a package of players, headlined by #5 pick in the 2012 NBA draft Thomas Robinson from the Sacramento Kings for a package of role players, headlined by Patrick Patterson. Patterson is going to be reunited with Kentucky teammate DeMarcus Cousins, who is the biggest star in Sacramento. The Kings hope the presence of Patterson will help to calm the mercurial Cousins. The Rockets get the 5^th player in the most recent draft, and a good young interior player to help their team continue to improve.