April 2K9

Recent Happenings:

1. The North Carolina Tar Heels won the NCAA National Championship against the Michigan State Spartans
   
2. The UConn Women's team won the National Championship with a perfect season and tourney (39-0) beating Louisville
   
3. Major League baseball began this week and the Marlins and Rangers are both surprise undefeated teams
4. In the NFL, the Bears traded for Jay Cutler and sent Orton and two draft picks to Denver.
   

Occurring Now:

1. Tiger is making his comeback at the Masters
   
2. NBA playoff seeding, The reguar season ends the 15th of April
   
3. 4 teams in the NHL battling it out for the West #7 and #8 slots. (Ducks, Blues, Thrashers, and Wild). The East is set and the regular season ends April 12th.
4. The current English Premier League Standings: Manchester United #1, Liverpool #2, Chelsea #3, Arsenal #4
   

In the Next Little While:

1. Sunday, April 12th, 3:30pmET Cavs vs. Celtics in what could potentially be the East title series match-up this season
   
2. Monday, April 13th, The Yankees-Rays series starts.
   
3. The WNBA season starts May 21st.

1. Watch NHL this weekend, it is one of the most exciting playoff races in recent years:
   

Nashville Thrashers vs. Minn Wild at 8ET 4/10/09
Blues vs. Blue Jackets 8:30ET 4/10/09
Stars vs. Ducks 10:00ET 4/10/09
Blues vs. Avalanche 5:00ET 4/12/09

March Round-Up

March Madness

NCAA- The Elite 8 match-ups are upon us and the teams left will make for some marquee games. Of the teams left, none can be considered "True Cinderellas". The teams that have made it this far are the teams that saw success throughout the season in the tougher conferences. Look for tomorrow's match-up between UNC and Oklahoma to be one for the ages on March 29th (5:05pm ET) with Missouri embarrassing Memphis during the Sweet 16.


NCAAW- The Women's tourney has been different than in previous years due to the scheduling of games. The NCAA went back to the 16 site format vs. previous years 8 site format. Because traditionally attendance to the games in the first few rounds have been particularly low, the association decided to name locations based on proximity of teams that qualified for the tourney for the first 2 rounds in hopes to get more people in seats at the games. Crowd attendance has increased as hoped, but teams closest to the location are getting the advantage having the games held in their home state. Needless to say, there have been some games where a team will have the majority of the fans in the stands while other teams are at a disadvantage playing in a hostile environment. Because of the additional home court aid to some teams, there have been some major upsets. #9 Michigan State beat #1 Duke in Lansing, Michigan during round 2 action. #7 Rutgers upset #2 Auburn in Piscataway NJ in the second round. Also, Oklahoma now has home court advantage up through the Final Four.

Check the bracket here for upcoming match-ups.

NIT- There are four teams left in the very competitive NIT Tourney. On March 31st the NIT semifinals will be held with #1 San Diego St. playing #3 Baylor and #2Notre Dame playing #2 Penn State. For a Wikipedia history of the NIT tourney click here.

World baseball Classic
Japan took home the championship in an extra-inning thriller vs. Cuba. The U.S. team was knocked out by Japan in the previous round semi-finals match. This is the second championship classic for the Japanese.
NBA
Teams are currently jockeying for playoff positioning. The Eastern Conference 8 teams are all but set except for the 8th seed Detroit is desperately trying to hold onto. Detroit has struggled through injuries with Wallace, Hamilton and Iverson all injured the past couple of weeks so the race for that 8th seed between Detroit, Charlotte and Milwaukee could be a good one. The West top 8 positions are also pretty solidified at this point with Phoenix and Dallas fighting for that 8th seed. The West teams below 9th are pretty far off. See standings here.

NHL
In NHL news, the playoff race is really tight especially in the Western Conference. in the West, there are still 7 teams with a chance to slide into the top 8 qualifying positions. Both Colorado and Edmonton have great shots with the majority of their remaining games being played at home replacing Nashville. There are 2 weeks left till Stanley Time.

Let the Madness Begin! Round 1... Fight!

The NCAA Men's basketball Tourney bracket was released Sunday, and now one of the best weeks in sports is upon us. There were a few surprises like VCU, Portland State, Oklahoma State, Boston College and Mississippi St. that barely made it in with the help of their respective conference tourneys and some teams that got their bubbles burst on Sunday; including Kentucky, St. Mary's, UNLV, Davidson, and Weber State.

This year will be one off the most competitive tournaments ever. Any team has the potential to knock off other teams the way that the season has been going. The four #1 seeds in the tournament are Louisville, UConn, Pittsburgh (Big East teams), and North Carolina, but the #2, #3, and #4 seeds all have been ranked in the top 10 at one point or another during the season.

First round games to make sure you watch (ordered from awesome to good):

Match-up, Location, and Time

• Utah St. vs. Marquette Boise, ID 3/20 @ 12:30pm

The game will be played in Boise, ID close to Utah State and Utah State dominated the WAC and most of the teams that it matched up against and finished with a solid record. USU is playing its best basketball of the season. Meanwhile Marquette has been mixing it up in the Big East Conference knocking off teams that underestimate their talent. Should be a great game and a huge upset if USU knocks off the #4 seed.

• Cleveland St. vs. Wake Forest Miami, FL 3/20 @ 9:40pm

Cleveland St. has had a fairy tale season emerging out of nowhere to dominate in the Horizon League and knock off some talented teams like Syracuse and Butler. Wake Forest has been playing fairly well also, especially earlier this season beating both conference foes Duke and North Carolina.

• Washington vs. Mississippi St. Portland, OR 3/19 @ 5:00pm

Mississippi St. is playing good ball right now and has a young and speedy team much like the build of Louisville's team. They just won the SEC tourney out of nowhere and are poised to win more games. Washington has had a great season and has a deep bench and lots of talented players who have been playing very consistent basketball.

• Ohio State vs. Sienna Dayton, OH 3/20 @ 9:40pm

Sienna from the Metro Atlantic Conf. played very well in the NCAA tournament last season and knocked off then #16 Vanderbilt in the first round. They haven't beat any strong teams this season though. OSU made it into the competitive Big Ten conference tournament championship but lost to Purdue.

• Portland St. vs. Xavier Boise, ID 3/20 @ 7:25pm
  

Xavier has a dominant big man team that should be interesting to watch against the feisty quick ball play of Portland St.

• Clemson vs. Michigan Kansas City, MO 3/19 @ 7:10pm

Two pretty evenly matched teams should make for a great game.

• BYU vs. Texas A&M Philadelphia, PA 3/19 @ 12:30pm

BYU is back for blood after getting knocked out of the Big Dance last year by the Aggies. BYU won the MWC but lost in the tourney to SDSU. A&M meanwhile, has played well but lost their last game at Texas Tech.

For a copy of the games and bracket check here: Bracket

World Baseball Classic '09

The World Baseball Classic is modeled after the Soccer World Cup and gives baseball fans the opportunity to get a taste of talent around the world. Many of the teams who come and play in the MLB are now filling up the rosters of their national team. I was very impressed when I looked at the team rosters for each nation and see how many play in the MLB. The WBC gives different leagues the opportunity to compete. For example there is a strong league in Japan, Nippon Professional Baseball League, where many players are recruited from around Asia. The roster for the Japan team and the Taiwanese team in the WBC are filled with players from the Nippon league. It is equally competitive in leagues across Latin America and the Carribean. The last WBC was held in 2006 and starting this year in 2009 will be held every 4 years.
The teams that will be in this years WBC are (click on the name to see team roster):

Australia
Canada
China
Taiwan
Cuba
Dominican Republic
Italy
Japan
Korea
Mexico
Netherlands
Panama
Puerto Rico
South Africa
USA
Venezuela

To view the different pools and how this years bracket is set up click on the link below. Within each pool a team is eliminated once they lose two games. There are 6 games that will be played in each pool. Two from each pool will advance to the next round which will operate the same way with teams eliminated with two losses. The rest of the games will be single elimination games till a champion is determined.

Brackets and Pools Link


This year the Japanese National team is the favorite with a hot pitching staff and are the WBC defending champions. The USA team is strong with experienced bullpen relievers. As far as talent the Dominican Republic team is as good as it gets with a roster full of power sluggers. This year's WBC will not disappoint!

NHL Season Extrodinaire

Hockey is in full swing and this years season has not disappointed. There are some good teams this year and rivalries are starting to renew. For those of you who like to get into hockey during the second half of the season, here is a quick update on some of the big news going on on ice.

Players on fire this season:

Alex Ovechkin

1. Left Winger Alex Ovechkin on the Washington capitals leads the NHL in goals and is second on the list for points. He is the leader in the race for the Hart Trophy. He has more 3rd period goals than anyone else and is tied for the most game winning shots at 9. Ovechkin may become the second NHL player to win back-to-back NHL MVP awards if he gets it this year again.
   
2. Tim Thomas is officially a brick wall! Nobody can score on this guy and he is the reason the Bruins are looking at a run at the Cup this season. He leads the league in save percentage and goals against average.
   
3. Left winger Daniel Carcillo from the Phoenix Coyotes is a very exciting player to watch this year and is an anger outlet for fans who believe their team may be soon sold to an owner from Ontario and moved. He currently leads the NHL in penalty minutes and seems to scuffle more than your average high school bully. He plays very agressively and often frustrates other teams out of their game.

Carcillo on the right decking an Blackhawk on the night he logged 23 penalty minutes.

News you might have missed:

1. 98 Olympic Gold medalist Mathieu Schneider and 20 year veteran was traded from the Thrashers to the Montreal Canadiens.
   
2. The East won the 2009 NHL All-Star Game, 12-11 in a shootout.
3. The 2nd annual Winter Classic was held outdoors at Wrigley field between the Blackhawks and Red Wings. Obama dropped the puck to begin the match. (final score Hawks 4, Wings 6)

Games to watch this week and next:

1. Saturday February 21st @ 7:00pm: NY Rangers vs. Boston Bruins San Jose leads the Western Conference and has the best record in the NHL. The Rangers are fighting for playoff position in a very competitive Eastern Conference.
   
2. Tuesday, February 24th @ 7:00pm: Anaheim at Buffalo Both teams working at the #8 playoff position in their respective conferences
   
3. Wednesday February 25th @ 7:30pm: San Jose at Detroit The very likely Western Conf Championship match-up.
   

The Pre-Madness Assessment

This years NCAA Men's basketball season has not disappointed. There is a lot of talent out there and a lot of players are getting recognition for exceptional play. This post will take a look at some of the players who have been making waves and look to take their team to the "Big Dance". If you haven't been following college ball this season, hopefully this will help get you back up to speed.

Players you should get to know:

1. Jeff Adrien (UConn)

Jeff Adrien is God's gift to basketball. Adrien is in his 4th year at #1 ranked Connecticut. He currently leads the best team in the nation in points and rebounds. So that makes him the best player in the league right? Adrien had an exceptional game against Notre Dame this year when he ripped down 5 offensive rebounds and 14 defensive boards. He also dropped 12 points. In the other games he has played this season, he has done about the same amount of damage. Other teams that play Uconn have yet to figure out a strategy to shut down Adrien. The only loss UConn has on the season was against Georgetown at home.

1. Stephen Curry (Davidson)

Stephen Curry is raw talent and that is all there is to it. He is a star league player who plays for an underdog team in a competitive conference. Curry currently leads the nation in scoring and has single handedly dismantled some pretty talented teams. Curry is a pick for player of the year this season and is expected to take his team far into the tournament. last year he led the team to the elite 8 as a Cinderella team. If you just want to watch a game to be entertained and to see pure talent, watch this guy.

1. Blake Griffin (Oklahoma)

Basketball is a power sport. Blake griffin is powerful. Therefore Blake Griffin is basketball. Even though the logic might not add up, Blake Griffin brings to the game something not seen since Tim Duncan at Wake. Blake is a big inside man who controls the boards as well as explodes through the paint on offense. He both averages 14 rebounds a game and 22 points. Blake is the most potent player on the #2 Oklahoma Sooners and will play a huge role in the teams success in the Dance.

Basketball Mode

It's that time of year when the NBA and college basketball come out of obscurity. The Superbowl has now finished and sports fans are concentrating their full attention to the NBA and college ball. For those of you who haven't been paying attention or need a refresher, this post should help you catch up a little. Let's take a look at some of the things that have happened the past few months on the wood.

NBA

Players on fire this season:

1. Lets talk a little bit about LeBron James because who can talk about those playing at the top of their game without mentioning the King? LeBron keeps getting better and better, and just when you thought it wasn't possible to get any better, LeBron gets better! His shot has seemed to improve a little more and he is not missing as much as in previous seasons. His field goal percentage, and overall shooting percentage has seen improvement. Actually he is seeing slight improvement in ALL areas. Teams fear playing the Cavs because of what LeBron can do and seem to have trouble covering big men Ben Wallace, Varejao and James. Look for the Cavs to have another great post-season run.
   
2. OJ Mayo has been a favorite for Memphis fans. As a rookie out of USC this year, Mayo has stepped up into the role of team leader and often finds himself fighting for limelight with 2 year man Rudy Gay. OJ currently leads the team in points and puts on a show with his quick moves and skill to get by defenders. Look to OJ to get the 09 Rook Award.
   
3. Dwyane Wade has fully recovered from last season's knee injury and has taken his team back to where they should be, a + .500 team. Dwayne Wade had a great olympic showing over the Summer and has brought some of the energy back with him to Miami. He currently leads the league in scoring percentage per game and is right up there on all the other stat lists. His defense continues to impress also as he leads the East in steals.
   

Some News:

1. In case you didn't know, the Seattle Supersonics were hijacked by their owner Clay Bennett and David Stern and moved to Oklahoma City as the Thunder.
   
2. All-Star team announced: All-Stars
   
3. LeBron hasn't decided whether to re-sign with the Cavs or move to New York.
   

Impress your friends:

1. Fans voted in Spaniard Rudy Fernandez into the Sprite NBA slam dunk contest, as the first international player to participate.
2. Celtics had the best start ever of any team in NBA history with a 27-2 record.
3. Currently, the Toronto raptors have the most amount of international players on their roster.