Final Four Set

The NCAA Basketball tournament has its Final Four ready to battle it out for the last two spots for the championship.

For first time in College Basketball history, all of the #1 seeds have advance to the Final Four. The four teams include the North Carolina Tar Heels, the Memphis Tigers, the Kansas Jayhawks, and the UCLA Bruins. None of these teams had an easy ride as each game in the tournament came down to the last 10 minutes of the game.

The Tar Heels seemed to have breeze by the first few rounds until facing the Louisville Cardinals. Rick Patino's Cardinals were known for their in your face defense and almost came out with the upset win against the #1 team in the nation but Carolina held them off for a 10 point win.

After there close first round game, the Memphis turn things around beating their next two opponents by an average of 18 points. With people thinking that the Texas Longhorns would advance against them in the Elite 8, the Tigers took advantage by converting on their free throws and playing tough defense as Texas shot about 36% from the field.

Kansas only had a problem with their Elite 8 round game against Davidson. The Jayhawks battled till the final seconds as they defeated Davidson and Stephen Curry's 25 points by only 2 points.

UCLA, an anticipated winner of the tournament, also turned things around after having problems in the 2nd and 3rd rounds. Once being matched up against Xavier, they crushed them on the boards and finished the game shooting 54%. Kyle Love added another double-double to the season for the Bruins and plays a huge role on the team.


My Opinion: No one could have guessed that all #1 teams would advance to the Final Four since it never happened yet in history until now. Many people are anticipating the North Carolina Tar Heels and the UCLA Bruins to face each other in the tournament championship but the way this years tournament has been going, there are no gurantee's!

Railsplitters Make It 2-Straight!

Lance Stephenson's Lincoln Railsplitter's won the PSAL Championship for the second year in a row.

Brooklyn rivals, Lincoln High School and Boys and Girls High School, met in the PSAL Basketball Championship for the second straight year; everything seemed to be the same as the year before as Boys and Girls fell apart in the 88-57 loss. Playing in front a crowd about 14,000, filled with high school students and a few college scouts at Madison Square Garden, the young players were able to display their loyalty to the school and love for the game!

The Railsplitter's jumped out to an early 23-9 first quarter lead (42-21 at the break). Stepheson's overall game could be summarized as hard work; the star junior guard finished the game with 29 points and 11 rebounds and shot almost 75% from the field! Everyone on Lincoln contributed in a way to give their team another championship. Clayton Sterling led the Kangaroos with 14 points in the loss.

Just like past years, fights broke out between the two schools in the stands towards the end of the game; the game had to be stopped for about 15 minutes due to this.

My Opinion: Once being a high school athlete, its great to have an opportunity to play in a championship game especially if it's played at Madison Square Garden. Both teams played well and Boys and Girls High School should keep their heads up from the way they played against one of the best teams on the East Coast; especially against the best high school player in the nation.

Kobe=MVP?

Despite being talked about so much, Kobe Bryant's chances of MVP are slim.

Kobe Bryant=MVP? This is the question that is haunting judges by picking the man who shines in Hollywood or by the man who plays in the Big Easy, Chris Paul.

Chris Paul has brought the New Orleans Hornets to the top of the West and has made everyone around him better. Tyson Chandler, who leads the league in dunks, has connected with Paul so well this year and both lead the league on alley-oop passes with each other. Paul's court vision plays a big role for the Hornets as he is able to find Bonzi Wells and Peja Stojakovic on the perimeter, along with David West underneath to help out Chandler.

The Lakers on the other hand, lossed their second straight game to one of the weaker teams in the NBA. The Grizzlies, who traded Pau Gasol to the Lakers in mid-January, were clicking on all cylinders. Gasol sat out with the already injury-bitten Lakers. No other player on the Lakers scored in double figures beside Bryant. The Lakers currently sit third in the heavily contested West. The main goal for the Lakers before season end, to have Gasol and Andrew Bynum play together. Bynum has been out since mid-December with a knee injury. With both men playing together, it will create havoc for all other big men throughout the league. With a full lineup, the Lakers frontline will draw up as Bynum, 7'1", Gasol, 7'0", and Odom, 6'11". With that kind of height, Derek Fisher having his swagger, having one of the best if not the best bench in the league, and Kobe being Kobe, no question will the Lakers cruise.

The thing is, the injuries that has hit the Lakers. Gasol and Bynum will be back for the playoffs, but how will they play with one another? They will be a force, but how will the force be used upon other giants?

My Opinion: I think that Chris Paul is going to be the one coming out on top of the MVP race this season. Paul is not only a scorer, but he is a passer and knows how to defend the ball well. Of course Kobe is a great offensive player but his ability to defend and be a natural leader cannot be compared to Paul.

Houston Rockets Turn 21!

The Rockets have achieved a 21-0 record their last 21 games and counting!

Tracy McGrady's Rockets are the hottest team in the NBA; the last time they lost a game was January 27th! People may think that it's not a big deal with the team they have but the last 9 games were won with out All Star center Yao Ming. Ming is out for the rest of the season because of a foot injury but it seems that Houston doesn't miss him so much.

Houston has been averaging about 98 point per game despite missing second leading scorer Yao Ming. Their whole team has been stepping up especially Dikembe Mutombo, who took Yao's place; Mutombo has been a huge presence on the defensive end. Battier, Scola, and Alston have been playing the best basketball of their careers this season.
It all started in Golden State where they got their first win, 111-107; over their streak they have beaten top teams like Cleveland, New Orleans, Chicago, Denver, and Dallas.

The Rockets 21-game win streak is the second longest in NBA history (longest is 33 games by the '71-'72 Los Angeles Lakers). They went from 10th place in the Western Conference to 1st place over this run and will face the Lakers tonight for their 22-game win streak.

My Opinion: I would have never thought that the Houston Rockets would become one of the best teams in the NBA; obviously they are playoff contenders but winning 21 games in a row is very surprising. Once Yao Ming went down with the injury, I didn't think they would have been able to continue their 9-game win streak. But everyone has been stepping up and now they are atop of the West!

Yanks Get a New Star

Yankees sign actor Billy Crystal for a day.

That's right, the New York Yankees have made a deal with Billy Crystal for a spring training game to make his wishes come true as a life long, true Yankee fan. The actor turned 60 years old the day after the game, and will be wearing the number 60, in which he was released from his contract. When he was younger, Crystal played baseball in high school and was a pitcher; but said that he doesn't think he will be pitching in the game with a smile on his face.

During the practice before the game, Crystal was able to put a smile on everyones face and also look good on the field; fielding the ball very well for a man of his age and making contact during batting practice. Coaches and players helped him understand much more of the game during the practice.

Game day was finally came as the New York Yankees were ready to play the Pittsburgh Pirates. Crystal was given the chance to lead off for the best franchise in MLB history. He actually made contact with a pitch but hit it foul; soon after, he struck out swinging but still got a standing ovation from the crowd. "It was unbelievable and the greatest moment of my life," Crystal said. "I don't really know how to describe it. It was intensely good." After, Billy Crystal invited the whole team for a post game party which also included actor Robin Williams.

My Opinion: I really enjoyed watching this game despite Billy Crystal on having one at bat. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves which was good to see. I was hoping Crystal would have had a great game and then the Yankees would have signed him for the season.

Duke Can't Keep It Together

One of the biggest rivalries in sports was played yesterday at Cameron Indoor Stadium; Duke Blue Devils vs. North Caroline Tar Heels.

Being one of the biggest rivals in sports and only eight miles away from each other wasn't enough; last night was the final game for Duke seniors at home AND this game would decided who wins the ACC title. Being rivals for such a long time, it was only the fourth time these two have met that determined the league title. The Tar Heels were able to keep their cool throughout the keep to come out with the huge win.

The Blue Devils weren't able to bring things together in the first half as they were having trouble finding a shot and when they did, making it. With it being senior night, too much emotion could have been a factor as it displayed in DeMarcus Nelson who ended the first half without a field goal! UNC's defense played extremely well as they ended the game with 17 blocked shots, 5 by Deon Thompson. Greg Paulus was able to bring the Devils back with 3 threes just before half time despite UNC leading 42-31.

Despite Danny Green (18 points) and Tyler Hansbrough (16 points, 15 rebounds) playing extremely well, Duke was able to make a comeback with just under six minutes left as they took the lead. The Tar Heels offensive power was too much though as they kept answering back with basket of their own as they go on to win 76-68.

My Opinion: If Duke would have been able to get their offense going in the first half, I think they would have been able to come out wit the victory as well as the ACC title. Duke is one of the best shooting teams from the 3-point line but could hardly get anything in in the first half. UNC did play an excellent game to come out with a huge win in Cameron Indoor with the Cameron Crazies.

Champions League

Final 8 all set to go!


With the final three games over, the Champions League final eight are ready to take on each other. Shalke 04, Chelsea, and Roma each advanced today with a win in their 2nd aggregated game; yesterday Arsenal, Fenerbahce, Barcelona, and Manchester United round out the eight with a win in their game.

With Arsenal playing AC Milan in Italy and playing scoreless in the first game, Milan was favorite to win. The game was very exciting and just got even better towards the end; with both teams pressing to score, Fabregas was able to score with a low shot from 30 yards out in the 85' leaving Milan fans stunned. As the home team tried press even more in the closing minutes, Adebayor was able to end Milan's Champions League dreams with a goal in the 90' + 2 and send Arsenal to the next round.

Roma was able to finish off the upset to Real Madrid; Madrid has not been able to advance to the final eight for the 4th season out of five. With Madrid only having to score 1 goal to tie the aggregate at 2-2 and being the home team, everyone thought they could come out with the win. Instead Taddei for Roma had other ideas as he connected in the 73'. Raul retaliated with a goal of his own just two minutes later (75') keeping the aggregate close. In the 90' minute, Vucinic sent the Italian side to the final eight with a goal.

Other scores:
FC Porto vs Shalke 04: 1-0, Shootout: 1-4
Chelsea vs Olympiacos: 3-0
Sevilla FC vs Fenerbahce: 3-2, Shootout: 2-3
Barcelona vs Celtic: 1-0
Manchester United vs Lyon: 1-0
*Bold indicates winner

For more pictures, please click Champions League Pictures

Big Names Make Some Big Moves!

Major moves in the NBA.

As the NBA trade deadline came to a close, both, the Eastern and Western Conferences, made moves to help their teams just before playoffs. As you already know from a previous blog, Shaquille O'Neal is on the Suns as Pau Gasol is on the Lakers. That wasn't enough for the NBA or the fans as three other teams made some big name trades.

The biggest one was the 11 player trade between the Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, and the Seattle Super Soncis. There were some huge names involved in this trade:
Bulls get:
Larry Hughes, Drew Gooden, Shannon Brown, and Cedric Simmons.
Cavaliers get:
Ben Wallace, Joe Smith, Delante West, and Wally Szcerbiak
Sonics get:
Donyell Marshall, Adrian Griffin, and Ira Newble

The Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks were also able to get a trade in before the deadline (note: did not trade with each other). The Mavericks were able to reach a deal with the New Jersey Nets which sent Jason Kidd to Dallas; Mike Bibby was sent to the Hawks from Sacramento also just before the deadline.

My Opinion: I don't like how the Bulls traded away a great defender like Ben Wallace. In my point of view of that 11 player trade, the Bulls were aiming for more offense, the Cavs for more defense, and the Sonics for more presence inside the pain. Kidd to the Mavericks is all they needed which is a great and talented point guard; he will be able to help them through the playoffs. The Hawks are trying to rebuild their franchise and with a pretty decent team all around, adding Bibby is good for leadership and experience.