Play of the Week

This week's play comes a little earlier than usual, but I have to pay tribute to my Wildcats and Derrick Williams.  Williams had a tremendous night against Duke, scoring 25 points in the first half, and possibly stating his case for a dunk contest berth as an NBA rookie next year.

As if this dunk wasn't enough, Williams threw down this vicious tomahawk dunk in the 2nd half.

(Sorry for the poor video quality)

Bring on the 2022 FIFA World Cup!

The 2022 FIFA World Cup will be a first for  soccer, as teams from around the world will travel to the desert of Qatar.  But more importantly, the event will feature a marvel of engineering...a remote control cloud that will shade and cool the pitch and spectators.  Dr. Saud Abdul Ghani will head the project, which is detailed here, courtesy of NBC's "Off the Bench."

"Dr Saud Abdul Ghani, head of the Mechanical and Industrial Engineering at Qatar University, unveiled a design and construction of an artificial cloud to shade and cool the open playgrounds to be used in the 2022 World Cup in Doha. He told a local Arabic daily that the project will be executed in collaboration with Qatar Science and Technology Park."

"He said the artificial cloud will move by remote control, made of 100 percent light carbonic materials, fueled by four solar-powered engines and it will fly high to protect direct and indirect sun rays to control temperatures at the open playgrounds."

Is the Ice Haunted in LA?

If you think you have seen everything in the world of sports, think again! Near the end of the first period in last nights game featuring the Flames and the Kings, the unbelievable, the miraculous, the "what the hell" moment of perhaps NHL history occurred.  Flame, Jerome Iginla, fired a shot from the left side of the ice, straight through goalie Jonathan Quick's (what a great name for a goalie) legs...then the magic happened.  The puck, appearing only destined for the back of the net, took a right-turn and missed the goal wide right.  Here is a clip of the amazing, and perhaps haunted ice in Los Angeles:

Cowboy's Dez Bryant Banned From Dallas Mall

As if being locked-out of the teams practice facility wasn't bad enough, Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant is now locked out of the Dallas Mall for "low-hanging pants."  According to the police, when Bryant was stopped by mall security, he unleashed a verbal tirade on the officers, and refused to do anything until his attorney and representative were present.

Bryant on the other hand, had a much different story.  He told ESPN Dallas that his pants were up, but a few of his friends pants were hanging rather low.  He also said the reported outburst did not happen either.

“It really wasn’t me in the wrong,” Bryant said Tuesday. “It’s not even an issue.”

“I told the guy I’m not trying to get in trouble,” Bryant said. “I’m not trying to destroy my image. The [warning] wasn’t toward me. I was trying to figure out what was going on. It was a big misunderstanding. I was the wrong guy.”

Apparently according to ESPN again, Bryant has had previous issues at this particular shopping center, as he has been reported for cutting in line, and parking in a fire zone.  I don't know about you, but this all seems pointless... I'm not a fan of Dez Bryant, but I do think this seems like a smear campaign on his image.  Does cutting, and a parking violation really warrant a ESPN report?

Lebron Taking His Talents to Ellen...

Lebron James previously took his talents to South Beach...Now he took them to the Ellen Degeneres Show, and in particular her aerobics class.  That is about all that needs to be said, so enjoy the video. (His moves are actually pretty good)...

What if Alex Trebek Was a College Football Announcer?

Thanks to great work from "The Solid Verbal," now we are all able to enjoy the famed Jeopardy host calling one of the great games from the 2010-2011 season.  

Links...

The NFL passed a new rule today known as the "Boise Rule," which you can probably guess what it outlaws.

Staying with Idaho sports news, Idaho's head football coach Robb Akey claims the 2009 Humanitarian Bowl was "the most exciting bowl game ever."

Cameron Crazy alums are worried that the new breed of "crazies" aren't living up to past standards.

And, a great breakdown of the top-5 dumbest plays of the NCAA Tournament so far.

A Look Back at the First Weekend of the NCAA Tournament

Here's a recap of the major stories and news from the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.

The Big East....or, the Big Least?

I'm wouldn't say the Big East is not a good conference after the first weekend of the tournament, but I do think they have vastly underperformed so far.  Yes, two games this weekend were between Big East teams (Marquette vs. Syracuse, and UCONN vs. Cincinnati), but the rest of the Big East was shown up by mediocre competition.  Exhibit A was the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame, as they were dominated by Florida State.  Notre Dame only managed to shoot 35% from the field, and only 23% from behind the three-point line, while giving up 71 points to a Seminole team that isn't exactly known for their scoring.  Exhibit B was Georgetown due to the romping they received, courtesy of Virginia Commonwealth.  The Hoyas looked as though they had no business being on the same court as the Rams, who many thought didn't even deserve a spot in the field.  Georgetown only shot 38% from the field, and only allowed VCU to shoot 40%; however, the Rams still won the game by an 18 point margin.  Exhibit C was the Wildcats of Villanova after their choke-fest to end the game against George Mason.  Villanova led throughout the game and looked for most of the night like the better team...that is, until George Mason woke up and stunned Villanova in the final minutes.  Exhibit D goes to the Pittsburgh Panthers and their loss against the Butler Bulldogs.  I won't criticize Pitt too much other than the fact that they are perennial under achievers.  Butler played a great game, as despite the mayhem at the end, did deserve the victory. And finally, Exhibit E was, you guessed it, the Louisville Cardinals as they lost at the buzzer to Morehead State.  I think this one is self-explanatory as Morehead State proceeded to get killed by Richmond in the second round.  The Spiders were able to dominate in all aspects of the game against Morehead, whereas Louisville only could manage to keep the game close.


Surprises over the weekend...


1. Morehead State defeating Louisville at the buzzer
2. VCU's domination of Georgetown
3. Butler defeating Pittsburgh
4. Gonzaga's domination of St John's
5. Richmond in the Sweet 16



First weekend all tournament team...


G: David Lighty (Ohio State)
G: Jimmer Fredette (BYU)
Honorable mention Guards: Shelvin Mack (Butler), Kemba Walker (UConn), Joey Rodriguez (VCU)
F: Markieff Morris (Kansas)
F: Derrick Williams (Arizona)
C: Tyler Zeller (UNC)

Robles Wins National Championship

Anthony Robles, the senior wrestler from Arizona State who was born with only a left leg, was crowned National Champion Saturday night against Iowa's Matt McDonough.  The 125-pound match was essentially over in the first period, as Robles got out to fast start, while eventually winning 7-1.  The win capped off Robles' perfect season of 36-0, and showed the nation that anything is possible.  Robles stated in his post-match interview that the toughest thing about the win was just overcoming the pre-match jitters.

"I had a lot of butterflies going out there.,” said Robles, who admitted he’s most likely done as a competitive wrestler but wants to remain involved in one facet or another. “This year I think that was the biggest difference in my wrestling, was my mental game. Going into every match I was real relaxed, real calm. But before that, before this match, it was nothing but butterflies. I felt like I was going throw up, I was so scared I almost started crying.

“But it’s just the atmosphere. It’s the true athletes that are able to just overcome that."