NCAA Basketball Madness

The first 3 teams punched their tickets to March Madness today as Belmont, UNC-Asheville, and Morehead State all won their conferences.  Harvard also is a Princeton loss away from securing their first NCAA tournament bid since 1946.  If Princeton can beat Penn on Tuesday night, then the Crimson and the Tigers will play a one game playoff to decide the Ivy League's representative in the tournament.

North Carolina upset (4)Duke at home in Chapel Hill to take the regular season ACC title.  The Tar Heels finished the season unbeaten at home as they staged off a late attempt at a rally by the Blue Devils.  Due to Duke's poor shooting and great play out of freshman Kendall Marshall and Harrison Barnes, the Tar Heels extended their lead throughout the second half to an eventual 81-67 win.  Look out for the Tar Heels in the NCAA tourney, as no one seems to be talking about them.

Pittsburgh, Arizona, Florida and Kansas all wrapped up their regular season conference championships as well, and will enjoy the 1-seed in their various conference tourneys.  The Panthers defeated Villanova at home 60-50.  Arizona beat the Ducks 90-82 in Tucson in front of over 13,000 fans.  Florida took out Vanderbilt in Nashville 86-76, and Kansas held on to defeat Missouri 70-66.

More Bowl Budgeting Issues?

According to recent reports, the University of Connecticut actually lost money in its recent trip to the Fiesta Bowl.  However, they were not alone, as reports have surfaced today that two other schools left their BCS trips in the red.   Virginia Tech and Auburn also lost upwards of $600K...Follow the links to the various stories.

Bart Scott Trademarks "Can't Wait!"

You may remember Bart Scott's interview with ESPN's Sal Paolantonio following the Jets upset victory over the New England Patriots in the AFC Divisional Playoffs.  Scott ended the fired up and intense interview with the famous phrase "Can't wait!!"  The interview had the sports world buzzing for the next week as the Jets prepared for their date with the Steelers in the AFC title game.

According to Scott, who revealed the news this morning, the infamous phrase has been registered for trademark for men's, women's, and children's apparel with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.  I guess this is his plan to make a little extra cash if the NFL does indeed lockout next season.

Here is the full interview:

Florida High School Baseball Star Ties National Record

With a name like Austin Glorious, you'd expect something great.  Well, Austin delivered in a recent game for his Windermere Prep School of Florida.  Playing first base against Faith Christian of Florida, Glorious blasted 5 home runs and accumulated 17 RBI's, both of which are believed to tie prep records, according to the National Federation of State High School Associations.  Austin would have set the RBI record of 18, but one of the runners was called out due to missing a base following his 5th home run.  The record performance also helped his team to an astounding 38-0 victory...(what happened to the 10-run rule?)

“I was just trying to hit the ball hard,” said Glorius, who said his baseball idol is Texas Rangers slugger Josh Hamilton. “There’s no other feeling like it.”

Links...

Here are some interesting sports stories:

Apparently the UConn football team or athletics department needs a little budgeting help.

A Chilean soccer referee got a little "card happy."

The bobblehead of the day may just go to Dusty Baker.

A fellow "Elk Grovian" in Spencer Levin, is once again leading on the PGA Tour.

And finally, uh oh Oregon...

That Can't Happen...

Last night, West Virginia upset #16 UConn at home 65-56.  With only a few minutes remaining and the score tied, Alex Oriakhi of UConn went to the free throw line.  What at first appeared to be a pretty decent shot, turned into something quite unexpected.  The ball bounced around on the rim, and then by some gravity defying force, stopped on the back of the rim, leading to a jump ball.  Apparently Newton had never been to Morgantown...Here is a video clip of the bizarre shot:

Mountain West Announces 2011 Football Schedule

The Mountain West Conference announced its 2011 football schedule this afternoon.  Among the games for next season include a TCU at Boise State match up on November 12th, and an Air Force at Boise State game for October 22nd.  Here is a link to the Mountain West's official  announcement:

http://www.themwc.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/030311aad.html

Another Trick Shot Video...

I was going to say trick shot videos had gone too far when I first saw this.  It's one thing to have a basketball player, a quarterback, or even a kicker make a video....but a long snapper??

Major NCAA Violation Rumors

In the past few days there have been many articles detailing potentially major violations by a top 10-12 program in the country.  No names have come out, but the rumors are saying that the story can break at any time.

Also, more rumors are surfacing that the Cam Newton investigation may have major news in the coming days as well.

Ahh, NASCAR Fans...

NASCAR fans probably enjoy the worst stereotypes of any other professional sports fans.  And if they are as half as bad as this lady, then their negative rap is well-deserved.

A woman rushing home to watch this past weekend's NASCAR race crashed her Chevy Blazer into a local store.  Police say the woman attempted to step on the brake, but hit the gas instead and crashed into a storage room of a local store near West Penn Township, Pennsylvania.  Luckily no one was injured, and the woman learned a valuable lesson that bump-drafting is only legal on the track.

Concordia University's Playground Buzzer Beater

Concordia University and the College of Idaho were locked in a 61-61 tie with only .7 seconds on the clock.  Everything was on the line, as the winner of the game would earn a berth in the NAIA National Tournament in Iowa.  With so much riding on this one play, it's surprising Danielle Clauson remained so calm.  Unable to find an open teammate inbounding the ball from under the basket, Clauson worked her magic.  She calmly tossed the basketball off the back of a defender, grabbed the ball, and jacked up a 15 footer from the base line as time expired.  And if the feat of getting her own shot from the baseline with only .7 seconds wasn't enough, she decided to nail the basket as well; clinching the game for Concordia, and giving them a chance to play for the national title.  Here are two looks at the miraculous game-winning shot (The shot even made Sportscenter's Top Plays):

NBA Dunk Contest Fixed?

An official NBA Press Release was sent out at 5:28 EST on Saturday February 19, 2011.  The release detailed some of the upcoming NBA events that would be taking place, including a middle school dunk contest in front of the real dunk champion Blake Griffin.  The only problem however...the release was sent out over an hour before the dunk contest took place.

The question for fans and the NBA is, was this just a slip and an innocent mistake, or was Blake Griffin the predetermined winner of the event.  The NBA sent out a corrected version of the release later that night, but it hasn't stopped talk of the contest potentially being "fixed."

Here is a copy of the release. Pay attention to the time slot "1:20-2:00 PM."

Plays of The Week

All I can say is...no matter your views of Lebron James, the things he can do on a basketball court are unbelievable.

And I have no idea what went through Nick Young's mind as he flew, spun, and hung in the air for this insane 360 degree layup.

Male Cheerleader Nearly Costs Louisville Upset Win Over (4)Pittsburgh

After Kyle Kuric dunked the ball to seemingly end the game, the Louisville cheerleader jumped on the court and threw the ball into the air in celebration. The problem was...there were still .3 seconds on the clock.  As a result the cheerleader received a technical foul, allowing Pittsburgh guard Ashton Gibbs to sink 2 free throws and reduce the deficit to 3 points.

Luckily for Louisville and especially the cheerleader, Gibbs' attempt at a half court shot misfired, and the Cardinals held onto the bizarre upset win.  After the game Rick Pitino addressed the situation in his post-game press conference.

"The male cheerleader is coming to an end. It was good while it lasted. It was fun. Now we'll try another sport for him." 


Pitino then added that he was sure it was unintentional, but a game can definitely be lost that way.  Here is a video of the cheerleader's mistake:

NFL Combine Booger Test Results: Wisconsin Lineman Takes Top Honors

In case you didn’t know it, the NFL Scouting Combine is kind of a big deal.  It gives college football players the opportunity to showcase their skills to NFL coaches, general managers and scouts alike.  So you know there’s going to be TV coverage like crazy, and this year’s extravaganza was no exception, with the NFL Network on site covering this year’s Combine.

That being said, players are nervous, tense, and often forgetful.  Wisconsin OL John Moffitt seemed to forget about the multiple NFL Network cameras surrounding him today, otherwise he might not have chosen to go digging for golden boogers while in plain view of a television camera. Twice!

And if picking his nose on national TV wasn't enough, Moffitt thought it would be a great idea to eat the boogers...Here is a video of the Booger test:

The Blooper of the Week

At the end of practice this high school coach thought it was a great idea to try to impress his players...luckily for us this is what happened: