Northern Iowa Upsets Overall #1 Seed Kansas 69-67, Cornell’s Magical Run Continues

Sunday, March 21st, 2010 | College Basketball, Final Four, General, NCAA College Basketball, Sports | No Comments

In an NCAA tourney with a ton of great upsets, Northern Iowa pulled off the biggest upset on Saturday, defeating #1 overall seed Kansas 69-67.  Northern Iowa led by 8 points at halftime and somehow figured out a way to slow down the high-flying Kansas Jayhawks offense.  Northern Iowa then withstood a furious 2nd half comeback by the Jayhawks to hang on for the win.  Ali Farokhmanesh led the way for the Panthers scoring 16 points, including a devastating 3-point shot with under a minute to play that increased a 1-point lead to 4 points.  What a game…

Cornell (#12) kept their magical run going today with an upset of #4 Wisconsin 87-69.  Cornell is firing on all cylinders during the tourney so far, having knocked off #5 seed Temple by 13 points on Friday. Louis Dale (26 points) and Ryan Wittman (24 points) led the way for Cornell’s big win.  Now it’s on to the Sweet 16!

Tags: Cornell, Kansas, Northern Iowa, Wisconsin

Lucky #10 – Sort Of – Cavs Hand Bulls 10th Straight Loss

Saturday, March 20th, 2010 | Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers, General, NBA, Sports | No Comments

King Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers handed the Chicago Bulls their 10th straight loss on Friday night at the United Center.  Things have not gone well for the Bulls as of late, playing without their top 3 players – Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah – for a while now.  Rose and Noah are day-to-day and could return to the lineup against the 76ers in Philadelphia tonight.  But Deng will likely miss at least 2-3 more weeks, which means that his season could be over.

James single-handedly took it to the Bulls in Friday’s loss.  He scored 29 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished out 7 assists.  He also had 2 steals and 2 blocked shots on the defensive end. With his dominating effort, James became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 15,000 point-plateau.

There were 2 bright spots for the Bulls – rookies Taj Gibson (20 points and 13 rebounds) and James Johnson (16 points and 8 rebounds) both turned in solid efforts.

The Bulls trail the Toronto Raptors by 2.5 games for the 8th and final playoff spot in the East.  Given the fact that there are only 14 games left, it will be hard for the Bulls to overcome the deficit if they continue to play short-handed.  If they don’t make the playoffs, the positive of getting a lottery pick doesn’t even help because they agreed to swap picks with the Milwaukee Bucks as part of the John Salmons-Hakim Warrick salary-dumping trade made right before the trading deadline earlier this month.  Good job John Paxson and Gar Forman…

Tags: Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, LeBron James, Luol Deng, Taj Gibson

Upsets Still the Story in 2010 NCAA Tourney

Friday, March 19th, 2010 | College Basketball, Final Four, NCAA College Basketball, Sports | No Comments

Upsets continued to occur in Thursday night’s action and Friday afternoon’s action in the 2010 NCAA Tournament.

On Thursday night, Ohio (#14) pulled off the biggest upset of the tournament with a dominating 97-83 win over Georgetown.  Armon Bassett poured in 32 points, while D.J. Cooper contributed 23 points and 8 assists to pace Ohio.

On Friday, the biggest upset came courtesy of #12 Cornell.  Cornell – the Ivy League darling – crushed Temple (#5) 78-65.  The game was never even close.

In a somewhat lesser upset, Missouri (#10) held off Clemson (#7) 86-78.

#1 seeds Duke and Syracuse are both in action tonight – will we finally see that #16 upset over a #1 seed?!  Probably not, but you always need to stay tuned so you don’t miss out when it does happen…

Tags: Cornell, Duke, Georgetown, Syracuse

NCAA College Basketball Tournament Action Begins with a Bang

Thursday, March 18th, 2010 | College Basketball, Final Four, NCAA College Basketball, Sports | 1 Comment

NCAA Tourney action begin with a bang today with a few upsets and a few close-upsets.  There have already been 2 overtime games today — that’s how many overtime games there were in the ENTIRE 2009 NCAA basketball tournament.

In the 1st game of the day, Old Dominion (#11) pulled off the upset over Notre Dame (#6) 51-50 by outscoring the Fighting Irish by 7 points in the 2nd half.

Murray State (#13) pulled off the biggest upset of the day by defeating Vanderbilt (#4) 66-65 on a game-winning shot by Danero Thomas at the buzzer.

Robert Morris – a #15 seed – led #2 seed Villanova for much of the game, but couldn’t pull out the win.  They managed to force overtime and kept it close during the extra 5 minutes, but Villanova emerged victorious in the end – 73-70.

In the other overtime game, BYU (#7) pulled away from Floris (#10) in the second overtime period and won 99-92.

WOW – the tournament never fails to deliver – this is definitely the best post-season action in all of sports.

Tags: Murray State, Notre Dame, Villanova

Justin Bieber adds more dates and bigger venues

Thursday, March 18th, 2010 | Concerts, Justin Bieber | No Comments

Justin Bieber is on tour right now and will extend this tour into the summer with some much bigger shows. Check out the dates below.

Patriots Ty Warren Foregoes Bonus for Degree

Thursday, March 18th, 2010 | New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, NFL, Sports | No Comments

New England Patriots defensive lineman Ty Warren is teaching his 3 children a valuable lesson.  It’s more important to earn an education and a degree than play a professional sport, because you can’t play sports forever.

Warren is skipping the Patriots’ initial voluntary workouts this spring because he is returning to Texas A&M to finish his degree.  Warren was the Patriots’ 13th pick in the 2003 NFL Draft.  He has played in 105 games in his 7-year Patriots’ career, but he never forgot about his education.  So much so that he is willing to forego a $250,000 bonus that would be paid to him for attending the spring workouts to attend the last few classes at Texas A&M that will earn him a degree at the end of the semester.  Warren says that he is making this sacrifice to send a message to his 3 children — “I try to put the kids in the best educational system possible and I think there is something to be said for their father, who has been blessed to play in the NFL and do something he’s loved to do, going back and finishing what he started.  In the big picture, I think it’s important for me to do what I’m doing.  I can sacrifice that bonus for that.”

As a veteran leader on the Patriots defense, the club shouldn’t have to worry that Warren will slack off on his football preparation while in classes this spring — “Working out has never been a problem of mine, I do it regardless. I’m self-motivated.  I’ve always been a working person.  Ask anyone who knows me, I’ve been working and supporting my two siblings and now my wn family since I was 13.  No matter how much I have in the bank account, I’ll always work.”

It’s nice to hear about these stories in professional sports today.  Too often we’re inundated with drunk driving missteps, assault charges and other self-less actions on the parts of professional athletes today.  Lately, it seems like we are hearing more of the “feel-good” stories in sports today (see Scott Fujita donating his Super Bowl bonus to the city of New Orleans and the victims in Haiti) — it’s about time.

Tags: Scott Fujita, Super Bowl, Ty Warren

Can Blackhawks Rebound from Devastating Weekend?

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Sports | No Comments

It was a rough weekend for the Chicago Blackhawks – one the NHL’s top 3 teams.  The Blackhawks blew a 2-1 lead to the Flyers in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, allowing the Flyers to score 2 goals for the win in the final 2+ minutes of regulation.  Back in Chicago on Sunday, it looked like the Blackhawks had put the disappointing loss behind them quickly as they raced out to a 3-0 lead of the Washington Capitals after 2 periods of play.  But another late collapse – a 3-goal 3rd period for the Capitals – gave the Capitals a chance to win in overtime.  And that they did as Nicklas Backstrom’s 2nd goal of the game (his 28th goal on the season) 3 minutes into the extra frame gave the Capitals the big road win.

In addition to the back-to-back agonizing defeats, the Hawks also learned that they would be without key defenseman Brent Seabrook for at least 7-8 weeks after he suffered a broken clavicle and broken ribs at the hands of a cheap shove by Alex Ovechkin.  Ovechkin was kicked out of the game for the game misconduct and was ultimately suspended 2 games by the league for the cheap shot – the 2nd time that the NHL has suspended Ovechkin for 2 games this season.  Seabrook will be sorely missed by the Blackhawks during this final stretch to the season.  Seabrook had notched 23 points on the year with 20 assists and he also had a +/- of 18.

The Blackhawks are still 44-18-6 overall with 94 points.  They still only trail the San Jose Sharks (who themselves have hit a rough 4-5-1 stretch) by 2 points for the best record in the Western Conference.  But the trend is not going in the right direction for the Hawks who begin a “big” 3-game west coast road trip tonight against the Ducks in Anaheim.  The Hawks play the Kings the following night in Los Angeles and then they travel to Phoenix to take on the Coyote on Saturday night.  The Ducks always play the Hawks well in Anaheim despite their poor record.  The Kings have 40 wins and 85 points and are still competing to try to improve their playoff position in the west.  The Coyotes are perhaps the biggest surprise in the NHL this season with 43 wins and 91 points.  They are currently positioned 4th in the West, but have more points than the Vancouver Canucks who have the 3rd seed in the west because they are a division winner.

Taking 2 out of 3 games on this trip won’t be easy, but I have a feeling that that is exactly what the Blackhawks accomplish.  Coach Joel Quinneville always seems to find a way to get through to his team when the hit a rocky road, and this road trip won’t be any different.  He has opted to go with Antti Niemi in the opener tonight in Anaheim because he is a more consistent goaltender and more likely to give the team the best chance to win a “winnable” game.  If Niemi plays well, it wouldn’t surprise me to see Quinneville play the hot hand the following night against the Kings.  The Blackhawks boast 4 players with at least 57 points – Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews – plus they have Marian Hossa who has racked up 40 points in just 43 games played.  So look for the Hawks to apply the pressure big time in each of the 3 games.  The Hawks “always” out-shoot their opponents, and this trend will continue to happen in each of the games.

I’m predicting 2 wins for the Blackhawks on the road trip and a renewed confidence as they return to Chicago next week to take on Phoenix at the United Center on Tuesday night.

Tags: Antti Niemi, Joel Quenneville, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane

Michael Jackson Estate Inks $250 Million Record Deal

Wednesday, March 17th, 2010 | Music | No Comments

Sony Music Entertainment has entered into a record-breaking $200 million record deal with Michael Jackson’s estate.  Although no official details have been released publicly, the deal is believed to include 10 projects over the next seven years.  The 1st release is scheduled to occur this November and will likely include recordings of the King of Pop which have never been released.

If certain milestones are reached, the deal could be worth an additional $50 million to the Jackson estate.  There have also been discussions involving a Michael Jackson video game; a re-release of the 1979 album “Off the Wall” which insiders say Jackson had been considering doing before his sudden death in June 2009; and a DVD compilation of his famous music videos.

It looks like the legacy of Michael Jackson will continue to live on and on for many many years to come…

Tags: Michael Jackson, Sony Music Entertainment

Tigers Woods Announces his Return – @ 2010 Masters

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 | Golf, Sports, Tiger Woods | No Comments

Tiger Woods announced today that he will be returning to the game of golf at the 2010 Masters in Augusta, Georgia in a little over 3 weeks.  It will certainly be a “Masters to Remember”.

Woods issued a statement today, portions of which read as follows: “The Masters is where I won my first major and I view this tournament with great respect.  After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I’m ready to start my season at Augusta.. The major championships have always been a special focus in my career and, as a professional, I think Augusta is where I need to be, even though it’s been a while since I last played… I have undergone almost two months of inpatient therapy and I am continuing my treatment.  Although I’m returning to competition, I still have a lot of work to do in my personal life.”

Woods last played on November 15th when he won the Australian Masters in Melbourne, Australia.  Woods has won 82 worldwide tournaments, including 14 major championships – 4 of them Masters wins.  He has been out of the public eye since a November car accident raised awareness to his marital infidelities and since then he has been trying to save his marriage and undergo treatment to prove to his wife – Elin Nordegren-Woods – that he is a changed man.  Hah!

18 alleged affairs and two months of therapy and the guys is all-of-a-sudden a faithful man.  If you believe that one, I’ll sell you the grounds that Augusta National occupies for a buck.

In any event, Woods’ return will certainly help TV ratings and draw flocks of people to Augusta National for the 2010 Masters.  Can’t wait to see how many sponsors who gave up on Woods start banging on his door – are you there Buick, Accenture? – once he wins this thing in a few weeks.  Can’t wait to see the hypocrisy in action when it mega dollars are at stake…

Tags: Elin Nordegren-Woods, Masters 2010, Tiger Woods

2 big summer tours announced

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010 | Concerts | No Comments

We have 2 big summer tours announced. First, we have Kings of Leon doing a summer US tour and Lady Gaga coming back for another US tour. Dates and times could change so check back for updates.

Kings of Leon

Current tour dates

2010/7/17 – George, WA – The Gorge Amphitheatre

Tags: Kings of Leon, Lady GaGa, Tour