Riley Resigns, Brown Joins Bobcats

In two expected moves, the Miami Heat head coach Pat Riley has resigned after the Heat went 15-67 this past season. The Heat are two years removed from winning the franchise's first NBA title, and this season, they completely collapsed. Riley will stay with the Heat as the team's president, and assistant head coach Erik Spoelstra has taken over. This move was expected, as Riley probably didn't want to tarnish his hall of fame coaching career with another bad season. Riley has quit as the Heat head coach before, back in 2003, right before the season started. Stan Van Gundy took over, and he quit during their championship season. Riley took over during that season and led them to a NBA title. In other news, Larry Brown has decided to become the next head coach of the Charlotte Bobcats, a couple of days after firing Sam Vincent. Vincent was only the head coach for one season, and it is widely speculated that the Bobcats fired him because Brown quit his job with the Philadelphia 76ers and expressed his desire to coach again. For Brown, this will be his ninth head coaching job in the NBA. He has been very successful at the NBA ranks and the college ranks, winning championships in both. His most recent head coaching job, however, was horrible. He went 23-59 with the New York Knicks in his only season there and he was constantly battling with management. He never wanted to end his coaching career like that, but a lot of people didn't expect him to take the Bobcats' job. With that being said, will Riley ever coach again? How will Brown do with the Bobcats? How many years will he be with the Bobcats?

Pacman Dealt To Cowboys, Allen Dealt To Vikings

The Tennessee Titans have traded suspended defensive back Adam "Pacman" Jones to the Dallas Cowboys for a fourth round draft pick in Saturday's draft. Jones is currently serving a suspension that was handed down by commissioner Roger Goodell last year for his numerous troubles with the law. There are certain conditions attached to this trade though. If Jones plays a significant amount of time with the Cowboys in the upcoming season, the Titans will receive another draft pick from the Cowboys in the 2009 NFL Draft. If Jones does not get reinstated by Goodell, the Cowboys will receive the Titans' fourth round pick in the 2009 NFL Draft. Jones is also restructuring his contract in where he will receive a four year deal with no guaranteed money. In another trade in the NFL, the Kansas City Chiefs traded defensive end Jared Allen to the Minnesota Vikings in exchange for the Vikings' first round choice and two third round picks. Both teams also swapped their sixth round picks in the trade. Allen led the NFL in sacks this past season with 15 1/2 sacks. The Vikings are trying to bolster their defense after Kenechi Udeze got leukemia. The Vikings had Pro Bowl defensive linemen in Pat Williams and Kevin Williams. They hope that Allen can make their defensive line the most productive in the NFL next season and provide them with an opportunity at making a Super Bowl run. Was it smart for the Cowboys to acquire Jones, considering the fact that they have Terrence Newman and Anthony Henry? Will Allen help the Vikings overcome the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North division championship and a deep run in the playoffs?

NBA Playoffs

The NBA Playoffs got underway on Saturday with the Washington Wizards playing the Cleveland Cavaliers and there were a couple of interesting Game 1's. In the Wizards-Cavaliers Game 1 matchup, it looked like a heated rivalry between the two teams. These two teams have played each other in the first round for three straight years now, with the Cavaliers winning the previous two first round series. Wizards' point guard Gilbert Arenas said in his blog that the Cavaliers will not beat the Wizards for a third straight time and the Wizards will come out victorious. Cavaliers' superstar forward Lebron James did his part to ensure the Cavaliers a Game 1 victory, scoring 32 points in the Cavaliers' 93-86 victory. In the following game, the Phoenix Suns played the defending champion San Antonio Spurs. The Suns were in control of this game for the first three quarters, building a 16 point lead. But the Spurs came back in the fourth quarter and sent the game into overtime on Michael Finley's three point basket with 15 seconds left. Tim Duncan scored 40 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, but no play was better than his three point basket with 3 seconds left in the first overtime to send the game into double overtime. Steve Nash hit a three pointer with the Suns down three in double overtime to tie the game but Manu Ginobli scored the game winning layup with 1.8 seconds left to seal the Spurs' 117-115 victory. The New Orleans Hornets defeated the Dallas Mavericks and the Utah Jazz defeated the Houston Rockets in the day's two other games. In an upset, the Philadelphia 76ers defeated the Detroit Pistons 90-86 in the Palace of Auburn Hills to take a 1-0 series lead. The Pistons had a 15 point lead in the third quarter but the 76ers didn't go away. Led by good defense and turnovers from the Pistons, the 76ers were able to chip away at the Pistons' lead and they eventually took the lead in the fourth quarter. The Pistons also missed some critical free throws, with Chauncey Billups missing three of four in the fourth quarter. In the other Game 1's on Sunday, the Orlando Magic defeated the Toronto Raptors, the Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets and the Boston Celtics defeated the Atlanta Hawks. Which series looks like the most interesting so far? If there is an upset, which series is it more likely to come from?

Rockies, Padres Goes to 22 Innings

The National League defending champion Colorado Rockies and the San Diego Padres played 22 innings on Thursday night in which the Rockies won 2-1. This was the longest baseball game that was played in the last 15 years. On August 31, 1993, the Minnesota Twins beat the Cleveland Indians 5-4 in 22 innings as well. The game lasted more than 6 hours and the game was scoreless until the 14th inning, when the Rockies scored when Brad Hawpe drew a bases loaded walk. But the Padres came right back in the bottom of the 14th, when Josh Bard hit an RBI single to tie it. The game would go another 8 innings until the 22nd, when Troy Tulowitzki hit an RBI double to take the lead again and the Rockies were able to hold onto it for the victory. 15 pitchers combined were used in this game, and 658 were thrown. The starting pitchers in this game were magnificent, not allowing a run. Defending Cy Young award winner Jake Peavy pitched for the Padres while Jeff Francis pitched for the Rockies. There were three seventh inning stretches during the game, one in the 7th, 14th and 21st innings respectively. Is this the best baseball game so far? Will this be the best baseball game all year? Is the Rockies and Padres matchups developing into a rivalry?

NBA Playoffs Is Ready

The conclusion of the regular season in the NBA has come and now the playoffs will begin. There are a couple of teams that have been good stories who will appear in the playoffs. The Boston Celtics won 23 games last season and has increased their win total by 43 wins and now they are the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference. It has been helped by the trades Danny Ainge has made acquiring All-Stars Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett. They will face the #8 seeded Atlanta Hawks, who has been under the radar and very surprising. They still have a losing record, with a 37-45 record. The Golden State Warriors, who ended the season with a 48-34 record, didn't even make the playoffs. The Denver Nuggets are the #8 seed with a 50-32 record and they will face the #1 seeded Los Angeles Lakers, who were very surprising. The San Antonio Spurs, who are the #3 seed, will face the #6 seeded Phoenix Suns in a rematch of the physical second round matchup the Spurs won en route to their 4th championship. The New Orleans Hornets, who are the #2 seed, will face the #7 seeded Dallas Mavericks, who had the best record in the NBA last year. The Utah Jazz and the Houston Rockets will face off in a rematch of last year's first round series. The Washington Wizards and Cleveland Cavaliers will also face off in a rematch of last year's first round series. The Detroit Pistons will play the Philadelphia 76ers and the Orlando Magic will play the Toronto Raptors. Which conference will the championship come from? Who will make it to the NBA Finals from the Western Conference? Who will win the overall title?

Kansas Takes National Title

The Kansas Jayhawks are the national champions of college basketball after defeating Memphis 75-68 in overtime Monday night at San Antonio's Alamodome. Kansas was able to survive regulation and send the game into overtime thanks to Memphis' miscues and a miraculous three pointer. Chris Douglas-Roberts, Memphis' leading scorer, missed three straight free throws and Derrick Rose missed one of two free throws. That set up the final basket in regulation, which happened to be Mario Chalmer's three pointer to tie the game with 2.1 seconds left. Memphis did not call a timeout, and Robert Dozier ended up tossing a shot at halfcourt at the buzzer. In overtime, Kansas clearly had the momentum, as they only limited Memphis to five points in the overtime session. Kansas is a team that has failed itself in the NCAA Tournament in recent years. They lost to Syracuse in the national championship game in 2003 when they were favorites. Under Bill Self, they lost in the first round of the tournament two consecutive years to Bucknell and Bradley respectively. Now Kansas has played their best basketball in this tournament, beating Davidson, who seemed unstoppable at that point, North Carolina, the #1 team in the country, and Memphis, who seemed to be on a roll with convincing victories. Did Memphis mess up their opportunity or did Kansas outplay Memphis in the final minute? With Memphis missing their free throws down the stretch, was that something they should've paid attention to more during the season?

Memphis, Kansas in Title Game

The Memphis Tigers and the Kansas Jayhawks will play in the national championship game on Monday after the Tigers defeated the UCLA Bruins and the Jayhawks defeated the North Carolina Tar Heels. Memphis beat UCLA 78-63 in what many consider to be very surprising. Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 28 points while freshman sensation Derrick Rose scored 25. Other players contributed outside of the scoring column. That was evidenced by Joey Dorsey, who didn't score but grabbed 15 rebounds in the win. The Tigers are now 38-1, and their 39th win will give them the most wins in a college basketball season. Kevin Love, the freshman sensation from UCLA, only scored 12 points and Memphis was able to limit his offensive productivity. In the other Final Four game, Kansas beat North Carolina 84-66. Kansas went ahead early 40-12 in surprising fashion but North Carolina was able to make a huge comback, cutting Kansas' lead to 4 points in the second half. But the Tar Heels were too tired to make another run and Kansas was able to pull away again. Brandon Rush scored 25 points and grabbed 7 rebounds for Kansas, while AP Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough scored only 17 points and 9 rebounds. Who will win the championship? Does Memphis athleticism give them an advantage over Kansas? Does Kansas tougher schedule give them an edge?

Final Four Is Set

All four #1 seeds won in the Elite 8, setting up a Final Four that has never happened before. Since the tournament bracket was instituted in the late 1970s, there has never been a tournament where all four #1 seeds reached the Final Four. UCLA beat Xavier 76-57 to clinch their way, and that was followed by a 83-73 North Carlonia victory over Louisville. Memphis, who a lot of people had as the #1 team that was going down before the rest of the #1 seeds, handled their business with Texas, beating them 85-67. The most interesting game was the last one between Davidson and Kansas. Davidson already had three stellar wins up to that point against Gonzaga, Georgetown, and Wisconsin. Stephen Curry, guard for the Davidson Wildcats, has had a spectacular tournament, averaging over 30 points a game. But Kansas was up to the challenge and beat Davidson 59-57, after a potential game winning three pointer by Jason Richards clanked off the glass to end it. It was an extraordinary run by Davidson, but they fell short. In the final four, UCLA will play Memphis in the first game, while North Carolina will play Kansas in the second game. Which team appears to be a lock to win their game in the Final Four? Who is the most vulnerable team right now?