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?

Sweet 16

The round of 16 in the NCAA Tournament had some interesting matchups and another upset. In the first game on Thursday night, Xavier built a 16 point lead on West Virginia. West Virginia was able to make a comeback and send the game into overtime. B.J. Raymond, guard for Xavier, scored all of his eight points in overtime, including two clutch three pointers to help Xavier win. The other three games were blowouts, with North Carolina defeating Washington State, UCLA defeating Western Kentucky, and Louisvile beating Tennessee. On Friday, the blowout them continued. Davidson defeated Wisconsin by 17, Texas defeated Stanford by 20, Kansas defeated Villanova by 15, and Memphis defeated Michigan State by 18. Davidson's win against Wisconsin was an upset, with star Stephen Curry scoring 33 points and 22 in the second half. Curry has scored more than 30 points in all three tournament games. He has also scored more than 20 points in the second half in all three games as well. Davidson's win puts them in the Elite 8 with a matchup against Kansas. Other Elite 8 matchups include Texas against Memphis, Xavier against UCLA, and North Carolina against Louisville. Will Davidson beat Kansas also and make it to the Final Four? Will a #1 seed lose in the Elite 8? If so, which one will it be?

Webber Retires

Chris Webber, power forward for the Golden State Warriors, has announced that he is retiring. Webber signed with the Warriors midway into this season, hoping to play with a team that was able to contend. But Webber just wasn't fit enough to last longer. Webber has been battling chronic knee problems for a while and it has affected his play and his movement the past couple of seasons. Now he cannot deal with the pain anymore. A career that seemed so promising once he was drafted now ends without any championships. Webber is one of just six NBA players in history to average in a career at least 20 points, 9 rebounds and 4 assists. The others are Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Larry Bird, Billy Cunningham, and Kevin Garnett. Webber has been a 5 time all star and he was on the All NBA First Team once. Webber, although, won't be remembered for the good things he provided on the court. He'll be remembered for not providing a championship at the college or pro level after having so much promise. He was at the University of Michigan for two seasons. His freshman year was a dominant year for Michigan in which they had five freshmen as starters. They blew away the competition during the regular seasons and NCAA Tournaments. But they lost two straight national championship games. The second, against North Carolina, in which he called the famous timeout in which he didn't have any, was his last game as a college basketball player. He played for the Warriors his rookie season and won Rookie of the Year honors. But his dissatisfaction with coach Don Nelson led to his trade to the Washington Bullets. After a couple of seasons with the Bullets, he was traded to the Sacramento Kings, where, along with Mike Bibby, Peja Stojakovic, and Vlade Divac, formed a team that almost went to the NBA Finals in 2002. Was Chris Webber good enough for the Hall of Fame? Was Chris Webber a true leader on his teams in the pros? What if Webber won a NCAA championship and a NBA title?

Dirk Out Indefinitely

Dirk Nowitzki, all-star forward for the Dallas Mavericks, is going to be out indefinitely after an MRI revealed a high ankle sprain and a mild knee sprain. Nowitzki was injured Sunday against the San Antonio Spurs after landing on Ime Udoka after he blocked his shot. His ankle rolled up underneath him very violently and he was on the floor immediately in obvious pain. It looked a lot worse at first sight, but the MRI revealed that it wasn't a serious season ending injury. The Mavericks are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference playoff race right now. The Golden State Warriors and the Denver Nuggets are right behind them respectively. The Mavericks already lost a game earlier this season without Nowitzki. That was during the Houston Rockets' 22 game winning streak. The Rockets won that game in Dallas 113-98 to win their 17th straight game. The Mavericks have a tough upcoming schedule, with five of their next seven games against Western Conference teams with winning records. How good are the Mavericks without Nowitzki? Will Nowitzki's injury eliminate the Mavericks from playoff contention? Do you think Nowitzki will come sooner than expected?

NCAA Tournament Second Round

The second round of the NCAA Tournament had its share of good games as well. In an upset in Washington D.C., the West Virginia Mountaineers defeated the Duke Blue Devils 73-67 to eliminate the second seeded Blue Devils. West Virginia's strong play came on in the second half, when they outscored Duke by 11 to control the game. The matchup between Marquette and Stanford was a good one as well. Trent Johnson, head coach for the Stanford Cardinals, was ejected in the first half. Stanford ended up winning 82-81 in overtime on Brook Lopez's game winning basket with 1.3 seconds left. Brook finished with 30 points, while his twin brother Robin, scored 18. The matchup between #1 seeded UCLA and Texas A&M was also a good defensive battle. UCLA won 51-49, on Darren Collison's game winning layup with 9 seconds left. Georgetown and Davidson was also a great matchup. Georgetown was up 11 at halftime, when Stephen Curry of Davidson was not knocking down his shots. He started knocking them down in the second half, scoring 25 points in the second half. Davidson beat Georgetown in an upset 74-70 to advance. Butler and Tennessee was also a good game and the first time two 30 win teams have met in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Tennessee had its share of problems but pulled it out in the end, winning 76-71 in overtime. All four #1 seeds made it to the Sweet 16, but two #2 seeds(Georgetown and Duke), lost in the second round. What Sweet 16 matchups are you most looking forward to? Who has been impressive in the first two rounds so far? Who is the most vulnerable team so far?

NCAA Tournament First Round

The first round of the NCAA Tournament provided history and games that were thrillers. The game between Duke and Belmont was an amazing game. Duke, who is the second seed went up against a 15th seeded Belmont team and had lots of trouble. Belmont was knocking down their outside shots and keeping the game close throughout. Belmont led 70-69 when Duke's Gerald Henderson went coast to coast for the layup with 11 seconds left for the game winner. Duke survived and will play West Virginia, who beat Arizona, in the second round game. In the matchup with outstanding freshmen Michael Beasley of Kansas State and O.J. Mayo of USC, Beasley dominated. Beasley was in foul trouble but still ended up with 23 points and 11 rebounds. Mayo had 20, with a couple of them coming in garbage time. Kansas State, with the good play of other players dominated, beating USC 80-67 to advance to the second round and face Wisconsin, who beat Cal St. Fullerton. The second day of the first round provided history. In the four first round games in Tampa, Florida, all four had the lower seeds winning. First, Western Kentucky beat Drake 101-99 in overtime on a buzzer beating three pointer by Ty Rogers. In the biggest upset of the day, San Diego beat UConn 70-69 on a game winning jumper from De'Jon Jackson. San Diego and Western Kentucky will face off in the second round. In the third game from Tampa, Siena beat Vanderbilt in a shocking upset 83-62. In the final game in Tampa, Villanova beat Clemson in an upset 75-69, after Clemson was leading by as many as 18 points. Siena and Villanova will face off in the second round. Has the tournament been exciting so far? Who had the most convincing win in the first round? Which team is in danger of losing in an upset?

Rockets Win Streak Stopped at 22

The Houston Rockets, who had a 22 game winning streak coming into Tuesday night's game against the Boston Celtics, lost to the Celtics to end their winning streak. The Celtics beat the Rockets 94-74, in a dominating defensive performance that saw the Celtics hold Rockets' star Tracy McGrady to only 8 points and only 11 field goal attempts. The Rockets scored a season low 34 points in the second half, as the Celtics defense were able to stop others like Rafer Alston and Shane Battier from having good games when McGrady wasn't playing at his best. This is also the Rockets first loss since center Yao Ming went down for the season with a stress fracture in his foot. The Rockets have found numerous ways to beat their opponents without Yao, until they met the team with the best record in the NBA. The Rockets last loss was on January 27, when they lost a home game to the Utah Jazz, whom they also lost to in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season. Since that loss, the Rockets won 22 straight, winning all of their games in February. They haven't played the best competition, as they have played the New Orleans Hornets twice without David West. They also beat the Dallas Mavericks without Dirk Nowitzki and they beat the Los Angeles Lakers without Pau Gasol. Is this streak from the Rockets impressive? How far will the Rockets go in the playoffs? Are the Rockets a better team without Yao Ming?

Selection Sunday

The 65 teams who will participate in the NCAA Tournament were revealed today, and there were a couple of surprises in the teams who were selected and the teams who weren't. The Atlantic 10 conference, who has a reputation as a soft conference that doesn't want the mid major recognition, got three teams in the NCAA Tournament with Xavier, conference champions Temple, and St. Joseph's. St. Joseph's was on the bubble because they lost the conference championship game to Temple. It seems as if their resume was enough to get them into the tournament, as they will play Oklahoma in the East region on Friday in Alabama. Another surprise was Villanova. Villanova made it to the tournament, despite bad losses to Rutgers and Depaul. They did win one game in the Big East tournament, which was a rout of Syracuse in the first round. Syracuse previously defeated Villanova in Philadelphia earlier this season. They will play Clemson in the Midwest region on Friday in Tampa. Baylor was another team not expected to receive a bid. They started off strong in the season, but lost a lot of games down the stretch and then lost to Colorado in the Big 12 tournament opener. They will play Purdue in the West region on Thursday in Washington D.C. Teams that may have snubbed from a tournament bid was Virginia Commonwealth. They had a good record at 24-7 but their soft schedule may have cost them a bid. They also lost to George Mason in their conference tournament, costing them a sure bid. The four teams who received #1's were North Carolina, Memphis, Kansas and UCLA. All of these teams made it beyond the Sweet 16 in last season's tournament. North Carolina received the overall #1 spot. Which team will win the tournament? Which teams will upset a good team?

Nuggets Score NBA Season High 168 Points

The Denver Nuggets, lead by Carmelo Anthony's 26 points, defeated the Seattle Supersonics 168-116. This amount of points came in regulation, which is the third highest total amount of points by one team in an NBA regular season game without going into overtime. This game had balanced scoring as well. Allen Iverson had 24 points behind Anthony's leading 26. Kenyon Martin also had 23 for the Nuggets, who have won three in a row by blowouts. They are now one and a half games behind the Golden State Warriors for the final playoff spot in the crowded Western Conference. They also reached 40 wins with the victory, which has been their fastest to 40 wins since the 1987-1988 season. The Nuggets were very efficient as a team from the field, shooting 69 percent from the field in the first quarter and scoring 48 points. They had 84 at halftime, in which they were leading by 26 points. The Supersonics were lead by rookie Kevin Durant, who had 23 points. 15 of those 23 points came in the second quarter, in which the Nuggets scored their lowest quarter point total with 36. The Supersonics, who are among the league's worst NBA teams, have now fallen to 16-51 in their rebuilding season. Are the Nuggets a playoff team? Will they make the playoffs? If the Nuggets do make the playoffs, do they pose a threat to any team in the conference?

Favre Retires

Brett Favre, the Green Bay Packers quarterback who has just come off one of his best seasons in quite a while, has decided to retire. Favre, who led the Packers to the NFC Championship game this past season, has said that he can still play but his desire to prepare for the games is not where it should be. Favre, who was the face of the Packers franchise since the Vince Lombardi era, has played 17 seasons. 16 of those seasons were with the Packers. Favre has started 253 straight games since starting his first game with the Packers back in 1992. This past season, he passed Dan Marino for the most touchdown passes as a quarterback and he also surpassed Marino's career passing yards mark. He also has the most wins as a starting quarterback. Favre has led the Packers back to dominance after they were irrelevant in the 1980's and the early 1990's. He led them to a Super Bowl victory in 1996 against the New England Patriots and also led them to the Super Bowl the next year, when they lost to the Denver Broncos. Favre has been known as one of the most durable quarterbacks in the history of the NFL, as he has battled many injuries and still manages to start every game for more than 15 years straight. Favre is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks to play in the NFL, and now he can wait for the Hall of Fame in 5 years. Was the decision of Favre to retire surprising? How will the Packers do without him next season? Is Aaron Rodgers, the Packers starting quarterback for next season, capable of leading the Packers like Favre?

#1 Tennessee Loses to Vanderbilt

A day after the Tennessee Volunteers were ranked #1 in several polls, they played another in-state rival and this time they lost. The top ranked Volunteers, ranked #1 for the first time in school history, lost 72-69 to the Vanderbilt Commodores, who are ranked #14 in the college basketball polls. This loss will most likely mean the Volunteers will lose their #1 spot when the next rankings come out next Monday. They do play Sunday against the Kentucky Wildcats and if they win and a lot of top teams lose sometime this week, they can probabaly still retain their top spot. This is the second straight year Vanderbilts has beaten a top ranked team on their home floor. Last season, Vanderbilt beat the top ranked Florida Gators, who went on to defeat the Ohio State Buckeyes to win the national championship. The Volunteers have a tough schedule ahead of them, which includes the SEC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament. The Volunteers, just like a lot of top teams, are looking to get a #1 seed in the tournament. Last year, the Volunteers lost to the Buckeyes in the Sweet 16 by one point after owning a double digit lead most of the way. Does this loss even matter to the Volunteers? Will the Volunteers win the national championship? How good is Vanderbilt?

#2 Tennessee Defeats #1 Memphis

The Tennessee Volunteers, who were ranked #2 in the country, defeated the Memphis Tigers, who were ranked #1, 66-62 in the FedEx Forum in Memphis on Saturday night. This matchup between two teams in the same state was highly anticipated as the best game of the season after the polls came out last Monday. That was when Tennessee jumped ahead to #2, setting up a premier 1 vs. 2 matchup. Memphis was previously unbeaten and had beaten teams such as Georgetown, Arizona and Gonzaga all at home and had beaten UConn in Connecticut earlier this year. Their undefeated season now comes to an end and it was because they were unable to score in the crucial times of the game. Their free throw shooting hurt them as usual. Memphis is last in Division I in free throw shooting and they couldn't knock them down in the late parts of the game. Derrick Rose, Memphis' outstanding freshman, had 23 points for the Tigers, who couldn't score consistently in the late parts of the game. Tennessee was committing a lot of turnovers as well, that could've been costly. But the Volunteers was able to come away with the victory and now they'll be surely headed to a #1 seed when the polls come out on Monday. Does this win prove Tennessee is the best in the country? What does this loss say about Memphis? Will either one of these teams go far in the NCAA Tournament?

Trade Deadline Deals

There have been several teams involved in making trades leading up to Thursday's 3pm trade deadline. The San Antonio Spurs, who are the defending champions, traded Brent Barry, Francisco Elson, and a 2009 first round draft pick to the Seattle Supersonics for Kurt Thomas. Thomas, who was with the Phoenix Suns last year, was asked to guard Tim Duncan in the playoffs and did a solid job. The Spurs now add a defensive big man to their already intimidating defensive team. The Houston Rockets, who were on a 9 game winning streak heading into Thursday night's game against the Miami Heat, traded Mike James and Bonzi Wells to the New Orleans Hornets in a three team trade on Thursday. The Rockets received Bobby Jackson and Adam Haluska in the deal and the third team in the trade, the Memphis Grizzlies, acquired Marcus Vinicius in the deal and the draft rights to two other players. The most notable deal before the deadline were between the Supersonics, Cleveland Cavaliers and the Chicago Bulls. In an 11 player trade, Ben Wallace, Wally Szczerbiak, Joe Smith and Delonte West were sent to the Cavaliers. Drew Gooden, Larry Hughes, Cedric Simmons and Shannon Brown went to the Bulls. Ira Newble, Donyell Marshall and Adrian Griffin were sent to the Supersonics in the complicated three team deal. Lebron James, the Cavaliers star player has been public about his displeasure of the Cavaliers not making any moves after the flurry of recent blockbuster deals including major contenders. The Cavaliers finally pulled off a major deal. Which team(s) will benefit from the trades? Has any trade in recent weeks made any team weaker than what they were before? Who are the frontrunners now for the NBA title?

Mavs, Nets Complete Blockbuster Deal

The Dallas Mavericks and the New Jersey Nets, who have been talking for about a week about a deal that would send Jason Kidd to the Mavericks, has now gone final and Kidd, who played for the Mavericks his first three seasons, will be reunited with his old team. In this deal, forward Malik Allen and guard Antoine Wright is headed to the Mavericks along with Kidd. Devin Harris, DeSagana Diop, Maurice Ager, Trenton Hassell, and Keith Van Horn is headed to the Nets in the deal. Van Horn, who was unofficially retired, agreed to sign with the Mavericks so he can be included in the deal. The same happened in the Pau Gasol deal with the Los Angeles Lakers. Unofficially retired player Aaron McKie agreed to be included in that deal. The Nets also get two Mavericks first round picks in successive years and they receive $3 million. The Western Conference has seen blockbuster deals lately, with Gasol going to the Lakers and Shaquille O'Neal going to the Phoenix Suns. The Mavericks have now made a deal to acquire an All-Star, but they lose depth at the center position by giving up Diop. Is this a good deal for the Mavericks? Will this improve their standing in the Western Conference? Does this deal make them the frontrunners for the championship?

Atlanta Acquires Bibby

The Atlanta Hawks have acquired point guard Mike Bibby from the Sacramento Kings on Saturday for four players. Bibby, who is the last member of the Kings team that lost Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals to the Los Angeles Lakers in 2002, was acquired by the Hawks in an effort to bolster their offensive production. The Cleveland Cavaliers were heavily in the running to complete a trade acquiring Mike Bibby, but it didn't happen. The Hawks, who has All-Star scoring guard Joe Johnson, have given up Anthony Johnson, Shelden Williams, Tyronn Lue and Lorenzen Wright. The Kings were looking to give up Bibby in the right deal for quite some time now. They finally unloaded him. They got back a substantial amount of players, including Johnson, who once scored 40 points in a playoff game for the Indiana Pacers in 2006. There have been several blockbuster deals lately and this figures to be another one. The previous marquee deals have involved Western Conference teams acquiring prominent players to elevate themselves to championship status. The Hawks, who hasn't made the playoffs since 1999, now have a chance to make the playoffs. With this deal, will the Hawks make the playoffs? What team does this deal benefit the most? After unloading Bibby, will the Kings look to trade Ron Artest?

Stackhouse In Hot Water

Jerry Stackhouse of the Dallas Mavericks has caused a stir with the NBA for his comments concerning the proposed trade with Jason Kidd of the New Jersey Nets going to the Mavericks for Stackhouse, Devin Harris and Devean George. Stackhouse, who likes playing in Dallas, said that he would go to the Nets and get a contract buyout. After his contract buyout, he said that he will sit out the mandatory 30 days and then sign with the Mavericks. That didn't sit well with the NBA and now they are looking into different scenarios if the trade happens. In all likelihood, if the trade goes through, the NBA will most definitely prevent Stackhouse from going to the Mavericks. They will try to give all NBA teams a shot and getting his services. The trade doesn't seem to happen anyway, as Devean George has said that he will not waive his Bird rights and allow the trade to happen. The Mavericks will have to look into different scenarios to get this deal done. Mark Cuban, owner of the Mavericks, has said before that the option of Keith Van Horn, who is retired, getting thrown into the deal instead of George will not happen. There has been marquee trades that has happened in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Lakers traded for former All-Star Pau Gasol and the Phoenix Suns has traded for former All-Star Shaquille O'Neal. Will this deal with Jason Kidd eventually go through before the trade deadline? If this trade goes through, will it make the Mavericks better?

Shaq Traded To Suns

Shaquille O'neal, center for the Miami Heat, was traded on Wednesday to the Phoenix Suns for Shawn Marion and Marcus Banks. The deal was in the works for the last couple of days, but to everyone's amazement, the deal was finalized. The Heat, who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference, will be getting four time All Star Marion and a backup point guard in Banks. Many people have said that O'neal may be close to retiring, as he has not been healthy these past two seasons, and hasn't been the dominant force that he once was. This trade is getting some criticism because people don't see how O'neal will fit into the Suns fast break offense. O'neal is a big center, at 7 feet 1 inches, but has not really shown the ability to play great defense in his career. The Suns currently have the best record in the Western Conference, and GM Steve Kerr, a five time NBA champion with the Chicago Bulls and the San Antonio Spurs, apparently has decided that the Suns won't win a championship with their explosive offense. They are trying to get bigger and O'neal's experience can help the team or his lack of good play recently can hurt the team. O'neal has won four championships himself, three with the Los Angeles Lakers and one with the Heat. Will the Suns be better off with O'neal? How will their offense perform for the rest of the season? How many more years does O'neal have left in him?

Knight Resigns

Bobby Knight, head coach of the Texas Tech Red Raiders, has resigned effective immediately, most likely ending his hall of fame college coaching career. Knight is the all time leader in wins as a head coach in college basketball, with over 900 wins. His last victory was several days ago, which was a victory against the Oklahoma State Cowboys on Saturday. Knight started his coaching career at Army, but is most noted for his coaching career at the University of Indiana, where he won three national titles. The last came 21 years ago, in 1987. His stay with the Indiana Hoosiers included successes like his three national titles but also included some turbulent times, which led to his firing in 2000. He started at Texas Tech in 2001 and enjoyed some moderate success with the Red Raiders with a couple NCAA Tournament appearances. Pat Knight, Bobby's son, will take over as the head coach as he said that he will stay beyond the rest of the season. Fortunately, the resignation of Knight did not affect their upcoming recruits decisions. Their top recruit has said that he will definitely still commit to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders are now 12-8 and have been struggling this season and may not make the NCAA Tournament. Was this the right decision to quit in the middle of a season? Will Knight coach another team or is he done?

Giants Stun Patriots, Win Super Bowl

The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII in what is most likely the biggest upset in NFL history. The Giants, who were double digit underdogs coming into this game, applied heavy pressure to Patriots All-Pro quarterback Tom Brady. He was sacked five times and was hit countless other times during the game. Wes Welker, wide receiver for the Patriots, was very effective, having 11 catches for 103 yards. Randy Moss, another wide receiver for the Patriots, scored a touchdown to put the Patriots ahead 14-10. But the Giants didn't quit, as they have done the entire postseason. Eli Manning, the Giants quarterback, lead the Giants on a drive that ended with Plaxico Burress making a touchdown reception with 35 seconds left. The Patriots, who had the first undefeated regular season since the 1972 Dolphins, finally could not win a game which presented struggles. The Patriots all season have been able to find a way to win when they haven't been playing at their best. The Giants, however, were ready to combat anything the Patriots threw their way and they turned out to be Super Bowl champions. Manning won the Super Bowl MVP award, a year after his older brother, Peyton of the Indianapolis Colts, won it last year. It's the first time in NFL history that brothers have started in consecutive Super Bowls and won it. Does everything the Patriots accomplished this season get thrown out the window? What can we expect from the Giants next year? Is this the biggest upset in NFL history?

Gasol Traded To Lakers

Pau Gasol, forward for the Memphis Grizzlies, was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday for two players and two draft picks. The two players who were traded from the Lakers were rookie Jarvaris Crittenton and Kwame Brown, who has been getting booed at home games for his poor play since replacing the injured Andrew Bynum. Gasol, a former all star with the Grizzlies, now provides the Lakers with a reliable big man while Bynum recovers from his injury. It also gives the Lakers a good lineup for when Bynum returns to action, as Gasol and Bynum would form to be a good tandem if they can work well together. The Grizzlies certainly didn't get the best of this trade. They received Brown, who was a former overall #1 pick who now turns out to be a bust in the NBA. They also got Crittenton, who was not a major part of the Lakers success this year. The Lakers have now produced on Kobe Bryant's request of doing things to make this team a better team. Bryant, before this season started, demanded a trade several times, because he felt the Lakers were not doing anything to make the team a contender. Kobe now gets to play with another all star and possibly improve their chances of winning a title. Will this trade make the Lakers the front runner to win the title? If the Lakers don't get out the first round, will Bryant definitely demand a trade?