Concussions in the NFL

Concussions are an ongoing problem in the NFL. It seems like every game these days someone is leaving with a head injury. The NFL officials have claimed they are making progress with the safety of helmets and hitting but things aren't changing. In 2010, there were 159 concussions in the NFL. In 2011, there were 162 concussions in the NFL. After 10 weeks this year, they are right on pace for around those numbers with already 77 concussions.

We see concussions with every position but the fear is with quarterbacks. They are put in the least safe positions most of the time, and the concern is that they are going to be hit in the head. This year has been a bad year for quarterbacks as many notable names have gone down such as: Alex Smith (SF), Robert Griffin III (WAS), Jay Cutler (CHI), Brady Quinn (KC), and Michael Vick (PHI). A lot of these high profile players are being left out of action which is a burden to themselves, their teams, and the fans that show up and pay to watch their team win games. It is hard to win games with your starting quarterback out and this showed last year as the Bears went from Super Bowl contenders to out of the playoffs after Jay Cutler was knocked out with an injury midway through the season.

Overall, if we want to keep the NFL players safe, rules will be needed to continue to change for the better of the athletes. Keeping the players safe should be the number one priority so that issues that occur in these players careers don't affect them later on in life.

Turn Around on the Beltway

For years and years, baseball in our country’s capital has been absent. The D.C area is home to two baseball teams, the Baltimore Orioles and Washington Nationals. Both have finished at or near the bottom of their respective divisions for the past decade. Shocking the baseball world, both teams turned it around and brought life back to their stadiums this season. Each organization made the playoffs, but their magical runs ended abruptly in the first round. Either way, the energy and excitement for baseball has been brought back to D.C. Here is an overview of the fantastic season these two clubs had.

Washington Nationals (98-64): First in the NL East
Manager: Davey Johnson
Best Hitter: Adam LaRoche .271 33 HR 100 RBI
Best Pitcher: Gio Gonzalez 2.89 ERA 21 Wins 8 Losses 207 Strikeouts
Playoffs: Lost in 5 games to the St. Louis Cardinals in the NLDS

This team came into the season with hope that their young ball club could finally put it together and produce a winning season. Their superstar pitcher Stephen Strasburg had a breakout year with 15 wins but his season was ended with just weeks left in the regular season. He did not have an injury but the management ended his season at 160 innings to preserve him for years to come. The other big story was calling up the 19 year old Bryce Harper halfway through the season. Harper had so many amazing plays in the outfield and at the plate as well. He became only the second teenager ever to hit a home run in the post season. Overall, this team should be so proud of the way they performed this season and look for this ball club to be in contention for years to come.

Baltimore Orioles (93-69): Second in the AL East

Manager: Buck Showalter

Best Hitter: Adam Jones .287 32 HR 82 RBI

Best Pitcher: Jim Johnson 2.49 ERA 51 Saves

Playoffs: Beat Rangers in one game playoff, Lost in 5 games to the Yankees in the ALDS

The Baltimore Orioles came into the season expecting to lose 100 games and not have a winning record for the 16th straight year. After the first few months, the Orioles were performing and were towards the top of the AL East but no one thought they would hold on. All of a sudden, with weeks left in the season, the Orioles had only a 3 game lead for one of the two wild card spots. Again, no one believed they would hold onto it. Against all odds, the Orioles made it into the playoffs, beat the Rangers in the one game playoff and then came up just short against the Yankees in the ALDS. This team had no number one pitcher or an elite hitter. They all just loved to play the game of baseball and with one of the top bullpens in the league, this team won 16 straight extra innings games and went 29-9 in one run games. Just like the Nationals, this young team has a very bright future and with a couple of key additions, they could contend for the championship next year.

Week 1 College Football Recap

Football is back as the college season kicked off  this past weekend. Here is a look at the top five teams and how they performed.

1. USC Trojans
W vs Hawaii 49-10
The Trojans have high expectations coming into this season as the number one ranked team in college football. Matt Barkley skipped entering the NFL draft so that he could play in his senior year at USC. He played extremely well in the first game going 23/38 for 372 yards and 4 TD's. Newly acquired Penn State running back Silas Redd chipped in with 56 rushing yards and a TD. Most of Barkley's throws were to Marqise Lee who finished with 10 catches for 197 yards and TD.

2. Alabama Crimson Tide 
W vs #8 Michigan 41-14
This game had all the hype going into it. #2 Alabama faced off vs. #8 Michigan at Dallas Cowboys Stadium Saturday night in prime time. In the end, Alabama overwhelmed Michigan with their stifling defense and precision offense. Alabama's freshman running back T.J Yeldon stole the spotlight rushing for 111 yards and a TD on only 11 carries. On defense, C.J Mosley took an interception back for a touchdown as the Alabama defense was all over Michigan's quarterback (Denard Robinson) all night.

3. LSU Tigers
W vs North Texas 41-14
In their first game without Tyrant Mathieu (Honey Badger), LSU had no trouble handling North Texas. LSU's quarterback Zach Mettenberger had to leave the game after a vicious sack but returned and finished with 192 yards with a touchdown and an INT. Running back Kenny Hilliard was a beast for LSU rushing for 142 yards and two TD's. The specials teams for LSU was good as well as Odell Beckham returned a punt 70 yards for a touchdown.

4. Oklahoma Sooners

W vs UTEP 24-7

Oklahoma rallied back after giving up the first touchdown of the game to beat UTEP Saturday night. Oklahoma's senior quarterback, Landry Jones, passed for 222 yards and 2 TD's. 121 of those yards went to wide receiver Kenny Stills who also had a TD. Oklahoma also ran the ball extremely well as the team finished with 205 rushing yards. Their defense did give up 207 rushing yards themselves so watch for that to be a weakness going forward.

5. Oregon Ducks

W vs Arkansas State 57-34

Sporting the flashy new uniforms, the Oregon Ducks went back to their torrent scoring ways racking up 57 points vs. Arkansas State. New quarterback Marcus Mariota was very solid in his debut going 18/22 for 200 yards, 3 TD's and no INT's. Oregon's speedy running back, De'Anthony Thomas had over 110 all purpose yards and 3 TD's. 

Rookie Quarterbacks

This previous draft, two quarterbacks were taken in the first two picks and both are scheduled to start opening day for their respective teams.. Each have played two preseason games so here is a look on how they have done and how I think they will do this upcoming season.

#1 PICK. ANDREW LUCK: INDIANAPOLIS COLTS
Game 1 vs. St. Louis Rams. W 38-3. 10/16 for 188 yards. 2 TD. 0 INT.
Game 2 vs Pittsburgh Steelers. L 24-26. 16/25 for 175 yards. 0 TD. 2 INT.

Luck has been very impressive in his first two games as the Colts quarterback. His career started off very easy against the St. Louis Rams as he had a 56 yard screen pass go for a touchdown in his first pass of the preseason. Since then, he has looked poised and confident in the pocket just like he was at Stanford. He has veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne to throw to so watch for that combination to be deadly all season. Overall, Luck has the tools to get to the level Peyton Manning got to here in Indianapolis, it may just take some time.

 #2 PICK. ROBERT GRIFFIN III: WASHINGTON REDSKINS

Game 1 vs. Buffalo Bills. W 7-6. 4/6 for 70 yards. 1 TD. 0 INT.
Game 2 vs Chicago Bears. L 31-33. 5/8 for 49 yards. 0 TD. 0 INT.

RG3 hasn't gotten that much playing time this preseason because the Redskins believe he is ready and they do not want him to get injured. With the time he has gotten, RG3 has looked like the quarterback he was at Baylor scrambling around the pocket and finding streaking wide receivers across the middle with his strong arm. During the off season, the Redskins went out and signed free agent wide receiver Pierre Garcon from the Colts. He will be RG3's primary target during the season and the two are expected to thrive off of each other. It will be interesting to see if RG3 is worth the three first round picks the Redskins gave up for him. I believe he is.

The Flying Squirrel

Known as "The Flying Squirrel," Gabby Douglas won the women's all-around title Thursday night, becoming the third straight American to win gymnastics' biggest prize. It's her second gold medal of the London Games, coming two nights after she and her "Fierce Five" teammates gave the United States its first Olympic title since 1996. She finished with a 62.232 just edging Russia's Viktoria Komova by three tenths of a point. After seeing the final results, Gabby started smiling and looked up at her family who was hugging and crying.

Just a few years ago, Gabby doubted if she would ever make it to the Olympics. Gabby told her mom, Natalie Hawkins, that she wanted to move from their home in Virginia Beach, Va., to train with Chow, who coached Shawn Johnson in 2008. Hawkins said absolutely not; there was no way she was allowing the youngest of her four children to move halfway across the country at 14. After much persistence from her and  her sisters, Natalie reluctantly let her sister join Chow.


Look at her now. Not only did Gabby advance for the United States instead of World Champion Jordyn Wieber but she also held off the Russians to claim gold in the all around. She should be very proud that all of her hard work has finally paid off.

USA Olympic Team

With the 2012 Summer Olympics just around the corner, the United States basketball coaches finally announced the players that will represent our country in London. Here is a look at the roster.

Head Coach: Mike Krzyzewski

Carmelo Anthony 
Kobe Bryant
Tyson Chandler
Kevin Durant
Lebron James
James Harden
Russel Westbrook
Andre Iguodala
Kevin Love
Chris Paul
Deron Williams
Anthony Davis (replacing Blake Griffin)

Gold: Members of the 2008 Summer Olympic team that won a gold medal.


Coming into these Summer Olympics, the United States are heavy favorites to repeat as gold medalists. It will be interesting to see how these players perform under this kind of pressure as a lot of the players on this 2012 team are young and inexperienced with international play. A weakness on the team is size as Tyson Chandler is the only true center on the team. The team to watch out for is Spain because they have three 7 footers (Gasol Brothers, Serge Ibaka) that could cause problems for the United States.

2012 All Star Game

The 2012 MLB All Star game will take place in Kansas City this year. As always, the elite players from the AL and NL will face off to see which conference will have home field advantage for the 2012 World Series. Here is a look at of the starting lineups and reserves for each team.

American League:  

 Starters:
C- Mike Napoli (Texas Rangers)
1B- Prince Fielder (Detroit Tigers)
2B- Robinson Cano (New York Yankees)
3B- Adrian Beltre (Texas Rangers)
SS- Derek Jeter (New York Yankees)
OF- Josh Hamilton (Texas Rangers)
OF- Curtis Granderson (New York Yankees)
OF- Jose Bautista (Toronto Blue Jays)
DH- David Ortiz (Boston Redsox)

Pitchers: 
Ryan Cook (OAK), Matt Harrison (TEX), Felix Hernandez (SEA), Jim Johnson (BAL), Joe Nathan (TEX), Chris Perez (CLE), David Price (TB), Fernando Rodney (TB), CC Sabathia (NYY), Chris Sale (CWS), Justin Verlander (DET), Jered Weaver (LAA), CJ Wilson (LAA)

Reserves:
Joe Maur (MIN), Matt Wieters (BAL), Elvis Andrus (TEX), Asdrubal Cabrera (CLE), Miguel Cabrera (DET), Ian Kinsler (TEX), Paul Konerko (CWS), Adam Jones (BAL), Mike Trout (LAA), Mark Trumbo (LAA), Billy Butler (KC), Adam Dunn (CWS)

National League:
Starters:
C- Buster Posey (San Francisco Giants)
1B- Joey Votto (Cincinnati Reds)
2B- Dan Uggla (Atlanta Braves)
3B- Pablo Sandobal (San Francisco Giants)
SS- Rafael Furcal (St. Louis Cardinals)
OF- Melky Cabrera (San Francisco Giants)
OF- Carlos Beltran (St. Louis Cardinals)
OF- Matt Kemp (Los Angeles Dodgers)

Pitchers:
Matt Cain (SF), Aroldis Chapman (CIN), R.A Dickey (NYM), Gio Gonzalez (WAS), Cole Hamels (PHI), Joel Hanrahan (PIT), Clayton Kershaw (LAD), Craig Kimbrel (ATL), Lance Lynn (STL), Wade Miley (ARI), Jonathan Papelbon (PHI), Stephen Strasburg (WAS), Huston Street (SD)

Reserves:
Yadier Molina (STL), Carlos Ruiz (PHI), Bryan Lahair (CHC), Jose Altuve (HOU), Starlin Castro (CHC), Ian Desmond (WAS), Chipper Jones (ATL), David Wright (NYM), Ryan Braun (MIL), Jay Bruce (CIN), Carlos Gonzalez (COL), Andrew McCutchen (PIT), Giancarlo Stanton (MIA)

 

2012 NBA Mock Draft

With the NBA finals done, the attention turns to the draft that will take place this Thursday. Here is my mock draft of the top 10 picks.

1. New Orleans Hornets- Anthony Davis (Kentucky)
This is a no brainer as the long, big man is one of the best prospects since Lebron James in 2003.

2. Charlotte Bobcats- Thomas Robinson (Kansas)
Even though they got unlucky to get the number two pick, Robinson will add some much needed interior strength to a weak Bobcats front court.

3. Washington Wizards- Bradley Beal (Florida)
A scoring two guard is a gaping hole for the Wizards and Beal is a lights out shooter.

4. Cleveland Cavaliers- Harrison Barnes (UNC)
His length and shooting abilities will help the Cavs stretch the floor on offense.

5. Sacramento Kings- Andre Drummond (UCONN)
He is raw talent but Drummond could become a big star in the NBA.

6. Portland Trail Blazers- Damian Lillard (Weber State)
Lillard is not known by many but he is the best point guard in the draft and Portland definitely needs  one with the assumption that Raymond Felton is leaving via free agency.

7. Golden State Warriors- Michael Kidd-Gilcrest (Kentucky)
This would be a steal for the Warriors as MKG is super athletic and a lockdown defender.

8. Toronto Raptors- Dion Waiters (Syracuse)
This guy can score in a hurry and he proved that in college averaging over 12 points per game off the bench for Syracuse last year.

9. Detroit Pistons- John Henson (UNC)
He would complement Greg Monroe perfectly and the Pistons front court would be set for the next decade.

10. New Orleans Hornets- Austin Rivers (Duke)
Already drafting a big in Anthony Davis, the Hornets could get the point guard Rivers and come out of the draft definitely a better team.

New Generation

For the past decade, the San Antonio Spurs and Boston Celtics have dominated the NBA. Ever since the Spurs drafted Tim Duncan first overall in 1998, they have won four titles. The big three of Parker, Duncan, and Ginobili have stuck together and every year when everyone thinks they are too old, they prove the critics wrong. That especially goes for this season as nobody thought the Spurs would compete this season. Instead of backing down, the Spurs finished with the best record in the league and rolled off 20 wins in a row at the end of the season. It is unfortunate they just ran into an extremely hot Thunder team who beat the Spurs 4-2 in the conference finals. Who knows how the Spurs will do next season but I would not be surprised if they are in the hunt again come May.

Five years ago, the Celtics made a big splash in free agency after acquiring Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen to complement Paul Pierce. All three of the superstars had only one goal and that was to win their first title. They achieved that goal in their first year together in 2008 after they beat the Lakers. After that win, injuries riddled the team's chances of winning another one as they closest they got was in 2010 when they lost in seven games to the Lakers. After they lost last week to the Heat in a game seven heartbreaker, you have to wonder if the Celtics big three will ever be on the court together as teammate. My guess is no as Garnett and Allen are free agents this year. They will probably now have to rebuild around Rondo but it was a good run for the Celtics and they got the title they all deserved.

 

So now the attention turns to the next two dynasties. The Miami Heat and OKC Thunder are both young, explosive teams in their prime that are bound to be successful for years to come. Get your popcorn ready because this will be one of the fastest, most exciting finals in the history of the NBA.

With three MVP trophy's all Lebron has left to do is win the NBA Finals.

American Tennis

This year at the French Open has been quite embarrassing for US tennis. After just the first two rounds, Serena Williams, Venus Williams, and Andy Roddick have already lost. Here is a look into how all three stars exited so early this year.

Serena Williams:


Serena has dominated women's tennis for the past decade. She has won twelve majors in singles and a bunch more in doubles. Coming into the French Open, she was on a high after winning a few weeks ago on the blue clay in Madrid. Serena was one of the favorites to win this years French Open but that all came to a halt two days ago when she lost in the first round to the 111th ranked female, Virginie Razzano. Before entering this week, Serena was undefeated in the first round of majors (46-0). She struggled all match ending up with 30 unforced errors. Enough cannot be Razzano though. He 32 year old coach died a few months ago due to a brain tumor so she was wearing a black ribbon on her shirt. She is also French so she had the whole crowd rallying around her. All in all, it was a major disappointment for Serena and it showed as she was in tears during the post game interview.

Andy Roddick:


Approaching 30 years old, Andy appears to be slowing down on the tennis court. His shots have a lack of movement and his serve isn't as strong as it use to be. He was easily beaten by Frenchman Nicolas Mahut and people are starting to wonder when Andy will hang up the shoes and retire. It tough because he was the face of US mens tennis not to long ago but he is just not the same player anymore.

Venus Williams:


Venus wasn't even ranked for this years French Open. Due to numerous injuries, she has not been able to play in recent tournaments. Just like Roddick, she is appearing to slow down as she was demolished in the  second round today. She lost 6-2 6-3 to the #3 seed Radwanska. Just like her sister, she did not expect to exit the French Open so early but now she needs to get healthy so she can try to get back to the level she was once at.

Quarter Awards

Already a quarter of the season has passed by in the 2012 MLB season. Here are the awards so far.

NL MVP
David Wright: 4 HR/25 RBI/.415 BA

Earlier in the year this award would have gone to Matt Kemp but due to his hammy injury, I think David Wright deserves it. The once all star has had a few off years due to injury so it is nice to see him return to form.

AL MVP

Josh Hamilton: 18HR/47 RBI/.379 BA
This man has been out of this world as he has dominated the AL pitching day in and day out. This astonishing numbers have not been seen this early since Micky Mantle. If he can keep it up, he will arguably have the best season anyone has ever had before.

NL CY YOUNG
Brandon Beachy: (5-2) 1.77 ERA
The Braves have been delighted to see this young pitcher produce and help lead the Braves to the top of the NL East. This was a tough decision due to so many pitchers doing so well in the NL such as Strasburg, Cueto, and others.

AL CY YOUNG
Justin Verlander: (5-1) 2.22 ERA
The way he pitches is just unfair to opposing hitters. His fastball can get to 100 MPH and his wicked curveball keeps batters unbalanced throughout the game. He got close to getting his 4th career no hitter against the Pirates but lost it with two outs left in the game. If he keeps it up, he will definitely have more chances to snatch his 4th.

MANAGERS OF THE YEAR
AL: Buck Showalter (Baltimore Orioles)    
NL: Don Mattingly (LA Dodgers

Players Suspended

Last week, the league game down hard on the Saints again as the suspended four current/ex defensive players of the team for participating in the bounty program. Here is a look at all four players and what they are being accused of.

(Jonathan Vilma)
Saints Defensive Captain
Suspension: 16 games

The Pro Bowl, Middle Linebacker has been accused
of being the ring leader of the bounty program. He
will appeal his season long suspension to the commissioner,
Rodger Goddell.

(Anthony Hargrove)
Suspension: 8 games

The Defensive End currently with the Packers
has been suspended due in part because he
actively obstructed the league's 2010 investigation
into the program by being untruthful to investigators.

(Will Smith)
Saints leading pass rusher
Suspension: 4 games

The Saints Defensive End has been suspended
4 games because he supposedly added money
to the bounty pool and intended to hurt players
in games such as Kurt Warner and Brett Favre.

(Scott Fujita)
Suspension: 4 games

Currently with the Browns, Fujita has been
suspended four games due to his involvement
 in paying Saints defensive
players to hurt opponents during games.

NFL Draft

The much anticipated NFL draft finally occurred this past weekend. Here is a look at the top five picks and a brief analysis of each player.

1. Indianapolis Colts: Andrew Luck QB- No surprise here for the Colts as this was expected since Peyton Manning left for the Broncos. Luck has big shoes to fill but hopefully he can turn a franchise that won two games last season into Super Bowl contenders.

2. Washington Redskins: Robert Griffin III QB- RG3 comes into an organization that has been trying to find their franchise quarterback for over a decade. The Redskins gave up numerous picks for RG3 so they are hoping he is not a bust. The Heisman Trophy winner will try and lead the Redskins to their first winning season in four years.

3. Cleveland Browns: Trent Richardson RB- The Browns traded up for by far the most talented running back in this class. After the Browns finished last in almost every offensive category last season, they knew they needed to draft a playmaker and Richardson will be stepping into that role instantly. Hopefully he can perform and I am sure he will after how successful he was at Alabama.

4. Minnesota Vikings: Matt Kalil OT- The Vikings moved back one spot and still obtained the best offensive lineman in the draft. Christian Ponder, the Vikings rookie quarterback last year, was sacked quite a bit as the offensive line struggled throughout the season. Kalil will be hoping to add some stability to the offensive line and help the young Ponder stay on his feet.

5. Jacksonville Jaguars: Justin Blackmon WR- Shockingly, not a single Jaguars wide receiver caught over 100 passes last season as the offense was ranked near to last in every single offensive category. Blackmon was a complete monster in college and will try to bring some energy and talent to such a dreadful offense. Young quarterback Blaine Gabbert will finally have a legitimate player to throw to and his stats will definitely improve.

Rest of the first round picks:

Artest at it Again

Ever since being selected by the Bulls in 1999, Ron Artest (a.k.a. MWP) has been considered a "thug" among fans and players in the league. You might recall his 2003-04 season when Artest, playing for the Indiana Pacers, ran into the stands in a game versus the Detroit Pistons after a fan threw a beer at him during a fight on the court. Following that incident, Artest was fined and suspended the remainder of the season (86 games), which stands as the longest on court suspension in league history. He then shuffled through the Western Conference as a member of the Sacramento Kings, Houston Rockets and then finally the LA Lakers. Prior to joining the Lakers, Ron Artest had tallied up over 100 games of suspension in his professional career, which is by far the most by any player in the NBA history. Giving Artest some credit, he has attempted to improve his image over the past few years and had not been suspended in six seasons prior to last year's playoff series against the Dallas Mavericks. Toward the end of  game two, the old Artest came out and leveled the helpless 6 foot Jose Juan Barea. Artest was suspended just one game as the Lakers went on to get swept in the series. This past year, Artest officially changed his name to "Metta World Peace." This was again another attempt to repair his image and it appeared to be working. But this past Sunday, Artest was back at it again.

In a fiesty game against the Oklahoma City Thunder, Artest had the ball on a breakaway and dunked over two Thunder players. As he pumped his chest on the way back up the court, Thunder's James Harden appeared to make accidental contact with Artest, at which point, Artest reared back his elbow and threw it into the head of Harden.  Harden instantly hit the ground clutching his head. As Thunder players ran at Artest, the Laker crowd was left confused; most of the fans didn't see what happened as the replay was not shown.  The refs instantly ejected Artest but in the post game interview, Artest claimed he inadvertently hit Harden and was extremely sorry. Looking back at the replay, the elbow to the head does not appear accidental.  The league is determining what Artest's suspension will be. Harden was evaluated and doctors confirmed he has a concussion and will be out for the next few games. With the playoffs just next week, hopefully Harden can have a speedy recovery because he is a key asset to his team. Overall, the "old" Artest came out for the public to see again and this boneheaded play has fans questioning "will he ever learn from his mistakes?"

NBA Playoff Picture

Coming down to the last few games of the NBA season, the playoff race is very tight in the east and west conferences. Here is a look at how all the teams stand as of 4/16 and who they play the remainder of the season.

EAST:
1. Chicago Bulls (46-15) @CHA, @MIA, DAL, @IND, CLE
2. Miami Heat (43-17) TOR, CHI, WAS, HOU, @BOS, @WAS
3. Indiana Pacers (39-22) @PHI, MIL, PHI, DET, CHI
4. Boston Celtics (36-25) @NYK, ORL, @ATL, MIA, MIL
5. Atlanta Hawks (36-25) DET, BOS, NYK, LAC, DAL
6. Orlando Magic (36-25) @BOS, @UTA, @DEN, CHA, @MEM
7. New York Knicks (31-29) BOS, @NJ, @CLE, @ATL, LAC, @CHA
8. Philadelphia 76ers (31-29) IND, @CLE, @IND, @NJ, @MIL, @DET

On the Bubble:
9. Milwaukee Bucks (29-31) @WAS, @IND, NJ, TOR, PHI, @BOS


WEST:
1. San Antonio Spurs (43-16) @LAL, @SAC, LAL, CLE, POR, @PHO, @GS
2. Oklahoma City Thunder (44-17) @PHO, @SAC, @LAL, SAC, DEN
3. Los Angeles Lakers (39-22) SAS, @GSW, @SAS, OKC, @SAC
4. Los Angeles Clippers (38-23) @DEN, @PHO, NO, @ATL, @NYK
5. Memphis Grizzles (35-25) @MIN, NO, @CHA, POR, CLE, ORL
6. Denver Nuggets (34-27) LAC, @PHO, ORL, @OKC, @MIN
7. Dallas Mavericks (34-28) HOU, GSW, @CHI, @ATL
8. Phoenix Suns (32-29) OKC, LAC, DEN, @UTA, SAS

On the Bubble:
9. Houston Rockets (32-29) @DAL, @NO, GSW, @MIA, NO
10. Utah Jazz (32-30) @POR, UTA, PHO, POR

After being 16-20 at the All Star Break, the Suns chances of making the playoffs looked slim. Suns point guard Steve Nash has helped his team turn it around in the second half of the season as they now sit in the 8th spot with five games to go.

National Champs

Monday night the Kentucky Wildcats defeated the Kansas Jayhawks 67-59 giving the Big Blue Nation that elusive eighth national championship.  Their last one came in 1998 so the city of Lexington has been waiting 14 years to call their team national champions. The team this year was expected to win from the start with a roster loaded with NBA players such as Anthony Davis, Terrance Jones, Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, and Doron Lamb. Kentucky had eight players on their roster this year that averaged more than 25 points per game in high school. This team was able to gel from the start of the season as they had lost only two games heading into the tournament.

Much of this success can be credited to coach John Calipari who came to Lexington three years ago trying to revive this program. He transferred from Memphis in 2009, a team which he has just led to the championship with Derrick Rose as his point guard (reigning MVP in the NBA). They lost that game to Kansas so this victory must have felt even sweeter for Coach Cal. What a great coach he has been for Kentucky as he has a 112-14 record with the team and he hasn't lost a home game yet. This championship was the only puzzle piece missing in this Hall of Fame coach's career so it must have felt great for Calipari to finally win after coming up short so many times.

The real star player for Kentucky was Anthony Davis. He is the first college basketball player to win freshman of the year, MVP of the year, All American First team honors, and Final Four MVP all in the same season. The 6'10 center from Chicago is known for his exceptional defense that will help carry him through the first few years of his professional career. Once he improves his offensive game, the sky is the limit for this talented young star. He will most likely enroll in the NBA draft  and will make an instant impact on the team that picks him.

Kentucky will probably lose six players to the draft this year just like they did last year but don't count them out because John Calipari is the master of recruiting and he will have his Wildcats in the mix for years to come.

Tiger is Back

As Tiger Woods safely hit over the water on the 18th hole Sunday, he approached the green with a feeling of relief. He had just secured his first PGA victory in over 30 months. It was just two weeks ago when Tiger re injured his achilles and it seemed that all the progress he had made over the past few months was for nothing. Instead, Tiger dominated this weekend in the Arnold Palmer event, a tournament he has previously won six times. He set himself up on Friday after he shot a (-7) 65 sending him to the top of the leader board going into the weekend. With his traditional red shirt on Sunday, Tiger separated him self from the field late shooting a (-2) 70 and ended up winning by five strokes over the second place finisher Graeme McDowell.

It is quite hard to imagine how long it has been since Tiger Woods has last won a PGA tour event. He has played in 26 events and spent 924 days waiting until he could raise another trophy. It must've been extremely sweet winning in Bay Hill because he has lived in Florida for such a large portion of his life. It showed this tournament as he had a gigantic crowd the entire time supporting him on every shot good or bad. With the Masters two weeks away, Tiger will be looking to carry this momentum into Augusta as he tries to catch Jack Nicklaus record of 18 majors won. It appeared that Tiger would never be able to catch Jack due to the issues he has been dealing with, but with the win this weekend, five more majors seems very doable for the once number one player in the world.

March MADNESS

March is definitely the most exciting month for basketball fans. Every year, we make brackets hoping this is the year ours is perfect. All of our dreams came to an end the second day when Norfolk State beat Missouri and Lehigh beat Duke. Here is a review of rounds one and two of the tournament.

Biggest Upsets:
1st Round- #15 Lehigh over #2 Duke: 75-70
The Lehigh Mountain Hawks claimed they were not afraid of the powerhouse school Duke entering Friday's game. No one believed them at the time but the Patriot League Champions proved they were serious. Let by guard CJ McCollum (30 pts), Lehigh was able to shock the world and send Duke home in disbelief. Down two at the half, Lehigh managed to put up 47 points in the second half and after getting up by five points with four minutes left, they never turned back.

1st Round- #15 Norfolk State over #2 Missouri: 86-84

A no name player before this game, Norfolk State's forward Kyle O'Quinn had the game of his life putting up 26 points and 14 rebounds as he helped his team defeat the third best team in the country. Going into the tournament, Missouri was hot after winning the Big 12 championship. They had high aspirations of getting far in this tournament but they did not suspect to run into trouble so soon. Norfolk State was prepared for them and ran with the high pace Missouri team all night. As Missouri missed the final shot at the buzzer, the players from Norfolk State stormed the court yelling out "we messed up some brackets"! They sure did

as after this game, the nation was left with only two perfect brackets as over six million were tarnished.

Most Exciting Games:

2nd Round- #4 Wisconsin over #5 Vandy: 60-57

Going in, these teams were so even you knew it would come down to the wire. The one thing you know about Wisconsin is that they have the stingiest defense in the country. Giving up only 54 points per game this season, Wisconsin prides themselves on the defensive end night in and night out. Trailing 59-57 with only a few seconds left, Vandy's guard John Jenkins got an open look for three but came up just short. Wisconsin then went to the line where making both free throws would seal it. The Wisconsin player made the first but on the second came up short and Vandy called a timeout. With 2.5 seconds left, it was desperation time and on their heave down the court, a Wisconsin player tipped it and before a Vandy player could get to it, the final buzzer sounded and Wisconsin advanced to the Sweet 16.

2nd Round- #4 Indiana over #12 VCU: 63-61

Everyone remembers remembers VCU's historic run to the Final Four last year when they became the highest seed (11) to ever get that far in the tournament. They were back again this year and pulled off a first round upset over #5 Wichita State who many analyzers thought was the most dangerous team in the tournament. VCU was back as being the Cinderella team as they faced Indiana. VCU actually led for a large portion of this game but with twenty second left, the score was tied and Indiana had the ball. After a shot went off the rim, the ball bounced right to an Indiana player 10 feet from the basket and he knocked it down putting Indiana up by two with only ten seconds left. VCU did not  call a time out as they rushed up the court. After a few passes, the point guard found a player outside for three. The ball appeared to be on line but it came up a bit short and Indiana pulled out the victory. VCU goes home disappointed but they should keep their heads up high because they proved the school's basketball program is not just a one year wonder. They will be in the mix for years to come.

After one week of exhilarating basketball, we are down to sixteen teams. All four number one seeds are still in it but Syracuse has looked shaky the first two games and UNC's point guard just fractured his wrist so anything is possible. Here are the eight match ups which will start later this week.

#1 Kentucky vs #4 Indiana                             #1 Syracuse vs #4 Wisconsin

#10 Xavier vs #3 Baylor                                 #6 Cincinnati vs #2 Ohio State

#1 Michigan State vs #4 Louisville                 #1 UNC vs #13 Ohio

#7 Florida vs #3 Marquette                             #2 Kansas vs #11 NC State

If you haven't seen them already on TV, Baylor has been sporting the neon green jerseys. Very interesting choice may I say.