April 14, Week in Sports
:: TREVOR IMMELMAN WINS THE MASTERS (Golf)
:: KANSAS TOPS MEMPHIS FOR NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP (College Basketball)
:: FIRST ROUND OF STANLEY CUP PLAYOFFS (Pro. Hockey)
Trevor Immelman, a South African golfer and an underdog at the tournament, dominated the competition in Augusta, Georgia to win the Masters and take home the prestigious green jacket.
Before Immelman’s win on Sunday, he had only one other PGA Tour victory to his name. It has been a rough past year for Immelman, who just months ago had to go under the knife to have a tumor surgically removed. (The tumor, it turned out, was benign.) However, he was in fine form throughout the four-day tournament, where he played consistently excellent golf despite tough weather conditions. The strong winds, especially, confounded many of the players during Sunday’s final round, which made Immelman’s performance all the more impressive.
Tiger Woods, who “struggled” during the weekend, finished in second place, losing to Immelman by three strokes.
Quote of the Week: “Smallish in stature but loaded with heart like his hero [Gary Player], Immelman survived the wicked wind and the pressure of a Sunday at Augusta National to shoot 75 for a three-shot victory over Tiger Woods.” — PGA Tour website
Further Reading: “Immelman latest in a line of surprise major title winners” — Bob Hariq, ESPN.com
KANSAS CUTS DOWN MEMPHIS, THEN CUTS DOWN THE NETS
On Monday, April 7th, the Kansas Jayhawks were crowned national champions when they beat the Memphis Tigers by a score of 75-68. This game, the final match of the NCAA tournament, is the single-most important event in college basketball.
The championship game was fast-paced and evenly matched, but with only minutes left, it looked as though Memphis would walk away with a win. However, as a result of a number of miscues by the Tigers, including a botched inbound pass and a handful of missed free-throws, Kansas had a chance to make a dramatic comeback. With only seconds left in regulation, Kansas guard Mario Chalmers hit a miraculous three-point shot, which ultimately sent the game into overtime. The Jayhawks dominated their demoralized opponents in OT, and took home the championship as a result.
Quote of the Week: “Perhaps what will be remembered more than the Jayhawks’ victory was how Memphis (38-2) blew it.” — Pete Thamel, The New York Times
Further Reading: “Kansas shocks Memphis to win title in OT” — Associated Press, via NBC Sports
HOCKEY TEAMS FACE OFF IN POST-SEASON PLAY
The first round of the NHL playoffs will be completed this week, with 8 of the 16 teams advancing to the second round. Each round of the playoffs is a best-of-seven series.
There have been few surprises in the playoffs so far, with the Montreal Canadiens (top-ranked in the Eastern Conference) and the Detroit Red Wings (top-ranked in the Western Conference) both playing extremely well. However, that is not to say that the games have been without excitement. Perhaps the most thrilling game took place on Friday, when the Washington Capitals narrowly beat the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 5-4. The Capitals scored three goals in the third and final period of play, and the game-winner came from Alexander Ovechkin, one of the young superstars in the league. It was 22-year-old Ovechkin’s first NHL playoff game. However, the Flyers won the game on Sunday, bringing the series to a 1-1 tie.
Quote of the Week: “It was one of the biggest goals of my career in an important game for us. But I am not the only one. The whole team helped tonight.” — Ovechkin, following Friday’s game
Further Reading: “Good Things Come in Threes” — Tarik El-Bashir, Washington Post
:: HOCKEY — The first round of the playoffs continues this week, with a complete schedule available on www.nhl.com. If the series between the Washington Capitals and Philadelphia Flyers continues to live up to expectations, Tuesday night’s game should be action-packed.
:: BOXING — On April 19th, Bernard Hopkins will fight Joe Calzaghe in a 12 round match for Hopkins’ Ring magazine light heavyweight title. The match, which will air on HBO, promises to be a thriller–Hopkins and Calzaghe are ranked the 4th and 5th best pound-for-pound fighters in the world, respectively.
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NBA (Pro. Basketball): With just days remaining in the regular season (the post-season begins on April 19th), the teams that have already clinched playoff spots are jockeying for better seeds, which would earn them easier match-ups in the first round of the playoffs. Several teams will be fighting here on out to get into the playoffs–most notably Denver and Golden State, who are battling for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. [Official NBA Website]
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): Now that the tournament is over, college basketball news will focus on which players leave their schools for the NBA, and which college teams land the premier high-school players for next season. [CBS Sports]
MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. Now that the Masters is over, the next event will be the U.S. Open, which is played in the month of June. [Official PGA Website]
NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els
NHL (Pro. Hockey): The Stanley Cup Playoffs continue this week. Sixteen teams qualified for the playoffs—eight from the Western Conference and eight from the Eastern Conference. [Official NHL Website]
MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments of the year are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The Australian Open took place in January. The French Open, which is held in May, is the next Grand Slam event. [USTA Website]
NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Justine Henin
MLB (Pro. Baseball): Baseball season is in full swing, but it is a long season, so teams tend to measure their success month by month. The All-Star break takes place the second week of July. By then, teams’ records will be a good indicator of how well they are performing this season. [Official MLB Website]
NFL (Pro. Football): The NFL Draft takes place on April 25th and 26th. The pre-season begins in August, and the regular season begins in September. [Official NFL Website]
NCAA FOOTBALL (College): Now that signing day has come and gone, there won’t be much news in college football until the summer, when practice sessions begin. [NCAA Football, ESPN]
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