March 24, Week in Sports
:: HOUSTON ROCKETS WINNING STREAK ENDS AT 22 (Pro. Basketball)
:: BASEBALL SEASON BEGINS (Pro. Baseball)
OH, MY SWEET SIXTEEN!
Over the weekend, the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship were played across the country. This tournament is one of the most popular and exciting sporting events of the year.
There have already been a number of huge upsets in the tournament, with two highly ranked teams–Duke and Georgetown–getting knocked out of the tournament. On Saturday, West Virginia (one of the 7-seeded teams) toppled Duke (one of the 2-seeded teams). Duke is an annual contender and a high-profile team that draws a great deal of attention across the nation. About half of college basketball sports fans in the country love Duke, and the other half loves watching Duke go down. Expectations were also high for Georgetown, but they were eliminated from the tournament on Sunday by Davidson.
None of the four top-ranked teams in the country–North Carolina, Memphis, UCLA, and Kansas–have been knocked out of the tournament so far. That being said, there has never been a year when the four 1-seeds have all made it to the Final Four, so there is a good chance that at least one of the big-name teams will be knocked out in the Sweet Sixteen round of the tournament, which begins this week.
Quote of the Week: “No matter how well or how hard you’re playing, you’ve got to put the ball in the basket. We didn’t do that today.” — Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski
Further Reading: “West Virginia sends Duke home with 73-67 upset” — Jack Carey, USA Today
———-
HOUSTON, WE HAVE A PROBLEM…
On Tuesday, the Boston Celtics defeated the Houston Rockets, ending Houston’s 22-game winning streak–the second-longest winning streak in the history of the NBA.
The Rockets had their hands full against the Celtics, who have the highest winning percentage in the NBA. The two teams were evenly matched throughout the first half, but the Rockets eventually slipped behind and ended up losing the game 94-74. The Rockets hardly appeared to be devastated by the loss. Rather, they proudly reflected on their streak, and then turned their minds to the upcoming playoffs.
During the winning streak, the Rockets rose to the top of the highly-competitive Western Conference. In the days following the end of the streak, the Rockets have dropped back a couple of games from the Lakers. With just weeks left before the playoffs begin, the Rockets and their competitors in the Western Conference will be playing as hard as possible to jockey for better positions in the postseason.
Quote of the Week: “We’re talking like the season’s over. We’re playing well, and we’ve got to continue playing this way.” — Rockets Guard Tracy McGrady, responding to questions about the end of the streak
Further Reading: “Garnett Scores 22 as Celtics Halt Rockets’ Win Streak at 22” — Associated Press, via ESPN
———-
HOW DO YOU SAY “PLAY BALL” IN JAPANESE?
Baseball season begins this week, on March 25th, when the Boston Red Sox play the Oakland Athletics in Japan. The game is a highly anticipated event since it marks the beginning of the season, but also because it is being played internationally.
However, opening day in Japan almost didn’t happen. Early last week, the Red Sox and Athletics players discovered that their coaches would not be receiving the same payment as the players for making the trip to Japan. All of the players are reportedly receiving $40,000 each for taking part in the international games. For some of the players, that money is a drop in the bucket compared to their yearly salaries. However, for many assistant coaches and trainers, that is a significant bonus.
Ultimately, after the players threatened to boycott the trip to Japan, the league yielded and offered to pay coaches and other personnel $20,000. The players have agreed to chip in to pay the rest. So now that the money has been taken care of…play ball!
Quote of the Week: “They were told they were going to be (paid). For a coach, in some cases, this is two-fifths of their salary for the year. It’s a big deal. I don’t agree that coaches are second-class citizens. That has never sat well with me, ever, and continues to boggle my mind.” — Terry Francona, Red Sox Manager
Further Reading: “Sox win standoff with MLB” — Rob Bradford and Michael Silverman, Boston Herald
———-
WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK
:: COLLEGE BASKETBALL — The Sweet Sixteen–the third round of the NCAA tournament–begins on Thursday. After getting off to a slow start, the games in the second round of the tournament were thrilling. The excitement should continue as this year’s Cinderella teams–underdogs like Davidson, Villanova, and Western Kentucky–face off against the best of the best.
:: PRO. BASEBALL — The regular season begins on March 25th with the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Oakland Athletics being played in Japan. It should make for great TV…if you happen to be in the mood for baseball at 6 in the morning. The rest of the league will start the regular season the following week.
———-
ALL-SPORTS UPDATE
ACTIVE SEASON
:: BASKETBALL
NBA (Pro. Basketball): With less than a month remaining in the regular season (the post-season begins on April 19th), the 2008 playoff picture is beginning to take shape. Sixteen teams will qualify for the playoffs—eight from the Western Conference and eight from the Eastern Conference. [Official NBA Website]
NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): The first and second rounds of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship were played this week. The Sweet Sixteen games will be played March 27-28 and the Elite Eight games will be played March 29-30. The Final Four games will be played on April 5, and the Championship game will be played on April 7. As the games are played, more detailed information about the tournament schedule will become available on www.espn.com or www.cbssports.com, among other places. [CBS Sports]
———-
:: GOLF
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. The first of these is the Masters, which takes place in April. The Masters is played on the same course every year at Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Georgia. [Official PGA Website]
NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Ernie Els
———-
:: HOCKEY
NHL (Pro. Hockey): With less than a month remaining in the regular season (the Stanley Cup playoffs begin on April 9th), the 2008 playoff picture is beginning to take shape. Sixteen teams will qualify for the playoffs—eight from the Western Conference and eight from the Eastern Conference. [Official NHL Website]
———-
:: TENNIS
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
———-
OFFSEASON
:: BASEBALL
MLB (Pro. Baseball): Baseball’s pre-season—Spring Training—is in full swing, with exhibition games being played daily in Arizona and Florida. The regular season begins this week, on March 25th, when the Boston Red Sox play the Oakland Athletics in Tokyo, Japan. [Official MLB Website]
———-
:: FOOTBALL
NFL (Pro. Football): Until the NFL Draft takes place—on April 25th and 26th—NFL news will be limited to trades and free agent signings. The NFL 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]