SportSpectator Blog

March 30, Week in Sports

:: NCAA TOURNAMENT DOWN TO “FINAL FOUR” TEAMS (College Basketball)

:: TIGER WOODS WINS ARNOLD PALMER INVITATIONAL (Golf)

:: UCONN ACCUSED OF RECRUITING VIOLATIONS (College Basketball)

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FINALLY! FOUR TEAMS LEFT IN NCAA TOURNAMENT

The second weekend of the NCAA tournament has come to a close, and the field of 64 teams has been narrowed down to just four, known as the “Final Four”–UConn, Villanova, Michigan State, and North Carolina.

Two of the four teams–North Carolina and UConn–are one seeds in the tournament. Meanwhile, Pitt and Louisville, the two other one seeds, were eliminated by Villanova and Michigan State, respectively. In a year that has only seen a handful of truly great tournament games, perhaps the best of them all took place on Saturday night, when Villanova’s Scottie Reynolds muscled up a last second shot to knock off the Panthers. However, there were practically no memorable upsets from this year’s tournament–which is a shame, since other than office pools, one of the nation’s favorite parts of the tournament is rooting for the underdogs.

Within a week, two of these Final Four teams will be sent home. On Saturday, Michigan State plays UConn and North Carolina plays Villanova. The two teams that survive Saturday’s games will play for the national championship on Monday.

Quote of the Week: “It’s going to go down as one of the great games in NCAA tournament history, that’s for sure” — Seth Davis, CBS analyst, on the Pitt-Villanova game

Further Reading: “Pecking order hard to decipher in this year’s Final Four ” — Mike Lopresti, USA Today

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DON’T CALL IT A COMEBACK
Tiger Woods, who recently returned from recovery from knee surgery, won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in dramatic fashion on Sunday afternoon. Once again, Woods drained an improbable putt on the green of the 72nd and final hole of the tournament to seal the victory.

Woods started the day five shots back, and by stealing the win he matched his career-best comeback, which came on the PGA tour in 2000. Today’s stunning finish came at the expense of Sean O’Hair, who was tied with Woods going into the final hole of the tournament. O’Hair went into Sunday’s round with a big lead, but like so many others before him, he was unable to prevent the onslaught of Woods, who is almost undoubtedly the most dominant athlete of his generation.

There were certainly analysts out there who doubted whether Woods had fully recovered from his surgery, but Woods put those fears to rest today. Next comes the big test for Tiger: is he sharp enough to win the Masters, the first Major Championship of the year, which starts in two weeks? One thing is for sure, all eyes will be on Tiger, and everyone will be expecting nothing less than the miraculous.

Quote of the Week: ”The guy is the greatest pressure putter who has ever played the game.” — Johnny Miller on Tiger Woods

Further Reading: “Tiger returns to winning at Bay Hill ” — Associated Press, via Golf.com

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SORRY, UCONN’T DO THAT…

According to a report released last week by Yahoo! Sports, the University of Connecticut–known as UConn–was guilty of major recruiting violations in the acquisition of former player Nate Miles. Getting busted for “recruiting violations” is a nightmare for any collegiate team, in that it often results in suspensions for coaches, limited recruiting allowances for years to come, and scholarship restrictions at the very least.

This comes at the worst possible time for UConn, who just reached the Final Four in the NCAA tournament. The goal of every college basketball team is to get to this point in the tournament, and for that moment to be tarnished by reports of recruiting violations is unfortunate for the Huskies. According to the report, Nate Miles came to UConn after being recruited by Josh Nochimson, a professional sports agent and former UConn student manager. Furthermore, Nochimson reportedly paid for food, lodging, and transportation for Miles during the recruitment process, and members of the UConn coaching staff knew what Nochimson was doing. After the initial Yahoo! report surfaced, other sources dug up even more damaging information. ESPN, for instance, discovered that Nochimson had committed similar infractions in the recruitment of at least one other player, and the Tampa Tribune claimed that Nochimson even paid for a knee surgery for Miles in 2007.

The reports so far have been extremely detailed, well-documented, and thorough, which means that an NCAA investigation is very likely. The kicker, for UConn, is that Nate Miles was expelled from the team for violating a restraining order before he even had a chance to play for the team.

Quote of the Week: ”I’ve heard the expression that clear skies don’t fear thunder. I feel very good after talking to my athletic director and talking to the people working on the situation right now. But could it be hurtful? Yeah, it could be hurtful.” — Jim Calhoun, UConn coach

Further Reading: “Probe: UConn violated NCAA rules ” — Adrian Wojnarowski and Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

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 WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The NCAA Tournament has been narrowed down to four teams–the Final Four. The next round of the tournament will be played on Saturday when Michigan State plays UConn, and the University of North Carolina plays Villanova.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

 

ACTIVE SEASON

 :: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The 2008-09 season is currently underway. It runs from late October to April of 2009, when the playoffs commence.  [Official NBA Website]

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): “The Tournament” is currently underway. Four teams, known as the “Final Four” are currently left in the tournament. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): Now that the Super Bowl is over, the next major NFL event is the draft, which takes place in late April. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeating Oklahoma in the national championship game. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: 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 Masters is scheduled for the first week of April. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season is currently underway and runs through April of 2009.  [Official NHL Website]

 

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The next event is the French Open, which takes place in May. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in this year’s World Series. During the off-season, baseball news will focus on major trades and player signings. [Official MLB Website]

March 23, Week in Sports

:: ‘MARCH MADNESS’ NCAA TOURNAMENT REACHES SWEET SIXTEEN (College Basketball)

:: JAY CUTLER SAGA CONTINUES IN DENVER (Pro. Football)

:: JAPAN KNOCKS OUT U.S. IN WORLD BASEBALL CLASSIC (Pro. Baseball)

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 OH MY SWEET SIXTEEN

Over the weekend, the first two rounds of the NCAA Men’s Division I Basketball Championship were played. This tournament, known as “March Madness,” is one of the most popular and exciting sporting events of the year. The field has been narrowed from 64 teams to just 16, known as the “Sweet Sixteen.”

So far, there have not been any truly shocking upsets so far in the tournament, but there were certainly a handful of surprises and several thrilling finishes in the opening weekend. No. 13 Cleveland St. knocked off Wake Forest in the biggest upset of the first round of the tournament, which was fun while it lasted, but they then lost to Arizona in the second round. Arizona, a 12 seed, is the lowest ranked team still in the tournament. The next lowest ranked is Purdue, a 5 seed. Arizona has not reached “Cinderella” status yet, but a victory over No. 1-ranked Louisville on Friday would make them the underdog story of the tournament.

None of the four top-ranked teams in the country–-North Carolina, Louisville, Pitt and UConn–-have been knocked out of the tournament so far. That being said, there have already been a couple of scares, and the level of competition is increasing with every round, so look for a big upset sometime next weekend.

Quote of the Week: “Pittsburgh beat Oklahoma State and Louisville beat Siena, meaning all four No. 1 seeds have advanced to the Sweet 16 for the fifth consecutive season. The last time a No. 1 seed didn’t advance to the Sweet 16 was 2004, when both Kentucky and Stanford lost in the second round (to UAB and Alabama).” — Gary Parrish, CBS Sports

Further Reading: “Sports Illustrated Bracket “

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BRONCOS BABY

In the past week, the Jay Cutler situation has gone from bad to worse in Denver. Cutler is the starting quarterback for the Broncos, and after feeling slighted by new coach Josh McDaniels, he is demanding to be traded.

Cutler is one of the most talented quarterbacks in the league, though by no means does he have the kind of star power of Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, or Tony Romo. However, Cutler also has a reputation for being a prima donna and a real whiner. Given his behavior in this current debacle, Cutler will never live that reputation down. It all started when McDaniels, the newly introduced 32-year old coach of the Broncos, reportedly tried to trade for Matt Cassel–the second quarterback for the New England Patriots, where McDaniels used to coach. When Cutler caught wind of the fact that McDaniels was pursuing another quarterback, he started to publicly bellyache about it. McDaniels and Cutler had a meeting, which was supposed to smooth things over but actually made things worse, and now Cutler is demanding to be traded.

In reality, whether or not Cutler gets traded will ultimately be the decision of the Broncos organization. However, Cutler has become such a distraction for the team that if he doesn’t make any effort at reconciling with his coach, they will have little choice but to trade him. A young quarterback with Cutler’s proven talent doesn’t appear on the market very often in the NFL, so if he does get traded, he will go for a high price.

Quote of the Week: ”I understand Jay’s feelings got hurt, but it’s too bad it has got to where it is. I wish Jay would have got some better advice from whoever he was getting advice from.” — John Elway, former Broncos QB

Further Reading: “Don’t Destroy Franchise ” — Woody Paige, Denver Post

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THE LAND OF THE RISING FASTBALL

On Sunday night, Japan knocked the U.S. out of the World Baseball Classic, the biggest international tournament for baseball. Japan will face Korea in the finals on Monday.

Though Major League Baseball is considered the highest level of baseball in the world, the U.S. team was not favored in their game against Japan. While many American players shy away from competing in the WBC out of fear that they will get injured before the start of the MLB season, Japanese players take a great deal of pride in playing well during the tournament. The game between Japan and the U.S. was surprising close, but Japan pulled away in the final innings to seal a 9-4 victory.

The Monday night game should be extremely competitive. Japan, one of the best baseball countries in the world, is defending their WBC championship from 2006. However, the Korean team, which won gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, is one of the best teams when it comes to international play.

Quote of the Week: “Japan’s 9-4 victory in the semifinals of the World Baseball Classic against Team USA won’t be seen as a shifting of the international baseball world toward Asia.That shift already took place some time ago.” — Devin Clancy, USA Today

Further Reading:  “Japan Has a Date with Korea in Final” — Rhett Bolinger, MLB.com

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: COLLEGE BASKETBALL: The NCAA tournament continues this Thursday, as the Sweet Sixteen attempt to fight their way to the Elite Eight. The action will continue all weekend, and the schedule will be updated regularly on the CBS Sports website .

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

 

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASKETBALLNBA (Pro. Basketball): The 2008-09 season is currently underway. It runs from late October to April of 2009, when the playoffs commence.  [Official NBA Website]

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): “The Tournament” is currently underway. Sixteen teams, known as the “Sweet Sixteen” are currently left in the tournament. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): Now that the Super Bowl is over, the next major NFL event is the draft, which takes place in late April. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeating Oklahoma in the national championship game. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: 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 Masters is scheduled for the first week of April. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season is currently underway and runs through April of 2009.  [Official NHL Website]

 

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The next event is the French Open, which takes place in May. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in this year’s World Series. During the off-season, baseball news will focus on major trades and player signings. [Official MLB Website]