This Game Had it All

It was a huge night last night for Louisville and they earned their 76-82 win over Michigan to win the NCAA Men's tournament.  Although, if you watched the frenetic game, you know there were kids on both teams that were determined to make a name for themselves on college basketball's biggest stage.

Let me start by saying how incredible this game was.  It was everything I hoped to be watching when I turned it on at tip.  The pace started fast and never got a chance to settle throughout the game.  Both teams wanted to win equally as bad.  There were some huge dunks, deep three-pointers, turnovers, you name it.  I will also mention there were a few calls that were tacky but that isn't the point of this post.

I'll start with the Wolverine's side of things.  As I was watching, I noticed they had no regard for the three-point line.  If they were five to ten feet beyond and had a shot, they took it.  The crazy thing is they made plenty of those shots.  44% of their shots were made and a large part of that has to do with Spike Albrecht.  This kid averaged just under two points off the bench all season.  Last night he went off, at least in the first half.  I thought the Cardinals were in trouble when I saw Albrecht putting up three after three and the occasional tough layup.  He ended up with 17 points.

The beauty of social media kicked in when people saw what was happening and started following him on Twitter.  Spike Albrecht went from having 4,000 followers at the start of the game, to having 17,000 by halftime.  That is insane.  This was deserving though, as he played lights out in the first half to make a name for himself.

Things were looking to good for Michigan up until something sparked the Cardinals right before halftime.  You could see it unfold.  Louisville climbed back from a 12 point deficit to come within one point by half.

The Cardinals had their own three-point shooter in Luke Hancock.  This kid was five of five from three range and ended up with 22 points.

Although Peyton Siva was zero of two from three, he was also playing lights out.  He ended with 18 points on the night as well as a ridiculous dunk.

The Cards had a similar second half.  They let Michigan hang around for a while.  If you were watching, you could see it happen again.  Something sparked them to take control of the game and finish.

This game was incredible.  I personally do not need to see a game come down to a final shot for it to be considered great.  This is one people will remember.  The intensity, the drive, the atmosphere; it was all there.  I just hope you didn't miss it.

Image Acquired From:  http://www.theesportsblog.com/2012/11/louisville-to-the-acc/

Hey Coach Rice, What The Hoff?

Where to start with this one...We could start with the physical abuse, or the verbal abuse, or how childish this guy is.  Mike Rice needs help and that is clearly evident in the videos of the Rutgers basketball practice videos.

If you are not quite sure what happened, you can watch the video here on my Youtube page.  What kind of person does this?  He was throwing balls at the kid's heads and their ankles, swearing at them, and physically grabbing them.  This man has issues and he needs help.

Apparently, Athletic Director Tim Pernetti viewed the video in late November.  Pernetti decided the best route to go would be to suspend Coach Rice for just three games, slap him with a $50,000 fine, as well as require him to take anger management classes.  Are you kidding?  A three game suspension will teach him!  Not only that but he can easily pay that fine with the $100,000 he is owed from his contract for completing the season.

So did that really help?  Why wasn't more done?  This guy should have been fired right away if you ask me.  Coaches, or anyone for that matter, cannot just walk around abusing kids and acting like rabid animals.

Then I thought that coaches certainly can get fired up and intensely excited.  Mike Rice, is on a whole different level of that.  What really was this guy thinking when he was up in the faces of his players and whipping balls at their heads?

Rice was finally fired on April 3rd.  I am just wondering what took so long.  These are the guys that are supposed to be preaching to kids about anti-bullying.  That is something "grown ups" should be doing. Instead, Rice took it completely in the opposite direction.

You can watch Mike Rice's apology here.  I noticed in Mike's apology that he seemed to choose his words carefully.  Part of me wants to believe the guy is remorseful.  He certainly doesn't make any "BS" excuses for his actions, which helps.  But damn, I have one question for you Coach Rice:  "What the HOFF?"


Photo Acquired From:  http://news.softpedia.com/news/Rutgers-Fires-Abusive-Coach-Mike-Rice-over-Practice-Video-342738.shtml

Louisville Soars

It was a huge day for Louisville yesterday.  The day held events that many expected.  It also held things that no one could have predicted.


Before we get to the Lady's game, the Louisville boys had an eventful night playing Duke.  It really was a game of two different halves.

The game looked to be pretty evenly matched up until the event that shook people up on and off the court.  I can't just ignore this as a potential game changer.  I told myself I didn't really want to write about it at all because of how gruesome it was.  I certainly won't post it, in fear of being blamed for ruining viewer's keyboards.

After jumping to attempt a block, backup point guard Kevin Ware came down pretty normally but ended up breaking his leg.  What was odd to me was the fact that it wasn't his knee (which would be a weak point) but rather his shin that snapped.  What is amazing is that he was telling his teammates to go win the game.

Next thing you know, Louisville is straight fire.  They finished off Duke 85-63.  Louisville completely handled the game the way the wanted to after the injury to Ware.

Just as an update:  Kevin Ware had successful surgery and is walking on crutches.


Soon after, the ladies of Louisville found a way to stop Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears.  Louisville was ranked fifth coming into the game while Baylor obviously held the number one spot.  Did anyone think that they could match up with Brittney Griner though?  After watching her play I really didn't think so.  In my previous post about current streaks, I mentioned that Britney's last stat line was 33 points and 22 rebounds.  That is a presence that demands attention.

Griner was held scoreless in the first half of the game.  She also committed a foul with just seconds left, in which helped the Cards catch the win.  It also helped though, that the Cardinals made 16 three pointers.

It's a tough way to see Griner end her incredible career.  She ended second in career points and first in career blocks.  We will catch up with her in the WNBA though, don't worry.

It was interesting to see Baylor's coach Kim Mulkey in a post game interview though.  She was highly critical of the refs and thought it would be sad for the game if they go on to officiate in the next rounds.  She wanted all the questions up front and claimed she was ready to take on any fines that were to come of her comments.

An important thing to note though, is that the Louisville ladies played well throughout the game, especially from three point range.

All in all, it was a huge day for Louisville.  It's safe to say the Cardinals are soaring right now.



Images acquired from:  http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/-college-basketball-mens-tournament/news/20130331/louisville-women-upset-baylor-brittney-griner.ap/

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/college/basketball/louisville_perseveres_through_horrific_SvJLFui69fVUmoZ79je2mO

We're Going Streaking!

If you haven't figured out what this post is about from the title and logos above then you probably haven't been following sports too closely.  There have been a quite a few streaks recently that have recently ended or are still on-going.  You may know the more popular ones but which do you think is the best?

The Miami Heat's 27 game winning streak that ended last night against the Bulls.  It seems fitting that Chicago ended the Heat's streak, as Miami has recently been compared to the great Bulls teams of the 90's, mainly the '95-'96 team that won 72 games.  This streak saw Lebron James average 27 points a game.  Miami's streak is simply amazing, falling just six games shy of the '71-'72 Lakers record of 33 straight.  Even though the streak is over, the Heat are still eyeing the ultimate goal of repeating as champions.

The Chicago Blackhawks had their own streak raging earlier this season; they earned at least one point in 24 straight games.  The Blackhawks had their streak ended by the Colorado Avalanche in a 6-2 loss. This streak was very impressive and at one point it was looking better than the Heat's streak.  Chicago is sitting nicely at 25-4 with 53 points on the season.

Still ongoing, the Pittsburgh Penguins have a 13 game winning streak rolling along quite nicely.  The current winning streak record was set by the '92-'93 Pens at 17 straight.  Pittsburgh has been very active lately in acquiring new players.  They recently acquired Brendon Morrow, Jarome Iginla, and Douglas Murray.  This acquisitions certainly push the envelope for extending their own record.

The Minnesota Women's hockey team is one of the streaks you may not be as familiar with.  They recently won a championship by going 41-0 on the season.  This puts the team at 49 consecutive wins.

Last but not least, Baylor Women's Basketball team went a perfect 31-0 in the regular season.  Brittney Griner recently put up 33 points while grabbing 22 rebounds to beat Florida State 85-47.  This team is looking phenomenal as they move on to the Sweet 16 against Louisville.

So there you have it.  These are five incredible streaks, each in their own special way.  Comment below to voice your opinion as to which streak is best!

Images Acuired From: 

http://gtn206.com/2011/12/18/baylor-beats-uconn-1-vs-2-womens-hoops/

http://minnesota.cbslocal.com/2013/03/07/minnesota-sweeps-kazmaier-finalists-with-all-3-2/

http://www.famouslogos.net/miami-heat-logo

http://puckinghockey.com/2013/01/20/pittsburgh-penguins-vs-new-york-rangers-prediction-12013/

http://www.huntlogo.com/chicago-blackhawks-logo/