RICKY FEVER!

Finally the time has come, Ricky Rubio has just signed with the Minnesota Timberwolves, and will be playing in the NBA next year, if there is no lockout. I have heard for far too long about what a phenom he is, and what a great player he will be, but we will finally be able to see Rubio's greatness. I think it will take some time for him to adjust to the different style of play, but I definitely do not think he will be a superstar in the NBA.

A la flashy point guards, always go hard in the paint.

College World Series

We have upon us the men's and women's college world series. Always a staple of the spring sports diet, the college world series is a grueling tournament that always has some major ups and downs. Just like the ncaa basketball tournament, we see a ton of upsets and a ton of great games. I am hoping for the same this year.

A la championship tournaments, always go hard in the paint.

Walsh out as GM

Donnie Walsh's regime as president and General Manager of the New York Knicks came to an end today when his contract ran out. In short, at the age of 70, Walsh said he doesn't think he has the energy that it requires to be a GM. He will return to the team next year as a consultant. If you want to read more about this story, check out this article on ESPN.

Virginia Takes the Ship!

Virginia's Mens Lacross program wins the national title. Check out this video of the highlights of the game.

Michael Wilson Scholarship

I love this man. Brian Wilson establishes the Michael Wilson Scholarship in honor his late father's commitment to the US Air Force.

MLS All-Stars

New York Red Bulls coach ans Backe will lead the MLS All-Stars squad against Manchester United next month.

Blatter Re-Elected

Newly re-elected FIFA president Sepp Blatter turns to former US secretary of state Henry Kissinger to help investigate problems within the world soccer's governing body. Click here for more details.

Messi Gets Messy

In Rosario, Argentina, the best soccer player in the world, Lionel Messi, was unharmed when a youngster threw a punch at him as he was leaving a restaurant on Thursday. The assailant was among many fans looking for pictures and autographs. It was unclear if the punch made contact or what the reasoning behind it was but Messi just went on signing autographs while the assailant ran off. Witnesses noticed that the suspect was dressed in a uniform of a school that is just a few streets away restaurant. On his facebook page, Messi tried to play down the incident as to not stir and emotions. He wrote, "to relax all those people that asked us about the truth of the accident coming out of the restaurant, tell them I did not recieve any blows from anyone. I'm perfectly OK." Messi was visiting his home city of Rosario this week on holiday before practices start next week for the Copa America which opens July 1st.

That's mavtastic!

Holy Crap, is all you can say after a game like that. Can Dirk cook, or can he cook? The Mavs come back from being down 15 points in the 4th. I feel like we've seen that at some other point these playoffs, oh yeah we have. A great performance from a great team to even up the series at 1-1. This is shaping up to being an interesting series. This comeback is something that my friend Connor Witt may want to add to his article about these playoffs.

Do the Dirk and Just Score.

We'll Miss You Posey

Buster Posey suffered three torn ligaments and a broken left fibula in his home plate collision with the Florida Marlin's Scott Cousins. He underwent an intensive 90 minute surgery on Sunday to repair his left ankel. He had two screws inserted into his leg which will be removed in a second surgery in approximately 8-10 weeks. Posey has been ruled out for the rest of the season by the Giant's athletic trainer Dave Groeschner. Groeschner states, "It's a good prognosis. It's a long road from here. He just had a very devastating injury, had to have surgery and has a long rehab process to go. We'll see by the end of summer where he's at." The 2010 NL Rookie of the Year also had his ankel joint scoped but no damage was found yet, the ankel might have to be scoped in the future if scar tissue builds in the joint. The loss of Posey for the rest of the season was potentially devastating to the Giants, with other key players already on the disabled list. Eli Whiteside has stepped up to take the starting catchers role and is very hopeful for a great season.

Jim Bucked Up

Jim Tressel, one of the most inspirational and motivating coaches the Ohio State Buckeyes Football program has ever seen resigned his post as head coach last Monday. Coach Tressel concluded his resignation statement with a personal note, "We know that God has a plan for us and we will be fine. We will be Buckeyes forever." Tressel lead OSU to its first national championship in 34 years and was highly respected by all but just got caught up in a NCAA violation from a tattoo-parlor scandal. The scandel is reported to include 5 players of the team including the star quarterback Terrelle Pryor. They were found to have recieved cash and discounted tattoos from the owner of a local parlor which was the subject of a federal drug-trafficking case. The ongoing investigations served too much of a "distraction" to the university and he chose to step down "for the greater good of our school." It was a suprise to all for the coach who wrote the book about faith and integrity while covering up several major NCAA violations. Ohio State announced that Coach Luke Fickell, the assistant coach, is already lined up to take the job for the 2011 season but they will be on the look out for a permanent coach in 2012.

AUBREY! AUBREY! AUBREY!

HUFF! HUFF! HUFF!

Aubrey Huff just smashed his 3rd home run of the game tonight for the Giants, giving him 8 on the year. A 3 home run game are hard to come by these days, but boy are they fun to watch and look at in the box score. Aubrey Huff's line tonight:
4-5, 3 runs scored, 6 RBI's, 3 home runs.

And remember to put your best Aubrey Huff impression on and Just Score.

LA to honor Shaquille O'Neal

Number 34 will no longer be seen on a LA Laker player ever again. O'Neal's jersey, number 34, will be retired in honor of all his accomplishments on the court for the Lakers. Click here to read more about Shaquille O'Neal and the retirement of his jersey.

Just like Willie

Adam Jones makes an amazing catch that may strip Willie Mays' catch that is now infamously known as "The Catch." See for yourself!

Adam or Willie

Miami trio!

Heat wins game one!! 84-92. Cleveland fans aren't happy about it but the Miami trio is living up to their expectations. Were looking forward to game two!!!

10-year old American to sign with Barcelona

Ben Lederer, a native of Southern California, just signed a two-year contract with the Barcelona's youth soccer academy. Only ten years old, he is the first American to ever sign with Barcelona, which is the most elite soccer club in the world. Lederer, a soccer prodigy, has been recognized for his outstanding ball skills and his unique style of play. He has been compared to some of the most elite soccer players in the world like those of Andres Iniesta; a world class player that is on the Barcelona team now. By Lederer signing with Barcelona, it also gives USA soccer a better name. It proves that the soccer level in America is getting higher and closer to the level over in Europe.

As great as this is, it sometimes makes me wonder if this ten year old boy is going to lose some of his childhood experiences. I also think it is a little crazy how early clubs are recruiting young kids. They are still so young and could change tremendously in just a few years. However, by Barcelona being able to sign kids so early, this is one reason why Barcelona has proven to be a soccer powerhouse. In ten years or so, it will be interesting to see if this young boy will be seen on the pitch wearing a Barcelona jersey.

NL Awards

I covered the American League 1/3 year awards a couple posts ago; now I'm on to the National League which hasn't had as many surprises as AL, but it's still been an exciting first two months of the season to watch.


Most Surprising Team: St. Louis Cardinals
This is not because I didn't think the Cardinals would do well this year, they have a great squad. The reason why they're my most surprising team is the way in which they've done so well. It's amazing that they're 33-24 without some of their most important players playing up to their usual level. Albert Pujols hasn't hit like he has in the past (he's only on pace to hit 26 home runs this season); Chris Carpenter is 1-5 with a 4.52 ERA. Adam Wainwright has missed the whole season due to injury. Matt Holiday has missed some time this season as well. The reason they've been able to play so well is the resurgence of Lance Berkman, and other players picking up the slack as well.

Most Disappointing Team: Colorado Rockies
For the most part in the NL teams lie were most thought they would at the beginning of the year, so I feel that I'm getting a little nit-picky with calling the Rockies the most disappointing team. For me, they've been the most disappointing since their hot start. When they got off to that great start many people were quick to jump and say that they're going to be the National League Champs, I'm not saying that they still don't have a chance. They always seem to get hot in September, but this team has it's weaknesses. Aside from Troy Tulowitzki, Carlos Gonzalez, and Todd Helton, this team has some serious question marks in its line up. But unlike the Giants, they don't really have the pitching to cover up those whole's in their lineup especially with the recent loss of Jorge Dela Rosa for the rest of the season. Ubaldo Jimenez has not pitched like he did last; in fact he recorded his first win of the season last night. The Rockies haven't been that bad this year, but they're my most disappointing by default when you look at their expectations going into the season.

Most Surprising Player: Lance Berkman

I can't be the only one that didn't see this coming? Berkman's numbers had been declining the last couple years, especially last year when he hit only .248 with 14 home runs and 58 RBI's. Those are not the numbers of a middle of the order hitter. Well this year he has been reborn in St. Louis, hitting .329 with 11 home runs and 36 RBI's already at age 35. My theory is that Berkman hit rock bottom last year and this motivated him to get into great shape in the off-season, and it shows. I remember watching him last year on the Astros, he looked like a corpse out their. But this year he looks rejuvenated, which his numbers show, especially his power numbers. Last year he played for the Astros and Yankees in two of the most offensive ballparks in the majors and only hit 14 home runs. This year he's already got 11 for St. Louis. 

Most Disappointing Player: Ubaldo Jimenez

How can he not be the most disappointing player so far this season? He recorded his first win of the year YESTERDAY in June. I think by June of last year he was around 6-0 or 7-0 with an ERA around 1.00; this year it's a different story where he sits at 1-5 with an ERA of 4.98. He's already walked 30 batters in 59.2 innings. That's nearly a walk every 2 innings which is terrible. Yesterday he flashed the Ubaldo of old throwing a complete game shutout to record that first win. Maybe that will be the start that propels him back to his form of last year, but so far, he's been a disappointment.

MVP: Jay Bruce

Jay Bruce has burst onto the scene this year, leading the NL in home runs at 17 and RBI's at 46, with a respectable .292 average to boot. He's helped keep the Reds afloat in a tough NL Central division in which the tough Cardinals stand atop. Bruce is finally starting to show the hitting tools that made him the top prospect in all of baseball in 2008.

Cy Young: Jair Jurrjens

7-1, 1.51 ERA, 1.02 WHIP, 65.2 innings pitched over 9 starts (that's an average of around 7 innings a start). I don't even have to write anymore about Jurrjens, he's been the clear cut Cy Young in the National League so far this season. He's been down right dominant. Oh and by the way, the one game he lost, he only gave up 2 runs. Get at him.

Predictions:

West: San Francisco Giants
Now, don't be too quick to count these Giants out of the NL West race just because of the loss of Buster Posey last week. In any other division in baseball such a loss probably would count them out, but fortunately for the Giants they reside in what I believe is the weakest division in baseball. The Giants weren't scoring many runs with Posey in the lineup anyways, but their pitching has been fantastic. The highest ERA on the entire pitching staff is from Jeremy Affeldt at 5.40, the next highest is Matt Cain at 3.88 which is still pretty good. Their biggest problem is their hitting, but they are bound to pick it up at some point especially with the imminent return of Pablo Sandoval to the lineup next week. Another reason why you have to like the Giants is that they're 15-6 in games decided by 1 run. That has to be the most important statistic a team like the Giants can have on their side.

Central: St. Louis Cardinals
I really like the Cardinals especially with the way they've played without some of their top players producing. This scares me. Once they start hitting on all cylinders they're truly going to be a tough team, and I don't know if anybody else in that division will be able to bypass the Cardinals to win the Central this year.

East: Philadelphia Phillies
I've got Five reasons: 1) Roy Halladay, 2) Cliff Lee, 3) Roy Oswalt, 4) Cole Hamels, 5) A deep line up with no easy outs minus the pitcher's spot. They're just starting to get Chase Utley back too which is only going to help them more and they've already got the best record in baseball at 34-22.

Wild Card: Atlanta Braves
I like Atlanta to get hot in the last couple months of the seasons and to take the wild card and run with it. I've already covered before why I think the Braves are going to be contenders before, but just to review, they've got a stacked rotation 1-5, a very good young bullpen that's only going to get better as the season goes, and a nice lineup with a good mix of veterans and youngens that's also going to improve as the season goes.

NLCS: Braves Vs. Phillies

NL Champions: Braves in 7

World Series: Red Sox over Braves in 6

And as always Just Score.

Alex Smith, Team Leader?

After finishing off his 6th year in the NFL and on the 49ers this past season, I bet the last thing Smith expected to happen was to come back to the Niners. But a lot has happened since then. The Niners hired Jim Harbaugh, the NFL entered a lockout that is still going on, and the Niners drafted Colin Kaepernick to develop into their quarterback of the future. But before they drafted Kaepernick, with the lockout looming Harbaugh sensed that the Niners probably wouldn't have many options to have start at quarterback in 2011 other than Alex Smith or drafting a quarterback in a shortened off season. That's when Harbaugh came out and backed Smith for having the potential to be a successful NFL qb. You see, Harbaugh knew that it would be incredibly difficult to prepare a rookie qb to start this season without being able to tutor him for most of the off-season. The leap from college to the NFL is probably toughest to do at the qb position. Therefore Harbaugh wanted to make sure he had a veteran that knows what playing in the NFL is like and without being able to talk to free agents like Matt Hasselback because he is still technically a Seahawk, Harbaugh looked in house at Smith and saw in him the tools to be a successful qb.
Now for many Niners fans this is the last thing they wanted to hear from their new head coach who they expect to bring glory back to the franchise, but for me I love the move to bring back Smith. For the first six seasons of his career, he had a defensive minded head coach that didn't know much about the offensive side of the ball, so they hired very good offensive coordinators the first couple years, which is smart in theory, but the problem is, if you truly are a good offensive coordinator, a team is going to want to come and swoop you up to be their head coach. Smith's first offensive coordinator was Mike McCarthy. You may be asking why that sounds familiar to you, oh yeah, he's the Head Coach of the Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, who hired him right after Smith's first year. He eventually tutored Aaron Rodgers, who many thought should've been the number 1 pick instead of Smith, but that's a different story, into being one of the most prolific passers in the NFL the last couple year. In Smith's second year, they brought in Norv Turner, who is a fantastic offensive coordinator, and it showed in Smith's and the offense's play in that year. But Turner, like McCarthy, was swooped up to be a head coach, this time by the San Diego Chargers. The next year, Smith was blessed(HAHA) to have Jim Hostler as his offensive coordinator. That was a lost year, along with the next year in which he was out the whole season due to shoulder surgery. In that time Mike "Physical with an F" Singletary took over as head coach and hired the very uncreative Jimmy Raye to be his pawn at offensive coordinator instead of Scott Linehan, who has done a fantastic job with the Detroit Lions offense the past couple years.


Now the Niners have have this guy at the helm, an offensive guru, a former NFL coordinator, and the man who molded Andrew Luck into the top qb in the nation. If Harbaugh sees something in Smith I believe him. Also, the Niners are moving to a west coast offense which requires having a mobile quarterback, which is one of Smith's greatest strengths. Harbaugh gave the unsigned Smith a playbook as a leap of faith that he would rejoin the team, and Smith is now doing more with this leap of faith than probably Harbaugh even expected. Smith has plans to lead minicamps with the offense while the lockout is going on. He says that now that he has a pretty good grasp of the offense, he's ready to teach it to the other positions, so that this isn't a complete loss of an off-season for the Niners. For the last couple weeks Smith has been going out daily with his receivers and throwing the ball around. All this work from Smith is very encouraging and parallels his college career. Smith credits his improvement and his success in his Junior year at Utah to all the work that he put forth in the off-season with his receivers going into that year. It's one thing to be doing all this work in the off-season, but Smith still needs to prove his worth on the field. But these are very encouraging signs that maybe Smith could be coming into his own as a leader. Another good sign that Smith is developing into a leader is the small shot that he took at Michael Crabtree about not being present at the workouts Smith has been holding this off-season. Since coming to the Niners, Crabtree has been notorious for doing the bare minimum to get ready for the season. This could be the year that Smith finally leads the Niners to a winning record and possible playoff birth, which is not too far-fetched in an extremely weak NFC West.

Here's to hoping Alex Smith Just Scores.

An Angel Looking Over the Angels

Looks like the Angels have a Guardian Angel these days. After finishing their series with the Kansas City Royals today, the Angels charter plane had to make an emergency landing at LAX airport. The whole team is safe, thankfully, and the Angels will get ready for their home series against the New York Yankees over the weekend.

A la guardian angels in the sky, always go hard in the paint.

Shaq, Can you dig it?

As my Whole Lot'a Chatter counterpart Chase Arthur mentioned earlier, Shaq has announced his retirement today. He was one of the greatest centers of all time on the court and had a flair for entertainment off the court, which is what I'd like to focus on in this post. Some may remember him as a burger dealing shaft, but how can you forget a 7-foot genie?

This is the last memory I'd like to leave of Shaq, because that is the most efficient way to ensure that you Just Score.

AL Awards

With the first two months of the baseball season gone, we're a 1/3 of the way through the season. To celebrate this strange couple months of baseball in which the Indians find themselves on top the AL Central while the Minnesota Twins find themselves bottom feeding (almost a complete flip flop of those two teams from a year ago), I'm going to hand out my 1/3 of the season awards for the American League.

Most Surprising Team: Cleveland Indians
I don't think this selection will surprise anybody. As mentioned above they have almost had a complete flip flop from last year. Last year they finished 4th out of 5 teams in the AL Central; this year they sit on top of the division by 4.5 games currently. This sort of improvement was not seen by any of the professional baseball analyst and has shocked most of the baseball world, probably even a lot of the people in Cleveland.

Most Disappointing Team: Minnesota Twins
As surprising as the Indians climb to the top this year has been, the Twins descent to being the worst team in all of baseball this year has been equally if not more surprising. Last year the Twins had the 4th best record in baseball. Oh how the times have changed. Justin Morneau hasn't been the same hitter since returning from his concussion problems of last year. After a breakout year last year, flashing the power he was thought to have, Delmon Young has taken a step backwards with only 1 home run in 123 at bats, while hitting only .211. To top it all off, Joe Mauer has only played in 9 games this season.

Most Surprising Player: Jose Bautista
This is simply because no one saw this coming...for a second straight year. What's even more impressive after his breakout season last year is that he's improving. I know how do you improve on 54 home runs, 124 runs driven in, and a .260 batting average? By hitting .360 through 48 games while adding 20 home runs (on pace for 58) and driving in 40 runs (on pace for 116, a slight decrease, but hey, nobody's perfect). Bautista has a chance to be a triple crown hitter this year, which to just be mentioned in having a shot at that is a huge compliment.


Most Disappointing Player: Carl Crawford

Although he's begun to heat up a little over the past couple weeks, his arrival in Boston can't be described as anything else but a disappoint. When you consider that he's making nearly 15 million dollars this year and he's only hitting .235 with a .269 On Base Percentage while walking only 8 times and striking out 39, you have to consider him the most disappointing player in the AL so far this year in relation to his contract, expectations, and production.

MVP: Jose Bautista
As stated above Bautista has been a beast this year and has a shot at the triple crown (leading a league in home runs, RBI's, and average). Without him the Blue Jays wouldn't be close to the 28-28 record that they hold.

Cy Young: Jered Weaver
There are many deserving pitchers of this award at this point in the season, but Weaver has been everything that the Angels have needed out of him this year. He's near the top of every important pitching category, including 2nd in innings pitched (his teammate Dan Haren has him by 2/3 of an inning), 2nd in ERA, 3rd in WHIP (Walks and Hits per innings pitched), and tied with a few people for third most wins with 6.


Predictions:

West: Texas Rangers
Although they barely sit on top of the West right now, I think they're going to take hold of the division as the season goes on. Everyone knows about their powerful lineup, and it's only going to get better with Josh Hamilton and Nelson Cruz Jr. coming off injuries, but the starting pitching for this team has been very underrated this year. They're young and acquiring a veteran with some playoff experience could be a good idea. The bullpen can be a question mark for this team, but they've got some talent in the minors they can call up or make a move or two at the deadline, you can always acquire quality arms for the bullpen.

Central: Cleveland Indians
The scary thing about the Indians is that arguably their two best/most talented hitters in Carlos Santana and Shin-Soo Choo haven't even performed to their highest abilities this year and they're 13 games over 500.  A couple of reasons for this is the resurgence of their DH Travis Hafner who seemed all but checked out of playing the game these last couple years. The emergence of Michael Brantley and Asdrubel Cabrera have helped as well. Their lineup is fairly strong up and down with the exception of 2nd base and 3rd base, but the thing is that they have options down in the minors that seem to be ready for a chance at those positions and could possibly give them a boost in the second half of the year. Their starting pitching hasn't been too shabby either. To top it all off their bullpen has been ridiculously good this year. They're playing good ball, believe in them.

East: Boston Red Sox
After getting off to a rocky start, they've started to put it together as a team. They have a great line up with catcher being their only weakness in that line up, but any deficiencies that their line up has can be covered by their solid rotation. This is a team made up of veterans that knows what it takes, especially in the playoffs and this is why I like them.

Wild Card: New York Yankees
The Yankees are very similar to the Red Sox, but I give the Sox the advantage with the pitching which is why I like them to win the division over the Yankees. Having said that, the Yankees are still a good club, and I expect them to win the Wild Card with a good shot at winning the Division. Basically I like the Yankees and Red Sox to take the Division and Wild Card with who wins what not making that big of a difference once they're in the playoffs.

ALCS: Red Sox Vs. Rangers

AL Champions: Boston Red Sox in 5

Here's to hoping these teams prove my predictions right and Just Score.

Indy 500

Ok, so I know that I have already written about the Indy 500, but it deserves a second post. For anyone who watched the last fifty laps, or for that fact matter for anyone that did, the winner may not be an obvious guess. At one point, Danica Patrick was ahead nearly five seconds and was in the lead for multiple laps. While a simple gas pit stop should have allowed an experienced racer to keep her lead, changes to her car's engine didn't allow her to accelerate at the speed that other racers were reaching and she ended up finishing in 10th. Secondly, the rookie J.R. Hildebrand had the lead, and the announcers had already started singing his praises. The announcers were talking up how this would be the first time a rookie would have won, the amazing race he is driven and how impressed they were by his team. On the last lap, with only one turn to go, less than half of a mile, JR crashed. While trying to pass another racer, whom he was about to lap, JR's car drifted a mere two feet to the right, and he crashed into the wall. The crash wasn't severe enough to hurt the driver or really damage the car. He still finished in second place, but allowed a previous winner, Dan Wheldon, to take first place. The race was interesting, and well driven by many people. While I don't usually think car races are quite as interesting as other sports, this was a very well driven race and I enjoyed watching it!!

NBA Finals

Dirk Nowitzki broke a finger, but has reported that it won't harm his shooting game in the NBA finals against the Heat. This report is important because Nowitzki will be a key player if the Mavs hope to win.

The Man In the Middle

Today, basketball said good bye to one of its greatest players of all time, Shaquille O'Neal. Most people knew him as Shaq, but the NBA fan knew that he went by numerous nicknames, most notably "the Big Diesel," however my favorites are "Shaq Fu" and "the Big Aristotle." He was one of the greatest personalities the NBA ever witnessed, and he revolutionized the game during his era, and was simply unstoppable at times. He was the cornerstone to the early 2000s Lakers dynasty, and he went on to be a 15 time all star, 3 time NBA Finals MVP, one time regular season MVP, and winner of 4 NBA championships. He truly was fun to watch, and for me he was the dominating center that I grew up watching. He is a part of my childhood, my adolescence, and my teenage years. Even if another dominating center comes around later on, like Dwight Howard, I don't know if I ever will be able to say that he is better than Shaq, because I grew up loving the guy. So all I have to say in the end is; thank you Shaq for getting me to jump off my seat, for dropping my jaw to the floor, and for making me spontaneously get up and yell in my living room, "O BABY!"

a la Shaquille O'neal everyday of the week, always go hard in the paint.
Warning: This guy probably went the hardest in the paint.

The Best of The Best

One of the most prized possessions in baseball is the franchise player. Whether he's a pitcher or a hitter, every team is always looking for their guy. ESPN just had an interesting draft of 30 players (because there are 30 MLB franchises) in which they would like to start their own franchise with. Check it out here.

These players know how to Just Score.

Say it Ain't so Jim

We have heard the past couple months numerous reports about scandal in the Ohio State football program; it has resulted in the resignation of head football coach Jim Tressel. For me personally, I haven't really held much respect for Ohio State football or Jim Tressel. I am not a fan of the Big Ten Conference, that is why I hate seeing my beloved Nebraska Cornhuskers move there, because the stats show that they don't play well against other conferences and they can't win the big games. Take Ohio State for example; they were ranked number one all year in 2006 only to be absolutely clobbered by Florida in the national championship game, 41-14, simply because they weren't a better team. The next year they played the LSU Tigers in the national championship game, and again lost 38-24, in a game that LSU controlled throughout. The only big win on Ohio State's record, over the past couple years while Tressel has been at the helm, was against the Miami Hurricanes in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl, with a 31-24 double overtime win. However, a vividly remember Miami was supposed to win the game after they scored first in overtime and then Ohio State got the ball. Miami stopped them on 4th down to seal the victory, but an extremely late flag came in for pass interference, which was not only a late call but a bad call. I understand that Ohio State is a huge market and this deserves a lot of attention, but let's not jump the gun here and give Ohio State or Jim Tressel a ton of credit. They have been huge disappointments over the years, and frankly they play some non-entertaining football. Whoever Ohio State chooses to replace Tressel better be able to revitalize the program, and actually win a big game or two.


A la those who put the beatdown on Ohio State, always go hard in the paint.

Injured Dirk Nowitzki

Nowitzki has just recently tour a ligament in his finger during a game against the Heat. Lucky for him, though, because the injury is in his non-shooting hand. However, with the task of trying to cover two of the most skilled basketball players in the world, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade, Dirk will still have his hands full. He will continue to play the rest of the series, but he will have to wear a splint for the time being.

The Djoker

Why so serious you ask? Well because Novak Djokovic, a.k.a. the Djoker, has a chance to break John Mcenroe's record of 42 straight wins to start a year as he closes out the French Open tournament. Things got a little easier for him, as his quarterfinal opponent had to pull out of the tournament due to injury. However, Djokovic will have to be on his A game, because Roger Federer will be staring him down in the semifinals, and then most likely clay court specialist, and number one player in the world, Rafael Nadal in the finals. If Djokovic can get through that mini gauntlet, we could be seeing the best tennis year in a while right before our eyes. We will soon see.

A la the Djoker's perfect streak, always go hard in the paint.