Armchair Weekend in Review (March 2-4, 2007)

by user JB82

Let's see, first weekend of March, Selection Sunday is next weekend, so what do we lead off with? Hmmm... OH YEAH...

NCAA Hoops: Championships and tournaments, oh my!

The buildup to the US sports phenomenon that is "March Madness" began this past weekend when six of thirty-one tickets were punched (i.e., these teams won their respective conferences in order to get to the tourney.)

O Lord, forgive the Ivy League, for they have not a postseason tournament just like the other elevendy or so conferences in NCAA Division I basketball. We say this because although they have but one game left on their schedule, the Quakers of the University of Pennsylvania clinched the Ivy League's regular season championship – and their pass to the "Big Dance" with a rout of Yale University, 86-58 on Friday.

Saturday saw the bulk of championships in the smaller conferences:

Belmont University's motto is "From here to anywhere." For the second year in a row, the Bruins will go from the Atlantic Sun Conference tournament to the NCAA tournament thanks to a 94-67 romp over the East Tennessee State University Pirates.

The Winthrop University Eagles got the easiest of what may be two bids for the Big South Conference with a 84-81 nailbiter win over the Keydets of the Virginia Military Institute.

Another return trip is in store for the Davidson College Wildcats, as they clinched their second consecutive Southern Conference title, 72-65, over the College of Charleston Chanticleers. Stephen Curry, son of former NBA player Dell Curry, scored 29 points in the win.

The most thrilling of the championship wins came in the Ohio Valley Conference, as the Eastern Kentucky University Colonels got a last-second layup by Josh Taylor to defeat the Governors of Austin Peay State University, 63-62. We shall miss hearing my favorite college chant, "Let's go Peay!", in the tournament. BTW, "Peay" is pronounced like "pea."

Sunday saw the biggest upset of the six games, as the Creighton University Bluejays upset the 11th-ranked Southern Illinois University Salukis, 67-61, to win the Missouri Valley Conference championship. The Jays will make their sixth appearance in the Dance in nine years.

Outside of the conference tourneys, there were other doings:

It had to end sometime, but the Duke University Lady Devils' undefeated season aspirations came to an end Saturday with a 70-65 defeat at the hands of the North Carolina State University Lady Wolfpack in the semifinals of the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament.

The team that is right behind them in the AP polls, the University of Tennessee Lady Vols, also lost in the semis of their conference tourney, losing to the Louisiana State University Lady Tigers, 63-54. Duke and Tennessee came in at the top two spots in the poll, and in that order.

University of Texas freshman Kevin Durant was on a tear, having poured in 24 points by halftime. Their opponents, the University of Kansas Jayhawks soon came from behind with a 24-7 run, having led 71-65 when he left the game with an ankle injury. Durant came back, but he was of little use as KU took the Big 12 Conference regular season title, 90-86.

Another young player suffered an injury on Sunday, but rest assured that it was nastier than Durant's. University of North Carolina sophomore sensation Tyler Hansbrough had already notched 26 points and 17 rebounds with about a quarter of a minute to go when he took an elbow to the face from Duke University's Gerald Henderson while going for a layup. The Heels did manage to hang on, 86-72, thus clinching the ACC title and giving Roy Williams his 100th win at UNC.

Meanwhile, the University of Florida Gators became the first team in the Southeastern Conference ever to win six conseutive games against the University of Kentucky Wildcats, doing so with a 85-72 win.

NBA Game of the Week

With a handful of key players out, the Los Angeles Lakers kept it close against the Phoenix Suns, but the triple threat of Steve Nash, Amare Stoudamire and Leandro Barbosa combined for 60 points as the Lakers did keep it close, 99-94. Nash put up over 20 points despite having a bout of diarrhea before the game.

NHL Highlights

It's still too early to tell whether or not Sidney Crosby will be the next Wayne Gretzky, but we can tell you this: the Pittsburgh Penguins forward made history on Friday night as he became the youngest play in NHL history ever to reach 200 points in his career. At the age of 19 years and 209 days, Crosby achieved the milestone with the first goal of the game. Unfortunately, the historic goal proved futile as the Pens lost to the Carolina Hurricanes, 3-2.

Better late than never: The New York Islanders' newest acquisition, Ryan Smyth, had yet to put one in the net with his new teammates. Smyth finally got his chance and cashed in by putting the final nail in the Washington Capitals' coffin, 6-2, on Saturday. Smyth's goal late in the third period was his 32nd of the season, by the by.

Across the pond

Manchester United striker Paul Scholes has had very little trouble during his Premiership career. The latest small blemish on an otherwise brilliant resume of on-field conduct came during United's 1-0 win over Liverpool. In the 86th minute, Scholes swung an arm at Reds striker Xabi Alonso. He was given the gate and will sit out the next three FAPL matches.

Chelsea followed up their Carling Cup victory with a 2-0 shutout over Portsmouth. However, the Blues find themselves nine points from the top of the table. Meanwhile, Arsenal put the fallout from the CC brawl behind them with a 2-1 win over Reading.

Arena Football opening weekend

In the twenty years of its existence, arena football has gone from a novelty sport to big business. It has spawned a minor league and has recently gotten a big-time TV contract with ABC and ESPN in the US. In my corner of the world, both an AFL team and a team in its minor league known as af2 have played. In fact, the local AFL team known as the Albany Firebirds (Albany, New York, mind you) won ArenaBowl XIII in 1999.

Enough of the backstory; the twenty-first season saw some amazing highlights:

One thing you won't see in the NFL is a quarterback throw for seven touchdowns. Dallas Desperados QB Clint Doezel did just that in a 60-7 romp over the New York Dragons. Forgettable if not for the fact that this marked the debut of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic as TV play-by-play men.

The New Orleans VooDoo came back from a one-year hiatus brought on by Hurricane Katrina only to lose to the Utah Blaze, 63-61.

Meanwhile, the defending ArenaBowl champion Chicago Rush led 13-7 after the first quarter, but their opponents, the Kansas City Brigade, took the lead and never looked back in a 54-41 win.

NASCAR in Mexico

South of the border/Down Mexico Way...

Two years ago, the bigwigs at NASCAR decided to schedule a points-paying race outside the US for the first time ever. That race, the Telcel-Motorola 200, proved to be a success at the box office. For the third year in a row, a capacity crowd filled the Autodromo Hermanos Rodriguez and saw history – and a little controversy.

With nine laps remaining, Chip Ganassi Racing teammates Scott Pruett and rookie sensation Juan Pablo Montoya collided with one another, which sent Pruett into a spinout. The Colombian native and ex-Formula One superstar went on to take the checkered flag, his first ever in NASCAR. He is also the first non-American to win a race in the Busch Series; Canadian Ron Fellows won three times in his career.