March Madness!

March Madness is finally here! In this month alone, the #1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, 19, 22, 23, 24, and the 25th ranked teams have at least lost one game.

The number one team in the nation, Connecticut, lost a overtime game to the upset-minded Gerry MacNamera and his Syracuse Orangemen on Friday. They still will be a number one seeded team in the NCAA Tournament.

The number two team in the nation, the Villanova Wildcats, also lost a second-round Big East Tournament matchup on Friday against the Pittsburgh Panthers. They too, like Connecticut, will be a #1 seeded team in the NCAA Tournament.

Duke, the soon-to-be #1 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, actually lost two ACC games before its conference tournament got underway. They lost consecutive battles to unranked Florida State and tenth ranked North Carolina, but are still ranked as a #3 seed overall.

The #5 Memphis Tigers lost to the University of Alabama-Birmingham(UAB) on March 2nd, but recovered and beat the same team in the Conference USA Final last Saturday. That loss won't effect their chances at a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

George Washington (No, not the first president of the US, but the university) surprisingly lost in the opening round of their tournament to the unranked Temple Owls. That might hurt their chances as a number one seed come the NCAA Tournament Selection Show. They will end up as a number two seed, because of their "Easy" schedulethis year.

The Texas Longhorns, the eighth ranked team in the AP Rankings, lost to Texas A&M on the first day of March, but are storming back. They will get a number 2/3 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. It would be a remarkable achievement if these Longhorns win the NCAA Tournament (The same university won the NCAA Football Title Game last January). I highly doubt it though.

Last Friday, even the ninth ranked Illinois Fightin' illini lost. They fell to the Michigan State Spartans in the second round of their Big Ten Tournament, which might have cost them a number two seed in the NCAA Tourney.

North Carolina, rival to the Duke Blue Devils, also lost a game, this time to newcomer Boston College in the semifinal round of the ACC Tourney on Saturday. Since they are a young team (starting three freshmen this year) they might get a number three seed in the Tourney.

In the first round of the Pacific-Ten tourney, the Washington Huskies (#12) got upset by the Oregon Mighty Ducks. I think they will end up as a number three seed in the Tourney.

Like Duke, the Tennessee Volunteers (#14) lost twice this month, against rival Kentucky, and in the opening round of the SEC Tourney. They are the surprising cinderella team this year, and I will give them a #2 seed in the Tourney.

The same thing happened to UPitt (University of Pittsburgh) Panthers yesterday. They lost in the Big East Final against the Orangemen, and also surprisingly lost on March 3rd against Seton Hall. Those losses might dampen their chances as a number three seed, and might get the fourth seed.

The eighteenth-ranked Louisianna State University Tigers (LSU) lost against the streaking Florida Gators in the semifinals of the SEC Tourney. They have played well this year, and they might end up as a number 4/5 seed come the Tourney.

The University of West Virginia Mountaineers (UWV) are also another team that has not played to its standard this month, losing two crucial games, one to the Cinncinati Bearcats and another to those Panthers. They have had an up-and-down season, and will get a 3 seed, if they are lucky.

The twenty-second ranked Oklahoma Soonershave also lost two straight games, their last one being a stunner. They lost to the Longhorns and to the Nebraska Cornhuskers, respectively. Don't be surprised if they end up getting a 5/6/7 seed in the Tourney.

The next team, the Georgetown Hoyas, under the son of the legendary coach John Thompson, have gradually been another one of those surprising teams this year, despite their last loss to the Orangemen this month. They will get a 5 seed in the tourney.

UAB, the team that last defeated the Tigers, are coming up strong as the Tourney approaches. They are the 24th ranked team in the country, and might get a 6th seed in the Tourney.

The last team in the AP top 25 is the North Carolina State Wolfpack . They have defeated GW once and the University of Miami twice, but are right now on a four game losing streak. I doubt that this team would get in the upcoming Tourney.

These are my predictions on the NCAA Tournament that gets underway on Tuesday. I might be wrong, but don't be surprised if my predictions are correct.

NBA All-Star Weekend!

NBA All-Star weekend was a blast, yet also very strange! A seven-foot German import won the three-point shootout, a five-foot-eight basketball player won the dunk contest, Wizards 6' - 4" All-Star Gilbert Arenas was called a "forward" during the pregame starting lineups, and, lastly, Shaq acted as a point guard for one play in the All-Star Game.

All-Star Saturday night was in a bit of controversy as well. If you click here, it will explain the rules of the three-point shootout and the dunk contest. In the first round of the three-point shootout, German Dirk Nowitzki got a score of 12 before going to the last rack. His last shot, worth two points , was released just as the time expired. The last basket should not have counted, yet it did, and he ended up winning the three-point contest.

In the finals of the dunk contest, it was 5'-9" Nate Robinson matched up against 6'-4" sophmore Andre Iguodala.

Before the final two battled in the finals, there were some amazing dunks by both dunkers. In the second dunk by Andre, he used A.I. (Allen Iverson) as a prop. Both teammates were lined up behind the basketball hoop, next to the many photographers. A.I. tossed the ball against the bottom left-hand corner of the back of the backboard, and Andre picked the ball up with both hands, and then made a reverse dunk with the right hand. That gave him an automatic fifty.

On the next dunk, Nate used 1986 dunk contest winner Spud Webb as a prop. Spud stood absolutely still underneath the hoop as he lofted the ball over his head. Nate ran and grabbed the ball instantly, and dunked it in a flash.

These two dunks would be recognized as one of the best of all time, because of the creativity of both NBA players.

After those two spectacular dunks, the dunk contest needed a dunk-off to determine the victor. As quoted by the NBA All-Star game website, Nate, for his last dunk, "leaped mid-air and switched the ball between his legs twice before throwing it off the backboard. He then made a quick approach to the basket, caught the ball at its apex, swung it and slammed it in." That gave him the top grade of 50, and Andre (nicknamed A.I.) could not match Nate's dunk. A.I. originally got a 46, which would have tied Nate. But one of the judges pulled down his 10 and replaced it with a 9, making Nate the 2006 Slam Dunk champion.


In the pregame inroductions to the NBA All-Star game, the PA announcer announced "Gilbert Arenas, a second-time all-star forward for the Washington Wizards!"

In the first quarter, he game was very sloppy, with tons of missed alley-"oops," but became more serious as the game progressed. The West went out on a 23-8 run to end the first half, with many of the "oohs" and "aahs" going to hometown Houston favorite Tracy McGrady. He had spectacular alley-oops from teammate Kobe Bryant, one off the backboard, and another where "T-Mac" had a reverse dunk. The "Kobe-Shaq" feud must have ended, because both laughed, even after Shaq fouled Kobe, throughout the game. In one part in the first quarter, Shaq acted as if he was a point guard, bringing the ball up past midcourt. He even tossed himself a "T-Mac" alley-oop to himself as one of his free throw attempts! Vince Carter, the All-Star replacing injured All-Star Jermaine O'Neal, had two vicious dunks in the game. The only problem was that he missed both of them, each hitting the back of the rim and going to the other side of the court. He hid his embarrassment after the first dunk by hugging T-Mac. The second dunk was on a fast break, and A.I. threw the ball offf the glass with 2 seconds left in the game, and again Vince missed the dunk.

In the end, it was all Pistons and Lebron James. When the East was down by 21 midway through the third quarter, Pistons coach Flip Saunders entered his four all-star Pistons into the game, along with Toronto Raptor Chris Bosh. Then, the Pistons, I mean the East, played superb defense on the West, with one fantastic series played by Piston center "Big Ben" Wallace. When West center Pau Gasol was backing down Wallace as the shot clock was winding down, Wallace blocked two consecutive shots at very different angles. It forced the West into comitting a turnover, a shot clock violation, in fact. The East, soon thereafter, took the lead 102 - 100 on Rasheed Wallace's hook shot, the first lead for the East since the first quarter.

The East thereafter never lost the lead, which led to their 122 - 120 triumph over the Western Conference All - Stars.

Buzzer Beaters!

Man, there were two amazing buzzer-beaters in the NBA yesterday. Lol, it was amazing, dude! :D

There was a game between the Memphis Grizzlies and the offensive-powerhouse Golden State Warriors. The score was 79 - 77, the Grizzlies had the lead, with seven seconds left in the game.
The Warriors were diagramming a play during their last timeout. Point guard Derek Fisher, replacing the injured All-Star caliber player Baron Davis, took the ball to the right side of the paint, and floated a reverse layup off the glass to tie the game up at 79.
The Grizzlies called time immedately thereafter, with three seconds left. Pau Gasol, the first-time-all-star center for the Grizzlies, was set to receive the inbounds pass. He juked right, then spun left at the free-throw line, and, as if in a picture-perfect moment, lifted a turnaround hook shot that swished through the net at the buzzer.
The game was over, and the Grizzlies won a triller against the Warriors.


On the same day, the New Orleans/Oklahoma Hornets (the name is a lot alike to the Los Angeles Angels of Anheim. Lol :P) were hosting one of my favorite NBA teams, the scorching-hot Washington Wizards, who had won five straight games heading into yesterday's game. There were 24 seconds left in this game, with the Hornets leading 95 - 94 when it got interesting.
The Wizards reserve point guard, Antonio Daniels, grabbed a missed shot by the Hornets' P.J. Brown, and hustled to the half court line. The Wizards milked the clock down to ten seconds when All-Star shooting guard Gilbert Arenas, who had an amazing 43 points by the end of the game, hit a shot that hit the back of the rim. Power forward Antwaan Jamison grabbed the rebound in the air on the far left side of the court, near the three-point line and the out-of-bounds line with eight seconds left. In an instant, he lifted a high-arching shot that swished the net. As Jamison was walking back to the other side of the court, he hushed the crowd by putting his right middle finger in front of his mouth. The Wizards were leading 96 - 95!
After that stupendous shot, the Hornets called a timeout with five seconds left on the game clock to settle everyting and for the coach Bryon Scott to draw up a play for their offense.
After a series of picks, small forward David West of the Hornets was wide open on the top of the key, just in front of the three-point line. He grabbed the ball from the player inbounding it, and, instantaneously shot it. Center Brendan Haywood of the Wizards lunged his left outstretched hand towards West, but it wasn't enough. West hit nothing but net, and the Hornets won in dramatic fashion, 96 - 95. Hornets players stormed the court and hugged West therafter. On the other side, the Wizards players hung their heads in disappointment, as their five game winning streak came to a screeching halt.

You had to see it to believe it. As NCAA basketball commentator Dick Vitale would put it, "These games were unbeliveable, baby!"