North Carolina Tar Heels Basketball Tickets - Can They Be Stopped

North Carolina has a near monopoly on first place votes in the latest AP Polls, and they don't look like they're ready to give up the top of the dog pile just yet. In fact, some people consider Roy William's Heels, who returned all of their starters from last season's Final Four team including Player of the Year Tyler Hansbrough, the finest college basketball team ever assembled. Some are saying that. Me, I'll wait and see. We wouldn't want this to turn into a 2007 New England Patriots kind of season for the Heels, would we? Here are some quick hit facts about the UNC basketball team to get you through a Christmas dinner conversation with your brother in law UNC alumni who wears his powder blue tie to the table.

---Record as of December 22, 2008---
11-0, 2nd in the ACC, No. 1 in the AP Top 25

---Key Victories So Far---
Kentucky, Oregon, Notre Dame, Michigan State, Oral Roberts, Valparaiso

If you've been getting a proper dosage of North Carolina Tar Heels basketball tickets so far this season, you've been seeing some great basketball games. North Carolina has a very ambitious early season schedule, which included games against powerhouses in the Big East, the Pac-10, the Big Ten and some nice mid-majors. You can't say this team isn't challenging itself here so far. Their win over Oral Roberts was perhaps the only time they looked as though a win was in jeopardy, but other than that the Tar Heels have been murdering everyone, with one of the largest margins of victory in the country. At just over 95 points per game, the Tar Heels are the No. 2 team in the nation at scoring, right behind VMI.

---Big Games Coming Up---
Rutgers, Boston College, Wake Forest

The Tar Heels won't get much of a break in the schedule, as they start up the ACC portion of the season very soon. Still, most people are giving the Heels a good shot at running the table until, possibly, their matchup with Duke later in the year. In the near future North Carolina will have to get through Rutgers, Boston College and Wake Forest. While Rutgers and BC haven't been getting too much press, they're both solid teams with winning records. When any team plays UNC they're playing for a season-defining win, so fans who buy North Carolina Tar Heels basketball tickets to see these games should not take any game lightly. Wake Forest, the current No. 10 team in the nation, will provide a good matchup, as they Demon Deacons are balanced and quick, just like North Carolina.

Charlotte Bobcats Tickets - Analyzing the Jason Richardson-Boris Diaw Trade

The Charlotte Bobcats recently agreed on a trade that sent guard Jason Richardson to the Phoenix Suns in exchange for forward Boris Diaw and guard Raja Bell. The deal also included the Cats sending a 2010 second-round pick and forward Jared Dudley to the Suns while getting back guard Sean Singletary from Phoenix.

The Jason Richardson experiment in Charlotte didn't last very long. The 27-year-old Michigan State product played in just 96 games for the Bobcats after being acquired in a draft day deal with the Golden State Warriors in June 2007. Richardson was brought in to help the club become more relevant, but the Bobcats managed a mere 32 wins last season and found themselves in the lottery yet again. Richardson did lead the team in scoring in 2007-08, averaging nearly 22 points per game, but he's probably better suited to play second fiddle to a true superstar.

It seems that it became clear to the Bobcats that they needed more than just one player to help shore things up in Charlotte. The team has been desperate for a frontcourt player to pair with Emeka Okafor, as former lottery pick Sean May has either been injured or out of shape for the last year. Diaw seems to fit the bill here, though he must be used correctly and has had his own conditioning question marks in the past.

Bell should come in and start right away for the Bobcats; he's the type of defensive-minded veteran that coach Larry Brown loves. Bell has slipped noticeably this season, but he can still defend and knock down shots. Singletary is a nice project point guard, who could develop into a solid player. His arrival could signal the end of the Raymond Felton era in Charlotte, as it's been reported that Brown is itching to ship the former Tar Heel out of town to free up more playing time for rookie D.J. Augustin. Augustin's play has been improving as of late and it's been rumored that he was handpicked by Brown in this year's draft.

Let's assume that, moving forward, the Bobcats starting lineup will be Augustin, Bell, Gerald Wallace, Diaw and Okafor. It's solid, but not great. Augustin has the chance to be a good floor general, but his size is always going to hinder him. Bell is a solid starting two guard right now, but he looks to be on the decline. Wallace is the best player on the team, an average defender and a solid offensive threat. Diaw is skilled and possesses above average passing skills for a frontcourt player, but, again, he must be used correctly to be effective; just ask the Atlanta Hawks. Okafor is more of a power forward, but he can play center and provide toughness and rebounding.

Is this a playoff starting five? Probably not, but it does make their lineup more well-rounded and gives Brown two quality perimeter defenders to work with in Wallace and Bell. Jason Richardson's highlight dunks may have sold a lot of Charlotte Bobcats tickets, but this team has the opportunity to become a more cohesive unit than it did with Richardson, which is more suitable for winning basketball games.

FIBA Europe Events - 2009 Basketball Fixtures

FIBA Europe also takes the responsibility of appointing international referees for the basketball games. This year, in 2009, FIBA has organizes a list of basketball events to take place in Europe. These matches include men's basketball competitions, women's competitions as well as youth competitions, which include matches for under 20, Under 19, Under 18, and Under 16 championships for both men and women.

January 2009 is marked with Additional Qualifying and the Relegation Round for EuroBasket Women Division A which have been scheduled to take place on 4, 7, 10, 13, 16 and 19 January 2009. The Qualifying Round for the EuroBasket Women 2009 was already held from 13 August to13 September 2008. 9 teams have qualified to EuroBasket Women 2009 Round which include Israel, Lithuania, Turkey, Poland, France, Slovak Republic, Hungry, Greece and Serbia. 6 teams will play in the Additional Qualifying Round and include Ukraine, Germany, Italy, Croatia, Belgium and Bulgaria. Great Britain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Finland and Romania will play in the Relegation Round.

EuroLeague Women 2009, All Start Game 2009 will be held in Paris, France on 8 March 2009. The first-round FIBA Europe EuroLeague results Women 2008-2009 are Nadezhda 79-80 TS Wisla Krakow, Bourges Basket 79-49 Besiktas Cola Turka, MiZo Pecs 2010 82-65 Halcon Avenida, Gambrinus 68-77 Umana Reyer, TTT Riga 71-86 MKB Euroleasing, CSKA Moscow 96-44 ESB Lille Metropole (Villeneuve D'Ascq), Jolly JBS Sibenik 62-92 UMMC Ekaterinburg, Union Hainaut Basket 78-62 ZVVZ USK Prague, Ros Casares 93-51 LOTOS PKO BP, Fenerbahce 76-68 TEO Vilnius, Lattes Montpellier 65-67 Broker Kosice and Spartak Moscow Region 88-63 Famila Schio.

The next major FIBA Europe basketball events taking place in April 2009 are EuroLeague Women 2009, Final Four from 3 April to 5 April 2009, EuroCup Women 2009 Final from 2 April to 9 April 2009 and the EuroCollege 2009, Final Four championship from 24 April to 26 April 2009.

One of the biggest events under FIBA Europe is the EuroBasket Women 2009 competition which will be held in Latvia from 7 June to 20 June 2009. 14 nations will play in this major event along with the 2 winners from the additional Qualification Round (ADR) which have been split into 4 groups, consisting of 4 teams each. These groups will play the preliminary round of games which will be held in Liepaja and Valmiera. Group A consists of the first qualifier from ADR, along with Czech Republic, Spain and Slovak Republic. Group B consists of Greece, Latvia, Poland and Hungary, with Group C consisting of Lithuania, Russia, Turkey and Serbia. The final 4 contestants in Group D include Belarus, France and Israel along with the second qualifier from ADR. ADR will take place between Bosnia, Finland, Great Britain and Romaina and will be held between 4 and 19 January 2009.

FIBA Europe will also hold a number of other events in July 2009, which include U19 World Championship Men, U18 European Championship Women, Division A to be held from 2 July to 12 July 2009 in Sweden, U18 European Championship Women, Division B to be held in 2-12 July 2009 at Eilat, Israel, U20 European Championship Women, Division A from 9-19 July 2009 at Gdansk, Poland, U20 European Championship Women, Division B from 7-15 July 2009 at Ohrid, FYROM and U18 European Championship Women, Division C from 13-19 July 2009 at Malta, Malta.

2009 fixtures also includes U20 European Championship Men, Division A from 16-26 July 2009 at Rhodes, Greece, U20 European Championship Men, Division B from 16-26 July 2009 at Skopje, FYROM, U18 European Championship Men, Division C from 20-25 July 2009 at Malta, Malta and U18 European Championship Men, Division A from 23 Jul. - 2 Aug. 2009 at Metz, France. Later, schedule continue with U18 European Championship Men, Division B from 23 Jul. - 2 Aug. 2009 at Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, U19 World Championship Women from 23 Jul. - 2 Aug. 2009 at Thailand, U16 European Championship Women, Division A from 30 Jul.- 9 Aug. 2009 at Naples, Italy, and finally U16 European Championship Women, Division B from 30 Jul.- 9 Aug. 2009 at Tallin, Estonia.

NBA - Cleveland Cavs beat Celtics for their 19th consecutive win at home

The young team led by superstar LeBron James, the Cleveland Cavaliers, outplayed the current NBA champions, the Boston Celtics, with a score of 98-83. LeBron was unstoppable in the two ends by scoring a total of 38 points and outworking Paul Pierce at the defensive end. The Cavs played amazingly and their defense was exquisite, holding Pierce and Allen to only 11 a 12 points respectively. The Boston Celtics shot just 41.2% from the field goal and only 26.3% from the three point line, which is one of worst shootings for the champions this season.

During the game, the Celtics were always trailing the Cavaliers, who in hands of LeBron James were always leading in the game. James ended with 15 points in the first half. Although the Celtics tried to come back after a good talk from his coach Doc Rivers, who expressed his concern at the way they were playing, the closer the team got in the score was during the third quarter when they cut the lead to just five points with only 3:24 left. However, with some shots by LeBron James and his teammates, the Cavs extended the lead again and finished the third quarter 72-60.

Even so, things got worse for Boston in the last quarter as the lead was extended to 20 points with 4:01 left. Kevin Garnett just scored 2 free throws and cero points at the field goal, for his part Ray Allen scored only a three pointer and Pierce a pair of jump shots. With the leaders scoring poorly, the Cavs and LeBron took advantage and played consistently through the end of the game.

This was the fourth consecutive lost and the seventh of the last nine games for the Boston Celtics, who started with a record of 27-2. On the other hand, this victory is the 19th consecutive one for the Cavs in their home court, where they haven’t lost since the beginning of the season. Their current record is of 29-6 and they are at the present in first place of the Eastern Conference.

Lebron James expressed after the game that his team is getting better each game and by that they are climbing to obtain their main goal, which is the NBA title.

"We want to continue to protect our home court, and we want to continue to get better. Tonight I think we got better,” the superstar James stated. "We don't want to take a step back because we got a big picture and a big goal. You don't want to waste a game. We got really better tonight."

Lebron James finished with 38 points, seven rebounds, six assists, four steals and three blocks, followed by Anderson Varejao with 14 points and 9 rebounds and Mo Williams with 13 points. For the Celtics Kevin Garnett was the best scorer with 18 points and 15 rebounds, pursued by Perkins with 13 points, then Ray Allen with 12 points and Paul Pierce with only 11 points.

The next game of the Cleveland Cavaliers will be on Tuesday January 13th against the Memphis Grizzlies. As for the Boston Celtics, they will play two consecutive games against the Toronto Raptors on January 11th and 12th.

Shaq-Ovic's Resurgence Is Help Making The Phoenix Suns Title Contenders

I previously wrote an article in November, saying that Shaq is proving his doubters wrong this year. Recently, he has not only been proving his doubters wrong, but his fans wrong as well.

I’m not sure any of his fans even realized that he still had this much left in his tank. This season, Shaq has arguably been the Suns best player. Charles Barkley even called him the Sun’s MVP earlier this season.

Shaq is so important to the Sun’s this year that they are 2-4 without him and 21-11 with him. He has even been more important to the Sun’s this past month.

During O’Neal’s last 13 games, he is averaging around 36 minutes, 22.3 points, 9.6 rebounds per game

Shaq has found his fountain of youth and is playing as good as he has since his championship run with the Heat.

When last year Shaq spoke so highly of the Suns training staff, while slighting the Heat’s staff, many people especially Pat Riley criticized Shaq for it. Well, I think his critics owe Shaq an apology?

Last March, Shaq in a way predicted that the Sun’s staff would help him roll the clocks back a few years.

Shaq said, “A lot of these teams have got the old trainers, who I consider 'analog trainers,' and they just go with the stim [electric stimulation] and the sound [ultrasound],'' O'Neal said.

"But that don't really work no more. Your body is like a building, and if certain things are off [in the foundation] then the whole thing's going to be off.”

"I had pulled a hip muscle, and when you pull one muscle, the other muscles start to overwork”, he said. “So with me pulling this muscle, all these muscles shut down, and then my ass muscles were starting to work. And that's where all the pain was coming from.''

"They didn't see that,'' O’Neal said. "That's the stuff that you can't see in the MRI. So they would take MRIs and they wouldn't see anything. Because of what was going on, they would make excuses -- 'Oh, he's getting divorced, his career's over, he don't want to play ... he's faking.'

"I had a freaking pain right here,'' he said, grabbing below his right hip. "I'm sort of old school myself, so I'll suck it up a few days. But then if it all hurts, give me a shot. And then usually when the shot don't work, something else is wrong.

"But we were taking MRIs and nothing else was wrong. I went to a so-called expert in California and he didn't know what was wrong.''

Suns athletic trainer Aaron Nelson even conferred with what Shaq was saying claiming that Shaq’s base affects "everything that he does, from being able to run straight ahead, to go side-to-side, to pivoting, stuff that he does normally. Rebounding and coming down, he's got to be able to stabilize.

"That muscle is a very important muscle, and if that's weak, then you've got a lot of other compensations.''

Right now, it would be hard to refute Shaq’s statements last year as his agility, quickness, lift, post moves, and endurance all seem to be much improved from last year. Even scarier for future opponents of Shaq is that he seems to be getting better every game.

In the past three games, Shaq has played in, he has had multiple monster dunks that have caused the suns bench jump out of their seats and even have to hold each other back.

In particular against the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday, Shaq completely posterized a defender and reminded us his heydays with the Lakers.

Shaq has made a case for being the second best center behind Dwight Howard and the best offensive center in the league this month. By looking at his statistics it would be hard to argue with that.

However, the one part of Shaq’s game that might be the most surprising is Shaq’s improved free-throw shooting.

On the season, he is shooting a career high 62.3 percent, and recently he has been even better as he hit 12 straight free throws against the Maverick and Clippers in consecutive nights last week.

Shaq has many free throw experts help him throughout his career, and it seems as though all Shaq needed to do the entire time was go back to his high school form.

Apparently Shaq, with Grant Hill next to him, Googled old videos of himself shooting free throws and decided to switch back to shooting the way his father taught him.

Since Shaq has gone back to using his high-school form to start December, O'Neal has made 91 of 133 free throws (68.4 percent).

"I was trying too hard," said O'Neal, a career 52.6 percent shooter. "Now, I'm just shooting it the way I was taught to shoot it. Whenever you switch up on something, bad luck will happen to you. I'm trying to get my name in the top-five scoring before I'm done so I'm trying to get as many easy buckets as I can."

Since Shaq has been so good at shooting free throws lately, this past week he has given himself a new nickname, Shaq-ovic, to add to his large collection.

"If you go around the league, anybody with the last name 'vic' is a great shooter," O'Neal said. "(Vladimir) Radmanovic, (Sasha) Vujacic next door."

Shaq’s free throw shooting has benefited Shaq more than people might even realize. Shaq is suddenly not as much of liability at the end of games, and the Hack a Shaq isn’t effective anymore.

Shaq is suddenly more confident underneath hoop. In the past, he would try and get his shot off as quickly as possible before defenders could foul him.

However, now defenders are less likely to foul him, and he is not afraid to take his time in the paint.

Earlier this year on Dec. 30, Shaquille O’Neal passed Oscar Robertson to reach eighth place on the all time-scoring list.

If Shaq had gone back to his high school form sooner, he likely would have passed Robertson a long time ago.

"I'm really upset with myself that I've missed like 5,000 free throws," Shaq said after he passed Robertson. "If I would have hit half of those, I'd probably be No. 3 right now. Maybe when it's all said and done, I'll end up in the top five."

Shaq will most likely pass Hakeem Olajuwon at some point this year, and by next year if he stays healthy, he will surely catch Moses Malone and Elvin Hayes, and move into fifth place all-time.

You would think with how great Shaq has been playing that everyone would be happy about it.

However, according to Stephen A. Smith, Shaq’s sudden resurgence may be bad for the Sun’s

"Shaquille O'Neal knows he's not the number one offensive option for this team. He (O'Neal) said that Amar'e Stoudemire should be the number one option," said Smith.

"The problem is, is that Amar'e Stoudemire, and Steve Nash, and the rest of those guys aren't exactly happy with the way things are going," Smith said.

"They're not upset, because they're winning basketball games, but you can't continue to throw the ball and lob it inside, and expect these guys to be excited about getting on the court."

I’m not sure Stephen A. Smith has been watching the same Suns team this year, because otherwise it would be clear that the Suns should play through Shaq.

The Sun’s have already proven in past years that they can’t win a title with the offense running through Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash and this year when Shaq hasn’t played the team has suffered.

Shaq has won four titles with the offense running through him and even at this stage in his career, when he gets the ball, good things happen for him and his teammates.

If Smith is right and Amare and Nash are in reality upset with the offense, then these two need to grow up and act more like teamates, because these two should be just happy winning.

Steve Kerr brought Shaq to Phoenix because he realized that trying to outrun your opponent is bound to ultimately fail.

This past offseason, Kerr decided to completely rid the team of the fast-break offense and Terry Porter was named the new head coach.

However, the Suns learned this year that there has to be balance on offense for them to be successful.

Earlier in the year, the offense was too slow and Shaq was getting the ball too much.

However, in the Suns the last 15 games, besides their two losses with Shaq sitting out, they have done a great job of balancing their slow and fast pace offenses.

They have been doing a great job of getting the ball to O’Neal when they need to, but also running the old Sun’s style of offense when the opportunity arises.

With Shaq playing, the Suns are 10-3 in their last 13 games with all three losses coming in the last minute, and suddenly look like one of the NBA’s elite teams.

Some critics don’t think O’Neal is going to be able keep up current success rate the whole season, but with the way Phoenix has been resting him, I believe he will.

Shaq has missed six games this season and was once again inactive for what Terry Porter said was a "routine night off" on Thursday night as the Suns lost to the Nuggets 119-113.

If by playoff time Shaq continues playing at his current All-Star Level and this Sun’s offense can continue to develop even more chemistry, the Suns could be a title contender come playoff time.

American College Basketball - There Was Nothing Meek About Meeks Performance

All Meeks had in mind was to make sure his side won the game. However, it was a night Meek is never going to forget and neither are fans of American college football. He scored the highest score in school-record with 54 points that took his team to a 90-72 victory over No. 2 Tennessee.

Later, Meeks said that it was "mind-boggling" for him to be considered in the same league as Dan Issel specially since he was just "playing to win". Meeks surpassed Issel's record that had been unbeaten since 39 years of 53 points. His jubilant teammates mobbed him right in the center of the Thompson-Bowling Arena court. The wildcats defeated the Volunteers 13-4, 2-0 SEC. This was the 3rd time the Volunteers' had lost a match this January.

Meeks improved upon his previous score of 46 points which he had scored against the Appalachian State last December. With just 4:50 left of the game, he hit an open 3 which was just one of the 10 3 pointers he went on to make Tuesday night. It was free throws that saw him set his record with only 1:31 left. When entering the game, Meek had been ranked as 4th in the nation for having a score average of 24.2 points in each game.

I agree with Coach Billy Gillipsie who was overjoyed at Meeks' performance that the 46 he scored against Appalachian State were in itself something to write home about but setting a record against a team like Tennessee which was much superior than AS and that too on home turf was mind blowing. While keeping myself up to date with the basketball live results I couldn't believe what I was seeing. US College basketball results were never that exciting for me personally. But after Meek's amazing record I must admit I have become more interested in following college level basketball games. He scored not only the highest for his team but it also happened to be the second biggest individual SEC score since Chris Jackson's 55 in 1989 in a LSU vs. Mississippi game.

At one point in the game, Tennessee almost caught up with Kentucky' lead of 43-41 thanks to a fast-break basket by Wayne Chism. But due to the flawed defense of the Vol's Meeks remained unstoppable. He hit 2 3 pointers and a layup which took the Wildcats to a 10-0 run and put them up 53-41. Tennessee coach Bruce Pearl said his team tried everything to stop him "but none of our guards could guard him".
With just 9:34 left Kentucky started to have foul trouble and Tennessee scored all of 11 bonus shots. This somewhat worked in containing the Wildcats' lead to 71-64 with 6:52 remaining.

However, Meeks settled the score and spurred way ahead of the Tennessee team by scoring 9 straight points. No other teammate was able to score in the double figures with Patrick Patterson snatching 12 rebounds. Tennessee lead scorers were Tyler Smith (19 points), Chism (18 points) and Bobby Maze (11 points). Several times in the first half of the game Tennessee got easy opportunities to score but they were unable to benefit from them. They shot only 37.9 % from the field as against 56.6% by Kentucky. As Pearl said they were simply "not competitive".

NBA Tickets - Top 10 Draft Prospects

It's never too early to start projecting who top picks in the next NBA draft will be. Here are my top 10 college basketball prospects that I think will be selling NBA tickets this time next year (as of January 9th).

1. Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma: Griffin has been an absolute beast up to this point. He's dominating the college game in Michael Beasleyesque fashion, but is a true four, unlike Beasley. He's got decent size for the position and his athleticism allows him to make plays that a lot of guys cannot. Griffin would have been a top five pick if he entered the 2008 draft and he's almost a lock to be the first guy off the board in 2009.

2. Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain: Rubio is a magician with the basketball and is as pure of a point guard as there is. He's got above average size, fantastic vision and instincts and that "it" quality that only some guys possess.

3. Greg Monroe, PF, Georgetown: Monroe will probably be the first freshman off the board should he enter the 2009 draft. Nobody has ever questioned Monroe's vast talent and versatile skill set, but some scouts worried about his drive and desire during his high school days. He's shown no signs of any motivation issues since entering the college game and has scouts drooling over his versatility.

4. James Harden, SG, Arizona State: Harden doesn't wow you when you watch him, but he gets the job done. He does everything well, but nothing spectacular. The last guy people said that about was Brandon Roy, and we all know how he's looking in the NBA. However, Harden, at 6-4, is a bit undersized for the position in the pros and cannot make up for it with athleticism. That is what may prevent him from becoming an All-Star in the league.

5. Jrue Holiday, G, UCLA: Holiday remind me a lot of Russell Westbrook. He's a very well-rounded guard that is still learning the point. There are questions about whether he'll declare or not, but he projects to be a really good NBA player whenever he does.

6. Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn: I'm torn on Thabeet. One night he's dominant, the next he's average, despite being 7-3. He has the potential to develop into an elite defender on the NBA level, but I'm not too confident in his offensive game ever coming around. He's averaging just a shade less than 14 points as of January 9th, and that's when he's matched up against college centers.

7. Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy: Scouts are beginning to sour on Jennings thanks to his underwhelming performance overseas. I, however, have not cooled on him at all. The kid is so out of his element over there. He's 18, playing in a foreign country, in a different style of basketball with different rules and he's stuck behind an established point guard on the depth chart. Draft him on talent and put him in an up-tempo system and see what happens. He'd be a great fit for the Warriors or Knicks.

8. Jordan Hill, PF, Arizona: Hill is shooting up draft boards this year. He's definitely taken a big step from his sophomore season, but I don't see why some scouts have him in their top five. He looks like he could be a solid starter in the pros, but I don't see the wow factor.

9. Al-Farouq Aminu, F, Wake Forest: Aminu is the prototypical NBA small forward. He's having a good freshman season at Wake and should be a lottery pick if he declares. He reminds me a lot of Luol Deng and Thaddeus Young.

10. Earl Clark, F, Louisville: Clark's all-around skill set is incredibly complete. He's a classic point forward and has the ability to be Lamar Odom without the issues, right down to the tendency to disappear in some games, though.

Cleveland Sports Ticket - Get Yours Before They Are Sold Out

Cleveland sports ticket is up for grabs with the starting of new season. Cleveland is a heaven for sports junkies. Cleveland supports not one but three sports franchises - Cleveland Cavaliers (basketball), Cleveland Browns (football) and Cleveland Indians (baseball). Those who live in Cleveland or those who are visiting Cleveland will always find plenty of action in sports.

Cleveland Cavaliers Tickets

Cleveland Cavaliers has made Cleveland sports ticket really hot. This great basketball team was formed in 1970 and today they are known as one of the elite teams in basketball. They play their home games at the Quicken Loans Arena, which was formerly known as the Gund Arena.

Though the Cavaliers have never appeared in any NBA Finals, fans know that things might change this season. The fans are right in believing so because the team really played well, last season. Fans saw how well the Cavaliers played against the Celtics in the playoffs.

There is another reason why fans are hoping that the Cavaliers will finally make it to the NBA Finals and who knows might even win the Finals. LeBron James has been played quite well in the last season. Now the team management has added some more quality players and maybe this year they might seal the deal.

Cleveland Browns- 2009 Season Preview

Another hot Cleveland sports ticket is that of the Cleveland Browns, which joined the NFL in 1950. The original Cleveland Browns, under Head Coach Paul Brown, was one of the most consistent football teams. In 46 seasons it only posted 12 losing records. From 1950 to 1962 the Browns won three league championships and seven division titles.

The Browns play their home games at the Cleveland Brown Stadium since 1999. The stadium can accommodate around 73,000 fans and is packed with amenities. The Browns play in the AFC North Division. The Browns are surely hoping for another title and fans are going to be there to support this team.

Cleveland Indians

Cleveland Indians is another hot Cleveland sports ticket that sports lovers always seek out. The Cleveland Indians play in the Central Division of the Major League Baseball. They have been playing their home games at the Progressive Field since 1994. The team was established in 1901 and since then it has won two World Series championships (1920 and 1948).

2009 Season

Last year was not so good for the team. However, with the emergence of Cliff Lee, the team is looking forward to a great 2009 season. This season Lee is supported by other great players like, Fausto Carmona, Jeremy Sowers, Anthony Reyes and Scott Lewis.

In the coming months, Cleveland Indians would be facing some tough competition from Seattle Mariners, Los Angeles Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, Minnesota Twins, Boston Red Sox, and Chicago White Sox. This is surely going to be an action packed 2009 season for the Indians.

To watch your favorite team live, you would need to buy Cleveland sports ticket. An authorized online ticket broker can provide you with genuine sports tickets for your favorite team. Booking online is easy and safe. The tickets [depending on their availability] are delivered at the billing address within 24 hours.

NBA - Marbury Expressed he has Verbal Offer with Celtics

The professional player of the NBA and 31 years-old, Stephon Marbury, has expressed to the media that he has a verbal agreement with the Boston Celtics, even though the team has not yet confirmed this. Marbury’s desire is to play basketball and if he gets the chance to be reunited with his friend and former teammate Kevin Garnett it will be a pleasure for him, since he has stated he likes to play with him.

However, apparently this verbal deal is just a rumor, given that Marbury will need to get a buyout contract from the Knicks before he can play for another team and this seems to be getting very difficult for him; actually, he has accused the Knicks of refusing getting him the buyout contract because they are aware of his verbal agreement with the Boston Celtics and they don’t want him to help Boston to win another Championship. Moreover, Marbury is concerned about his basketball career and his future and says he just want to leave the Knicks to go somewhere else to have some playing time, given that this has been denied to him since last April due to his problems with former New York Knicks coaches Larry Brown and Isaiah Thomas and his constant drama with the team.

On the other hand, Starbury has also stated that the New York Knicks franchise is playing “kid games” and that this is getting personal with him, which is not professional for an NBA team. Now Marbury’s next step will be an arbitration hearing which it’s going to be held on February. Even so, Marbury worries that Knicks President Donnie Walsh may wait after the final game against Boston on February 6 to negotiate the buyout and that Walsh may not even accept the deal until after March 2, when Marbury has already lost his opportunities to be eligible to play in the playoffs with the Celtics or any other team.

The concerns of the point guard right now are many and he says that the question he would like to ask to the Knicks is: “Are they fearful for me playing for another Eastern Conference team? My thing is, they shouldn't be fearful. They're trying to get under the cap for 2010. They shouldn't be worried about me. You had guys saying I was a distraction, I'm a cancer. If I'm all those things, wouldn't you want me to go to another team?" expressed Marbury.

Also according to some reports, the Celtics are not the only ones interested in Marbury; the Miami Heat are also are looking at him and are interested on his services. Either way, until Marbury can follow a buyout agreement with the Knicks he is stuck to any deal and his chances to play some basketball this season are minimal.

Nevertheless, we hope the best for this talented NBA player and we also wish that he learns from his past mistakes and changes some of his behavior for the good of his career and his team. Whatever happens we expect to watch him playing again and demonstrating some of his great basketball to the NBA fans and the world. The best of luck for Marbury.

Turning Shooting Skill into Points

You cannot score points just because you have spent hour after hour perfecting your shot in the gym. Sure, you might have a few breakout games but odds are that you will struggle to turn that into a consistent performance. This is a common phase for even the best players and shooters. Breaking loose from that phase depends on your understanding that it is just that -- a phase. With the right training and an understanding of the game dynamics that are keeping you down you can turn yourself from a great shooter to a point scorer.

The first thing to understand is that it will not be a secret for long that you can shoot. In fact the focus of a good defensive strategy is to identify good shooters early. You might find some great opportunities in the first few minutes of the game but this is because the defense is sagging off to give you, or any other shooters, a chance to make yourself known. By applying pressure here and allowing opportunities there a good defense will soon learn who the shooters are.

Once identified good shooters can expect to spend the rest of the game wishing for more of those early opportunities. When the defense has identified you as a player who can shoot from the outside they will spend the rest of the game in your face and denying you anymore chances. It is important to understand this dynamic because this is when many good players get frustrated. Good shooters can find themselves being forced to take bad shots just to try to score another point. Wild shots are missed shots and a player's confidence starts to erode.

Clearly it is important to be more than just a good shot. A one dimensional strategy is an easy one to defeat. If you have more than one trick in your bag, a good shot, then you'll be more likely to trick up the man guarding you. Consider this: After you've been identified as a good shot the defense starts to apply pressure. Now suddenly you cross your defender and get a lay-up. Next time your defender will not know which way you play to go and you have control. You can create your own opportunities for more of those sexy three-pointers.

So, while it is great to be a good shot that's not all it takes to be a point scorer. Do not spend all your practice time taking shots. Work on other moves too so you can add some unexpected dimensions to your game.

Ray Eddings is a freelance writer. This article was written on behalf of thebasketballbin.com. For great new plastic storage containers where you can store and protect your basketball check out http://thebasketballbin.com.

Miami Heat Fizzled Out by Boston Celtics

The highest score of the day was recorded by Ray Allen of the Celtics. He finished with 27 points. Celtics were at a season high 15 for 25 from 3 point range. In the record of 3 points scored against Heat in the past 21 seasons, this was the second time a team got away with this kind of score. Paul Pierce scored 14 points and Kevin Garnett another 16 along with 13 rebounds to lead Boston to it's winning total.

Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat was awarded his NBA Player of the Month award at half time. It was in a less than ideal situation that he took his award as his team was trailing by an alarming 57-34. Highest scorers for Heat remained wade (25 points), Daequan Cook (20 points) and Michael Beasley (17 points and 11 rebounds).

The Boston team remained in control of the game from the very beginning, never letting Miami take the lead by the slightest margin. At first quarter they had a lead of 29-10 and it stayed in double figures through out the game. Boston Celtics (35-9) will play against Orlando (33-8) on Thursday. According to the basketball league results for 2009, so far these 2 teams are at the top of their game.

The third quarter entered into an exciting phase as in the last stages Miami's basketball team got within 11 twice but House, who is a former Miami guard, shot back the Heat every time. he dribbled the ball along the court and shot a 20-foot jumper and scored a 3-pointer off a pass from Pierce. This gave a lead of 78-64 to Celtics by the time the 4th quarter started.

Allen was as aggressive as ever and there were nos signs of fatigue to be seen as one would have expected as he had attended President Barack Obama's inaugural ceremony the day before and had had to walk in the cold for an hour to reach his seat. He scored off 3 shots which included two 3 pointers, taking Boston very quickly to a lead of 11-2.

Boston snuffed out all hope of Miami winning the match by an 8-0 run, just when Miami found itself in sight of an 11 in the final quarter. Garnett scored off a jumper, Allen scored consecutive 3 pointers. By the time only 3:56 were left and Celtics were leading 95-76, Miami fans left the arena as they lost all hope of their team redeeming themselves.

To further deflect any chances of Miami getting back into the game, Allen scored his fifth 3-pointer of the night soon as Boston got in possession of the ball. Miami's worse undoing was a missed dunk taken by Shawn Marion. Perhaps Miami should learn from Boston how to score in basketball.
Miami was also out-rebounded by Boston 18-5 in the first quarter. Miami missed 8 out of 10 shots of the half.

NCAA Basketball: Ireland's Record - Breaking Hopes Thwarted

Hasheem Thabeet and Jeff Adrien of the Huskies threw their arms into the air and gave a big smile to the gathered fans during the final few moments of the game on Saturday. This gesture was meant to tell the Irish fans that the game belonged to them and there was no hope for the Irish team.

The Huskies who were at 18-1, 71 forced the Notre Dame team who were 12-6, 3-4 to get their lowest season score so far of just a 33 % shooting. They also made use of a 13-1 run to turn the game in their favor.

Adrien shot his career high of 19 rebounds and also scored 12 points. Hasheem Thabeet scored 9 points as well as 11 rebounds and another 5 blocks. However, this wasn't what made Thabeet the match-winner for his team. His superb blocking of the lane and tactics for making the rival team change their shots were the main reason that Notre Dame could not set a record in Saturday's college basketball results.

A.J. Price of the Huskies, who was able to score a precious 13 points against the Irish basketball team, said that the reason why his team defeated their rivals was because they 'did everything (Huskies) wanted to' and left no trick from defense to rebounds and stops to make sure their team secured a win.

Coach Jim Calhoun was overjoyed at his team's brilliant performance on Saturday and said he could find no faults with his team's play except perhaps an improvement in their free-throw shooting. Calhoun was not being unreasonable to say that as the Uconn could only shoot 15-30 off their free-throws.

He was all praise for Thabeet's excellent play. It isn't every day fans see really great players miss shots but Thabeet forced them to make errors from real close range which made all the difference for the Huskies.

Notre Dame's star player Kyle McAlarney could not score off 15 consecutive shots despite getting three initial 3 pointers without making any errors. His final score was a disappointing 9 points.

Another Irish player, Luke Harangoy, was also unable to deliver for his team. He was only 10-of-23 from the field and finished off with 24 points. Harangoy has been in good form with this being the 11th consecutive game that he has scored a minimum of 20 points. As for the other Irish starters, they only had a shooting average of 21 % and could add 22 points.

This was a game the Irish would like to forget soon as this was a consecutive 3 straight in a period of 3 years and their first defeat in 3 years on home turf.

The Most Convenient Way To Get Your Atlanta Sports Tickets

If you are in search for some Atlanta sports tickets then this is the right place to start with. Atlanta, Georgia is one of the best cities of the United States. It embraces a beautiful mix of old and new culture as well as sustains a reputation of being one of the most progressive cities in the world. The city is overtly vivacious and has something exciting to offer to its residents as well as its tourists.

More About Sports In Atlanta

Atlanta has something to offer to all its ardent sports fans. Be it the NFL team, the Atlanta Falcons who play at the Georgia Dome, or the basketball team - the Atlanta Hawks; exciting and nail-biting games are a regular feature in Atlanta. With such wide variety of sports events being held in the city it must be natural for sports buffs to be in a fizzy when it comes to getting themselves some Atlanta sports tickets.

Not only does the city boast of a high end football and a basketball team, it also has one of the most popular baseball teams, the Atlanta Braves. Their games are regularly held at the Turner Field which is often visited by all enthusiastic baseball fans. Even the NHL team, the Atlanta Thrashers has now become a much admired team. This team was the first to introduce Atlanta sports fans to pulsating NHL hockey games.

Last, but not the least; one must mention the NASCAR when we talk about the sports events taking place in Atlanta. The Atlanta Motor Speedway is located just outside the city and holds the Pep Boys Auto 500 and the Cobalt Tools 500, Nationwide series as well as the Craftsman Truck Series NASCAR racing tournaments regularly.

Now you know why getting some good Atlanta sports tickets is a must for all who visit Atlanta or even reside there permanently. Well, for those who live in Atlanta, getting tickets for some big games might not be a problem. But those who are visiting the city and wish to catch some action live, they definitely need to book their seats in advance. Here is how one should start the search for tickets.

Where To Get Your Tickets From?

Here are some ways through which you can procure some good Atlanta sports tickets:
The box office venue should be the first place that should be tried. Though the probability of finding some good seats here is quite less, still do give it a try.
Visit the various ticket auction sites and the forums on the Internet. You are bound to come across some good seats here. But do be wary of the pricing as the ticket prices are mostly exorbitant here.
If none of the above mentioned options prove to be of any help then approach a reputable ticketing agency to do the needful.

Online ticket brokers are the only sure-shot way that would guarantee you some seats for the upcoming big game. Not only would they have the tickets home delivered, they would also offer you a choice of seating according to your preferences. These brokers also charge a bit more than the face value of the tickets, but then the amount is to take care of the extra services that they are offering and nothing more.

So what are you waiting for? Now that you know where to get your Atlanta sports tickets from, buy yours today?

Why Should You Buy College Sports Tickets Online

College sports tickets are a big rage in the United States of America. Everybody wants to motivate his/her team by being there at the stadium. However, it is not possible for everybody to book tickets at the box office. You may not have enough time to stand in the long queue and struggle with the crowd. You probably might not also like the idea to buy tickets in a “hassle-free” way from a ticket scalper because you know that it is not legal, and if you are caught, you can be punished for this. But, you do not need to be disappointed. These days, all kind of sports tickets are available online. You just have to visit the website of an authorized online ticket broker and you can get your ticket within a matter of just a few clicks.

What Is So Special About College Sports

It is not without reason why college sports tickets are such a rage in the United States of America. Students are encouraged to play at least one sports right from the time when they start attending a school. When they get into college, they can choose to play any sport they are interested in. However, it is not just about fun. If you are a good player and you are performing really very well, you may get scholarship at a prestigious University, which will eventually get you an opportunity to play at the national level.

How To Get Information About The Match Schedule

There are bulletin boards in every college and university that inform when the matches are scheduled, how many college sports tickets are available for sale, and how to buy these tickets. However, if you do not have access to the college bulletin board and still want to be updated with the latest match schedule, you can get all the information right at your personal computer. You will be glad to know that these days, all the information about college matches and sports series are available online on any leading sports website. The most exciting thing is that you can even buy tickets for these matches on Internet.

Watching College Games Is A Great Fun

Watching a NCAA match of either basketball or football offers no less fun than watching a World Cup match. The teams participating in these matches are all renowned ones. Professional coaches train these teams. However, you are strongly recommended to reserve college sports tickets well in advance to catch all those live actions. Booking your tickets in advance will also ensure you have the best seat in the stand. It is very difficult to get a ticket for a match like the one between the Boston College Eagles and Miami Hurricanes. The tickets for such matches are sold out even a month before the exact date of match. Therefore, if you are aware of the match date, you must act fast.

Overall, if you want to be there in the stadium to cheer up your team, purchasing college sports tickets online is undoubtedly the best bet for you. You can buy them right from the comfort and convenience of your home.

NBA - Cavs beat Knicks with LeBron James making 52 poin

In a great game on this past Wednesday at the Madison Square Garden, the Knicks were not able to get the victory whereas the Cleveland Cavaliers superstar player LeBron James set a record scoring 52 points with a triple-double and adding to that the 10 rebounds and 11 assists. His contribution and the team work gave the Cavaliers their 39th victory of the season with a score of 107-102.

However, despite the result, it was a good night for the Knicks which played a great game as well and by that recovered their fans that seemed lost in the previous game since the crowd was shouting for Kobe Bryant, when he got to score 61 points, set a new record and of course got the victory to his team 126-117. Nevertheless, that past result gave some courage to the Knicks and against the Cavaliers they played with a lot of energy and desire, but even so, they couldn’t stop James and his team.

LeBron James didn’t broke the points’ record Kobe Bryant set last Monday in the same court, however, James did a triple-double, which is his 21st on his career. Moreover, it’s worth mentioning that this triple-double has the most amount of points in the NBA history, the last player who did a triple-double with at least 50 points was Kareem Abdul-Jabbar in 1975. However, James did not intent to set any record when he got out to the court; he just wanted to win the game.

"I don't go out there for the numbers, I just play my game," James said. "You guys have seen every phase of my game tonight, the scoring, the rebounding, the assists and defensively just trying to attack the opposing team. I never thought you could look at the box score and see somebody with 50 with a triple-double, but it's happened."

James also explained that players like himself and Kobe just go out an play thinking on winning the games and not in the kind of show or performance they are going to have for a particular game; sometimes they go out and play and they turn out to be great games, they don’t think in the amount of points they are going to score.

On Wednesday’s game the main contributors for the Cavs, besides of course the King James, were Zydrunas Ilgauskas with 15 points and Szczerbiak with 12 points and 13 rebounds. The Cavaliers have won four straight games and eight out of the last nine games. For the New York Knicks, Al Harrington scored 39 points and David Lee added 12 points and 10 rebounds on a week that so far is going 0-2 for the Knicks. This New York team called this the “Dream Week” because of the games they have been facing against the Lakers, Cavaliers and not yet, the Celtics.

The Cavaliers are now getting prepared to face the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday at Cleveland, where the home team has a record of 23-0 this season. This game has been one of the most expected games for a lot of fans since all of them are waiting to see the confrontation of LeBron James and Kobe Bryant fighting for a great performance and bringing both their best basketball to their teams and seeking for the victory.

Oklahoma City Thunder Tickets - The NBA's Next Superstar

The National Basketball Association is filled with star players, but the status of superstar is reserved for a short list of guys. LeBron James is probably the greatest example of an active superstar. He's the most popular player in the league and is one of the best, if not the best, players in the game. Everyone knows LeBron James, but there's a skinny kid that plays in Oklahoma City that doesn't get nearly as much attention that is quickly becoming one of the league's best players. (Note: All statistics are as of February 3rd.)

You remember Kevin Durant. His lone collegiate season at Texas was simply phenomenal, earning him National Player of the Year honors and a ton of fanfare. Then came the great Oden vs. Durant debate in the 2007 NBA Draft, a decision in which the Portland Trail Blazers chose to make Greg Oden the number one pick over Durant. Durant was drafted by the Seattle Super Sonics, who have since become the Oklahoma City Thunder. The Thunder have one of the worst records in the league as of February 3rd, but Durant alone is reason enough to purchase Oklahoma City Thunder tickets.

Durant had a solid rookie season in Seattle, enough to earn him the Rookie of the Year award, but he did experience his fair share of struggles. Durant's shot selection and shooting percentage came under fire early in his career, though he ended up raising his percentage to 43 percent before the season ended. He shot a mere 29 percent from three point range, though, this from a guy who was labeled as a really good shooter coming out of college. His rebounding numbers were a bit disappointing considering his size and he had trouble on the defensive end.

Well, Durant has been a different player so far in the 2008-09 season. Those percentages that were such a problem in his rookie season have been raised, and I mean raised. Durant is shooting 48 percent from the field and a phenomenal 42 percent from beyond the arc. His free throw percentage of 86 percent puts him among the best in the league, especially important with Durant attempting about one and a half more foul shots per contest than he did last season. The former Longhorn is averaging 25 points, seven rebounds and three assists at the age of 20, and he won't turn 21 until well after the season is over.

Just how good can this kid become? I think the sky is the limit here; we're talking best player in the league material, and that's considering he's just four years younger than James. Durant possesses that killer instinct late in games that Michael Jordan had. He's already got more game-winning shots than James. His range is almost limitless, within reason, though some shots he hits are simply incredible. Durant has the skills and is young enough to imagine him putting up 35 points per game in a season, perhaps more. So far this season, he's already had a 45 and 16 game, a 41 and 10 game and 35, 10 and six game, and he's a small forward. He doesn't have the passing skills that LeBron has, but he's a more natural scorer.

While Durant has not been getting the press he deserves because his team isn't that good, though they've been looking much better lately, it's only a matter of time before people realize that this kid is already one of the 10 best players in the league and that he's got the potential to be the best. It's going to be difficult for him to hurdle LeBron, but he's got a great chance of becoming number two, maybe even 1b.

NBA Tickets - Draft Board Top 10

Here are the 10 college players that I consider to be the top prospects for the 2009 NBA Draft as of February 9th. (Note: All statistics are as of February 9th.)

1. Blake Griffin, PF, Oklahoma: Griffin is the most dominant player in college basketball right now. He's a rebounding machine, averaging 14 a game, and is developing his offense. Right now he gets a lot of his points easily because he's so athletic and he'll have to work on his offense to score in the pros. He's almost a lock to go number one. Comparison: A rich man's David Lee.

2. Greg Monroe, PF, Georgetown: Monroe is going to get drafted based more on potential than production. While he's played very well in his freshman season at Georgetown, his upside is incredible. He doesn't move like a big man and has range up to the college three-point line. His body is developing and he should be able to bang inside when he puts on more weight. He could have the most upside of any player in the draft. Comparison: Chris Bosh.

3. Ricky Rubio, PG, Spain: There is talk that Rubio will wait until 2010 to enter the draft, but until I hear that for sure I'm going to include him on the big board. Rubio has the kind of playing style that will sell NBA tickets wherever he goes. He's flashy and is one of the more natural point guards that I've seen in a while. He's got real potential and has shown the ability to play on the elite level. Comparison: Steve Nash without the jumper but with better defense.

4. Hasheem Thabeet, C, UConn: Thabeet has the potential to be an elite defender, but I'm skeptical that his offensive game will ever come around. Still, being a defensive force in the middle could be enough to make him a top five pick. Being 7-3 won't hurt him either. Comparison: Dikembe Mutombo

5. Jeff Teague, G, Wake Forest: Teague has a great offensive game. He can drain from long range and can get to the basket and finish with authority. He's undersized for the two and there's some question about whether he can handle the point in the pros. Still, his talent is too much to pass up on. Comparison: Randy Foye.

6. James Harden, G, Arizona State: Harden has been slipping lately and is not as hot of a name as he was earlier in the season. He's got a knack for scoring and does a little bit of everything else, but I'm not so sure he'll be able to score on the better defending two guards in the league. He's undersized at 6-4 and doesn't possess the explosive athleticism to make up for it. NBA Comparison: A smaller Brandon Roy.

7. Jrue Holiday, G, UCLA: Holiday could probably use another year in school, but he'll go high if he enters the draft based on potential. He hasn't blown people away in his freshman season, but he's got all the skills to exceed on the next level. Some people are beginning to doubt the hype, but I'm not one of them. Comparison: Gilbert Arenas.

8. Al-Farouq Aminu, F Wake Forest: Aminu fits the mold of the prototypical small forward in today's NBA, but he's played a lot of power forward at Wake. He needs to develop his offensive game and put on muscle, but he's got the potential to be a really good player in the pros. Comparison: Luol Deng.

9. Brandon Jennings, PG, Italy: Jennings is not having much success overseas, but they're not using him correctly. The team wants him to play defense and shoot only when open in very limited minutes. Jennings is a playmaker who needs the ball in his hands. He can do special things and his game is much better suited for the NBA. Comparison: A more athletic Rafer Alston.

10. Ty Lawson, PG, North Carolina: Lawson isn't getting a ton of love as of late, but I don't know why. He's a blur from end to end, defends like a hawk and has a great assist to turnover ratio. He's also greatly improved his long range shooting and is hitting at a clip of 49 percent from three. He's undersized, yes, but is definitely starter material in the league. NBA Comparison: T.J. Ford with a better jump shot.

NCAA Tournament Tickets - Sifting through the Big East's Chase Pack

For college basketball teams, being part of the NCAA Tournament can make or break a season. Regardless of how well your team does in the actual Madness of March, just being invited to the dance is reason enough to celebrate. Only 64 teams out of the 300-plus teams in D-I NCAA basketball get to play in the NCAA Tournament, meaning a lot of good teams will end their seasons somewhere other than the limelight. Major conferences like the Big East hope to send upwards of eight schools to the Tourney, and only one of those teams will get the conference's automatic bid. As of February 17, 2009, several Big East teams are in a fight in the middle of the standings. Which ones will get an invitation on Selection Sunday? First let's set up the situation by eliminating the shoe-ins.

-The Locks-
The Big East is chock full of great teams. At certain times in the season nine Big East teams were ranked in the AP Top 25. UConn, Pitt, Louisville and Marquette seem like the most secure teams in the Big East. They're all currently ranked in the AP's top ten. We're throwing them out of this discussion, because they seem to be a step above the fray.

-The Messy Middle-
The Big East's trenches already look like Somme in November, 1916. Syracuse (19-7, 7-6), Providence (16-9, 8-5), Villanova (20-5, 8-4), Cincinnati (17-9, 7-6) and West Virginia (17-8, 6-6) are our belligerents for the sake of discussing the muck and the confusion of the Big East's dirty underbelly. In truth, it's possible that all four of these teams in the Messy Middle make the Tourney, but there are more than a few people out there willing to bet that you're not going to get to see at least one of these teams by purchasing the right NCAA Tournament tickets.

These teams all have at least five more Big East games to play, and if the end of the conference schedule is as unpredictable as the beginning, this could be a bumpy ride for these teams. Be on the lookout for West Virginia's potent defense to come through in the clutch. Kenpom.com has the Mountaineers ranked No. 6 in the nation in defensive efficiency. Providence's schedule is difficult down the stretch. One of the long shots could sneak in past the Friars.

-The Long Shots-
Notre Dame, Seton Hall and Georgetown are long shots at making the Tourney, but based on their potential and their positioning, they're not out of the running yet. Notre Dame, especially could get hot. After an atrocious seven-game losing streak, they demolished No. 7 Louisville and beat up on South Florida. They have the best offensive efficiency rating in the Big East besides Pittsburgh, and could once again regain that home court magic. Georgetown, another strong offensive team, will have games against DePaul and St. John's to end the year, and they face South Florida on February 18th.

They face both Louisville and Marquette at home, so their schedule is relatively advantageous to a flourish of wins at the end. Will Seton Hall fans get to see their team's name appear on NCAA Tournament tickets this year? The next few weeks will be critical, as Seton Hall must play Marquette, Louisville and Pittsburgh.

NCAA Tournament Tickets - Sifting through the ACC Chase Pack

The ACC looks like it could send up to seven, possibly eight teams to the NCAA Basketball Tournament. In the February 16, 2009 edition of Joe Lunardi's Bracketology Scroll, one of the foremost predictors of who will be invited to the Tourney, eight teams from the ACC are slated to make the Dance, the most of any other conference besides the Big East. There are a lot of great teams in the middle of the pack in the ACC, but some are bound to rise to the occasion and some will probably bounce out of Tourney contention. With just a couple more weeks of hoops left to play, let's take a look at some of the ACC teams you're most likely to see with some NCAA Tournament tickets.

-The Locks-
The guarantees are a good place to start. The ACC has been one of the most glorified conferences in the nation this season and for a couple main reasons. North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest have all been ranked in the No. 1 spot in the AP Top 25 Poll, and although they were all ousted from the hilltop, we're counting them as locks to make the Tournament, based on their impressive seasons to date. Barring Hindenburg-style collapses by these teams in the last few games and the ACC Tournament, UNC, Duke and Wake will make the cut. It's just a matter of where.

-The Messy Middle-
The middle of the ACC is messy indeed. If you look at the conference's standings as of February 17, 2009, there are five teams with a total of four ACC losses. Two more teams have five losses. Clemson seems to be right on the edge of locking in an NCAA Tourney invite, no matter their performance in the conference tournament. The Tigers are 20-4 overall and 6-4 in-conference. With the exception of North Carolina they have the best offensive numbers in the ACC, and they have solid non-conference wins over South Carolina and Illinois. Florida State has looked very strong heading into the last two weeks of February, but their schedule will not be kind, as matchups with Miami, Boston College, Clemson and Duke await.

The Seminoles have one of the least impressive offensive efficiency ratings in the ACC, despite playing elite-level defense. Boston College has been given high marks for knocking off giants like North Carolina and Duke, but will their lack of interior defense and rebounding keep them from securing the best Tourney seed? Virginia Tech has found a home in the middle of the ACC chase pack, but they face a daunting gauntlet to end the year- Clemson, Duke, North Carolina and Florida State in successive games to end the season. Will fans get to purchase NCAA Tournament tickets at StubHub to see VT playing in March Madness?

-The Long Shots-
Miami and North Carolina State make up the ACC's long shots. Without the clear advantage in wins and losses, these two programs have some winning to do before they can get into the Dance. Miami is just 4-7 in the ACC and has nine overall losses. NC State also has nine overall losses, with a 4-6 conference record. However, if you look at Miami's schedule, it's certainly promising. The Hurricanes got most of the tough ones out of the way early. NC State is coming off of two big conference wins against Wake and Georgia Tech, and could be getting hot at just the right time.

NBA - O’Neal and the Suns beat the favorites Lakers

The Phoenix Suns, which are currently placed in the 9th position of the Western Conference, beat in great way the LA Lakers 118-111 this past Sunday. Even with a 49-point performance from the superstar Kobe Bryant, the Lakers couldn’t pull it true to get the win over the Suns. Shaquille O’Neal had also a great performance adding 33 points for the Suns and unlike the Lakers, the Suns played as a team having the contribution of several players such as Matt Barnes, Grant Hill and Leandro Barbosa, which ended with double figures. For the Lakers, only Paul Gasol supported Kobe Bryant with 30 points.

This was the fourth game of the season between these two franchises; the Lakers had won the first three confrontations.

During the first quarter, the Suns was on control of the actions, having the lead the whole period and later ending the quarter winning by eight points 34-26. For the second quarter, things didn’t change as the Suns kept the lead by playing consistently and even extending the advantage to 14 points with only 2:13 left in the quarter. Moreover, during the third quarter, Kobe and the Lakers tried to come back in the score by Kobe scoring 17 points in less than 4 minutes in the early second half. However, that wasn’t enough as the Suns kept the lead and ended the third quarter with an advantage of 10 points. In the last quarter, the Lakers had a run of 11-2 in the first 3:30 minutes, diminishing the lead to just two points. Nevertheless, after that the Suns reacted with a run of 13-0 that concluded with the victory.

At his almost 37 years-old, Shaquille O’Neil has been having a great performance this season. After the game, when Kobe Bryant was asked about if Shaq’s performance reminded him of the Shaq of old days, he expressed: "No, not quite," Kobe stated. "But he's playing extremely well, obviously. The thing is they're looking for him; they're going inside to him. Tonight, I mean, Pau is giving up 250 pounds (a bit of an exaggeration). There's really not much he can do in that situation and Shaq took advantage of it."

The best scorers for the Lakers were Kobe Bryant with 49 points and 11 rebounds, Paul Gasol with 30 points and 7 rebounds and Trevor Ariza from the bench with 9 points, 4 assists and 5 rebounds. For the Phoenix Suns the best scorers were, Shaquille O’Neal with 33 points and 7 rebounds, Matt Barnes with 26 points, 7 assists and 10 rebounds, Leandro Barbosa with 22 points and 7 assists and finally Grant Hill with 17 points and 6 rebounds.

With this victory, the Suns are placing themselves closer to a spot in the playoffs but not quite yet. For the Lakers, this was the second consecutive loss and the third in the last ten games. However, the Lakers expect to perform better and work harder in the next games, while the Suns expect to have Steve Nash and Amar’e Stoudemire back in the court soon and keep their winning streak to secure a spot in the playoffs.

NBA - Nuggets Win over the Lakers

The current third place of the Western Conference, the Denver Nuggets, ended their loosing streak of nine games in a row by beating the LA Lakers 79-90 on Friday night, in a game where the Denver Nuggets demonstrated that they are a very good team in their Conference, just as the LA Lakers and the San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers shot poorly in this game, becoming the second worse shooting night for the team since they moved to LA, 50 years ago.

For the Lakers coach Phill Jackson, the game was completely a non-sense and trash game and he apologized to the fans to whom he referred saying that he wished he could repay them for the money they spent to see such a horrible game. He also explained that none of the teams played well but in this case the Nuggets played better than them.

Jackson also expressed that he felt very disillusioned since he knew that the guys in the team were planning to come and play in a good way, give a good performance but it just didn’t happened. He also alleged that he is not very happy with his younger players mentality, since he thinks they are not working in the system as they have to, making the team a little unbalanced.

The Nuggets took advantage of the poor performance that the Lakers were giving and with great performances of reserves J. R. Smith and Chris Andersen, who accomplished a career high with seven blocks, dragged down 12 rebounds and scored in 11 points. Moroever, the defense on the team was very solid and outstanding. On the other hand, for the Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony it was not the best night; he scored just 12 points and added 12 rebounds, however even with Carmelo’s not so good performance the team won the game.

After the game, Denver Coach George Karl expressed his content and satisfaction of his team defense and the positive result, which brings more confidence to the players and a motivation to keep going harder in the season.

"It's been a long time," expressed Coach Karl. "They've beaten us, they've hurt us, they've dominated us. Tonight, we [played] as active and as intelligent of a defensive game as I think we've played all year long or maybe ever since I've been here. We challenged a lot of shots, it was a tremendously active defensive game," stated the Denver coach.

For Kobe Bryant it was not a good night either, he needed 31 shots to make only 29 points and had a very tough mark from Smith, especially in the fourth quarter when the Nuggets defense allowed only 16 points to the Lakers and Bryant shot 2-for-9.

Kobe said later that the defense of the Denver team was outstanding; they put a lot of pressure on them, besides, he said that his team’ legs were very tired and it didn’t worked very well since their shooting was horrible and the combination of situations did not worked out for the Lakers.

The last time that the Denver Nuggets won against the Los Angeles Lakers was on April 9th, 2007, with a score of 111-115 at the Pepsi Center. The Lakers had won five consecutive regular-season games plus a four-game sweep in the playoffs last year when the Nuggets became the first 50-win team to get close out in the postseason. The Lakers are currently in the first place of the West conference.

Basking In Basketball Glory

I always get really excited around this time of year. Uncontrollably excited. Like, laying-eyes-on-a-bike-laying-under-the-Christmas-tree excited. And the only thing in the world (besides a new Huffy) that really evokes that type of emotion from me is high school basketball.

This weekend, we'll see four of Southern California's best teams battle it out in the CIF championships, as Mater Dei (the nation's top-ranked team) takes on Riverside Kings who I had the chance to cover when the Wolves defeated Long Beach Wilson two weeks ago. That winner will be crowned Division IAA champs, but the battle for City Section Division I is just as intriguing.

Long-time basketball powerhouses Taft and Westchester will face off after Taft upset heavy favorite Fairfax and their USC-bound stars, Renardo Sidney and Solomon Hill. Taft's stifling defense held Sidney and Hill to 19 combined points, while Westchester will try to outrun Taft with their explosive offense. I also had the chance to cover Westchester when they beat Long Beach Jordan back in December, and was very impressed with their uptempo energy and offensive precision.

Now, I've always viewed high school basketball as perhaps the most pure form of the sport. That may be hard to believe given its perception of exploiting young talent and rotting the minds of its stars by tempting them with gifts and showering them with praise. But, on the court, there's nothing like high school basketball, the most talented are allowed to shine without adherence to gameplans or constrictions from coaches. As bad as this sounds, good high school players are sometimes even above the limitations of fundamentals (I can see why this would be viewed as a negative, but personally I prefer letting talent be talent). At the high school level, these players come along so rarely that they are allowed to dominate the court when they do.

That kind of free-wheeling reliance on the best players works in most high school games, but ended up costing Fairfax dearly in their loss to Taft, as Fairfax boasted two A+ prospects and yet were defeated easily. Similarly, I was very impressed with the overwhelming talent from Dominguez in their victory over Long Beach Poly, but they were unable to get past King. Why? Good players will take you farther at this level than any other , and high school is most conducive to the practice of riding pure talent to victory (if not, Texas would have won a national title with Kevin Durant), but good players will be beaten by good teams every time. Very few coaches are equipped to harness and develop talent for the good of the team, which is why Fairfax and Dominguez fell despite superior talent, but the few that do usually achieve great success.

That's what we've seen from the four teams that still have life. And that's why we can expect this weekend's games to live up to the lofty hype. Southern California is home to some of the nation's best basketball talent; and it will be on full display under the bright lights of the Honda Center and USC's Galen Center.

Mater Dei vs. Kings - 6:30 pm, Saturday at the Honda Center
Taft vs. Westchester - Friday at the Galen Center

March Madness Party Recipes and Tips

As the top ranked teams in the NCAA dual with their fellow tournament participants for a spot in the Final Four or the Championship Game, you should be planning your March Madness Game Watching Party! From fun finger food to delectable game-watching grub, invite your friends over to enjoy some tasty home cooking while watching the final games of March Madness.

Hillary
Your RSVP Editor

2009 March Madness NCAA Men's Basketball Division I Schedule

Selection Sunday: March 15, 2009

First Round Games: March 19-20, 2009
Second Round Games: March 21-22, 2009
Third Round Games: March 26-27, 2009
Fourth Round Games: March 28-29, 2009
Final Four: Saturday, April 4, 2009, Ford Field, Detroit, MI
Championship Game: Monday, April 6, 2009, Ford Field, Detroit, MI

Appetizers
Nothing beats sitting in front of the television with some great finger food. Give your guests what they want with chips and dip or three cheese chili bites!

Baked Tortilla Chips with Fresh Tomato Salsa
Three Cheese Chili Bites
Spicy Chicken Fingers
Top Notch Nachos
Soft Pretzels

Main Courses
Serve burgers, pizza or delicious short ribs to create an authentic game-watching atmosphere!

Sweet and Spicy Barbecue Short Ribs
Zesty Burgers
Detroit Deep Dish Pizza
Baked Beans with Hot Dogs
Buffalo Style Chicken Pizza

Side Dishes
Baked Potato Skins
Texas Cranberry Jalapeno Relish
Au Gratin Peas
Baked French Fries
Beer Battered Veggies

Desserts
Fruit salad or a chocolate pizza will do just the trick for a game ending snack.

Mango Madness Salad
Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy Pizza
Orange Floats
Lemon Pie
Whoopie Pies

Beverages
Stir up the party with some refreshing cocktails and homemade beverages!

Frozen Margaritas
Adult Life Saving Drench Punch
Best Ever Lemonade
Tomato Punch
Long Island Iced Tea

Presentation Pointers:
1. Prior to your game watching party, start a March Madness pool with your friends and guests. Have everyone bring a copy of their bracket picks to the party so everyone can cheer for the team they picked!
2. Keep the food close to the television. After all, your guests are there to watch the game so don't force them to have to walk away from the TV to munch on your tasty eats.
3. A simple sugar cookie painted with orange frosting and black icing will make adorable little basketballs to serve with dessert.
More Like This:
Have Your Own Game Watching Party


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Here Comes The March Madness

We all look forward to March Madness, whether its the office pool or some website's chance at a million dollars with a near perfect bracket. We doubt that we will actually achieve a near perfect bracket but it's an exciting roller coaster none the less.

There is also the drama of the Cinderellas and upset games, there is nothing like a kid hitting that buzzer beater to knock off the big school. College Football and Baseball got nothing on basketball, it is way more fast paced and a better tournament. Everyone was clamoring for a playoff in football this year, but we know that will never happen. Too much money being passed around in the BCS.

There will be a lot of new comers that haven't seen recent success like Clemson, Missouri, and Arizona State. There are also a lot of teams like Creighton and VCU who love upsetting the big dogs. Basketball is my favorite sport, and the NCAA Tournament is my favorite sporting event. It lasts longer than the SuperBowl. It plays at a much faster pace than the World Series or College World Series. Elimination tournaments are the best. You win, you keep going, you lose, bye bye. I've been doing brackets for over ten years now and you can never predict the first round, even when playing with 6 different brackets. Even if you do you have the second and sweet 16 which you couldn't make it through flawlessly. I believe I predicting North Carolina winning it all a couple of years ago. That is one of the few years i predicted the winner from the beginning. But that was a pretty dominate team, with Felton and May. This year Uconn, UNC, Pittsburgh, and Oklahoma all look powerful, who knows who'll win it all? Maybe a Cinderella will steal the glory or maybe all the favorites will dominate like two years ago.

There is no set pattern for picking a winner, some people flip coins, some ask their little sister. Sometimes your wife could predict more right than you? We all get very superstitious around this time. We wear different shirts, avoid watching certain games. Chant stupid stuff when players attempt free throws. It's absurd but it makes the whole thing even more fun and intense. We hang on every shot of some games, and hold our breathe in the final seconds. When March Madness comes and goes we'll see who's brackets are left standing, and whose brackets are in shambles. Like Forest Gump said "you never know what your going to get" and I like it that way.

America's Obsession With Stephen Curry

The hype that follows Stephen Curry is astonishing. This small kid who plays guard for Davidson and the son of NBA player Dell Curry. I followed this player and think he is good, but does he have the size, strength and skills to be effective at the next level? He has bulked up a little but I still think he is a bit to scrawny for the NBA.

Curry took his team to the sweet sixteen last year and Davidson was the prime Cinderella story of the NCAA tourney. To top his feats from last year he would have to make the final four and score 40+ points in each game. I doubt he has that in him. But if he does that America's obsession will grow ten fold.

I can see why people like this kid, he is mild mannered, comes from good stock, and is an underdog on an underdog team. Everyone loves an underdog. This kid does have talent, but can you see him driving past Chris Paul, I sure can't picture it.

He even has a brother in college basketball. Many are unaware of Seth Curry, who is currently a freshman starter for the Liberty University Flames. I don't know what's with this family and going to small schools. Maybe their father Dell told them that they will get noticed more if there a star on a small school. True, but Liberty?! Come on! They won't even make the tournament. But Seth does put up 20.6 pts per game and if he keeps that up he could get noticed. His older brother is averaging 29 pts a game, could this fuel some brotherly competition?

The sad things is players like Stephen Curry don't stay very long in college. Curry has been the exception staying for his Junior year. I even think if his team doesn't make the Final Four he should return once more. Next year he may have it easier in the league as Seniors like Tyler Hansbrough won't be back and you can always improve your game more before journeying into the next level. And we all know he doesn't need the money as his dad played in the NBA and they pay well. If he goes pro, the college game won't have many familiar faces next year and someone knew will have to arise. Will we ever see more great Cinderella stories with amazingly good player, probably. But it may take a couple more years before we see one that blows us away like Stephen Curry did.

NCAA Basketball - Cleveland State Beat Butler and Obtains Horizon League Tourney Title

The third place of the Horizon League at the regular season, Cleveland State, defeated the Butler Bulldogs in great way 57-54 in the Conference Championship. The Vikings haven’t been in the NCAA tournament since 1986 and was unable to win the Conference tournament for years, but the history changed last night when Cleveland State obtained the victory for good. The Vikings lost against Butler in the Horizon championship last year while this year the team also felt twice against the Bulldogs during the regular season by two points; however, this time the Vikings finally got the triumph in the most important confrontation.

During the first half, the Butler Bulldogs were controlling the game and were able to get a lead of 8 points several times, however the Vikings got close at the end of the half losing by only 4 points with an score of 32-28 at halftime. Starting the second half, Cleveland kept trailing and losing 31-39 with 18:21 left in the game. Although the Vikings began a trail of three-pointers with J'Nathan Bullock and Jeremy Montgomery, which shortened Butler advantage to only two points with 17:46 to play.

Moreover, with only 11:42 to play CSU took the lead by two points but Butler regained a lead of one point with 10:11 to play with three free throws from Howard, which was the last lead of the Bulldogs in the game. After that, Jackson answered with a three-pointer and followed with a layup to give the Vikings a 52-48 lead with 9:11 left. Subsequently, CSU maintained the lead until the end and even though Butler had several occasions to tie the game, Mack and Gordon Hayward missed the 3-pointer shots as time expired and this way the Vikings began the celebration of their first NCAA tournament berth after 23 years.

The best scorers for CSU were Cedric Jackson, who was named MVP of the tournament adding 19 points, 8 assists and seven rebounds, Jeremy Montgomery who scored 11 points off the bench and J’Nathan Bullock added 10 points and five rebounds. For Butler the best scorers were Shelvin Mack with 18 points and Howard with 14 points.

This triumph gave CSU a berth for the NCAA Tournament and the first ring for Coach Gary Waters in his three seasons with Cleveland State. For his part, Cedric Jackson was named MVP of the tourney and expressed his happiness of having the title of the conference. "It feels so good. I've waited four years, five years, it's so amazing, just to get this championship," said Jackson. "It means the world to me. This team has stuck together day in and day out."

On the other hand, Butler Coach Brad Stevens praised his team effort and obviously gave credit to CSU, who played amazingly with the help of his star player Cedric Jackson. With this result, CSU is waiting to see who they will play in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, while Butler expects to receive an at-large NCAA bid on Sunday.

NBA - After Losing Lead Lakers Fight Back To Get the Victory against the Mavs

The current first place of the Western Conference, the LA Lakers were close to lose a game that seemed easier at first against the Dallas Mavericks, after losing their lead of 15 points at the beginning of the 4th quarter. The LA Lakers were controlling the game since the beginning; however some of the LA players became relaxed and maybe too confident in the final quarter thinking that the Mavs would quit, but that wasn’t the case and the Mavs fought back having a run of 31-14 to take over the lead 95-89. But even so, their efforts weren’t enough as Kobe Bryant and the Lakers pull out their victory, winning by seven points 107-100.

During the first quarter, both teams were making good plays and it seemed that it was going to be a closed game; however, the Lakers were more effective during that period by enclosing a lead at the end of the quarter of 9 points with a score of 37-28. In the second quarter, the Lakers always remained up in the score, even though Dallas managed to cut off the lead to just seven points, but yet at half time the Lakers were up 66-54.

Moreover in the third quarter, things were almost the same as Los Angeles were in control and extended their lead up to 15 points, but at the end Dallas decreased the advantage by seven once again. Finally, in the last quarter, the Mavs came back stronger as they cut off the score and took control of the lead with some good shots of Terry and some free throws of Bass, putting then things 95-89 in favor of the Mavs. Nevertheless, a quick reaction of the Lakers with a 12-0 run brought the stability back to Kobe, Phil Jackson and the rest of the team. At the end, with some good plays of Ariza and the amazing contribution of Bryant, the triumph came to the Lakers.

Kobe Bryant said after the game that the relaxed attitude of his teammates and the good zone defense that the Mavs applied gave Dallas a way to get closer and destabilized their offense. “The thing that threw us off was the zone," Bryant said. "It broke our rhythm up. So then it was a matter of trying to establish a rhythm and try to think about how we were going to cut up their zone. Once we got that, we got the game under control."

In the game, the best scorers for the Lakers were Kobe Bryant with 28 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists, Trevor Ariza with a career-high of 26 points, Paul Gasol with 25 points and 8 rebounds and finally Lamar Odom with a double-double of 10 points and 14 rebounds. For the Dallas Mavericks the best scorers were Jason Terry from the bench with 29 points, Dirk Nowitzki with 20 points, James Singleton with a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds and finally Antonie Wright which ended with 12 points.

The next game for the LA Lakers will be against the Philadelphia 76ers on March 17th at the Staple Center whereas the Dallas Mavericks will face the Detroit Pistons that same day at the American Airlines Center. Currently the LA Lakers are in the 1st place of the Western Conference with an overall record of 53-13 whereas Dallas is in the 8th place of the Western Conference with a record of 40-27.

NCAA Women’s Basketball - Ball State Historically Defeats Tennessee in the First Round

The 8-times Women’s NCAA Tournament Champions, the Tennessee Lady Volunteers were beaten by the No.12 seeded Ball State 71-55 this past Sunday. This triumph over the Lady Vols was historical for Ball State given that they upset the current NCAA champion and the most successful team in women’s basketball history. Defeating Tennessee was more than a dream for Ball State, since this is also their first appearance at the NCAA tournament in school’s history. The Cardinals were expecting to battle during the whole game but they never imagine that their victory will end with a lead of 16 points.

The Cardinals and the Lady Vols were really balanced at the beginning of the game, although Ball State was persistent and ended at the halftime with a lead of one point 28-29. However, in the second half, things got completely in favor of the Cardinals who took a lead of three points with a three-pointer of Emily Maggert in the first six minutes of the second half, putting Ball State up 38-35. Tennessee’s usual fighter and confident attitude was not there; they were shooting poorly from the three point line, connecting just 2-of-18 attempts and committing 16 turnovers in the whole game. All these poor statistics getting worse with the injury of Tennessee post player Kelley Cain let the Lady Vols to their first ever defeat in a first round of the NCAA tournament, getting comfortably beaten by the Cardinals 71-55.

The best scorers for the Cardinals were Porchia Green with 23 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists, Audrey McDonald with 18 points and Kiley Jarrett with 14 points. For the Lady Vols the best scorers were Shekinna Stricklen with 17 points, Angie Bjorklund with 14 points and injured Kelley Cain with 10 points.

This exit of Tennessee is the worst in school’s history and was the end of the most awful season for Coach Pat Summitt and her Lady Vols team. In 42 appearances in the NCAA Tournament, the Lady Vols never exited that early and least against a no ranking team, which means that this is the biggest upset in the NCAA Women’s basketball history. However, it has to be mentioned that this is also the first time in 35 years of her coaching career that Pat Summitt counted with just one starter from last year and 7 freshmen; making it the youngest team she has ever had in Tennessee, which explains also the poor season of her Lady Vols. As well, Summitt herself expressed during the season that this was the team with the lowest energy that she’d ever had in her career.

"I thought we were tentative, maybe uptight. But you have to give credit where credit is due and that's to the Ball State basketball team. They had a lot more toughness. They beat us to loose balls. They made shots. Obviously we have been very fortunate at Tennessee to have advanced to the Sweet 16 and this is the first time we haven't done that," stated Coach Pat Summitt.

With this historical defeat and the not so good record of 22-11, Coach Pat Summitt expects to see the attitude that her team will take at the offseason. On the other hand, the Ball State Cardinals hope to win at the second round of the NCAA Tournament against the fourth seeded Iowa State on Tuesday March 24th.

Home | Recreation & sport | Basketball article directory feed Bookmark and Share NBA - Cleveland Finds its Winning Ways Again by Beating the Spurs

The current first place of the Eastern Conference, the Cleveland Cavaliers, avoided having their third consecutive loss by beating the San Antonio Spurs in consistent way 101-81. After their loss against Washington and then the embarrassment of the 29-point defeat against Orlando, the Cavs regained their confidence and their good basketball to beat San Antonio at home this past Sunday. This was the 37th home victory for the Cavaliers, who have lost just one game at home. Moreover, if they manage to win the next three home games, the Cavs could match the best home record in the NBA history placed by the Celtics during the season 1985-86 with a 40-1.

Since the beginning, Lebron James started strong by making 6 out of 9 from the field and 6 free throws, scoring a total of 18 points in the first quarter. And even with James contribution the Cavs were only leading 28-27 at the end of the first quarter. However in the second quarter, the bench from Cleveland outplayed the Spurs’ bench, by starting with a 10-0 run. Later two shots from West and Williams put the score 38-27 with just 4:30 left. And immediately, just in the final seconds a three-point shot from Williams extended the lead for the Cavs finishing at half time 55-42.

Following the third quarter Parker and Finley tried to comeback and shortened the score to only seven-point difference, but Ilgauskas came to the rescue for the Cavs with an 8-0 run to extend the lead again to 15 points, 78-63. During the fourth quarter, things get worst for the Spurs, who never fought back meanwhile the Cavs, on the other hand, extended their lead with the help of their superstar Lebron James, who even scored one three-point shot at the end and finished with 38 points.

The best scorers for the Cleveland Cavaliers were Lebron James with 38 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, Mo Williams with 22 points and 5 rebounds, Delonte Williams with 22 points and 6 rebounds and Zydrunas Ilgauskas with 8 points and 10 rebounds. For the San Antonio Spurs the only starter with double digits was Tony Parker with 24 points and 4 assists and he only received the contribution of Drew Goode, who scored 15 points and wrapped 5 rebounds.

With these statistics, what made the difference were the rebounding, the defense and the desire of Cleveland to win the game whereas the Spurs couldn’t get the contribution out of four starters and the bench was outplayed as well. This triumph put the Cleveland with the best record in the NBA with 62-15 and behind them is the LA Lakers of the West Conference with a record of 61-16.

After the game Lebron expressed he was really proud of the team’s effort and their desire to leave the two losses behind.

"The last two games we didn't show what we've done all year, play Cavalier basketball and we got embarrassed," superstar Lebron James expressed. "So you just can't go out there and turn it on anytime you want to because you get embarrassed at times. To come back home, to our home crowd and to play like we played tonight is a good sign."

NBA - Derrick Rose Named NBA Rookie of the Year

The Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose was selected on Wednesday as the NBA rookie of the year. He became the third Bulls’ player to receive this award, besides Michael Jordan and Elton Brand. In the general voting, he received 111 first-place votes and 574 points from a voting panel of sports writers and broadcasters. The other players in the top five were O.J. Mayo of the Memphis Grizzlies, Brook Lopez of the New Jersey Nets, Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder and Eric Gordon of the Los Angeles Clippers, but only the first three of them received first-place votes.

The news was not a surprise to Bulls fans and players since Rose has been an amazing player that has brought many opportunities to the team; he helped the franchise to be on this year’s playoffs by having great performances on each of the games he had played. Rose has been also a breath of fresh air for the team that has not been able to glow after Michael Jordan left.

Before Wednesday, Rose didn’t want to say anything about the award; he actually said that he didn’t care about it, but the truth was that he did care and a lot, he wanted to win it more than anything this year. But he did not say it until he learned he was indeed the NBA rookie of the year. He also said that he knew that there were a lot of talented players out there to go against, but he always hoped he could earn it.

Since the start of the season Rose has created a great impression with his talent and passion for the game. He was named rookie of the month in November, December and March. He helped the Bulls to reach their fourth playoffs of the last five years and started it with a great contribution of 36 points and 11 assists in his team’s victory at the Game 1 of the first round against the defending champion Boston Celtics on the road; a praiseworthy accomplishment for the first playoffs game of his career. He has even been compared to LeBron James for his way of playing.

"I think there are very few people in the NBA who could do what he did this year," teammate Joakim Noah said. "You tell me another No. 1 pick who got to the playoffs in their hometown, especially in a big city with so many distractions and so many things going on. I mean, he's all about one thing and that's winning basketball games, and that's what I respect about him”.

Derrick Rose only played one year in the NCAA, recruited by Head Coach John Calipari with a scholarship at the University of Memphis. He had some offers from the University of Illinois and the Indiana University as well, but he decided to stay at Memphis. As freshmen he helped the team to have a 33-1 record and led them to the National Championship game against Kansas, where they lost 75-68 in overtime. He scored 17 points on 7–17 shooting, grabbed six rebounds and had seven assists in that game. Memphis finished the season 2007-08 with a 38-2 record and he declared for the 2008 NBA draft where he was the No.1 pick overall selected by the Chicago Bulls.

Rose is enjoying a great moment on his professional career that is just beginning and the Chicago Bulls have all their hopes set over him. We will have to keep an eye on him to see what else he will do for his hometown team.