Weekend Wrap Up

NFL

The NFL offseason has been highlighted by veterans that have cut because of their cap situations. It's not their play, it's their play. Players like James Harrison, Dunta Robinson, John Abraham, DeAngelo Hall, Ahmad Bradshaw, Demetrius Bell, Jason Smith, Chris Canty, Kyle Vanden Bosch, Osi Umenyiora, Michael Boley, Nick Barnett and George Wilson. The way NFL players spend their money, they maybe next to John Doe in the unemployment line.

Anquan Boldin may not be far behind as the Ravens have given him an ultimatum to take a pay cut or get cut. Michael Vick took a pay cut to stay with the Eagles. But many players are selfish (rightfully so) because it's hard to get a bump in salary when playing well but an NFL team will be quick to cut you when your play slips.

In other news, Percy Harvin will be traded to the Seahawks for undisclosed draft picks. If Harvin stays healthy, he adds another legitimate outside threat and top 5 KR/PR to an already dangerous Seattle team. Dunta Robinson (CB) was cut by Atlanta and immediately signed by Kansas City.

NBA

Miami Heat beat their nemesis Indiana handily yesterday and ran their streak to 18 games IN A ROW. Can anyone beat this team in the regular season, let alone the playoffs? San Antonio is struggling without Tony Parker in the team, they lost by 30 (136-106) to Portland on Friday. The Lakers look like they could make a run all the way to the sixth seed in the West, which means a mouth-watering matchup with the Clippers. A perfect segue: this is why everyone needs to watch the Clippers. Lob city. Enough said.

SOCCER

The week started with the Champions League, Europa games and ended with the FA Cup, you have to love this time of year.

The matchup of the year thus far was Manchester United vs. Real Madrid. Two of the biggest clubs in the world, clash of the giants lived up to the hype. Real Madrid was being thoroughly outplayed (losing 1-0), until Nani got sent off controversially. Apparently the referee follows RM and Barca on his twitter account which begs the question, should referee's even have twitter accounts? Why isn't the side official who made the call getting blamed at all? Anyway, after the red card, los Blancos scored 2 quick goals to take a commanding lead in the tie (3-2 with 2 away goals). RVP's play has descended rapidly since the turn of the year and he was nowhere to be found when United desperately needed a goal. Rooney came on in the second half and had a golden chance but hit the volley way over the bar. In the other Champions League game, PSG were lucky to go through in a dismal effort (1-1) against Valencia without star striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic.

In Europa League, Chelsea lost at Romanian side Steaua Bucharest 1-0. I think Chelsea will turn it around at home, the field was absolutely terrible in Romania and they got a lucky penalty call which aided them to victory. Tottenham won big against a hapless Inter Milan 3-0 but Inter at home will be a totally different contest. But Spurs have Bale who is arguably the best player in Europe right now.

In the FA Cup, Man City and Wigan won their respective games by wide margins. Wigan beating Everton 3-0 is shocking considering they are languishing in the bottom 3 of the EPL but Everton is fading in the second half of the season after having a great. Millwall vs Blackburn as well as Manchester United vs Chelsea will go to replay after an enthralling 2-2 tie. See my blog post regarding the latter game.

GOLF

Tiger finished off his second win before the Master's, a week after the poor showing at the Honda Classic (albeit in difficult weather conditions). Tiger only had 100 putts in 4 rounds which is an indication that he will be in contention at the Master's (one month from today).

Rory McIlroy, who apologized after last week's weekend wrap up post, rebounded with the low round of the day Sunday (65). He needed a major boost to his confidence after struggling since the beginning of this year on and off the course.

MEN'S CBB

Congratulations to Miami an upstart basketball program who shockingly started 14-0 in the ACC and finished 15-3 with a top 10 ranking and ACC regular season title. In the ACC, the regular season team with the best record is the champion (not the ACC tournament winner).

Indiana, a program riddled with NCAA sanctions from the Kelvin Sampson era, beat a resilient Michigan team 72-71 to win the Big 10 title outright. Tom Crean, who guided Marquette to 5 NCAA tournament bids and a Final Four appearance during a successful 9 year reign has resurrected Indiana's basketball program.

Georgetown earned a share of the Big East regular season title (14-4), with tough defense and a slow deliberate offensive scheme which is tailor made for the NCAA tournament. I think the Hoyas make a deep run.

WOMEN'S CBB

The Duke women won the ACC final against UNC 92-73 and will be very difficult to beat in the NCAA tournament. They are shooting the ball well from 3-point range and getting low post productivity from Haley Peters and Williams (2 time ACC defensive player of the year. Add Alexis Jones (tournament MVP) to the mix and you have the recipe for a damn good team. Dark horse for an NCAA championship this year.

Weekend Wrap Up

NFL

I heard a rumor that Greg Jennings the productive wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers wants a contract worth about 12 million a year. Obviously Green Bay is too smart to resign him for those type of numbers, this has bust written all over it. Stayed tuned for an updated blog post about the Redskins Draft Needs this week.

Joe Flacco deserved a deal, I'm not sure he deserved 125 million. Baltimore may regret this move in the coming years. Remember after the Redskin's beat them at FedEx field in December, people were questioning whether they should resign him. Flacco played his cards right and forced the Ravens hand.

NBA

Lebron 29 pts-11 rebs-7 asts in the garden. Kobe 34 pts and a late surge to close out the game. Durant 35 pts-9 rebs. The stars came out this weekend and led their teams to close wins.

Special shot out to John Wall who finished the game against the 76ers with a late scoring surge to propel the Wizards to a 90-87 win. Although he has been struggling with his game recently, with John Wall the Wizards are 14-11 this year. Unfortunately, Bradley Beal, our promising rookie severely injured his ankle.

SOCCER

Barcelona continues to struggle losing 2-1 to Real Madrid at home. The game means very little in the grand scheme of things since Barcelona still has an 11-point lead at the top of the table. Both teams have difficult mid-week Champions League games. Their lineups reflected with many of their second team players getting an opportunity to stretch their legs. A bright spot for Barcelona however was that Lionel Messi has scored in 16 straight La Liga games, extending his own record. Astounding.

Manchester United continued to cruise at the top of the English Premier League even though they rested RVP. Looking forward to the clash against Real Madrid on Wednesday. See my blog post for the other big match of the weekend: Arsenal vs. Tottenham. Juventus hold a 6 point gap at the top of Serie A, Bayern are in incredible form and have a 17 point lead in the German League (Bundesliga), PSG lost and Lyon closed the gap in the title race to 2 points. In a year with such huge margins between 1st and 2nd place, Ligue 1 has the potential to be the most dramatic.

GOLF

There are certain rules in golf that even non-professionals have to abide by. It is a game of honor and commitment which is why I will teach my child golf (because it demonstrates so many great elements of sportsmanship and life in general). So Rory McIlroy's withdrawal after a "toothache" left me scratching my head. First rule: when you sign up to play a round, you finish unless it is a debilitating injury. Second, would he have withdrawn had he played better (+7 through 8 holes on Friday which is an amateurish score). The day before he shot 70 and never mentioned anything. He reportedly walked of the golf course telling the press, "I'm in a bad place mentally", but what does that have to do with a tootache? 

This is the number 1 player in the world people and the defending champion of this tournament. Fans paid money, the Honda team did their part and the golf course was immaculate which is why golfers almost never quit in the middle of a round (18 holes). Twitter suggests there maybe another reason, an impending breakup with long-time girlfriend and tennis star Caroline Wozniacki. Tiger nearly missed the cut and was frustrated all weekend, but even during his darkest days, I cannot imagine him walking off the golf course.

MEN'S CBB

I hate Duke which is why this update is at the bottom of my page. But you have to respect Ryan Kelly going OFF for 36 points in a tight game against the top team in the ACC (Miami). Keep in mind, Kelly had not played in 2 months. Wow.

Tip of the cap to the Boston College players for coming back from 8 points down late in the game to beat Virginia. After the traditional singing of the Boston College alma mater, the players headed over to press row to congratulate longtime assistant sports information director Dick Kelley, who received the Most Courageous Award from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. Kelley is confined to a wheelchair with Lou Gehrig's disease.

WOMEN'S CBB

This hurts. Congratulations to Duke Lady Blue Devils for capturing the ACC regular season title. They should go deep in the NCAA tournament if their 3-point shooting holds up. The Lady Terps also closed out their regular season with a win and a second place finish in the ACC. Considering their injuries, Frese should get serious consideration for coach of the year.