Sports

Friday, March 22, 2013

NCAA Tournament: Day 1 Highlights

Yesterday marked the start of everyone slacking off at work and school. It is the time of the year when everyone becomes a college basketball fan. The time of the year when that cinderella team makes a run deep into the tournament and ruins millions of brackets.

Photo by www. breitbart.com

The biggest story of the "second round" was Harvard upsetting New Mexico to get their first tournament win in school history. Third-seeded New Mexico was heavily favored and picked by many to make a run in this years tournament, but failed to get out of the round of 64 for the second straight year. Harvard led and controlled much of the game, making New Mexico force tough shots. Wesley Saunders led Harvard with 18 points and four rebounds in 39 minutes. Harvard will try to be this years cinderella team and will face sixth-seeded Arizona on Saturday.

Another big surprise was the success of the Pac-12 Conference. Arizona, Oregon, and California all won their games yesterday to advance to the next round. Oregon, powered by Damyean Dotson and Arsalan Kazemi, defeated Oklahoma State convincingly 68-55. Arizona proved the critics wrong and shut down popular upset pick Belmont. California upset UNLV 64-61in a game that ended with multiple missed free throws by both teams.

VCU and Syracuse looked like championship caliber teams in their opening games. VCU beat 12th-seeded Akron by 46. The Rams forced 21 turnovers and only allowed Akron to make one shot from beyond the arc. Syracuse dominated Montana 81-34 to continue their momentum that they gained from a successful Big East Tournament. They will face California in the next round on Saturday.

One thing that many people forget while watching the tournament is that these players are only college kids. Some of them are playing in the last game of their career. Pittsburgh guard Tray Woodall reminded us of that yesterday in his emotional post game press conference. See video below.

Nate Robinson's HUGE dunk vs. Portland (video)

With the NCCA Tournament kicking off yesterday, Nate Robinson did his best to direct the attention back to the NBA for a moment. The 5'9" guard split the Portland defense with a nifty move and absolutely threw the ball down with authority. Chicago ended up losing the game, but Robinson provided us with the spectacular highlight.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Miami wins 23rd straight; LeBron steals the show (video)

The Miami Heat escaped by the Boston Celtics on Monday night to win their 23rd consecutive game. Miami now owns the second longest winning streak in NBA history, after Lebron James hit what proved to be the game winner in the closing seconds of the game. James finished the game with 37 points, 12 assists, and seven rebounds. Jeff Green led the Celtics and all scorers with a surprising 43 points, a career-high. 

Miami's win streak may not have been the biggest story of the game. In the second quarter, LeBron caught an alley-oop from Norris Cole and for some reason Jason Terry thought it would be a good idea to try and block the dunk. LeBron almost jumped over Terry and completely embarrassed him. He even took it as far as to stand over Terry while he laid helpless on the ground. 

The Heat will try for 24 straight wins Wednesday night when they visit the Cleveland Cavaliers. 

Friday, March 15, 2013

Chris Mason...where you at? (video)

Last night, the Vancouver Canucks and Nashville Predators game went into a shootout. With the Canucks already leading 5-4, Henrik Sedin added another goal on a nifty move against Nashville goalie Chris Mason. Not only did he beat Mason, he made him look like an absolute fool. (See video below).

Labels: Chris Mason, Henrik Sedin, Nashville Predators, Vancouver Canucks, Video

Throwback Thursday: Hank Aaron

In honor of throwback Thursday, TUrnt-UP takes a look back at this day in sports. Hank Aaron is most commonly known for hitting 755 home runs during his MLB career. He was known as the home run king before being eclipsed by Barry Bonds in 2007. Aaron came into the league in 1954 with the Milwaukee Braves and finished his career with 3,771 hits and 2,297 RBIs. It was on this day, March 14, 1954, that Aaron hit his first home run in an exhibition game.

Labels: Barry Bonds, Hank Aaron, Milwaukee Braves, Throwback Thursday

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Jrue Holiday's impressive dunk over LeBron James (video)

The Sixers actually looked like they wanted to win against the Miami Heat Wednesday night. Philadelphia played hard and even held a small lead late in the fourth quarter but came up short when time expired. Jrue Holiday had 21 points, 7 assists, and 7 rebounds. Two of those points came from this dunk over King James himself.

Kaspars Daugavins must-see shootout attempt (video)

Even though the Ottawa Senators lost in a shootout against the Boston Bruins Monday night, Kaspars Daugavins attempted a crazy dangle against Boston goalie Tuukka Rask. Rask actually denied Daugavins, helping Boston seal the victory. Despite the failed attempt by Daugavins, it was still something different and exciting for hockey fans to watch.

NFL Free Agency: Day Two

After losing wide receiver Wes Welker to Denver earlier today, the Patriots have agreed in principle to a five-year deal with former Rams receiver Danny Amendola according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. Amendola should fit in nicely with the Patriots offense, as he has a similar playing style to Welker.

According to ESPN and other sources, former 49ers safety Dashon Goldson has signed a five-year deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Goldson made the Pro Bowl in each of his last two seasons with San Francisco.

ESPN reports that the Broncos have reached a deal with former Patriots wide receiver Wes Welker. Welker was considered the best receiver on the market by many teams around the league. Many believed that Welker would return to New England, but the two sides could not agree on a deal.

Reggie Bush signed a four-year deal with the Detroit Lions. The Lions struggled last season to have a healthy and efficient running game and were targeting Bush from the start of free agency. Bush only missed one game in his last two seasons with the Miami Dolphins and rushed for 2,072 yards and 12 touchdowns. He will give quarterback Matthew Stafford a reliable option out of the backfield and help open up the passing game.

The Lions also agreed to terms with safety Glover Quin, defensive end Jason Jones, and cornerback Chris Houston. Quin was arguably one of the best safeties on the market and he, along with Jones and Houston, will improve a Lions defense that struggled for most of last season.

Former Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall agreed to a one-year deal with the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals released running back Beanie Wells earlier this week, giving Mendenhall a chance to compete for the starting job during training camp.

Ex-Colts wide receiver Donnie Avery is planning on signing with the Chiefs. Avery will give newly acquired quarterback Alex Smith a deep-threat option and help take the attention off of Dwayne Bowe.

The Ravens continue to take hits, as they announced that they have released safety Bernard Pollard. This may have been a move to open up some cap room so that the team can sign veteran safety Ed Reed. However, Reed is testing the market and will definitely receive attention from teams around the league.

DeAndre Jordan: the dunk heard around the world (video)

Many NBA fans are calling this dunk by DeAndre Jordan the dunk of the year. No one is quite sure why Brandon Knight of the Pistons even tried to jump and play defense. Knight was quickly embarrassed by much of the nation on social media. What is most impressive about this dunk is the fact that Jordan used his opposite hand to catch and throw the ball down. Jordan and the rest of the Clippers are definitely going to be a force in the playoffs, especially if "lob city" is in full flight.