Ohio State completes huge comeback

I never thought I would actually say that the consensus number 1 pick in this year’s NBA draft (Greg Oden) was better off being on the bench during last night’s 20 point come from behind victory against Tennessee. Oden, who got himself into foul trouble, something he does exceedingly well at, was on the bench for a large portion of last night’s game than I’m sure he wanted to be. The weird thing was, in his absence was the time that Ohio actually stepped it up. The play of his back up forward, a white boy named Terwilliger surprised me the most. From the looks of it, the back up had a starter calibre game. If this doesn’t seal the fate of Durant at number one, I’m not sure what does. But it still comes down to how the ping-pong balls fall and if Durant and Oden decide to declare or not.

Kobe keeps it going

The game after he scored 65 points, he dropped another 50. The game after that he dropped 60. When will this tear end? Probably soon just due to the law of averages but damn isn’t it exciting? The worst part of Mamba’s tear and the Laker’s winning streak is the fact that it seems that Kobe needs to score large amounts of points to keep them on this roll. This doesn’t bode well for L.A. and when he steps up against a playoff calibre team with actual defenders, look for his number to drop back to his normal high 20s range. Still not bad, but it’s no 50.

OJ Mayo. Learn the name in case you haven’t yet.

The best high school basketball player in the States is OJ Mayo; without a doubt. He is heading to USC next year for college and, knowing the current one-and-done trend of top-tier college talent look for him to declare for the NBA as soon as he can. While he is very talented, he is surrounded by controversy including possible drug charges and associating with people the NCAA don’t look too kindly on. There is some actual doubt if he will be able to play next year, but let’s keep our fingers crossed and enjoy the youtube video of his last high school dunk.



The part of this dunk that really gets me is that after he slams it home, he grabs the ball and launches it into the stands. This is all well and fine and shows some intensity but during play? Are you kidding me? David Stern is going to grow to hate this guy if he doesn’t clean up his act by the time he’s drafted.

Win Some/ Lose Some: Schaub to Houston

After being dealt from his cushy spot as Mike Vick’s back up in Atlanta, Matt Schaub will now, presumably, take the reins of the Houston Texan’s offense. Well, it’s only presumably because David Carr hasn’t lived up to his potential and there’s no way that the Texans would give away two draft picks and swap for a lower first round pick for a QB they would use as a back up; it doesn’t make sense.

And now for the win some/ lose some, a new gimmick I just thought up.

Win some: The Texans, Matt Schaub and Mike Vick. The Texans get a new starting QB whose potential everyone rants and raves about. Schaub gets his opportunity to start and live up to his name and Michael Vick gets a vote of confidence from Falcons management.

Lose some: Matt Schaub, The Falcons and David Carr: Schaub is now heading to a team that has given up nearly 250 sacks over Carr’s tenure; I hope he likes lying on his back. The Falcons now no longer have a back up plan or insurance policy in case Vick turns into a lemon like he usually does. David Carr, who will more than likely not be QBing for the Texans next season, is now out of a job. The bright side is he could be traded to Oakland now; but that’s not really a bright side now is it?

NHL gets more press for wrong reasons

The NHL suspended Jordin Tootoo five games for punching Stephane Robidas of the Dallas Stars in the face; the punch knocked him unconscious. Tootoo clearly saw Robidas coming towards him after landing a big hit on Mike Modano. The fact that this got nearly headline play on ESPN.com is another reassurance that the NHL is just a joke in the U.S. and only draws attention when the worst incidents happen.

Tonight in Toronto, look for the Leaf’s goon squad to try to exact revenge on Cam Janssen for his hit on Tomas Kaberle that still has him feeling the effects of the concussion he suffered. If the game goes anything like the press wants it to, expect some scuffles to say the least; maybe even a story on ESPN’s main page.

Bracket-mania!

Let’s hope you didn’t take too many upsets in the first two rounds of the NCAA tournament because if you did, your bracket most likely isn’t looking too good right now. Since it’s always a cop out taking all the high seeds, you shouldn’t even feel good about your bracket if you’re leading right now anyway. That is unless you’re somehow winning due to the attrition in your pool, then you can celebrate and gloat all you want.

I’m not in any position to gloating right now; over the weekend I’ve lost two of my elite 8 and one of my finalists (Texas). It could be worse but it could definitely be better. Who would’ve thought that Kevin Durant couldn’t, in fact, lead his team by himself? I certain thought he could; it’s too bad there are no mulligans.

The Intern is doing slightly better but is also down 2 of his elite 8 (Georgia Tech and Texas).

***Update***

The Intern's Final Four are Kansas, Florida, Georgetown and Memphis. He would write to tell you why but he's a very busy man. (Read that last sentence with a sarcastic tone.)

Kobe’s wonderful weekend

What a great weekend it was to the Black Mamba. On Friday night, he dropped 65 points on the Portland Trailblazers and then followed that up with 50 points last night against Minnesota. Friday’s outing was far more impressive as Bryant helped his team both take his team into overtime and then dispatch of their foes. Anyway you look at it, 115 in two games is impressive none the less.