br Page 1010 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

Bruins vs. Tigers, 12:19 First Half
Just real quick, Seth Davis reports before the game that NC State's Herb Sendek is no longer NC State's. He's been offerred and has accepted the head coaching job at Arizona State. I think the Sun Devils just got one of the better coaches in the nation....

Your NL East "Preview"
It is important to point out, before we start predicting our final division, that we have picked a team other than the Braves to win the division for five consecutive years. As if you needed any more assurance that our predictions are always wrong....

It's A Final Four Pants Party
Obviously, the best story at this weekend's Final Four in Indianapolis is George Mason, but we've found the best story of that best story: It turns out that until this weekend, the George Mason fight song had no lyrics. Seriously; they had to write a whole batch just because the NCAA was asking fo...

Your NL Central "Preview"
Our personal favorite division has had a monotonous feel to it the last few years, with the Cardinals and the Astros advancing and meeting in the NLCS two consecutive times. (This, of course, is fine with us.) We also have a feeling that the NL Central is the only division in baseball with three ...

LeBron James' Mom, On A Rampage
One of our favorite underreported stories of the last few months was the arrest of LeBron James' mother for drunken driving. In case you don't remember the details, Momma LeBron — who, by the way, is the exact same age as Bill Simmons — was placed in the back of a cop car, kicked out the back wind...

Punting With Pat The Bat
Reaction to yesterday's Four Tiny Tidbits on the Philadelphia Phillies continues to pour in (OK, we've had two e-mails), with one reader recalling his own memories of current Phillies outfielder Pat The Bat Burrell and his childhood nemesis, Tom Brady. Let's go right to the action....

George Brett's Bloopers And Practical Jokes
Baseball players, you see, they're pranksters. Whether it's the hot foot, the rookie hazing or just a cream pie in the face during a television interview, those ballplayers, they like to fool around. Spend six months out of the year with the same 24 guys, hey, what's a little tomfoolery from time ...

Can't Anybody Here Play This Game?
Wasn't that Bill Walton in the stands grinning during the final moments of UCLA's win over Memphis on Saturday? What was he smiling about? Was it the Bruins' 35 percent shooting from the field? Was it their 51 percent shooting from the free throw line? Ironically, it was in the 1973 NCAA champions...

NCAA Roundup:All GMU, All The Time
• As exciting as the LSU-Texas and George Mason-Connecticut games were, the Florida-Villanova and UCLA-Memphis games were dogs. Particularly that last one; it had been a long time since we'd seen a team back into the Final Four. Not supposed to work that way. • One of the more underpublicized fact...

UCLA To Meet The Tapeworms
This one was the college basketball equivalent of a 6-3 Browns/Bengals game in a freezing rain. For a while there, it didn't look like either team would get to 50 points. Much like Ben Howland, this game was not pretty....

UCLA Refusing To Be Whooped
The Bruins have taken a 28-21 lead with them into halftime after sweating Memphis into their worst shooting performance of the year. They're 0-for-10 from behind the line, and 10-of-37 overall. Most tricks are not impressed by 21-point halves....

Kobe Bryant: Future Member Of The Tribe?
A while back, we mistakenly referred to then-Chicago White Sox third baseman Geoff Blum as Jewish. Within seconds, we received dozens of emails saying that wasn't true. Point is, as Jews In Sports can attest: People take this stuff seriously....

Sweet 16 Pants Party: UCLA Vs. Gonzaga
UCLA Bruins (29-6) vs. Gonzaga Bulldogs (29-3) When: Tonight, 9:57 p.m. ET (approx.) Where: Oakland...

Sweet 16 Pants Party: Memphis Vs. Bradley
Memphis Tigers (32-3) vs. Bradley Braves (22-10) When: Tonight, 7:27 p.m. ET Where: Oakland...

Arroyo Ready To Take Cincinnati By Storm
After an brutal spring so far — OK, he didn't really get rocked by a Little League team — rockin' righthander Bronson Arroyo was traded this morning to the Cincinnati Reds for outfielder Wily Mo Pena. We support this trade, for three major reasons....

Know Your Mid-Major Sweet Sixteen Qualifiers
The NCAA Basketball Tournament — fun, as well as educational! For once history teachers can get behind it, thanks to a couple of surprise winners over the weekend advancing to the Sweet Sixteen. Please welcome Bradley and George Mason, of which you already know something about thanks to our NCAA T...

Oh, You Clever Shocker Cheerleaders
Okay, so that Florida/Milwaukee game wasn't as good as I thought it would be. The Gators ended up winning by 22, which is not what you'd call close. Still, to me, it felt like less of a blowout than the Duke/GW game. Maybe it's just me....

Now It Gets Real
Duke has put the finishing touches on their romp of George Washington. They're the first team in the Sweet 16, Dick Vitale has written them in on his bracket with a glitter pen, and blah blah blah... We're done with the appetizers. Here comes the steak....

Bracket Breakdown: Oakland Regional
The question was raised by Dan Shanoff in the Daily Quickie this morning, and echoed in today's Sports Illustrated: Is this the year a No. 16 seed finally beats a No. 1? Oral Roberts is a No. 16 seed that's much better than your usual No. 16 seed, and you could certainly argue that Memphis is a li...

Bracket Breakdown: Minneapolis Regional
For some reason, the Minneapolis Regional is the one that inspires us the least. We're not sure why; we love Villanova and think the college basketball world is a better place when the Wildcats are good....