If you picked Syracuse to go deep into the NCAA Basketball Tourney, you may want to go back and adjust your bracket. Orange starting Center, Fab Melo has been ruled ineligible for the tournament for academic reasons. This is the second time this season that Brazilian-born 7-footer has been suspended due to poor grades. Earlier this year, Melo sat out 3 games, including their only regular season loss, which was a blowout against Notre Dame. Melo's absence drastically changes how Syracuse plays its game. Boeheim's squad is undersized, and Fab was his one defensive anchor who could block shots and grab boards. Now, their 2-3 defense, which has been the foundation of success, will be less effective, forcing the Orange to use Man and Press schemes, thus deepening their bench. Syracuse, now lacking their "it factor" will have to take on the toughest of the regional brackets. Look for either Vanderbilt, Ohio State, or the red-hot FSU Seminoles to take care of The Orange. The one external factor that could help keep 'Cuse afloat is their fan base... they travel well. Since Syracuse's road to New Orleans runs through Pittsburgh and Boston, they will have plenty of support, and have somewhat of a home-court advantage. -Kevin Aherne
ITS THAT TIME! In 67 shining moments, we are about to see some of the most exciting 18 days in sports, otherwise known as March Madness. 68 teams, all with hopes of glory... to some, glory comes in the form of making it there in the first place. Teams like Norfolk State (1st Appearance), South Dakota State (1st), LIU-Brooklyn (2nd), and Harvard (2nd) are happy to be going to the big dance, and anything they accomplish from this point is simply bonus. On the other hand, there are teams with much higher aspirations. Kentucky, UNC, Duke, and Kansas, who are perennial contenders consider anything less than a trip to New Orleans as failure.
-Kevin Aherne
It doesn't appear to have taken Jonathan Papelbon very long to settle into his new home with the Phillies. The enigmatic closer came out with some harshly worded comments pointed at the Boston fan base, otherwise known as Red Sox Nation: “The difference between Boston and Philadelphia, the Boston fans are a little bit more hysterical when it comes to the game of baseball,” Papelbon said. “The Philly fans tend to know the game a little better, being in the National League, the way the game is played.” I don't think Paps comments were truly aimed towards the ever day fans,he is clearly bitter towards the Sox' limited pursuit to retain him this off-season. He also may be annoyed due to having Ken Casey of the Dropkick Murphys recently insist that he no longer use "Shipping up to Boston" as his entrance song. -Kevin Aherne
It is never a good day when you are informed that the Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking into your basketball program. Auburn point guard Varez Ward faces allegations of shaving points on at least two separate occasions. The NCAA is awaiting the conclusion of the FBI's investigation before handing down any punishments of their own. However, if the FBI deems there is enough evidence to move forward with charges, Ward could face up to 5 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Needless to say any penalty the NCAA would hand down would be child's play compared to the Feds. -Pal His stats I do not need to post. His legend larger, than the corporate giants he plays spokesman for. Peyton Manning a class act, an All Pro, a first ballot Hall of Famer,and he is now also a free agent. Once again the business side of professional sports glares it's ugly head. The Indianapolis Colts for which Manning played to this point his entire 14 year career was forced to release the superstar quarterback due to financial obligations. Money plus the number 1 overall pick in this spring's draft were motivation enough for this decision. In a perfect world number 18 gets his shot to redeem his greatness. He marches his club to victory one more time in front of a sold out dome. We all know by now the world is far from perfect, contracts, agents, unions, etc have taken a game and made a serious business. The fairy tale story line will never come to reality. There is money to be made, apparel to sell, and contract to be negotiated. There is no doubt in my mind Peyton will play again. Every athlete wants to leave the game on their terms, on top. Manning suffered a serious neck injury which kept him sidelined for the entire 2011 season , many speculate if he will even be able to return at all or be close to the form he is used to performing at. One thing is for certain there is a market for the newest big name free agent. But were will he land? -Pal
Lenny "Nails" Dykstra, 1986 World Series Champion, and perennial D-Bag, was sentenced to 3 years in California State Prison today on charges of Grand Theft Auto and providing false financial documents. On the field, Dykstra was a career .285 hitter, with 81 HR, 404 RBI, and over 1,200 hits over 12 Major League seasons. Off the field, Lenny Dykstra is known as a self-centered, racist blowhard. "You Mess With Nails, You Get The Hammer" - L. Dykstra Becoming just the latest former star-athlete to be financially disgraced, the enigmatic Dykstra has not garnered much public support due to his public demeanor. Dykstra was likely a victim of his own arrogance. In his post-baseball career, Nails made a decent profit in the stock market, and began to dabble in venture capital and private investing. CNBC's Jim Cramer even lauded Dykstra's ability to successfully pick stocks. When the markets began to topple in the late 2000's, Lenny Dykstra and his investments were severely over-leveraged, leaving him so deep that the self-proclaimed financial genius was unable to dig out. His home, which was purchased from Wayne Gretzky, had been used as collateral of up to $14 Million despite being valued slightly below $2 Million. Life eventually caught up to Lenny, and now he will be locked up for the next few years.
-Kevin Aherne
University of Rhode Island has dismissed Men's Basketball Head Coach Jim Baron with 2 years remaining on his contract. Baron's Rhody Rams finished out the season with a record of 7-24, 13th in the Atlantic 10. Since his arrival in 2001, the Rams have had a record of 184-166, including five NIT appearances, and six 20-Win seasons. Baron however, failed to bring his team to the big dance in 11 seasons.
-Kevin Aherne
Major League Baseball Playoffs are expanding for the first time since 1994. Effective immediately, there are now two wild card teams per League, increasing the total number of playoff teams from 8 to 10. The format will be:
Another nuance of the format change will cause the Houston Astros to switch from the NL Central to the AL West in 2013. Currently, the American league has one less team than the National League, the move will balance both the leagues and their divisions.
-Kevin Aherne 50 years ago today, Wilt Chamberlain set the 2nd Most Impressive record of his career. Facing the New York Knicks at Hershey Sports Arena, Wilt Chamberlain scored 100 points, shattering the previous record, his own, of 78. The Philadelphia Warriors,won that game by a fairly narrow margin (169-147), so Wilt's team needed every one of his 36 FGM to clinch the victory. This was just one of many records to be set in Wilt Chamberlain's Hall of Fame career. That same 1961-62 season, Chamberlain also averaged 50.2 PPG and 25.7 Rebounds, both current records. Let's take a look at some of the record setting numbers Wilt the Stilt produced:
-Kevin Aherne
-Kevin Aherne
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