The Final Four was every bit as exciting as any other in history, the Butler Bulldogs return to the championship game after they defeated VCU 70 – 62 behind 24 points from Shelvin Mack. The Bulldogs were able to get contributions from unlikely sources at key times as Zach Hahn came off the bench and scored eight straight points for Butler during a 90 second span where they were looking for a spark. They were able to be the aggressor, and keep VCU from shooting a high percentage from the three point line which is what they lived on throughout this tournament. Jamie Skeen still managed to score 27 points for VCU, but there were not enough contributions from his teammates to make up the difference.
In the other National Semi-Final Connecticut edged out Kentucky 56 – 55 to punch their ticket to the championship game. Kemba Walker was the best player on the floor, and the Wildcats did not have an answer for him as he poured in 18 points on the night. Walker also added seven assists and six rebounds to help his team stay a step ahead of the Wildcats all night, and the Wildcats shot 33.9% for the game and went on an over five minute scoring drought. The Wildcats seemed out of sync all night, and their shooting touch left them at the wrong time. It was a great run for the Wildcats, but the UCONN Huskies
The Tampa Bay Rays are off to a 0 – 3 after being swept by the Baltimore Orioles of all teams. To make matters worse the Rays had to place their top player Evan Longoria on the 15 day disabled list with swath seems to be a strained Oblique. It’s about as bad of a start to the season as the Rays could have had, and the worst part is they only scored one run in each game. They clearly miss Carl Crawford and Matt Garza who are now playing for other teams, and the additions of Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon have not provided immediate offense as of yet. It is clear that the Rays have their work cut out for them this season if they want to make the playoffs again.
The San Antonio Spurs finally ended a six game losing streak by routing the Phoenix Suns, 114 – 97. This was the longest losing streak ever experience by Spurs veterans like Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. The win kept the Spurs at least 1 1/2 games ahead of the surging Los Angeles Lakers, who played later Sunday. Three of San Antonio’s final five games are against teams out of the playoff race, but one of the other two is April 12 at the Lakers. The problem with the timing of this losing streak is that it comes at a time when San Antonio seemingly had the #1 seed in the Western Conference playoffs locked up, but now the Lakers have gained enough ground to make it close.
HBO says Auburn athletic officials chose not to comment for a report in which four former players said they were paid thousands of dollars during their recruitment or college careers. If you watched the show when you heard players Stanley McClover, Chaz Ramsey, Troy Reddick, and Raven Gray detail how they were paid hundreds of dollars many times while they played football it was damming for the schools mentioned. This only highlights things that everyone already knows have been going on in college football for decades, and is not going to stop anytime soon.
