Ron Artest does it horribly. Kobe Bryant does it girly. Tony Parker does it unintelligibly. And Shaquille O’Neal does it hilariously. Yup, we’re talking about rapping and the NBA players who love to attempt it. Like anything and everything else the pros do, up-n-comers of the game want to be exact replicas of their favorite stars. Take Tennessee recruit Bobby Maze for example. He obviously idolizes this NBA rap superstar.
Links:
[Sports Crunch]: Tennessee Recruit Bobby Maze Tries to Rap
Hopefully you didn’t go to bed and give up on the Jayhawks when they were in a nine-point hole with two minutes left in regulation – that’s right, we said regulation – because if you did then you missed one of the greatest finishes to a championship game in tourney history. Mario Chalmers sank a phenomenal, incredible, spectacular, unbelievable (too much?) shot in the final moments to send the game into overtime, exploiting Memphis’ free throw woes down the stretch to close the gap before running to a 75-68 extra inning win.
The Tigers are going to be kicking themselves over this one for a while. Joey Dorsey fouled out at the conclusion of regulation and the team missed four of their last five from the charity stripe in regulation. Not exactly the way they planned to cap off a season in which they won more games than any team in the history of college basketball.
While John Calipari might disagree, all in all, it was on of the greatest tournaments in a long time. And we’ve got One Shining Moment to prove it.
If you think your diet goes straight to hell during March Madness then at least you’re not alone. There’s no telling how many nachos, hotdogs, soda and microwave pizzas we’ve pounded since opening day. But we’re used to it; we find some sporting event every weekend in order to indulge. Heck, we tuned into the Winter X-Games just so we could kill an entire gallon of cookies-n-cream ice cream. Our excuse is that we’re on the Derrick Rose diet. What’s yours?
Right before sitting down to answer questions Sunday, Memphis’ freshman point guard asked coach John Calipari to be excused from media sessions because his stomach was bothering him. Rose went to see trainers and never returned.
Teammate Chris Douglas-Roberts offered a possible reason why his running mate had a stomach ache.
”[Derrick] eats Gummy Bears and Starburst for breakfast and Twizzlers and Honey Buns for dinner — that’s why his stomach hurts,” Douglas-Roberts said.
‘We tell Derrick the whole year, `Stop eating so many Gummy Bears and Sour Straws.’ But he can’t.’
Links:
[MiamiHerald.com]: Memphis’ Rose has upset stomach
When March Madness comes rolling around, we turn into absolute NCAA basketball junkies. For weeks on end we sit and stare at the tube and the computer screen in an attempt to catch every possible moment of action. So far, the highlight of the tournament for us was when the frog on Duke dunked on Belmont’s Jason.
Links:
[Can’t Stop The Bleeding]: A Non-CBS Affiliate Presents “One Shining Muppet”
Please tell us you remember last year’s video of the year. No, not Rihanna’s “Umbrella;” we’re talking about the Cameron Crazies getting punk’d in Peter Rosenberg’s “This Is Why Duke Sucks.” Well, like any good up and coming artist, Rosenberg knows that timing is everything when it comes to dropping new singles, so now on the opening day of NCAA Tournament play we present to you the much anticipated “Duke Fan Stan.”
Links:
[College Humor]: Duke Fan Stan
We don’t even have one game of this year’s tournament under our belts yet and already the NCAA is about to start accepting application for the 2009 Final Four in Detroit. Of course, when tickets are as hot as Final Four tickets are you need to get on the ball early. You know what they say; the early bird catches all the early bird specials.
In other news…
[MMAScraps.com]: It’s an ass whooping no matter what language it’s in.
[The 700 Level]: Phillies have “Bring Your Marmoset Monkeys To Work Day.”
[Balls Deep Sports]: Don’t worry, Terry Bradshaw remains zany after the football season is over.
[Philly.com]: Charles Barkley can relate to Allen Iverson’s return to Philadelphia.
[The Big Lead]: Mark Cuban, Now Directing Hatred at MMA Writers.
[Golf Spelled Backwards*]: So funny we forgot to laugh.
[SportingNews.com]: Terrelle Pryor is not for hire anymore. Sorry Big Blue.
[TodaysTMJ4.com]: Shocking Brett Favre news out of Green Bay. He’s planning to return to Lambeau…sorta.
Now, we know that some people get pretty desperate around tournament time, but are you seriously going to fill out your bracket based on the input of some guy named Spaz? We didn’t think so. What if he was in a leprechaun outfit?
Last night, amidst all the Bracetology talk on ESPN‘s family of networks, Dick Vitale unveiled his blueprint to “dominate college basketball.” And frankly, it all seemed to bewilder/bore Bob Knight.
The tournament shook out on Sunday evening as the brackets were revealed to a drooling, anticipation-ridden audience of millions. And after all was said and done, one matchup stands out above all the rest: USC vs. Kansas State. Now, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to figure out why this 6/11 matchup is gonna be the bomb – it’s O.J. Mayo and Kevin Beasley fool! – but it does take some serious mental dexterity to figure out who you’ll draw before the selection show even goes down.
But that Mayo kid, he’s a sharp one.
Mayo was referring to the fact that he and Kansas State’s Michael Beasley are two of the most talented freshmen in the country, making for an attractive matchup.
Beasley is the third-leading scorer in the country, averaging 26.5 points. Mayo isn’t far behind at 20.8 points. Both figure to be early first-round picks whenever they decide to declare for the NBA draft.
“It’s still Kansas State vs. USC–two good teams, two teams that play hard,” Mayo said. “We’ll get a crowd there, it should be exciting.”
The 20-year-old Mayo said he has known Walker since the age of 3, calling him “my best friend in the world.”
Mayo said the two spoke again after learning they would face each other.
“He was like, `What made you pick that?”‘ Mayo said with a smile.
Mayo made his prediction to several teammates as well.
“That’s what `O’ kept saying. It was a great call by him,” Davon Jefferson said.
Pretty good prediction by a kid who is playing in his first and probably last NCAA Tournament. Same goes for Beasley – uh, everything except the prediction part.
Links:
[CBS2.com]: Mayo Predicted Trojans Would Face K-State
It’s almost NCAA Tournament time which means it’s time to hear about how much money your employer will lose this year as you surf the net looking for scores and secretly watch the games on the mini-television you have hidden under your desk.
This year’s final numbers indicate that $1.7 billion will be lost in productivity. But, hey, who cares as long as you get to see No. 14 seed knock off a No. 3 seed on a last second buzzer-beater.
“Those who insist there will be no impact are kidding themselves,” Challenger said in a statement. “The key for companies is finding a way to maximize the positive aspects of March Madness so that they outweigh the negatives.”
For every 10 minutes workers spend on basketball, companies will lose about $109 million, Challenger said. That figure is based on the current average hourly wage for all American workers, which the Bureau of Labor Statistics pegs at $17.50.
Look, you can either lose $1.7 billion or we can all call in sick for a month. Your choice.
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[SignOnSanDiego.com]: March Madness cost companies mad money
