Sunday Sports Wrap - April 5, 2009

Final Four: The women's bracket is down to four teams today. UConn face Stanford and Louisville go against Oklahoma. Since my bracket is toast I'll just root for the California team - go Stanford!

WPS: The WPS season is spreading around the country. Today the Los Angeles Sol visit Sky Blue FC and the Boston Breakers visit FC Gold Pride.

MLS: The season started and I barely noticed. There are 3 games today including Chivas USA hosting the Columbus Crew.

Today in Sports History

1973 - NFL adopts jersey numbering system - for example - QBs are 1-19, running backs are 20s, 30s, or 40s, and so on.

1992 - 11th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship is played - Stanford beats Western Kentucky, 78-62

Wild World of Wednesday - April 1, 2009

March Madness: My women's bracket has no chance of survival. It was on life support and has completely died. I was going against the popular UConn pick and that sure didn't work. As for the men's bracket - who woulda thought Michigan State? The only person I know that picked them was because they are an alum.

Narcissist Of The Day: Yeah, you know who I'm talking about - your favorite tragic hero and mine - Terrell Owens. I woke up to his smiling face on the NFL Network talking about his favorite subject - himself. Warren Sapp claims that Keyshawn Johnson is worse. I'm happy that I don't work with either. I did find this funny shirt with T.O.'s favorite expression.

I Still Can't: No, I still am not on Twitter. I know, I know...


Today in Sports History

1972 - Major League Baseball players stage first collective strike

1990 - The 9th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship plays out - Stanford defeats Auburn 88-81

Wild World of Wednesday - March 25, 2009

Women's Hoops: Well, I was doing fine on my women's bracket until Duke lost. Argh. In addition, Tennessee was knocked out in the first round for the first time in their history. The two-time defending champs aren't taking a break though and are back in the gym to work out their playing issues. The team lost starters like Candace Parker to graduation and have seven freshmen. They'll certainly be working hard to not let this happen next year!

World Baseball Classic: Team Japan took home the title in the World Baseball Classic on Monday night. The defending champs won behind star Ichiro Suzuki's tie-breaking two-run single in the 10th inning. Suzuki claims divine intervention was the cause.

Crew: Every year on the River Thames the University Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge takes place. In preparation for this year's race on March 29, the Oxford crew took on a group being dubbed the "Great Eight" made up of the absolute best in the world. The press called this the "Students v Supermen". Team Oxford has been practicing since September with the same line up. The Cambridge team is lead by Chris Nilsson, the coach for team New Zealand in the Beijing Olympics. Last year Oxford won the race by six lenghts.

(Thanks to Katharine for contributing the information about crew.)

Today in Sports History

1958 - Sugar Ray Robinson is first boxing champion to win 5 times

1972 - UCLA wins its 6th consecutive national basketball title

Sunday Sports Wrap - March 22, 2009

How's Your Bracket?: Well my women's bracket is just okay. I'm tied with about 13 others two spots behind the leader. As for the men's I've got three brackets going and none are totally out yet. Did you see that Gonzaga win yesterday? It's a shame that none of the refs noticed the Western Kentucky coach trying to call a timeout. More games are on today - let the madness continue.

Golf: The LPGA Mastercard Classic finishes today. Lorena Ochoa fell back from the lead yesterday by one. The PGA's Transitions Championship finishes today as well. Tom Lehman is just ahead at this point in the day.

World Baseball Classic: The US and Japan play today to decide who will face Korea in the final tomorrow night here at Chavez Ravine. Commissioner Bud Selig believes that this event will only get bigger when it returns in 2013. Over 43,000 fans attended the game yesterday where Korea defeated Venezuela to advance to the final.

Today in Sports History

1969 - 31st NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: UCLA defeats Purdue 92-72

1972 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is named NBA MVP

Wild World of Wednesday - March 18, 2009

March Madness: What could be wilder than March Madness? At first, I wasn't sure if I would be able to find a group to do a bracket with and now I have four! I won't have much time to catch many of the games but there's always March Madness on Demand. All first round games are free! Check this link for more March Madness sites to "feed your need".

World Baseball Classic: After looking close to elimination, the US manages to advance to the semi-finals. Korea has also clinched a semi-final spot after beating the rival Japan. The last three games start this Saturday in Los Angeles.

Fitness: Check out Fitness Magazine for new shoulders and arms workouts. There is video for how to get tank-top toned and many more. Registration on the site is free and it is probably a good time to start a fitness routine if you already haven't.

Today in Sports History

1958 - Dodgers announces mascot/clown Emmett Kelly will not perform in 1958

1995 - Michael Jordan announces he is ending his 17 month NBA retirement

Basketball Overload

I know that you must have seen the ESPN magazine cover with Candace Parker by now, haven't you? ESPN has been covering women in sports for the month of March and say they planned to have Candace on the cover before her pregnancy was announced publicly. I think she looks quite radiant and find the headline a bit odd - how "big" can she get? Interesting play on words.

The Los Angeles Lakers secured their spot in the postseason this week. Did anyone ever have a doubt? Oh, and just in case you are a die-hard fan of the team, please refrain from wearing green on St. Paddy's day. We all know that wearing green is completely unacceptable. I'll be wearing Lakers team colors myself.

In case you need to get your March Madness bracketing on - here are some links:

ESPN

Yahoo! Sports

CBS Sports

Doc's Sports