DURANT DURANT

Rookie nails pair of huge threes in 2OT thriller

Kevin Durant used Sunday’s contest against the Nuggets to provide ESPN a few more highlight clips to air for his Rookie of the Year acceptance next month. Durant scored a career-high 37 points to sink the Nuggets 151-147 in a double overtime thrill ride, exacting revenge for the 168-116 shellacking from the Nuggets in March. It was perhaps one of the last remaining memories the city of Seattle would be able to cherish from its Sonics as the season winds down and the possible exile from the Emerald City looms in the air. But for an evening, all hopelessness and bitter feelings surrounding the situation were out of sight, out of mind, as Durant continued to serve as a shining beacon of hope for what revived Seattle Supersonic basketball could be like for the foreseeable future.

If there is indeed a Madden video game curse, perhaps being featured as an NBA Live star brings better luck. Durant, who starred in a series of promotional commercials alongside cover boy Agent Zero, must have stolen a page out of Gil’s book on late-game heroics. With the lead seesawing back and forth for much of the second half, the Nuggets looked like they would take the game and season series sweep. But with the Key Arena crowd on their feet and looking for a miracle, Durant delivered, calmly sinking a 22-foot dagger to send the game to overtime.


The extra session provided much of the same dramatics, with the game close until the Nuggets took a 5-point lead with a minute remaining off an Allen Iverson three. Durant answered The Answer with a pair from the line, and then Sonics swallowed an AI miss on the other end to set up one last attempt with 9 seconds left. Luke Ridenour received the inbounds and dribbled out to find a wide-open Durant at the top of the arc, nearly 26 feet out, who sink the basket and send to game to yet another overtime session, sending the Seattle crowd into absolute hysterics. The Sonics were able to hold off the Nuggets in double OT, despite 38 points game-high points from Carmelo Anthony and 26 from Iverson, with career-highs from Durant and fellow rookie Jeff Green, who had 35.

The Nuggets suffered a horrid weekend at the worst time, with 2 consecutive shocking losses, last night as they hosted Sacramento, and the thriller in Seattle, the first of 4 road games for Denver. Unable to take advantage of the Warriors’ loss in New Orleans Sunday morning and jump a full game ahead of Golden State, the Nuggets remain tied for the 8th and final Western spot, and know a valuable opportunity slipped through their fingers. Every game is a must win, and the loss puts an even greater emphasis on the showdown in Oakland this coming Thursday, as these two teams continue to duke it out in this historic Western Conference playoff chase.

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AND THEN THERE WERE TWO

Heels eat ‘Hawks dust, Bruins fall short once again

They seemed to be on a destiny-driven collision course in San Antonio, as two of the most-storied collegiate basketball programs looked to oust the other two Final Four participants and finally clash head-to-head at the mountain top for NCAA supremacy. Too bad North Carolina and UCLA (again….) both stumbled short of the finish line and simply looked outmatched, out-hustled, and outplayed at the hands of Kansas and Memphis, respectively.

In a game made up of scoring runs by each side, the Tar Heels seemed utterly dominated and helplessly-stunned by the way the Jayhawks were scoring at will. Right out of the gate, it looked as if Kansas gave UNC a devastating leg-whip and took off down the track, eventually running out to a 28-point advantage in the first frame, with the Tar Heels still lying on the ground by the starting blocks. None of UNC’s defensive schemes were really effective at stopping the ball rotation and low-post lobs, and America’s player Tyler Hansbrough got absolutely gang-raped by four blue jerseys every time he tried to step into the paint. The Heels made it interesting in the second half and cut the lead down to single digits, but simply ran out of gas (it is nearing $4/gallon, you know), but will be sure to visit the sludge known as the River Walk and the Alamo before heading back to Chapel Hill.

For the Bruins, they leave the Final Four without the championship nylon for the third straight year and are well on their way to becoming the Buffalo Bills of college basketball. It is apparent that more Final Four experience and playing in an undoubtedly more challenging league did not give the Westwoodies any real edge, as freshman sensation Derrick Rose and Chris Douglas-Roberts (who probably left two teste-sized bruises on Kevin Love’s chin after tea-bagging him on a posterizing dunk) vaulted Calipari’s Tigers to an NCAA-record 38(!) W’s on the year. Payback is a real bitch for the Bruins, as Memphis avenged a title-game loss to UCLA in 1973.

So now Monday night’s final showdown is finally set. The Kansas Jayhawks will look to take home the big prize for the first time since the Ronald Reagan administration. The Memphis Tigers are prepared to bust their first championship nut. John Calipari will try and bring down the program he once coached as an assistant. Bill Self will seek to bring the trophy back to America’s breadbasket. The storylines one could conjure up are endless, so let’s just get it over with and play some ball.

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ROYAL PAIN'D

Kansas City loses itself in the music in sweep


There’s been a buzz coming out of Kansas during the last few days, and it hasn’t been for the Final Four participant Kansas Jayhawks. Well, at least not entirely. The Kansas City Royals, for years the American League’s resident doormat personal piñata, swept the Detroit Tigers, a club that many predicted, including this here blog, to not only win the AL Central, but likely the pennant as well. With arguably one of the best top-to-bottom lineups in the majors, including a very solid rotation, the Tigers came into the season looking as good as any team to beat come October. So imagine the shock when the Royals, who have amassed a paltry one winning season in the last baker’s dozen, pummeled their division rivals in the season-opening series sweep.

The Tigers, for their part, were dealing with the absence of some major pieces to the championship puzzle. Without Curtis Granderson for at least the first 2 weeks, along with Miguel Cabrera and Gary Sheffield sustaining early injuries, thing were already looking bleak for Old Man Leyland’s squad. But with a $138 million dollar roster, depth at nearly every position, and veteran leadership stemming from a World Series appearance just 2 years, one would expect the Tigers to show a little more roar than the opening meow they mustered. After losing the opening day contest 5-4, the Tigers powerful offense scored but a single run during the next 2 days, hitting .206 while collecting 24 K’s during the set. The Royals, meanwhile looked like the offensive juggernaut, as Mark Grudzielanek went 6-12 for the series and third baseman Alex Gordon sent two homeruns over the Comerica Park fences.

While we’re merely 1/54th of the season through, meaning there’s a ton of ball still to come, the Tigers will undoubtedly steer the ship within the next few weeks. However, hese early victories have to be huge for the rebuilding Royals, coming into Detroit and stealing the early sweep. More Smallville than Metropolis, the small market Royals have been written off in their division by nearly every media outlet, as the spotlight has been placed on the Tigers’ winter acquisitions and the Cleveland Indians looking to build on last year’s success. But as the current Central Division leaders, having just blindsided one of baseball’s best teams, and remaining the only unbeaten squad in all of baseball, the young Royals can truly feel like kings, if only for a few days.

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YEAR OF THE MATT

Injured quarterback photographed at "chill" party

No one said being a rehabbing Heisman Trophy winner with everything to prove was an easy gig. But Arizona’s young quarterback Matt Leinart isn’t making being a public figure any easier, whether the court of public opinion is justified or not.

After missing most of promising ’07 campaign, photos emerged of Leinart livin’ la vida loca with several busty beauties, including one where the former USC-star is holding a beer bong that more resembles a gas can and tube he pulled out of an old lifted Ford Ranger.

No one said being a douche-bag was against the law.

While it’s not something that was on the top of the wish list for Cardinals fans (and coach Whisenhunt) --who would rather have had his continued rehab and preparation for the upcoming season be more prominent in the public eye, it’s not like he was caught doing anything illegal or that could realistically be considered “wrong”. He was not beating his wife, playing Wyatt Earp in front of gentlemen’s clubs, or breeding killer canines. There is not an NFC Divisional Playoff game next Sunday against a division rival. The girls were supposedly of age, and how he spends his off-time is obviously his own business.

And give the man a break. He has to cut a $15K child-support check every month so his baby's mama can have a 335i, an iPhone, and an LV handbag.

In 17 games over two seasons living with the cacti, Matty has thrown for 13 touchdowns and a stellar 16 picks, all the while the Cards have amassed a disappointing 13-19 mark in one of the worst divisions in football. In 2007, he played in 5 games before snapping a collarbone and handed the reigns over to ageless Kurt Warner, who lead the team to an even 8-8 record.

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BREAK POINT

Gushin' Russian becomes instant internet celebrity

It looks as if tennis players will do just about anything to make it onto SportsCenter, as Mikhail Youzhny has just become the undisputed face of the sport (albeit bludgeoned), if not for the next few days.

In a third-round match against Nicolas Almagro, Youzhny reacted to his own bone-head play by taking his frustration on his head bone. After sending a backhand into the net, the Russian played Whack-a-Kov with his thousand-dollar racquet and opened up a beautiful head wound, which delayed the match for a few minutes.

But, after forgoing stitches and an ounce of common sense, Youzhny continued and actually won the match in a third-set tiebreaker, proving the old adage “winners never cheat, but hot-headed chumps on a steady diet of nylon and titanium sometimes win” to be true.

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FLIP FLOP, YA DON'T STOP

The seeds, they are a changin'... again

Feeling great in Eight

Another day, another set of games, another change in the Western Conference standings. One night after suffering a monumental and humiliating 22-point collapse in the Valley of the Suns, the Denver Nuggets April fooled the Suns with a 126-120 victory in Denver. After giving up 46 fourth quarter points to the Suns Monday night in a loss that dropped the Nuggets back out of the playoffs for all of one day’s time, the Nuggets reclaimed their winning ways on the home floor with 31 points from Allen Iverson, including 11-11 from the charity stripe. Leandro Barbosa led the Suns with 27, while Steve Nash had 17 points and 18 dimes in the losing effort.

Despite giving up a 14-point lead late in the game, the Nuggets managed to pull out the victory and sealed the win with 37 seconds left on a jumper by Marcus Camby, who apparently does more than just stand and grab loose boards. After cutting the margin and taking a short-lived lead in the 4th, Phoenix failed to convert their baskets at the end, including a missed three by Barbaro with 15 ticks left. Carmelo Anthony sank a free throw to give him 25 on the night, and Nash couldn’t convert a desperation three, before a pair of Shaq missed free throws. The loss moved Phoenix back to a half game behind the idle Lakers in the race for the Pacific Division.

timmay...

The Nuggets jumped back to 8th place in the West race as the Golden State Warriors were completely manhandled by the Spurs at the Alamo, 116-92. The mechanical Spurbots continued to perform in playoff form with their 8th straight victory and 20th straight over the Warriors in San Antonio. The Spurs’ Big Three completely overmatched the Warriors’ Big Three and highest scoring trio in the league. Tony Longoria led the champs with 26 points, while Timmay had 17 and 12 boards, and Manu added 16 off the bench. The Warriors got 19 from Baron Davis and 14 from Monta Ellis, but only got 6 from Stephen Jackson on 2-12 shooting, before Don Nelson emptied the bench with the game out of reach.

The Warriors will look to bounce back as they face Dallas tomorrow night on the national stage, just 3 days after beating the Mavs in Oakland. Dirk Nowitzki , in a surprisingly gutsy move for his standards, was upgraded to day-by-day by the medical staff, and may suit up to in the huge game for the Mavs, who have continued to look mediocre and, surprisingly, slower since the Jason Kidd trade and since Dirk went down just about aweek ago.The Mavs, reeking of desperation, have fallen to 0-10 against winning teams with the loss on Sundayand look to be in danger of hobbling right out of the playoff picture. A Warrior win tomorrow will knot all three teams back up at 46-29, while a Maverick victory will push the Warriors to a full game behind the Nuggets for the 8th spot while holding their spot for 7th.

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GLANCING TO SEPTEMBER

NFL’s Opening Weekend Announced

The NFL revealed the schedule for the highly-anticipated annual “Kickoff Weekend”, set to begin on Thursday night, Sept. 4, when the New York Football Giants officially begin their still-flabbergasting Super Bowl title defense and will look to “stomp out” division foe Redskins at the Meadowlands.

This tradition of launching football’s regular season at the home stadium of the reigning kings of the gridiron seems to be sticking, although the Giants would probably rather start the season on the road, given their almost-miraculous run through the playoffs last year outside of Jersey and their shear mediocrity at Giants Stadium. Plus, the Jets NEVER clean up after themselves and leave the place as an even bigger dump than it already is.

Two teams on opposite ends of the quarterback-stability spectrum will square off on NBC’s first Sunday Night Football telecast of the season, as the Bears will face the Colts in a rematch of the outmatched Super Bowl XLI. The designs and features of the brand-new Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis will surely be showcased, and John Madden will be dumbfounded by all of them.

Lucas Oil Field, the deathbed of
Marvin Harrison's career

Monday Night Football’s opening day double-header will feature half-man/half-unfair Adrian Peterson and the possible division front-running Vikings visiting Rodgers and the Pack in what might already be renamed Favre Field by the time fall rolls around. Green Bay fans will already be hours deep into reminiscing about the “good old days” when the Raiders and Broncos square off in the nightcap; the rest of us will already be asleep.

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