Cuba

The Rundown: Weekend Wrap Up Edition

Recovery is the word of the day after a wild weekend of college basketball. Luckily we have until Thursday to lower our blood pressure and mourn our destroyed brackets.

No use crying over spilled milk,

The Last Night’s Game Team


NCAA Basketball (College)

  • Underdogs reign supreme. In the first two rounds of tournament there were 10 wins by double-digit seeded teams, the most in NCAA tournament history.

  • Back to normal. The second round saw fewer upsets with the big win going to Gonzaga (#11) beating Utah (#3).  
  • The games everyone will be talking about.
    • Texas A&M (#3) came back from 12 points down with 30 seconds left to tie game against Northern Iowa (#11), eventually winning in double overtime
    • Wisconsin (#7) and Xavier (#2) were tied 63-63 with two seconds left. Coming out of a time out Wisconsin hit a three-pointer to win 66-63. 
    • Notre Dame (#6) won 76-75 on last second tip in to beat Stephen F. Austin (#14) 

F1 Racing (Formula One)

  • From the land down under. Nico Rosberg edged out teammate Lewis Hamilton to win the first race of year in Melbourne, Australia. There was a major accident in the race (luckily no one was injured) and the red flag came out. This was the first time since 2007 that a red flag made an appearance. (A red flag means the race has to stop).

MLB (Major League Baseball)

  • Buena Vista Social Club. The Tampa Bay Rays will play the Cuban National Team in Cuba on Tuesday (1:30 pm EST on ESPN). They are the first team to do so since the Baltimore Orioles in 1999. Also in attendance will be President Barak Obama, Rachel and Sharon Robinson (wife and daughter of the late great Jackie Robinson) and retired New York Yankees star Derek Jeter. 

  • Returning home. The Rays have added Dayron Varona (who has never played on a Major League team) to their roster for the trip. Varona defected from Cuba three years ago to pursue his baseball dreams. 
  • Thanks but no thanks. ESPN radio/TV host Dan Le Betard offered a heartbreaking but passionate perspective on the upcoming game in Cuba and why he and his parents will not be attending. Le Betard’s parents left Cuba for Miami.

Overtime

  • The Kansas City Chiefs (NFL) signed Tautvydas Kieras, a track and field standout from Mississippi State. Normally this wouldn’t be that notable but Kieras has never played football. Kieras trained for Mississippi State’s pro day where he wowed the team with his abilities.

Sideline Stat

  • Jimmie Johnson (#48) won the Auto Club 400 in Fontana, California. This is 77th career win and he surpassed legendary driver Dale Earnhardt in wins.

Coaches’ Corner

  • For the first time since 2012, all #1 seed teams in the NCAA tournament have advanced to the Sweet 16 (i.e. the next round where there are only 16 teams left in the tournament).

The Rundown: Five Things To Know Steph Curry

Since we report on NBA superstar Steph Curry all the time in our news, we thought you might want to get to know him a little better. Kind of like Googling that blind date…simply some light internet stalking.

If only he wasn't married,

The Last Night's Game


FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT REIGNING NBA MVP, STEPHEN “STEPH” CURRY

  1. Curry, whose father is a retired NBA player, attended and played basketball at a small college, Davidson, after not being recruited by any bigger schools. He showed them!
  2. Since college, Curry has been involved with the United Nations Foundation's Nothing But Nets campaign, which distributes insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets across Africa to help combat malaria.

  3. He started dating his wife Ayesha at age 14 and they married in 2011. Ayesha realized her opportunity with her husband’s fame and has become famous for her cooking. Check out her Instagram.
  4. Daughter Riley has become a little superstar of her own, a dancing superstar that is.
  5. Although he's had a career tainted by ankle injuries, he’s a really good basketball player. 
  • Held the record for three-point shots in a season for college basketball (2007-2008).
  • Current record holder for three-point shots made in a season for NBA

NCAA BASKETBALL (COLLEGE) 

  • Where there’s a will, there’s a way. Oakland University senior guard Max Hooper’s father was diagnosed with cancer in October and since suffered a stroke preventing him from attending his son’s games, something he had always done. On Hooper’s senior night, Hooper was surprised to see his Dad in attendance. He watched the game from a hospital bed in the arena.

MLB (MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL)

  • Will there be mojitos? Tampa Bay Rays will play an exhibition game against the Cuban National Team in Cuba on March 22nd. President Obama is scheduled to be at the game.  

NBA (NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION)

  • Taking one for the team. Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Balmer, 59, who is valued at $22 billion clearly enjoys owning the team. At halftime of the game against the New Jersey Nets, he took on the challenge of dunking off a trampoline to win all fans in attendance a pair of Converse Chuck Taylor All Stars. Of course he nailed the dunk. Shoes for everyone!

NFL (NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE)

  • Raise ‘em up. Despite not making the playoffs since 2010, the New York Jets (NFL) announced they will be raising tickets prices by an average of 4%. The ticket prices had remained the same for the previous two years. 

OVERTIME

  • Not to be outdone by his week of arrival in different luxury vehicles, Mets (MLB) outfielder Yoenis Cespedes showed up to spring training on horseback 

SIDELINE STAT

  • Billionaire Warren Buffet announced to his employees that if anyone could pick a perfect bracket through the “sweet 16” in the NCAA Basketball Playoffs, they would receive $1 million a year for the rest of their lives. Don’t buy that yacht yet. Last year, only one out of 11.5 million ESPN Tournament Challenge entrants picked the entire first round of the tournament perfect. More on March Madness next week.  

COACHES’ CORNER