Sports Blog

Baseball season is here! Opening day for many teams was either yesterday or today, including the Nationals, who also opened their new stadium last night. The Nats left with a 3-2 victory over the Braves after Ryan Zimmerman hit a solo shot with two outs in the ninth inning. I don’t think any team could have asked for a better way to start off at their new stadium. Nationals’ fans left the game happy about both the team’s victory as well as the great views of the ballpark. What is especially captivating (at least for me) about the stadium is that you can actually see the Capitol Building and the Washington Monument from within it. Both sights look especially alluring in the night sky and it is a reminder that the Nats are the team playing for the capital of the nation in a sense.

If Allen Iverson keeps playing like he has recently, then the Nuggets will be a pretty big threat in the playoffs. Iverson scored 36 last night, and Carmelo had 39. With those two it doesn’t seem like Denver will run into any offensive problems. If Kenyon Martin continues to play defense like he did last night, opponents better be wary. Sure the Nuggets aren’t even in a playoff spot at the moment, but if they continue playing like they have recently then they definitely will be. The team is very together and I think they have the chance of pulling some major upsets in the playoffs. In my mind, they are definitely underrated at this point.

12th ranked Western Kentucky upset 5th ranked Drake in a thriller today. The game ended in overtime with a buzzer beater three pointer by Ty Rogers. The shot was from 26 feet away and it will certainly be one of the top shots for this year’s tournament. With this win speculation of W. Kentucky becoming the cinderella story of the year will begin. It is going to be a great night for Hilltoppers’ fans, especially since this is the first tournament win they have had since 1995. I love seeing stories like this, when a team can pull through in the toughest of circumstances to win. But, then you have the other side. The side that is so sad that it can’t speak. Drake is going to be anything but in a partying state tonight. But, that’s the sport. There will always be the winners and along with it will also be losers.

Denver Nuggets set a franchise record by scoring an astounding 168 points versus Seattle last night! It is the highest score by a team in nearly two decades. The Nuggets just keep shooting and kept making their shots. The surprising thing about the whole affair was that not one player even went above 30 points! It was truly a team effort, and a great one at that. This is the second time the Nuggets have scored over 130 against the Sonics this season. It is obvious that Denver’s offense’s strengths are the Sonics’ weaknesses. Losing by 50+ has got to hurt for the Sonics. And it’s not like it was a one time thing, since last time they lost by 40+. This game just left me speechless; the score just speaks for itself: 168-116.

Pat Riley, coach of the Miami Heat, has said that Dwayne Wade will not play in the final 21 games of the Heat’s season. He has struggled with knee problems through the course of this year and this is just a cautionary step. The Heat, who are 11-50 don’t really have a chance at the playoffs, so this is best for the future. Some are surprised that the call was made so early, but I think it was a great decision by Riley. The team isn’t going anywhere this season and doing this takes pressure off of Wade to try to force a quick recovery. This way he will be able to take his time and treat his knee with whatever is necessary to be in the best shape for next season.

And for now enjoy Dwayne Wade Highlights:

Today Green Bay Packers’ quarterback Brett Favre has announced that he is retiring, for real this time. For several years he has contemplated retirement, but always came back because of his love for the game. He had his critics, but he disproved them last year by having a phenomenal season. Sadly, without a potent running game the Packers weren’t able to win a championship, which is all Favre has wanted in recent years. He already has a ring, but he wanted to end his career on a high note. Even without winning last year I think it is clear that he has left on a high note. I see Favre as one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game in terms of skill, leadership, and being a good respect. I truly respect the guy and I think most football fans do. It will be sad to see him go, but number 4’s legacy will live on. By the way, this might be a good time to go out and get one of Brett Favre's jerseys.

Today Ben Roethlisberger of the Steelers got a monster deal worth $102 million over eight years. Mike and Mike in the Morning (a radio show) brought up a pretty tough question: looking at it from what we know now who would you have picked: Eli Manning or Roethlisberger? Both came into the NFL in the same draft 3 years ago and since then both have one a championship. The radio hosts were quite unsure, but in the end went with Roethlisberger due to his consistency. I’m not sure if I would go the same way though. Sure Roethlisberger has been consistent, but everyone doesn’t start out great. What Eli showed in this past postseason was amazing and he was the reason for so many upsets. I really think that Eli has changed and will continue to play well from now on. If he can play even nearly as good as he did in the playoffs then I’ll take him over Big Ben any day.