Good Morning,
Four game-winners and one missed goaltending produced an exciting weekend on the court. There were broken records in the octagon and on the pitch. Plus, the Mookie Betts trade is finalized (four days later) and I’m still processing what I just witnessed in the XFL. Reply and let me know your thoughts on Week 1 (more tomorrow).
Letter Rip!
_________________________________________________________________________________________
NCAAM
Photo: Streeter Lecka / Getty Images
The Chapel Hill Thrill
#7 Duke def. UNC (98-96, OT) in 100th Season Anniversary
College Basketball’s premier rivalry game (1 of 2) took the sports world by storm on Saturday night with a must-see finish in the 100-year anniversary of the first Duke-UNC matchup. With North Carolina on pace for one of the worst seasons in program history, a win against 7th-ranked Duke was a consolation prize, until it wasn’t. UNC blew a 13-point second-half lead, and the Blue Devils made a five-point comeback in the final 50 seconds to force overtime on Tre Jones’ buzzer-beater. In OT, it was another five-point comeback (final 20 seconds) and a tip-in by Wendell Moore as time expired. Ecstasy for the Blue Devils. Heartbreak for the Tar Heels. The Tobacco Road Rivalry lived up to the billing…
Highlights | Read More (SB Nation)
Other College Hoops Highlights
– Knight’s Return to IU: Purdue spoiled a celebration 20 years in the making on Saturday by taking down Indiana (74-62). Legendary head coach Bob Knight returned to IU for the first time since being fired in 2000. (USA Today)
– Self Secures No. 700: #3 Kansas beat TCU on Saturday to notch head coach Bill Self’s 700th career victory. The win made Self (57) the second-youngest coach to 700 wins behind only Bob Knight (56). (SI)
– Aztecs’ Perfect Season: 4th-ranked San Diego State beat Air Force on Saturday (89-74) for their 24th win of the year. The lone unbeaten in college hoops has five games to go in order to log a perfect season. (ESPN)
Bonus: #11 Auburn Beats #18 LSU with OT Buzzer Beater (NCAA: Video)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
NBA
Photo: Abbie Parr / Getty Images
Dame’s Goaltending Fiasco
Blazers Lose to Jazz on Missed Call (117-114)
The good news? Damian Lillard’s Blazers beat the Heat on Sunday (115-109), but they’re still fuming over Friday’s controversial loss to Utah. Lillard had a game-tying layup erased by Rudy Gobert’s block — a costly goaltending no-call for Portland in a tight Western Conference race. Lillard was irate after dropping 42 points and walking away empty-handed. He followed it up with 33 points in a win on Friday, but the Blazers (25-29) are currently two games out of the playoffs. Read More (CBS Sports)
Other NBA Highlights
_________________________________________________________________________________________
SOCCER
Photo: Alessandro Sabattini / Getty Images
Ronaldo’s 10th Straight
Juve Striker Breaks Club Record
Make it 10 straight games with a goal for Cristiano Ronaldo. The 35-year-old Juventus striker found the net again on Saturday for a club record goal streak. Juventus lost to Verona in an upset, 2-1, but Ronaldo is now closing in on the Italian League (Serie A) record held by Gabriel Bautista (11).
Highlights | Read More (NBC Sports)
Other Soccer Highlights
– USWNT Locks Up Olympics: The USWNT punched their ticket to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics with a 4-0 win against Mexico on Saturday in the CONCACAF olympic qualifiers. Rose Lavelle, Sam Mewis (2), and Christen Press found the net. (ESPN)
– Inter Wins Milan Derby: The first Inter Milan vs. AC Milan matchup of 2020 featured two new superstars in Romelo Lukaku and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, and both found the net. Inter were the victors on Sunday (4-2) with four unanswered goals in the second half. (Serie A)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
UFC
Photo: Ronald Martinez / Getty Images
‘Bones’ Retains the Belt
Jon ‘Bones’ Jones def. Dominick Reyes by Unanimous (Controversial) Decision
It wasn’t easy, but Jon ‘Bones’ Jones remains the light heavyweight champ. Saturday’s fight in Houston began with the challenger Reyes sending Jones to the canvas early in what appeared to be an upset in the making. In the end, Rounds 3-5 belonged to the champ resulting in a unanimous decision by the judges, although a controversial one.
Jones improves to 26-1 as the light heavyweight champion with the only defeat coming via disqualification back in 2009. He also holds the most light heavyweight victories of all-time and the longest active win streak in UFC (17).
Highlights | Read More (B/R)
Yahoo! Sports: Even Dana White Thinks Reyes Defeated Jones
_________________________________________________________________________________________
OTHER HIGHLIGHTS
🏒 NHL: Lightning Strike Again
The Tampa Bay Lightning won their league-best sixth straight game on Saturday against the Islanders (3-1) behind Andrei Vasilevskiy’s 17 saves. The Lightning goaltender extended his point streak to a record-setting 18th game. (NHL)
⛳️ PGA: Taylor Takes Pebble Beach
Canadian golfer Nick Taylor claimed his second PGA Tour victory at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am with a wire-to-wire win (Thursday to Sunday). The 31-year-old finished 19-under, outlasting Kevin Streelman (-15), Phil Mickelson (-14) and Jason Day (-11) on Sunday. (PGA Tour)
🏈 XFL: Week 1 Highlights
Opening week in the XFL filled a void for football fans less than one week after the Super Bowl. Clink the link for a recap of Week 1 where Houston, D.C., New York and St. Louis were winners. (CBS Sports)
🏀 NCAAW: Lackluster Louisville
The 5th-ranked Louisville women’s team suffered back-to-back losses in the last four days, including an eight-point defeat to #17 Florida State (67-59) last Thursday and a crushing upset to unranked Syracuse on Sunday (59-51). (ACCN)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
HEADLINES
Dodgers & Red Sox Finally Complete New Version of Mookie Betts Trade
(Yahoo! Sports)
Ricky Stenhouse Jr. Wins Pole for Daytona 500
(ESPN)
Jennifer King Becomes First Full-Time African-American Female Coach in NFL
(Sports Illustrated)
Larry the Cable Guy Submits Contender for Golf Shot of the Year at Pebble Beach
(CBS Sports)
Ricky Walker Gets First XFL Ejection After Throwing Punch on Opening Weekend
(USA Today)
Darren Collison to Remain Retired Amid Interest From Lakers & Clippers
(Bleacher Report)
_________________________________________________________________________________________
©2023 Media Mobilize All rights reserved