In case you were busy winding down all of your Italian business interests, here's what you missed in sports on Tuesday.
Trevor Mbakwe and the Minnesota Golden Gophers upset top-ranked Indiana, 77-73 in Minneapolis. Mbakwe, who started his college career playing for Indiana head coach Tom Crean at Marquette, said, "Something about Crean brings out the best in me. Maybe it's his smile that says at once, 'I care,' and 'I know this isn't forever.' Maybe it's that 'come-hither' stare, in which worlds are created and destroyed in his irises every time he blinks behind his wire-framed glasses. Maybe it's his lyrical name, 'Tom Crean.' All I know is, when I see his face, I'm compelled to be at once my best and worst self."
First, I wanted to tell you that I'll be calling anyone who reads this column a "Shuffle-uffagus." It seemed like the coolest choice.
Second, I have to report that I've been on a golf course all weekend — watching and reporting on the action down in Arizona — so I watched exactly zero college games. I promise you this is the last time it will happen this year; the quick break from my season-long game face is over, and it's time to finish strong. But since I didn't watch any games, I won't be attempting any analysis. Instead, I'll count down the top 10 games happening this week. Please note that this is a Monday-Friday joint. Last week, people got upset that I didn't include Syracuse-Georgetown, even though that game was on a Saturday and I specifically said week, not weekend. So be forewarned, all right? We'll do the top 10 weekend games on Friday.
In Thursday's post, Cincinnati, Ohio, took a win in this category by virtue of going up against Columbus, Ohio. Today, Cincinnati is back, this time representing Xavier, and it has another pretty light opponent in Waco, Texas.
I have never been to either place, but a quick Google search of "worst college towns" turned up Waco over and over and over again. So, in perhaps the biggest upset of the season, Cincinnati now has two wins in the "Better College Town" category. Don't shoot the messenger.
Also, Notre Dame (a 7-seed in this year's tournament) beat an undefeated Syracuse team in January.
Grantland's Shane Ryan took a look at the Irish earlier this year. Let's take a look at what he had to say. Sorry in advance about the headline on his blog post. (Not really.)
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports over the weekend.
The Green Bay Packers are no longer undefeated. The Kansas City Chiefs, playing for interim coach Romeo Crennel after Todd Haley was fired, won 19-14 at home on the strength of Kyle Orton's 299 yards passing. "I don't want to blame the loss totally on the death of Kim Jong-Il," Aaron Rodgers said afterward, "but suffice it to say we all had a lot of mixed emotions to sort out."
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Wednesday.
The Los Angeles Clippers acquired Chris Paul for three players, Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, and Al-Farouq Aminu, and a first-round draft pick. To be fair, McCoy spent his formative years Texas, so he pretty much always sounds like he's concussed.
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports over the weekend.
Tim Tebow is now 7-1 as a starter, as the Broncos defeated the Bears 13-10 in overtime. Matt Prater hit two field goals of over 50 yards to clinch the game, but experts suspect that Tebow was just being modest by changing jerseys before he nailed the kicks. I mean, have you ever heard of Matt Prater before?
In case you were out living a life of leisure, here's what you missed in sports on Monday.
Drew Brees threw for four touchdowns and ran for another as the Saints routed the Giants 49-24. After the running touchdown, he tried to dunk the ball over the goalposts, but was forced to settle for a finger roll when his legs failed him. In related news, Drew Brees is now Jason Kapono's favorite player.
