Snow + Sweet 16 = Springtime!!

March 22, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Now that’s what I call SPRING!!

The 2nd day of Spring brought the Tri-State Area a care package; A FOOT OF SNOW!!

You won’t find whining and complaining here. I LOVE SNOW!!

Go ahead, call me crazy. You won’t be the first. For those who live in New York (like myself), and have for 10+ years, what do you expect?? 60’s and sunny on March 1st?! That’s not how this works people. The Tri-State Area generally gets hit with a major snow storm every March. If you don’t like it, move to Florida….

Anyway, alongside this beautiful snow day; basketball. Before we get to the basketball on hand this evening, let’s take a look at the amazing feats the NBA provided Wednesday night.

Superman!!

Self-proclaimed Superman, Dwight Howard, had a historic Wednesday. He posted the 1st 30-30 night in nearly 8 years, and the 2nd in nearly 40 years. Not since Kevin Love in 2010 (and Moses Malone in 1982) has an NBA player hung 30 points and 30 rebounds on an opponent in a single game. The opponent?? The Brooklyn Nets. I know, I know, it’s the Nets. Listen, 30 rebounds is 30 rebounds. That’s some Wilt Chamberlain stuff right there.

The King

Self-proclaimed King, LeBron James, had a historic Wednesday of his own.

35 points, 17 assists, 7 rebounds, 1 steal, and ZERO turnovers.

That’s insane. Playing without Rodney Hood and Larry Nance Jr., LeBron wanted to send a message to the #1 seed, Toronto Raptors. 132-129. MESSAGE SENT. MESSAGE DELIVERED. LeBron, candid as always, said this prior to the game, “I’ll be available, so we got a chance.” Oh, they have a chance alright. With a healthy LeBron James on the floor, expect the Cleveland Cavaliers to represent the Eastern Conference in the NBA Finals — again.

March Madness!!

The Sweet 16 commences this evening, with 4 games on the schedule:

#11 Loyola-Chicago vs. #7 Nevada (CBS @ 7:07 P.M.)

#7 Texas A&M vs. #3 Michigan (TBS @ 7:37 P.M.)

#9 Kansas State vs. #5 Kentucky (CBS @ 9:37 P.M.)

#9 Florida State vs. #4 Gonzaga (TBS @ 10:07 P.M.)

Loyola-Chicago has won both of their games by a combined 3 points. Nevada is fresh off of a 22-point comeback. Which Cinderella story will prevail??

Score Prediction: 69-68 Loyola-Chicago

Texas A&M manhandled UNC in the 2nd round. With one of the most potent frontlines in college basketball, can Texas A&M do the same to Michigan??

Score Prediction: 70-64 Michigan

Kansas State was given a super early Christmas present when UMBC knocked off Virginia. Their road will get a lot tougher tonight, as they run into a Kentucky team playing as well as anyone in the country.

Score Prediction: 67-60 Kentucky

Florida State took a page out of UMBC’s playbook, knocking out #1 seed, Xavier. Can they continue their strong play against a tournament ready, Gonzaga team??

Score Prediction: 80-72 Gonzaga

Who will advance to the Elite 8 tonight?? Post your predictions in the comment section below.

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:10 P.M. – 8:00 P.M EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page: http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel: DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!

The Moment Impossible Becomes Possible!!

March 19, 2018 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 1 Comment

Best. Tournament. EVER!!

This has been, without a doubt, the best NCAA Tournament in the history of college basketball. It’s had everything; buzzer-beaters, CINDERELLA STORIES, and unreal comebacks. Remember when I said Day 1 would be tough to top?? Let’s just say, if Day 1 was jumping off the high-dive at your local pool, Day 2 was jumping off an 80-foot waterfall without making a splash.

Cinderella

Apparently, the 136th time is the charm. Since the NCAA Tournament expanded from 32 to 64 teams in 1985, a 16-seed had never beaten a 1-seed. Friday night, the UMBC (University of Maryland Baltimore County) Retrievers changed sports’ history, forever. Some of the 135 teams came close with 1-point and overtime losses, but no David’s had ever slain Goliath.

Virginia was the #1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament. They won the ACC regular season title and ACC Tournament, and held a record of 31-2 in a conference that sent 9 teams to the NCAA Tournament. UMBC, finished 2nd in the America East Conference.

This is the biggest upset in sports’ history.

Bigger than Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson. Bigger than the United States over Russia in the 1980 Olympics. Bigger than any other upset you can think of.

And UMBC didn’t just squeak out a victory. They dismantled Virginia, 74-54. Of the six Retrievers to score, four finished in double figures. But this historic win was made possible by senior guard, Jairus Lyles’, 28 point effort. At halftime, the game was tied at 21. UMBC must have had some of “Michael’s Special Stuff”, because they shot out of their locker room like a cannonball and didn’t look back. Allow me to put UMBC’s 53 2nd-half points in perspective. Virginia held 16 of their 34 opponents this season to 53 points or less; FOR AN ENTIRE GAME!! Virginia also didn’t allow 70 points in a game prior to Friday night’s embarrassment.

Now That’s A Weekend

Nevada’s epic comeback. Michigan’s last second buzzer-beater. Loyola-Chicago is in the Sweet 16. Florida State took down Xavier. Syracuse outlasted Michigan State. Texas A&M’s ‘Texas Size’ beat down of UNC.

Did I leave any storylines out??

With 10:49 left to play, Nevada trailed 65-43. Thanks to Cody Martin’s 25-points, Nevada completed one of the most epic comebacks in NCAA Tournament history, 75-73. Martin scored 11 points in the final 10:48 and played all 40 minutes. If you missed this game, I feel badly for you.

Michigan Vs. Houston was a close, competitive game throughout. Houston led by as many as 5 points, while Michigan’s biggest lead was 6. A trip to the Sweet 16 came down to a last second 3-pointer by Michigan’s Jordan Poole to capture a 64-63 victory over Houston.

11-seed, Loyola-Chicago, has now beaten Miami and Tennessee to reach the Sweet 16. If only someone had predicted that….

Saved By The Be..nch. Florida State’s bench outscored it’s starting lineup 46-29. Xavier would fail to score in the final 1:49 of the game. Florida State drilled a late 3-pointer and ended the game on a 7-0 run. That’s the long and the short of it. 75-70.

According to many,Syracuse shouldn’t have been in the NCAA Tournament. Now, they’re in the Sweet 16. Honestly, they didn’t deserve to make the tournament, but it proves that parody is real in college basketball. It also proves their pesky zone defense is really freakin’ annoying!! The sounds of brackets ripping filled the nationas the final buzzer sounded. 55-53.

Soooo, UNC forgot they had a game yesterday. UNC would jump out to a 20-13 lead, but it was all Texas A&M the rest of the way. A&M would outscore UNC 73 to 45 to capture an 86-65 victory. This isn’t the way Roy Williams’ squad wanted to go out, but someone should have reminded them what time their game started….

I don’t know how this tournament could get any better, but I also said that on Friday morning…..

Sit back, relax, and enjoy the best NCAA Tournament EVER!!

Teams will be back in action Thursday night for the start of the Sweet 16.

Is UMBC over Virginia the biggest upset in sports’ history?? Tell me if I’m crazy in the comment section below.

Back To School Special

September 5, 2017 ~ Dave Ettinger ~ 4 Comments

nfl

“Back to school, back to school, to prove to my dad I’m not a fool.”

Yes ladies and gentlemen, it’s that time of year again. Time to get the kids on the bus, and send them off to school. Let’s just hope your child isn’t going back to kindergarten at the age of 35 (haha).

Labor Day Weekend is an exciting time. It marks the opening of the College Football season. Baseball is in the home stretch. The U.S. Open is approaching the semifinals. And last but certainly not least, the NFL is just days away….

College Football

What an exciting week of college football!! Although there were many games worth staying up until midnight for, 2 stood out:

Texas A&M vs. UCLA

All you need to know is Josh Rosen and the UCLA Bruins overcame the largest deficit in college football since 2006. 34 POINTS!! A 48-yard field goal put the Aggies up 34 with 4:08 left in the 3rd quarter. Those would be the Aggies’ last points. It was ALL UCLA from then on. 5 touchdowns later, UCLA walked away with a 45-44 victory. Insane!!

Tennessee vs. Georgia Tech

Labor Day brought us a thriller!! A double-overtime thriller!! Sometimes that QB moniker is just for show, as TaQuon Marshall is technically Georgia Tech’s quarterback. His stat-line would beg to differ:

44 carries for 249 yards and 5 touchdowns and 5/9 passing for 120 yards.

WOW!! Despite Marshall’s incredible performance (in his 1st game ever), Georgia Tech fell to 25 ranked Tennessee 42-41.

U.S. Open

For those who haven’t noticed, tennis’ final Grand Slam is well under way. And no, you don’t need to adjust your eyeballs. Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, and Venus Williams are all in the Quarterfinals of the U.S. Open. Hey guys, psst, where can I get some of that fountain of youth stuff?? Venus will take on 13th ranked Petra Kvitova tonight @ 7:00 P.M. EST. Federer lands a tough draw as he’ll take on Juan Martin Del Potro. And Nadal will play Andrey Rublev. In a highly anticipated match-up, Federer and Nadal would play each other in the semifinals. Multiple fingers are crossed….

Baseball

There’s impressive, and then there’s what the Arizona Diamondbacks did on Monday. Both of these feats were accomplished against the all-mighty Los Angeles Dodgers (keep that in mind). Robbie Ray, Diamondbacks pitcher, was perfect through 5 innings. His first blemish, a leadoff single by Logan Forsythe in the 6th inning. Ray would go 7 and 2/3 innings giving up just 3 hits and striking out 14. And to think Ray wasn’t the best player on his own team on Monday….

That distinction belongs to J.D. Martinez. Martinez hit 4 HOME RUNS in this game!! He became just the 18th player to go yard 4 times in 1 game.

NFL

I like to save the best for last. The 2017 NFL season kicks-off in 2 days!! I’m so excited I think I just, uh yeah, I just wet myself. Game 1 of the NFL season is the Kansas City Chiefs @ the Super Bowl Champion New England Patriots. You can watch Tom Brady and the Patriots handle their business on NBC @ 8:30 P.M. EST. There’s no pre-game speech necessary for the NFL. It speaks for itself. Don’t forget to set your Fantasy lineups….

What were you watching this past weekend?? Don’t be afraid to tell me all about it in the comment section below.

You can now find me on the Radio too. Download the TuneIn Radio App and search OWWR. I’ll be on live every Wednesday from 6:00 P.M. – 8:00 P.M EST. I also broadcast every show on Facebook Live via my DaveTalksSports.com Facebook Page.

Since you enjoy my writing, follow me on twitter @DaveEttinger2 or like my page on Facebook at http://www.Facebook.com/DaveTalksSports. You can also Subscribe to my YouTube Channel called DaveTalksSports. Thanks for reading!! Now go tell all your friends!!

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