Weekend winners
– SEC-Big 12 challenge. Most of you guys know the overall lack of enthusiasm I have for regular-season college hoops. Well, the day-long made for TV event between the SEC and the Big 12 added some intrigue and some pretty good games. It also helped that it was on the weekend between the NFL championship games and the Super Bowl and a respite to the conference schedule. Hope it stays.
– UCLA football. There’s a ton of consternation right now amid college football. Recruiting is stressful. Coaching changes – initiated from each side – can drastically affect programs. It’s a trying time in a very competitive venture. Then something like this happens and you remember how positively impactful college sports can be. Well-played Bruins. Well-played indeed.
– John Scott. The 6-foot-8, 260-pound enforcer was the storyline before the NHL All-Star game by being voted in by the fans before the league asked him not to come. Well, Scott showed up and won the MVP. It was pretty cool across the board. (Side note: The NHL may have made the biggest strides in rule-changing advances in an All-Star game. The three-on-three thing was cool, and the various divisions playing semifinals and a finals with $1 million going to the winning team were both aces.)
– Cleveland Cavaliers. That’s kind of what everyone was expecting, right? The Cavs flexed their muscles Saturday night and hammered the Spurs. Cleveland looked like a contender for the first time this season.
– Novak Djokovic. With Serena Williams’ stumble this weekend at the Aussie Open, Joker’s dominance of Andy Murray (and Roger Federer in the semifinals) make it clear who is the most dominant athlete in an individual sport.