The Boston Tragedy

The force of two deadly explosions in Boston were felt throughout the entire country.
The explosions went off near the finish line of the Boston Marathon, the most famous marathon in the U.S.
132 people have been reported injured, and three dead. One of the victims was an eight-year-old boy.
Video footage of the finish line showed the explosion showed the impact that knocked people to the ground. Photos and videos were tragic, showing the blood splattered city streets. Medical responders had to take many people away in wheelchairs who lost limbs.
Millions of people throughout the world mourned with Boston; many took to social media sites like Facebook and Twitter to share their support.
Authorities are still unsure of the cause of the explosions. Planes were banned from flying over the explosion sites as police tried to find who was responsible.
Law enforcement across the country was put on high alert. The FBI is still investigating and no suspects have been placed in custody yet.

Kobe Bryant's Injury

The Los Angeles Lakers are down one with five seconds left to play in the game. Who gets the ball? Kobe Bryant, right?

It would be Bryant getting the last shot for the Lakers, but not anymore as he tore his left Achilles tendon Friday night against the Golden State Warriors.

Here’s the play Bryant torn his Achilles tendon on, it’s at the 1:09 mark of the video.

The amazing thing is he came back to sink the two free throws to tie the game on a torn Achilles tendon. Now, stop and think about that. The Achilles tendon in two pieces as Bryant is on the line hitting free throws to tie the game the Lakers desperately need to make the playoffs.

The Lakers beat the Warriors 118 to 116, but the concern was Bryant’s Achilles tendon. Here’s Bryant talking to the Mediaafter the game.

The raw emotional of Bryant should tell you everything you need to know. Bryant has a reputation of being one of the toughest if not the toughest player in the NBA because he plays through all kinds of injuries. This is one even Bryant can’t play through.

He did go through success surgery on Saturday to repair the torn Achilles tendon and the Lakers said recovery time is expected to be six to nine months.

            Bryant might be ready for the start of the season if rehab goes as planned but he’ll be 35 with mileage of a player who’s played in the league for 20 plus seasons.

          There's speculation the Lakers might just amnesty Bryant or maybe he'll just retire, but neither scenario is likely. There's no way Bryant lets his illustrious career end like this so can count on him to comeback next season. 

          One thing is for sure the NBA Playoffs will not be the same without Bryant.  

The Pitching Affect

It is a pitchers league and we are just living in it.  From Yu Darvish's one hitter to Samardzija's 13 strike outs.  It seems that the bats just are not firing yet.  And maybe they won't have a chance to if the pitchers can get into their groove.

The weather is one of the biggest reasons why this is, but there is no reason not to give it up to great starts to the Major League pitchers.  I almost hope the pitching does't stop.  Sure the everyone likes to see the long ball, but what these pitchers have started off with this season is just incredible.

I mean seriously, Clayton Kershaw has gone 16 innings and has yet to surrender an earned run.  If this keeps up I think it is very safe to say that baseball has very much so become a pitching league again.

Sure, some of the pitching has been a little disappointing. Such as Roy Halloday's just under 15 ERA.  Also, I would like to see Stephen Strasburg fix his just over 4 ERA.  He proved last year that he is a better pitcher than that.  And, It was so exciting to see such a young team go as far as they did with him as the ace.

But I think that the great pitching out weighs the bad starts by others.

So until the weather warms up a bit the bats shouldn't get firing, but until then, keep the great pitching coming.  I know I am not the only fan that enjoys pitching duels, and this season has the makings to have several of them.

Louisville Wins NCAA Men’s Championship

Kevin Ware looked on from the sideline like a proud brother. He was so excited after his team’s big win that he cut the net down from the rim himself. #Win4Ware tweets began flooding my timeline on Twitter. The “13 toughest guys” coach Rick Pitino said he’d ever coached had just become champions.

The win wasn’t easy. In fact it was a very physical game. The Cardinals came back from a 12-point deficit to defeat the Michigan Wolverines 82-76. The game started off with some major plays by Michigan. Freshman, Spike Albrecht, had everyone talking as he continued to sink three-point shots with ease. Michigan built their 12-point lead in the first half but Louisville remained relentless.

Luke Hancock came off the bench with a vengeance. In an online article published by USA Today, Hancock shared his thoughts about his team trailing in the first half.

"I was nervous, how much momentum they had, how well they were playing," he said. "They had all the momentum going for them."

However, he didn’t let that uneasy feeling cripple him. Instead, he had one of the best nights on his career, scoring 22 points in the game.

Steals and turnovers really worked in the Cardinals’ favor last night. Peyton Siva managed to get right down to the rim every time he had the ball. The aggressiveness displayed by both teams was remarkable. Fans of both teams were on their feet almost the entire time during the second half.

But, the win was so much more than just a championship for the Cardinals. It was a chance to display their love for one another as a team. With one down, they brought this one home for their brother.

"It's not about me, I've never been that type of guy," Ware said in an article by the Washington Post. "These are my brothers. They got the job done."

Blackhawks clinch a playoff spot

If any Blackhawks fans were looking to buy tickets this weekend, they may have noticed a slight price increase.

The Chicago Blackhawks were the first team in the NHL to secure a playoff spot for next month's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Blackhawks currently stand at 29-5-4 for a total of 62 points, making them number 1 in the Western Conference, 3 points ahead of the second place Anaheim Ducks.

The spot was secured after beating the Nashville Predators 5-3 on Sunday.

After falling behind the Predators early in the 3rd, 3-2, Blackhawks' rookie Brandon Saad and Jonathan Toews scored 55 seconds apart, sealing the victory.

2013 marks the 5th consecutive season the Chicago Blackhawks have made the playoffs. Currently the Blackhawks remain undefeated in regulation against teams in their Central Division; 13-0-1.

While the Blackhawks have made the playoffs, the Ducks are lurking close behind. The Hawks still have work to do to secure the number 1 overall Western Conference spot.

Hopefully Tuesday night's game against the Minnesota Wild will help the Hawks put some distance between themselves and their Western Conference foe.

Louisville, Ware, Win Big With Third National Title

Winning is sweet.

But winning a third national title is even sweeter.

And when that win is powered by a group of brothers looking to make not only their school proud, but their one fallen brother, Kevin Ware, as well, who can stop them?

The Louisville Cardinals used Ware's gruesome injury as inspiration to not only knock Duke off the map in the Elite Eight but also came from behind to beat Wichita State in the Final Four.

All of that lead them one step closer to their goal: beat Michigan and bring the trophy back home.

It wasn't easy and it wasn't pretty but it was done.

Michigan gave Louisville a run for their money once Wolverine backup, freshman Spike Albrecht, gave an explosive performance with 17 points leading into the half.

But in the end, it was Louisville who came out on top.

The night ended with Louisville players singing what they weren't able to last year: "We Are The Champions."

Great seeing Louisville come full circle and finishing what they came here to accomplish. 

You just can't make something like this up. It truly is a Cinderella story. 

The Shamrock Shuffle

Thousands of people woke up bright and early Sunday morning to lace up their sneakers and take part in the world's largest 8k.

The Shamrock Shuffle hit capacity for the 9th straight year in a row, with 40,000 people registering to race. The race has kept its local roots, with over 90% of the racers registered living in the Chicago area.

The weather turned out to be perfect conditions for the racers; it was bright and sunny with temperatures reaching the low 50's.

Many people were surprised by just how nice it was outside, since we've been seeing temperatures as low as the 20's lately this spring.

The Bank of America Shamrock Shuffle is a special race for many people because it's seen as a kick-off to the running season. For many people, running this race is a yearly tradition, while for others it was their very first time.

Occurring shortly after St. Patrick's Day, thousands of the racers don green clothes and themed outfits in honor of the race's shamrock theme. 

Whether they were running for the great skyline views, the post-race party, or just to get in some exercise it seemed like all of the racers were in high spirits and had a great time at the race.

The Playoffs, College style

The Playoffs! Where the best of the best teams play to determine the champion.

The NBA, NFL, MLB and NHL have a playoff system. Heck, even College Basketball has an equivalent to the playoffs with the NCAA Tournament.

So can you imagine if there wasn’t a NCAA Tournament? No Bracket’s to fill out, no March Madness and more importantly no tournament to determine the champion.

The NCAA National Championship Game would be between Louisville and Indiana and it would be over by now. Well, would it be between Louisville and Indiana? We don’t know for sure, but if it were based off of the Bowl Championship Series system, then the top two regular season teams would play for the National Title.

Speaking of the BCS, why is College Football holding out on the playoffs?

The Bowl Championship Series, BCS, determines which two teams will play for the National Championship. Two teams are to play for the BCS National Champion Game based on the their record, AP Top 25 Poll, Coaches Poll, and the BCS rankings.

Frankly, that’s too many polls because this isn’t an election. The BCS will remain in place for another season, but the playoffs are coming in 2014. 

College Football will finally determine a true champion with the playoff system. It's been long overdue. 

College Basketball found its niche with “March Madness” so now it’s time for College Football to do the same. 

Rory McIlroy Overrated?

Ever since, Rory McIlroy won two majors by 8 strokes. Everyone has started to compare him with Tiger Woods. Let me clear things up, there is no comparison. It makes me laugh when anyone compares the two. To this point, Tiger has dominated the sport of golf like Michael Jordan did basketball. As well as, Muhammed Ali and Wayne Gretzky did the same. Rory has not dominated like Tiger by any means. He has also missed cuts that Tiger never missed during the beginning of his prime. There was a time when Tiger never missed a cut. He also set the record for most consecutive tournaments played without missing a cut. During the '06-'07 season when Tiger won 7 tournaments in a row. Rory hasn't nearly dominated like Tiger so far. Tiger has won 14 majors and 76 tournaments, and he is only 37. I know Rory is young, but I will tell you he will never be close to Tiger. He will win no more than 40 tournaments, with maybe 6-7 majors. Not saying that's not good, but that not even close to Tiger. That's more like a Phil Mickelson, who is still in the hall of fame. So, no dis-respect to Rory. I think he is a great golfer, just not a Tiger Woods. The bottom line is Rory McIlroy should never...ever, be in discussion with Tiger Woods. In my eyes, the only person you can compare to him is  the great Jack Nicklaus.

Darvish' Robbery of "Perfect Game" Not Rare

There isn't a harder way to lose a "perfect game" than Yu Darvish did against then Astros. Throughout the game, Yu retired 26 straight Astros batters. However, what he thought would never happen...happened. With two outs, he gave up a single that went right threw his legs. Though, in reality, it is not rare you get that close to such an accomplishment and fail in a sport. It happens all the time. For example, getting 11 strikes in a row in bowling, then choking on the 12th, or even being on the verge of shooting under-par in golf and getting a bogey on the 18th hole to shoot 73. This stuff happens all the time, and it can be a painful moment for an athlete. However, one thing that Yu Darvish did do was handle it exceptionally well. After the ball rolled through the middle of the infield, he smiled. He knew he gave it a good run. He showed his outstanding sportsmanship for the game of baseball. According to MLB.com, there has only been 23 pitchers who have thrown a perfect game. There is a reason that these things don't happen to everyone. They are rare accomplishments in life that should be highly celebrated. Even though, he didn't succeed, I still congratulate Darvish on getting so close to such an extraordinary accomplishment.

Go Cubs Go

Go Cubs Go has yet to be played in Chicago, but the team pulled off a great victory their division rival Pittsburg Pirates.  

The Cubs are not excited about putting star second basemen Darwin Barney on the DL after he suffered a cut on his left knee.  But the Cubs still edged a 3-1 victory riding on the arm of Jeff Samardzija. And he gave no reason to take him out.  He went eight straight innings and only allowed 2 hits total.

The Pirates failed to even score until Marmol came into the game in the ninth.

Some of the other young talent looked very good though.  Rizzo went deep for the first time this season driving in two of the teams three runs.

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?content_id=25933291&topic_id=11493214&c_id=chc

So what should Cubs fans make of this? This is a great start to the season.  I'm sure if you ask any manager they will tell you they would rather start the season out 1-0 rather than 0-1.  The Cubs obviously still have some work to do with figuring out what Marmol's role will be.  Along with how to get rid of an aging left fielder who has too big of a contract coming upon two years. They have looked like a solid team all year, but I still don't think this is their year.

Maybe next year or the following when Biaz is ready to come up and him or Castro can make the move to third will the Cubs be ready.  The young stars are the key to this teams success in the next couple years, so lets hope the Cubs can hang on to them and make something work vey soon.

LET'S GO, WHITE SOX!

Baseball season has begun and home opener at US Cellular Field was a huge success! With the stands packed and a win for Chicago, what else could fans ask for? The White Sox took on the Kansas City Royals where the game remained tied at zero until Tyler Flowers hit a home run at the bottom of the fifth. The weather was a little on the chilly-side but it was all worth it for Sox fans. Many expected a tough game but our boys were ready! The Royals beat the White Sox 12/18 of the games they played in 2012. Maybe this year will be a different story. Chris Sale was definitely a beast last night! He played seven innings with 104 pitches. It's good to see Sale isn't on a strict innings limit as he was last season. Now we can't forget about Matt Thornton who threw only three pitches to strike out the Royals' Mike Moustakas. The stands went wild as did Thornton who did a little victory dance himself. The game ended 1-0 with the first win of the season for the White Sox. We all hope for a good season. Let's go, White Sox!