O.K. I’m going on record. I’m addicted to MMA and the UFC. I’ll admit I’m still a newbie, but I’m hella obsessed. It started last November when I covered the Ronda Rousey/Holly Holm fight for #SportBits. Since then I’ve followed the UFC, and the more I watch, the more I realize that these sportsmen and women are highly skilled athletes. There is a reason that mixed martial arts is the fastest growing sport. Yes they fight in a cage, but there are rules, strategy, and judges and fouls. There are hard kicks and punches, blood, and trash talking. There are few rounds that last only five minutes. It’s fast paced and exciting. Saturday night showcased two huge matches in Las Vegas (see results below). I couldn’t scare up anyone to buy and watch the event with me, so I headed to a sports bar. That’s the only way to watch – surrounded by fans pumped up and cheering for their favorite fighter. Totally fun. Seriously, #noshame.
Enough on MMA. Let’s move on to this week’s #SportBits.
In college basketball: conference tournaments begin this week with selection Sunday taking place on the 13th. Here is a handy conference tournament schedule for you. The race for No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament is still wide open, so teams hoping for that seed (Villanova, Oklahoma, Virginia, Kansas) need a strong showing this week.
Over the weekend, the No. 1 Kansas Jayhawks clinched the Big 12 Title and improved to a 15-3 record with their 85-78 win over No. 20 Iowa State.
No. 8 North Carolina dominated the boards (boards = rebounds) to beat No. 21 Duke 76-72, to claim top seed in the ACC tournament.
No. 9 West Virginia secured a second spot in the Big 12 with a 69-58 win over No. 17 Baylor.
No. 9 Oregon beat UCLA 76-68, earning a share of the Pac-12 title.
The Yale Bulldogs overcame one of the longest NCAA tourney droughts by winning the Ivy League regular season (an automatic bid) on Saturday, defeating Columbia 71-55. Yale will join the March madness tourney for the first time since 1962.
It was a strong end of the season for No. 11 Indiana, winning their last five games including a Sunday victory over the No.14 Maryland Terrapins.
See all the weekend scores…here.
On the women’s side, the second-ranked Fighting Irish won their third straight ACC Tournament title by beating No. 17 Syracuse 68-57, on Sunday.
No. 8 Oregon State took the Pac-12 Title with a 69-57 win over No. 3 UCLA Bruins. This is only the second time in 14 years that Stanford didn’t play in the championship, #Pac12Powershift.
The No. 1 UConn Huskies advanced to the American Athletic Conference Tournament finals with an 82-35 win over Tulane. The Huskies will make their third straight appearance in the conference finals on Monday. They hope to win their third straight tournament championship in the AAC and their 21st overall tournament championship.
See all the women’s scores and the schedule here.
NBA
Well I’ll be damned. My 13-51 Los Angeles Lakers pulled off what might be the biggest upset of the season by beating the mighty mighty Golden State Warriors on Sunday, 112-95 in LA. I’ll be honest. I kept waiting for the Lakers to blow it…for the big Steph Curry comeback. But it didn’t happen. Kobe spent most of the game on the bench with a sore shoulder encouraging and instructing his teammates – looked like coaching to me. You heard it here first: Kobe Bryant, Laker coach next season. We (the Lakers) may even be able to take some credit in preventing Curry’s team from breaking the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls all time record of 72 wins in a season. After a long and difficult Laker season, I’ll take it, #brightside.
I don’t think any other NBA news can beat that. But if you want more scores, check here. And if you want to read about LeBron James and how his recent tweets are freaking out the city Cleveland, and the entire state of Ohio, read this.
NHL
The roster for the 2016 World Cup of Hockey tournament was announced last week. The eight teams participating in the event, which is set to take place during the last two weeks of September, are: Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, Russia, Sweden, USA, Europe and North America. More than 150 of the best players in the NHL are participating. Check out the cool team jerseys. I really wish Team USA would have called me because I know I could have for sure designed a better HOME jersey. When you look good, you feel good. And when you feel good, you play better. Just ask Venus and Serena, #FashionFirst.
The Anaheim Ducks beat the LA Kings 3-2 on Saturday to take first place in the Pacific Division.
The Tampa Bay Lightning won their 9th game in a row with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Matt Niskanen scored in OT giving the Washington Capitols a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Washington Cap and NHL-leading-goal-scorer Alex Ovechkin is in danger of being suspended after a 5-minute boarding penalty that sent Boston’s Kevan Miller to the hospital. The Caps take on the Ducks tonight in Anaheim, CA.
More NHL scores and highlights…here.
MLS
ESPN kicked off its 21st straight season of Major League Soccer coverage on Sunday, with the live presentation of Portland Timbers vs. Columbus Crew SC (a rematch of the 2015 MLS Cup won by Portland). Portland once again topped the Crew, with a 2-1 score.
For all opening day scores check here.
In women’s soccer, Alex Morgan scored a minute into stoppage time, while goalkeeper Hope Solo notched her 97th career shutout when the US women’s soccer team defeated France, 1-0 in Nashville.
As if The Donald didn’t get enough press this weekend. In golf, the World Golf Cadillac Championship took place at Trump National in Doral Florida. On Sunday, Trump landed his name-bearing helicopter on the course and forged ahead with signing autographs while he drove his golf cart through crowds of screaming fans. Australian Adam Scott took home the $1.4million dollar first prize. American Bubba Watson came in second, and Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy took third.
In other news…
You may have heard there was a huge MMA fight in Las Vegas on Saturday. UFC 196 saw five fights on the main card, but it was the last two that had everyone talking. In a night of upsets, bantamweight champion Holly Holm lost by submission in the fifth round to Miesha Tate, while underdog Nate Diaz took out brash talking Irishman and heavy favorite Conor McGregor in the main fight. Read ALL the details here. It was an exciting night I tell you. UFC 200…July 9, 2016 in Las Vegas. Not sure who will be on the card. Saturday’s upsets change everything! Could it be Rousey v. Tate? A McGregor/Diaz rematch? We will have to wait and see. It’s going to be goooood.
Retired soccer player Brandi Chastain, best known for scoring the winning shootout goal in the 1999 World Cup final against China (and for the jersey-shedding celebration that followed), has agreed to donate her brain to the Concussion Legacy Foundation and researchers at Boston University, who are pioneers in the study of concussions and chronic traumatic encephalopathy. Chastain is the second national team member to decide to donate her brain, after Cindy Parlow Cone. Both women, and several others from the 1999 team, have argued against heading in youth soccer.
After her crash last weekend in the Super-G, overall World Cup leader Lindsay Vonn has ended her ski season after learning her left knee injury was more serious than originally thought. Vonn currently holds a slim 28-point lead on her main rival, Lara Gut of Switzerland, for the overall title.
It’s official. Super Bowl champ Peyton Manning announced his retirement from football today, after an 18-year career. It was an heartfelt, emotional speech. Forget all the awards won and records broke, the guy was a class act with a work ethic like no other. Let the Hall Of Fame discussion begin, #Omaha.
Manning might not be the only major athlete retiring today. Five-time grand slam winner Maria Sharapova has scheduled a press conference for 12pm PST here in Los Angeles, where it rumored she will announce her step down from tennis, #staytuned.
O.K. Lets end with THE BEST video of the week.
That’s it for #SportBits. I’m wondering what sport is your guilty pleasure. NASCAR? Ice-skating? Bowling? Sailing? Be proud of whatever you’re interested in. Being a fan is fun no matter what the sport is. Have a great week everyone. Remember to follow me on Instagram and Twitter for more sports news and scores. And check out my #SportBits page on Facebook.
March Madness is right around the corner, #psyched.
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