September 26, 1970. The Oklahoma Sooners had just lost at home 23-14 to an average team in Oregon State. Barry Switzer sat in his office fuming over the loss. The young assistant coach knew Oklahoma had better athletes than the Beavers, and should have come away with a victory. But there was something holding Big Red back, and that something was called the Houston Veer. Head Coach Chuck Fairbanks had implemented the offensive set he had picked up ...

Life is beautiful in 2010 if you’re a Zags fan.  Sure, we drop games to inferior teams here and there, but it comes with the territory of having a young ball club. These “Bullpups” are maturing and playing at a higher level than anyone, including coach Few, could have predicted prior to the season.  Matt Bouldin has become the leader we’ve envisioned and anticipated since his arrival in 2006.  Elias Harris is ...

As a diehard UNLV fan, I've really been enjoying the season. It's been a nice year. There are, of course, a few things I haven't enjoyed.   I have a confession to make.  I hate Jimmer Fredette.  I promise it's nothing personal. I'm not a mean person. I'm really a pretty nice guy.  Just give me a chance to explain. I hate Jimmer Fredette because he never misses open shots. Seriously. The guy just doesn't miss. When Fredette gets a squared up, ...

For a program famous for its most legendary figures wearing a jersey number in the 40s, it’s been quite confounding as to how few times this season the Syracuse Orange has played a solid 40 minutes of basketball. In most of those games, they’ve been able to escape. Sometimes it’s because the quality of the opponent is less than stellar (looking in your direction, Providence). Other times, it’s been because the Orange has put together a solid 25 ...

The SEC Tournament: A test of skill and survival. Unless your team finishes in the top two of its division, to win it, a team must win four games in four days. This will be especially challenging for Florida guards Erving Walker and Kenny Boynton. In Saturday games following Thursday night games televised by ESPN, Walker and Boynton have struggled mightily from the outside. Color analyst Mike Gminski noticed last Saturday at Ole Miss that all ...

Just a typical late February weekday in the world of college basketball… Implications begin to rise with each passing night. Who made the best of it? Who couldn’t take advantage?   Winners: Notre Dame (18-10, 7-8): They needed a win, they got a win, and they did it without their best player. Luke Harangody did not play, but the Fighting Irish got a win at home over No. 16 Pittsburgh, and in pretty convincing fashion, 68-53. Cincinnati (16-11, 7-8): A ...

Who are the 2009-10 Georgetown Hoyas? Are they the team that opened up a 20-point lead on the current No. 5 team in the country (Duke)?  Are they the team that swallowed up Villanova, scoring 103 points on a once-respected Wildcat defense?   Or are they the team that managed to lose to Rutgers on Valentine's Day, after they'd beaten the Scarlet Knights by 25 points earlier in the season?  What about the team that laid an ...

With 7:11 left in the first half, and Purdue cruising along with a 26-14 lead over Minnesota, every Purdue fan's worst nightmare flickered across the Big Ten Network airwaves. Junior forward Robbie Hummel, off to a torrid start with 11 points, including three 3-point baskets, crumpled to the Williams Arena floor, reaching for his right knee, as he tried to execute a jump stop. The Gophers proceeded to launch a 22-4 run, including 19 in a row ...

In a quarterfinal game between Canada and Russia in which the loser would receive the title "biggest bust of the Olympic hockey tournament", it was no contest. Russia probably played its worst game against Canada since it started playing against NHL players back in 1972 and lost 7-3, which is ironically the same score the USSR plastered Canada with in the first game of that 1972 series.  The win also marked the first time Canada has beaten ...

A three-game slide, a 74-67 loss to the then 12th-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes at home, and Kalin Lucas' ankle injury—three curveballs that have caught the Spartans off-guard in 2010. However, these three "bumps" in the road have not and will not define the 14th-ranked Michigan State Spartans' (11-4, 21-7) season—Feb. 28 against Matt Painter's third-ranked Purdue Boilermakers (11-3, 23-3) will. Sunday's matchup just doesn't have conference title implications; the game itself is so much more ...