One-Armed Kevin Laue an NCAA Basketball Inspiration to All

Filed under: Mid-Majors

RIVERDALE, N.Y. -- Kevin Laue was 10 years old the day his father died, ending the gut-wrenching torment the two endured -- a cancerous brain tumor that painfully sucked the life from a big, vibrant man and traumatized the son, robbing him of his innocence and a bond he desperately needed.
If only dad could see him now.

A decade later, Laue has grown into one of America's most inspirational stories, overcoming a serious birth defect to become the first and the only NCAA Division I basketball player with one hand.

He's become something the father never thought possible.

"It's a difficult subject now, but I would have loved to have my father here to see me play -- just one game, any game -- so he could see what I've done,'' Laue told FanHouse recently. "All I can do now is hope that he would be proud of me, and what I've become."

 

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Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/31/one-armed-kevin-laue-an-ncaa-basketball-inspiration-to-all/

University of Michigan Final Four

Late Rally Not Enough This Time as Louisville Falls to Georgetown

Filed under: Georgetown, Louisville, Big East

It has been the Louisville blue print in its last two wins: Fall behind late, rally and pull it out in the end. This time, though, the plan faltered.

Peyton Siva's leaning 3-pointer at the buzzer missed badly and No. 13 Georgetown (17-5, 6-4) beat No. 15 Louisville (17-5, 6-3) 62-59.

It looked for all the world to be another impressive comeback win for the Cards. A late Mike Marra three gave Louisville the lead late, but -- contrary to both Connecticut and West Virginia -- the Hoyas kept scoring and, more importantly, hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Georgetown led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but Louisville, again, battled back valiantly. Showing the resiliency and poise that is fast becoming its trademark, Louisville erased the 11-point deficit in only four minutes. The Cardinals couldn't close the deal, however, and Georgetown escaped with its fifth straight win after losing four of five to open conference play.

Chris Wright led all scorers with 24 points, while leading scorer Austin Freeman only managed 13.

Terrence Jennings had 18 for the Cards, and Preston Knowles added 11 on only 3-of-12 shooting.

How it was won: Patience. In Louisville's previous two comeback wins, its opponents lacked the experience of the Hoyas. When Louisville wrestled the lead away, Georgetown didn't force the action and weathered the storm just enough.

How it was lost: Turnovers. As good as Siva has been in the clutch, he had a rough game Monday. He scored only five points, turning the ball over eight times against only three assists.

Where to from here: Louisville gets Big East sacrificial lamb DePaul at home Saturday before traveling to Notre Dame next week. Georgetown looks to extend its winning streak, first against Providence -- a surprising team at times -- and later at Syracuse.

 

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Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/31/late-rally-not-enough-this-time-as-louisville-falls-to-georgetow/

Georgia Tech NC State

Florida Tops No. 23 Vanderbilt in Overtime

Filed under: Florida, Vanderbilt, SEC

Kenny Boynton hit an off-balance three with just over a minute to play in overtime to propel Florida to a 65-61 win in Gainesville.

The Gators (17-5, 6-2) led comfortably for much of the game, but No. 23 Vanderbilt (15-6, 3-4) chipped away before pulling even on two John Jenkins free throws. A deep Erving Walker heave was too strong, and the game went to overtime.

The teams traded slim leads in the final period before Florida took control for good.

Jenkins led all scorers with 22 points, and Brad Tinsley added 15 for the 'Dores.

Chandler Parsons had 18 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Gators, while Walker and Boynton both added 15 points apiece.

How it was won: Defense. Both Festus Ezeli and Jeffery Taylor average double figures for Vandy, but they were both unspectacular Tuesday night. Ezeli only finished with five points, and Taylor only managed seven -- included a blown lay up late in the game.

How it was lost: Taylor is out of sorts. Perhaps Vandy's most consistent player prior to this point, Taylor is only 7-for-24 in his last two, including a 2-of-12 outing against the Gators.

Where to from now: Vandy gets Alabama and South Carolina before Kentucky visits Nashville, but the Gators will be welcoming the Wildcats this Saturday night. It could be a huge swing for Florida if it's able to beat a road weary (and struggling) Kentucky team.

 

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Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2011/02/01/florida-tops-no-23-vanderbilt-in-overtime/

University of Georgia Konica Minolta Gator Bowl

College Baseball 360 Podcast: All-American Peter O?Brien

Bethune-Cookman Catcher Looks To Keep Rolling In ’11… O?Brien burst onto the scene as a sophomore in 2010 to become one of the top catchers in all of college baseball. He batted .386 with 56 RBIs, while swatting 20 home runs with an 1.193 OPS as a sophomore last season. He made dramatic strides from [...]

Source: http://collegebaseball360.com/2011/01/31/college-baseball-360-podcast-all-american-peter-obrien/

Outback Bowl ESPN2

Cal Coach Jeff Tedford Rooting for Aaron Rodgers in Super Bowl

Filed under: California, Pac 10

How fitting that Cal football coach Jeff Tedford was on the two-lane road heading into Chico for a recruiting trip Wednesday -- just days after his last success story from the same small California college town earned a ticket to the biggest show in sports.

Tedford watched his former quarterback, Aaron Rodgers, lead the Green Bay Packers to Super Bowl XLV by winning the NFC Championship Game on Sunday. He watched as a fan, cheering for Rodgers and another former Cal player and Packers linebacker Desmond Bishop. And he watched as a coach.

"I'll break it down, watch tendencies, that kind of thing," Tedford said. "But mostly, I was rooting for him and Des. I was watching both sides of the ball."

Tedford is the coach who discovered Rodgers. Rodgers had not been offered a Division I scholarship and he was playing at Butte College in Chico when Tedford spotted him while there to recruit another player.

Tedford, who had previously mentored Trent Dilfer, Kyle Boller and David Carr, turned Rodgers from an under-regarded passer into a star college quarterback. Rodgers was named the starting quarterback by the fifth game of his debut season at Cal. He led Cal to bowl games at the end of the 2003 and 2004 seasons, finishing 10-1 in 2004, including a loss at USC in which Rodgers tied an NCAA record with 23 consecutive passes completed in one game.

 

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Source: http://ncaafootball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/27/cal-coach-jeff-tedford-rooting-for-aaron-rodgers-in-super-bowl/

University of Michigan Final Four

Big East, SEC and Texas Highlight Big Week for College Basketball

Filed under: California, Cincinnati, Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Kansas, Kentucky, Maryland, Pittsburgh, Purdue, Syracuse, Texas A&M, Texas, UNLV, Wisconsin, BYU

It's coming to a point where everyone is pretty much running out of hypotheticals in which Ohio State falls. Still, it could happen this week. Big ones for conference supremacy in the Big East and SEC this week, as well as a huge test for Texas. All times ET.

10. Cincinnati (18-4, 5-4) at No. 4 Pittsburgh (20-2, 8-1), Saturday, 6 p.m.

After breezing through an embarrassingly simple non-conference schedule, Cincinnati has been, well, OK in the Big East. Not horrible, at least. They beat St. John's, though it's hard to say exactly what that means. Pitt, of course, fell last week at home to Notre Dame before narrowly beating Rutgers on the road. The Panthers are still tops in the Big East, but, surprisingly, Louisville is coming on strong.

9. No. 2 Kansas (20-1, 5-1) at Nebraska (15-5, 3-3), Saturday, 4 p.m.

Is it completely insane to think Nebraska has a shot against Kansas this weekend? On the surface, yes. Remember, though, the 'Huskers gave the Jayhawks all they could handle in Lawrence, and they will be playing with a lot of confidence after a win at home over Texas A&M.

8. UNLV (16-5, 4-3) at No. 8 BYU (20-2, 6-1), Saturday, 4 p.m.

After Jimmer's outburst in dethroning San Diego State, he and his mates had a less thrilling encore, losing to New Mexico. Though BYU handled the Rebels with relative ease the first time they met, the Cougars have proven that they are upset prone -- even with Jimmer going for 30+.

 

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Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/31/big-east-sec-and-texas-highlight-big-week-for-college-basketbal/

Washington State NAIA Mens Basketball

Ohio State Barely Survives Northwestern

Filed under: Northwestern, Ohio State, Big Ten

EVANSTON, Ill. (AP) -- Jared Sullinger hit the second of two free throws with 3.5 seconds left Saturday night and No. 1 Ohio State overcame a furious rally by Northwestern to beat the Wildcats 58-57 - the unbeaten Buckeyes' 22nd straight victory.

Sullinger finished with 21 points and Aaron Craft had 13 points for Ohio State.

Leading by only two at the half, Ohio State (22-0, 9-0 Big Ten) pulled out to a 13-point lead in the second half. But Northwestern, playing without leading scorer John Shurna, who has a concussion, came back behind senior guard Michael Thompson, who led the Wildcats with 16 points - 13 in the second half.

Thompson's 3-pointer with 3:51 left capped a 21-7 run as the Wildcats took a 55-54 lead and the crowd at Welsh-Ryan Arena erupted.

Seconds later, Ohio State's Jon Diebler - No. 5 all-time in the Big Ten in 3-pointers made - hit one for his first basket of the game to put the Buckeyes right back in front 57-55.

Thompson then sailed through the lane and the 5-foot-10 guard floated the ball into the basket for a tie with 1:31 left.

After an Ohio State turnover and then a foul, Northwestern retained possession and tried to set up a go-ahead shot. But Ohio State's David Lighty stole a pass with 17 seconds to go.

The Buckeyes got the ball to their freshman star Sullinger and he was fouled with 3.5 seconds left. His first attempt hit the front of the rim as Northwestern's student section waived, screamed and tried to distract him from under the basket. He then swished the second for a 58-57 Buckeyes' lead.

Following three timeouts, Drew Crawford's long attempt from just over the midcourt line hit the backboard and Ohio State had pulled out the tough victory.

Northwestern (13-8, 3-7) is now 0-16 all-time playing top-ranked teams.

Thompson's 3-pointer with 7:53 left cut the lead to nine, and Ohio State's Dallas Lauderdale was called for an intentional foul on the play near the basket. Davide Curletti made 1 of 2 free throws and the Wildcats retained possession with JerShon Cobb hitting a 3-pointer. The seven-point possession made it 51-46 with just a little more than seven minutes remaining and got Northwestern back in the game.

Northwestern won the boards, despite the absence of the 6-8 Shurna, 31-20 and had 14 on the offensive end. Ohio State shot 57 percent for the game and Sullinger was 7 for 12 from the field.

The Buckeyes have now matched the second longest winning streak in school history.

In 2006-07 Ohio State also won 22 straight, counting tournament games, before losing in the NCAA championship game. The 1961-62 team was victorious in its first 22 games. The longest Buckeyes win streak was 32, spanning two seasons from 1959-60 (last five) to 1960-61 (first 27).

 

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Source: http://ncaabasketball.fanhouse.com/2011/01/29/ohio-state-barely-survives-northwestern/

NAIA Baseball World Series Mountain West