The Blue Workhorse

University of Georgia seniors Sundiata Gaines and Dave Bliss watched as there once 11-point lead slowly slipped away to the #3 seeded Xavier Musketeers in the first round of the NCAA national tournament. The Bulldogs fell 73-61 but the score was not indicative of just how well UGA played throughout the game. They led by 7 with less than 10 minutes remaining and trailed by only 3 with just over a minute remaining before Xavier ended the game on a 9-0 free throw run.

The game was the culmination of the season and a span of over a week that saw UGA go from basketball obscurity to miracle run. It was also the culmination of Dennis Felton’s first five years at the helm of the Georgia Bulldogs men’s basketball program and four years of struggles that included trials, tribulations, transfers, and tragedies for Bliss and Gaines.

Six-foot-six-inch Terrelle Pryor, also 235 pounds, helped lead his team to the Pennsylvania Class AA state basketball championship by pouring in 23 points and 8 rebounds in a 76-72 overtime victory over Strawberry Mansion and all everyone wants to talk about is…football?

That’s because Pryor is also led his team to state championship in football. It doesn’t hurt that he is the consensus #1 football player in the nation as a 6-foot-6 quarterback with great arm strength to go along with the quickness and agility he has displayed on the hardwood.

The Chicago Cubs came out of nowhere to win the division last year after finishing in the cellar in 2006 (yes, even worse than the Pittsburgh Pirates). This year, which will mark the 100th anniversary of their last World Series title, with the addition of Japanese superstar Kosuke Fukudome, the Cubs will again look to take the division crown and try to end the curse of the billy goat. Standing in the way of the Cubbies will be the Milwaukee Brewers, Cincinnati Reds, Houston Astros, and possibly the St. Louis Cardinals.

Your NL Central previews with last year’s records, key additions, key losses, projected starting lineup, projected rotation, overall outlook, fantasy impact players, and our prediction for this season:

At about 9:30, a foul was called and suddenly everyone started looking up towards the roof of Atlanta’s Georgia Dome, where the SEC tournament is held, as a roaring noise scared many out of their seats. The fabric on the roof of the dome was harshly rippling, the catwalk/standard above the court was swaying back and forth, and in at least three areas (according to one of the broadcasters) the fabric was torn and debris fluttered down to the floor.

The players cleared the floor and many fans rushed into the concourse area. It appears very severe winds struck the dome, possibly even what could be classified as a tornado.

Herschel Walker is probably the most revered football player in the state of Georgia, but it was shocking to almost everyone when he revealed in January that he has dealt with multiple personality disorder, or dissociative identity disorder as it is more commonly referred to today. Even those close to him, including his father, Willis; his college football coach, UGA legend Vince Dooley’ and good friend Frank Roz, who played at Georgia with Walker, were surprised.

Wednesday afternoon, the benches cleared after Yankees’ backup Shelley Duncan (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) slid in to second base with his spikes high. Okay not just high, but so high they were in danger of castrating Rays’ second baseman Akinori Iwamura (even though I’m not real certain about the castration practices of the Japanese — he could already be castrated — just kidding, he’s expecting a child).

The Red Sox, with two World Series titles in the last four years, are one of the favorites again this year. While the Red Sox are looking for championship titles, other division rivals have other goals: the Toronto Blue Jays are looking to move pass either the Red Sox or Yankees and get back into the top two in the division. However, they may have to hold off the upstart Tampa Bay (no longer Devil) Rays just to keep the #3 slot. The Rays first goal will be to finish above .500 for the first time in team history, but greater goals are just beyond the horizon.

“Psycho T,” as his teammates call him, is 10th in the country in scoring at 23.1 point per game and 13th in the nation with 10.5 rebounds per game.

Those numbers, along with tremendous hustle, intensity, and effort and UNC being ranked near the top of the polls throughout the season have made Hansbrough a top candidate for Player of the Year. While the other main candidate for the award, freshman Michael Beasley of Kansas State, has better numbers (26.5 ppg, 12.5 rpg), Freeman claims Hansbrough is getting all the love because Psycho T is white, and “America loves a tough white guy.”