The longest game in NCAA history ended on a simple force out at second base, as Texas defeated Boston College 3-2 in 25 innings at the Austin Regional of the NCAA collegiate baseball tournament. The game lasted seven hours, three minutes.

Longhorn Travis Tucker, in his 12th at-bat on the evening, bounced a single through the right side of a drawn-in infield to score Connor Rowe from third base in the top of the 25th inning.

UT reliever Austin Wood was the unsung hero of the game, as he threw 13 shutout innings in relief. He pitched no-hit ball through the first 12 1/3 innings, striking out 14 Golden Eagle batters on 169 pitches thrown.

After the final out was recorded, the entire Longhorn team celebrated the victory on the field, and saluted the remaining crowd with a rendition of “The Eyes of Texas.”

Boston College has an early wake-up call. They will play Army in an early afternoon elimination game on Sunday, while Texas will not play until later that evening at 6 PM.

Sources close to the Syracuse football program have confirmed that former Duke point guard Greg Paulus will likely be on their roster for next season. With Michigan out of the picture, Paulus is expected to meet with Orange head coach Doug Marrone early this week about playing football at the school in his final year of college eligibility.

Syracuse Post-Standard sports columnist Bud Poliquin wrote that this is a no-brainer decision for the struggling program, as the Orange have won only 26 of its last 83 games and have nothing to lose with this roster addition.

Which makes this, of course, a no-brainer. As long as Marrone likes what he hears from Paulus, and as long as Paulus is confident that SU will provide him with the opportunity he seeks on the field and in the classrooms of the Newhouse School, this is a Done Deal.

Because he never was redshirted during his four years at Duke, Paulus has one year of eligibility remaining in another sport. He has completed his college degree thus allowing Paulus to attend graduate school elsewhere and compete immediately if granted a waiver from the NCAA.

Paulus was a prolific high school passer at Christian Brothers Academy in Syracuse; his high marks include an undefeated senior season in which he completed 66 percent of his passes for 3700 yards and threw for 43 touchdown passes. The Orange coaching staff feels Paulus is a perfect fit to lead their pro-style offense next season.

Dear NCAA Men’s Tournament Selection Committee,

This weekend, the Final Four will be played at Ford Field in Detroit, and I want to thank you for another lackluster tournament. The aristocrats of college basketball trampled their opponents en route to the Motor City. Your selection process favors the haves (30 of the 34 at-large bids went to schools from the six largest conferences) and discriminates against the have-nots (four at-large bids to mid-major conferences).

An alarming trend has shown that the number of at-large mid-major schools has dwindled from the high water mark of 12 in 2004 to a low of four schools (Xavier, Dayton, Butler and Brigham Young) playing in this year’s tournament. You’re slowly taking away the madness of March. Please don’t BCS the most anticipated playoff format in all sport.

Your chairman, Mike Slive, proclaimed, “It’s all about who you play, where you play, and how you do,” when describing the criteria for selecting the 65-team field. He added that the committee looks at schools individually and not at their conference affiliation. I beg to differ, as a bailout package was handed to a couple of major conference schools (Arizona and Wisconsin) to salvage their seasons, while the mid-major schools were left standing at the altar.

Read the rest of this entry »

This weekend, WrestleMania 25 will be held in Houston, and it promises to be one of the biggest shows of the year. It’s a culmination of the past year’s feuds decided inside the squared circle. Vince McMahon created this event and Hulk Hogan put it on the map, but the rabid fans have turned WrestleMania into wrestling’s own Super Bowl. Their support has transformed the WWE into the most successful pro wrestling promotion in entertainment sports today. And for that, they should be applauded!

All times ET…

NBA
Friday, 8 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Orlando Magic (ESPN)
Friday, 10:30 PM: Houston Rockets @ Los Angeles Lakers (ESPN)
Saturday, 3 PM: Detroit Pistons @ Philadelphia 76ers (ESPN)
Saturday, 7 PM: Miami Heat @ Washington Wizards (NBA TV)
Sunday, 1 PM: San Antonio Spurs @ Cleveland Cavaliers (ABC)
Sunday, 3:30 PM: Phoenix Suns @ Dallas Mavericks (ABC)
Sunday, 7 PM: Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (NBA TV)

NHL
Saturday, 7 PM: Philadelphia Flyers @ Ottawa Senators (CBC)
Saturday, 10 PM: Vancouver Canucks @ Edmonton Oilers (CBC)
Sunday, 12:30 PM: Minnesota Wild @ Detroit Red Wings (NBC)

NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament
Saturday, 6:07 PM: (2) Michigan State vs. (1) Connecticut (CBS)
Saturday, 8:47 PM: (3) Villanova vs. (1) North Carolina (CBS)

NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament
Sunday, 7 PM: (3) Louisville vs. (1) Oklahoma (ESPN)
Sunday, 9 PM: (2) Stanford vs. (1) Connecticut (ESPN)

MLB
Sunday, 8 PM: Atlanta Braves @ Philadelphia Phillies (ESPN)

There is less than three weeks left in the NBA season, and teams are fighting to secure home-court advantage for the gauntlet playoff run. And both conferences have highly contested races for the #2 seed. The Boston Celtics and the Orlando Magic are in a virtual tie in the Eastern Conference, while three teams (San Antonio, Houston and Denver) are battling it out in the Western Conference. At stake is the opportunity to play a seventh game in front your raucous fans, and this prize is well worth the grind of the regular season.

All times ET…

NBA
Friday, 7:30 PM: Boston Celtics @ Atlanta Hawks (NBA TV)
Saturday, 10 PM: Memphis Grizzlies @ Portland Trail Blazers (NBA TV)
Sunday, 1 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Cleveland Cavaliers (ABC)
Sunday, 8 PM: San Antonio Spurs @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)

NHL
Saturday, 1 PM: New York Rangers @ Pittsburgh Penguins
Saturday, 7 PM: Boston Bruins @ Toronto Maple Leafs (CBC)
Saturday, 10 PM: Minnesota Wild @ Calgary Flames (CBC)

NCAA Tournament
Friday, 7:07 PM: (12) Arizona vs. (1) Louisville (CBS)
Friday, 7:27 PM: (3) Syracuse vs. (2) Oklahoma (CBS)
Friday, 9:37 PM: (3) Kansas vs. (2) Michigan State (CBS)
Friday, 9:57 PM: (4) Gonzaga vs. (1) North Carolina (CBS)
Saturday, 4:40 PM: (3) Missouri vs. (1) Connecticut (CBS)
Saturday, 7:05 PM: (3) Villanova vs. (1) Pittsburgh (CBS)
Sunday, TBA: Midwest and West Finals (CBS)

PGA
March 27-29, see your local listings for times: Arnold Palmer Invitational, Orlando, FL. (NBC/TGC)

If you could pry yourself away from the televised coverage of the T.O. ordeal for just one minute, you could tune in to a couple of key marquee matchups on the hardwood this weekend. It begins with Cleveland visiting Boston tonight, and with a victory the Cavs can confirm their status as a legitimate title contender. They’re no longer LeBron James and the Cavalettes coming to your favorite NBA arena. On Saturday, it’s #1 UConn versus #4 Pittsburgh in a crucial Big East matchup. Then, travel down Tobacco Road for Duke-North Carolina in an ACC heavyweight matchup this Sunday. This could be a dress rehearsal for next week’s conference tournament final, with the winner getting a #1 seed in the NCAA tournament.

All times ET…

College Basketball
Saturday, 12 PM: #1 Connecticut @ #4 Pittsburgh (CBS)
Saturday, 2 PM: #25 Syracuse @ #14 Marquette (ESPN Full Court)
Sunday, 12 PM: #20 Purdue @ #8 Michigan State (CBS)
Sunday, 4 PM: #7 Duke @ #2 North Carolina (CBS)
Sunday, 6 PM: #19 Clemson @ #10 Wake Forest (Fox Sports Net)

NBA
Friday, 8 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Boston Celtics (ESPN)
Friday, 10:30 PM: Denver Nuggets @ Utah Jazz (ESPN)
Saturday, 8:30 PM: Washington Wizards @ Dallas Mavericks (NBA TV)
Sunday, 3:30 PM: Phoenix Suns @ San Antonio Spurs (ABC)
Sunday, 7 PM: Philadelphia 76ers @ Oklahoma City Thunder (NBA TV)

NHL
Saturday, 1 PM: Chicago Black Hawks @ Boston Bruins
Saturday, 10 PM: San Jose Sharks @ Vancouver Canucks (CBC)
Sunday, 12:30 PM: Boston Bruins @ New York Rangers (NBC)

World Baseball Classic
Saturday, 2 PM: Canada vs. United States from the Rogers Centre in Toronto, Canada (ESPN)

All times ET…

College Basketball
Sat, 12 PM: No. 21 Louisville vs. No. 17 Villanova, ESPN
Sat, 12 PM: No. 22 West Virginia vs. No. 15 Marquette
Sat, 1 PM: Kansas vs. No. 12 Michigan State, CBS
Sat, 2 PM: No. 2 Duke vs. Florida State, ESPN
Sun, 1:30 PM: Wisconsin vs. No. 14 Purdue, CBS
Sun, 8 PM: No. 3 North Carolina vs. No. 4 Wake Forest, Fox Sports Net

NBA
Fri, 8 PM: Boston Celtics vs. Cleveland Cavaliers, ESPN
Fri, 10:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks vs. Phoenix Suns, ESPN
Sat, 9 PM: Detroit Pistons vs. Utah Jazz
Sun, 8:30 PM: Orlando Magic vs. San Antonio Spurs, NBA TV

NFL
Sat, 4:30 PM: Baltimore Ravens vs. Tennessee Titans, CBS
Sat, 8:15 PM: Arizona Cardinals vs. Carolina Panthers, Fox
Sun, 1 PM: Philadelphia Eagles vs. New York Giants, Fox
Sun, 4:45 PM: San Diego Chargers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, CBS

NHL
Fri, 9 PM: San Jose Sharks vs. Edmonton Oilers
Sat, 7 PM: New York Rangers vs. Ottawa Senators
Sun, 5 PM: New Jersey Devils vs. Anaheim Ducks

PGA
Fri, 6:30 PM: Mercedes-Benz Championship at the Kapalua Resort, The Golf Channel
Sat, 6 PM: Mercedes-Benz Championship at the Kapalua Resort, The Golf Channel
Sun, 6 PM: Mercedes-Benz championship at the Kapalua Resort, The Golf Channel