DUKE holds off BUTLER and the referees

The Duke BlueDevils just won their 4th National Championship under Coach Mike Kryzewski. They held off a game Butler team who came within a 40-foot buzzer beater of pulling off one of the greatest cinderella stories ever.
The entire game was a back and forth match, both teams scoring and leads changing. Duke led 33-32 at the half. The score was true to form. Both teams went into half-time feeling like they could play better to win the game in the final twenty minutes.
The Second half was ugly but very fun to watch. Duke was composed, running their plays, moving the ball around nicely and maintaining a 4 point lead for the majority of the final half. Butler was quite the opposite. They weren't running plays, but they were putting the ball in their best player's hands, Gordon Heyward. Funnily enough, Heyward didn't make a single basket for about the last 11 minutes of the game. Although he did have 10 points in the second half, all coming from the free throw line. Butler's shots were not falling, but their players certainly were. Every time 'baby-face Heyward' drove near the basket, the referees were anticipating blowing the whistle and they nearly blew Butler into an NCAA Title, but the Devils were just too damn confident, too damn composed and very well coached.
It shouldn't be a big shocker that the team that is notorious for getting the benefit of the referees' whistles all the time got a little taste of their own medicine from the true home team Bulldogs, who's campus is 5 miles away from the arena. I counted at least 4 obvious calls in the 2nd half that were either fouls committed against Duke where the whistle was silent or plays that require jump ball possession arrow calls. In one instance Duke blocked a Butler shot in which the player went up for a basket but was denied. The Bulldog player maintained possession the entire time and came down with the ball as he was blocked therefore making it a jump ball. No whistle, play kept going. The other joke play was when a Duke player flat out fell on the basketball to get a steal, then the Butler player jumps on top of him, no where near having any possession of the ball but the referee blew the whistle with two thumbs up.
Bottom Line is Butler got all the calls, played their game plan to perfection, held Duke to 61 points, but they still couldn't beat the Duke BlueDevils. Hats off to Coach K and the Duke players for going out and winning this tournament.

Philadelphia: The Place to Be

McNabb shipped to FedEx field, Washington D.C. Doc Halladay debuts in the same exact place. Did you know Philadelphia even has a Union? The soccer team that is. And Tiger Woods signs a deal with the Benjamin Franklin Museum to have his own physics exhibit.
Ok so the last one I completely made up, but considering the BUZZ in Philadelphia Sports right now, who would be surprised if that actually happened. The front pages are covered with Donovan McNabb, the back pages with Phillie red. The city and the media of Philadelphia are finally giving Donovan his due by questioning the move, but also praising the trade exclaiming that now is the time for the change to be made. If they don't want McNabb anymore, then I say good for Donovan. He deserves to be somewhere where he can be appreciated. Although it will be very much the same story all over again for McNabb in Washington. He will again have a below average receiving core and if anyone watched any Redskins' games last year you know they have some growing to do. I think if you're Donovan though, you take the fresh start over the status quo. And even if this new squad will be lucky to finish above .500, don't forget the fact that you will have at least 2 chances to stick it to your former mates. Rest assured, those dates will be marked in Eagle Green on Donovan McNabb's calendar.
In Baseball news the Phillies blew out the Nationals 11-1. Roy Halladay pitched 7 innings giving up just one run......YAWN. The only reason I say that is because that is what Roy does. We can get accustomed to seeing that line in Halladay's stat sheet. The Phils Offense provided all the fireworks with homeruns by Polanco and Howard. President Barack Obama threw out the first pitch and from there for the Nationals it was all down hill. After the game a reporter for the Nationals asked Ryan Zimmerman how he felt about today's performance. All I could do was fantasize about switching places with Zimmerman at that moment just so I could smirk at that reporter and say "Next Question!!!"