Spring Break
The Pro Side: The best of the week in sports, outside Storrs
Kevin Meacham
Issue date: 2/16/09 Section: Sports
Game of the week: UNC 101, Duke 87 (Wednesday) - Sure, ESPN overhypes it to death, but any fan of offensive-minded, finesse basketball had to be entertained by this one. Besides, the rough-and-tumble Big East games can get monotonous after a while.
Key performance: Blake Griffin grabs 40 points, 23 rebounds against Texas Tech (Saturday) - Now, Blake Griffin's game is defying logic, not just gravity. No. 2 Oklahoma's do-everything sophomore scored a career high in the Sooners' 95-74 win over the Red Raiders, and he pulled down nearly two dozen boards. Griffin is averaging 22 and 14, and looks to be a shoo-in for national Player of the Year honors.
Big Letdown: Louisville loses to Notre Dame, 90-57 (Thursday) - The Irish had lost seven straight to nearly drop off the bubble. The Cards had a fairly easy schedule remaining, with an outside shot to bring home a Big East regular season title. So, of course, Notre Dame shoots 56 percent and blows Louisville out of the gym. That's the Big East for you.
Wish We Were There: All-Star Weekend, Phoenix - It would have been pretty cool to see Nate Robinson dunk over Dwight Howard in person, cooler still to watch Kevin Durant go bananas in the Rookie-Sophomore challenge. But really, could anything top the absurdity of Friday's Celebrity All-Star game, featuring matchups such as Dominique Wilkins vs. Chris Tucker and Terrell Owens vs. Donald Faison of "Scrubs?" The answer is no, nothing could top that.
Number of the week: 17 - Brett Favre officially announced his retirement from football on Wednesday, almost 17 years from the day he was traded from Atlanta to Green Bay (Feb. 10, 1992). Unlike Favre's first retirement, this one will probably stick.
Key performance: Blake Griffin grabs 40 points, 23 rebounds against Texas Tech (Saturday) - Now, Blake Griffin's game is defying logic, not just gravity. No. 2 Oklahoma's do-everything sophomore scored a career high in the Sooners' 95-74 win over the Red Raiders, and he pulled down nearly two dozen boards. Griffin is averaging 22 and 14, and looks to be a shoo-in for national Player of the Year honors.
Big Letdown: Louisville loses to Notre Dame, 90-57 (Thursday) - The Irish had lost seven straight to nearly drop off the bubble. The Cards had a fairly easy schedule remaining, with an outside shot to bring home a Big East regular season title. So, of course, Notre Dame shoots 56 percent and blows Louisville out of the gym. That's the Big East for you.
Wish We Were There: All-Star Weekend, Phoenix - It would have been pretty cool to see Nate Robinson dunk over Dwight Howard in person, cooler still to watch Kevin Durant go bananas in the Rookie-Sophomore challenge. But really, could anything top the absurdity of Friday's Celebrity All-Star game, featuring matchups such as Dominique Wilkins vs. Chris Tucker and Terrell Owens vs. Donald Faison of "Scrubs?" The answer is no, nothing could top that.
Number of the week: 17 - Brett Favre officially announced his retirement from football on Wednesday, almost 17 years from the day he was traded from Atlanta to Green Bay (Feb. 10, 1992). Unlike Favre's first retirement, this one will probably stick.
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