By Alastair Ingram

Anastasia Onuaku might be the most trusted source in college basketball. 

That's because of 10 simple words that are based on nothing more than good old fashioned maternal optimism. 

Anastasia's son Arinze Onuaku went down with a knee injury in the 2nd half of 1 seed Syracuse's surprising loss to 8 seed Georgetown on Thursday at the Big East Tournament.

He had to be carried off the floor with some of his teammates watching and others praying for his health.

It was one of those injuries that, at the time, seemed like a veritable season killer.

Entering the day, the Orange had virtually locked up a #1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, and looked poised for another characteristic run in New York City.

Instead, SU's vaunted 2-3 zone got torched by the Hoyas, Onuaku was left in a crumpled heap, and the Orange's Final Four aspirations were left hanging in the balance.

Continue reading "Gotta Love Moms" »

Posted at 07:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Each week our four Berning on Sports voices will sound off on a couple different topics going on in the sports world.  Feel free to rip us apart in the comment section if you disagree or add a point that maybe we didn't consider.

First Topic:  UConn women's basketball has won a record 71 straight games.  How impressive is the streak?

Jordan:  I don't want to diminish this accomplishment, because normally I'm the guy sticking up for the small conference team that's trying to make the tournament at 28-4, when everyone is discrediting them for beating up on lesser competition to get there.  My response usually is, well, no matter what the competition, it's still impressive to be 28-4.  But to me, having covered women's college basketball closely this year, there is such a giant disparity between UConn and everyone else, part of me doesn't want to give UConn all the credit I suppose they deserve.  It's an amazing streak, on the surface.  Geno Auriemma deserves a boatload of credit because he recruited these girls and they are the best players in the country.  But they're SO much better than the average, and SO much better than the rest of the top 25, that they really should be blasting these teams every night.  Most women's college teams don't have one player that's as good as one of UConn's starters.  So congrats to them, but the problem here is women's college basketball needs teams that can challenge the Huskies.

Scott:  That streak is, quite simply, stunning. Possibly more stunning is that they beat their own previous record set only a couple of years ago. Now, that all said, I'm not going to front like I've been keeping strict tabs on them all year, but I'm not sure whether or not this is great for UConn or telling of how mediocre the rest of the country is. This team isn't just "beating" teams, they're destroying them, on a nightly basis. We're talking ranked, top-10 teams by 20 and 30 points repeatedly. Just something to chew on...

Alastair:  I had the chance to see the UConn women up close and personal earlier this year at Gampel Pavilion, and that is a well-oiled machine. Maya Moore and Tina Charles might be the two best players in the nation, but what makes this team special is coaching. Geno Auriemma might go down as the greatest women's college basketball coach in history, and it's because his teams never let up, not even for a single second. The Huskies could be down by 4 (although that would never happen) or up by 40, and without knowing the score, you couldn't tell the difference. You can't win 71 straight games based solely on talent (although it doesn't hurt). UConn's won 71 straight because complacency isn't a part of the program's vocabulary.

Sports Pants:  I don't really pay attention to the UConn streak because it's college women's basketball and the only two teams I think of are UConn and Tennessee.  Still, when you get 71 victories in a row, it's a good run.  I wonder if the '72 Dolphins will crack open some champagne when UConn finally loses.

Continue reading "Connect Four" »

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By SportsPants

Oscar talk, NFL free-agency, NBA notes, one member who is sick and another has been displaced.

Click here to go to the good happy fun place.

Posted at 08:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Jordan Bernfield

Scottie Reynolds goes flying into the scorers table...Gus Johnson and Greg Anthony react on CBS.  In the words of Kenny Banya, it's "gold, Jerry.  Gold."  Or, it's just funny to see how Gus reacts.

Posted at 11:25 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By SportsPants

I had this thing ready the day free-agency started, but I had to wait for Mr. Chicago Bernfield to get his two cents in.  It is his territory after all...

The Chicago Bears are all over the NFL free-agency this year. They signed Chester Taylor away from division rival Minnesota, they got stud blocking TE Brandon Manumaleuna (sounds like a Cajun dish) from the Chargers. And the jewel of their free-agent class is sackmaster Julius Peppers from Carolina.

Yep, the Bears dumped all sorts of money in free-agency. Will it work?

Ask the Washington Redskins. They dump truckloads of money around this time every single year. I don't recall too many playoff appearances for them.

Continue reading "A Bullish Market For The Bears" »

Posted at 09:10 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By Jordan Bernfield

If you think I'm doing cartwheels over the signings of Julius Peppers, Chester Taylor, and Brandon Manumaleuna by the Bears, think again. I'm not saying I'm not happy, but I'm not dreaming of representing the NFC in the Super Bowl yet, or even anything close to that, like some of my fellow Bears fans are this weekend.

The Bears made the headlines in the early hours of the free agent signing period, Friday, by inking the biggest named free agent, (Peppers), and two nice complimentary guys.  But if you think these moves were anything other than desperate moves, you're being naive.

As a Bears fan, I am happy that the Bears are addressing their needs.  Yet I also know that what they're really doing is saving face. 

Continue reading "Dicing Up The Signing of Julius Peppers" »

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