March Madness





At school everyone has been talking about March Madness, the NCAA basketball tournament. Each team is ranked and the top 16 teams from each part of the U.S. get to enter the tournament. Many of the guys at GBN have been talking about who they put in their brackets, and who they thought would be in the final four. Personally, I picked Syracuse, Ohio State, Kentucky, and Kansas. I also believe that Kentucky is going to win the whole intire tournament. People tell me that I am crazy for putting Syacuse in the final four, but I believe that they are going to suprise some people and make it to the final four. Many people don't think that girls participate in March Madness, but I am really interested in it. Currently, I am in 2 pools. 1 pool is against my friends and the other is against my dad. My friends are not betting, but against my dad we are betting for Ice Cream. It has always been an old tradition and we plan on keeping the tradition as long as possible. The first few games begin this week and I hope that I can catch some games this weekend!!



Blackhawks Begin Their Climb

Recently, the Chicago Blackhawks have not been doing too good. The Hawks managed to drop from 1st place to 6th place. No one is really sure why the Hawks starting loosing games so suddenly, but the good news is that they started winning games. They are on the hike back to the top. Currently, their record is 36-25-7. In the last 10 games, they have won 6 and lost 4. Some leading scorers include:
- Marian Hossa (27 Goals)
- Jonathan Towes (29 Goals)
- Patrick Sharp (25 Goals)
- Patrick Kane (16 Goals)

Kane (Left) and Towes (Right)
http://media.photobucket.com/image/kane%252c%20towes/
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Sharp (Left) and Hossa (Right)
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Hopefully the Hawks will continue their winning streak. I don't think they will make it into the championship this year, but there's always next year.

The All Star Game

The 2012 All-Star game was very exciting and intense. The best players from the Western Conference faced off against the Eastern Player.
The West Starting Lineup was:
- Chris Paul (guard)
- Kobe Bryant (guard)
- Kevin Durant (forward)
- Blake Griffin (forward)
- Andrew Bynum (center)

The East Starting Lineup was:
- Derrick Rose (guard)
- Dwyane Wade (guard)
- LeBron James (forward)
- Carmelo Anthony (forward)
- Dwight Howard (center)

Right at the beginning, the West took the lead and held that lead throughout the entire game. In the last quarter, the East brought the game back to a tie, but eventually lost, 152-149. I have no idea how they got the score to be so high. I guess this game really shows who the best players are in the NBA. Also, Kobe Bryant beat Michael Jordan's record in the most number of points scored in all time All-Star History. This is the Dunk that gets him there:



Kobe Passing Jordan's Record. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9k9AQDSz7PQ

In the end, it was a really fun game to watch, but next year, I hope the East Wins!!!

Rose Back on Top

Even with Derrick Rose being on and off the bench for about a month, the Bulls have kept a record of 26-8. When Derrick isn't around, John Lucas III and C.J. Watson took the role of Point Guard. Many people, including myself were concerned that the Bulls would go on a losing streak without Derreck in the game. Just today, Rose came back and helped beat the Atlanta Hawks 90-79. Derrick had a semi-impressive game. He played 35 minutes and scored 27 points.
Derricks season stats include (average per game):
- 35.5 minutes
- 46% from Field Goal Range
- 32% from 3-Point Range
- 82% from the Free Throw Line
- 3.5 Rebounds
- 7.7 Assists
- 0.6 Blocks
- 0.8 Steals

Hopefully the Bulls can stay injury free and can take another shot at the Championship Title.

Patriots vs. Giants in the Superbowl

It's just another rematch of the 2008 Superbowl.The New England Patriots will be facing the New York Giants in Indianapolis in the 2012 Superbowl.

On the way to the Superbowl the Patriots had to face:
- Denver Broncos (Score: 45-10)
- Baltimore Ravines (Score: 23-20)

They had a difficult road and they were almost beat out by the Ravines. With 20 seconds left, the Patriots were up by 3 points and the Ravines had a chance to go into overtime, but kicker Cundiff missed his field goal and the Patriots won.




As for the New York Giants, they faced:

- Atlanta Falcons (Score: 24-2)
- Green Bay Packers (Score: 37-20)
- San Francisco 49ers (Score: 20-17)

The Giants had a really good season and the only close playoff game was against the 49ers. I think that the Giants and Patriots game will be a close game with lots of ups and downs for each team. I won't be missing a second of it. These two teams deserve to be in the Superbowl and one team will end up on top.

Broncos have an amazing overtime win

At halftime the Broncos were ahead of the Steelers by 11 points. The Steelers hadst very impressive 2nd half and  by the end of the 4th quarter the score was tied 23–23. They went into overtime. In regular season games, the first team to score would win.  Although, this was not a regular season game, it was a playoff game and the rules for overtime change.
The new rules are as followed:

• At the end of regulation time, the Referee will immediately toss a coin at the center of the field.
• Following a three-minute intermission after the end of the regulation game, play will be continued in 15-minute periods until a winner is declared. 
• Each team must possess or have the opportunity to possess the ball unless the team that has the ball first scores a touchdown on its initial possession. 
• Play continues in sudden death until a winner is determined, and the game automatically ends upon any score (by safety, field goal, or touchdown) or when a score is awarded by the Referee for a palpably unfair act. 

Many people would think that both the Broncos and the Steelers would get a chance to win the game, but on the Bronco's 1st possession, Tim Tebow throws a touchdown pass to Demaryius Thomas. He runs it for over 40 yards and runs it into the end zone. This touchdown ends the game because the Broncos scored before the Steelers ever touched the ball. It was an awesome game, but I never thought that it would be over so quickly. The Broncos will advance in the playoffs and will face the New England Patriots next weekend. 

Thomas #88 slips away from defender to score game winning touchdown.
http://nbcsportsmedia4.msnbc.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/spt-120108-demaryiusthomas.nbcsports-story-612.jpg

Hawks Back on Track

After a four game loosing streak, the Hawks got back on track and have been winning many of their recent games. One of their recent games was on Sunday December 11. This game was at home against the San Jose Sharks. The game was close until the last 2 minutes. The Sharks led the game the whole way. With 1:30 left on the game clock, the Blackhawks are out in front on a breakaway. They shoot.... and goalie Anti Niemi can't stop it. The game is tied!!!! The Hawks keep the score tied until the end of the 3rd period. The game is going into overtime. Minutes tick by and nothing exciting happens, but then Jonathan Towes and 

Patrick Sharp are 2 vs. 1. Towes shoots, stop by Niemi, rebound shot by Sharp. HAWKS WIN!!!

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The game was incredibly exciting and definitely intense. It was a great game and was a good game to get the Hawks back on track. Currently, they are in 1st place 40 points and a record with 18-8-4. They have a really good chance of making the playoffs. There are 7 games over winter break and I will be sure to watch every single game and cheer the Hawks on to victory. 

If you want to see the overtime goal by Patrick Sharp, click here.