Behind The Box Score

In a crazy week of sports that involves championship weeekend in the NFL, Cavs-Lakers in the NBA and arbitration in Major League Baseball, here a few interesting facts that are products of this week. Read the rest of this entry »

Days removed from his spectacular 46 point outing in a loss against Mifflin, East’s Jerry Dixon returned for Friday’s game against Linden-McKinley expecting to not only play better but lead the Tigers to a victory. Dixon made the highlight reel yet again, this time in a win. Read the rest of this entry »

Only 24 hours removed from their upset victory over then #1 Findlay Prep, the Northland Vikings made sure nobody would ruin their moment. Home against traditionally weak Centennial, the Vikings went out and did business as usual waxing the Stars up and down the floor for 95 points and letting the defense thrive, allowing 49. Read the rest of this entry »

When it all matters most, the Northland Vikings know exactly who to go to. Case in point, last March. Tied in the Ohio State Championship Game, Jared Sullinger was fouled with a second remaining against Cincinnati Princeton. Calm and collected at the line, Ohio’s Mr. Basketball knocked down two of three free throws to give Northland it’s first state championship in school history, 70-68. Nine months later, the Vikings would need another spectacular performance from the best player in the land, this time against the best team in the land, the Findlay Prep Pilots out of Las Vegas. Read the rest of this entry »

As the Northland Vikings walked onto the floor to begin a season where the defending state champs will be challenged more than ever, the opening tip was an indication of what was to come. As usual, Jared Sullinger won the tip and the season was off. Even on a night where top players Sullinger and JD Weatherspoon weren’t as dominant as they have been in the past, the rest of the Northland squad stepped up big time in a 69-43 win over rival Brookhaven.

Penn State bound point guard Trey Burke took care of the scoring department, shooting exceptionally well from the field in part of 21 point performance in front of a packed crowd at Northland High School. Sullinger got the crowd rocking early on a tip slam in the second quarter that virtually changed the momentum of the game. As the Vikings were tied 15-15 at the end of the first, Ohio’s reigning Mr. Basketball decided to take over the game. Drawing fouls all night, Sullinger collected 17 points, with the  majority coming from the free throw line.

Brookhaven’s big man, Peter Kpan did an outstanding job as well. Guarding Sullinger is not the easiest task, and Kpan took care of it exceptionally well. Positioning himself in the post all night, Sullinger had a tough time getting the ball when Kpan was on him. To everyone in the stands, Kpan came as a surprise as nobody in the City League had been a challenge for Jared throughout the first three years of watching him. Kpan also did an above average job on the offensive side of the ball, scoring eight points including an impressive spin in the post on Sullinger, one of the only times Kpan scored on the Ohio State bound star.

Back to Burke, who was arguably the MVP on Tuesday night. Weeks after committing to Penn State, Trey Burke showed the crowd at Northland just what he is going to do this season. Controlling the ball on offense, Burke dominated the game at his own pace. Whether it was slashing to the basket, or hitting deep three’s, which he did three times on Tuesday, the junior  was the best player on the court. But with every win in basketball, it takes more than two players to get it done and the Vikings did just that. Sophomore KeChaun Lewis electrified the crowd in the third quarter when #22 threw down a thunderous jam on a fast break where Lewis caused a turnover, one of many for Brookhaven last night.

The offense for Northland was very good for the most part, as Weatherspoon poured in seven, Burke added in seven as well and Lavonte Justice had six points coming off of two three point field goals. JV superstar Lequan Williams also made a contribution late in the game, driving to the hoop for two of his six points. With the balanced scoring, the Viking defense was virtually suffocating. Giving up a game high 15 points in the first, no such scoring output for Brookhaven would come again. Building an eight point lead at the break, the Vikings would go on to allow six, 11 and 11 points in the last three quarters. A good mix of offense and defense is crucial to winning basketball games and Northland took care of that downing the Brookhaven Bearcats once again.

To see highlights of the game go to:http://www.mefeedia.com/video/26698248. This is compliments of Anthony Murphy over at Cap City Preps.

For the majority of LeBron James’ life, #23 has been a mainstay. Sporting the number his senior year of high school which resulted in numerous national televised games, a state and national title and earlier last month, a movie, the King or Akron Hammer as he has been dubbed all across America this week, is planning a change in his number to honor Michael Jordan. A week removed from a trip to New York which included a Yankee parade, draining a fadeaway j then landing in the lap of Jay-Z and numerous indications that James will be going to the city that never sleeps after this season, James is back in the headlines. Read the rest of this entry »

Coming off the Eastern Conference Finals loss to the Orlando Magic last season, GM Danny Ferry and the rest of the Cleveland Cavaliers were intent on one goal, to stop Dwight Howard and the Magic. With the acquisition of Shaquille O’Neal, Cleveland didn’t lack for size, but the speed and athleticism was now in question after an 0-2 start. Read the rest of this entry »

After dominating the NBA for 19 years, and being the all-time leader in points scored, this is one defender Lakers great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar hasn’t faced before. On Monday, he told the AP that he was diagnosed with a rare form of Read the rest of this entry »

Nine years ago, my second-favorite college coach of all-time was fired by then-IU president Myles Brand for breaking a “no-tolerance” policy. But as of today, IU has chosen Bob Knight to be inducted into their sports Hall Of Fame this fall. Others inducted will be: Steve Downing (basketball, 1972-73) Katrin Koch (women’s track, 1989-92), Read the rest of this entry »

In my mind, I’m pretty clear when it comes to now-Kentucky coach John Calipari being slimier than I thought. Today, the NCAA Committee on Infractions ruled that Memphis will be forced to vacate its 2007-2008 games, including all records pertaining to their national championship game run, a game in which they were defeated in overtime by Kansas. This comes after the news came about that Read the rest of this entry »