NCAA Basketball – Virginia Tech Upsets No.1 Duke

The Virginia Tech Hokies have been lingering in the NCAA bubble for the last three years. Last season, it really seemed as if the V-Tech was going to make it into the NCAA tournament, but instead they ended up their postseason taking a go at the NIT. This time around, the Hokies needed results against top-ranked teams if they wanted to grab some attention from the selection committee. And let’s be clear about this: a win this late in the season against the top-ranked team in the nation is certainly the best way to earn a ticket into March Madness.

The Virginia Tech team took advantage of a late-game 15-4 run to turn around a six point deficit against Duke to a 5 point lead that was just enough to hand the Blue Devils their third loss of the season. Jeff Allen scored 17 points to lead Virginia Tech to a 64-60 home win against Duke. After the win the Hokies recorded their fourth all-time win over AP No. 1 ranked teams.

With a 19-8 overall season and playing for 9-5 in the ACC, Virginia Tech’s season has not been exactly an utter success. On the other hand, Virginia just got back from a 4 game losing strike in the series against the Duke Blue Devils, and they took this win right when it hurt most: when Duke finally climbed to the top of the AP polls. Not only that but the Hokies made worth their home-court advantage. What really matters is that the Hokies were capable of breaking Duke’s seven game winning-streak against conference rivals on the road gaining the notoriety that the team is urged of right now.

The crowd was loud and sometimes they even got a bit personal against Duke’s Seth Curry. This was the first appearance at Cassell Coliseum for Seth Curry, whose father, Dell Curry, is somewhat of a legend at Virginia Tech. Not only is he the second-leading scorer in Hokies history but also the first player whose number the institution retired.

Seth Curry was recruited by the Hokies but wound up at Liberty and transferred to Duke after one season seeking a bigger challenge. Now he had to come back and play before his old man an a couple thousand angry fans. He wasn’t great. He played 15 minutes and went home scoreless. It seems as if Curry just couldn’t handle the pressure.

The Hokies led 42-37 until Andre Dawkins’s 3-pointer for Duke with 16:45 brought the Blue Devils back to life. Following this three-pointer Duke got back in the game with a 14-3 burst that put the No.1 team in the nation ahead. Singler had seven points in this run alone, and finished it off with a 3-pointer that gave Duke a 51-45 advantage with over 11 minutes to play. But it was just not enough.

Singler led Duke with 22 points but his shooting was a bit off-target. He completed only 6 of 19 shots. Duke also relied on Nolan Smith and his 18 points, but that was not enough to counter the great performance from the Hokies starters, all which had double figures.

Jeff Allen led the Hokies with 18 points and 15 boards. Erick Green brought in 12 points and Malcolm Delaney had 11 points as the Hokies improved to 4-7 in their record against teams ranked No. 1. Just to get you into the right zone, the Hokies have won 3 of those 4 games in the last 5 seasons. Perhaps it is time to let the V-Tech Hokies play in the big tournament in March.

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NFL – Seattle Seahawks upsets the New Orleans Saints in Wild Card Round

The Seattle Seahawks are working their way into the playoffs in the most bizarre way. And it’s all because of where they have come from. There is no doubt among fans and sports reporters alike: the weakest link in professional football can be found in the Western Division of the National Football Conference.

Just to get you into the right perspective, we have to consider that neither Seattle, the St. Louis Rams, the San Francisco 49ers nor the Arizona Cardinals had a winning season in this 2010. At 7-9 overall and 4-2 record in division play the Seahawks clinched division and made it into the Wild Card Round. That is despite their losing season. In other words, Seattle qualified into the playoffs just because they where the strongest team in the weakest division in professional football. As a matter of fact, the Seahawks could never link more then two wins during the regular season.

And yet, somehow, the Seahawks where able to put in 41 points over the New Orleans Saints, a team that not only holds a 11-5 record for the regular season but is also the Super Bowl defending Champions. So, the Seahawks have become the first NFL team to win a Playoffs game with a 7-9 record as the guys from Seattle completed an epic 41-36 upset against the Saints at the Qwest Field in Seattle, Washington.

The Seahawks’ quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was absolutely outstanding in this Sunday’s game. He completed 22 of his 35 attempts to push the chains 272 yards for 4-touchdown passes and 1 interception. This has been his personal best performance in a playoffs game. Such a great performance that it was good enough to outplay the Saints’ quarterback and Super Bowl MVP, Andrew Brees as he completed 39 of 60 for 404 yards (that’s almost twice as many as Hasselbeck) for two touchdowns and no interceptions.

It seems that everyone in Seattle was capable of getting their act together when it mattered most. As a matter of fact, Hasselback was able to find wide-open players with enormous ease. He sent a pair of touchdowns passes to tight-end John Carlson (even thought this guy only scored one TD in the regular season). He then connected with Brandon Stokley on a 45-yard touchdown right before the halftime break. He then found Mike Williams right after the break to complete a 38 yards on the Seahawks first drive in the third quarter. That was enough to give the Seahawks 31-20 lead over the Saints, and work its way up for an intense finish.

Marshawn Lynch was the man of the hour as he finished off the Saints with an nerve breaking 67 yard run with 3:22 left on the clock for a team with a losing season win its first ever playoffs game. Lynch took on a second down carry breaking off six tackles on his long run as eight different New Orleans players put hands on him. That, and a very stiff arm against cornerback Tracy Porter was enough to complete the longest scoring run of Lynch’s career and the Seahawks pass into the next round.