2/18: All-Star Weekend, etc.

Greetings! A ton to hit on today...

• NBA's All-Star Weekend is in the books... and it was a good one. First, for my extended thoughts on the slam dunk contest and 3-point contest, click here and here. Terrence Ross outlasted Jeremy Evans in the Slam Dunk finals, but was almost overshadowed by the shortcomings of James White (sigh) and Gerald Green. In the 3-point, Kyrie Irving put on a display and cruised over Matt Bonner (Red Rocket!) in the finals. On Sunday night, the West defeated the East 143-138 in a pretty entertaining exhibition. The defense wasn't there (it never is), but there were great passes, highlight dunks, and athletic feats, and that's all you can ask for. Chris Paul was named MVP after scoring 20 points (on 7-10 shooting) and dishing out 15 assists in 27 minutes. He's the perfect ASG point guard, and it's one of the reasons he was put on the planet. Outside of Paul, Kevin Durant had the line of the night for the West with 30 points while Carmelo Anthony put up a 26/12 for the East. No analysis here.
• In college hoops this weekend, the lead story was #2 Duke going down against Maryland on Saturday. The Terps won the game 83-81 thanks to a blistering 60% clip from the field, and they outrebounded Duke by a ridiculous 38-17 margin on the night. It's almost amazing that the Devils kept the game that close. Elsewhere, #20 Wisconsin routed Ohio State in Madison on Sunday by a 71-49 margin. I absolutely love Bo Ryan, and I'll get sucked in (again) at tourney time. Other than that, it was a "business as usual" weekend in college hoops... and those are rare.
• Spring Training has begun in full effect... in case you haven't noticed. Hope springs eternal in 30 cities.

What to watch for on Monday...

• 7:00 - NCAAB - #21 Notre Dame @ #16 Pittsburgh (ESPN) - This is about as "Big Monday" of a match-up as I can think of (lol). I really like Pitt, and at home, they are the clear favorite here.
• 9:00 - NCAAB - West Virginia @ #10 Kansas State (ESPN) - Did you know that K-State was #10 in the country? Have you heard a word about them all year? That's impressive.

Enjoy!