Although we are only in the NBA conference semi-finals, it already feels like the finals with tempers flaring, elbows swinging and fines being dished out. Each matchup is different and there is little consistency of play, however there is a pattern emerging in this round of the playoffs.  

On Sunday, LeBron James was crowned with his fourth MVP (Most Valuable Player) award in a near unanimous decision. He earned 120 of the 121 first-place votes, leaving the lone vote to Carmelo Anthony of the New York Knicks. Behind James, Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder finished second for the second consecutive year; followed by Anthony, Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant. 

As the first round of the NBA playoffs are coming to an end, the picture of who will play in the finals is becoming remarkably clearer. With a few teams dominantly prevailing in the preliminary round, there is no doubt which teams are on a mission and which teams are just fighting to play another day.

Many players see the regular season as the time to improve both individually, and as a team. When it comes to playoff time, it’s about creating your legacy. Essentially, the post season separates the good players from the great players, and the talented teams from the legendary teams. The most important NBA games of the season are finally upon us.

If there’s one thing we know about this year’s Masters Tournament, it’s that anything was possible. From Tianlang Guan at age 14 becoming the youngest player in tournament history making the cut, to Tiger Woods being penalized, and to Adam Scott becoming the first Australian to ever win the Masters, this year’s tournament truly had something for everyone.

After a thrilling run to the Sweet 16, the Arizona Wildcats were forced to pack their bags and start all over again. Despite all of the controversy currently surrounding the Wildcats-- regarding the Ed Rush scandal and the famous double-dribble and technical-foul call, Arizona is more focused on their future.

Four days and 48 games into the NCAA Tournament and there are zero perfect brackets and only 16 teams remaining in the fight to achieve the ultimate goal, a National Championship. The madness of March is truly upon us and this year’s NCAA tournament is already making history. From game-winning shots to unbelievable upsets, there are a few teams that are taking the tournament by storm and shocking sports fans everywhere. 

It’s that time of year again. The college basketball finale, the pinnacle and absolute craziest part of the season, the NCAA tournament. Dubbed “March Madness” or “The Big Dance”, the NCAA tournament is a sporting event like nothing else. Comprised of 68 Division I basketball teams, the tournament is each team’s pathway to a chance to win the coveted National Championship.

It got a little louder than usual in McKale Center on Saturday when the Wildcats beat their long-time rival Arizona State, 73-58, completing their season sweep of the Sun Devils. However, the increase in volume wasn’t due to the fans excitement of seeing the Cats beat down their rivals, nor was it because it was senior night; as Arizona said goodbye to Solomon Hill, Mark Lyons and Kevin Parrom. The real reason for all the ruckus was the retirement of Joe Cavaleri, also known as the “Ooh Aah Man”. 

Yet again, another college basketball regular season is coming to an end, which only means one thing, it’s tournament time! The part of the season when each game becomes increasingly important and at any given moment, a team’s season can end on a simple flick of the wrist. Conference tournaments will take place first and shortly after is the highly coveted, NCAA tournament.

The modern Olympic games began in 1896 and ever since then, wrestling has been one of the sports that has continued its excellence and has constantly competed in the highly coveted Olympics. However, all of that will change by the 2020 Summer Olympics when wrestling will be eliminated from the Olympics.

A rivalry is usually thought of as two teams who strongly dislike each other and have a long standing history with one another. They also consist of additional pressure, excitement and support than the average game. 

Although it’s not quite “March Madness” and the NCAA basketball tournament isn’t here yet, it sure feels like it. From buzzer-beating thrillers to upsets, this week alone in college basketball will be hard to match even when the real madness begins.

It wasn’t your ordinary Super Bowl.

Despite getting off to a 17-2 overall record and a top 10 ranking, the Arizona Wildcats are sitting in third place within the Pac-12. Behind Oregon and UCLA, both teams that beat the Wildcats, Arizona (5-2) continues to fight for the top spot in the conference.

What began as 32 NFL teams in search of winning the prestigious, Lombardi Trophy has transformed into two teams and two brothers battling for the coveted “champion” title. On Sunday, Jim and John Harbaugh set up the first matchup where two brothers would coach against each other in the Super Bowl. 

Only four teams remain. After an action packed divisional round, the Baltimore Ravens, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, and New England Patriots are the only teams who still have a chance at winning the Super Bowl. From a double-overtime win to nearly blowing a 20-point lead, each of these teams were able to find a way to win with their backs against the wall. 

Dubbed the “Cardiac Cats”, the Arizona Wildcat basketball team has had their fans on the edge of their seats, holding their breath for nearly half the season. The Wildcats who are 14-0 and 2-0 within the Pac-12, are currently ranked third in the nation, and are only one of four teams who remain unbeaten. 

As the final whistle was blown in Washington D.C Sunday night, the NFL regular-season concluded and the post-season began. After 17 grueling weeks of football, 12 teams prevailed and gave themselves a chance to win the Super Bowl. 

After a successful off-season consisting of the third best recruiting class in the nation, including three of the Wildcats current starters, fourth year head coach, Sean Miller set some high expectations for his team. So far, the Wildcats have lived up to the hype with an untarnished 10-0 record, ranking them fourth in the nation.

It was definitely one of the more memorable weekends to be an Arizona sports fan. Between the Arizona Wildcat football team, basketball team, and even the Arizona Cardinals, Arizona sports prevailed in all of their match-ups.

As Week 14 of the NFL season concludes and with the crucial final three games of the regular season ahead of us, the playoff picture is becoming clearer by the day. 

Last Thursday, San Antonio Spurs head coach, Gregg Popovich, made the decision to send his top four players home instead of to Miami to play the defending champion, Miami Heat in a nationally televised game. By doing so, Popovich allowed his aging stars to rest and end their six-game road trip early.

The Arizona Wildcats concluded their regular season with a loss in the Territorial Cup, against long time rival, Arizona State University. With a final score of 41-34, the Wildcats wrapped up their season with a 7-5 record and a 4-5 record within the Pac-12.

The quote, “it ain’t over ‘til it’s over” really describes the college football scene this past week as top ranked Kansas State and second ranked Oregon lost their first games of the season. 

Many people think of Hanukkah as the “Jewish Christmas”.  However, Hanukkah has nothing to do with Christmas or the life of Jesus Christ. The only similarities between the holidays is that they fall around the same time every year and they feature festive lights. 

After an off-season of landing superstars such as Dwight Howard and Steve Nash, the Los Angeles Lakers quickly gained the national spotlight. Similar to the Miami Heat two years ago, when they landed LeBron James and Chris Bosh, the Lakers are making aggressive moves to bring back the Larry O’Brien trophy. Despite their impressive talent, the Lakers have already faced a multitude of problems within their first ten games.

The 2012 NFL rookie draft class has certainly made a name for themselves and have taken over the headlines since entering the league. The two main names that you probably are aware of are, Andrew Luck who was drafted first overall by the Indianapolis Colts and directly after him came Robert Griffin III or RGIII to the Washington Redskins.

After trailing three games to one in the NLCS (National League Championship Series) to the Saint Louis Cardinals, the San Francisco Giants turned it on and won seven straight games to advance to the World Series and eventually sweep the Detroit Tigers 4-0. Their World Series win made them the best team in baseball two out of the past three years as they brought home the Commissioner’s trophy in 2010 as well.

You can add yet another tally to Ironwood Ridge’s win column after their rout of Catalina Foothills 56-0. The 9-0 Nighthawks conclude the regular season this Friday on the road against the 9-1 Salpointe Lancers who are only one spot behind in the state rankings.

There is a lot of research that tells us that obesity is a growing health problem among children.  Don Tringali, a retired lawyer and business executive, is doing something to combat childhood obesity by giving thousands of kids in Tucson opportunities to get involved in sports.

In recent years, many professional sports leagues have altered the traditional rules of the game. Whether it be to protect the health and safety of the players, or to simply restore the integrity of the game, there has clearly been a lot of changes throughout professional sports.

As New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees broke Johnny Unitas’ record of 47 consecutive games with at least one touchdown on Sunday night, it solidified the direction in which the game of football is headed. 

After three grueling weeks of replacement official football, the NFL is back on track as they have come to terms with the regular officials.

As the NFL has successfully completed three weeks of its season, it’s clear that there is no consistency in penalties called or the way teams have been playing. Only three of the 32 teams in the league have been able to maintain a perfect record of 3-0.

After a weekend of jostling and dirty plays in the NFL, it raises the question what is fair and what is foul?

The high school football season was in full swing for its third week of action with dominating performances by the Mountain View Mountain Lions and the Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks. Meanwhile, the rest of the pack is still finding their stride as they look to improve for their fourth game of the season.

After Saturday night’s 59-38 win over the Oklahoma State Cowboys, the Arizona Wildcats have proven that they are ready to be considered an elite team. Through a nearly unstoppable offensive game followed by a stellar defensive performance, the Wildcats were able to earn some attention nationally. In fact, the Wildcats cracked the AP Poll, ranking 24th in the nation.  

In the new era of head coach, Rich Rodriguez, the Arizona Wildcats began their season with an overtime thriller beating the Toledo Rockets 24-17. The game really shouldn’t have been very close considering that no Pac-12 team has ever lost to Toledo. After UA kicker, John Bonano missed a 25-yard field goal as time expired in regulation, it was clear that the kicking curse at Arizona will continue.

The high school football season is under way and we already have our standout team, while other teams are still shaking off the cobwebs. For many teams it was evident that it was their first game of their season. From bad passes to penalties, many teams struggled throughout the game. However, the Ironwood Ridge Nighthawks hit the ground running in their 36-0 route of CDO.

“Enough is enough”. Those were Lance Armstrong’s last words before the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) claimed to ban him for life and strip him of his seven Tour de France medals.

As the plane landed in Lima, Peru, I thought I knew what to expect. I wanted to improve my Spanish and help a community in need. I thought I was doing a good deed by devoting a month of my summer to helping a town struck with poverty.

With only two weeks until the season opener, the lockout of NFL referees continues. Since June 3rd, the referees’ union has been negotiating with the NFL and they haven’t gotten much closer to a deal since then.

As the XXX Olympiad came to a close Sunday night, we all had the same thought, why are the next Olympics so far away? Every four years the world comes together and gets excited for what? Is it the patriotism and pride that comes along with it? Is it the sports themselves? Or is it something else?

The 2012 London Olympics are underway and in top shape. Starting with the chaotic opening ceremony to Michael Phelps’ record-breaking 22nd medal, the 30th Olympic games have excited from day one.

This NBA off-season has been lively and will shape the upcoming season.  Superstars have been moved and have joined up with other superstars. Some stars have stayed and others have yet to be moved. While some of the trades were predictable, many were surprising and the result is likely to be an interesting NBA season next year.

The Arizona Wildcat baseball team returned home from Omaha, Nebraska with a championship trophy, their first College World Series Championship since 1986. With their win, the Cats denied the South Carolina Gamecocks their third straight championship. 

Only two summers ago, LeBron James and the Miami Heat were celebrating. However, it wasn’t for the reason they wanted. After defeating the Oklahoma City Thunder in game five at American Airlines Arena in South Beach, the confetti poured down for all the right reasons. LeBron James and the Miami Heat had finally won the NBA championship. After the game James said, “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done as a basketball player”.