In case you were too busy occupying a building, here’s what you missed this past week in the world of sports …
BASKETBALL — Jeremy Lin dominated the headlines this past week in the NBA and has become the most compelling story in sports since the ascendancy of Tim Tebow. Lin continues to play at an extremely high level, as he has led the New York Knicks to five straight victories. He even outdueled the NBA’s top scorer Kobe Bryant on Friday night in front of a raucous Madison Sqaure Garden crowd (the fans went crazy after every bucket). Lin’s accomplishments are even more impressive considering he has accumulated the most points by a player in his first four career starts since the NBA-ABA merger—not too shabby for a Harvard graduate. Fortunately for the media, Lin’s last name is quite flexible in that it makes for great puns. Some of the highlights: Linsanity, Lintensity, Linderella, and “All I do is Lin.” If he got down on his knee and ‘Tebowed’ after a win, we’re pretty sure the world would stop rotating.
TENNIS — Vancouver played host to the first round of the Davis Cup, the premier international team event in men’s tennis, with a best-of-five series between Canada and France. Milos Raonic, Canada’s lone tennis star, fared well in his first match by defeating 35th-ranked Julien Benneteau. However, Raonic and partner Daniel Nestor were unsuccessful in their first doubles match, losing in straight sets. France boasts an even bigger star in the ATP with Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is currently ranked 6th in the world. Tsonga defeated Canadian Vasek Pospisil handily in the series opener, and claimed the series for his fellow countrymen by taking down Frank Dancevic. France moves on to quarterfinals to play the United States, taking place Apr. 6-8.
FOOTBALL — The Super Bowl has passed, and yet, the big game continues to be a source of news. New England Patriots’ star tight-end Rob Gronkowski was the subject of controversy last Monday, after he was filmed partying after the Pats’ Super Bowl loss to the New York Giants. Rodney Harrison, former New England Patriots’ safety and current NBC broadcaster, was disgusted with Gronk’s actions and called him out, saying that Gronk “disrespected himself.” Gronkowski’s conduct was also put under the microscope earlier in the season when he posed in a picture with adult film actress BiBi Jones. He was forced to apologize on behalf of the Patriots, and clarify that his actions were not a reflection of team conduct. The chances that betting lines appear on the likelihood of Gronkowski making a sex tape by 2014 are increasing by the day.
HOCKEY – Hockey news was once again dominated this week by the amazing news that Sidney Crosby … skated! That’s right, the Pittsburgh superstar took to the ice, alone of course, which led twitter fans to recommence operation #crosbywatch. In other, also shocking news, the hometown Habs have won four in a row, making fans believe that the Habs are getting the act of God they needed (see: Catholic Church’s plea for prayer). Finally, the NHL announced that the Leafs will be playing in the Winter Classic in “The Big House,” making for one extremely exciting outdoor event next season.
