In case you were too busy booking your reservation at Lola Rosa for Valentine’s Day, here’s what you missed this past week in the world of sports …
SOCCER — A Europol investigation uncovered a match-fixing scandal orchestrated by organized crime syndicates last week, which fixed—or tried to fix—hundreds of soccer matches around the world over the past few years. According to the report, up to 680 games were compromised, including World Cup qualifiers, European Championship qualifiers, and two UEFA Champions League games. An ESPN report noted that the probe found almost €8 million (10.9 million CAD) in betting profits and €2 million Euros (2.7 million CAD) in bribes to both players and officials. Europol refused to release the names of any suspected to be involved. Its director, Rob Wainwright said that the scandal undoubtedly “threatens the very fabric of the game.” So essentially, the sport is corrupt. Forgive us for not being too surprised.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL — It’s madness in the college hoops world! For the fifth straight week, the nation’s top-ranked team lost. This time around, it was the Illinois Fighting Illini who took out the No. 1 Indiana Hoosiers after a last second layup by Tyler Griffey. In other crazy results, the No. 11 Louisville Cardinals fell to the No. 25 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a five(!) overtime thriller on Saturday, after the Irish made a late rally at the end of regulation. It was recorded as the longest game in the Big East conference’s regular season history. Also on Saturday, Wisconsin upset No. 3 Michigan in overtime, after tying the game with a buzzer-beating half-court heave by Badgers’ guard, Ben Brust. In other words, have fun filling out your NCAA tournament brackets next month.
BASKETBALL — The Rudy Gay era in Toronto is officially underway as the 6’8’’ highlight reel forward made a pretty good impression during his first week as a Raptor. While the team hasn’t improved much in the wins column, Gay sent Raptor fans into a frenzy after nailing the game-winning shot against the Indiana Pacers on Friday night. In other Raptor news, Terrence Ross was chosen to compete in the Sprint Slam Dunk competition at All-Star weekend in Houston. Check him out on YouTube if you haven’t already—the man can fly. Also, Andrea Bargnani is back, which is good because we missed our scapegoat. Let’s just hope he isn’t—or is, I guess—being moved to Chicago, as reports hinted late last week. South of the border, the Miami Heat, Oklahoma City Thunder, and San Antonio Spurs are all fighting for the top spot in the league heading into the All-Star break this weekend. Here’s a suggestion: fill out an NBA playoff bracket in order to win back all the money you lost on the NCAA; it’s a whole lot easier.
HOCKEY — We’re almost at the quarter mark of the NHL season. So soon, right? Somehow, the New Jersey Devils sit atop the Eastern Conference. We shouldn’t be surprised considering they’re the defending conference champions; but after losing Zach Parise, many thought the team would struggle to score on a consistent basis. That doesn’t seem to matter when you have the ageless wonder Martin Brodeur behind you. In the West, the Chicago Blackhawks look like the real deal and should compete for the Stanley Cup after a couple of disappointing years. They lead the league with 22 points and still have yet to lose in regulation. The Canucks are silencing any critics about their two-headed goaltender situation, as both Roberto Luongo and Cory Schneider are putting up impressive numbers. Finally, the Toronto Maple Leafs won their third straight after crushing the Montreal Canadiens 6-0 on Saturday night. The Tribune sports team is divided on whether such a result is a good or bad thing.
