What I learned this weekend

A few things stand out from this weekend.

1. The officiating in the Big Ten is bad.
Case number 1.  The officials called a phantom foul on Meyers Leonard at the end of the Illinois-Minnesota game essentially costing Illinois a win.  Minnesota was down 3 with inside 10 seconds to play. Austin Hollins decided to drive down the lane and flip it off the glass getting the layup and the foul call on Leonard.  Leonard was moving backwards with both hands up in the air and the foul was called by an official along the sideline (not his call).  The play occurred near the basket with the official under the basket watching idly by.  Not a good call.
Case number 2.  Michigan attempted 4 free throws in their game against Ohio State.  The first of which did not come until 2:34 left in the game.  REALLY!!  4 free throws.  I am not even a Michigan fan and I think that is atrocious.  I know that Michigan is primarily a jump shooting team but they do have guys who attack the rim with Tim Hardaway and Trey Burke.  Plus Jordan Morgan is a physical force inside.  On the flip side, OSU attempted 18 free throws.  Per usual, the Big Ten officials love some home cooking.

2. Watching Men's Tennis is entertaining
The battle that Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal was one of epic proportions.  The quality wasn't the highest but after almost 6 hours, who can be at the top of their game.  I am just glad they let them sit down during the insanely long trophy presentations.

3.  A 3 shot lead heading to 18 isn't enough
Kyle Stanley stepped up to the Par 5, 18th tee with a commanding 3 shot lead.  He hit a decent drive and decided to layup short of the water (the smart move right Tin Cup?).  What happened next is unimagineable.  His 3rd shot was a really good one that just happened to spin back too much.  It slowly and I do mean very slowly trickled back into the water creating a gasp from the crowd and some tension in Stanley.  He calmly took a drop and hit a pretty good shot that was towards the back of the green.  Now all he needed was a 2 putt and he would get his first career win.  He left himself a 4 footer for the win and he pulled it left.  Sudden death ensued where he fell short and Brandt Snedeker won the tournament.  It was a shame but a valuable lesson was learned...Take nothing for granted.

4.  Matthew Stafford should have been on the NFC Pro Bowl team instead of Cam Newton (who had 3 interceptions in the game)

5.  Goalies in the NHL All-Start game get hung out to dry by the lack of defense in the game.

6.  The Detroit Pistons are not a good team (that is being nice).

7. Hulk Hogan had the best theme song of any wrestler...EVER!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=guG9cVs3ms4