MAKE PLAYS

In the midst of a State Patty's Day weekend, there was mourning all over campus. Many students had a hard time believing the day they thought would never come actually came -- the day Brian Dawkins would no longer be a Philadelphia Eagle.

After 13 seasons with "Bdawk," the city of Philadelphia and half of State College weeps. As arguably the face of the Eagles, it's hard to let go. Even though the Eagles are at the top of my list of hated teams, I feel for you Eagles fans. It seemed that every time I went on facebook this weekend, there was another one of my friends with a status in memory of the seven-time Pro Bowler.

The question is if he made the right decision making the leap to the Denver Broncos. The Eagles are in relatively better conference and have completed some decent seasons recently. Maybe the Broncos giving Bdawk a better chance of getting into the postseason, but that is a thin argument.

Whatever the reason, it's something you Eagles fans have the right to mourn over. Dawkins has been in the city of Brotherly Love for 13 years, and he's the type of person you just can't see in another team's jersey. And from what I've read, it was an emotional time for Dawkins as well. I know, it's hard to say goodbye.

But as for moving on, fans are grieving in their own way. Our own Editor in Chief wore his jersey as a sign of respect Sunday. And one of my friends created this group on facebook to honor No. 20.

As for my Giants and the rest of the NFC East, I say thanks. And for you Eagle fans, my apologies.

-Julie

Today is Christmas Eve here at Make Plays. Tomorrow, is the NHL trading deadline. For the past three hours, I've hit refresh on several NHL-related Web sites.

The only worthwhile thing (that isn't a rumor) is that the Penguins placed Miro Satan on waivers. As a Pens fan, thank God. Satan plays such a soft game. I can't remember if he has ever made a bodycheck in his life.

Anyway, we'll probably have a live-blog tomorrow, perhaps starting at 8 a.m.

Back to the refresh button.

- Shorts

A couple weeks ago, I blogged about Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa and wondered if he could become the long-awaited challenger to Tiger Woods.

Ishikawa didn't make the cut at the Northern Trust Open, but hopefully the 17-year old got the nervousness of playing on the big stage out of his system in L.A. and will be able to play his best at next month's Masters.

As the PGA Tour heads east this week to the Honda Classic, we will get the chance to see another teenage wunderkind, Rory McIlory.

McIlroy, a 19-year old from Northern Ireland, is already much more accomplished than Ishikawa. He advanced to the quarterfinals of the Match Play Championships last week, and won the Dubai Desert Classic last month.

Last month, I spoke with skepticism about Ishikawa because he hasn't proven he has the ability to win on the big stage, but McIlroy already has. To make the quarterfinals of the Match Play, and win a tournament like Dubai (which attracts one of the top fields of any Euro Tour event), shows that McIlroy is ready for primetime.

His solid play at the British Open in '07 further shows that McIlroy might have what it takes.

My only hope is that McIlroy plays stateside as much as possible. The European Tour is good, but McIlroy needs to start playing against Tiger on a week-by-week basis, which will be a little easier now that Tiger is back from injury.

So far, McIlroy's only major action came at the '07 Open, but that will all change this year, starting with next month's Masters, which to borrow a line from Brent Musberger, should be a "dandy."

The next few weeks kick off preparation for the tradition unlike any other; I know Tiger will be ready for Augusta, and I'm hoping McIlroy will be too.

-Steve

So it's about a quarter to one in the morning of Thursday, March 5. As I procrastinate and wait to watch tonight's episode of LOST with my roommate, I was stunned by ESPN's front page that I could not just keep this to myself.

The Dallas Cowboys have cut Terrell Owens.

Say what?!?! Well, it is coming from a source, but if ESPN plays it up like that, I'm going to guess it's pretty legit.

T.O. has been known to ruffle some feathers, to say the least. But I have to say I'm surprised. Owner Jerry Jones said he's just reevaluating the roster just like any other year. The rumor mill has been going for quite some time about Owens about his relationship with Tony Romo and Jason Witten. Who would've guessed from this classic case of raw emotion?

So anyway, if you're true Make Plays fans(I know you all are), I know you've noticed we have a schedule of who posts on what day. BUT there is always room for spontaneity in the Make Plays blog. And frankly, I just couldn't resist.

So T.O., thanks for being you and so hated. And please, oh please, do NOT come to the Giants.

- Julie

For us hockey fans, the recent slew of outdoor games have been a lot of fun to watch. Hockey is meant for the cold weather and seeing it played outside brings tears of joy.

So when recent news came out that Michigan could possibly host Michigan State for an outdoor game in 2010, I was excited.

The Big House, the second largest stadium in America, would host an outdoor game. It's basically a dream. The two teams faced off in an outdoor game hosted by MSU in 2001 and drew a record 74,544 attendance. Imagine the kind of crowd the Big House could bring in.

There is no doubt this will be epic, and it could pave the way for more games of its kind. The NHL is capitalizing on the trend, and it's paying off.

While the deal still needs to be approved by the Central Collegiate Hockey Association, another outdoor hockey game, especially at such a big venue, would be beneficial to fans and the sport as a whole.

If you want a preview, check out this video covering the 2001 game:

- Miniaci

And the British have done it again.

Apparently the BBC is in hot water for one of its commentators using the word "rape" during a soccer match. The guilty party, Alan Pardew, and the BBC have been apologizing relentlessly following the incident Sunday.

Here's the scenario: A Chelsea player makes a hard tackle on a Manchester City player, leading to Pardew's wise choice of words...""He's a strong boy. He knocks him off - he absolutely rapes him."

Eerr...maybe something nicer would have been the way to go there, Alan. The truth is that I've heard this term before in conversation, but I don't want to see the backlash say Stuart Scott would get for saying something like that. Boo-yah is much better, right?

However there is a silver lining for the folks on the other side of the pond. I highly doubt most of the country was watching when something worse like this happens.

- Julie

I hate Alex Rodriguez, and I hate the over-the-top coverage of 'Roid Boy, but when I saw this on Deadspin, I felt that all three of our readers needed to see how odd these pictures are.

From Deadspin.

Details magazine has published another standard athlete profile that would probably otherwise go unnoticed, except for the awkward photo shoot taken at a most inopportune time for Alex Rodriguez.

Here are the photos in question (photos from Deadspin)

And this guy denied dating Madonna, surrrrreeee.

-- Shorts

If you're reading Make Plays, chances are you're pretty excited about the upcoming NCAA tournament, and at the Collegian we are too.

Over at our home page we have a bracket challenge set up.

It's free, but that doesn't mean there aren't prizes. A perfect bracket will get you 100 million dollars, while finishing in the top three in the Penn State bracket will get you either one large Domino's pizza per week for the next year, a 100$ gift certificate from Champs or an Aircraft Carrier Special from Wings Over Happy Valley.

The only word to describe this: Boss.

--Steve

It has come to our attention that President Barack Obama has taken part in a national pastime: filling out an NCAA tournament bracket.

The President made his picks for sports mogul/monopoly ESPN and his picks will be posted Wednesday on ESPN's website. He picked Louisville, UNC, Memphis and Pittsburgh for his Final Four. ESPN's NCAA analyst Andy Katz was with Obama when he made his picks and said they were "educated."

We would think so. Obama is a known sports fan. It will be interesting to see what his picks are and if anybody in the US will try to emulate them.

Here is a photo on ESPN's site of Obama making his picks on the official Presidential board.

- Miniaci

If you weren't in State College today, I hope that your weather was as nice as it was here in Happy Valley today.

I saw a thermometer at a bank that read 71 degrees earlier today, and this thing called the sun came out too. It was the first great day of Spring.

Now I am fully aware that it could snow next week, but I am excited not only because of the weather, but because tomorrow kicks off not only one of the best weekends in sports, but the best time of year to be a sports fan, bar none.

I know that some people consider the early fall, when a bunch of sports are all in season, to be the best time of year, but the next six weeks are hands down the premier time to follow sports.

Of course we will have the NCAA tournament to keep us occupied for the rest of the month and I don't think I need to sing that event's praises here.

Almost as soon as basketball wraps up, Opening Day and the baseball season will be upon us.

And if that weren't enough, the Masters gets going on April 9.

For football fans, there is Spring practice and the Blue and White game, in addition to the NFL draft.

The NBA and NHL will also both start their marathon playoff runs as well.

The most wonderful time of the year wraps up with fancy hats and Mint Juleps at the Kentucky Derby.

If anyone can think of a better time of year to follow sports, I would like to hear it. We've got a fun couple of weeks ahead of us.

-Steve

Tuesday night, Devils goalie Martin Brodeur got his 552nd career win, surpassing Patrick Roy for the most all-time wins by a goalie. It was a tremendous achievement, and Brodeur is very deserving.

He has played 16 seasons, all with the New Jersey Devils. He possesses a career 2.20 goals against average and a .914 career save percentage. In addition, he has 100 career shutouts, three shy of tying the all-time record. The sick thing is, he will soon turn 37 and is still at the top of his game. He is 14-3-2 with a 2.06 GAA and a .923 save percentage on the season. His GAA would be best in the NHL this season if he didn't miss that time hurt.

Brodeur has put his mark on the NHL and is arguably the best goalie of all time. Watching him play is a treat. He makes saves no other goalie can make. When he returned after missing months with an injury, he recorded two shutouts in his first three starts back. This would have cemented his place in hockey glory if he wasn't already there.

When Brodeur retires, the Hall of Fame will gladly open its doors for him. He is a tremendous goaltender and it is fitting that he now holds a prestigious record. The career shutouts record is looming, and Brodeur will break many more records before he calls it a career.

- Miniaci

Day 2 of the NCAA Tournament and we're still waiting for some big upsets.

Yes, the Hilltoppers of Western Kentucky won as a 12-seed last night, but other than that, nothing major has been transpiring. We are used to some 13 seeds taking out 4s and even the occasional 14-3 upset.

More upsets are coming, hopefully, or my bracket will be in the toilet like most years. Arizona is gonna take down Utah in another 12-5 matchup, and watch out for Portland State against Wake Forest.

Despite all the chalk picks doing well so far, it's only a matter of time before the Cinderellas of the world make their presence known.

Some consider this the best weekend of the year, and I don't want to upset them by disagreeing, so let's go with it. But unless we see some big upsets, this will be one of the least exciting tournaments in recent memory.

Zitzman

Does it annoy anyone else that anytime there are NCAA tournament games played in Philadelphia, Villanova gets assigned there?

Well it bugs the crap out of me, because it's unfair that the Wildcats get to play "neutral" games at Wachovia Center. After all , when my Syracuse traveled to play a road game at Villanova back in February, they played the 'Cats at Wachovia. The NCAA allows teams to be assigned to arenas as long as they haven't played more than three home games there during the season, and Villanova thinks it's mighty sneaky by playing all but three of its home games at its crummy, glorified high school gym, The Pavilion (arrogantly named as if it's the only pavilion in the world).

Well I think it's bunk that teams can play at their home arena as Villanova does, and I wish they would change the rule.

As you can probably tell by now, I don't much care for Villanova. Why? Because they pummeled Syracuse twice this year? Partially, but here are my reasons why I'm rooting for the Bruins:

1. Because I picked UCLA in my bracket. (Seriously questioning this pick after watching the Wildcats come out of the gate pretty strong).

2. Because I want to see more of these ladies.

3. Because it is unjust that Villanova gets assigned to a site where they play home games every season.

Enjoy the games.

-Steve

I can deal with a lot of the crap I keep hearing from athletes. Steroids this, T.O. that. It's best to just roll your eyes and look past it.

But this guy is just plain stupid.

Maryland's Greivis Vasquez is known for his loud, unfiltered mouth. He's had his share of antics such as cursing at his own fans apparently.

But picture this scenerio. Vasquez's Terps just squeked into the NCAA tournament with a decent run in the ACC tournament. Kudos. Maryland, a 10 seed, actually topped No. 7-seeded California to advance to the second round. Double kudos. Next up? The Memphis Tigers. Yeah, last year's runner-up and one of the teams to beat in this year's Big Dance.

And the eloquent Venezuelan couldn't help but make comments like these just 24 hours before the game.

"If [Memphis] played in the ACC Conference, they'd have a losing record in the league," Vasquez said. "They'd probably win all of their games outside the league and have a losing record in the league. The ACC is too tough."

"Even the President's bracket has them in there," Vasquez said. "Every team Memphis has played was intimidated because they went to the Final Four, but we're not intimidated by anybody.

"If they underestimate us, they're going to be in trouble."

Come on now. Are you serious? He honestly couldn't have been that arrogant going into a game like that. Memphis is gigantic compared to Maryland, and he had to have known his team was going to have to play perfect to beat the Tigers. It's not even worth making those remarks knowing there's a pretty good chance you're going to eat your words.

And he did. Big time. The favorites advanced to the Sweet 16 with a thrashing of Maryland, 89-70. Ouch. Sucks for that guy.

Memphis, of course, had some fun with it and purposely messed up his name and things like that. But in the end, it was deserved. It falls under the ole "talk the talk, walk the walk" adage. You just can't say those things with a 19-point whooping following.

Lesson learned.

- Julie

One of the complaints being leveled at the NCAA tournament this year is the abundance of basketball bluebloods presiding over this year's Sweet 16.

Indeed, this year's tournament has favored the classic programs, as the only double-digit seed still alive is 12-seed Arizona, a program that has won a national title, and features McDonald's All-American Chase Budinger, and that could hardly be labeled a Cinderella.

Why the lack of Cinderellas? Well some are crying foul that 'Zona was included over mid-major darling St. Mary's, given their late-season slump, but other than that selection, exactly what beef do people have with the selection committee? Penn State certainly had a case to be included, but there was an equally compelling case against the Lions as well.The true reason behind the lack of Cinderellas: the mid-majors (Cleveland St. and Western Kentucky notwithstanding) didn't come to play.

The venerable John Feinstein offered many opinions on the lack of representation from the little guy in this year's tourney, one of which was to force the last two at-large teams to play in the play-in game as opposed to the lowest rated teams overall.That suggestion, in my opinion, would be counterproductive to Feinstein's desire to see small conference teams knock off the big boys.

If say, Arizona and Wisconsin had met in the play-in game as opposed to Morehead State and Alabama State, what would have been accomplished? Instead of getting a nationally televised game with the entire nation watching, both schools would have been sent immediately to be pummeled by one of the blue bloods in the first round. With the play-in game, those teams not only get the chance to win an NCAA tournament game, but they get twice as much exposure as before, exposure that Arizona and Wisconsin don't need quite as much.

ESPN's Pat Forde laments the growing divide between mid-majors and major conference teams, but Forde doesn't actually offer up any evidence for this theory, other than the fact that this year's Sweet 16 doesn't include any Cinderellas.

Back in 2006, when George Mason's Final Four run led a parade of mid-majors that made deep tournament runs, all the talk was about parity. Now, just three years later, everyone is whining about the opposite thing.

If Western Kentucky had escaped against Gonzaga on Saturday, would we have parity or would we still be consolidating power at the top?

If the lack of small schools still left dims the tournament's star for you, then it's your loss. Duke-Villanova, UNC-Gonzaga, Syracuse-Oklahoma are just some of the epic matchups awaiting us. Big-time players, big-time coaches and big-time teams.

Label me excited.

-Steve

If you're like me, you love to have as much information provided as possible while watching a broadcast of a sporting event.

I would love to know what the catcher and pitcher discuss during a visit to the mound, or what the quarterback says in the huddle to rally his team before an important play.

Well, the idea of providing this kind of inside information to viewers is being discussed on the PGA Tour, as some caddies will be miked up during the Shell Houston Open. This is just an experiment, mind you, the comments won't air.

A main concern from the caddies' standpoint is not that their conversations regarding key shots will be aired, but rather that everything they utter throughout the round will be recorded.

This idea definitely will need to be tweaked and perfected, but I personally love it. As a golfer myself, I watch golf in part to pick up new things I can add to my own game. Hearing the discussion between players and caddies would allow me to study how players handle certain situations even more acutely, and would provide another way for me to absorb something new about the game.

From a marketing standpoint, the PGA is nothing without dominant personalities, and if this is successful, it would create a closer connection between fans and players, and would make the PGA more appealing.

On another note, this week is the last chance players have to qualify for next month's Masters. The top 50 in the world rankings at the end of the week automatically earn invitations. Some big names sweating it this week will be world No. 47 Davis Love III and No. 52 Stuart Appleby.

Should be an interesting week as players scramble to earn the coveted Masters invitations. Playing at Augusta is one of the greatest honors in golf, and even veterans like Love and Appleby don't want to be excluded from it.

-Steve

Felix Hernandez may be Seattle's King. Geovany Soto may have the hearts of Chicago. And Matt Wieters may be knocking on the door of stardom. However, there is another who could be the next Great One.

Stephen Strasburg, a pitcher at San Diego State, is making headlines as the next great flamethrower and is being considered the top player available in the upcoming June MLB Draft.

He's been creating buzz with his tremendous stats, fastball, makeup, repatiore, and well, just about everything about him is causing a rave.

In 5 starts this season, he is 4-0 with a 1.57 ERA. That not good enough for ya? In 34.1 innings pitched this year, he has only 7 walks and 74 (yes, 74) strikeouts. Does it get better? Yep. His fastball regularly touches 100 mph. And a little more background information -- he struck out 23 batters in a game last season. For his career, he has 254 strikeouts and 38 walks in 168 2/3 innings. He was on the USA Olympic team in Beijing last year, tallying 62 strikeouts in 41 innings.

The stats are all insane, but scouts rave about his stuff. His fastball has been clocked at 102 mph multiple times this season. His breaking pitch is a combination between a curveball and a slider and is clocked in the upper-80s. One scout said he's as surefire front-of-the-rotation starter and another said the scary thing is he still has room to develop.

His coach at San Diego State is someone who's seen good pitching, Hall-of-Famer Tony Gwynn. He's impressed with his pitcher's stuff and has been taking care of his prized pitcher, limiting his pitch count.

Scouts have said he could start for any MLB team right now, and one scout even said right now Strasburg is better than a healthy A.J. Burnett. One thing that might scare teams away his who he is represented by -- avenging agent Scott Boras.

Boras has said he wants to get Strasburg a big contract out of the draft. However, some team will pay up, even if it isn't the Nationals, who have the first overall pick.

Strasburg is something special, and he will catch everyone's attention shortly.

Here is a video with every one of his 23 strikeouts from that game:

- Miniaci

Every year, it starts the same way. Selection Sunday rolls around, and you get your first look at the clean, empty bracket. You close your eyes and just do your best impression of the Oracle from The Matrix and predict which teams will prove to be victorious. We're all hopeful and are more than confident showing our bracket to everyone we know repeatedly telling yourself that this is your year.

And then, the games actually start. One by one, you see your Cinderella picks get blown out. You see your eventual champion struggle to get to the Sweet 16. All of a sudden, your investment in college basketball is the most important thing to you. You actually care about Pittsburgh basketball.

But that's the fun of it all, isn't it? You make your ballsy picks and you're a genius if you're right. I, on the other hand, am not a bracket wiz. For the second year in the past four years, I picked the Pitt Panthers to win it all. Why you ask? I have no idea. I'm not a Pitt fan, but gosh darn it the Panthers are going to win a championship one of these years! I had a decent bracket going into the Sweet 16, but as always, I failed. Thanks Kansas, Memphis and Pitt. Ironic since my only correct pick in the Final Four came from my beloved Tar Heels, who I refused to pick as a champion because of bias and the fact that I was bold enough to pick Pitt in December.

With all this heartache, however, I know I'm not alone. There are you guys out there with Louisville, Memphis and maybe even Syracuse in a spot they didn't even come close to filling. But hey, it's called March Madness for a reason. You can't predict the future, no matter how sure you are before the first tip. And for those of you that have a near-perfect bracket, brag and brag again. You deserve it. But be nice about it, it hurts for those of us whose careers as fortune tellers are kaput.

- Julie

The struggling economy just got a little bit easier to stomach for PGA Tour officials.

Why? Tiger Woods is back in full force.

If you missed Tiger's final round charge at the Arnold Palmer Invitational, then that's too bad for you -- it was Tiger at his finest -- but judging by the television ratings not many golf fans weren't tuned in. The tournament earned the highest television ratings since last summer's U.S. Open, not coincidentally the last tournament Tiger won.

There's no denying that it's a whole different viewing experience when Tiger is in contention on Sunday, and yesterday was no exception, as Woods charged back from five strokes behind to beat Sean O'Hair.

What's so great about Tiger is that he turns it on when it counts, even if he hasn't been playing his best. Watching on Saturday, I made the conclusion that Tiger was not playing his best golf. He wasn't holing putts, or sticking enough approach shots close to make birdies. He struggled mightily on the finishing holes Saturday, and needed a lengthy putt to save bogey on 18 and preserve his spot in the final pairing Sunday.

He carried that momentum over to Sunday, conquering the 18th hole with a birdie to break a tie with O'Hair. It was evident how much Tiger relished being in contention yesterday, and it is no coincidence that the best stretch he has played since his return came with a title on the line.

That said, I think we all know that Tiger is ready for Augusta in two weeks.

Speaking of Augusta, last week marked the last chance for players to get into the World top 50 to earn invitations to the Masters, and a familiar face failed to do so. Unless Davis Love III wins this week's Shell Houston Open, he won't be playing at Augusta.

Last week, I mentioned that Stuart Appleby was also in danger of missing the Masters. While the Aussie is currently ranked 54th in the world, he will be playing at Augusta by virtue of his 14th place finish at last year's Masters. Sorry about the mistake.

Another player who earned his spot at the Masters by virtue of playing well in a major last year is world No. 234 and fabled Augusta goat Greg Norman, who finished tied for third in last year's British Open. In the 1996 Masters, Norman shot a final round 78 to squander a six stroke lead. It was a lot of fun watching Norman in contention at last year's Open, and a lot of attention will be focused on him at Augusta.

Here's a list of some players who have earned invitations to this year's Masters.

-Steve