Madson Injury Leaves Gaping Hole in Reds' Bullpen

When the Cincinnati Reds signed closer Ryan Madson to a one-year deal for $8.5 million, many people applauded the savvy bargain move. Last season, Madson saved 32 games in 34 chances for the Philadelphia Phillies. The Reds were banking on that consistency. Unfortunately, Madson tore a ligament in his right elbow and has been declared out for the season. The Reds have announced they will look at options internally to fill the now vacated closer role.

Sean Marshall has become the front-runner for the position. Marshall was acquired from the Chicago Cubs last December. While he has a lot of veteran bullpen experience, he has limited closing experience. Marshall might be the safest bet for the Reds. The intriguing option is young gun Aroldis Chapman. The 24 year-old from Cuba has been groomed for the starting rotation so far this Spring Training. However, he has the explosive velocity and control to become a dominating closer. GM Walt Jocketty and the front office have been pushing for Chapman to be in the rotation since his signing, but it is commonly known that manager Dusty Baker thinks Chapman would be best suited for bullpen work. The only other option the Reds seem to have internally is Nick Masset. Massett had a good season last year, but his inconsistency makes him an unlikely choice to become the team's closer.

Well the Reds have a big decision on their hands. The Reds gave Chapman a big contract for a reason. Now, they have to decide whether he should become a starter or a closer. Being a Yankees fan, I know how difficult a decision this can be. Joba Chamberlain and Phil Hughes have gone through the same debate. The Reds need to consider more than Chapman though. They have to consider all of their rotation options. They must decide what is best for the team as a whole. It will be interesting to see what the Reds decide to do. Hopefully, Ryan Madson will make a full recovery from Tommy John surgery.

Traditional Power North Carolina Wins in Nontraditional Manner

No one could have thought that University of North Carolina's men's basketball team would have so many injuries in one season. The latest of which was point guard Kendall Marshall's broken wrist. This was especially significant because Marshall is the man that gets the offense to run the way it should. Without him, the Tar Heels lacked some of their identity and direction. Both were evident in the game.

In their Sweet Sixteen game, UNC drew the #13 seed Ohio. The game looked like a pushover on paper, but the Bobcats came into the matchup confident. Without Marshall and with preseason All-American Harrison Barnes struggling, the Tar Heels struggled to put away the upstart Bobcats. If UNC was going to win, someone was going to need to step up. One of those unlikely players who did was sophomore Reggie Bullock. With around 12 minutes to go in regulation, Bullock overheard an Ohio assistant coach state that Carolina couldn't win without Marshall. This infuriated Bullock, who went on to score 12 of his 17 points after the incident. Other Tar Heel players stepped up as well to fill the void Marshall left. Rarely used freshman point guard Stilman White earned his first start of the season and finished with 0 turnovers in the game. Carolina big man Tyler Zeller came up huge as well. He finished with 20 points and 22 rebounds. He is the first player to have a 20-20 performance in a tournament game since Tim Duncan in 1997.

The game ended up going to overtime, but North Carolina did enough to survive. They now play a more traditional powerhouse team, Kansas, in the Elite Eight on Sunday. The Tar Heels will certainly have to play better to beat the Jayhawks. They certainly can, especially since Barnes didn't play well. They may also get Marshall back from injury. Either way, head coach Roy Williams will have his boys ready. UNC showed they can win without Marshall and win even when they play poorly. The Tar Heels are definitely still a team to be reckoned with here in March.

A Celebration of Kendrys Morales' Long Recovery to the Majors

A few seasons ago, Kendrys Morales looked like the future face of the Los Angeles Angels. In 2009, he batted .306 with 34 home runs and 108 RBIs. He finished 5th in the MVP voting. Morales was on pace for those numbers again in 2010 until the night of May 29th. Morales went from being the hero, after hitting a game-winning walk-off home run, to being the victim. When he reached home plate surrounded by his teammates, he did what thousands of baseball players before had done, he stomped on home plate.

The tragedy was that when Morales stomped something went wrong, and he fractured his left ankle. The break was pretty bad. The road to recovery was long and painful. Including spring training, the Angels played 322 games during Morales' absence. Today, Morales finally returned to the lineup for his first game against major league opposition. He went 2-3 with two singles.

Morales stated, "I've been two years out now and I'm feeling like I can be ready by Opening Day. I'm going to be really happy if I can." Fans across baseball would be as well. Morales was a great young talent. The injury was a freak one and an unfortunate one at that. Morales is a testimony to perseverance and never giving up. The road to recovery was long, but he endured the pain and trial that came with it. For that, I tip my hat to you, Kendrys Morales.

Tim Tebow and the Jets are an Interesting Match

Following a slight disagreement about money, the New York Jets have acquired Tim Tebow and a seventh round pick from the Denver Broncos for a fourth and sixth round pick. Tebow joins a Jets team that has gone through some offseason turmoil. After missing the playoffs, the organization made some changes, including bringing in a new offensive coordinator, Tony Sparano. Sparano's use of the wildcat with the Miami Dolphins is what immediately peaked the interest of the Jets. They hope Tebow can add an additional dimension to their offense.

Of course, the complication here is that the Jets brought in Tebow to be a backup. They just signed starting quarterback Mark Sanchez to a contract extension. But if Sanchez struggles, as he has in the past, will the antsy Jets fan base call for a quarterback change? Almost certainly. This team's locker room had enough discord and negativity last year. This could cause even more problems. Tebow's sterling character and leadership is sure to be a positive in the Jets' locker room, but the team has to be leery of the potential drama of a quarterback controversy.

The Jets have received harsh criticism from the press, former players, and fans. I will withhold judgment because if there is one thing we know about Tebow, it is that he has the ability to prove people wrong. People called it a miracle when he turned around the Broncos last season. If he is able to do that with the Jets, it would be a monumental miracle. The Jets are the epitome of inconsistency and continually reflect the immaturity of their head coach Rex Ryan. The team needs a culture change. Now, it is Tebow Time, Tim's chance to transform this team through his faith and how he lives it out.

Crosby's Penguins are the Best Team in Hockey

In their last 30 games, the Pittsburgh Penguins are 24-4-2. That is just plain ridiculous. The Penguins have steamrolled through the latter part of January, all of February, and all of March so far. As if things couldn't get any better, superstar Sidney Crosby returned to the ice for his first home game in more than three months tonight. How did the Penguins celebrate? They gave goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury the night off, but no need to worry. The offense netted eight goals. James Neal recorded his second NHL hat trick, Evgeni Malkin had five points (2 goals and 3 assists), and Crosby added four assists.

The Penguins are playing lights out hockey right now. Fleury leads the NHL wins and is among the leaders across the statline. Malkin extended his NHL points lead to 93. The Penguins are now only a point behind the New York Rangers for the top spot in the Eastern Conference. It is amazing to consider that they have done this despite being decimated by injuries, particularly those to Crosby.

If Crosby can remain healthy and in top form, there is no reason in my mind why the Penguins shouldn't be considered the best team in hockey. They are on fire as a team and that is unlikely to change before the playoffs, which are only three weeks away. Malkin should win MVP of the league. Fleury should also be among the favorites for the Vezina Trophy (best goaltender). The bottomline is that those trophies don't matter. All the Penguins are focused on is winning games, with the ultimate goal being to win the trophy that does matter, Lord Stanley's Cup.

UConn Women Dominate Like No Other

The University of Connecticut's women's basketball team is supposedly having a down year. After all they lost four games this season, including three in conference play. That is just way too many by Husky standards. Most people think that UConn is still among the most talented teams in the country, but few think they will win the national championship.

Personally, UConn likes this. They are so used to having the target on their back. It is nice to be able to play as just another contender for once. The Huskies, the #1 seed in the Kingston Region, got by Prairie View with ease in their first game. The win earned UConn a matchup against Kansas State with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line. The Huskies came out and dominated from the tip-off. They held the Wildcats to a mere 10 first half points. Little changed in the second half as UConn won the game handily, 72-26.

The win earned the UConn women their 19th straight Sweet Sixteen berth. This year's version of the Huskies might not have the star players on offense, but they definitely take to heart Geno Auriemma's shutdown defense. Kansas State's 26 points is a NCAA tournament record low for any team. The Wildcats shot 18% from the field and only made 10 field goals. Don't sleep on UConn. The Huskies' relentless defense isn't going to let up. After all, this team's only goal is to hang up another banner for this storied program.

Breaking Down the Sweet Sixteen From a Geographical Standpoint

No Teams From the Western Half of the U.S.

Everyone knows the Pac-12 was down this year in basketball, but apparently the whole western half of the country was as well. WAC favorite Nevada bowed out in their conference tournament. The conference that looked the most dominant was the Mountain West. They received four bids (three of which were #6 or higher), but the conference finished with a combined record of only 1-4 in the tournament. No teams from this vast geographic region made it to the Sweet Sixteen.

Midwest Central

Since the West produced nothing, someone had to step up, and the Midwest happily filled the void. The two best conferences by far this season, the Big 12 and Big Ten, are both centered in the heart of Midwestern farm land. But it is more than just these conferences. The Midwest took commanding control of the tournament. 12 of the remaining Sweet Sixteen teams are from the geographic region. Making the odds of a champion coming from the Midwest increasingly likely.

Ohio Domination

The Midwest conquered as a region, but one of its state dominated like no other. That state was Ohio. The state got only four teams into the tournament, but all of them are Sweet Sixteen teams. That means that one-quarter of the teams left in the NCAA tournament are from Ohio. What makes it even more impressive is that these teams aren't even a highly ranked group as a whole. The teams consist of a #2 seed (Ohio State), a #6 seed (Cincinnati), a #10 seed (Xavier), and a #13 seed (Ohio University). Ohioans should be proud of their basketball. One doesn't see a feat like this everyday.