Italian Soccer Player Morosini Dies During Match

Soccer is the very heart of so many people around the world. They love playing and watching the game. Unfortunately, tragedy struck the sport for the second time in less than a month. Just a few weeks ago, Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba suffered cardiac arrest during a FA Cup match in England. Muamba was able to be revived and appears to be on the road to recovery. Italian Piermario Morosini was not as fortunate. Morosini was playing for Livorno, while on loan from Udinese. During today's match, Morosini collapsed on the field suddenly. He tried to get up, but fell once again. Play continued for quite a bit, as no one knew the seriousness of what was taking place. Medical personnel tried to revive the fallen Morosini, but were unable to do anything. Leonardo Paloscia, a doctor in attendance at the game, was the first respondent. Afterwards, he said, "Morosini never had a single heartbeat again."

Morosini used soccer to help overcome a difficult youth. His father died when he was only two years old. His mother died when he was 15, and his brother passed away shortly after. This left him an orphan with just an older sister left as family. Morosini excelled as a footballer and played for many Italian clubs. He also made 18 appearances for Italy's U-21 squad. He died at the age of 25.

Morosini's death reminds us just how fragile life can be. Soccer is a physically draining game. Running continually for 90+ minutes is not an easy task for one's body. My hope is that some good will come from this tragedy. I would implore all athletes to go get a thorough checkup at a doctor's office. Don't get me wrong. I am not saying that Morosini's death would have been preventable. That we cannot know. I am just saying take what precautions you can. Live a healthy life, love those around you, and make sure that you are right with God. Death can occur just this suddenly. My prayers and thoughts go out to Piermario Morosini's family and friends during this difficult time.

Photo Credit: Dino Panato/Getty Images

Red Sox Win Overshadowed by Ellsbury Injury

The Boston Red Sox struggles at the beginning of the season have been well-documented. Their offense finally broke out tonight. The Sox scored 12, but lost Ellsbury to injury when he slid into second. Ellsbury has been one of the imperative pieces of the Sox offense. He will certainly be missed.

The Red Sox will have to find a patchwork replacement for Ellsbury. They currently have Cody Ross, Ryan Sweeney, and the young Darnell McDonald. They could also call up the talented Che-Hsuan Lin from the minors. First-year manager Bobby Valentine will most likely opt for a splitting time amongst committees. Valentine will have to explore options before making a decision.

What isn't up for the debate is how much Ellsbury will be missed by his ballclub. He is an integral part of what the Red Sox do on and off the field. As a Yankees fan, I of course despise the Red Sox, but I wish Ellsbury a speedy recovery. He is a hard worker and a fun player to watch. The Red Sox don't know how long it will be before he recovers. There are reports stating he will be out at least four to sic weeks. Meanwhile, the Red Sox will simply have to make due the best they can.

Photo Credit: Charles Krupa/AP Photo

NHL Playoffs: Overtimes Common Theme of Day Two

Boston Bruins 1

Washington Capitals 0

Sometimes all it takes is one goal. That was the case with Game 1 of the Boston Bruins vs. Washington Capitals series. Both offenses came out a bit sluggish and both these goaltenders were determined to let nothing cheap in. Both teams had some chances in regulation, but neither one could light the lamp. About one minute into overtime, Capitals center Marcus Johansson took a shot that was saved by Bruins goalie Tim Thomas. That started a counterattack by the Bruins. Brian Rolston found Benoit Pouliot who quickly passed it to Chris Kelly. Kelly buried the winner over the glove of Capitals goalie Braden Holtby. Despite being the Caps third-string goalie, Holtby played extremely well, saving 29 Bruins shots. But it was the Bruins who capitalized on the opportunity early in overtime.

San Jose Sharks 3

St. Louis Blues 2

Early in the season, many Sharks fans whined and complained about Martin Havlat's play. Then, he injured his hamstring and was forced to miss nearly half of the regular season. Havlat returned just in time to aid the Sharks in their playoff push. He aided them in a big way in Game 1 in St. Louis. With the game knotted at 2, it headed to overtime. No one scored in the first period and the second one was drawing to a close, until the Blues struggled to clear the puck and Havlat found the puck on his stick and made them pay for the second time on the night. Thus, the visiting Sharks took Game 1.

Phoenix Coyotes 3 Chicago Blackhawks 2

The Blackhawks got on the board first when Jonathan Toews scored in his first game back. The Coyotes responded though in the second period with two goals of their own to take the lead. Goaltender Mike Smith and the Coyotes looked like they could hold off the Blackhawks to secure the win in regulation, but Brent Seabrook put in a rebound for the equalizer with 14.2 seconds left to send this game to overtime. In overtime, Coyotes center Martin Hanzal barely redirected Adrian Aucoin's shot, but it turned out to be enough to be the winner. Smith played outstanding in net for the Coyotes. He finished with 43 saves.

Photo Credits

Boston Bruins Celebration: Brian Babineau/Getty Images

San Jose Sharks Celebration: Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images

Martin Hanzal Celebration: Ross D. Franklin/AP Photo

The First Noel and The Westward Bound Muhammad

Nerlens Noel just secured another #1 recruiting class for John Calipari at Kentucky. Noel revealed his decision in style as he swiveled around in his chair on the ESPNU studio set. Noel is the #2 overall player in the Rivals.com class of 2012 rankings. He is a big, strong athletic center, who can shot-block very well and should anchor the post for the Wildcats. Noel is commonly compared to Anthony Davis. The comparison is limited though as Noel has always been a big man. His shot-blocking ability might actually be better than Davis' and he prefers to stay close to the rim. Noel immeadiately puts Kentucky back in the national championship discussion for next year. It will be interesting to see how he does living up to the hype that is quickly building up around him.

The #1 overall recruit (Rivals.com), Shabazz Muhammad, was the other big name making his decision tonight. Kentucky was on Muhammad's radar, but he was strongly committed to UCLA from the get go. Despite the tumultuous season the Bruins had this past season, nothing could change Muhammad's mind from choosing to go to Westwood and play under Ben Howland. Rather than be discouraged by it, Muhammad embraced the challenge of rebuilding the legendary UCLA program. He said, "Knowing how bad they were the last two years, it's a challenge to get them back up to the top." Muhammad joins fellow top-five recruit Kyle Anderson in what could be a promising Bruins nucleus with returners such as the Wear twins and Joshua Smith. UCLA appears to be headed in the right direction.

Noel and Muhammad chose very different paths. Noel is joining the reigning National Champions. He will be playing on a team full of lots of top talent. Muhammad chose to join a rebuilding program in need of a star. It will be interesting to watch how each embraces their new surroundings. Which will blossom into the next great star? For that, we will have to wait and see.

Bard and Feliz: The Tale of Two Relievers Turned Starters

Major League Baseball teams always debate whether or not their top prospects should be starting pitchers or relievers. They like to make that decision before they reach the majors, but that doesn't always happen. When Daniel Bard and Neftali Feliz came up to the majors both were sent to their respective bullpens. Bard achieved some success and Feliz did very well as the Texas Rangers' closer. However, both the Boston Red Sox and the Rangers decided to turn their young bullpen guns into starters this year. Interestingly enough, they both made their season debuts tonight.

Bard made his first start for the Red Sox since 2007 at Rogers Centre. The Blue Jays hitters got to him early and finally drove him from the game in the sixth inning. He gave up five runs on eight hits, while walking one batter and striking out six. Bard struggled with control as he left too many pitches over the plate. The Red Sox claim they are committed to him remaining in the rotation, but the questions are going to be raised as he continues to struggle and the bullpen keeps imploding. Bard's got a great changeup, but control is going to be crucial to any success he hopes to have. Right now, the Red Sox are going to keep one eye on Bard and his maturation as a starter, while the other remains on their struggling bullpen.

Feliz may have been the more surprising move to the rotation. After all, he won the 2010 AL Rookie of the Year, was an All-Star selection the same year, and had a combined 72 saves his first two seasons as the Rangers' closer. I guess the old saying if it ain't broke don't fix it, doesn't count in baseball. Feliz made the Rangers look brilliant in his first start tonight. He pitched seven scoreless innings, giving up only four hits and two walks while striking out four. Feliz kept the Seattle Mariners hitters off balance all night. His mix of pitches between his off-speed stuff, his changeup and slider, and his fastball was excellent. The start was against the Mariners, but still was impressive nonetheless. It will be interesting to see how the Rangers monitor his innings the rest of the season.

Thomas Robinson Bids Kansas Farewell

Thomas Robinson is forgoing his senior year to enter to the NBA Draft, but none of the Kansas faithful can blame him after what he has given to the program. Considering all he has overcome, he deserves it. In January 2011, Robinson received a phone call from his nine-year old sister that his mother had died suddenly from a heart attack. The two had been raised by their single mother and were very close to her. What made it even harder was that it came within a three week span of losing their grandfather and grandmother as well. Robinson continued to play basketball, and the University of Kansas helped out the family by covering some of the funeral costs and setting up a scholarship fund for Thomas' sister Jayla.

Robinson vowed to play even better his junior season. He did just that for the Jayhawks. On the season, he averaged 17.9 points per game and 11.8 rebounds per game. Robinson led the nation with 27 double-doubles. At times, Kansas' offense would sputter, but they could always lean on their big man inside. Robinson helped lead the Jayhawks to national runner-up in the NCAA tournament. He had 18 points and 17 rebounds in the championship game against Kentucky.

Robinson became the first unanimous first-team All-American since Blake Griffin. He made his formal announcement of his decision to enter the draft Monday with his sister Jayla and head coach Bill Self by his side. Self faithfully supported Robinson throughout his career and encouraged him to make the decision to leave early. Self believed it was in the best interest of Robinson and his sister. Robinson will likely be a top-five pick in the NBA Draft and will receive the luxurious contract that comes with that. Thomas Robinson will be remembered for all he did on and off the court for the Jayhawks and what he overcame to make it happen.

Bubba Bubbling With Emotion After Master's Win

Photo Credit: Don Emmert/Getty Images

Bubba Watson is a character to say the least. He has been seen in a music video in overalls, uses a pink driver, and got distracted at the award ceremony wondering what type of helicopter was flying overhead. Following his miraculous win in the playoff on the 12 hole, Watson could be seen crying uncontrollably. How he got to this point might explain why.

Louis Oosthuizen seemed to be in complete control of the tournament following his incredible shot early in the final round. Oosthuizen made an albatross (double eagle), which is commonly considered to be the rarest shot in golf. He used his 4-iron from 253 yards out on the par-5 2nd hole. The ball landed on the green and rolled approximately 90 feet into the hole. The shot propelled him into sole possession of the lead.

Watson didn't shutter in his pursuit of the lead. He made four straight birdies (13th-16th) on the back nine to force the playoff. On the second playoff hole, Watson's tee shot went badly into the woods nestled in the pine needles. Watson just tried do the best he could. What he ended up doing was use his wedge to hit the ball just under the tree branches above, hook 40 yards while gaining altitude, travel the 135 yard distance to the elevated green, and roll to withing 15 feet of the hole. One of the most miraculous shots in the history of golf, but Watson later referred to it as "pretty easy." Watson tapped in a short put for par to win this year's green jacket.

Watson let his emotions show once he won. He has always been a very emotional person, but didn't always know how to handle. It had got so bad a few years ago that his longtime caddie and friend, Ted Scott, threatened to leave him. Watson got the wakeup call and began to turn around his golf game and life. With his wife unable to have children, the couple had actively pursued in the adoption process. Many failures and disappoints came to an end when they finally were able to adopt a little boy named Caleb. Watson became a new man with a renewed sense of joy. This was just three weeks ago.

Watson's win continued the unlikely streak of 14 different major champions in the last 14 majors. Additionally, the last eight of those, and eleven of the last twelve, have been first-time major winners. Prior to 2003, no left-handed golfer had won the Masters. Now five of the last ten winners have been southpaws. Watson may be not have won in a prototypical way and might not fit in quite right with the prestige of the Masters, but his win was amazing none the less. The tournament reminded viewers that golf can be exciting, no matter how Tiger Woods is playing. There are many golfers just waiting to show you the talent they've got. And maybe some creativity if you are watching the one and only Bubba Watson.

Cabrera and Fielder Show Why They are a Dangerous Duo

When the Detroit Tigers signed Prince Fielder, everyone knew that this catastrophically changed their lineup. They not only gave Miguel Cabrera lineup protection, but paired him one of the best power hitters in baseball. Teams are going to be stressing about how to get through these two monsters all season. One player that clearly hasn't figured out how yet is Boston Red Sox starting pitcher Josh Beckett.

Beckett was on the mound for the Red Sox against the Tigers. Cabrera greeted him with a 426 foot, two run bomb. Fielder showed he could hit home runs too when he hit his first of the season in the 4th inning. In the 5th inning, Cabrera and Fielder decided to light up Beckett again with back-to-back solo shots. Also, in case you were wondering, catcher Alex Avila blasted another two-run bomb in the 4th. Beckett left after just 4 and 2/3 innings, having given up seven earned runs on five home runs.

As an opposing team, that kind of power threat is scary. You can't really intentionally walk both of them, without getting burned somehow. I guess you just have to try and limit the damage the best you can. For the Tigers, this is the kind of breakout performance they expected from their stars to begin the season. Having both Cabrera and Fielder at the heart of their lineup, makes the Tigers' offense very formidable. It is going to be a challenge for any pitchers who dare to try and tame these wild Tigers who are hungry for power.