Weekend Wake Up: Kidd, Canada, Ohno, NBA Highlight Night of Tension, Overtime

Not Kidding Around. Jason Kidd had a great game in a win against the Hawks on Friday night, going for a tremendous triple-double -- 19 points, 17 assists, and 16 rebounds -- but it was his messing around with Mike Woodson that was most remarkable. Woodson got a technical foul for his troubles, Dirk Nowitzki hit a free throw that helped the Mavs get to overtime, where they turned the afterburners on, and Kidd got aerated on Twitter. (Video via Protect the Paint.)

Canadians’ Rocky Night. Cheryl Bernard failed to seize the moment for Canada’s women’s curling team, throwing poorly in the last end and an extra one to give Sweden gold. Canada’s men’s hockey team nearly let a 3-0 lead over Slovakia evaporate late. There’s still a chance for the Canucks to own the podium, though...

Obligatory “Oh, No” Goes Here. ...because Apolo Anton Ohno was disqualified for pushing off in the men’s 500-meter short track final, which helped Canadians Charles Hamelin and Francois-Louis Tremblay take gold and silver in that event and take the lead in Vancouver’s gold medal rush. Ohno would make up for his miscue by helping the U.S. team win bronze in the 5,000-meter short track relay, but it’s likely that his last chance at an individual Olympic medal was lost when he pushed too hard.

Bonus Bonkers Basketball Bonanza. The critics who say that NBA players don’t play hard enough on a nightly basis? They might want to note the remarkable closeness of Friday night’s games. Four went to overtime, tying an NBA record, just two were decided by double digits, and the 10 decided by fewer than 10 points had an average margin of victory of just 5.2 points. Sometimes, the NBA is where competition and parity happen.

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