Weekend Wake Up: Bubble Bobbling, MWC and WAC Magic, ‘Bron’s Back, More Woods Woes

Bubble Trouble for Some, Boons for Others. Florida and Virginia Tech needed wins to be totally secure in their NCAA chances; neither team secured one. Notre Dame could have used one for seeding; the Irish did not get lucky. Mississippi probably fell off the bubble with its loss, and Dayton’s Flyers crashed and burned in similar fashion. But Georgia Tech and Illinois probably secured tickets to the Dance, and Minnesota gave itself a chance by upsetting Michigan State. And with even the big schools ensconced in March’s mayhem before the NCAA Tournament has even begun, I am optimistic about a very fun few weeks of college hoops.

Wild Night in the West. Staying up late is paying dividends right now, though. How else were East Coasters going to get the best games on Friday night? San Diego State and UNLV staged upsets over top-fifteen teams New Mexico and BYU, respectively, solidifying the Mountain West as the scary non-BCS conference du jour. And then New Mexico State beat Nevada on the Wolf Pack’s home floor in a WAC semifinal on a Jahmar Young shot with 3.8 seconds left, running the Aggies’ record in games decided by six or fewer points to an absurd 10-0 on the year. So, basically, the MWC and WAC are making up for the Pac-10 being wack.

Return of the King. The NBA is more exciting when LeBron James is around. On a relatively unremarkable night, James made his return from a nagging ankle injury against Philly, and led his Cavaliers to a 100-95 win. “I felt a little off rhythm,” said James, who had 23 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds -- plus one monstrous dunk embedded after the jump -- despite going 7-of-18 from the field and missing six free throws. I shudder to think what perfect harmony would look like.

Tiger’s Tale Gets Twistier. Tiger Woods keeps making headlines for everything but golf. Documents released Friday by the Florida Highway Patrol mention indicate that concerns about domestic violence prevented Woods’ wife Elin from traveling to the hospital with him after his November SUV crash, and also mention that Elin Woods turned over two bottles of pain pills to authorities that night. This might cast new doubt on one statement Woods made in his public apology last month -- ”“Elin never hit me that night or any other night. There has never been an episode of domestic violence in our marriage, ever,” he said -- and the presence of pain medication might lead to spurious speculation about whether Woods has ever used drugs, performance-enhancing or recreational. In any case, this is just another blurb about the world’s most famous golfer that has nothing to do with his career. It’s far past tiresome to cover, and must be many times more exhausting to endure.

(Via Get Banged On.)

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