Robinson vs. Sullinger 2012 NCAA Final Four

Unfortunately, earlier in the season when Ohio St loss to Kansas in Lawrence, college basketball fans didn't get to see to All American big men go to work against one another. Ohio St. due to injury were without Jared Sullinger, he didn't get to face Kansas Thomas Robinson. Saturday during the Buckeyes and Jayhawks 2012 NCAA Final Four National Semifinal in New Orleans the pair will meet. Possibly the winner of that matchup in the paint could be marching on to play for a National Championship Monday night. Bill Self has already led the Jayhawks to the 2008 National Championship, Thad Matta is making his first Final Four appearance. OSU knocked off East top seed Syracuse in the Elite 8, while Kansas knocked off North Carolina to advance to the Superdome.

Bluegrass National Semifinal 2012 NCAA Final Four

Kentucky and Louisville couldn't settle their better in state rivalry in the Commonwealth, so they will head to the 2012 NCAA Final Four in New Orleans to do battle. Pitino vs. Calipari the pair have met on this stage before in a National Semifinal during the 1996 NCAA Final Four. Pitino would lead Kentucky to a win over Calipari and UMass, while eventually winning the National Championship. Fast forward to 2012 it was expected all season with the Wildcats talent, for UK to be in New Orleans. The same couldn't be said for Pitino and Louisville. The Cardinals won the Big East Tournament, then would knock off #1 seed Michigan State and come from behind fashion during an Elite 8 win over Florida. Can Louisville get a win versus Kentucky a team with only 2 losses this season and send Pitino to the National Championship game ? Kentucky defeated Louisville during their regular season matchup.

Ewing Sneakers Maybe Returning Summer 2012

Patrick Ewing became the NBA first lottery pick. The Knicks won the first NBA draft lottery. New York would make Ewing the first overall pick in the 1985 NBA Draft. While at Georgetown Patrick Ewing along with his Hoya teammates rocked Nike. Ewing began his professional career with Adidas. Shortly after the decade of the 90's rolled around, Ewing would have his own brand shoe. As a child I have a pair of Ewing signature shoes. I also recall the basketball key chain the shoe came with. Online reports have surfaced about a possible return for the Ewing signature shoe during the summer of 2012. I wonder how many sneaker heads would cop ? Keep in mind during the 1980's and 1990's several NBA Superstars laced up various companies to provide them with basketball sneakers.

Ohio And South Florida Will Play For Sweet 16 Spot

What a Friday night in Nashville. South Florida went well over 10 minutes in the 1st half vs. Temple without a field goal yet trailed only by 4 at halftime. Then blitzed Temple offensively and defensively in the 2ND half to win by double digits. The Bulls defense took over and became their usual stingy selves. Earlier in the evening Ohio took care of #4 seed Michigan, now on Sunday #12 South Florida will play #13 Ohio for a spot in the Sweet 16. The Madness has began all around the country Friday. Ohio represents the MAC while South Florida comes from the Big East.

Lehigh #15 Knocks Out #2 Duke

The Patriot League is in the house ! History was made for the 2ND time on Friday as the 2ND #2 seed of the day were beaten by a #15 seed. Lehigh took care of Duke is what was basically a road game in Greensboro, North Carolina. Sunday Lehigh will play for a spot in the Sweet 16. This is the 20 year anniversary in which Duke won back to back National Championships in 1991 & 1992. Now history was made against them. Duke joined Missouri Friday as #2 seeds from the ACC and Big 12 who will pack their bags and head home, while teams from the Patriot and MEAC move on. Once again this is what March Madness is all about, expect the unexpected.

Norfolk History Makes History #15 Seed Eliminates #2 Missouri

Omaha, Nebraska is used to witnessing history. However it's usually from the College World Series. The city host college baseball best every spring. Friday #15 seed Norfolk St. defeated #2 seed Missouri in a West Region 2ND round game. Norfolk St. became the second MEAC team to pull the 15 vs. 2 upset. Back in 2001 Hampton defeated Iowa State. This is truly what March Madness is all about. Missouri never led by more than 4, while Norfolk St. biggest lead was 8 points. The last minute went back and fourth as the Tigers tried to save their season, however even with NFS turnovers and missed free throws, the MEAC Conference Champions were able to pull the game out 86-84. Their next opponent after knocking off Elite8/Final 4 predicted team from the Big 12, will be the Florida Gators. The Gators are from the SEC and the winner of Sunday game will earn a spot in the Sweet 16 next week.

Calvin Johnson & Mario Williams Record Setting Signing Bonus To Open NFL Free Agency 2012

Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson, obviously will be staying with the Detroit Lions. The talented wide reciever from Georgia Tech helped lead the Lions to the NFL playoffs for the 1st time this past season, in nearly a decade. Mario Williams the former number 1 pick of the Houston Texans, missed most of the season with an arm injury. Back in 2006 experts questioned why Houston didn't select Reggie Bush number 1, Williams helped silence critics by becoming a dominant pass rusher and this season before his injury did it as a linebacker in the 3-4 defense. Unfortunately for Texans fans he's leaving Houston. Williams signed a free agent contract with Buffalo. The Bills will hand over $50million worth of signing bonus to Mario. The Lions signed Johnson to a contract extention including $60million worth of signing bonus, which by the way is the largest in NFL history.

Lakers Deal 5X NBA Champion Derek Fisher

Everyone knows the Lakers first round selection from the 1996 NBA Draft, rather the player who's rights they acquired from Charlotte via a draft night trade. That individual would be one Kobe Bean Bryant. Yet many people don't remember the Lakers 2ND, 1st round selection that night. Derek Fisher out of Arkansas Little Rock University. Bryant and Fisher would go on to win 5 NBA titles together. Fisher would make and take big shots during his 1st and 2nd stints with the Lakers. Fisher would play tough, while also being a leader and solid defender. Fisher and Bryant are like brothers. Now Fisher will be leaving Los Angeles as he once did when playing for Golden State and Utah. Thursday prior to the NBA trading deadline, the Lakers dealt the aging guard to Houston for young foward Jordan Hill. His leadership and resume in the Lakers uniform will not be forgotten. However with the addition of Ramon Sessions from Cleveland, Los Angelese clearly are moving in a different direction.

Dwight Howard Remains With Orlando...For How Long

2011-12 NBA trade deadline came and went. Some players around the league were dealt. However the main focus of a potential move would be All Star Dwight Howard. Orlando was in a similar situation in 1996 when Shaquille O'Neal was a potential free agent. O'Neal finished out the 1995-96 season in the Magic Kingdom, he wasn't moved prior to the trade deadline. With that being said Orlando received nothing in return as O'Neal walked as a free agent, as the Los Angeles Lakers signed the Diesel. Throughout the season with Howard being able to opt out after this season, their were talks of Dwight staying or going. After Thursday he's staying for now. After signing a waiver saying he won't opt out at season end. Will Orlando and Howard be able to work out a long term deal and be able to bring in surrounding pieces to help the team win their first NBA title. It's possible without a long term deal the trade deadline talks could present themselves again during the 2012-13 NBA season.

Robert Griffin III & Peyton Manning Are The Subject Of NFL Offseason Thus Far

Peyton Manning, at the time of this article is a free agent following his release after 14 years in Indianapolis. Robert Griffin III left Baylor University early to enter the NFL Draft after winning the Heisman Trophy award. Manning has yet to decide on a franchise, some of the rumored teams Peyton could sign with are the : Jets, Redskins, Seahawks, Dolphins, Chiefs, Cardinals, Broncos. In due time the NFL's 4 time MVP will call a new city home. While teams are jocking for position to trade up to select Griffin III with the 2ND overall pick in April's NFL Draft. Washington has already made a deal with St. Louis for that 2ND draft pick. Indianapolis owns the first pick and experts believe the Peyton Manning replacement will be Andrew Luck from Stanford. GM's that draft RG3 and sign Peyton Manning after neck injuries better get it right or their job could be at stake.

Allen Iverson Reebok Question May Have Been RBK Greatest All Time Sneaker

During the 1996 NBA Draft the Philadelphia 76Er's selected Allen Iverson from Georgetown University as the number one overall pick. Shortly after Iverson would sign an endorsement deal with Reebok. Many sneaker experts believed the deal possibly may have saved the company. Had Iverson signed with Nike or elsewhere, it may have been the beginning of the end for the British sneaker company. All Iverson would go on to capture the 1996-97 NBA Rookie Of The Year Award. Iverson's first signature show was the Reebok Question, the company may retro the sneaker in 2012, similar to a few times already in the past. Fans flocked to the original release of white and red. Other popular colors where white and blue along with black and gold. Prior to Iverson, NBA players such as Shawn Kemp, Dee Brown and Shaq were major Reebok endorsers.

1991 Nike Air Huarache Makes 2012 Comeback

In life things usually tend to come full circle, over the past decade the sneaker world has been included in that saying. All the major sneaker brands, led by Nike and Jordan Brand has started to retro several kicks from the early 2000's and decades of the 1990's & 1980's. Coming to a sneaker store and online website near you are the Nike Air Huarache 2012. Of course this sneaker will have some different up to date additions, compared to the 20 year old original. We have mentioned in previous articles the original Nike Air Huarache was made famous by the Michigan Wolverines Fab Five. Also the sneaker was designed by Tinker Hatfield, who later would go on to design Air Jordan's. It will be interesting to see which collegiate players will rock them during the NCAA Tournament, likewise for NBA players as they approach the climax of the regular season.

Fab Five Give Us Fab Kicks Fab Shorts Fab Socks

During the 1991-92 and 1992-93 Men's NCAA college basketball season Michigan head coach Steve Fisher coached the Fab Five. That group consisted of Juwan Howard, Jalen Rose, Jimmy King, Ray Jackson and Chris Webber. Unfortunately, for the Wolverines after their freshman and sophomore seasons they didn't win a National Championship, while losing to Duke and North Carolina for the title in back to back years respectively. However those five young men changed the appearance of how to dress on and off the basketball court. The group introduced several pair of dope Nikes, along with black sneaks to go with black socks and baggy shorts. In today's game you see plenty of basketball players on all levels with that attire, however before the Fab Five branched out to rock it, it was simply unheard of. Michigan wore Jordans, they wore Nike Air Max, they rocked Nike Charles Barkleys, even Nike Air Huarache and that's just to name a few.