An MLB Collaborative TL: Piece of Cake: The Cubs win Game 6 in '03

Sweet 16, part 2
NCAA Sweet 16 2004: Day 2

Continuing on from his performances in the first two rounds, Chris Paul would continue to dominate come Sweet 16 time, recording 39 points and 11 rebounds as his Wake Forest squad rolled into the elite 8, dispatching #9 seed Southern Illinois 64-53. Another surprise team, Oregon, would see the end to their run as well, as Oklahoma State would start the game out on a 22-6 run and never looked back, going on to win 72-56. The third game of the day saw Kentucky continue their winning ways, winning their 14th straight dating back to February, led by 33 from Cliff Hawkins as the ‘Cats rolled by Cincinnati 66-51. The last game of the day was probably the most exciting, as another hot team in Florida State faced Nevada. FSU jumped out to sizable lead early, but the Wolfpack seemed to hang around all game, with Kevin Pinkney and Kirk Snyder seemingly keeping Nevada in it. Eventually, the Wolfpack took the lead with just 12 seconds left on a deep three from Pinkney and would hang on for the one-point win 69-68.

Elite 8 matchups

East Regional - March 27, 2004
St. Joseph’s vs North Carolina

West regional - March 27, 2004
Arizona vs Mississippi State

South regional - March 28, 2004
Kentucky vs Wake Forest

Midwest regional - March 28, 2004
Oklahoma State vs Nevada
 
UCL Quarterfinals, first Leg, Elite Eight
March 23-24, 2004: The Quarterfinals of the Champions League is underway. AC Milan begins the jamboree with a good win over Real Sociedad, 2-0, at the Anoeta Stadium. AS Monaco and Deportivo La Coruña fight to a 1-1 draw in Spain, and Wednesdays action features Arsenal beat Porto 1-0 in the third match on the Iberian Peninsula, while the first leg is capped with Chelsea picking apart Bayern Munich 3-0 in Deutschland.

March 27, 2004: The Elite Eight is finally upon us, as St Joseph’s and North Carolina begin the action. The game is fairly straightforward for the Hawks, as they dominate the game from wire to wire in the 73-55 win. Arizona-Mississippi State is the same way, as the Wildcats cruise to an 87-70 win behind Andre Iguodala’s 33 points.

March 28, 2004: The other Wildcats, Kentucky, have an incredible encounter with Wake Forest. In regulation, Chris Paul misses a jumper to win, so the game goes to OT. That OT period is dull, as each team finishes with 4 points, and in Double OT, UK scores 19 points to Wake Forest’s 5, so Kentucky moves on, 81-67. The final game is Oklahomas State and Nevada, which ends a very boring Elite Eight, as the Cowboys win 93-68 over the Wolf Pack.

Final Four

April 3, 2004- Kentucky-St. Joseph’s

April 3, 2004- Arizona-Oklahoma State
 
March 23-24, 2004: The Quarterfinals of the Champions League is underway. AC Milan begins the jamboree with a good win over Real Sociedad, 2-0, at the Anoeta Stadium. AS Monaco and Deportivo La Coruña fight to a 1-1 draw in Spain, and Wednesdays action features Arsenal beat Porto 1-0 in the third match on the Iberian Peninsula, while the first leg is capped with Chelsea picking apart Bayern Munich 3-0 in Deutschland.

March 27, 2004: The Elite Eight is finally upon us, as St Joseph’s and North Carolina begin the action. The game is fairly straightforward for the Hawks, as they dominate the game from wire to wire in the 73-55 win. Arizona-Mississippi State is the same way, as the Wildcats cruise to an 87-70 win behind Andre Iguodala’s 33 points.

March 28, 2004: The other Wildcats, Kentucky, have an incredible encounter with Wake Forest. In regulation, Chris Paul misses a jumper to win, so the game goes to OT. That OT period is dull, as each team finishes with 4 points, and in Double OT, UK scores 19 points to Wake Forest’s 5, so Kentucky moves on, 81-67. The final game is Oklahomas State and Nevada, which ends a very boring Elite Eight, as the Cowboys win 93-68 over the Wolf Pack.

Final Four

April 3, 2004- Kentucky-St. Joseph’s

April 3, 2004- Arizona-Oklahoma State
the final?
 
Heartbreak in Highbury
March 28, 2004: In one of the biggest matches of the Premier League season, Manchester United end Arsenal’s dream of an unbeaten season, winning 2-0 thanks to a brace from Ryan Giggs. This tightens the PL title race, with United only 2 points back of Arsenal, and Liverpool only trailing by 5 points to the Gunners.
 
Warner to B-More, Chipper injured, Jameer arrested
March 30, 2004: Big news out of the NFL, as Kurt Warner announces he is signing a 4-year, 80 million contract with the Baltimore Ravens. The move comes after Warner was benched in the 2003 season in favor of Mark Bulger for his previous team, the St. Louis Rams and it seemed the Rams had a desire to move on from the former league MVP and Super Bowl champion. For Baltimore, this may be the missing piece they need for a Super Bowl run following a disappointing loss in the 2003 playoffs.

March 31, 2004: Some bad news for fans of the Atlanta Braves just 5 days before opening day, as Chipper Jones is hurt in a spring training game against the Blue Jays, suffering a torn ACL. The injury is expected to keep Jones out of the lineup for at least the first 4 months of the season.

April 1, 2004: Not the April Fools Day St. Joseph's wanted at all, as superstar Jameer Nelson is arrested for DUI in San Antonio less than two days before his team takes on Kentucky in their Final Four matchup and he will miss the game. Team coach Phil Martelli commented that "It's obviously a blow to our team wanted, but we'll try not to think about it to much and we should be just fine."
 
March 28, 2004: In one of the biggest matches of the Premier League season, Manchester United end Arsenal’s dream of an unbeaten season, winning 2-0 thanks to a brace from Ryan Giggs. This tightens the PL title race, with United only 2 points back of Arsenal, and Liverpool only trailing by 5 points to the Gunners.
💪
 
Final Four has arrived
2004 NCAA Men's Final Four - April 3, 2004

St. Joseph's vs. Kentucky: Without their biggest star in Jameer Nelson, St. Joe's was clearly at a disadvantage at this one against a hot Kentucky team, the Hawks were even underdogs going in for the first time all season. It would show, as the Wildcats opened the game on a 17-3 run, causing St. Joseph's to burn a timeout. The timeout seemed to work, as the Hawks slowly started to make their shots, as Delonte West was a surprise star, dropping 16 after the timeout to cut the Kentucky lead to just 5 at the break. The second half would see St. Joe's pick up right where they left off, scoring the first 6 points of the half to take their first lead of the day. But Kentucky would answer, going on a 14-6 run, highlighted by Kelenna Azubuike throwing down a dunk for the ages on West. St. Joseph's, however, continued to be in it, narrowing the lead down to just 3 with 1 minute left. That would be as close as it got however, as Kentucky would close it out with clutch free throw shooting to end the Hawks dream of an undefeated season by the score of 75-69 and head to their first title game since their 1998 victory.

Arizona vs. Oklahoma State: This game would be less exciting than the previous one. Heading in as the favorite, Arizona started out on a tear, scoring the first 9 points of the game and jumping out to a 20-8 lead just 3 and a half minutes into the contest, which would set the tone for this one. Oklahoma State would get close, as Tony Allen would hit 3 straight buckets to bring the Cowboys into the game. But the 'Cats continued to roll, with Andre Iguodala and Channing Frye dominating, having a double-double each as Arizona wins 78-65 for a re-match against Kentucky, the team they beat to win their first national championship 7 years ago in 1997 in two days.
 
NHL standings finalized, playoff matchups known
April 4, 2004: The NHL season wraps up, here are the final standings

Western ConferenceEastern Conference
Z- Vancouver Canucks (Northwest Division Champions) 109 pointsP- Toronto Maple Leafs (Northeast Division Champions) (President's Trophy winners) 111 points
Y- Detroit Red Wings (Central Division Champions) 108 pointsY- Philadelphia Flyers (Atlantic Division Champions) 108 points
Y- Dallas Stars (Pacific Division Champions 103 pointsY- Tampa Bay Lightning (Southeast Division Champions) 102 points
X- Colorado Avalanche 104 pointsX- New Jersey Devils 106 points
X- Mighty Ducks of Anaheim 98 pointsX- New York Islanders 97 points
X- San Jose Sharks 97 pointsX- Ottawa Senators 96 points
X- Minnesota Wild 93 pointsX- Florida Panthers 91 points (41 wins)
X- Edmonton Oilers 90 pointsX- Montreal Canadiens 91 points (40 wins)
e- Nashville Predators 89 pointse- Boston Bruins 89 points
e- Los Angeles Kings 86 pointse- Atlanta Trashers 85 points
e- St. Louis Blues 85 pointse- Buffalo Sabres 84 points
e- Calgary Flames 82 pointse- New York Rangers 77 points
e- Chicago Blackhawks 70 pointse- Carolina Hurricanes 73 points
e- Phoenix Coyotes 68 pointse- Washington Capitals 66 points
e- Columbus Blue Jackets 65 pointse- Pittsburgh Penguins 60 points

Playoff first round matchups
(W1) Vancouver vs (W8) Edmonton
(W2) Detroit vs (W7) Minnesota
(W3) Dallas vs (W6) San Jose
(W4) Colorado vs (W5) Anaheim

(E1) Toronto vs (E8) Montreal
(E2) Philadelphia vs (E7) Florida
(E3) Tampa Bay vs (E6) Ottawa
(E4) New Jersey vs (E5) NY Islanders
 
MLB Opening Day
April 4, 2004: MLB action returns with Opening Day, and the games are highlighted by the new-look Chicago White Sox meeting the reigning world champs, the Boston Red Sox. However, we’ll begin with the Blue Jays, who, behind a Roy Halladay 2-hitter, beat the Orioles at Camden Yards, 3-0. The Cubs take a short trip to Milwaukee, where the reigning NL champs cruise to an 8-2 victory on the strength of Mark Prior. The Expos begin what could be their final season with a 6-4 loss to the Phillies, and the Reds see Ken Griffey Jr hit three homers in an 11-5 victory over the Dodgers. The Padres win their first game in new PetCo Park, beating San Francisco 7-3, while their California companions Oakland dispatch the Twins, 4-1. The final team left in Cali is the Angels, who look helpless against Oliver Perez, as the Pirates win 5-0 at home. In other action, the Tigers top the Rays 3-2, and the Mets blow a six run lead in a 12-9 loss to the Rockies. Finally, the White Sox meet the Red Sox in a hyped up matchup, but it doesn’t deliver, as Alex Rodriguez goes 0-4, and the BoSox thump the South Siders, 9-2.
 
MLB Japan
March 30-31st 2004
The MLB season kicks off in Japan between the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees

The teams split match up as in game 1 the Mariners beat the 3-2 thanks to a RBI double by new Mariners shortstop Norman Garciaparra and a RBI single by country hero Ichiro with 41 year old wonder Jamie Moyer picking up the win.

In game 2 the Yankees win 2-0 thanks to a 7 inning shutout performance by Andy Pettitte in a win decision and a RBI single by Bernie Williams and a pinch hit solo home run by newly acquired veteran bench player Andres Galarraga
 
NPB changes
April 4th, 2004: the world of Japanese Baseball will not be the same any longer, for NPB has announced that throughout the season, it will impose drastic changes in regards to how the league operates, with a proper revenue sharing system about to ne implemented starting this year, in order to attract more prime time television broadcasts for the league's smaller market and especially to save the two teams whose financial troubles prompted the league to take action: the Osaka Kintetsu Buffaloes and the Orix Bluewave of Kobe, whose parent companies are hemoraging money and begged for NPB to do something, otherwise they'd be forced to merge together. We'll keep an eye on this story throughout the year...
 
Predictions
April 7, 2004

Paige is in the lead with Jay, JJ, and Mitch all one point behind. Next up, QB Derby. Draft just around the corner. Where will the Big Three go? JJ...

JJ Adande: Chargers avoid the drama and take Rivers. There isn't that much separation between the three quarterbacks, so avoid the drama. Cardinals would love to have Eli. They'll turn in the card before Rivers even on the hat. The Giants like Ben, so it'll be 1-2-3.

Reali: Woody?

Woody Paige: Chargers go ahead and draft Eli. They can trade him if he doesn't back down. Cardinals take the full 15 minutes. They can trade up one spot which they've done before, and they can listen to offers for the pick. In the end they take Larry Fitzgerald. Giants get an offer of Bledsoe to swap picks. They'll be happy with that and the Bills take Rivers. Ben to the Raiders. San Diego's phone starts ringing.

Reali: Jay?

Jay Mariotti: Chargers take Fitzgerald. Their triplets can be Brees, LT, and Fitzgerald for the next 5-7 years. Cardinals pounce on Eli. Giants take Sean Taylor, Raiders take Roethlisberger.

Reali: And finally, Mitch?

Mitch Albom: Chargers call Eli's bluff and take him first. Cardinals go defense. Sean Taylor or maybe Dunta Robinson. Agree that Buffalo trades up. Pittsburgh and New England will try but they don't have a good vet QB to offer. Bills take Rivers. Oakland takes whichever defensive back the Cardinals left on the board. Houston has to protect Carr from getting destroyed. They take Robert Gallery. Cleveland is on the clock and there's a franchise quarterback from Ohio. Easy call. And when the Lions take their wide receiver, Larry Fitzgerald is on the board.

Reali: Come on, you really think he falls to 7?

Mitch: No, but a man can dream.

Reali: Stanley Cup. Who wins.

JJ: Vancouver. They have the most complete team.

Woody: Philly. Hot goaltender is the best thing you can have in the playoffs.

Jay: Toronto. Nobody else can match up against them. Lord Stanley's Cup is coming back to Canada.

Mitch: Red Wings. They've had the most potent offense the past two months.

Reali: Going homer pick again, I see. We'll be back after the commercial break...
 
More NBP developments
April 7th: only three days after the announcement of the reforms of NPB, Yomiuri Shimbun, the owners of the Tokyo Giants, criticized the new revenue sharing system, even stating that helping two teams that has been mismanaged like that is reprehensible. Many more moderate and left-wing leaning newspapers and fans and team owners, however, called out Yomiuri's statement as the prime evidence that the Giants are afraid that they will lose their priviledged status in the league, and that the revenue sharing system and prime time National TV broadcasts for smaller market teams is gonna do wonders for the competitiveness of the NPB in the future.

The players, meanwhile, made their fears public as they announced that they are afraid that the arrival of the revenue sharing system would lead to an eventual salary cap like in the NFL and NBA, and that they threatened to strike if such a thing happened. A similar situation to what the NHL is currently experiencing right now.

More info on those stories as they develop over the course of the season.
 
Does Washington still win the draft lottery for Ovechkin?

There is no lottery. They did the lottery for Crosby because there was no season.

In TTL the Penguins get Ovechkin. If they still lose next season to a strike and the Pens win the lottery, this is going to be a Penguins wank.
 
There is no lottery. They did the lottery for Crosby because there was no season.

In TTL the Penguins get Ovechkin. If they still lose next season to a strike and the Pens win the lottery, this is going to be a Penguins wank.
I think the Lockout(there was not strike, were the owners throwing a fit) might be butterfly away but a real strike could happen later. I think someone else Get Crosby...Coyotes?
 
Pats QBs, more draft developments, Jeff Garcia
April 6th 2004:New England Patriots sign veteran Vinny Testaverde to a 1 year deal stealing him from the rival New York Jets as they hope for their future quarterback sits behind him for awhile. Also fellow Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown returns to the Oakland Raiders for a 17th career year with them and in the league also on a one year deal.

April 7th 2004: A spokesperson comes out that the New England Patriots are interested in trading up in the draft thought it’s nothing official. This comes after a private meeting the Patriots had with Eli Manning and Phillip Rivers

April 8th 2004:The New York Giants announce they will hold onto Kerry Collins as they hope he will be a bridge quarterback to whoever their next future starting quarterback is.

April 9th 2004:San Francisco 49ers trade quarterback Jeff Garcia to rival Arizona Cardinals for a 2004 7th round pick
 
April 9th 2004:San Francisco 49ers trade quarterback Jeff Garcia to rival Arizona Cardinals for a 2004 7th round pick
Hope we got TB Garcia if we don't draft a QB, regardless Jeff(that is more infamously remembered by certain slant by TO) was competent enough at times...more baggage josh mccown but still feel like a bridge
 
War of the Wildcats
April 5, 2004: The 2004 NCAA March Madness championship game. Coming in as the favorite, Arizona came out of the gate slow, making just 2 of their first 10 shots to start the night with Kentucky being better, starting out 6 of 11 for the early double-digit lead. Arizona would, however, limit Kentucky star Erik Daniels to just one of those Kentucky baskets. Both teams continued on an even pace for the rest of the first half, with Kentucky maintaining their lead, albeit it was only 39-31 at the break. But once the second half began, the tide began to shift in favor of Arizona as evidenced by two three-pointers by Salim Stoudamire on back-to-back possessions to start the second half. Arizona would continue to scratch and claw with Kentucky still doing whatever they could to hold their lead. With just 2 minutes left, Kentucky held a 5-point lead when Daniels went up for a layup, but at the last second, Andre Iguodala blocked it, got the rebound to Stoudamire, and just seconds later, Channing Frye hit a 3 to cut the lead to 2. On the next possession, Daniels made just his third basket of the game to make the lead 4 for Kentucky before Iguodala made a layup to once again cut the lead. As we went into the final minute, it was still a 2 point game. With only 47 seconds left, Cliff Hawkins was called for foul on Frye. The foul was very controversial, as Hawkins didn't appear to be holding Frye. Frye made both free throws to tie it up. Kentucky had a chance however on the ensuing possession but could not convert, setting up Arizona with a chance to win it with 20 seconds left. But Kentucky was ready, fouling Hassan Adams with 14 seconds left, Adams would make the first, but miss the second half, giving Arizona their first lead all night. In even better news for Arizona, Iguodala would get an offensive rebound after the second free throw and would be fouled. Iguodala would also go 1-for-2, giving Kentucky once last chance to win it. Then came one of the most controversial moments in NCAA tournament history.

Jim Nantz: "13 seconds left, can Kentucky do it? Daniels dribbling it, 9 seconds, 8, 7, 6, looks like he'll take the last shot with 3, 2, he passes it to Azubuike for the win! (buzzer) He made it, Azubuike made i-

Billy Packer: "They're saying no basket Jim!"

Jim Nantz: "Oh wow, they're gonna have to review this! It looked like he made it live, but you never know. "

Both sides were celebrating as if they won the National Championship. When slowed down, it looked like the ball had just barely left Kelenna Azubuike's hands as the buzzer sounded. But the officials, Dick Cartmell and Randy McCall, after looking at the play for almost 5 minutes, decided that the basket did not count, thus Arizona had won the game and the Championship. As tourament MVP Andre Iguodala and the Wildcats in while celebrated, the Wildcats in blue could only walk off the court in stunned disbelief.
 
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