Kanya-Living Jewels » goaltender Ben Scrivens and a seecond-round draft

I thoroughly enjoyed March Madness, both the mens and womens versions. For three weeks in the early days of the spring season, I renew my subscription with college basketball and am edutained on all things March Madness. It is a time that engendered work morale spikes, rooted in imperfect bracket predictions and the chance that overworked, underpaid employees will cash out on an office pool lottery built from their very own desk change cups and afternoon Tim Hortons coffee run allotments. Mini hoops get hung on office doors for impromptu paper ball dunk contests and great plays are re-enacted by local news crews unable to air highlights of the very sport they cover because of the hierarchy of money structured agreements between the NCAA and its multiple March Madness broadcast partners. A bevy of hungry, wide-eyed teams. More Networks. Too many credit card commercials. Too Much Dick Vitale. Not Enough Bill Raftery. No Gus Johnson. Countless floor burns. Multiple tears. Clutch shots. One epic dance. One dream realized. Who knew a school from the former and now defunct Yankee Conference would be one of the most dominant basketball programs in college history? Combined, the University of Connecticut mens and womens teams have been in the NCAA Tournament final game 13 times. Theyve never lost. Ever. I watched as Geno Auriemma and his Lady Huskies won their ninth title in 19 years, defeating Notre Dame easily and once again lording over the womens game with whispers and questions rattling The ladies college hoops kings cage about whether or not his talents could be applied similarly in the mens game. I saw Guelph, Ontarios and Notre Dame senior forward Natalie Achonwa, thrice a bridesmaid, never the bride in the NCAA final, have to endure the insult of her team once again losing a chance at glory and an undefeated season to the schoolyard bully in UConn, in part due to suffering a devastating knee injury during the Elite Eight game that ended her season and college career. I was not in shock or awe that Derrick Gordon, starting guard from the University of Massachusetts, a school where I created and once taught the worlds first university accredited course on hip-hop culture, now also has the distinction of having the first Division I male basketball player to come out as openly gay. I viewed a March Madness tournament where Canadian lights shone brightly in fellow freshmen Kansas Andrew Wiggins and Syracuses Tyler Ennis, senior Melvin Ejim of Iowa State, Michigan sophomore Nik Stauskas and more. Their play shined a collective light on the immense talents north of the 49th parallel who contributed in meaningful ways during the Tournament and offered hope and confidence for young Canadian hoop stars to follow. I reveled in UConn mens coach Kevin Ollies victory over John Caliparis Kentucky Wildcats, despite picking the new Fab Five freshmen from Lexington to win it all on my TSN Radio basketball program, #1On1 with Will and Duane. And the revelry was not rooted in a dislike for Coach Cals crew. The joy was in the knowledge that, 30 years after Georgetowns John Thompson became the first black man to win an NCAA title with a team full of inner city black kids, possibly influenced by the lure of profit from a new player in the illicit drug trade called crack and the music of an emerging and grossly misunderstood subculture called hip-hop, Kevin Ollie joined Thompson, newly minted Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Nolan Richardson and Tubby Smith as the only black coaches to ever win the national title. My merriment was quelled, however, by the admission of the tournaments Most Outstanding Player, UConn senior PG Shabazz Napier. As initially reported by CNNs Sara Ganim, Napiers statement was stunning. “I dont feel student-athletes should get hundreds of thousands of dollars, but like I said, there are hungry nights that I go to bed and Im starving," he said. "I just feel like a student-athlete, and sometimes, like I said, theres hungry nights and Im not able to eat and I still got to play up to my capabilities.” I observed a game with multi-billion dollar stakes in which the players have no financial stake due to the draconian statutes of the National Collegiate Athletic Association, which still has them reaching for “One Shining Moment” as the UConn mens program fails to graduate more than eight per cent of its starving, underfed players. I then pondered former March Madness champ and UCLA forward Ed OBannons lawsuit against the NCAA, the Northwestern University athletes who won their fight to unionize against the NCAA and Jalen Roses youthful revelation years ago on how he and his Fab Five teammates were being flagrantly exploited by the NCAA and its corporate stakeholders while a star at Michigan. It occurred to me that the 2013-2014 mens final was possibly a referendum on the future of college basketball profiteering: Caliparis "one and done" regime versus the NCAAs preferred method of currency exchange with the NBA - keeping the student-athletes on campus playing this game for as long as possible. NBA Commissioner Adam Silvers wish to subsidize collegiate student-athletes in order to keep the collusive financial arrangement with the NCAA as close to status quo, without hemorrhaging too much blood, seems relatively progressive at cursory glance. And the new commishs potential good fortune to place a positive stamp on his early tenure may be rooted in Napiers hunger. ESPNs Darren Rovell recently reported that Adam Silver is willing to trade markers with the NCAA, its student-athletes and the NBAPA with concessions on all sides to make the vehicle move. "Rather than focusing on a salary and thinking of them as employees, I would go to their basic necessities," said Silver. "I think if Shabazz Napier is saying he is going hungry, my God, it seems hard to believe, but there should be ample food for the players." Commissioner Silver wants to raise the NBA entry age limit from 19 to 20 and may be able to do so in exchange for his college player subsidy initiative. Silvers very public overtures about changes that can be made to an archaic, rotted NCAA system run by that cabals boss, Dr. Mark Emmert, who, naturally, is vehemently opposed to any sort of compensation for student-athletes, a term created to protect the schools and NCAA itself against the liability of paying workers compensation for injured “student-athletes,” are encouraging, even in theory. But what about offering a “bare necessities” cost of living stipend, daily meal per diems and limited injury insurance to these young men, who may or may not be ready for the fine hardwood courts of the National Basketball Association, but wish to ply their trade professionally? Is it possible for these young men to also get an education with the same subsidies Commissioner Silver is suggesting for the NCAA by giving these monies to the NBAs already-established minor league, the National Basketball Development League? No matter the motivations of Adam Silver, it would seem that the winds of change are on the horizon for intercollegiate athletics and its long partnership with professional sport to finally call it what it really is now. So yeah… Thats what I learned during March Madness this year. I can only hope you learned some things, too. Tarvarius Moore Jersey .com) - The Utah Jazz look to put an end to their five-game losing streak when the Denver Nuggets visit Salt Lake City Monday night. Custom San Francisco 49ers Jerseys .com) - The Hatch Attack is back in the Southern Conference. http://www.49ersrookiestore.com/49ers-Ta...s-Moore-Jersey/. Horford is out 3-to-4 months with a torn pectoral muscle for the Hawks, who have won two straight and five of six games. Atlanta improved to 2-0 on the residency with Saturdays 93-91 triumph over Minnesota, as Ivan Johnson scored his teams final four points, including the game-winning free throw with 4. Weston Richburg Jersey . Klein went undrafted in the NFL last year following his senior season with the Wildcats. He was invited to the Houston Texans rookie camp, but was not offered a contract. Frank Gore Jersey . And former Maple Leafs coach Ron Wilson certainly knows his pain. "Its pretty hard to coach there without allowing some of these things to kind of affect you," Wilson told TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun in his ESPN.(SportsNetwork.com) - The Toronto Maple Leafs will try to play spoiler as the Los Angeles Kings will try to match their longest winning streak in over four years in Thursdays battle at Staples Center. Watch the Kings vs. Maple Leafs live tonight on TSN starting at 10:30pm et/7:30pm pt. Toronto hopes to rebound after having a three-game winning streak halted in its last outing. The Maple Leafs were pounded 6-2 by the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday, losing one night after beginning a five-game road trip with a 3-1 win in Anaheim. Jake Gardiner registered both Toronto tallies in Tuesdays loss, while James Reimer allowed all six goals on 48 shots for the Leafs. "I thought we did a lot of things that gave them a lot of opportunities, specifically turning the puck over," said Toronto head coach Randy Carlyle. Toronto, which fell to 13-13-7 as the road club this season, is still in second place in the Atlantic Division. The Leafs are one point ahead of Montreal and three in front of fourth-place Tampa Bay. L.A. has won two straight and three of the last four meetings against the Maple Leafs overall, but Toronto has claimed the past two encounters at Staples Center. The Kings have won eight games in a row and seven of those victories have come after the Olympic break. The time off in February apparently was productive for Los Angeles, which had dropped nine of 11 games before the league went on hiatus for the Sochi Olympics. Another victory tonight would give L.A. its first nine-game winning streak since Jan. 21-Feb. 6, 2010, but a former teammate could prevent that from happening as Maple Leafs goaltender Jonathan Bernier gets set to make his return to the Staples Center. Bernier, who served primarily as Jonathan Quicks backup during his time with the Kings, was dealt to Toronto last summer in exchange for forward Matt Frattin, goaltender Ben Scrivens and a seecond-round draft pick.dddddddddddd Frattin and Scrivens have since been traded by L.A., while Bernier is having a terrific debut season with the Leafs, going 25-16-7 with a 2.59 goals against average and .926 save percentage in 49 games. Originally a first-round pick of Los Angeles in the 2006 draft, Bernier had a 29-20-6 career record with six shutouts and a 2.36 GAA in 62 games with the Kings. He expects to get the start tonight and has a chance to end the Kings recent hot streak. Thanks to the recent surge, the Kings are sitting comfortably in third place in the Pacific Division, nine points ahead of Phoenix for the last of the divisions three automatic bids to the playoffs. L.A. is still nine points behind San Jose for second place and 11 points behind Anaheim for the top spot. The Kings are back home on Thursday after a perfect three-game road trip. Los Angeles is beginning a five-game homestand tonight and is 19-10-3 at Staples Center this season. The club capped its recent swing with Mondays 3-2 regulation win at Calgary. Anze Kopitar scored the eventual winner in the third period as Los Angeles survived a late push from the Flames to pick up the win at the Saddledome. Trevor Lewis and Justin Williams scored for the Kings, while Martin Jones made 24 saves in the win. "Good way to finish off the trip. We did what we wanted," said Los Angeles head coach Darryl Sutter. "If you score three on the road you should win the hockey game." Quick expects to get the start for L.A. on Thursday. The Kings No. 1 backstop is 2-1-0 with a 2.62 goals against average and .910 save percentage in three career games against the Maple Leafs. Kings forward Jordan Nolan is eligible to return tonight after sitting out the last game due to a suspension. Nolan earned the one-game ban for a sucker punch on Edmonton Oilers forward Jesse Joensuu on Sunday. 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