What you may have missed this weekend: 4/5-4/8

This weekend was important because not only was it the Final Four, but it was the last weekend of the NBA regular season as we set our attention to the NBA playoffs and whether or not the Golden State Warriors will get a three-peat.

I will have my last NBA Season review this Thursday with everything we need to catch up on and the playoff picture.

But we will also catch you up on what happened in other sports like NHL and even a bit of WWE! Yes, that’s right! We can’t forget about the biggest wrestling event of the year. Let’s not forget about the smack talk that’s going on between two former teammates, Antonio Brown and JuJu Smith-Schuster. So let’s check it out!

“Wrestlemania 29” by Marques Stewart is licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0

College Basketball

Women’s National Champions:

Baylor and Notre Dame have been two of the best teams in Women’s basketball over the past eight years. They were always in the fight to the National Championship against each other or the women Connecticut Huskies.

Notre Dame went into this year’s tournament wanting to be the first team since UConn to go back-to-back in 2015-16 and even 2013-14. Baylor is looking for their first title since 2012 when they beat Notre Dame. The Fighting Irish had the advantage before the game after beating UConn in the Final Four for the second consecutive year. Baylor inched by Oregon in their Final Four match, and they also found a way to hold off Note Dame in an 82-81 victory to claim their 3rd national title.

Men’s National Champions:

Unlike the Women’s game, both Virginia and Texas Tech made their first ever National Championship appearance. For Virginia, it’s all about redemption from their upsetting defeat in last year’s tournament. For Texas Tech, it’s about showing that defense wins championships as they beat Gonzaga, Michigan, and Michigan State with their tough defense to earn their way into the title game.

Virginia had several moments in the tournament were they could’ve easily been beaten. Their Final Four game against Auburn was one of those moments. You be the judge of the late foul call that gave Virginia the win. Or maybe you want to argue the double dribble call that should’ve been called.

But regardless of the results of that game, Virginia and Texas Tech gave us all another great National Championship memory as the two teams battled to overtime. Virginia built up a 10 point lead halfway through the second half of the game until Texas Tech found their way back to take the late led before DeAndre Hunter nailed another three to tie the game back and force overtime. Virginia and Texas Tech were looking to make history and pick up their teams first ever national title. Congrats to Virginia on the 85-77 win over the Texas Tech! Great run and effort by the Red Raiders as well!

Zion Williamson becomes the third Freshman to win Naismith Trophy:

Williamson is the next big thing to enter the NBA Draft since LeBron James did straight out of high school. Unfortunately, Williamson wasn’t able to get drafted from high school despite his 6’7 284-pound body that showed nothing but athleticism. Williamson was the best player in college this year, and that’s why he won the Naismith Trophy.

The Naismith Trophy is rewarded to the best collegiate athlete in that season. Williamson is only the third freshman to receive the award the other two were Kevin Durant (2006-07) and Anthony Davis (2011-12). We have seen what the careers of those two players have been like, so we should expect to see Williamson make a significant impact as the No. 1 overall pick in this summer’s draft.

NBA

Denver Nuggets clinch Northwest division for the first time in nine years

The Nuggets haven’t been the same dominant team since they traded Carmelo Anthony to the New York Knicks nine years ago. But they have shown a lot of promise over the years, and with the leadership of Nikola Jokic, they have made the playoffs again. Not only did the make playoffs, but they finished with the best record in the Northwest division and fighting with the defending champions, Golden State Warriors, for the best record in the Western Conference. Congrats to Jokic and the Nuggets and good luck in the tough playoffs.

Russell Westbrook averaged triple-double for a 3rd straight season

This guy is just one of the most brilliant players in NBA history. Call it what you want, but Westbrook continues to prove why he’s the best point guard in the league. Not only has he averaged a triple-double in one season, but he has done it three times, and I believe that he could do it again, Of course, the 20 points, 20 rebounds, 21 assist game he had Tuesday night helped him catch up to the averages he needed, but that was all for Nipsey.

Dirk Nowitzki DUNKS!!!!!

Yes, you read that right! Dallas Mavericks seven foot three point German superstar who’s playing his last NBA days has just gone retro and Dunk! Look at the reactions here!

The 40-year-old Dirk started the scoring for the Mavericks in their 112-122 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Dirk will play his final game tonight against the Phoenix Suns, so let’s see if Dirk has more Dunks in him before he retires after a 20-year career as a Dallas Mavericks.

Milwaukee Bucks clinch league’s best record

After LeBron James left the East coast this season, we were all wondering who the best player and team would be. It became evident that the Milwaukee Bucks led by Giannis Antetokounmpo would be that team. It was also clear that coach Mike Budholzer would be a massive success in Milwaukee. Coach Bud has led his second team to a 60 win season and the best record in the league for the first time since 1981. Can he help coach Giannis and the rest of the Bucks talented offense to the NBA Finals?

NHL:

Lightning’ record-setting season ends with 62 wins:

The Tampa Bay Lightning won their NHL record-tying 62nd game. They are the only team to do so this season. Those 62 wins tied with the 1995-96 Detroit Red Wings. The only other team to get 50 wins was the Calgary Flames who are the best team in the Western Conference. But can anyone touch the Lightning this year?

The Lightning also won 30 road games this season, that’s second most in NHL history behind the 2005-06 Red Wings (31). They also set a new single-season record for multigoal comeback wins with 136. The previous record was 135 set in 2006-07. Who will rise to the occasion and beat the Lightning?

Carolina Hurricanes end drought to clinch a playoff berth:

The Carolina Hurricanes have finally made the playoffs after a long 10-year absence. Although they barely made it in, the Canes’ celebrated with their fans which could help fuel them throughout the playoffs. This was the longest playoff drought in NHL. Now they have to try their luck against the defending Stanley Cup Champions, Washington Capitals.

NHL playoff teams:

Western Conference:

1. Calgary Flames (50-24-7)
2. Nashville Predators (46-29-6)
3. Winnipeg Jets (46-30-5)
4. San Jose Sharks (45-27-9)
5. St. Louis Blue (44-28-9)
6. Vegas Golden Knight (43-31-7)
7. Dallas Stars (42-32-7)
8. Colorado Avalanche (38-29-14)

Eastern Conference:

1. Tampa Bay Lightning (62-16-4)
2. Washington Capitals (48-25-8)
3. Boston Bruins (49-24-9)
4. New York Islanders (47-27-7)
5. Toronto Maple Leafs (46-28-7)
6. Pittsburgh Penguins (44-26-11)
7. Carolina Hurricanes (45-29-7)
8. Columbus Blue Jackets (46-31-4)

WWE:

Wrestlemania 35:

Usually, I wouldn’t talk about big wrestling pay-per-view because I don’t like to spoil all the big news, but by this time everyone should know what has happened after watching Monday Night Raw. But I will give you a quick recap of what happened just in case you missed it twice! The beast slayer Seth Rollins slew the beast for the Universal Champions. For the first time, the women main event Wrestlemania and the man won it all. John Cena returned as Doctor of Thuganomics but did not fight Kurt Angle. Angle lost to Baron Corbin in his last ever match.

Of all the title matches that took place at Wrestlemania, there were only two that were able to retain, U.S. Champion Samoa Joe and Smackdown Tag Team The Usos. Finn Balor brought back the demon and defeated Bobby Lashley; The Raw Tag Team division got the biggest surprise as a guy that has gone 0-269 in all matches has finally broken the streak with his longtime friend, Zack Ryder! The women’s tag team championship was Iconic! Let’s not forget about the winners of the Andre the Giant battle royal, Braun Strowman and Carmella. But the greatest WrestleMania moment of this year was Kofimania!

Kofi Mania finally came as the fans got what they all asked for. Kofi Kingston has been a WWE superstar for the past 11 years and has fought and kicked his way to the top of the mountain. Kingston has now become the 20th superstar in WWE history to be a grand slam.

2019 WWE Hall of Famer Class:

D-Generation X

The Honky Tonk Man

Torrie Wilson

Hart Foundation

Sue Aitchison

Harlem Heat

Brutus “The Barber” Beefcake