10 Awesome Things That Happened This Weekend (2/14-2/16)

10. U.S. Secretary of Education Can Ball
            Arne Duncan might not have solved juvenile delinquency yet, but he’s a dominant force in the world of celebrity basketball.

9. Marco Belinelli Needs Extra Round to Win 3-Point Contest

            We’re pretty sure he’s the first champion of this event that ever put up two air balls during the first round.

8. Andre Drummond Dominates NBA Rising Stars Game

            Of all the preliminary events leading up to the All-Star Game, the Friday game of the leagues best rookies and sophomores is slowly working its way to the top of the list. Dion Waiters (who some team should be trying to acquire for a low-ball offer from the Cavaliers) and Tim Hardaway Jr. put on an impressive 3-point display in the second half, and Drummond put up a 30-25 line.

7. Austin Dillon Puts the #3 On the Pole for Daytona 500
            Here’s what I wrote last year after Danica Patrick won the pole for the 2013 Daytona 500…

NASCAR has a long list of “storybook” outcomes, so here’s where Danica’s pole winning run ranks.

1. Richard Petty claiming his 200^th and final career win with Ronald Reagan in attendance at the 1984 Firecracker 400 (Petty was, and still is, a diehard Republican, so this victory turned into a glorified campaign stop for Reagan while he was running for his second term in office).

2. Dale Earnhardt Jr. winning the Pepsi 400 just five months after his father died in a last-lap crash in the 500 (as someone who watched the whole race live, I don’t care about the conspiracy theory. That was the most memorable NASCAR victory by anyone of the entire decade).
3. Danica Patrick winning the pole for this year’s Daytona 500.

        You might think I’d come down negatively on this, but you’d be mistaken. Qualifying at Daytona is in the discussion of most boring things you could ever watch on television. Furthermore, qualifying means very little at a restrictor plate track where cars zoom from the back to the front in less than a handful of laps. If NASCAR did anything to “encourage” a pole-winning run by Patrick, I’d call that some damn good marketing.

            I stand by those comments, and we’ll rank Dillon’s pole winning effort somewhere in the top 10.

6. #2 Arizona Falls in Double Overtime

            Arizona doesn’t have that championship look to it anymore without forward Brandon Ashley.

5. John Wall Wins (I Guess?) 2014 Slam Dunk Contest

            It’s a shame that the confusion over the format marred what was one of the most explosive dunks in years by Wall.

4. Denny Hamlin Wins Event Formerly Known as The Bud Shootout

            Hamlin’s impressive comeback run after an injury-marred and pain filled 2013 continues.
        
3. Canada Survives Against Finland
            Finland successfully slowed the game down against the superior Canadian squad, but Drew Doughty notched his second goal of the game in overtime to give Canada a win in Group B.
      
2. Kyrie Irving Leads Eastern Conference Comeback in NBA All-Star Game
            I don’t know what was more entertaining, the 200 combined dunks and 3-point attempts, or Marv Albert and Steve Kerr complaining about the lack of defensive effort.

1. T.J. Oshie and Jonathan Quick Deliver Dramatic Shootout Win Over Russia

            Who knew that T.J. Oshie was the grandmaster of the shootout? Taking advantage of a weird international rule that lets a team use the same shooter after the first three attempts, Oshie ended up going 4-6 to defeat the more talented Russian forwards. There’s a good chance Oshie could strike again as the Olympic Tournament enters elimination play.