The Philippine Online Chronicles

The US NCAA basketball action finally drew to a close, with the Connecticut Huskies manhandling the Butler Bulldogs to take the 2011 NCAA championship trophy. Playing a defensive game that will go down as one of the best for many years to come, the Huskies gave coach Jim Calhoun his third NCAA title. Calhoun will join Mike Krzyzewski, John Wooden, and Adolph Rupp as the only coaches to win three titles or more in the NCAA.

Meanwhile, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Dennis Rodman, Chris Mullin, and Stanford coach Tara VanDerveer will make it to this year’s Hall-of-Fame class. Aside from them, other sports figures who will join them are Tex Winter, NBA and ABA center Artis Gilmore, Lithuanian basketball player Arvydas Sabonis, and former Boston Celtics member Tom “Satch” Sanders.

In UFC, light heavyweight contender Thiago Silva admitted that he altered the specimen he submitted for the urinalysis that was conducted by the Nevada State Athletic Commission. According to the NSAC, the 28-year-old Brazilian mixed martial artist submitted a urine sample that was “inconsistent” with human urine before the fight against Fil-Am fighter Brandon Vera.

US NCAA basketball Final: Connecticut 53, Butler 41

For four full minutes, the Butler Bulldogs felt the wrath of the Connecticut Huskies’ all-world defense. In the end, it wasn’t a matter of which team made more shots, but which team prevented the other from making a basket.

When the final buzzer sounded, the Huskies took the 2011 NCAA men’s title by beating the Bulldogs, 53-41.

For the Huskies, Kemba Walker led the way by finishing with 16 points and nine rebounds. Aside from that, he helped his team hold down the Bulldogs to a dismal 12-for-26 shooting from the field, the worst in NCAA finals history.

Aside from Walker, Jeremy Lamb added 12 points while Alex Oriakhi finished with a double-double by scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.

In a game where defense was the key to the title, the Huskies piled up four steals and a total of 10 blocks. The Huskies completely took the Bulldogs out of their game and forced the Bulldogs to the worst field goal percentage in the finals, perhaps in conference history.

Aside from that, the Bulldogs’ 12 field goals is the second fewest made in a finals game, next to Oklahoma which made nine field goals way back in 1949.

Meanwhile, Shelvin Mack finished with 13 points and nine rebounds for the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, he was the only who broke into the double-digit scoring column, thanks to the excellent defense played by the Huskies.

In the first half, the Huskies found themselves trailing by three points, 22-19. However, the second half looked like an entirely different game when the Huskies decided to play defense for good. Minutes later in the second half, the Bulldogs found themselves trailing 41-28.

From that point, the Huskies never looked back and coach Jim Calhoun bagged his third NCAA title since 1999.

NBA: Dennis Rodman makes it to this year’s Hall-of-Fame class

Dennis Rodman still thinks it’s too good to be true.

Earlier today, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame announced that Rodman, who played for the Chicago Bulls, San Antonio Spurs, and Detroit Pistons, will be part of this year’s Hall-of-Fame class.

Rodman, who played alongside NBA greats such as Michael Jordan, Scottie Pippen, and David Robinson, was known more for his off-court antics despite being one of the greatest rebounders and defensive players in basketball history.

Aside from Rodman, other sports personalities who were voted into this year’s hall-of-fame class were triangle offense innovator Tex Winter, former NBA player Artis Gilmore, Arvydas Sabonis, Chris Mullin, and Tom “Satch” Sanders.

Rodman thought that someone was pulling a prank on him when he was informed that he made it to the list. Despite not being the biggest and most athletic player on the court, Rodman got by with smarts and excellent rebounding position when he was still playing.

Winter helped coach Phil Jackson use the triangle offense in the Bulls and Lakers teams that won a total of nine NBA titles. Gilmore, on the other hand, was a six-time NBA All-Star who scored 24,000 points in his 17-year career.

Meanwhile, the 7’3" Sabonis was regarded as the greatest center in the world back in the 1980s despite not playing in the NBA. At 31, he made his transition to the NBA by playing with the Portland Trailblazers where he established himself as one of the best passing centers ever.

Mullin was a five-time All-Star who still holds the scoring record for St. John’s University. He is one of the few NBA players who won more than two Olympic gold medals.

UFC: Thiago Silva attempted to alter urine test results

In a shocking revelation, UFC light heavyweight contender Thiago Silva of Brazil admitted that he tried to alter the urine test that was administered by the Nevada State Athletic Committee days before his fight against Fil-Am fighter Brandon “The Truth” Vera.

According to the NSAC’s findings, Silva’s urine test registered a completely invalid result. The NSAC also found that Silva tried to substitute synthetic urine in order to mask the other substances that he was using to enhance his performance.

According to Silva, he used a urine adulterant and he was completely aware that he broke the rules of the NSAC. Silva apologized to UFC fans, the commission, and Vera.

Silva claimed that he was forced to use the banned substance because he didn’t want to pull out of a fight. For more than a year, he had been sidelined because of a back and spine injury. Not wanting to miss additional time on the shelf, he used injections that contained substances that weren’t allowed by the commission.

Despite the admission, the Brazilian fighter didn’t elaborate the illegal substances that he took and how he was able to get them.

Silva so completely dominated Vera in their bout that the Fil-Am fighter left the Octagon with a badly broken nose that needed surgery to be fixed. The NSAC has appealed to the UFC that Silva’s win be overturned. The entire issue will be discussed on April 8 in Las Vegas.

“Rodman Lipofsky” by Steve Lipofsky c/o Wikimedia. Some rights reserved.