The Philippine Online Chronicles

The Denver Nuggets defeated the New York Knicks after two overtimes, 119-114.

In the 2012 Australian Open, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer defeated their respective opponents to advance to the quarterfinal round.

In college football, Penn State’s legendary coach Joe Paterno died at age 85 due to complications caused by lung cancer.

NBA: Nuggets 119, Knicks 114 (2 OT)

After the blockbuster trade last year, the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets faced each other for the first time and as expected, fireworks and a lot of drama happened.

The Nuggets needed 10 extra minutes to get past the Knicks, eventually emerging with a 119-114 win behind Danilo Gallinari’s career-high 37 points. Al Harrington chipped in 24 points, he scored 22 of them in the decisive second half when the Nuggets were making a run. Brazilian center Nene had a double-double performance with 12 points and 13 rebounds

Both Gallinari and Harrington were traded to the Nuggets for Carmelo Anthony, which also involved one-time NBA champion Chauncey Billups, who is now with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Anthony finished with 25 points and 10 rebounds, but shot at a miserable 33 percent clip from the field.

The game was still tied with just under five minutes remaining in regulation. However, two consecutive miscues by Anthony led to four easy points by the Nuggets. Anthony was somewhat able to redeem himself by making a game-tying jumper with 1.7 seconds remaining to force the game to overtime.

In the first overtime period, Anthony made a three-pointer to put the Knicks on top, 103-100. Point guard Andre Miller, who had 14 points and 12 assists, answered with another three to tie the game. In the next possession, Anthony knocked down another jumper to give the Knicks a two-point lead.

The Knicks could have won the game right there, but Nene was fouled on a rebound, which resulted into two made free throws. Both teams failed to score until the final buzzer, forcing the game into another overtime.

Anthony made another jumper to make it 111-110 for the Knicks, but Gallinari made two free throws and Harrington knocked down a huge corner three-pointer to finally seal the victory. The win is the Nuggets fourth straight while the Knicks lost their sixth consecutive game.

It appears that the Nuggets have become much better after getting rid of Anthony posting a 30-12 record. The Knicks on the other hand, are just 20-24 after sending Gallinari, Harrington, Timofey Mozgov, Raymond Felton, and Wilson Chandler in exchange for Anthony.

Australian Open: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal reach quarterfinals

The inevitable collision course between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal after both tennis superstars advanced to the quarterfinals by beating their respective opponents in the 2012 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.

Nadal defeated fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, 6-4, 6-4, 6-2, which sets up a quarterfinal match against Tomas Berdych. With the win, Nadal improved his record against Lopez at 9-2. Ranked number two in the world after getting leapfrogged by Novak Djokovic last year, Nadal is heavily favored to defeat Berdych.

Meanwhile, Federer routed teenage Australian sensation Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-2, 6-2, and took a spot in the round-of-eight competitions. Tomic did his best to keep the match close, but Federer’s immense edge in experience and skill was just too much for the Australian teenager.

With the win, the 31-year old tennis great will be facing 11^th-seeded Juan Martin Del Potro of Argentina in the quarterfinals.

College Football: Joe Paterno dies at 85

Legendary football coach Joe Paterno died last Sunday after struggling with complications caused by lung cancer. Paterno coached Penn State from 1966 to 2011 and he has won more games than any other football coach in NCAA history.

Despite his amazing record, the well-loved coach was fired by Penn State’s board members after he was involved in a sex scandal that happened almost 13 years ago.

In four decades at Penn State, Paterno, who was affectionately called “JoePa”, won 409 games and led the school to two national titles. Paterno was so successful that 250 former players went on to play professional for various NFL teams.

Despite the accolades and reputation that he built in his very long career, Paterno was fired because he failed to report to the right authorities his knowledge of the sexual abuse of a boy committed by his former defensive coordinator, Jerry Sandusky back in 1999.

Though Paterno reported his knowledge to school officials, many people thought he could have done more by contacting the police regarding the incident.

In the middle of the crisis, Paterno announced that he will retire after 2011, but Penn State’s board members decided to fire him. In his 46-year career, Paterno led Penn State to two national titles in 1982 and 1986.