Wild Saturday: This is why we love sports!

Yesterday, Saturday February 22nd 2020, was a wild day in sports. It's a perfect example of the chaos of sports. A reminder that anything can happen.

The Great Eight does it!

 Alexander Ovechkin finally scored his 700th career goal early in the 3rd period in Saturdays game against the New Jersey Devils. The accomplishment was marred a little by the fact that the Washington Capitals would go on to lose the game. That isn't reason not to celebrate however. Ovechkin is just the 8th player in NHL history to reach this milestone. He is also the second youngest and second quickest to reach the mark (34 years old, 1144 games). The only man to do it faster was The Great One, Wayne Gretzky (29 years old, 886 games)



Big names go down in the NCAA

 Things got crazy at the top of the College Basketball rankings yesterday. The top four teams in the nation all played yesterday. #1 Baylor and #3 Kansas squared off in Waco Texas. Baylor came in on a 23 game winning streak and an overall record of 24-1. Kansas came in 23-3, their last loss was when Baylor came to town in January. Kansas would go on to win 64-61 after Baylor missed a buzzer beater to try to take the game to overtime.

 #2 Gonzaga took on #23 BYU. Things didn't go as planned for the Bulldogs. BYU took an 8 point lead into halftime, extending it in the second eventually winning by a score of 91-78.

 #4 San Diego State was the last undefeated team in the country coming into Saturday. They came in sporting a record of 26-0. Lowly UNLV (14-14) should have been an easy win. The Aztecs must have thought so as well, trailing by 12 to the Runnin' Rebels at halftime. They would battle back in the second but couldn't quite finish the job. UNLV would win by a final score of 66-63.

 #5 Dayton and #6 Duke both won yesterday and could benefit from these losses when it's time to select the top tournament seeds.

The XFL just keeps getting better

 When the XFL came up with a crazy double forward pass rule I don't think the Landry Jones play was what they had in mind.

 That's a heads up play by Jones, being aware of the rules and taking full advantage of them! You won't see this stuff in the NFL.

 It looks like the State of Texas is going to a force to be reckoned as the Houston Roughnecks are 3-0 and the Dallas Renegades are 2-1.

Heavyweight boxing nightcap

 The WBC heavyweight title was on the line when Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder faced off for the second time. The first time around the match ended in a controversial draw. This time around Fury left nothing to chance, knocking Wilder down twice before Wilder's corner finally threw in the towel, giving Fury the 7th round TKO.

 Wilder has 30 days to exercise a rematch clause which would mean we could see Wilder-Fury 3 in which the belt would again be on the line.

D-Wade #3 raised in Miami

 Dwayne Wade was honored by the Miami Heat ahead of their game with the Cleveland Cavaliers, having his number 3 retired and raised to the roof inside American Airlines Arena. Wade played 15 seasons with the Heat, winning the NBA championship with the team in 2006, 2012 and 2013.

Emergency Goalie wins first NHL game.

 If you are a casual fan of hockey or not a fan at all you probably don't know what an emergency backup goalie is.

 Somewhere in the arena at every NHL game there is an emergency backup goalie ready to suit up if either team has a goalie suffer an injury. The EBUG is provided by the home team but eligible to play for either team should they need it.

 Suiting up isn't a wildly uncommon occurrence. Rules do try to protect goalies, teammates certainly do. But things happen, goalies get hurt. But rarely is it two.

 Famously Scott Foster saved all 7 shots he faced when he was tasked with 14 minutes of ice time for the Chicago Blackhawks in March of 2018. Foster is an accountant by day and beer leaguer by night.

 Last night the Carolina Hurricanes visited the Toronto Maple Leafs. James Reimer started in net for the Hurricanes but was injured early in the first period, Petr Mrazek entered the game but was injured in the second period. Queue the EBUG!

 David Ayres is a 42 year old maintenance worker and occasional zamboni driver, turned fill in practice goalie for the Maple Leafs and their AHL affiliate Toronto Marlies.

 Ayres entered the game with nearly 30 minutes left but with a 2 goal lead. Things started poorly. Ayres allowed two goals on the first two shots he faced. But the hurricanes buckled down and went into the 3rd period with a 4-3 lead.

 Ayres went on to stop all 8 shots he face in the 3rd and the Canes won 6-3. Ayres earned his first ever NHL win and was awarded 1st star of the game.

The Houston Astros get cancelled.

 The Houston Astros and Washington Nationals were set to play their first spring training game yesterday. Fans who had shown up with anti Astros signs had them stolen by security. Eventually the skies opened up and the game was cancelled. It just seems like a fitting start to what will undoubtedly be a tough season for the Astros.