Reinstated Player Gets it Done

The hero for Virginia in its 9-7 win over Maryland in the college lacrosse final wasn't even sure if he would have a chance to play. Colin Briggs had been suspended by coach Dom Starsia for the semifinal because he had committed a team infraction. The decision to reinstate Briggs ultimately decided the final result.

Briggs' career high five goal powered Virginia past the unranked Terps of Maryland, who were cut short in completing the underdog story. In a slow, methodical affair, Virginia essentially ran out the clock for the later part of the game to hold on for the school's fifth title.

It was 96 degrees outside at game time, and even hotter on the field of play. Briggs claimed the benching actually benefited him in a way, saying "I definitely felt fresh out there, especially in the fourth quarter. I still had legs while maybe some other guys didn't."

Virginia was without two of its best players for much of this year, senior twin brothers (and All-Americans) Rhamel and Shamel Bratton, who had both been suspended. Their defensive stud Matt Lovejoy had been sidelined with a season-ending injury.

The Cavaliers also had a stretch this year, from March 26 to April 22, in which they lost four of five games. The turning point came when Starsia reinvented his club's style of play, switching to a zone defense and a controlled offense.

Maryland's thirteen turnovers likely cost them the title. Though they outshot the Cavs 32-26, the unforced errors were crucial to their defeat. Looking back on their season, their coach, John Tillman,  had this to say:

"I'm very disappointed for the 48 guys in our locker room. I couldn't be more proud of this group, both as players and as people because of the way they handled the last 12 months. It's been a long year with all the things we had to deal with. The coaching transition, all the injuries, Maria Young's death through it all we played like Terps and represented our school, our state and our alumni with class."

Their goal for next year will be to return to this point next year, and hopefully come out on top.

Lakers Get Their Man

One of the most prized franchises in sports, the Los Angeles Lakers, are set to hire a castoff to replace Phil Jackson. Do not let the word "castoff" sway your opinion of the move, as Mike Brown is most definitely a certified NBA head coach. 

Cleveland got rid of him last year, and the Lakers have taken advantage by hiring the defensive-minded coach. Perhaps he is the jolt the Lakers, who at times looked lazy defensively, need to get over the hump next year.

Brown is also experienced with coaching a superstar, as he piloted the Cavaliers during LeBron James' tenure with the team. While he is not one of the three potential candidates for the job originally endorsed by Kobe Bryant, according to reports he has the Black Mamba's "full support."

He is the winningest coach in Cavaliers history, and took them to the Finals in 2007. In five years with the club, he posted a 272-138 record.

Brown will become a rich man as a result of the Lakers contract, an impressive four year, $18.25 million deal. An ESPN analyst this past season, Brown is now at basketball's coaching plateau.

Interleague Play

It's that time of the baseball season once again. The most scrutinized few weeks of the season: interleague play. The schedule is undoubtedly unfair, causing questioning about whether interleague play should remain a part of the baseball season.

Many fans look forward to interleague play because the matchups are not traditional, and they get to see new teams in their ballparks. Rangers vs. Phillies and Cubs vs. Red Sox are two headlining matchups currently being played. For the first time since the 1918 World Series, the Cubs are playing in Fenway Park.

But interleague play does have a glaring problem, which is the scheduling conflict. In order to have large market and rivalry matchups, the interleague schedule is unfair to many of the teams. As ESPN's Jayson Stark writes, for example, the Tigers do not have a true NL rival. They get six games against the lowly Astros and Pirates. But division foe Cleveland has an interstate rival in the Cincinnati Reds, a quality ballclub, and has to face them six times. The Reds have tough going also, playing fifteen interleague games against opponents over .500. Division rival St. Louis only has six.

Interleague play is an adventurous time of the season; teams are unfamiliar with one another almost as much as AL pitcher are unfamiliar with the hitting they have to do in NL ballparks. But until the scheduling issues are figured out, the scrutiny will remain.

Emotional Weekend for Jorgie

The end may be near for the great Yankee catcher Jorge Posada.

In the midst of hitting just .165 as the Yankees' DH,  he was placed in the nine hole in the Yankees lineup by manager Joe Girardi. Rather than playing, for reasons still somewhat undetermined, Jorgie decided he wanted the night off.

Whether it was because he felt disrespected by the lineup move or because of his back like he said, Posada didn't give an idea to Girardi. Which is why this event has become so overblown by the media.

Whatever really did happen, Posada regrets his decision, saying, "It's just one of those days that you wish you could have back," in regard to Saturday. He apologized to his manager earlier today, and Girardi said their conversation went well. Once former teammates, the two discussed going through struggles, and moving forward.

Posada is not in the Yankees' lineup for tonight's game against the Red Sox, but according to Girardi, not because of yesterday's event. Rather, it is because of Jorge's performance against lefties, whom he has hit 0-24 against. And so far, that decision has paid off, as his replacement, Andruw Jones, just hit a second-inning homer off of Jon Lester.

Looking forward, Jorgie's apology has been accepted, and he will not be fined by GM Brian Cashman. But will he be able to turn around his productiveness, or lack thereof, at the plate? Will his illustrious career end this season? It's still relatively early in the season, and Posada will get many more chances to swing the bat.

Yet Another Questionable Tweet

A few days ago I wrote about Rashard Mendenhall's comments; yesterday it was Reggie Bush making a fool of himself. What the Saints running back said can be interpreted to speak volumes about his work ethic, or lack thereof.

On Monday, Bush shared his thoughts on the current lockout: "Everybody complaining about the lockout! Shoot I'm making the most of it! Vacation, rest, relaxing, appearances here and there! I'm good! Right about now we would be slaving in 100 degree heat, practicing twice a day, while putting our bodies at risk for nothing."

Basically, what Bush said is he would much rather just relax than do his job as an NFL player. Instead of working out constantly like the many of the dedicated players, he is just enjoying himself. He's been a no-show at the workouts organized by QB Drew Brees, that over 40 of his teammates have attended. This is possibly because he is frustrated the team drafted Mark Ingram to take his place. But it's all okay: he was just joking, he later clarified.

Maybe all that separates Bush from being an NFL starter is his work ethic, and dedication to the game. But until he starts acting more seriously about his job, Mark Ingram is going to take away any opportunity for Bush to break out faster than either of them can run a 40.

Mendenhall's Remarks Cost Him Endorsment Contract

Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall probably wishes he could have taken back his remarks regarding the killing of Osama bin Laden. His consequence for his two tweets is losing his prime sponsor, Champion. Just this past Sunday, Mendenhall had signed a four-year extension with the apparel company, who he had endorsed since 2008, the year he was drafted. But that contract is moot following Mendenhall's remarks.

As a result of the public reaction toward the terrorist's death, Mendenhall tweeted: "What kind of person celebrates death? It's amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We've only heard one side..."

The second tweet is the one that probably cost him his sponsor, regarding the 9/11 attack: "We'll never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style."

In a statement the brand sent to ESPN.com, Champion said while they respect Mendenhall's rights to have views on controversial topics, he is not fit to represent their brand because of what he said. In the statement, Champion said they were a strong supporter of the government's fight against terrorism, and called Mendenhall's remarks "inconsistent with the values of the Champion brand."

Occurrences such as this beg the question of whether teams should consider banning social media as a whole.

Confidence Absent in L.A.

"This team can beat us. It's clear," Kobe Bryant said of the Mavericks after his Lakers fell 96-94 at the hands of Dallas in Game 1. This was following a game in which the heavy favorite Lakers led by sixteen in the second half, only to open the door for the aging Mavs to erase the deficit and win the game.

The Lakers went to none other than Kobe on the final play of the game, only to have a last-second three that would have won the game clank off the rim. Along with the miss came wavering confidence for L.A.  Rather than declaring a trophy like LeBron and the Heat, words like "I'm highly concerned" are used, which also came out of Kobe's mouth after Game 1.

Reassuringly enough, if anything, the Lakers also fell in Game 1 to the New Orleans Hornets, but came back to win that series fairly easily. But the Mavs are far more experienced than the Fighting Chris Pauls, and should put up more of a fight. "We're not happy right now. We're not satisfied," vet guard Jason Terry said, "We didn't play our best basketball. When we watch the film, we'll realize what we did out there wasn't that great." Terry's attitude, though, certainly sounds more confident than Kobe's does. Terry seems more convinced that his team can win the series.