Your roundup of the week’s sports stories ending April 7th.
Down goes Kentucky
The previously undefeated University of Kentucky men’s basketball team was handed their first loss of the season by way of the Wisconsin Badgers in Saturday night’s NCAA Final Four matchup. In a rematch from last year’s 2014 NCAA tournament national semi final, the Badgers exacted sweet revenge in Indianapolis, putting an end to Kentucky’s quest for a national championship and their place in history as the first undefeated team since 1976. The Badgers’ Frank Kaminsky, noted as the Associated Press’s Collegiate Men’s player of the year and the 2015 Naismith Men’s College player of the year, proved to be an unstoppable force in the second half. The big man notched 12 of his 20 overall points in the second half to help put away the Wildcats, and with them, the hysteria of their undefeated season.
War of words
Coping with the frustration of their loss in Saturday night’s national semi final, Kentucky guard Andrew Harrison mumbled some obscenities when his teammate Karl Anthony-Towns was asked in the post-game press conference about Wisconsin forward Frank Kaminsky. Harrison’s ill-fated slip of the tongue may have initially gotten past the journalist in attendance. However, a camera caught the Kentucky player indiscriminately mutter the words “f**k that n***a” in reference to Kaminsky. Harrison has since taken to Twitter to apologize publicly, citing the remarks as a “jest towards a player I respect and know.” Kaminsky has since validated the apology and stated in Sunday’s press conference that the issue has been resolved and that he was “over it.”
Le Classique was a classic
In a game labelled as Le Classique, French Ligue 1’s premiere soccer matchup between Paris St-Germain (PSG) and Olympique de Marseille (OM) lived up to the hype. The two sides gave the beautiful game a modern rendition featuring unrelenting pace and chippy hard-nosed defensive tackles. Led by Andre-Pierre Gignac’s two first half goals, the Marseille attack was firing on all cylinders in the opening half. However, the home crowd was in for a rude awakening come the second half. PSG midfielder Blaise Matuidi’s momentum-changing strike, which curled past the outstretched glove of OM goalkeeper Steve Mandanda, led to a one-sided affair for his squad. PSG overwhelmed it’s Marseille foe with a 3-2 comeback win.
– Peggy Kabeya
