Nate Robinson steals the Bulls from DRose

Anyone watching the wild Chicago Bulls game yesterday saw one of the greatest performances in playoff history from Nate Robinson and the Bulls. It was edge of your seat excitement, but long after the game had ended a thought came to mind. That could've been Derrick Rose. It could've been his moment. However, as Nate's legend grows the memory of Rose seems to shrink.

The announcer's were comparing Nate's 4th quarter heroics to those of Michael Jordan. At one point during the excitement they even called for a statue of Nate to be set out front the United Center next to the one of MJ. That won't happen because that spot is reserved for Rose.

Fans have long believed Rose to be the one who would return the Bulls to their former glory. Yet on Saturday, Nate was the guy with the ball in his hands single handily bringing the Bulls back from certain defeat, his team down 14 and with less than three minutes remaining in Game 4 of the round one playoff match up with the Nets.

Now the Bulls lead the series 3-1 without Rose. He sits on bench, cleared to play, but still unable or unwilling to take the floor. All the while his teammates pull out win after win with gutsy tooth and nail performances. Each player; from Kirk Hinrich to Carlos Boozer is playing like each game could be their last.

And watching Joakim Noah gut it out through an injury just makes one wonder. Why Derrick, why? Noah played 38 minutes last night, fighting through pain in his foot caused by plantar fasciitis. He was only supposed to play 25. He made big shots, and despite fouling out helped lead the team.

It's hard for any Bulls fan to see a game with Rose on the bench, but what's worse is wondering when he'll come back. Rose has said he'll return when he is ready, but fans have been left guessing when that will be. The problem for the star point guard is that he left the door open for a return. So, Bulls fans have to hope it'll be sooner than later, and that's the hardest part.

When he comes back, the fans will welcome him with open arms as they should. Rose is making the smart decision by not coming back until he feels ready. Still, Robinson's performance on Saturday was enough to almost make fans forget about the MVP point guard sitting at the end of the bench in a suit. For now at least, the team belongs the Mr. Excitement. Nate Robinson.

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Pounding their way into Regionals

Every point was well-earned on Saturday against Drake as Pound fought their way to a 15-13 win.

 

The men of Luther College B, also known as Pound, ended a cold Saturday on the University of Northern Iowa campus with a 2-1  record and the No. 2 seed at the upcoming North Central Regional.

Playing in the West Plains D-III Conference Championships Pound had to battle in their opening game against Drake. In the face of freezing temperatures and strong winds it was going to take a methodical effort from Pound on offense and defense.

After a back and forth game they came away with the 15-13 win and faced Loras next. Loras had lost 13-3 to Grinnell in its first game of the day.

This time Pound's patience and style paid off in a big way as they worked there way out to a 7-2 lead at halftime. A Loras rally to start the second half made it 7-4, but a leaping catch in the endzone got Pound there first point of the half, and started a 3-1 rally for Luther which pushed the lead to 10-5.

Luther never let Loras get any closer than three points after that as it claimed the 13-8 win to secure a spot at Regionals. Up next was a tough Grinnell squad with the No. 1 seed on the line.

Grinnell's cup defense seemed to frustrate Pound from the start, but they kept fighting. However the staunch D and a big strike ability allowed Grinnell to take a 7-4 lead at the break.

According to Pound's TreeBeard there is no love loss between these two squads with vastly different styles. Grinnell looks for the huck on almost every turn, but Pound likes to wear the defense down and work it's way up the field.

Unfortunately in Saturday's final game Grinnell took the 11-8 win in a hard fought and loud match. The two sides were trying to one up on and off the field with chants rallying there team.

NLS will continue to follow Pound throughout the college post-season. More pictures from this weekend's action will also be posted later.

USA National Team set

USA Ultimate announced the 20-person roster for the national team to play at the 2013 World Games. Scheduled for July 25- Aug. 4 the Games feature teams representing Australia, Canada, Japan, Colombia, Great Britain and the US.

With more than 500 elite players from across the country trying out for the team there were a lot of good competitors to choose from. The 20 players chosen will have the opportunity to defend USA's gold medal won at 2009 Games played in Germany.

Eventually the current group will be cut down to 13 players for the final roster to head to Colombia this summer.

Selected for this year's squad were men and women from some of the best club teams in the country including Ring of Fire, Revolver, Showdown and Fury. Revolver had four men selected, and Fury had three women selected to the national team.

The first practice will be May 11 in Boston where they'll play a group of local all-stars. Follow NLS for more reports on the USA Ultimate national team.

A new disc, and putting advice.

Start of a hole at Camden 1

My second week on the disc golf course went a little smoother, and most of that can be attributed the new driver I purchased for today's round. The Roadrunner disc gave me more distance and better stability than the Viper had in a long time.

Roadrunner is a lighter disc and the difference was apparent almost immediately. It felt smoother coming out of my hand as I had better control over where I wanted it to go. Other discs offered more distance, but the trade off is in accuracy as the lightest discs are hardest to control. So, for a beginner Roadrunner is a safe choice.

Overall for the day I believe I played much better compared to last week. It was a doubles random draw event, and luckily I was paired with a three-year pro who carried our group. In the event, we played the best throw so we played his tosses most of the time. I just tried to do my best.

He was happy to help, and I did what I could from short range and on putting. The short game can be my savior for now. I'm able to layup close to the hole, and my partner let me take most of the putts so I could get the practice. I wasn't off by much, but it still could be better.

To work on putting I was told just to aim straight for the chains above the basket, and not to aim for the basket. He said the chains are there to help catch the disc, so let them do the job.

For the day we did manage to win our five buck buy in back so that was a plus. It was a lot of fun too, and I recommend disc gold anyone looking for a good time or a new activity.