Memphis had it all figured out. But after downing the powerful UCLA Bruins and storming ahead of the Kansas Jayhawks to an eight point lead with two minutes to go, the Tigers blew it. College basketball pregame show enthusiasts and overanalyzers everywhere were rewarded for heeding their experts' warnings: Memphis cannot shoot free throws. It took a miracle three by Mario Chalmers and the lack of a Memphis inside presence (Memphis' Joey Dorsey fouled out......

Just like that, their seasons are finished. Each Washington-area team represented in the men's NCAA Tournament wore a different shoe: the true Cinderella, the scrappy mid-major, and the powerhouse favorite. All suffered the same fate -- a disappointing exit in the first weekend of the tournament. Wha' happened? Wildcat Rally Upsets Hoyas When the Georgetown Hoyas built up a 17-point lead against 10-seed Davidson, I came awfully close to picking up my bracket, grabbing my......

George Mason capped a successful holiday week by beating South Carolina yesterday to take third-place in the Old Spice Classic in Orlando, Fla. Will Thomas paced the Patriots with 22 points and 11 rebounds, solidifying his place on the All-Tournament team. George Mason kicked off their tournament with an 87-77 win over 18th-ranked Kansas State. John Vaughan's 21 points led the team, which put all five starters in double figures. Folarin Campbell's 25 points made......

The mid-November start to the NCAA basketball season tends to get lost in the universe of sports coverage. This is probably due to the staggered opening nights around the country, but can also be attributed to competition with other sports -- college football entering its stretch run, the NFL in midseason, even the NBA's opening weeks garner more attention than college hoops. We're not about to let this exciting time slip through the cracks. With......

Everyone needs a vacation, even musicians, and the summer is quite naturally a time that the classical music world slows down. So this is it for your Classical Music Agenda, until August. This week's installment will be a little longer than normal, because there are several interesting things happening over the next couple months. If you want to hear some music this summer, you can, and here's where. HEADLINES: >> The most important classical music......

Well, it's Monday again and it seems the malaise caused by Georgetown's Saturday loss has subsided a bit. A dash of cherry blossoms and a pinch of kite festival always helps mend a broken heart. At least some Georgetown fans are finding a bit of solace in their prospects for next year. Solace came in another form at a Sunday mass for supporters and students in Atlanta when the presiding priest said, "I must admit,......

It's going to be 73 degrees today Washington, and we can hardly think straight for the giddyness associated with the possibility that it's time to put our winter coats away. But don't worry, we're not too drunk with sunshine to forget that Sweet 16 action in the NCAA mens basketball tournament starts today -- so don't forget to check in on your standings in the DCist pool. The only problem of course being the......

By DCist contributor Hayden Alfano Georgetown is the area's last hope for this year's NCAA men's basketball title. The Hoyas advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 62-55 win on Saturday over Boston College. After a first half in which he scored just two points and was saddled with two fouls, Georgetown center Roy Hibbert dominated the second 20 minutes. Hibbert finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and added the assist on this Patrick......

So, it seems like George Mason may have used up much of the region's supply of NCAA tourney magic in last year's dramatic run. Of the seven regional teams in this year's tournament, only Georgetown survived the first weekend to make the Sweet 16 – stay tuned to DCist for more hoops coverage as the city unites behind the Hoyas. And before you ask: no, I'm not the least bit bitter about having a bracket......

All right, all right. We'll admit that we may have been jumping the gun slightly when, ten days ago, we called the evening's winter weather advisory our "last chance" for snow. But c'mon! It was already March, and beautiful weather was just around the corner. We were sick of hoarding bread, milk and toilet paper; tired of wondering what the hell "liberal leave" meant; and weary from the toll exacted by churning out an......

College basketball fans on the Hilltop and in College Park are pleased, while the ones in Foggy Bottom probably wish they hadn't turned on the TV. The Hoyas pounded Belmont and will face Boston College, while the Terps handled Davidson and will face Butler, and the Colonials were clobbered by Vanderbilt, losing by 33. And over at the DCist Reader-Staff Bracketfest, Kyle Mahaney is in the lead, having picked every game except Butler over......

>> Looks like this morning's hellish Red Line delays were caused by an electrical malfunction involving the much-storied third rail. Sparks and smoke were first reported on the tracks between Dupont Circle and Woodley Park Stations at 7:15 a.m., forcing both north and southbound trains to share one track for two hours. Delays continued after the issue was resolved, as backed-up passengers filtered onto inbound trains. [Washington Post] >> One blogger tells the harrowing tale......

It starts at 12:20 p.m. this afternoon. Tip-off. For some, the pinnacle of sports fandom rests in these next few days. They are epic: 12 hour days that capture some of the very reasons why we watch sports. The NCAA Tournament has the most exhaustive field in major U.S. sports, giving 65 teams a shot at glory in the national spotlight. Year after year, the Big Dance provides buzzer beaters, star turns, Cinderella stories and......

As this weekend's madness subsides, the dizzying swell of lunacy set to commence this Thursday has begun to mount. If you're like us, you spend countless hours feverishly scribbling away at your notes. You dart to the printer to pick up your bracket like Han Solo on the Kessel Run. Your fingers are trained to the Alt and Tab buttons with ninja-like precision. Oh yes, the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship is soon to be underway......

Mason's Magic Slips Away For 38 minutes Monday night, the George Mason Patriots did what they needed to do to complete their improbable four-game run through the Colonial Athletic Association and make a return trip to the NCAA Tournament. They lost it all in 14 seconds. That’s how long it took for Virginia Commonwealth’s Eric Maynor to steal the ball from Dre Smith, drive downcourt, hit a layup while getting fouled by Gabe Norwood,......

Last week the Wizards signed former GW forward Mike Hall to a 10-day contract, making him the second Colonial from last year's team to make it to the NBA. The first was Pops Mensah-Bonsu, who scored the first points by a GW player in the NBA since Yinka "the Stinka" Dare in 1998. Neither look to play much this season, but it got us thinking - where are all the other players from local colleges?......

The George Washington University women's basketball team is ranked #8 in the country by the AP, riding a 14-game winning streak to a 21-2 record. They're undefeated in conference play, and have only lost to then #1 Maryland and then #5/6 Tennessee, and beat then #10/11 and current #9 Georgia. The team includes the Adair twins from Anacostia - 6'4 Jessica, who leads the team in scoring, and 6'3 Jazmine. But only 661 people per......

A weekend full of college basketball saw all four major D.C. area programs hosting games against teams ahead of them in the respective conference standings. Two emerged with convincing wins, while two others suffered disappointing losses. On Saturday, Georgetown leapfrogged No. 11 Marquette into second place in the Big East with a 76-58 victory in front of an announced 17,867 at the Phone Booth. Jeff Green helped break open a close one around the six-minute......

For the first time this season, two area teams occupy spots in the AP's top 10 for women's college hoops. While their male counterparts' seasons have been wrought with inconsistencies, reigning champs Maryland (22-3, #6) and surging GW (19-2, #8) have been making noise all season. This afternoon's poll reveals GW's first appearance in the top ten since February, 1992. The Colonials are riding a 12-game winning streak and are unbeaten in conference play. Their......

Colossal Meltdown for GW Any time you blow a 20 point second half lead, it makes for a particularly ugly loss. GW's 74-65 loss to USC in the John Wooden Classic on Saturday qualifies as such. This one was just plain nasty. Two minutes into the second half, GW held a commanding 36-16 lead against their counterparts from USC. Up until that point, the Colonials had played sparkling defense, protecting the basket while forcing the......

Midnight madness has come and gone, and area NCAA men's cagers are back at it. Georgetown looks to be the area's top team this year, starting the season ranked in the top 10, while Mason hopes to keep up the momentum from their Final Four run, GW tries to make their third straight NCAA tourney after losing 4 key players, Maryland hopes not to make a third straight NIT, and the rest hope to compete......

Last season, the GW men's hoops team rode an undefeated conference season and gaudy #6 ranking (deserved or not) into the second round of the NCAA tournament. And now three Colonials - Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Mike Hall and Danilo Pinnock - are playing in the NBA preseason. Pinnock was the only Colonial (and only player from a D.C.-area college) drafted, taken by the Mavericks in the late second round and promptly traded to the Lakers, while......

The D.C. area was well-represented last year in the men's NCAA basketball tourney, with all three Georges winning at least one game, and of course, George Mason making an improbable run to the Final Four. However, the area women were no slouches either, as Maryland grew into a powerhouse, winning the national title, and perennial tourney team George Washington, who've made the tourney in 13 of the last 16 years, reached the second round. This......

With the USA's first World Cup match coming monday at noon, I decided to get a U.S. soccer jersey. It shouldn't be too hard, I thought, since the U.S. is ranked fifth in FIFA's rankings and the D.C. area has a relatively strong soccer tradition. After all, D.C. United is one of the most popular MLS teams and local colleges perform well nationally, with Maryland's men winning the NCAA title in 2005. However, I was......

Pardon the comparison, but Trinidad and Tobago's surprise tie with Sweden on Saturday was the "Cool Runnings" moment of the 2006 World Cup. It was in that 1993 movie that a Jamaican bobsled team surprised the competition at the 1988 Winter Olympics in an event usually dominated by teams that have, you know, snow and ice. And such was the shock when Trinidad and Tobago, ranked 47 internationally and playing a man down, performed with......

Looks like things aren't going so well for the Maryland men's basketball team lately. Yesterday Fox Sports headlined an article "Terps could be in ACC cellar next season" after a series of calamities up the Green Line. Earlier this year starting guard Chris McCray failed out of school, and just recently seniors Nik Caner-Medley, Travis Garrison, and Sterling Ledbetter all withdrew from school without finishing the semester, presumably to pursue pro careers. The Examiner's......

This entry was written by DCist contributor Andrew Wiseman Bad news for GW basketball fans - leading scorer Danilo Pinnock's GW days are over, as he will soon sign with an agent. Pinnock, a junior, had entered his name into the NBA draft but was expected to return until now. The Colonials already lost senior forwards Pops Mensah-Bonsu, Mike Hall, and Omar Williams to graduation, so another top ten ranking in Foggy Bottom doesn't appear......

Maryland juniors Ekenna Ibekwe and D.J. Strawberry are reportedly entering the NBA Draft. This isn't cause for alarm for Terps fans, though. Neither player is expected to hire an agent, meaning they'll retain their eligibility to return to college. The pair are merely seeing where their draft stock lies and taking the opportunity to compete for NBA scouts in pre-draft camps. Barring incredible performances in those workouts, they'll both be back in Terps uniforms......

Quite the sports weekend for the greater DC area. Something for everyone as they say. We'll start out at RFK with the DC United and NY Red Bulls match, for no other reason except that I was there with the pictures to prove it. Despite considering myself to be quite the soccer fan, I'm ashamed to say that this was my first ever United game. And when the Red Bulls scored twice in the first......

Seattlest saw a house party get senselessly attacked with a shotgun and end with seven dead. A local senator is debated and their version of the big dig is investigated. To truly get to the bottom of it they interview the writer Jonathan Raban. Bostonist has its first birthday party and investigates how to attach more gambling dollars to the Red Sox. Benjamin Franklin is celebrated and Johnny Damon is not. DCist reports that the......