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Sunday DBR: Started From The Bottom

If there exists such a thing as a "perfect" sports day, yesterday just might be the model to emulate.

By Matthew Tennant
Now we're here.
Now we're here.
Jim Cowsert-USA TODAY Sports

What a day. Baylor Men's and Women's Basketball played, Baylor Baseball played, Chelsea played, FC Dallas played, Houston Dynamo played, Duke-UNC happened, and the Dallas Star both retired the legendary Mike Modano's number and pulled off a thrilling win over the Minnesota Wild. Oh, all those teams I listed? They won. It was quite the exhilarating day in sports. But first, Baylor news!

In Season: MBB, WBB, Baseball, and Softball

Chery's 29 Lifts MBB Over Kansas State, 76-74 - BaylorBears.com

The Baylor Bears are for real. Exactly zero teams prior to today had gone into the Octagon of Doom and come out with a win. The Bears entered, trailed by 12 at the half, and left with a two-point win. Baylor is clearly a much better second half team. Need proof?

I have no idea what Scott Drew and company adjust in the locker room at halftime, but whatever it is, it is working. Want another statistic to prove the point? Baylor's free throw percentage in the first half was 37.5%. In the second? 83.3% including 17 straight. Free throws at the end of the game proved to be critical, as K-State was able to quickly answer every pair of Baylor free throws within seconds. Baylor earned the lead about halfway into the second half and spread the lead out to ten points at one point. However, it wouldn't be a Baylor basketball game without the patented late-game, breath-stopping play. The final minute of play was the following, over and over: K-State fouls Baylor, Baylor drains two FTs, K-State drives against sieve-like Baylor D and negates the FT points, Baylor inbounds, and K-State fouls. Rinse and repeat until your heart explodes from stress. Speaking of stressful situations...

Kansas State's Nino Williams tipped in the ball with 0.4 seconds left to bring KSU within two. Baylor had the game wrapped up; all they needed to do was inbound the ball and run out the clock. What followed was eerily similar to the game between these two schools last year in Waco. Royce O'Neale launched the ball down court in an effort to inbound the ball. No one was there. Thankfully, unlike last year, the ball did end up being touched. Gary Franklin heroically leaped out-of-bounds and got his hand on the ball just before his foot touched down. K-State got one more inbound attempt, but they couldn't traverse the full court in the 0.3 seconds that were left because Cory Jefferson (I thought it was Franklin, but the stat sheet says Jefferson...) deflected the ball down for the Baylor victory.

The win over Kansas State did not necessarily do much for the Bears in terms of Big 12 seeding, yet a very strong road victory can only help in terms of NCAA seeding. Unfortunately for Baylor, Okie aggy failed to pull off the upset of Iowa State in overtime, so Baylor will be playing Wednesday versus TCU instead of resting with a bye. Well, playing TCU is basically a bye...

Scott Drew has one of the best coach-run Twitter accounts.

No. 9 WBB Downs Kansas, 81-47, in Big 12 Quarterfinals - BaylorBears.com

Yes, that is a basketball score, not a football score. Wait, could Kansas even score 47 points in football...? But I digress. The Lady Bears took care of business yesterday. Our guest columnist, Chuck Chaney, put up a good review of the game earlier. Although Sims, who is in contention for many national awards, was limited to a pedestrian (for Sims) 15 points, freshman standout Davis put up a career-high 18 in the first half to pick up the slack.

That's about it regarding the Kansas game; Baylor simply dominated and left Kansas in ruins. The Lady Bears will play Oklahoma State tomorrow at 2:00. Hopefully the game ends up more like the 81-64 Waco victory than the 3OT 69-66 Stillwater victory.

Kuntz, Toth Lead Baseball to 1-0 Win vs. No. 4 Cal State Fullerton - BaylorBears.com

After suffering their first home loss of the year on Saturday, Baylor tied up the series against No. 4 Cal State Fullerton with a low-scoring win over the Titans (but their mascot is an elephant. Roll Tide?) in the 500th game at Baylor Ballpark. While this game might be overlooked due the basketball happenings, this is an impressive win for the Bears. Although a 7-7 record will not have the Bears ranked any time soon, an upset win over a top five team, especially coming off a blowout loss yesterday, has to be a huge boost for both morale and rankings.

Baylor pitcher Brad Kuntz pitched a career-high-tying six innings and only allowed two hits, albeit with five walks and only two strikeouts. Although Kuntz got into trouble, he always managed to pitch his way out of it and did not give up any runs, which is always the most important stat of a baseball game.

The Bears will wrap up the series at 1:00 today and will be televised live of FOX Sports Southwest.

Baylor Softball is on break until March 14th.

Off Season: Football

The latest "Inside Baylor Sports" update takes a look at the massive video board and ribbon board that will adorn the Palace on the Brazos.

Little do they know, #MidnightWaffles have special powers. Levi will go for 800 yards this upcoming year and it will be because of the waffles I made for him. Or because he's a slippery receiver. Let's go with waffles.

I love how often former Bears come back to campus. BGOD.

Mark already put up a summary of the scrimmage, but here's the official one.

Best of the Rest

Malloy Selected by USA Volleyball for China Tour - BaylorBears.com

Baylor Volleyball player Andie Malloy has been selected for the U.S. Collegiate National Team, one of twelve collegians. The CNT will travel China and play six matches there. The program is considered a stepping stone and second tryout for the U.S. Women's National Volleyball Team. If all goes well, we could have a Baylor Olympian in 2016. Sic 'em Andie!

Men's Tennis Heads To California For Pair of Matches - BaylorBears.com

The Men's Tennis team will face two tough opponents in No. 5 USC and No. 3 UCLA.

March Madness

Wiggins Explodes for 41, but Kansas falls 92-86 to West Virginia - Rock Chalk Talk

West Virginia Outlasts Kansas, 92-86 - The Smoking Musket

Despite a ridiculous 41-point outing from soon-to-be-pro Andrew Wiggins and a collapse late in the game from the Mountaineers, West Virginia was able to outlast the Fightin' Wiggins (considering no other Kansas player decided to show up for the game, it really was Wiggins versus the 'Eers) and earn the six point win.

The Recap: Hilton Magic Lives! - Wide Right & Natty Lite

Hilton Magic indeed. Okie aggy looked to have the game wrapped up, then Iowa State roared back and took the lead. The Cowboys went up three with five seconds left. That was all the time Naz Long needed to hit a buzzer-beater from Des Moines to send the game into overtime. Iowa State would go on to win through a tactfully played foul game.

Duke 93 UNC 81. There are all of three sentences in the write up. I expected better, Duke Basketball Report. The good thing about games is that they have two teams and thus, two summaries. Tar Heel Blog wins where their basketball team cannot.

Oregon Ducks beat the Arizona Wildcats 64-57 - Addicted To Quack

Arizona Basketball Final Score: Wildcats Knocked off in Eugene - Arizona Desert Swatm

I don't know about you, but I feel a sort of kinship with the Baylor of the Northwest. Both of our football teams play lightning-fast offense and wear Tier 1 Nike uniforms. Similarly, both basketball teams are eight seeds in the latest Bracketology. Good for Oregon; this was a huge win for them.

Fußball: MLS Begins and Chelsea Roll

Chelsea 4 - Tottenham 0: Initial reaction and community rating form - We Ain't Got No History

Chelsea destroyed Tottenham to secure a spot in the Champion's League next year and move seven points clear of second-place Liverpool and Arsenal.

Major League Soccer kicked off its season yesterday with games and goals all over.

FC Dallas Downs Montreal 3-2 To Open 2014 Season. - Big D Soccer

FC Dallas hold off a late surge from the Montreal Impact to win their home opener.

RECAP: Dynamo Rout Revs - Dynamo Theory

This game was over before it began. The Houston Dynamo completely outmatched the New England Revolution.

Portland Timbers Grab a Last Second Goal to Tie the Philadelphia Union 1-1 - Stumptown Footy

If you know anything about MLS, you know that the Timbers Army make Portland a fortress to play and that the Timbers rarely lose at home. That very nearly changed versus the Union. The Timbers played poorly all game, but a last-second header from newcomer Gaston Fernandez saved the Timbers a point.

Retiring Number Nine

Mike Modano is the only name associated with hockey I knew growing up. Last night, the Dallas Stars raised his esteemed number nine jersey to the rafters of the American Airlines Center. Defending Big D has a full recap of all the festivities. I'll say this, the Stars did an absolutely incredible job honoring the greatest American-born hockey player of all time. There should be a video of the ceremony going up sometime today on the Stars' website. Watch it. You will not be disappointed.

Somehow, the Stars managed to play game after the emotional ceremony. And oh my, what a game it was. In front of a record-breaking crowd, the Stars scored twice in the third period to beat the Minnesota Wild and earn crucial points in the race for the playoffs. Read the DBD write-up for a more in-depth summary of the game, including a crucial penalty and injury in the third period.

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via www.baylor.edu

Pat Neff is green tonight! Sic 'em Bears!

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