The start of football season is just four months away, and just like every other year the University of Maine Black Bears held their annual Joe Cole spring game this past Saturday.

UMaine has a new head coach coming into this season, as their former head coach of the last three seasons, Nick Charlton, left for a job at the University of Connecticut as their offensive coordinator. The Black Bears brought back a familiar face to replace him, in former UMaine team captain and assistant coach Jordan Stevens. 

Recently, the Black Bears named their four captains this season as fourth-year quarterback Joe Fagnano, fourth-year tight end Shane Bowman, fifth-year offensive lineman Michael Gearce and fourth-year linebacker Adrian Otero.

After missing most of last season with an injury, Fagnano returns as the starter this season, looking to step up as a captain this upcoming season. The first-team offense started slow, punting two straight possessions, but afterward they turned around and were able to score two touchdowns.

This season UMaine returns with their top two running backs with leading rusher third-year Freddie Brock and former Rutgers University transfer fifth-year running back Elijah Barnwell. Neither played during the spring game, as both are recovering from offseason surgeries, but both should be just fine for the start of the season. In the spring game, we got to see third-year back Tavion Banks and Garrison Burnett get the majority of the carries, but neither could produce anything on the ground.

While the Black Bears return their top running backs coming into the next season, the same cannot be said for wide receivers. UMaine is losing one of their best players, fifth-year Andre Miller, who has been nothing short of terrific during his time as a Black Bear. He was not the only top receiver the team lost heading into this season, as fourth-year wideout Devin Young decided to enter the transfer portal and commit to Sacred Heart. The Black Bears are losing a combined 93 receptions, 1,293 yards and six touchdowns from these two.

The Black Bears have plenty of talent but not so much experience going into this season. Their top receiver is undoubtedly Bowman who had a strong spring game scoring a touchdown. Fifth-year wideout Zavier Scott looks to have a bigger role this year in the absence of Miller and Young as we saw in the spring game. Stevens used him as a running back as well where he also scored a touchdown. Other wideouts to pay attention to are second-year receiver Tyrese Baptiste who scored UMaine’s first touchdown on the day, and early enrollee Rohan Jones who has been making a name early for himself and had multiple catches and a late touchdown.

During the spring game the defense looked terrific all the way around, holding both the first team and second-team offense to four straight punts. On multiple possessions the defense held the run game in check, shutting down the offense consistently on the ground.

The Black Bears’ front seven looked terrific Saturday even though they lost their best playmaker in fifth-year linebacker Ray Miller. Despite that loss, the front seven should be just as good with most key players returning. Third-year defensive end Jacob Tuiasopo and fourth-year linebacker Brian Lee looked impressive during the spring game and both should play a significant role in this defense this year.

In the secondary, the Black Bears are losing top defensive back fifth-year Fofie Bazzie, but overall the secondary looked solid in the spring game. Though they are still young and inexperienced, second-year safeties Shakur Smalls and Jylun Spence broke up multiple passes and both should have much more playing time this season. 

UMaine has a new kicker this year as second-year Cole Baker replaces the newly graduated Jonny Messina. Baker looked solid in the game, making four out of five field goals.

UMaine opens its season against the University of New Mexico Lobos on Sept. 3. This will be the first time these two schools have ever met. The Black Bears home opener will be against the Colgate University Raiders Saturday on Sept. 10.

For the first time this season, the University of Maine Black Bears faced off against the University of Maryland, Baltimore College Retrievers on Saturday, April 16, 2022. The Retrievers won two close games on Saturday, while Maine picked up a win in the lone game on Sunday. 

“I thought today’s games were some of the best that we have played all year,” coach Jordan Fitzpatrick said after the games on Saturday. “We were in both games the whole time. Unfortunately, we just didn’t get those timely hits that we needed.”

It has been a long season for the Black Bears. Coming into this game, they held a 5-27 record as they just came off a 7-2 loss to UMass Lowell on Wednesday.

UMBC’s season has been the opposite of the Black Bears as they entered this game 21-6, coming off of two victories against the St. John’s University Thunderbirds.

In the first game, the Black Bears fell to the Retrievers 1-0 in a defensive stalemate. The Retrievers scored the game’s only run when leadoff batter fourth-year catcher Karly Keating hit a solo home run at the top of the third, and that was all that was needed to win the game. 

First-year pitcher Kya Matter got the win for UMBC after throwing a complete seven-inning shutout and only surrendering two hits in a terrific outing for her.

Fourth-year pitcher Emily Reid and first-year pitcher Alexandra Grutich pitched the seven innings for the Black Bears, only giving up one run but also only getting one strikeout all game against the Retrievers. 

The second game did not start any better for UMaine. Fourth-year Retrievers pitcher Courtney Coppersmith hit a solo home run, giving UMBC a 1-0 lead. In the fourth inning, the Black Bears finally scored for the first time all day thanks to an error in the outfield that led to fourth-year shortstop Kelby Drews reaching third and sending fourth-year second baseman Grace McGouldrick home. Neither team scored from that point on, and the game went into extra innings. In the ninth inning, UMaine made a costly mistake. Third-year Black Bear pitcher Caitlin Fallon sent a wild pitch, which that caused fourth-year pinch-runner Chloe Obispo to reach third and fifth-year third baseman Anna Loncher to score. One batter later, Obispo made it home on a sacrifice fly from fourth-year shortstop Casey Turner, and that would be enough to win the game for the Retrievers 3-1.

Fallon goes to 2-2 on the season after pitching all nine innings. Outside of her two mistakes, she had a very solid day, only giving up six hits and striking out five batters, but her wild pitch at the end ended up being one mistake too many.

“Fallon stood out today,” Fitzpatrick said after the second game. “She’s really only pitched a few innings here and there all season as she was coming back from injury, and today she really stepped up. She threw all nine innings and competed each and every pitch. I’m very proud of her as I know she’s been working hard to come back.”

Coppersmith, like Fallon, pitched the full second game as well. Outside of the one run given up, she was in full control pitching, and she only gave up four hits all game for the Retrievers.

While UMaine was able to hold their own pitching-wise, they could not capitalize on it offensively as they struggled to get hits in both games, only combining for six all day.

“I really think today for us was just having better at-bats and timely hits when we needed them,” Fitzpatrick commented on why the team fell short on Saturday. “We had times where we watched too many good pitches go by and then times where we swung at junk. We just needed to do a better job jumping on the good pitches, leaving the bad ones alone and not putting ourselves in a hole.”

On Sunday the Black Bears pulled out an impressive win, with the bats finally heating up in an 8-3 victory over the Retrievers. McGouldrick and Drews led the Black Bears to victory, each picking up two hits and two runs on the day. Drews also totaled two RBIs. 

Fourth-year pitcher Gabbie Siciliano picked up the win. She pitched four innings, striking out five batters while surrendering two runs. Reid came in for relief of Siciliano and she closed out the game by pitching the final three innings, picking up her first save of the year. 

The Black Bears’ record now sits at 6-29. Their next matchup sees them face off against the Binghamton University Bearcats at home in a three-game series starting this Saturday, April 23 with a doubleheader, followed by a single game on April 24. 

On Saturday, April 2, 2022, the University of North Carolina Tar Heels upset their arch-rival the Duke University Blue Devils 81-77. While this was a tough loss already for Duke, not winning a championship this year stung more than usual as their legendary head coach Mike Krzyzewski (Coach K) was retiring this year.

In Coach K’s 42 years coaching the Blue Devils, he won five March Madness tournaments, only second behind legendary UCLA coach John Wooden. His 105 tournament wins is the most any coach has won in the history of college basketball, making him one of the greatest of all time. During his time at Duke, he was also named Coach of the Year three times in 1989, 1992 and 1999.

Krzyzewski was born on Feb. 13, 1947, in Chicago, Illinois, where he became a basketball star. After high school, he went to school at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he was a shooting guard for the Black Knights. After graduating, he joined the army as an officer from 1969 to 1974, and in 2005, he was presented with West Point’s Distinguished Graduate Award.

After leaving the service, he became an assistant under legendary coach Bobby Knight at Indiana University. There he was an assistant coach for one season before returning to his alma mater to take on the role of head coach. He coached there for five seasons before leaving to become the head coach at Duke.

Before Coach K arrived at Duke, the Blue Devils were nowhere near the powerhouse they became under his leadership. They had only made it to the final in the national tournament twice, losing both times in 1963 and 1978. While his first two years at Duke were filled with struggles, those quickly were forgotten as Duke promptly became a staple for the rest of his time coaching them. From 1996 to 2019, Duke only missed the tournament once. Under Coach K, Duke made it to nine finals, winning in 1991, 1992, 2001, 2010 and 2015.

Over his time at Duke, Coach K produced a record 68 players that were drafted into the NBA, including three first overall picks: Elton Brand in 1999, Kyrie Irving in 2011 and Zion Williamson in 2019. Another notable player in the NBA that Coach K coached is Boston Celtics star forward Jayson Tatum.

During his time at Duke, Coach K has not only successfully produced NBA players, but he has also produced many head coaches. Utah Jazz’s current head coach Quin Snyder, the University of Pittsburgh Panthers’ Jeff Capel, Harvard University’s Tommy Amaker and more have all worked under Coach K as assistants before becoming head coaches.

Along with his success at the collegiate level, he is also the most decorated coach in the international world of basketball. He was an assistant coach for the U.S. Olympic team in 1988 and the Dream Team in 1992, winning a gold medal in both years. He was named the national coach in 2005, and he coached the team to three consecutive gold medals in the 2008, 2012 and 2016 Olympics. After the 2016 Olympics, Coach K stepped down as the U.S. national team head coach.

Very few coaches in any sport have ever had Coach K’s impact on the basketball world. From helping Duke become a mainstay powerhouse to winning multiple gold medals at the Olympics, his impact on the sport can not be overstated. He’s developed some of the most talented basketball players ever to play, and without his impact at Duke and at the international level, basketball would be an entirely different sport.

Down by 16 at halftime, not many people could have predicted such a massive comeback from the No. 1 seed Kansas Jayhawks men’s basketball team against the No. 8 seed North Carolina Tar Heels. But against all odds, not only did the Jayhawks come back into the game, they pulled off the biggest comeback in March Madness history, topping Loyola University Chicago’s 15-point comeback against the University of Cincinnati Bearcats in 1963.

The Jayhawks entered the game as the heavy favorites and they showed why they were throughout the tournament. This was Kansas’s first championship game since 2012, and they had not won the championship since 2008. COVID-19 took away Kansas’s chance of winning it all in 2020. This year, they were determined to make it back, and their run for the playoffs culminated with the Jayhawks soundly beating the No. 2 seed Villanova Wildcats 81-65 to reach the title game.

For the Tar Heels, it was a much harder road to the championship. Coming in as the eighth seed, no one predicted the run they’d make all the way to the championship game, becoming just the second-ever eighth to make it to the championship. They even upset their arch-rivals, the Duke University Blue Devils, ruining coach Mike Krzyzewski’s chance at a sixth ring in what was the last game of his legendary career as a head coach.

At the beginning of the game, Kansas quickly jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but the rest of the first half was dominated by the Tar Heels. UNC outscored the Jayhawks 40-18 after Kansas’s hot start to lead at half 40-25.

After being the star against Villanova, fourth-year center David McCormack struggled big time in the first half as he shot 0-6 in the first half, and his struggles were clearly affecting the team as UNC outscored Kansas 18-2 on second-chance points. Third-year center Armando Bacot led UNC in the first half.

In the second half, the Tar Heels completely fell apart offensively and seemed to run out of gas on both sides of the floor. Halfway through the second half Kansas dropped the lead to just six points with 10:53 left in the game, but the rest of the half was back and forth, with both teams making shot after shot. In the end, thanks to two jump shots from McCormack and second-year point guard Caleb Love missing two three-pointers at the end, the Jayhawks held on to their comeback and beat the Tar Heels. 

Kansas outscored UNC 47-29 in the second half thanks to the strong overall play on both sides of the ball. They shot 43.6% from the field in the game and held the Tar Heels to just 31.5% shooting. While UNC may have out-rebounded the Tar Heels 55-35, the second half showed the difference on the boards with Kansas cutting it to 37-33. The Jayhawks also stole the ball six times which helped lead to eight points in the second half.

After a bad first half, McCormack showed up in a massive way in the second half, scoring 15 points on 7-15 shooting from the field to go along with 10 rebounds, one steal and one rebound. Third-year forward Jalen Wilson finished the game with 15 points on 5-13 shooting along with four rebounds, two assists and one block.

 Bacot led the Tar Heels in scoring and in rebounding with 15 in both categories but he was quiet in the second half and he only went 3-13 shooting in the game. Second-year guard R.J. Davis also had 15 points but he also struggled shooting the ball going 5-15 shooting along with two assists and 12 rebounds. No one shot well for the Tar Heels as they only made four three-pointers all game.

While it was a bitter defeat for UNC, it’s admirable just how close they came with everything stacked against them, and their run made this tournament one of the most entertaining and suspenseful in NCAA history, with many upsets and the last two games coming down to the wire.

In any sport, there will always be controversial rules. Some have good reasoning for it, but bad execution can make some just plain awful. Roughing the Passer is one rule that has affected football more than ever since the rule was updated in 2018.

Roughing the Passer is defined as “a foul in which a defensive player makes illegal contact with the quarterback after the latter has thrown a forward pass,” by the NFL rulebook. When this happens, it is a penalty of 15 yards and an automatic first down, and the player can be disqualified if it is deemed as a flagrant infraction. 

Before 2018, the penalty was seen as fair, since it protected the quarterbacks. Then, the rule was updated to its current version in 2018, which has faced some backlash. The new rule states, “when tackling a passer who is in a defenseless posture (e.g., during or just after throwing a pass), a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him down or land on top of him with all or most of the defender’s weight.” The problem is when you try to define what is unnecessary or violent. This confusion has led to some questionable calls and players have gotten suspended.

Outside linebacker Clay Matthews is one of the most notable players to be affected by this rule change. During the first three weeks of the 2018 season, he was called for three Roughing the Passer penalties, which would not have been called before. Two of these penalties directly led to the opposing team winning the game. The NFL also said that they would be using Mattews’ hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins as the standard to teach referees how to flag players.

Just this past year, at the end of the first half, New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Ellis was called for Roughing the Passer after he hit Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill in the back of the head. When the play was shown, it was clear he hit him on the nameplate, but because Roughing the Passer is not a reviewable play, it stood and cost the Saints an interception and eventually the game. Tannehill scored right after and the Titans won 23-21.

In 2021, the New England Patriots almost lost to the Buffalo Bills due to one of the most egregious calls ever. Bills quarterback Josh Allen rolled right out of the pocket, past the first down marker, and was running forward when Patriots cornerback Myles Bryant pushed him out of bounds to prevent a first down on third down. However, he was called for Roughing the Passer even though he was a runner. In spite of this call, the Patriots prevailed, thanks to Bryant redeeming himself and swatting down a pass on fourth down, but this could have gone very differently.

These are just some of the many bad calls that were called against teams’ defenses. Looking back before the rule change, Roughing the Passer was only called over 100 times in three seasons since 2009 before the rule change. In 2017 it was called 107 times, the most pre rule change. Since the new rule was put into place, it has been called over 100 times every season. All four seasons eclipsing the mark of 107, with the high coming last season with 154 Roughing the Passer penalties called.

If the NFL is going to continue with this rule staying the same, they have to update it to clarify what counts as “unnecessary and violent.” Roughing the Passer was made to protect the quarterback from dirty hits, but now it has become a rule to penalize defensive players for simply doing their job. The NFL needs to at least allow teams to challenge the penalty, otherwise, it will continue to cost teams games.

On March 8, 1971, two undefeated legendary boxers faced off for the first time in what became known as the “The Fight of the Century.” 

Muhammad Ali was a former world champion coming into this fight who was in the process of finding his footing again in the world of boxing after a three-year ban stripped him of his belt after he skipped the draft for the Vietnam war. During Ali’s absence, “Smokin’” Joe Frazier became the heavyweight champion after winning elimination tournaments.

Even though both boxers were undefeated and champions, they had two very different strategies in the ring. Ali was known for using his length to his advantage by making the fighters step into him and using force to deliver his punches. Unlike Ali, who used footwork and technique, Frazier focused on charging in and using his crossguard and head movements, where he excelled at the bob and weave.

During the first three rounds, Ali had complete control of the fight, using his jab to his advantage, while Frazier was much slower. Unlike his previous fights, Ali did not dance around the ring. Instead, he made sure to keep Frazier in the center of the ring and beat him with grounded punches.

Deep into the fourth round, Frazier was able to land his first hook that shook Ali and he drove him back into the ropes while Ali tried to clinch. Frazier broke through and was able to throw multiple body shots and while Ali fought back, Frazier was able to land another hook as the round ended to deal more damage.

Round five was the best round of the fight as both fighters had strong moments throughout it. Ali came out throwing, but Frazier was able to avoid the punches. Ali then hit Frazier with a hard right, but Frazier kept coming with his hard left hooks and the fight seemed even after round five.

Round six was dominated by Frazier, with him having total momentum landing body shots especially at the hips. Ali was not able to respond to many of the shots and Frazier easily dominated round six. Ali started strong in the seventh round, but Frazier got more punches to weaken Ali. By the eighth round, Ali was utterly exhausted and Frazier took full advantage. He was relentless in his efforts and continued to tire Ali.

In the ninth, Ali won the round. For the first time all night he was able to back Frazier up, and for a moment it seemed like Ali was going to turn the fight around. The tenth round was even and it appeared Ali was making his comeback. Still, in the eleventh, Frazier hit Ali in what Ali would describe as the hardest punch he ever took and Ali fell to the ground. Still, it was ruled he slipped and later Frazier landed hard shots on Ali’s jaw and stomach, followed by a hook to the head that almost dropped him, but Ali still stood and fought on.

While he struggled in the twelfth round, Ali got his rhythm back in the thirteenth and was able to dance around as he was known to do, tiring Frazier and slowing him down. But in the fifteenth and final round, Frazier dropped Ali thanks to a strong left hook on his jaw, effectively ending the fight. By these last two rounds, both fighters dropped their defense and went all out offensively, and by the end of the last round, Frazier’s eyes were closing from the abuse and Ali’s jaw was swollen, showing how brutal the fight was.

By a unanimous decision, Frazier retained his title as the heavyweight champion, with the judges scoring him 9–6–0, 11–4–0 and 8-6-1, improving his record to 27-0 and giving Ali his first-ever loss.

Frazier didn’t stay undefeated for long though, as 22 months later he was knocked down six times in two rounds against the up-and-coming George Foreman. Ali faced Foreman on Oct. 31, 1974, and shocked everyone when he tko’d Foreman in the eighth round. Frazier and Ali faced off two more times, both times resulting in Ali winning by a unanimous decision.

This fight went down in history as not just the biggest boxing match in history, but one of the most publicized fights ever and one of the most significant sporting events.

On Saturday, March 5, after a very competitive first three quarters the University of Maine women’s basketball team ran away with the game, winning 63-49 against the Hartford Hawks in the first round of the America East tournament.

The Black Bears came into this game as the top seed in the America East, riding a 12-game winning streak, while the Hawks entered as the eighth seed. 

It has been a tough season for the Hawks, finishing the season 4-26 in their final season in the American East before they move down to division three starting next season.

Even though they were the underdogs, Hartford came out of the gate well and thanks to their suffocating defense they led early in the game. UMaine responded with an 8-0 run to give them back the lead, but a second chance layup in the paint from third-year Hawks guard Carmen Villabous cut the Black Bears lead to just three at 15-12.

In the second quarter, UMaine jumped out to a 27-16 lead after second-year forward Caroline Bornemann and third-year guard Anne Simon made free throws that were followed by Bornemann making a field goal in the paint and a three pointer. Before halftime, the Hawks responded with a 12-4 run that was capped off with a three pointer from Villalobos with just seven seconds left to go before half to cut the UMaine lead to three again with the score 29-26 at the break. 

After having a career day one week ago, fifth-year forward Maeve Carroll was held scoreless at halftime going 0-5, missing multiple easy shots under the basket while also allowing 10 points to Hartford sophomore forward Paula Marina.

Through the first part of the third quarter, both teams did not score often thanks to terrific defense by both sides. Carroll made her first two baskets of the day, and eventually made a layup to extend the lead to nine points. To continue this back and forth, first-year Hawks forward Brianna Williams hit a three with nine seconds left to make the score 49-43 UMaine. 

In the fourth quarter, UMaine’s defense held the Hawks at bay and Hartford shot just 2 of 10 and turned the ball over eight times, which the Black Bears capitalized on with a three pointer from Simon. After Hartford missed three shots in a row and turned the ball over twice, Simon and Bornemann effectively ended the game by sinking their free throws.

“We really locked down in the fourth quarter,” coach Amy Vachon said after the game. “We limited them to one shot which is really big for us.”

Bornemann had a career high of 21 points on 8-13 shooting to go along with three rebounds, two assists and two steals, as she carried the offense in the first half and was terrific on both sides of the ball. Simon had a double-double, scoring 17 points, securing 12 rebounds and three steals.

After struggling in the first half, Carroll bounced back and had a terrific second half, not allowing a single point from Maurina in the half. Carroll finished the game scoring 14 points on 6-12 shooting to go along with seven rebounds and four assists.

Villalobos led the Hawks with 13 points to go along with nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. While Maurina was still second in scoring, she never scored after halftime and ended with 10 points, six rebounds and three assists.

UMaine’s success came from capitalizing on second chance shots and scoring off of turnovers with the Black Bears outscoring the Hawks 12-2 on second chance shots and 28-4 on points off turnovers, which proved to be the difference maker in the fourth.

UMaine will face off against the New Jersey Institute of Technology Highlanders at home on Tuesday at 8 p.m. If they win, this will give the Black Bears a chance to return to the America East Championship game, after losing to Stony Brook last season in the championship game.

After a close first quarter, the UMaine Black Bears easily took down the University of Maryland Baltimore County Retrievers 70-59 in their second to last game of the regular season on Saturday.

The Black Bears entered the game on a 10-game win streak, without a loss since Jan. 19 when they fell to University of Massachusetts Lowell 60-55. 

UMBC came into this game with a 3-20 record and on a five-game losing streak, losing a tight game against the Hartford Hawks 74-71. 

The Retrievers dominated the first seven minutes of the game thanks to missed baskets on both ends. Thanks to a strong end of the first by third-year forward Maeve Carroll, who scored 12 points in the first quarter, the Black Bears were able to start producing on offense. She ended the quarter with a buzzer-beater layup to put UMaine up 18-16.

In the second quarter, the Black Bears continued their success from the previous quarter thanks to Carroll dominating both sides of the court again, scoring four points along with a steal and a block to help UMaine lead 36-26 at halftime with momentum on their side.

The third saw more of the same with assists and great defense from Carroll. Third-year guard Anne Simon had a strong quarter as well, becoming the second most utilized weapon on the offense for the Black Bear, scoring seven points in the quarter. Second-year guard Alba Orios made a last-second layup before the end of the quarter to put UMaine up 57-44.

At one point during the fourth quarter, UMaine led by 19 points thanks to layups from Orios and Carroll. The Retrievers mounted a futile comeback at the end, but it was already too little too late. The final score ended 70-59 in favor of the Black Bears. 

Carroll, on her birthday, played her finest game of the season by shooting an outstanding 15-17 and scoring a career-high 32 points to go along with a team-leading seven total rebounds, four assists, two blocks and two steals.

“Our team has been doing [good] and [I] like how I’ve been doing individually, I just felt really good going in there, and it was a great day to have a career-high,” Carroll said after the game.

While she was overshadowed by Carroll’s career performance, Simon had a great game as well, scoring 17 points with five total rebounds, four assists and one steal.

“17 points, and we’re not really talking about her. But 17 points is a good showing,” Head coach Amy Vachon said about Simon’s performance. 

Orois also contributed 13 points and a team-leading seven assists in a solid outing.

Fourth-year guard Keelah Dixon led UMBC, scoring 16 points to go along with three rebounds and three assists. Fifth-year forward Janee’a Summers was second on the team with 11 points, three rebounds, and one assist.

UMaine outshot UMBC 54.9% to 46.9%, especially excelling on rebounds where they outrebounded the Retrievers 31-22 while also dominating in the paint.

The following day, the Black Bears clinched the America East title by beating UMBC again, this time by a similar score to the day before, 71-47.  Orois, Simon and Caroll led the charge again with all three reaching double digit point totals. Orois also led the team in assists with nine. 

With Maine securing the regular season title they earned the first seed in the America East tournament and home court advantage throughout the tournament. They will open the playoffs taking on the to be determined eighth seed on Saturday, March 5 at home.

Another trade deadline is in the books, and just like any other year, a lot of rumors and big players were tossed around. 

The Boston Celtics stole guard Derrick White from the San Antonio Spurs and lost guards Josh Richardson and Romeo Langford. While losing Richardson stings for the Celtics, acquiring White more than makes up for it and he should fit in well with Marcus Smart.

Before Boston even acquired White, it was widely known that they wanted to trade point guard Dennis Schroeder. They traded him alongside forward Bruno Fernando and center Enes Freedom to the Houston Rockets for guard Daniel Theis. Schroeder was expected to be traded, as he never was seen as a long-term option for the Celtics. Theis returns to Boston where he spent his first three and half years of his career. 

The most significant trade of the deadline was James Harden getting dealt to the Philadelphia 76ers. Harden wanted a trade out of Brooklyn, while the 76ers had star Ben Simmons wanting out as well, so the deal made sense for both sides. Along with Simmons, the Nets acquired Seth Curry, Andre Drummond and two first-round picks. The 76ers acquired Paul Millsap as well, but there is a good chance he will get bought out.

It will be interesting to see how 76ers star center Joel Embiid and Harden play together, considering Harden does not have a great track record with other superstar players. The two complement each other well in theory, so it could work out well for them. Simmons seems like an excellent fit for Brooklyn, and he should fit in well with Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

Even though the Indiana Pacers and the Sacramento Kings are not the best teams, they pulled off a significant trade of young stars. The Pacers traded star power forward Domantas Sabonis along with guards Justin Holiday, Jeremy Lamb and a 2023 second-round pick for guards Tyrese Haliburton, Buddy Hield and center Tristan Thompson.

Sabonis has long been linked to the Kings, so it is not surprising that he was traded there, but they had to give up Haliburton, which seems like a massive steal for the Pacers, who are rebuilding. Along with Hield, this trade might backfire on the Kings down the line.

Thanks to their surprise rise this season, the Cleveland Cavaliers were buyers at the trade deadline this year, picking up a nice piece in shooting guard Caris LeVert from the Pacers for Ricky Rubio, a first and two second picks from this year’s draft.

Cleveland hopes LeVert will be the last piece to help the Cavaliers get to the playoffs this year. LeVert is a very good player, except he has had a long history of injuries, but this trade looks excellent for the Cavaliers if he can stay healthy. 

While the Los Angeles Lakers were rumored all day to be trading star point guard Russell Westbrook back to the Houston Rockets for guard John Wall, the trade fell through. The Lakers only made one move, dumping backup point guard Rajon Rondo for the draft rights of Louis Labeyrie.

With the Lakers having many issues with their team not being able to trade anyone, Rondo might come back to bite them as their best options are now looking at buyout candidates. Still, for a team that already has major injury and age concerns, the buyout market will not help them out in that regard.

Time will tell how these trades work out, but as of right now, it looks like the Celtics, Pacers and Nets came out of this trade deadline looking way better than they did before, while teams like the Lakers not making any moves might come back to haunt them. Time will tell though, and just like any sport, anything can happen from this time to the playoffs.

On Feb. 9, 1973, one of the greatest baseball players of all time was elected into the Baseball Hall of Fame. Satchel Paige became the first Negro League player in the history of baseball to get elected to the Hall of Fame.

People who watched Satchel Paige pitch say he was one of the greatest pitchers of all time. He pitched an estimated 2,600 innings, had more than 200 wins and more than 2,100 strikeouts, not including games in the Negro Leagues that went unrecorded, in a career that spanned five decades.

Paige started his career in the Negro Leagues with the Chattanooga Black Lookouts in 1926, earning just $250 a month. He showed early signs of his immense talent by throwing nine strikeouts over six innings against the Atlanta Black Crackers.

After his stint with the Black Lookouts, Paige bounced around multiple teams, including a stint in Cuba, Mexico, the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico. In 1934 with the Pittsburgh Crawfords, he had his best season going 14–2 in league games with 2.16 runs per game, while recording 144 strikeouts and only giving up only 26 walks.

Paige finally found a team to stick with, the Kansas City Monarchs. In his second stint with the team, he became the unquestioned ace of the team and led the Monarchs to three straight titles from 1939 to 1941.

On Paige’s 42nd birthday, he was finally signed by an MLB team in the Cleveland Indians, making him the oldest rookie in baseball history. He was the first African American pitcher in the American League and the seventh African American to join the MLB.

Paige made it to the world series during his first season in the MLB while having a 1.33 era, helping the Indians win the World Series in Paige’s only world series appearance. He finished his rookie season with a 2.48 ERA, two shutouts, 43 strikeouts and 22 walks. After an ownership change in the offseason, Paige was released.

After returning to the Negro Leagues with the Stars, he eventually returned to the MLB, this time with the St. Louis Browns. Paige had six shutout innings in his first game back, but gave up three runs in the seventh. He finished his first season back with a 3-4 record and a 4.79 ERA. The following season for Paige proved to be his best one yet, playing in more games than years previous, having a 12–10 record with a 3.07 ERA and making it to the All-Star game. The following season for Paige was not a good year, where he finished with a 3-9 record and a 3.53 ERA. After that season, he was released after another ownership change.

Paige was signed for one game by the Kansas City Athletics at age 59 to pitch one final game.

Paige was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1971. He was not the first African American to make the Hall of Fame as Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella were inducted before him, but he was the first to get elected thanks to his play in the Negro Leagues. Paige paved the way for other Negro League players to get elected as he was followed by Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston and Cool Papa Bell, among others.

“Inside this building are plaques dedicated to baseball men of all generations, and I’m privileged to join them,” Paige said during his Hall of Fame Speech. “And I hope that someday the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way can be added as a symbol of the great Negro players that are not here only because they were not given a chance.”

Satchel Paige will always be remembered for his excellence on the field and his great personality off the field. Still, his most significant contribution to the game is proving that Negro League players are just as deserving of a chance as their white counterparts, and it is partially thanks to him for breaking down that barrier.