My basketball career spanned 2 years, one on the Junior High team and another for the Sophomore team.  I was an average player, but not a starter.  Back issues forced me to decide between baseball and basketball (baseball won easily), so I’m always able to say that health issues held me back (which is true) while simultaneously downplaying my basketball mediocrity (which is also true).

I had some bright moments, like when I scored 8 (or maybe 10) points in a blowout game against a smaller school.  But that was about the extent of my highlight reel.

Even so, it’s still hard to believe that on March 2, 1962, Wilt Chamberlain scored more points in the first quarter of his game against the New York Knicks than I did in my 2-years of basketball.  But the entire 1961-62 season was pretty special for the 7′-1″ center.  In a season when he led every meaningful offensive and defensive category (except maybe free-throw percentage), averaging more than 50 points and 25 rebounds per game, there were bound to be some incredible evenings of basketball.

But this night was special even by Chamberlain standards, as he scored 100 points…the only triple-digit scoring effort in professional basketball history.  He was triple-teamed, quadruple-teamed, and surrounded by all 5 opposing players.  As the century mark approached, the Knicks even began fouling the other players in an effort to keep Chamberlain’s huge hands off the ball.  But it was a night of destiny, and Wilt’s 99th and 100th points went through the hoop in the game’s final minute.

And then a bunch of fans stormed the court and the game was actually never finished.  But basketball history had been made.  In the annals of NBA basketball, the 70-point planteau has only been reached 10 times.  Six of those belong to Wilt Chamberlain.  In early 2006, the record-writers got out their pens in anticipation as Kobe Bryant approached the record for the LA Lakers, but then fell short with a mere 81 points.

Someday, someone might break Wilt’s one-game scoring record.  But I don’t know who would do it.  The “man-among-boys” scenario that Wilt enjoyed is less prevalent in the game today than it was in the  60’s.  Still, there are some players that are capable of putting up huge numbers when they get hot.  But if it does happen, at least we’ll have a video record.  Wilt’s 100-point night was not televised, so no video exists.

Recommended Reading: Wilt 1962: The Night of 100 Points and the Dawn of a New Era

It’s official: Sam Bradford won the Heisman.

It was definantly only a three man battle: 3rd place (Tim Tebow)having 1,575 points, then 4th place (Graham Harrell) having  just 213 points.

But, boy, oh boy, was it close between those three! The voting within those top three went like this:

1. Sam Bradford- 300 1st place points, 315 2nd place points, 196 3rd place points, and 1,726 total points.

2. Colt McCoy- 266 1st place points, 288 2nd place points, 230 3rd place points, and 1,640 total points.

3. Tim Tebow- 309 1st place points, 207 2nd place points, 234 3rd place points, and 1,575 total points.

So, Tebow had the most 1st place and 3rd place points, but was way behind the other two in 2nd place points, which really hurt him bad. McCoy was strong in 2nd and 3rd place points, but was last in 1st place votes. Bradford was very close to Tebow in first place votes, way ahead of everybody in 2nd place votes, and behind the other two in 3rd place points. But his margin in 2nd place points more than made up for that.

Records broken at the Ceremony

So, for the second year in a row, an underclassmen won the Heisman. Before last year, no underclassmen had ever won the prize.

First time ever there were no senior finalists.

First time ever no running backs had over 100 points(closest was Shonn Greene, with 65.)

That’s all I have for you.

Thanks for reading!

Suite à mes prédictions sur les potentiels marqueurs de 50 buts, voici la suite avec mes prédictions des potentiels marqueurs de 100 points.

- Marian Hossa [2 PJ - 1 PTS] Bien qu’il ne commence pas vraiment la saison du bon pied, j’ai bon espoir de voir Hossa atteindre les 100 points pour une deuxième année consécutive. Depuis son arrivée à Atlanta, il ne cesse de s’améliorer, et je le considère aujourd’hui comme supérieur à Ilya Kovalchuk.

- Dany Heatley / Daniel Alfredsson [4 PJ - 7/8 PTS] Ces deux joueurs sont dans le top 5 des marqueurs actuellement, et je les voie bien y rester. Ce duo est tellement talentueux qu’ensemble, ils ne peuvent que faire des merveilles. Cela fait deux saisons qu’ils nous épatent, et comme on dit, jamais deux sans trois !

- Joe Thornton [3 PJ - 3 PTS] Ses grands talents de passeur lui permettront-ils d’atteindre le plateau légendaire des 100 assistes en une saison ? Ce serait vraiment un exploit grandiose ; et si un joueur de la LNH peut le réussir dès cette année, c’est bien Thornton. Il est dans la fleur de l’âge et a obtenu respectivement 96 et 92 passes lors des deux dernières saisons.

- Sidney Crosby [2 PJ - 1 PTS] Il connait un début certes lent, mais la bombe à retardement va bien finir par exploser. Espérons seulement que ce ne sera pas demain contre le Canadien… en tout cas, sauf si un revirement de situation incroyable se produit, Sid the Kid devrait être capable d’atteindre les 300 points en carrière dès cette année, et probablement aussi de faire une troisième saison de suite de 100 points.

- Paul Stastny [3 PJ - 8 PTS] La surprise de l’année ? Stastny a le potentiel pour l’être, cette surprise. Avec déjà 8 points, il domine la Ligue, au nez et à la barbe d’autres jeunes comme Crosby ou Alexander Ovechkin. J’ai bon espoir de le voir atteindre la plateau de 100 points, mais on n’est jamais à l’abri d’un imprévu…

- Vincent Lecavalier [2 PJ - 4 PTS] Avec Stastny, il est le seul Québécois que je voie réussir l’exploit cette saison. Comme Thornton, Lecavalier arrive à la fleur de l’âge et semble, en ce début d’année, en pleine forme. Il a soif de réaliser de nouveaux exploits, et on ne peut que croire en lui.

La surprise ?
Qui d’autre pourrait se glisser dans ce groupe sélect ? Quelques noms résortent, entre autres Alexander Ovechkin, Marian Gaborik, Jarome Iginla, Olli Jokinen et Rick Nash. Peut-être aussi Eric Staal…