Weekly Sports Update
George Pike
SUPER BOWL XL GOES TO THE STEELERS
The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to get their fifth Super Bowl win in six tries on Sunday night, Feb. 5, in Detroit. The other teams with five wins in the big game include the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 behind strong defense and big plays on offense. Also, Seattle's mistakes on offense and defense made things easier for Pittsburgh. Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was named most valuable player of the game. Ward finished with 123 receiving yards on five catches.
Two of those receptions changed the outlook of the game. The first one happened in the second quarter, with Ward making a leaping catch on third and 23 that put the Steelers in position to get on the board. The second reception was the back-breaker for Seattle. On a trick play in the fourth quarter, wide receiver Antwaan Randle El took the reverse and threw a perfect spiral into the hands of Ward, who scored the final points of the game.
This is Pittsburgh Head Coach Bill Cowher's first Super Bowl win in his second appearance. Also, Pittsburgh running back Jerome Bettis was able to end his 13-year career on a high note with the win, his first Super Bowl victory. Bettis promptly announced his retirement after the game.
YAO IS BIGGEST VOTE-GETTER OF NBA ALL-STARS
Thanks to the global voting system the NBA uses, Yao Ming from China and the Houston Rockets was the number one vote-getter for the upcoming All-Star Game. Ming defeated fellow Western Conference starter Kobe Bryant of the L.A. Lakers by a slim margin. Other starters for the Western Conference include San Antonio Spur Tim Duncan, Houston's Tracy McGrady and the Phoenix Suns' Steve Nash.
The Eastern Conference squad is led by two O'Neal's on the starting team, who are not related:Jermaine of the Indiana Pacers and Shaquille of the Miami Heat.
Other starters are Philadelphia 76er Allen Iverson, Cleveland Cavalier LeBron James and Miami's Dwayne Wade.
GIRL FROM NEW YORK SCORES 113 POINTS IN BASKETBALL GAME
Epiphanny Prince of Murry Bergtraum High School scored 113 points in a game last Wednesday, Feb. 1, breaking a national prep record previously held by Hall of Famer Cheryl Miller, who scored 105 points for Riverside Poly. Prince, a 5-foot-9 senior guard, led her team to a 137-32 victory over Brandeis High School.
"After I scored 29 points in the first quarter, I didn't think much of it," Prince told The Associated Press in a phone interview late Wednesday night. "After I had 58 points at the half, and especially after having in the 80s after the third quarter, I just decided to go for it."
"It's an amazing thing when an individual does that," said Cleveland Cavaliers star LeBron James. "I don't know who she is, but maybe we'll see her in the WNBA. For that matter, the NBA."
Prince, one of the nation's top high-school players, is headed to Rutgers next season. Her previous high this season was 51 points. The boys' high school record is 135 points, set by Danny Heater of Burnsville High School in West Virginia in 1960, according to the National High School Sports Record Book on the National Federation of State High School Associations' website.
WINTER OLYMPICS BEGIN FRIDAY, FEB. 11
The Opening Ceremony of the XX Olympic Winter Games kicks off on Friday, Feb. 11, in Turin, Italy. The first events on Saturday include biathlon, freestyle skiing, Nordic combined and speed skating.
The United States delegation earned a record 34 medals in the Winter Olympics four years ago in Salt Lake City, Utah, and looks to improve this mark.
Germany, which led the medal count with 36 four years ago, is also expected to be among the countries leading the medal count.