Florida State Freshman Explodes for 30 points in Last 4:38

On Wednesday, February 25, Florida State University freshman basketball player, Xavier Rathan-Mayes, carried the struggling Seminoles in the closing minutes. He scored 30 points in the final 4:38, but it wasn't enough to overcome the 18-point lead the Miami Hurricanes built. Miami won the contest 77-81 despite their
defensive collapse.

Rathan-Mayes' efforts not enough for FSU
(Photo: Hector Gabino/AP)

Rathan-Mayes scored 26 consecutive points without missing a shot. In the final 4:38, he shot 8-for-10, knocking down six 3-pointers, a pair of lay-ups and 8 free throws. Rathan-Mayes, a Canadian guard, played along side Andrew Wiggins in high school. With his 30-point explosion, expect to see Rathan-Mayes' name to climb on mock draft boards if he decides to declare for the 2015 NBA Draft.

"It was a crazy feeling just to be locked into a zone like that," Rathan-Mayes said Thursday,"I was telling my dad earlier that I'd never been in a zone like that."

Rathan-Mayes entered Wednesday's contest averaging 13.6 points and finished with a career high of 35.

Wilt Chamberlain's 100, Kobe Bryant's 81, Tracy McGrady's 13 in 35 seconds and Pete Maravich's 69 are all notable scoring performances, but where does Rathan-Mayes' outburst rank among these NBA legends?

Maravich holds the NCAA career record for points with 3,667 at LSU. In a career filled with consistent 50+ point performances, Maravich's most notable game came in February 1970 at Alabama, where he poured in 69 points on 26-for-57 shooting. Though Rathan-Mayes hasn't shown this level of production, who knows what he is capable of?

View Rathan-Mayes' historic performace here.

Dominic Struckhoff's Busy Offseason

Year in and year out Borgia athletes receive high honors, win championships and sign letters of intent to continue play in college. Dozens of state boards plaster the gym walls with the names of memorable high school athletes. This year is no different.

With multiple student-athletes having either committed or signed already, the class of 2015 might have one of the most successful set of athletes in recent Borgia history. Senior Borgia football standout, Dominic Struckhoff, has continued to compete even though his senior season ended a few months ago.

Struckhoff was invited to play in the Under Armour Blue-Grey All American Bowl in Tampa Bay, Florida on January 10, 2015. In the All American Bowl Dominic played along with and against college-ready athletes from all over the country. Though he was listed as a running back, he was mainly positioned as a fullback during the game.

“The game gave me the opportunity to display my talents against other recruits and prove college coaches I am able to compete at the college level”, described Struckhoff. “The players at the All American game were at the same playing level I am going to play at next year.”

At the time Struckhoff didn't know where he would be playing in college; however on January 22, he verbally committed to William Jewell College, an NCAA Division 2 school in Liberty, Missouri. Dominic believes it is a perfect decision.

“From grade school all the way to high school, small schools were always my scene”, he explained. “I had some bigger D1 schools that I had the opportunity to walk on to, but whenever I visited Jewell, it had the feel and education level I wanted.”

Dominic is a hard worker and it shows on and off the field. He is a consistent honor-roll student and is always working to get stronger and faster. Dominic’s work ethic and attitude has shaped him into a leader on and off the field.

Teammate and recent Truman State football commit, Drake Raftery, expressed, “Dom is a guy that everyone looks up to and aspires to be like. His constant work ethic allows him to be a great leader everywhere he goes.”

Raftery has no doubts in Stuckhoff’s ability to compete at the next level, “For a high school athlete, he is very well prepared. He should have no problem at Jewell.”

Struckhoff noted that he owes his dad a lot of credit for his success. “He helped me all along the way by giving me opportunities to look at a bunch of schools. When it came down to it, he helped me weigh my options and eventually choose William Jewell.”

Injuries Plague NBA

The 2014-15 NBA rookie class came in with higher expectations than any other set of rookies in NBA history. However, no other rookie class has experienced so many injuries. Could it be that the work-load is too much, or are the expectations too high? Regardless, injuries have become a major problem this season for all players. 

Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker, the draft's No. 2 overall pick, was the projected Rookie of the Year before tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in December.  He joined No. 3 pick Joel Embiid, No. 4 pick Aaron Gordon and No. 7 pick Julius Randle on the sidelines. The result is a wide open but ugly Rookie of the Year race, one of the worst in NBA history.

Along with the rookies, multiple superstars have battled injuries all season. Kevin Durant has missed 27 games this season and is not expected to return until the playoffs. Carmelo Anthony will miss the rest of the season after having a knee surgery. Anthony Davis continues to combat a reoccurring shoulder injury. Even Lebron James's season has been hit with injury. As a result of multiple superstars' injuries, the NBA MVP race is wide open.

The reason most NBA players get injured is that the games are too long and there are too many of them. An 82-game season is a lot to ask of an basketball player, especially since the game is more physical than ever.  Also, a 48 minute game of constant jumping and lateral movements causes an indescribable amount of wear and tear on the athletes' bodies. 

The most successful players this season are those whose minutes have been limited out of caution. Stephen Curry and James Harden have remained injury free this season and are the leaders in the MVP race. Curry is averaging 33 minutes per game and is putting up career high numbers. Harden is only in his 3rd year as a starter, which has actually benefited him. He has experienced no injuries this season, and is at the top of his game.

NBA teams should be careful with how they use their star players. Maybe if Lebron James played a few less minutes each game, his performance would improve like Curry's has. It appears that limiting the amount of minutes a player plays is the best way to keep them injury free.

Golf: Not the Same without Tiger

Golf super star, Tiger Woods has been on a long, downward spiral for quite some time. Since he won his last major, playing on a broken leg in 2008, golf has never been the same. Tiger has fallen off the map. Instead of being one of the top stories every day on Sports Center, he has become a subject of endless pity.

Tiger's career was sparked in 1997 when he won the Masters by 12 strokes, a record-breaking performance. From the 1997 Masters to the 2008 U.S. Open, Woods was nearly indisputably the best golfer in the world. His rivals practically bowed down to him. Some of them, it seemed, even rooted for him. Aside from Michael Jordan in basketball, no other sport has seen such an icon.

Only a few days after winning the U.S. Open, Tiger announced that he needed ACL surgery on his left knee. It appeared to be a minor setback. He took the remainder of the season off. This break from golf led to more times off from professional golf.

In November of 2009, Woods was in a car accident and listed in "serious condition." After being released, several media outlets reported that the accident occurred after a dispute with his wife, Elin Nordegren. That incident sparked multiple women to come forward and claim to have romantic relations with Woods. Naturally, Woods announced another leave of absence from golf and soon after confirmed he was unfaithful to his wife.

After several surgeries, Tiger has never been the same golfer. At 39 years old, Woods shot a career worst round of 82 at his first tournament in 2015. Once again, he is planning to take a break from golf for more reasons than his performance. "Right now, I need a lot of work on my game, and to still spend time with the people that are important to me", he stated. 

Despite cheating on his wife and having multiple Achilles/neck/shoulder/elbow/back surgeries, golf needs Tiger more than Tiger needs golf. The entire sports world needs Tiger. Economically, golf's TV ratings are astronomically higher when Woods is scheduled to tee off. However, his impact on the sport is much greater. Currently, young competitors dominate the game. Adding an accomplished golfer like Tiger into the mix in golf tournaments is great for the game. Along with being a great player, Tiger was, is, and always will be the face of golf. Nobody will sufficiently replace Tiger's face on EA Sport's golf video game, or be the reason people watch matches on TV.

Woods has already proven himself as the most influential golfer ever, and is only second to Jack Nicklaus in Major victories. Tiger has more money than anyone knows what to do with. He could never play another game of professional golf again and live a great life. Golf has been incredibly good to him, why should he continue to embarrass himself?