Audrey Nolan

Coming from a victory against the University of Connecticut on the first day of the Big East Tournament Bracket, the University of St. John left everyone speechless in its game against Marquette on Wednesday. St. John was defeated 57-55 in a game that it was winning until the very last minutes.

The past few months have been rough on Allen Iverson. Last week, the Philadelphia 76ers announced that Iverson would not be playing for the rest of the season. On the same day, his wife filed for divorce. This week, it has been revealed that the player has an addiction to alcohol and gambling, putting both his personal and professional life in danger.

On Wednesday, the top European teams demonstrated why they are the favorites to win the next World Cup, held this year in South Africa.

Andy Murray’s journey for the Dubai Open title ended abruptly when the Brit lost to the Serbian Janko Tipsarevic 7-6 (3), 4-6, 6-4 on Wednesday. That tournament was the first in which Murray participated since the Australian Open, during which he was upset by Roger Federer in the final.

This year won’t be the same in the PGA Tour – no one is quite sure when Tiger Woods will return to play. He is missing the first event, the Accenture Match Play Championship. Phil Mickelson will not be involved in the event either.

In a final match very different from last year’s at the Australia Open, Roger Federer defeated the Brit Andy Murray in three straight sets 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (11) and earned his 16th Grand Slam title. The match lasted 2 hours and 41 minutes, demonstrating why the Swiss player is considered one of the – if not the – best in tennis history.

The Patriots blew off their last playoff chance on Sunday when they lost to the Baltimore Revans 33-14 in a wild card game for the AFC conference.

The Los Angeles Lakers officially announced this Wednesday that they have signed Spanish forward Pau Gasol to a three year contract extension worth $57 million and can be up to $64.5 million. He will earn $18,714,150 in 2011-12, $19,000,000 in 2012-13 and $19,285,850 in 2013-14 plus he will earn $16.4 million this season and $17.8 next season.

With his team, TCU, going unbeaten with a record of 11-0 and a chance to get to the National Championship – despite not being part of the BCS conference – Coach Gary Patterson is having a pretty good season. Patterson was offered a contract extension up to 2016 that will include salary raises for him and his assistants.

Europe’s defending champions had a bad day on Wednesday. Barcelona was defeated by the Russian team FK Rubin Kazan 2-1 at Nou Camp in Spain. The loss was Barça’s first since December, when the team was beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk.