Most Dramatic Moments of the Week
This past week has been incredibly interesting with some NFL front-office happenings and NBA and NHL games controlling the majority of the headlines.
But this past weekend was the real highlight, as the NFL playoffs kicked off with some interesting wild-card matchups and questionable referee decisions.
Here are the most dramatic moments from the past week in sports.
Bulls Beat Celtics in OT
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The Chicago Bulls have been one of the best teams in the NBA this season while the Celtics are looking like cellar-dwellers, but you wouldn't have known that by watching the two teams play last Saturday.
Mike Dunleavy and Jimmy Butler, two key starters for the Bulls, each missed the game due to injury, and the Celtics took advantage with Evan Turner leading the way with 29 points.
Boston got out to a quick start and fought its way into overtime, with Jared Sullinger scoring late and Aaron Brooks missing an open three at the buzzer.
But Pau Gasol and Derrick Rose buckled down to combine for six points in overtime, leading the Bulls to a 109-104 overtime victory.
Vlasic Wins It Two Days in a Row
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Marc-Edouard Vlasic is certainly not a household name, and he's known primarily as a defensive defenseman.
But the 27-year-old came through in the clutch not once, but twice this past week for the San Jose Sharks, scoring late game-winners in back-to-back days.
First, on Monday night against the Minnesota Wild, Vlasic put home the winner with a mere 4.5 seconds remaining in the third period.
Then, the following night, Vlasic scored on an absolute rocket slap shot in overtime to give the Sharks yet another win.
Jones Takes Down Cormier
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In one of the most anticipated fights in a long time, UFC light heavyweight defending champion Jon Jones stepped into the Octagon with Daniel Cormier.
Cormier and Jones are full-on enemies, and the fight did not disappoint from an entertainment standpoint.
A former Olympic wrestler, Cormier is likely stronger than Jones, but he simply could not keep up with the quick-footed, athletic brother of New England Patriot Chandler, and Jones was voted unanimously as the victor.
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Kobe Seals Win Late
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He may be 36 years old, and he may be wearing down quickly, but Kobe Bryant proved why he is still one of the most dangerous scorers in the league on Sunday.
The Indiana Pacers jumped out to a 28-15 lead after the first quarter and held on for most of the game, but Kobe simply would not be denied.
He helped the Los Angeles Lakers rally from a 13-point deficit in the second half and absolutely went off at the end of the game. The future Hall of Famer scored nine points in the final two minutes and 32 seconds of the game, including a go-ahead jumper with 12 seconds remaining to seal the win.
Flyers Win It in OT
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In an exciting division matchup between rivals Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals, there was no shortage of action, and the teams needed extra time to find a winner.
The score was 1-1 heading into the third before the Capitals scored on a goal that was reviewed for a long time before the referees let it stand.
But the Flyers bounced right back to tie up with a goal from R.J. Umberger, and the two teams traded chances before it went into overtime.
The Flyers eventually got on the power play, and NHL points leader Jakub Voracek made Washington pay with a big goal-winning shot from the point.
Cowboys Close out Lions
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In a weekend filled with otherwise mostly boring wild-card playoff games, the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys treated everyone to an incredibly dramatic show.
One specific play will get its own slide from this game, but the rest of the contest, especially the ending, was almost as good as it gets in the NFL.
Dallas played inspired football in the second half, coming back to steal a victory from the Lions after trailing 20-7 at one point. The Cowboys converted on a fourth down on each of their two touchdown-scoring drives in the second half, with Tony Romo piling up 293 passing yards and two scores in the win.
Flag Picked Up
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While the Cowboys-Lions game itself was already incredibly exciting, one particular play has stood out as especially dramatic and divisive.
There was a pass interference flag thrown on a Lions third-down pass in the fourth quarter, but it was eventually picked up after the referees discussed. The Lions were then forced to punt, the Cowboys came back to win and everyone predictably went crazy.
The call ended up overtaking the game in terms of media attention, with the NFL Officiating Vice President acknowledging the botched call and even President Barack Obama putting his two cents in favor of Detroit.
Cavs-Knicks-OKC Trade Night
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In what will go down as one of the most bizarre nights in the 2014-15 NBA season, a blockbuster three-way trade was slowly revealed and altered by different reporters throughout Monday night.
The actual logistics and time line are pretty crazy and complicated, but Deadspin has a good breakdown of everything here if you want the details.
Basically, an initial deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks was announced, with Dion Waiters rumored to be a part of it, and then everything went hazy.
Different reporters were saying different things, and all of this was going down as Twitter was having technical issues. The website eventually went down completely during the speculations, and so it wasn't until later in the night that the deal was formally announced. The biggest pieces were Dion Waiters going to Oklahoma City and J.R. Smith ending up in Cleveland.
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