Georgetown vs. China Exhib. Basketball Game Ends in Brawl

Big East basketball doesn't go over well in China.

Like many college basketball teams, Georgetown is on a tour of a foreign country this summer.  They are in China, playing a series of exhibition games. 

These games are usually friendly affairs, the teams exchange gifts and pleasantries and a usually uneventful basketball game takes place.

This one didn't go as planned as ou will see in the video above.

A battle royal broke out in the fourth quarter as members of both teams tackled and threw punches at one another. Chairs and water bottles were also thrown as the Georgetown players left the court with about nine-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Chinese club teams are known for their dirty play, and this fight was triggered when Bayi Rocket's forward-center Hu Ke was called for a foul against Georgetown's Jason Clark. The senior guard took exception to the hard foul and said so to Hu, sparking an exchange of shoves. That's when players from the Georgetown and Bayi benches ran onto the court.

The Georgetown Hoyas are in China on a 10-day goodwill trip which has been cited by the U.S. State Department as an example of sports diplomacy that strengthens ties between the two countries' peoples. The team was briefed by the State Department ahead of its departure on what to expect during its trip to Beijing and Shanghai, according to news releases on the university's website.

"We remain grateful for the opportunity our student-athletes are having to engage in a sport they love here in China, while strengthening their understanding of a nation we respect and admire at Georgetown University," Coach John Thompson III said.

A U.S. Embassy official called it an "unfortunate" incident.

"We look to these types of exchanges to promote good sportsmanship and strengthen our people-to-people contact with China," the official said.

Cardinals Beat Brewers to Avoid Sweep

Albert Pujols went 4-for-4 with a homer Thursday as the St. Louis Cardinals beat the Brewers 5-2 to salvage the series finale.

St. Louis moved back within four games of the NL Central-leading Brewers, who shot themselves in the foot by hitting into four double plays.

Chris Carpenter (8-8) gave up 10 hits in eight innings, and Fernando Salas got his 22nd save in 25 chances with a perfect ninth.

Pujols took extra batting practice before the game and it paid off. He hit a first-inning solo homer, his 28th, just over the wall in center, had a run-scoring single in the fifth and added two more singles.

Yovani Gallardo (13-8) lasted just five innings for Milwaukee, which finished its road trip 5-1.

Cardinals left fielder Matt Holliday missed a second straight game with a strained lower left side and back, while the Brewers' Ryan Braun was given the night off so he can keep his left leg healthy for the stretch run.  The Brewers will continue to monitor Braun's left leg.

Great Video of Young Baseball Fan Returning a Favor

A young baseball fan catches a foul ball at a Giants game and then gives the fan sitting in front of him his ball back from an earlier foul ball catch.

Great catch kid!

Brewers Take Game 1 in Series With Cardinals

It was a true team effort for the Milwaukee Brewers last night.

Casey McGehee doubled in the go-ahead run in the 10th inning, and Milwaukee widened its lead atop the NL Central with a 5-3 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals.

Yuniesky Betancourt hit an insurance sacrifice fly for the Brewers, who have won five straight and 12 of their last 13 contests. They are now four games in front of the second-place Cardinals. Corey Hart belted a two-run homer for the visitors from Milwaukee.

David Freese had two hits and an RBI for the Cardinals, who missed a chance to possibly grab the opener of this three-game series. In the ninth, Rafael Furcal singled to center with two outs off LaTroy Hawkins (1-0). Daniel Descalso then hit a bouncer to second base, but Betancourt booted the ball, as Furcal moved into scoring position. Albert Pujols couldn't come through as he flied out to right.

Nyjer Morgan singled leading off the 10th against Octavio Dotel (0-1), and Prince Fielder's base hit to center put runners at the corners with one out. McGehee then double to right and Betancourt's fly ball to center made it a two-run cushion.

John Axford notched his 33rd save of the year by working around a Lance Berkman one-out double.

College BB Teams Earn Frequent Flyer Miles this Summer

Forget the Maui Classic, forget the Great Alaska Shootout, and pay no attention to the Paradise Jam in the Virgin Islands. 

The travel season has begun early for dozens of college hoops teams who are allowed to take a trip abroad every few years as kind of a preseason for the upcoming college basketball season.

Coaches can use this time to give their young teams some valuable experience or use as a recruiting tool to show potential recruits that they take a cool trip every few years.

Here is the list of who's going where:

LSU Italy May 17-27

Mississippi State Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris Aug. 5-15

Villanova France, Netherlands Aug. 7-16

West Virginia Italy Aug. 8-21

Texas A&M Switzerland, France Aug. 8-17

Iowa State Italy Aug. 9-19

Illinois Italy Aug. 10-20

Louisville Bahamas Aug. 10-14

Baylor Toronto Aug. 11-16

DePaul France Aug. 11-21

California Sweden, Norway, Denmark Aug. 12-22

USC Brazil Aug. 12-21

Georgetown China Aug. 13-24

Duke China, Dubai Aug. 14-26

Virginia Tech Canada Aug. 16-18

Oregon Italy Aug. 22-Sept. 2

Stanford Spain Sept. 3-14

Northern Iowa Brazil Aug. 1-9

Murray State Canada Aug. 4-9

North Florida Canada Aug. 4-10

La Salle Canada Aug. 6-9

Hawaii China, Japan Aug. 6-21

Wichita State Brazil Aug. 7-18

Ball State Canada Aug. 8-16

Dayton Amsterdam, Paris Aug. 8-18

Illinois State Canada Aug. 8-13

UTSA Australia Aug. 9-19

Drake Australia, New Zealand Aug. 10-20

Wright State Italy Aug. 10-20

Central Florida Canada Aug. 10-15

Creighton Bahamas Aug. 11-17

Stony Brook Ireland, England, France Aug. 11-22

UMKC Italy Aug. 11-20

Duquesne Canada Aug. 12-15

Elon Germany, Italy Aug. 12-22

Oakland Canada Aug. 13-15

Fairfield Italy Aug. 15-25

BYU Greece Aug. 15-27

UT-Arlington Vancouver Aug. 16-23

Albany Canada Aug. 19-25

Saint Louis Canada Aug. 19-29

Santa Clara Vancouver Sept. 5-10

I believe three of the Duke games in China are going to be televised on ESPN (imagine that) and how about Cal's trip to Scandinavia, Stanford to Spain, and Drake to Australia and New Zealand.  Great spots.  And how about Duke's side trip to Dubai.  You can do that when you are Duke.