Gonzaga & North Carolina National Championship Game Tonight

As April gets under way and Cardinals baseball gets under way, March Madness comes to an end tonight. Gonzaga and North Carolina will take to the court in Glendale, Arizona with the 2017 NCAA Men’s Basketball National Championship on the line.

Despite eight  Sweet Sixteen appearances and three Elite Eight runs since 1999, Gonzaga will be looking for the program’s first national championship tonight.

North Carolina will be making their 11th appearance in the championship game tonight and looking to win their sixth national championship. The Tar Heels lost the championship to Villanova last year at the buzzer. Their last championship came in 2009.

Tip-off for the game is set for 8: 20 pm (CST) tonight on CBS.

Boss Baby Suprises Everyone In Box Office Debut

The Boss Baby, an animated film about a talking baby, took the weekend box office in its debut. The film soared to an estimated $49 million to beat Beauty and the Beast’s estimated $47.5 million third weekend of release.

Ghost in the Shell brought in an estimated $19 million while The Zookeeper’s Wife sold an estimated $3.3 million of tickets.

Be sure to check back to RealLifeSTL on Thursday for my Weekend Movie Guide. Smurfs: The Lost Village, Going In Style, and Colossal open in theaters this weekend.

Saint Louis FC Scores Late To Beat Ottawa In Home Opener

A late goal by the local club Saturday night gave Saint Louis FC a 3-2 win over Ottawa Fury FC in their USL home opener. With former St. Louis Steamer and new head coach Preki on the sidelines and a new-look squad on the pitch, Saint Louis opened an early 2-0 lead. After letting Ottawa tie the game late, Max Alvarez put a shot off a Fury defender and into the net in 89th minute to send the corner of St. Louligans and the 5,562 fans on hand into a frenzy.

St. Louis city voters head to the polls tomorrow (April 4th) to vote on Propositions 1 & 2. Proposition 1 would raise the sales tax one-half of a percent to public transit and other city services. Proposition 2 would use the corresponding use tax increase to fund a 20,000-seat outdoor stadium that would hopefully house a St. Louis entry in Major League Soccer.

For more on why Propositions 1 & 2 are good for St. Louis, read my earlier post on the subject.

South Carolina Beats Mississippi State For Women’s National Championship

In an All-SEC National Championship Game, the South Carolina women’s basketball team beat Mississippi State 66-57 yesterday. Mississippi State failed to beat Finland after topping Conneticut in the semifinals and ending the Huskies’ 111-game winning streak.

South Carolina ended their season on an 11-game winning streak. Their last loss came on February 19 at Missouri.

Missouri State Dropping Women’s Field Hockey For Women’s Beach Volleyball

Missouri State University issued a press release today (it is not dated April 1) announcing they will be dropping the sport of field hockey and will add women’s beach volleyball. The changes take effect July 1.

The move, along with others in Athletics, is expected to save the university more than $1 million per year.

Beach volleyball is the fastest-growing NCAA Division 1 sport, according to the American Volleyball Coaches Association. The AVCA says 54 schools across NCAA Division I, II and III field teams. The first programs were formed in 2012 when 15 schools added the sport. The first National Collegiate Beach Championship was held last year in Gulf Shores, Alabama. The 2017 Championship will be held May 5-7 in Gulf Shores.

For more on Missouri State beach volleyball, check out our other post.

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