Reading Time: 2 minutes The grandest stage in sports, the event that turns stars into heroes and heroes into legends is the NCAA Basketball Tournament — simply known to basketball fans around the country as March Madness. Since Bird and Magic faced off in the 1979 tournament final, March Madness has become a stepping-stone for college basketball stars entering into the NBA, and Utah Valley University, as of next season, will technically be eligible to be invited to the big dance.

Reading Time: 2 minutes Toolson to play in Portsmouth Invitational Utah Valley senior guard Ryan Toolson has been invited to play in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament Apr. 8-11 in Portsmouth, Va. Each season the top seniors from around the country are invited to play in the tournament to showcase their skills to scouts from both the National Basketball Association and teams and leagues from around the world.

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Wolverine hockey team ended their season with a 4-6 loss to BYU in a neck-to-neck battle that went down to the wire at Seven Peaks Arena. Jeff Jiron, Slava Ivenenko, Weston Nash and Jeff Potempa all scored for the Wolverines, but it was not enough. UVU shot a total of 44 shots compared to BYU’s 37, but in the end, the Cougars had fresh legs and scored four unanswered goals in the last six minutes of the match.

Reading Time: 2 minutes Robyn Fairbanks, Sandy Wall, Lauren Smith, Hollie Beaman and Jordyn Bowen played their last basketball game for coach Cathy Nixon on March 7. “They came here when Utah Valley was not respected by anyone on the Division I level and they have invested their heart and soul into the program,” said an emotional Cathy Nixon.

Reading Time: < 1 minute Originally from Payson, Utah senior guard Sandy Wall played her final game in a Wolverines uniform March 7. In her final game she led all scorers with 24 over Chicago State leading Utah Valley to an Independent Championship. Wall holds school record holder in career steals with 145, she is second all-time in career scoring average at Utah Valley with 13.

Reading Time: < 1 minute L.T. stays in San Diego LaDainian Tomlinson and the San Diego Chargers successfully renegotiated a contract which will keep L.T. in a Chargers uniform. Not only does the new deal keep L.T. but it also gives the team some salary cap relief. Tomlinson was the 2006 NFL MVP but the past two years have been filled with injury problems and his productivity has been down.

Reading Time: 2 minutes The Wolverines played their last three games of the 2008-2009 season during the Division I Independent Tournament hosted by UVU March 5-7 and came away with the title. The Wolverines played three games in three nights. It began with them facing NJIT for the third time this season.

Reading Time: < 1 minute Done Deal.Finally After four months of a back-and-forth battle, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Manny Ramirez have agreed to a two-year, $45 million deal. Last season, Ramirez played 53 games for the Dodgers. In his stint in L.A. he hit .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs.

Reading Time: 2 minutes UVU Men and Women Place Second at GWC Championships Utah Valley University’s men’s and women’s track and field teams both finished in second place at the Great West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships during the two day event which ended on Monday at the University of South Dakota.

Reading Time: 2 minutes The first week of March signifies the end of college basketball careers for seniors across the nation. Some, such as North Carolina’s Tyler Hansbrough, have enjoyed illustrious tenures, while others have been super-glued to the bench for four years. Some of these seniors will go on to star in the NBA and others will have to find other ways to fill up their bank accounts.