February 1st update

Wednesday Spotlight: Tom Brady

• The golden boy Tom Brady seems to have the perfect life. Quarterback of the best team in the NFL over the past 15 years, married to a Victoria’s secret model, and a lucrative spokesperson position for Uggs' Men's footwear (OK, well 2 out of 3 isn't bad). However, he has come from relative obscurity to be arguably the best QB in the NFL.
• Born and brought up in California, Brady attended the University of Michigan. In Ann Arbor, Brady was a backup for former NFL player Brian Griese, and then battled for two years with Drew Henson (a former major league baseball player who went back to college). Coming out of Michigan, Brady was lightly regarded. Drafted 199 overall in the 2000 draft at the end of the 6th round, Brady spent most of his rookie season as the 4th quarterback on the roster.
• Entering his second season, Brady worked his way up to second on the depth chart. In the second game of the season, the starter Drew Bledsoe suffered a big hit and had some internal bleeding. This gave Brady the chance he needed and he never relinquished the job (other than 2008, when he missed nearly the whole season with a knee injury).
• Brady has won 3 Super Bowls, and will go for his 4th on Sunday in a rematch of the only Super Bowl he has lost, against Eli Manning and the New York Giants. Brady is a 7-time Pro Bowler, a 2 time NFL MVP, and was named the Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the year in 2005. Married to Giselle Bundchen, Brady has two children (one with Bundchen). Brady will be a sure fire hall of famer when his career is over, and he will go down as one of the best Quarterbacks in the history of the league.


The sad story of Sid the Kid

• It wasn't too long ago the Sidney Crosby was riding as high as possible, considered the best player in the NHL despite his extreme youth (even now he's only 24) Crosby has already led his Pittsburgh Penguins to two Stanley Cup Finals (the first when he was the ripe old age of 21) and one championship. Crosby also led the league in points in just his second season and won the Hart Trophy (the NHL's MVP at the age of 19). Additionally he scored the winning goal for Canada in the 2010 Winter Olympics against the U.S. making him a hero in Canada, likely for the rest of his life.
• However, recently injuries have done what many thought was impossible, derailing his can't-miss, all-time great career. He suffered a bad concussion last year that caused him to miss nearly the whole season and now he's dealing with another concussion as well as soft tissue damage in his neck that is keeping him out of action, much to the chagrin of Pittsburgh fans and fans of the NHL as a whole.
• Crosby still could make it back and become one of if not the best player in the game today, but with the amount of time he's missed some people wonder if he'll ever return to his past form or if he'll simply become a shadow of his former self. Some are even saying it's time for him to retire because he's dealt with too many injuries and that he's endangering his future quality of life by exposing himself to the violent nature of professional hockey.
• Despite not being huge hockey fans here at Sportico, we can't help but feel bad for Sid and the league as a whole and for the good of both, we hope the Sidney Crosby can skate to the fullest of his abilities as soon as possible.