February 27th update

Daytona 500 rained out for first time

• The Super Bowl of Nascar, the Daytona 500, was supposed to take place Sunday, marking the beginning of the Nascar season, but the rain came down too hard, making it impossible for Nascar officials to clear the track up in time to start the race. The race will commence at Noon on this afternoon instead, making it much tougher for fans to catch the race.
• It was the first time in more than 50 years that the race had been postponed, and Jimmie Johnson summed it up with a good quote saying, I guess the deal [Nascar owner] had with the man upstairs was put on hold this year.
• It will still be a great race with lots of fanfare but there will be significantly fewer in the stands and it's expected that teams will have a rough time getting all the way across the country to Phoenix by Thursday for the next race since they would generally have left Sunday night but instead will have to leave late Monday afternoon. Carl Edwards, who barely lost the 2011 championship to Tony Stewart, has the pole (or leading) position when the race starts.


West Wins Climactic All-Star Game

• The Western Conference won the 2012 NBA All-Star game 152-149, the highest ever combined score in an All-Star game. Both Kevin Durant (for the West) and LeBron James (for the East) scored 36 points leading their respective teams. Durant won the MVP, most likely just because his side won. This game, that usually focuses on offense, saw much better defense being played towards the very end, especially by the East.
• The West had a major lead most of the game, and had a 20 point lead in the 4th quarter, but Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and James led a furious comeback and the East had the ball with 16 seconds left and a chance to tie or take the lead. Deron Williams missed a 3-point shot that would have given the East a lead and then Wade missed a last second 3 that would have tied the game at the buzzer.
• Kobe Bryant scored 27 points to move past Michael Jordan for first place on the All Star Scoring list. His 14 All-Star Game appearances is equal to Jordan as well, but still short of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record 19 games.
• On Saturday, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love won the 3-point contest, and Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans won the Slam Dunk Competition.


As we approach March Madness in College Hoops, Sportico will be recapping the NCAA season.

Big Weekend in the Big 12

• Having two of the top 4 teams in the country (at least as of this weekend) the Big 12 arguably has the best chance to win a National Championship.
• We have previously written about Baylor, but the Bears have slipped recently allowing for Missouri and Kansas to jump to the top of the Conference. This past weekend these two teams played for the second time this season. Kansas avenged an earlier season loss defeating Missouri 87-86 in overtime. All three of these teams have good chances to make it through the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, and send at least one representative to the Final Four in New Orleans.
• While Kansas has been a national power for years on the College Basketball scene, Missouri is a relative newcomer, entering the top ranks for the first time in a long while. This success is built on an explosive offense and a very experienced roster. Of the 5 players who play the most, 4 are Seniors and the other is a Junior.

February 15th update

Wednesday Spotlight: Randy Moss

• One of the most talented, but frustrating players in NFL history, wide receiver Randy Moss, announced his unretirement on Monday (his 35th birthday). Moss has played for 4 teams throughout his 12-year career (including 2 stints with the Minnesota Vikings). Considered the prototypical physical specimen for a pass catcher (6’ 4” 210 lbs, running a 4.25 second 40-yard dash) in the NFL, Moss’ skills are only matched by his mercurial behavior.
• Moss was drafted in the first round by the Vikings, dropping dropping in the draft due to a number of off-the-field concerns during his college years. After a freshman year at Florida State in which he was arrested for smoking marijuana, Moss transferred to Marshall University in West Virginia. At Marshall, Moss along with future NFL quarterback Chad Pennington, combined to form a feared combination that took a Mid American Conference title.
• Moss played for the Vikings from 1998 until 2005 when he was traded to the Oakland Raiders. As a rookie Moss trained with Vikings superstar Cris Carter, who took Moss under his wing and together, helped form one of the most feared offenses in NFL history. After the 2006 season the Raiders traded Moss to the Patriots and in 2007 Moss combined with WR Wes Welker and QB Tom Brady to once again create one of the highest powered offenses in the history of the NFL.
• After the 2007 season Moss’ production began to slip. During the 2010 season the Patriots traded Moss back to the Vikings. After only 4 games the Vikings cut Moss who finished the season with the Tennessee Titans. At the end of the season, with no takers for his services, Moss retired. Although he is back now there's no promise he will be signed, as the closest player to him, Terrell Owens, went unsigned in 2010 despite having a very respectable 2009 season. Moss will be fondly remembered for his one liners, including saying "Straight Cash, homie" when asked how he would pay a $10'000 fine, and this one that was turned into a fantastic remixed video.


NBA Western conference review

• So here I am, writing about the Western conference but all I want to do is talk about Jeremy Lin. I can't though. So I won't mention that he scored 38 points against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, made a game winning 3 last night against the Raptors, that he was named NBA player of the week, that he has at least 20 points, 7 assists and a steal in all 6 games he's played substantial minutes in (all Knicks wins) or that even Lin's high school coach never thought he'd be a good college player, much less an NBA star. Nope, won't mention that stuff. Stop the Lin-Sanity! The Western Conference awaits!
• The West has been the better conference for what seems like decades now, and the reason for the is the depth of good teams on that side. The Oklahoma City Thunder and the revamped Clippers are the class of the conference, although losing Chauncey Billups for the season will hurt the Clips.
• The Spurs, Mavs and Lakers are hovering a but behind, but until those veteran teams lose to the young inexperienced squads led by Durant and Westbrook (Thunder) or Paul and Griffin (Clips) in the playoffs, they have not proven anything.
• Steve Nash's Phoenix Suns would be in the thick of the playoff hunt in the East but are the 3rd worst team in the West at 12-17. Kevin Love's T-Wolves are much improved and really any team other than the miserable Hornets or the slightly less miserable Kings could realistically fight into one of the last two playoff spots.

December 30th update

Bowl season heating up

• It might be cold outside but the bowl season is warming up as it's finally getting to the time of the year where exciting matchups are being played. With the current landscape of college football, nearly any team with 6 wins can make a bowl (as is evidenced by this sterling matchup) but most of the mediocre games are played earlier in the bowl season and now we have better games remaining, most of which begin in January.
• On Thursday, Florida State used a suffocating defense to recover from a 14-0 deficit to defeat Notre Dame 18-14 and are now the only team to win a bowl every year from 2008 to 2011 and Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III led Baylor to a comeback win over Washington.
• On January 2nd you could spend all day watching great matchups as there are 6 games and except for Ohio State vs Florida (two national powers having a down year) every team playing is ranked. The best game will likely be the Fiesta Bowl which matches up high powered offenses; Brandon Weeden and Justin Blackmon of Oklahoma State against Andrew Luck's Stanford Cardinal, but the Rose Bowl claims the Pac-12 winner against the Big 10 winner (Oregon and Wisconsin respectively) and that game will be very entertaining as well. After the 2nd, there will be a few more games but no more than one per day and Sportico will preview most of those as well in a little more detail.


Trouble in paradise?

• In our Wednesday spotlight on Kevin Durant, we mentioned the fact that he plays alongside all-star point guard Russell Westbrook. The relationship between the two budding superstars has been reported to be strained. Durant is the more well known star, but Westbrook wants more attention for the work he does, which manifested itself a bit in the playoffs last year when Westbrook was criticized for taking (and missing) far too many shots.
• This strain bubbled over Wednesday night when the two stars got into a shouting match on the sidelines after Westbrook’s anger at a third teammate's shot selection spilled over. Both players downplayed the incident (as did Thunder coach Scotty Brooks) however it remains to be seen if this tension will continue to cause a schism on one of the best young teams in the league.
• Thursday night (as the NBA continues to play an absurd amount of games to fit as many games into their lockout-shortened schedule) Durant hit a game winning 3-pointer to defeat the Dallas Mavericks 104-102 in a rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals. The Thunder are 4-0 and will have a day off before playing again on New Years Eve.


NFL Playoff Picture clearing up

• The easy division: the NFC – The Packers have run away with this regular season. They have lost once, but have clinched the first round seed in the NFC. Both the San Francisco 49ers and New Orleans Saints have clinched their divisions, and will be the 2 and 3 seed depending on this weekend (if the 49ers win they have it, if the Saints win and the 49ers lose the Saints will be the number 2 seed). The two wild cards (5th and 6th seeds) have already been clinched by the Detroit Lions and Atlanta Falcons. The one spot left to be filled is the 4th seed. The Dallas Cowboys travel to the New York Giants in a winner-take-all game.
• The AFC is a bit more confusing: The New England Patriots have clinched at least the #2 seed, and will be the #1 seed if the current #2 team (Baltimore Ravens) lose. If they win, they will clinch the #1 spot. The Ravens will clinch the #2 spot with either a victory or a Pittsburgh Steelers loss. The Steelers are currently the 5th seed (as the first wild card team) but can leap to the #2 seed if they win and the Ravens lose.
• The Houston Texans have clinched the #3 Spot. The #4 spot will go to the Denver Broncos if they win, or the Oakland Raiders lose while the Raiders will take it if they win and the Broncos lose. The 6th spot comes down to four teams. The Cincinnati Bengals have the inside track, if they win they have it, however they play the extremely tough Baltimore Ravens who, as we've noted, still have something to play for. The New York Jets, Tennessee Titans and Raiders each have a chance if a LOT of different things break their way. We will have a full recap of the weekend, and preview of the playoffs on Monday’s Sportico.

December 28th update

Sportico wishes all of our readers a Merry Christmas! Now back to the world of sports!

Pro Bowl rosters announced

• The NFL announced the rosters for its annual All-Star game, the Pro Bowl, on Tuesday and to no one's surprise, the best teams got the lion's share of the representees. The San Francisco 49ers have ridden a dominant defense to a likely #2 seed in the NFC and got 8 selections, a mark equaled by the New England Patriots and just missed by the Baltimore Ravens and Green Bay Packers who each got 7.
• Was there controversy? A bit but not as much as in some years. Some people thought the rookie QB duo of Tim Tebow and Cam Newton should have made it over Philip Rivers and Eli Manning. Also Ndamukong Suh missed out and the Tennessee Titans did not have a single rep (incuding RB Chris Johnson, who might have made it on reputation alone if it were just a fan vote that determined the players). But without further ado, here are the rosters:

AFC:
Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady, New England
Philip Rivers, San Diego
Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh

Running backs:
Arian Foster, Houston
Maurice Jones-Drew, Jacksonville
Ray Rice, Baltimore

Fullback:
Vonta Leach, Baltimore

Wide receivers:
A. J. Green, Cincinnati
Brandon Marshall, Miami
Mike Wallace, Pittsburgh
Wes Welker, New England

Tight ends:
Antonio Gates, San Diego
Rob Gronkowski, New England

Offensive tackles:
D'Brickashaw Ferguson, New York Jets
Jake Long, Miami
Joe Thomas, Cleveland

Guards:
Logan Mankins, New England
Brian Waters, New England
Marshal Yanda, Baltimore

Centers:
Nick Mangold, New York Jets
Maurkice Pouncey, Pittsburgh

Defensive ends:
Andre Carter, New England
Elvis Dumervil, Denver
Dwight Freeney, Indianapolis

Interior linemen:
Haloti Ngata, Baltimore
Richard Seymour, Oakland
Vince Wilfork, New England

Outside linebackers:
Tamba Hali, Kansas City
Von Miller, Denver
Terrell Suggs, Baltimore

Inside linebackers:
Ray Lewis, Baltimore
Derrick Johnson, Kansas City

Cornerbacks:
Champ Bailey, Denver
Johnathan Joseph, Houston
Darrelle Revis, New York Jets

Strong safety:
Troy Polamalu, Pittsburgh

Free safeties:
Ed Reed, Baltimore
Eric Weddle, San Diego

Punter:
Shane Lechler, Oakland

Placekicker:
Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland

Kick returner:
Antonio Brown, Pittsburgh

Special teamer:
Matthew Slater, New England

NFC:
Quarterbacks:
Drew Brees, New Orleans
Eli Manning, New York Giants
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay

Running backs:
Matt Forte, Chicago
Frank Gore, San Francisco
LeSean McCoy, Philadelphia

Fullback:
John Kuhn, Green Bay

Wide receivers:
Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona
Greg Jennings, Green Bay
Calvin Johnson, Detroit
Steve Smith, Carolina

Tight ends:
Tony Gonzalez, Atlanta
Jimmy Graham, New Orleans

Offensive tackles:
Jermon Bushrod, New Orleans
Jason Peters, Philadelphia
Joe Staley, San Francisco

Guards:
Davin Joseph, Tampa Bay
Carl Nicks, New Orleans

Centers:
Ryan Kalil, Carolina
Scott Wells, Green Bay

Defensive ends:
Jared Allen, Minnesota
Jason Babin, Philadelphia
Jason Pierre-Paul, New York Giants

Interior linemen:
B.J. Raji, Green Bay
Jay Ratliff, Dallas
Justin Smith, San Francisco

Outside linebackers:
Lance Briggs, Chicago
Clay Matthews. Green Bay
DeMarcus Ware, Dallas

Inside linebackers:
Brian Urlacher, Chicago
Patrick Willis, San Francisco

Cornerbacks:
Carlos Rogers, San Francisco
Charles Tillman, Chicago
Charles Woodson, Green Bay

Strong safety:
Adrian Wilson, Arizona

Free safeties:
Dashon Goldson, San Francisco
Earl Thomas, Seattle

Punter:
Andy Lee, San Francisco

Placekicker:
David Akers, San Francisco

Kick return specialist:
Patrick Peterson, Arizona

Special teamer:
Corey Graham, Chicago


Of the players taken, here were 44 first-round picks, 10 second-round picks, seven third-round picks, five fourth-round picks, three sixth-round picks, two seventh-round picks and eight undrafted players.

Some other fun tidbits:

- All but two AFC picks on defense — defensive end Elvis Dumervil and safety Eric Weddle – are first-round picks.

- After the first and second rounds, there are more undrafted Pro Bowl players than any other round.

- Of the six running backs selected for the Pro Bowl, none were first-round picks.

- All four inside linebackers who made the Pro Bowl were first-round picks.


Wednesday Spotlight: Kevin Durant

• Oklahoma City Thunder Small Forward Kevin Durant (pictured above) is off to a strong start to the season, which surprises absolutely no one. After leading the league in scoring in each of the past two seasons, Durant scored 63 points in the first two games of the season (against Minnesota and Orlando). One of the league’s best young players, Durant was the second pick in the 2007 draft (a highly analyzed pick, as the Portland Trail Blazers selected oft-injured Center Greg Oden with the first overall pick).
• Prior to the NBA, Durant was a superstar freshman at the University of Texas. ESPN’s hyperbole prone analyst Dick Vitale called Durant the “most prolific offensive skilled big perimeter” player ever. Durant was named the player of the year for the 2006-07 season, becoming the first player to win the award as a freshman. One of the reasons he's so lethal is that he's got the shooting ability of a guard but is 6'9" and very athletic, making him difficult for any player to guard.
• The "Durantula" is the leader of the young Oklahoma City Thunder, one of the most entertaining and talented teams in the league that also features high flying PG Russell Westbrook, shot-blocking phenom Serge Ibaka and former Celtic defensive ace Kendrick Perkins. The Thunder are considered a contender for this year’s title, and thanks to smart moves from their front office, should be contenders for years to come.

August 22nd update

Durantula Leads DC Team Over West Coast Squad

• Saturday night, tiny Trinity College was home to some of the finest players the NBA has to offer. The exhibition game matched up All-Stars from the Washington Area Goodman League against the LA based Drew League. Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder (who is close to signing a movie deal) led all scorers with 44 as Goodman won 135-134.
• The teams were made up pretty evenly of NBA Stars and area street ball legends. Joining Durant representing the Goodman League were John Wall of the Washington Wizards, Ty Lawson of the Denver Nuggets, Gary Neal of the San Antonio Spurs and Demarcus Cousins of the Sacramento Kings. The Drew League team was fueled by Milwaukee Bucks guard Brandon Jennings. He was joined by JaVale McGee of the Wizards, James Harden of the Thunder, DeMar DeRozan of the Toronto Raptors, and Marcus Banks formerly of the New Orleans Hornets.
• This game was part of an attempt by NBA players to prove they can generate income while they are being locked out by their owners (a topic we've touched on previously). Many people believe owners are trying to bleed the players dry financially. If the players can prove they are not dependent on their next NBA paycheck to survive, this lockout could go on much longer.
• On a related note, more than 30 players have already signed deals to play overseas if there is no 2011-12 NBA season and about 100 more have expressed interest in playing overseas.


Larry Fitzgerald and Jared Weaver get well-deserved paydays

• This weekend saw two of the best athletes on the West Coast, (Arizona counts as West Coast, right?) Larry Fitzgerald and Jared Weaver, sign major contract extensions to remain as the face of their respective franchises for quite some time.
• Fitzgerald's deal was for a staggering 8 years and $120 million. It makes him the 5th highest paid player in the NFL (tied with Richard Seymour) and the only players he is behind are quarterbacks. However, the most amazing part of the deal is that he now makes about 50% more than the next highest paid WR!
• The No. 3 overall pick of the 2004 draft, Fitzgerald has topped 90 catches and 1,000 receiving yards in five of his seven NFL seasons, including the last four. For his career, he has 613 catches, the most in franchise history, for 8,204 yards and 65 touchdowns. Fitzgerald needs just 294 yards and two touchdowns to surpass Roy Green's franchise records in those categories.
• Weaver, a pitcher for the LA Angels of Anaheim, leads the MLB in ERA and has been among the league leaders in wins all season and strikeouts for a few years. His deal was for a mere 5 years and $85 million which is a tad south of the $90 million Torii Hunter got in 2008 but bigger than any other contract the Angels have ever given out.
• Weaver, in his sixth big league season, has a 78-45 record with a 3.30 ERA and 937 strikeouts in nearly 1100 innings. He led the major leagues with 233 strikeouts in 2010.

August 3rd update

Randy Moss calls it a career

• Possibly the most unguardable pass receiver in the history of the NFL has called it quits, and now it's time for people to decide whether his unbelievable athleticism, remarkable catches or his mercurial personality and bizarre antics will be what his ongoing legacy will be.
• When Moss was at his best he was unstoppable as is evidenced by his record 23 TD catches in 2007 and his rookie record of 17 TD catches in 1998, but he famously took plays off and had the attitude of "I play when I want to play." He played for the two highest scoring teams in NFL history and made defenses change their entire personnel just to stop him, but he also sulked, threw teammates under the bus and seemed to disappear for plays and games at a time.
• From the time he played football and basketball in high school with former Sacramento Kings PG Jason Williams, Moss was an athletic freak who was probably this generation's best example of an athlete who was his own worst enemy. The stats don't lie, he's one of the greatest ever as he has:

• 10 1,000+ yard receiving seasons – 2nd all-time
• 64 career 100 yard games – 2nd all-time
• 153 touchdown receptions – 2nd all-time
• 73.6 receiving yards per game – 7th all-time
• 154 total touchdowns scored – 4th all-time
• 14,858 receiving yards – 6th all-time
• 954 career receptions – 10th all-time
• 4-time All-Pro selection
  

...But he also bumped a traffic cop with his vehicle, berated a caterer (saying he wouldn't feed the man's food to his dogs), pretended to moon fans in Green Bay after a touchdown, and was jettisoned from Oakland, New England and Minnesota (the second time) as teams realized that the good wasn't worth the bad. He'll be a Hall-of Famer, but which facet of Moss's career will be remembered more? Only time will tell.


Ballers Killin' Time

• With the NBA (aka No Basketball Anywhere) currently locking out its players, NBA news not relating to the lockout is sparse. Unless you're one of the 17 people who tunes in weekly to Khloe and Lamar you won't see much of your favorite NBA players so we've decided to keep you updated on what some of the league’s biggest stars are doing with their lives. We've already discussed Deron Williams' decision to play basketball in Turkey.
• Kevin Durant lit up Rucker Park on Monday. Durant visited the Mecca of "street" basketball (aka the playground for grownups) in Harlem as part of a Entertainers Basketball Classic. Durant's team, the DC Power, played the Sean Bell All-Stars which has an NBA player of their own. While its not altogether surprising that Durant (the NBA’s leading scorer last year) could score against some lesser competition, the large total is still impressive. The environment was much more interactive and fans repeatedly mobbed Durant the higher his totals got and Durant obviously had a blast. Afterwards, via his Twitter he said: "No lie, jus had one of the best times of my life at Rucker park..wow!"
• What do you do when you were born in Santa Monica California, you're really tall, and don’t have basketball to play? Play beach volleyball of course! Minnesota Timberwolves All-Star forward Kevin Love is taking his respite from basketball and turning to a different ball. Love, who’s uncle Mike was a member of the Beach Boys, grew up in Southern California and we can safely assume has played his share of beach volleyball. He will be participating in a tournament held at Times Square from August 26th-28th and hopes to supplement his income with the NBA's season uncertain.
• And then we have Steve Nash, whose competitive drive is so intense that he's been reduced to stealing parking spots from old ladies. This man was meant to play basketball, let's get this lockout lifted, NBA powers-that-be!