February 10th update

Lin taking Big Apple by storm

• Of all the big stars to make a splash in New York, absolutely nobody was predicting that Jeremy Lin would add himself to that list. If you haven't followed the NBA for the past week, you'd be completed justified in asking, "Who is Jeremy Lin? I've never heard of him."
• Lin, a end-of-the bench backup for the New York Knicks before this week started who played in the Developmental League and was released by the Houston Rockets, was inserted early into the Knicks-Nets game on Saturday because they've had inconsistent play at the guard spots and immediately made an impact. He's started 2 games since then and made a few highlight reel plays already, had the MSG crowd chant 'MVP' for him and has scored at least 23 points and dished out 7 assists in all 3 games the Knicks have played, stringing back to Saturday. He's the only player to do that in his first 2 starts other than Lebron James in the past 9 years.
• Lin is probably the least likely NBA star possible, a short Chinese-American who was born in Palo Alto, California (where Stanford is) and going to Harvard for college, you would think he'd be an academic not an athlete. But here he is, making a giant splash in a city where anything less is unacceptable. He has a long way to go to equal the likes of Derek Jeter or Eli Manning for the heart of New York but he's already gone a long ways toward passing the disappointing Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire in terms of being the most loved Knick. Let's wait to see if he can keep it up.


Supermodel Splitting a Team

• As we reported on Monday the New England Patriots lost the Super Bowl on Sunday when a last minute drive fell just short. In the last couple of drives, two of their receivers (Wes Welker and Deion Branch) dropped very catchable balls that Tom Brady threw. Had these players caught the passes, as they have done for most of this season, the outcome could have been very different.
• To make matters even worse for New England, Tom Brady’s wife, supermodel Gisele Bundchen, was taped calling out Welker and Branch. Even though she was supposedly provoked by Giants fans who were trash talking Brady, Bundchen’s comments could possibly cause a rift amidst the Patriots a la Yoko Ono (who she has been compared to by more than one analyst).
• The Bundchen controversy is just one that is effecting the Patriots after the Super Bowl. Injured Tight End Rob Gronkowski was taped dancing (if you can call it dancing) at a team sponsored after party on an injured ankle. Given his performance in the Super Bowl in which he hobbled around, some fans wondered how he was able to jump around with seemingly no pain, and others wonder why he was dancing in the first place, as athletes who lose their title game are unofficially expected to briefly "mourn" for lack of a better term after losing the championship game.


Former Pitcher claims use of cocaine while playing

• Former Boston Red Sox Pitcher Dennis “Oil Can” Boyd claimed that he was high on cocaine for approximately two thirds of the games he pitched. Boyd pitched for 10 seasons from 1982 to 1991.
• He claimed that he used cocaine all over the nation in clubhouses. He also said that all of his teammates knew of his addiction, and a few even made a few attempts to get him help. Boyd claimed that he was able to get away with it because he was never drug tested throughout his career.
• Boyd, whose nickname makes it seem as though he played in the 1880's, not the 1980's (the nickname comes from a slang term for a beer can from his native Mississippi) was known for his use of illicit substances. Boyd is not the only pitcher to claim pitching under the influence of illegal substances. Former Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis claimed to have pitched a no-hitter on LSD.

February 6th update

Giants Nick(s) Patriots in Thrilling Game

• The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in a game that met most expectations laid upon it. Eli Manning cemented his place amongst the elite quarterbacks by winning his second Super Bowl MVP trophy while completing 30 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. Hakeem Nicks had dreamlike game, with 10 catches for 109 yards, while Victor Cruz and Ahmad Bradshaw each scored a touchdown.
• The game got off to an interesting start after the Patriots were called for a penalty in their own end zone on their first offensive play, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead. Still, the Patriots stormed back and were in front for the entire second half, except for the final 57 seconds. Bradshaw’s touchdown with 57 seconds to go in the game gave the Giants the lead for good, even though the Patriots had a chance to win the game with a last ditch hail mary that just missed.
• This is the 4th Super Bowl for the Giants franchise, and the second for Manning and his head coach Tom Coughlin. After 12 games the Giants were 6-6, winning 3 of their remaining 4 games, the Giants entered the playoffs on a hot streak. They rode that streak all the way through the playoffs and can now once again call themselves Super Bowl champions.


Super Similarities

• There were remarkable similarities between this year's Giants team and the Giants team that won it all in 2007. It's pretty remarkable when you look at some of these coincidences, check them out:

- In December 2007 the Giants lost 38-35 to the undefeated Patriots in the regular season and in December 2011 they lost 38-35 to the undefeated Packers in the regular season.
- In 2007 they lost 22-10 to the Redskins in Week 15 and in 2011 they lost 23-10 against the Redskins in Week 15.
- In 2007 they defeated the #1 seed Cowboys in the Divisional Playoff Round and in 2011 they defeated the #1 seed Packers in the Divisional Playoff Round.
- In 2007 they won the NFC Championship game on an OT FG by Lawrence Tynes against the #2 seed Packers and in 2011 they won the NFC Championship game on an OT FG by Lawrence Tynes against the #2 seed 49ers.
- The defining play of the 2007 Super Bowl was a 32 yard catch by David Tyree in the 4th quarter and the defining play of the 2011 Super Bowl was a 38 yard catch by Mario Manningham in the 4th quarter.
- In 2007 the Giants scored a TD in the final minute, beat the Patriots by 3 and Eli Manning was the MVP. In 2011 the Giants scored a TD in the final minute, beat the Patriots by 4 and Eli Manning was the MVP.
- In 2007, the Giants stopped the Patriots 18 game winning streak in the Super Bowl and in 2011 the Giants stopped the Patriots 10 game winning streak in the Super Bowl. On a side note, the Giants stopped the Patriots 20 game home winning streak in November of 2011.


Doleman, Roaf lead 2012 HOF class

• Since this weekend has pretty much been dominated by football, we might as well stick with the theme right?? On Saturday the NFL announced its 2012 Hall of Fame inductees who are as follows:
• Chris Doleman: Defensive End
• Willie Roaf: Offensive Tackle
• Curtis Martin: Running Back
• Dermontti Dawson: Center
• Cortez Kennedy: Defensive Tackle
• Jack Butler: Cornerback

• Doleman was one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, his 150.5 sacks are 4th on the all-time list. He was named to 8 Pro Bowls in his 15 year career and was named to the 1990's all decade team.
• Roaf, who played for the Saints and Chiefs is considered by many to be one of the top 5 offensive tackles of all time and helped pave the way for Priest Holmes' record setting 27 touchdowns in 2003.
• Martin was a workhorse, piling up terrific stats with the Patriots and Jets. He had:

• 3,518 career rushing attempts (3rd all-time)
• 14,101 career rushing yards (4th all-time)
• 17,430 career yards from scrimmage (7th all-time)
• 90 career rushing touchdowns (12th all-time)
• 100 career rushing/receiving touchdowns (19th all-time)
• Was also the oldest player to win a rushing title (age 31) in 2004

• Dawson, Kennedy and Butler also had terrific careers but Roaf, Doleman and Martin will probably be the ones you'll hear the most about.

January 23th update

Giants and Patriots to meet again in Super Bowl

• The New York Giants are back in the Super Bowl after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in OT, the second time in 3 years that the NFC championship game has been won on a FG in OT. Vernon Davis caught two long TD passes for the Niners but a fumbled punt in OT put the Giants in prime field position and they used the very short field to allow kicker Lawrence Tynes to make the game clincher quite easily.
• Eli Manning was beaten up all day by the 49ers tough defense, getting sacked 6 times and knocked down 12 times, but he kept popping back up and will now go to his second Super Bowl, this one in Indianapolis, the hometown of his brother Peyton no less (who has only played in one).
• Eli's Giants will go against Peyton's longtime rival, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It's a rematch of the Super Bowl from 4 years ago when the Patriots entered the game 18-0 needing only one more win to become the first team in NFL history to finish a season 19-0. Instead the Giants upset them, keeping the Patriots from even winning the Super Bowl in a season where they may have been the best team in NFL history.
• The Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 after Ravens WR Lee Evans dropped a game winning touchdown that he had in his hands but was then knocked out by a Patriots defender, and then kicker Billy Cundiff missed a short FG that would have sent the game to OT.
• It was rough day for the Harbaugh family, as brother John and Jim are the head coaches of the two losing teams, the 49ers and the Ravens.


Paterno Dies of Cancer

• Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died on Sunday from complications from lung cancer. Paterno, the winningest coach in NCAA football history, passed away less than 2 months after his condition was initially divulged to the public.
• Paterno was fired from his position at PSU earlier this year due to allegations that he covered up child abuse reports involving his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. Whether or not you believe that Paterno should have been fired, or he was unjustly villified, he did plenty of good in his life and we will take some tine to review a bit of that life.
• Paterno and his wife were a fixture in the central Pennsylvania town of College Park. The library on campus, and other buildings on and around campus are named for the family. Patrons of many charities, Paterno and his wife have given countless hours and millions to different charitable organizations.
• Paterno will be remembered as a fantastic football coach and a beloved mentor. The number of lives he changed by giving an opportunity to play football, the number of coaches who have come from his coaching “tree” and the numerous charitable and philanthropic organizations he supported will be the bulk of the footprint Paterno leaves on this earth, to say nothing of the staggering numbers he put up in terms of wins, players drafted into the NFL and bowl game records, the likes of which will very likely never be seen again in the history of football.


USA Soccer has Big Month

• The Olympic qualifying tournament (Jan 20th-Jan 29th) for soccer is underway and the U.S. will try to first of all make the tournament, and then progress further than they have in the past. While the U.S. is not considered a favorite to win, they have been improving and will hope to make some noise. Argentina has won each of the past 2 Olympic tournaments, both in 2004 and 2008.
• The team defeated Venezuela 1-0 Saturday night for their first victory over a South American team since 2007. Much maligned US player Ricardo Clark headed in a corner kick in the 94th minute (extra time) to give the US the victory. It was Clark’s first goal since 2009, and a chance to help forget a blunder in the 2010 World Cup that cost the US team against Ghana.
• Meanwhile, earlier this month across the pond, US superstar Clint Dempsey became the first American to score a hat trick (3 goals) in the English Premier League. Dempsey and fellow US star Landon Donovan helped Everton advance in the FA Cup, a major knockout tournament of English soccer teams.

October 17th update

R.I.P Dan Wheldon

• One of the most well liked and well respected drivers in the Indianapolis Car Racing Circuit died on Sunday after a wreck on the 13th lap of the final race of the season. Dan Wheldon won the 2005 and 2011 Indianapolis 500, and had spent most of this season racing in Europe. Ironically, the reason he even won the 2011 Indy 500 was because rookie racer J.R. Hildebrand crashed into the wall on the final lap, even though nobody was around him.
• This was only the 3rd race Wheldon has run this year in the Indy Car Circuit, and he was only in it because of a $5 million prize given as incentive to get big named drivers to drive in this new race. The sponsors of the race did a lot of promoting and were hoping for this to be a big positive event. Instead the race was ended after only 12 laps after the wreck.
• The crash, which involved 15 cars total, started in front of Wheldon, and the video stream of the race actually was coming from Wheldon’s car when the crash began. Here is the video but be warned, it may be a bit disturbing.


Tough day for coaches in NFL's week 6

• The San Francisco 49ers handed the Detroit Lions their first loss of the season in a 25-19 victory. There was some controversy after the game as 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh gave Lions coach Jim Schwarz a bit of an overexuberant back slap and yelled profanities (not directed at Schwarz). The Detroit coach took exception to it and chased Harbaugh down where both teams got into each other's faces. A similar altercation happened after Harbaugh's Stanford team beat highly ranked Southern Cal a few years when Pete Carroll was the coach of USC. Carroll is now the coach of the Seattle Seahawks, a divisional rival of the 49ers.
• The Tampa Bay Bucs recovered from a 45 points drubbing the week before and moved into a tie with the New Orleans Saints atop the NFC South with a 26-20 win, however Saints head coach Sean Payton suffered a torn MCL when one of his own players was tackled into him. Also, Bucs defensive backs coach Jimmy Lake tore his patellar tendon jumping up to celebrate an interception in the second quarter.
• The New England Patriots won the most exciting game of the day, defeating the hard-luck Dallas Cowboys 20-16 on a TD reception by Aaron Hernandez with 22 seconds left. No coaches were harmed in the playing of this game!
• The Green Bay Packers scored 24 points in the first half against the hapless Rams and then took the second half off, as neither team scored after halftime. The first half surge included a 93 yard touchdown pass from Aaron Rogers to Jordy Nelson, career longs for each.

Check in Wednesday for a special spotlight as well as our preview of the World Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and Texas Rangers.

October 7th update

Look for a special update Sunday morning wrapping up the MLB's Divisional Series round.


Week 5 of the NFL Season produces playoff rematches

• Two rematches of playoff games from last year headline Week 5 of the NFL regular season. The New York Jets travel to play the New England Patriots, and the Green Bay Packers travel south to play the Atlanta Falcons
• The Jets defeated the Patriots 28-21 on January 16th of this year in what was considered a major upset to go to their second straight conference championship game. Since then the two team’s have gone in different directions. The Patriots have come out firing this season achieving a perfect, 4-0 record, while the Jets have been slow out of the blocks starting the season 2-2 (and they would be 3-1 if not for a major collapse by Dallas in Week 1). Criticism has rained down on Jets QB Mark Sanchez and Coach Rex Ryan, but they are shrugging it off looking to right the ship going forward.
• The Atlanta Falcons are looking to avenge an embarrassing loss from last year’s playoffs. The Packers beat down the Falcons 48-21 on January 15th and kept right on winning. They have won all 6 games they have played since then (including the Super Bowl). While the Packers are 4-0 the Falcons have struggled off to a 2-2 start. The Falcons upgraded their team during the offseason and were amongst the favorites coming into this season. So far they have no lived up to expectations.
• On Monday night, the undefeated Lions host the defending divisional champion Bears in a game which (sadly) will mark the beginning of the post-Hank Williams Jr. era as the singer's famous "Are you ready for some football?" intro will be permanently canned due to politically incorrect comments he made during the week.


Big NCAA rivalries renew in Week 6

• One of the best and most historic rivalries in college football takes place Saturday as #3 Oklahoma takes on #11 Texas in the Red River Rivalry. While Oklahoma has been hyped as a national title contender all season, Texas started off less hyped due to a terrible season last year but have gotten off to a fast start thanks to the great play of new starting QB Case Mccoy (the younger brother of Colt). The winner will have the fast track to the Big 12 championship and possibly the NCAA Title game.
• A week after getting shellacked by Alabama, Florida plays their second straight brutal game, this time against SEC superpower, #1 ranked LSU. Last year Florida suffered its first 3 game losing streak since 1988 and if they don't find a way to beat LSU, they'll have the dubious chance to do it again against defending national champion Auburn, who will go against #10 Arkansas in the other big SEC game of the day.
• In the other conferences, ACC unbeatens #13 Georgia Tech and #8 Clemson will likely remain that way against Maryland and Boston College and in the Big Ten, #12 Michigan plays Northwestern while Colorado plays against #7 Stanford for the first time as a Pac-12 conference member.