November 14th update

MLB player Ramos endures kidnapping ordeal

• Towards the end of last week, a shocking development hit the world of sports as Washington Nationals Catcher Wilson Ramos was abducted from outside his home in Venezuela. Ramos, 24, had a promising rookie season and had just returned to Venezuela to play in a winter league.
• He was whisked away to a secluded area in the mountains that Ramos admitted he thought was too remote for him to be found and rescued. The kidnappers, apparently Colombian, only told him that he was going to be ransomed for a lot of money. Kidnapping of high profile targets is a growing business in parts of Central and South America and in Venezuela, many such potential targets employ full time bodyguards (according to FOXnews).
• Gladly, this story has a happy ending as Venezuelan police conducted an airborne raid and exchanged gunfire with his abductors, only 48 hours after he Ramos was taken. The raid ended with four of the kidnappers being arrested and four more apparently being searched for by police. As for the shellshocked but incredibly grateful Ramos, he's now safely back in the arms of his loved ones.
• While he didn't endure any physical injuries, Ramos readily admitted that he's sustained plenty of emotional damage. We can only hope that he recovers fully and that local and federal police can get a better handle on the kidnapping trade to keep not only athletes, but the general populations of these areas safer in the future.


College Football standings endure major shake up

• The BCS title picture is beginning to clear up some thanks to a few games on Saturday. The Oklahoma State Cowboys absolutely obliterated a pretty decent Texas Tech team 66-6. It was the biggest defeat in school history for Texas Tech, the team who only a few weeks earlier, gave Oklahoma their only loss. Cowboys QB Brandon Weeden threw for 423 yards and 5 touchdowns and helped his school to their first ever 10-0 start.
• #4 Stanford was not so "Luck-y," losing 53-30 to last year's national runner up Oregon. Heisman hopeful Andrew Luck who was considered a massive favorite going into the game, might now face some competition in the form of Weeden, Alabama RB Trent Richardson and Oregon RB LaMichael James who blistered the Cardinal for 146 yards and 3 TDs on only 20 carries.
• Oregon will almost certainly play in the inaugural Pac-12 championship game in early December and has only lost twice since their opening game in 2009 against Boise State (when current NFL player LaGarrette Blount was so frustrated that he punched a Boise player in the face after the game).
• Those same Boise State Broncos saw their BCS title chances vanish on a missed field goal for the second straight season. Last year it was a missed FG at Nevada with 1 second left and Boise went on to lose in OT. This season, they trailed TCU (probably the best rivalry the casual fan hasn't heard of this past decade) 36-35 but had a chance to win with a 39 yard field goal. But it was pushed right and Boise was once again left to wonder if they had given away a chance at a title game or if finishing yet another season undefeated would even matter with richer teams from bigger conference generally getting preferential treatment in the Title Game.
• Now it comes down to whether or not LSU and Oklahoma State can win out as both look to be firmly in control and #3 Alabama's proponents are getting quieter and quieter after the team struggled to beat lowly Mississippi State. Many feel that Alabama deserves another shot at LSU but Oregon's only loss was also to LSU and they have arguably been more impressive in their other games. It will be very interesting to see how things shake out if one of the top 2 lose.
Check in Wednesday as we do a full overview of the college basketball season (which has already seen a couple entertaining and historic games this past week).

October 14th update

NBA Lockout officially causes games to be canceled

• Big news was made in the NBA this past week when it was made official that the first two weeks of games would be canceled, the first time NBA games have been missed in 12 years. The biggest game during that span was the New York Knicks @ the Denver Nuggets, which would have been Carmelo Anthony's first ever visit to Denver as an opponent (he was traded to the Knicks last season).
• Missing two weeks of games would be the best-case scenario for the league though. A federal mediator has been called in to attempt to draw the sides closer on Tuesday but every talk so far has apparently been a complete failure and there's talk now of having to cancel the Christmas Day games which are basically the NBA's equivalent to Thanksgiving Day games for the NFL.
• There's a possibility that the entire season could be canceled, especially as many players have signed contracts to go play overseas, meaning they will not feel pressured to settle for a subpar deal, such as the one the NFL players were forced into to end the NFL lockout (for what it's worth, I sided with the players in the NFL but the owners in the NBA).
• We're big NBA fans here at Sportico but we think that the fans should become more vocal in speaking out against this silly lockout, where both sides are looking for a bigger slice of a $4.3 billion pie amidst a struggling U.S. economy. And we're not alone.



NFL Week Lacks Marquee Games, Compensates with Storylines

• How legit are the 9ers? The San Fransisco 49ers are coming off of a 48-3 smack down of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that turned a few heads. This week they face another big test as they travel to the Motor City to take on the undefeated Detroit Lions. New coach Jim Harbaugh looks to continue his astonishing 4-1 start against a potent Detroit team. It should be noted that the Bucs won on Monday Night Football the week before they played San Fran just as Detroit did last week.
• Who will win the shootout in New England? When the Dallas Cowboys travel to New England to take on the Patriots don’t expect much defense. Both team feature highly effective offenses and equally inept defenses. This mix, along with the offensive wizardry of their coaches should make this a fun game to watch.
• Suck for Luck: The big prize in this coming year’s NFL draft is expected to be Stanford Quarterback Andrew Luck. Supposedly the most polished quarterback prospect coming out of college since Peyton Manning. As the first pick in the Draft goes to the team with the worst record many fans have been hoping their team “Sucks for Luck.”
• There are currently three teams with no wins, and 6 more with only one. Now some of these teams (the St Louis Rams and Carolina Panthers for instance) would not select Luck because they have established young quarterbacks, but they would expect to get a lot in the trade market for such a coveted prospect. The Dolphins may be the best destination for luck as they play in a big market and have tons of talent on offense with Brandon Marshall, Reggie Bush and Jake Long (one of the best linemen in the game to protect Luck).


NCAA's Week 7 Should Answer Questions

• How good are the Oklahoma State Cowboys? The 5-0 Cowboys are less hyped than their in-state rivals, the Oklahoma Sooners, but they are ranked #6 in the country and are lead by stud wide receiver Justin Blackmon. They have been wiping the floors with their opponents throughout the season (defeating Kansas 70-28 this past weekend), but a trip to Austin to take on the Texas Longhorns should prove to be a slightly more telling task.
• Who’s the best in Michigan? The Michigan Wolverines travel to take on their instate rivals Michigan State on Saturday. The undefeated Wolverines are ranked #11 while the Spartans of Michigan State are ranked #23. The Wolverines, lead by Sophomore quarterback sensation Denard Robinson began the season unranked, but are now in contention for a conference title, their first in over a decade.
• Can Oregon recover? After a tough defeat to start the season (to what is looking like the best team in college football in the past 5 years, LSU) the Oregon Ducks have been unstoppable. Never scoring less than 40 points, and outscoring their opponents by 151 points in the past 4 weeks. Currently ranked #9 in the country, the Ducks are trying to reclaim their spot as a championship contender, it will take more than a few wins, as there are a number of undefeated teams that may take precedence at the end of the day and they may have to do so without superstar RB Lamichael James for a game or two as he is nursing an arm injury.