Rockets set mark, Caltech halts futility

- Rockets tie NBA record in win
- The Houston Rockets aren't known as a dominant offensive team but if they have many more games like they did on Tuesday night, that may change.  Houston tied an NBA record and set an all time record for their franchise by making 23 3-pointers in a 140-109 win against the Golden State Warriors.
- Jeremy Lin made a career high five 3-pointers, and Chandler Parsons and James Harden hit four apiece as the Rockets tied the season-high point total for the the entire NBA even though this game did not go to overtime (it tied the mark from a game that did go to OT). They also tied an NBA record with 14 3-pointers in the first half and gave out a ridiculous 35 assists total.
- The most amazing part of this feat is that the Rockets did all this without Carlos Delfino, who is statistically their best 3 point shooter (he missed the game with a right elbow injury).
- After the mark was tied, the crowd got in on the action, shouting, "One more 3," but Houston was unable to break the tie.


Caltech wins a baseball game!

- Caltech, which bills itself as the academic home of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, had a great day Saturday on the baseball field. The baseball Beavers beat Pacifica College 9-7.  While this may not seem like a particularly noteworthy game it's amazing simply because Caltech won.  It was their first victory in 10 years.
- The school is to sports what Wile E. Coyote is to catching roadrunners, as the D3 Beavers just ended a 310-game conference basketball losing streak in 2011 and the women’s volleyball program ended a 56-match losing streak last year.  And while the win was something for the baseball team, it was out of conference, meaning they still haven't won a conference game in a mere 463 tries.

Ravens Win Blacked Out Super Bowl 34-31

Ravens Win Super Bowl

- Joe Flacco completed his run of spotless play in this year's playoffs throwing for 287 yards and 3 touchdowns, while completing two-thirds of his throws. Flacco was aided by wide receiver Jacoby Jones who caught a 56-yard touchdown pass and then opened the third quarter with a 108-yard kick-off reception.
- Perhaps the biggest story of the game was a 34-minute partial power outage at the Mercedes-Benz Super Dome in New Orleans. Early in the third quarter, with the 49ers facing a tough situation (down 28-6, with 3rd and 13), more than half the lights in the indoor stadium went out. After the outage, the 49ers tried to do what they did against Atlanta in the NFC championship game, come back from a large deficit. 17 straight points very quickly in the third quarter put the 49ers within 5.
- The Ravens kicked a field goal early in the fourth quarter to go up 8 points, 31-23. With about 10 minutes to go in the game 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick scored on a 15-yard touchdown run. However, a heavy blitz on the 2-point conversion attempt forced Kaepernick to overthrow Randy Moss, keeping it a 2-point game. With 12 seconds left and a 5 point lead, Baltimore faced a 4th down from deep in their territory but instead of punting, they told their punter to waste time before taking a safety.  He was able to waste 8 seconds before they 49ers realized what was going on and with only enough time for a kickoff return left, Super Bowl XLVII went to Baltimore.  *Note* There's an NFL rule that states that a team can call for a fair catch on a kicked ball and then attempt a field goal with no defenders, even if there's no time left on the clock.  Unfortunately for the 49ers, they were much too far away to use that rule to their advantage.
- Flacco (who finished the playoffs with 11 TD passes and 0 interceptions) won the MVP award, though many believed Jones deserved it just as much. The 49ers were led by running back Frank Gore who had 119 yards on 19 carries, and the combo of Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis who combined for 11 catches and 213 yards receiving.
- The game marked the final game of Ray Lewis's career, and possibly Randy Moss's, both of which are amongst the greatest players in NFL history.  Despite being on the two best offenses of all-time, Moss has still never won a Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLVII

Overall Storylines for the Superbowl

- In case you haven't heard, the Super Bowl is coming up on Sunday, so we've separated today's edition into multiple Super Bowl related posts.  The biggest non-game related storyline leading up to the Super Bowl is the two head coaches who are brothers. Older brother, John Harbaugh coaches the Baltimore Ravens, his brother Jim (15 months younger) coaches the 49ers. This will be the second time in history that two brothers have coached against each other, the first being when the Harbaughs faced each other last year on Thanksgiving when the Ravens won 16-6. Their father Jack was a college head coach, and football has been in their life from the time they were little. Jim was a near Pro Bowl caliber quarterback for a number of NFL teams, while John has been a coach since the mid-80s, and the head coach of the Ravens since 2008.
- This will be the last game for Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis. Lewis will go down as arguably the greatest linebacker in the history of the NFL. His legacy will include that, at least one Super Bowl (in 2000) but will also include his involvement in a murder soon after that game and steroid allegations over the past few days after his incredibly fast return from torn triceps. Lewis will always been a leader, but will potentially be remembered for emotional leadership and his signature dance.  Strangely enough, Lewis's first ever sack in the NFL was against Jim Harbaugh when he was QB of the Colts.
- New Orleans will host the Super Bowl for the 10th time, in the Superdome for the 7th time. This is the first Super Bowl in New Orleans since 2002, and the first time since the Superdome became a refuge during Hurricane Katrina. It may also be an outlet for frustrated Saints fans to take vengeance on commissioner Roger Goodell, whose cutthroat suspensions probably cost the Saints a more successful season than their 7-9 2012 campaign.


49ers Kaepernick-ing into Super Bowl

- A week 10 concussion to starting quarterback Alex Smith, who led the NFL is completion percentage at the time probably looked bad on the surface for the 49ers, but it seems to have given them the offensive spark they needed to make the Super Bowl this season by opening the path for phenom Colin Kaepernick to take over the job.
- Kaepernick has made waves not only with his superb play both running and passing the ball but also with the internet sensation "Kaepernicking" which is essentially just kissing your bicep (his celebration after a score).  Other Kaepernick facts include the fact that he already owns the NFL's single game rushing record for a QB (set just weeks ago against Green Bay in the playoffs) and he owns a giant pet tortoise.
- In addition to their star QB, San Francisco has a great veteran RB in Frank Gore and are led by a stout defense, the best linebacker in the league (Patrick Willis) and a player that many think has been ever better than him over the past year or two in Navarro Bowman as well as a fearsome combo of defensive linemen.  The 49ers hard hitting defense will likely be the reason the they win the Lombardi Trophy if they do so.


Flacco’s rise lead Ravens to the Super Bowl

- Much beguiled Baltimore Ravens quarterback has had a breakthrough postseason, potentially making millions as he becomes a free agent after the Super Bowl.  While he can technically sign with any team, he'll probably be hard-pressed to leave a Ravens team who he's going to the Super Bowl with and who badly wants him back.
- It will be very interesting if Flacco returns to the Super Bowl next year though, as he'd made waves by calling it "retarded" that the Super Bowl would be played in New Jersey next winter.  The Super Bowl has always been played either in a warm city or inside in a dome.  The stadium in NJ is outdoors and will likely feature a game that's in the 30's or 40's.  Flacco has apologized for using the word retarded but stands by his comments blasting the NFL for a cold-weather Super Bowl.
- No commentary on the Ravens would be complete without mentioning Ray Lewis, whose final game will be this Super Bowl, but since so much coverage has surrounded him, we'll also mention that fellow Hall of Fame lock, Ed Reed, may also be playing his last game as a Raven.  Many experts believe that Reed, not Lewis, has been the most integral part of the Ravens defense since he was drafted and if Baltimore wins, Reed will probably need to have a great game.
- Additionally, running back Ray Rice, conserved during the regular season, looks to cement his position amongst the greatest running backs in the NFL with a Super Bowl Championship.

'Roids and a legend returns home

Steroids, Steroids Everywhere

- Last week Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping during the entirety of his no-longer-impressive 7-straight Tour de France titles. In an interview with Oprah, Armstrong claimed that he did not feel like he was cheating because (in the words of an average 7 year old) everybody was doing it. Armstrong’s championships may have come with a level of fraud, but the almost half a billion dollars he raised to help fight cancer have to count for something.
- The Miami New Times reported a list on Sunday of a number of baseball players who may have gotten performances enhancing drugs at a number of “wellness clinics” in South Florida. The biggest name on that list is Alex Rodriguez. The Yankee slugger has retained representation to fight these claims. However, it is reported by ESPN that the Yankees are looking into options for voiding the remaining 5-years and approximately $114M left on Rodriguez’s deal, a decision that may also have to do with Rodriguez's recent injury (he'll be out for possibly all of 2013) and decline in performance. 
- As the Baltimore Ravens get ready to play in the Super Bowl this weekend (full coverage coming Friday on Sportico) they are being dogged by a late breaking story that could throw into doubt the feel good end of season by their biggest star, linebacker Ray Lewis. Lewis tore his right triceps in October, and made a stunning recovery to play in this year’s playoffs; an injury that generally takes a year to recover from. It was reported by Sports Illustrated that Lewis used a regimen of medication, including at least one banned by the sport, in his recovery. Lewis, who has never failed any kind of drug test before, has denied the accusation.


Nash returns to Phoenix

- The greatest player in Phoenix Suns history and arguably a top 3 point guard in NBA history, Steve Nash, makes his return to the city where he became a legend tonight as the Lakers roll into Phoenix (10:30, ESPN) for the beginning game of a 7 game road trip, hoping to break an 8 game road losing streak.  
- The Lakers have struggled mightily this season and currently sit in 10th place, a few games out of the playoffs.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that Nash, the assumed facilitator for the offense missed a huge chunk of time with an injury early in the year.  However, now he's back and his pass-first approach may have rubbed off on his teammates, including Kobe Bryant who has notched 14 assists in each of the past 2 games. 
- New Suns coach Lindsey Hunter hopes that his young, inexperienced squad can hold back the Lakers, who despite struggling this season do possess 4 potential Hall of Famers on their roster (Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard being the two others). 

NBA Star's Season is Over, Aussie Open Finals

Rondo Tears ACL

• Boston Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo tore his right ACL and will miss the rest of the season, and potentially part of next season. Rondo’s injury, even though announced during the Celtics' double overtime victory over the Miami Heat, should mean the end of the Celtics' chances at a championship (or possibly even making the playoffs) this year.
• Rondo is arguably the Celtics best player, but is definitely their only young superstar. They have surrounded him with aging talent and relied heavily on Rondo to put Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in a position to win now. However, with his injury the future of the Celtics, and the futures of Garnett and Pierce are also in doubt.
• Rondo’s injury marks the third major ACL injury to a NBA point guard in the last year with those of recent MVP Derrick Rose and Ricky Rubio. Rose has recently made his return, and Rubio should be returning in the next few months, but we do not know what the prognosis for Rondo is.

Azarenka, Dvokovic win Australian

• Novak Djokovic defended his Australian Open Title for the second time, winning his third straight down under by defeating Andy Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2. Despite losing the first set and falling behind in the second, Djokovic was able to assert himself and win the final two sets fairly easily after winning the all-important second set tiebreaker (which ironically tied the match).
• A year after playing the longest final in Grand Slam history, an epic 5 hour, 53 minute win against Rafael Nadal, Djokovic finished this one a little more quietly. After all, you basically have to act like you've been there before after a three-peat. It was Djokovic's 6th Grand Slam overall, four of which have come in Australia.
• Victoria Azarenka defended her Australian Open Championship from last year against Chinese player Li Na. Na won the first set, but Azarenka was able to win the last two for her second Grand Slam championship. Na was hampered by twisted ankles and a bumped head (after falling with a twisted ankle). Azarenka was able to take advantage and win in the long run. Na was the crowd's favorite, but was unable to convert the necessary second set to win her second Grand Slam Championship. 
• Americans Mike and Bob Bryan also won their bracket, for their 13th doubles championship. That sets the record for the most double's championships for a duo.