November 30th Update

Big Coaching Moves in Sports

• Massive coaching moves were made to start the week as one of the biggest baseball jobs and college football jobs were both filled by big name skippers. After a couple weeks of repeated denial, Urban Meyer caved in and admitted that he had, in fact, accepted the Ohio State football job that was left vacant by Jim Tressel this spring. Meyer who led the University of Florida to national championships in 2006 and 2008 nearly retired after the 2009 season citing heart problems, came back a day later, then retired after the next season saying he needed to be with his family (more on Meyer below).
• The Boston Red Sox made the other big hire, naming Bobby Valentine as their next skipper. Valentine knows a thing or two about being the manager of a very highly scrutinized team as he led the New York Mets to the NLCS in 1999 and the World Series in 2000. He's always been known as a boisterous, opinionated type who would fit in well in New York (think a skinnier Rex Ryan) and he once wore a fake mustache as a disguise in order to return to a game he had been thrown out of. But despite his New York roots, he now becomes public enemy #1 in the Big Apple as he will take over a Red Sox team that has the talent to displace the New York Yankees atop the American League East in 2012 and beyond.
• The first coaching casualty of the NFL Season came today. The Jacksonville Jaguars announced they will be parting ways with long-time coach Jack Del Rio. The 3-8 Jaguars regressed from their 8-8 record from last year. Owner WayneWeaver also announced he is planning on selling the team, which leaves the long term coach in question.

Wednesday Spotlight: Urban Meyer

• Urban Meyer was recently announced as the new head coach of the Ohio State Buckeyes football team (the basketball team had a good Tuesday too). For Meyer it is a return to the place where he got his first coaching job after graduating college. For Ohio State, it is a big splash hiring in an attempt to return to greatness that left with the firing of former coach Jim Tressel.
• Meyer played college football at the University of Cincinnati. After graduating and coaching at a local high school for a year Meyer got a job as a graduate assistant at Ohio State University. From there he worked his way through 3 other schools as an assistant coach, the last 5 at Notre Dame. He was hired as the head coach of Bowling Green in 2001. After going 8-3 in his first year, and a 9-3 record his second year Meyer jumped to coach at the University of Utah. Meyer only stayed at Utah for two years, but went 10-2 and 12-0 in those two seasons. The second season Meyer lead the Utes to their first BCS bowl game.
• Meyer, the hottest coach on the market, was hired to coach the University of Florida in 2005. He had immediate success in Gainsville. His second year Meyer won a national championship using a young freshman quarterback named Tim Tebow. In 2008 the Gators won their second national championship under Meyer. Meyer’s tenure at Florida will forever be tied to the successes of his most famous player, Tim Tebow. After some health issues (that developed from the insane pace Meyer pushes himself) he retired after the 2010 season to go into TV working as a commentator for ESPN.
• Regardless of how great the guy is as a coach, it's tough to say how long he'll actually coach Ohio State. His lifetime record is 104-23 and is 7-1 in bowl games including the aforementioned 2-0 in national championship games but he has only stayed for a total of 10 seasons at his 3 positions.

November 28th update

NBA Lockout Ends

• You can't put the NBA under a tree but if all you wanted for Christmas was professional basketball than:
A. You're an extremely dedicated fan and
B. You'll get your wish... the 2011-2012 NBA season will not be completely canceled as so many were predicting and will most likely begin on Christmas Day.
• The schedule will be 66 games long instead of 82 and will have teams averaging about 2 extra games per month as they try to squeeze the season in despite nearly a 2 month late start. Every team will not visit every city, as has been the case in the past.
• As for the lockout, the main point of contention was how BRI or Basketball Related Income would be split between the players and owners. They finally settled on 51.2% going to the players, which is way down from the 57% that had been previously awarded to the players. There is also a much stricter luxury tax which will most likely keep the big market teams from outspending the smaller teams to such a large degree. For all the other details of the CBA, click here.
• Additionally, the stars we mentioned last week who were planning their 4 city "Homecoming Tour" have canceled the event and tour organizers have said that tickets will be refunded fully. It would have been interesting to see but I'm sure everyone is satisfied that the tour will not have to take the place of actual NBA games and a real season.


Tebow Headlines NFL Weekend

• The San Diego Chargers are the latest team to get Tebow’d. The Denver Broncos defeated San Diego in overtime, using a punishing running attack to defeat the underachieving Chargers. Tim Tebow had another below average game as a quarterback, completing 9 of his 18 pass attempts with one touchdown. However, he played well enough as running back, as he also added 67 yards rushing on 22 attempts which were the most rushing attempts by a QB in the modern era. Willis McGahee added 117 yards rushing to assist the Denver to their fifth win in Tebow’s six starts.
• The New England Patriots crushed the Philadelphia Eagles 38-20, dropping the disappointing Eagles to 4-7. The Patriots proved their offensive prowess, while the Eagles proved they need some more time (probably next season at the soonest) to gel. The Patriots went down 10-0 7 minutes into the game, before running off a 38-3 stretch to put the game out of reach. The Eagles, led by backup quarterback Vince Young, started strong but faded quickly and could not keep up with the high octane Patriots
• Houston Texans down to a third quarterback, defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars. Texans star quarterback Matt Schaub was injured for the year last weekend. Backup Matt Leinart, who was the 2004 Heisman Trophy winner as the best college football player, was in line to finish the season but he got injured with less than two minutes left in the first half. His injured collarbone (which knocked him out a few years ago as well when he was in Arizona) is expected to end his season. The Texans then turned to rookie TJ Yates. Yates was victorious on Sunday, but the Texans will have their work cut out for them to continue.


College Basketball Preseason Tournaments completed

• Duke University wins Maui Invitational. The preseason tournament in Hawaii featured 8 of the biggest names in college basketball. Duke, the highest ranked team of the 8, won the championship on Wednesday. They defeated the Kansas Jayhawks in a highly entertaining basketball game that was tightly contested until the final minute.
• Syracuse wins season tip-off NIT title despite child abuse allegations hanging over the team. This preseason tournament, hosted at Madison Square Garden, is a favorite for the Orange, and they won the tournament defeating Virginia Tech and Stanford en route to the championship. Two days later the University officially fired long time associate head coach Bernie Fine after a third person came forward alleging Fine molested them and a tape was recovered that showed Fine's wife admitting that she believed the allegations were true.
• University of Connecticut and North Carolina, both preseason top 5 teams, fell in tournaments in exotic locations. UConn fell to the University of Central Florida in the Bahamas while UNC was defeated by UNLV in Las Vegas. Both teams are still expected to have good seasons, but will have to go on this season without a preseason championship title.

November 25th Update

Brothers John (on the left) and Jim (in the middle) and their father on the field before their Thanksgiving Night match-up

Recap of Thanksgiving day NFL Games

For years the standard crop of NFL games has been an early game with the pathetic Lions followed by a late game with the Cowboys that has generally been exciting but can be hit or miss as well. This year however, there were not only two, but three games with compelling storylines. In order:

• The resurgent Lions played the defending Super Bowl champion Packers in a matchup of teams whose record was a combined 17-3. But despite starting off well, the Lions suffered 3 turnovers and were distracted by the amateurish meltdown and subsequent ejection of their best defender, Ndamukong Suh, losing 27-15 (it was 27-8 until the final 15 seconds) as Aaron Rodgers threw for 2 TD's again as he (incredibly) has every game this season.
• The Cowboys played the Miami Dolphins in a game that looked awful 3 weeks ago when the Cowboys were struggling at 3-4 and the Dolphins were winless. But each had won 3 straight coming into this game and the Cowboys were tied for first in the NFC East. The Cowboys didn't wow anyone over with their style of play but in the end managed to position kicker Dan Bailey for a chip shot FG to win 20-19 in the final seconds
• It's only appropriate that the first ever matchup between brothers as head coaches in the NFL happened on a day when so many family members were also with one another. And just like so many families may face off in some sort of uncomfortable competition, the coaches of the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers did so on TV in front of millions. The Ravens set a franchise record sacking 49ers quarterback Alex Smith 9 times en route to a 16-6 victory.

NBA Players Announce 4-Game Charity Tournament

• NBA Stars, Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony announced Wednesday a series of four games starting December 1st in Akron Ohio. The tour, that will end on December 10^th in East Rutherford, NJ will be combined with big charity events prior to each matchup.
• James is from Akron and will act as host for the first game. The second game, on Dec 4^th will be in New Orleans, the NBA home of Chris Paul. The third game will be in Chicago on Dec 7^th, the home town of Chris Paul. The fourth game will be the in East Rutherford, NJ. This suburb of New York is the NBA home of Carmelo Anthony.
• This tour, which will raise a lot of money and awareness for each of the star’s charitable causes, is seen by some of the more skeptical viewers of the NBA as a PR stunt to gain public support for the players in their battle against the NBA in their labor negotiations.

November 23rd update

Baseball Awards Announced

• About a month after the baseball season ends the major awards – MVP (for best player) and Cy Young Award (for best pitcher) in each league are announced as well as the rookie of the year and manager of the year. The most talked about winner this year was Justin Verlander in the American League. Verlander became the first pitcher in any league to win both the Cy Young and MVP since Dennis Eckersley won it in 1992 and the first starter since Roger Clemens in 1986 since Eckersley was a relief pitcher.
• The National League Cy Young was awarded to Clayton Kershaw. The Ace of the LA Dodgers has overcome some serious off-field distractions from his owner to pitch a fantastic season winning 21 games. The NL MVP was awarded to Milwaukee Brewers Outfielder Ryan Braun. The Hammerin Hebrew won in an upset over Kershaw’s Dodger teammate Matt Kemp. The Brewers won their division this year, which is generally a help to a player in the MVP race. Braun’s teammate Prince Fielder finished second in the voting. The Tampa Bay Rays swept the other awards with Starting Pitcher Jeremy Hellickson and manager Joe Maddon winning the Rookie of the year and Manager of the year respectively. In the National League, Atlanta Braves closer Craig Kimbrel and Arizona Diamondbacks manager Kirk Gibson took the top spots.
• Baseball also announced a minor change to their post season. They will award an additional wild card spot (2 instead of the current 1) starting next season, in each league. The two wildcards will play each other in a one-game playoff game. The winner will continue on to play according to the current format.


More tragic news in the world of sports

• As touched on in our Monday update, Arkansas TE Garrett Uekman was found dead in his apartment this weekend. Uekman’s is one of four sudden deaths to figures in the sports world in the past few days.
• Oklahoma State Universities head women’s basketball coach, and one his top assistants were killed in a plane crash on Thursday night. Kurt Budke and his deputy Miranda Serna were killed when their plane crashed into a Wildlife Management Area west of Little Rock. The planes pilot and another passenger were also on board and killed in the accident.
• Seattle Mariners 24-year old outfielder Greg Halman was stabbed to death on Rotterdam in his home country of the Netherlands. His brother is being held in relation to the murder. Halman was a young prospect who had played 44 games in the major leagues. He was also part of the 2009 Netherlands team that played in the World Baseball Classic (Baseball’s version of the World Cup).


Thanksgiving Weekend Football Matchups

• Turkey Day Games: 3 Fantastic NFL Games headline the Thursday games this week in the NFL. First, the shockingly competitive Detroit Lions take on the undefeated defending champion Green Bay Packers. The Lions, coming off of a big comeback win, look to continue their fantastic season against the best team in the NFL. The Dallas Cowboys look to continue a 3-game winning streak against the Miami Dolphins in the Thursday afternoon game. The Thursday night game features a sibling rivalry between the San Fransisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh and the Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh.
• College game of the week: after the major shakeup at the top of the BCS Standings this past weekend, the #1 LSU Tigers take on the #3 Arkansas Razerbacks. If LSU wins they’re all but guaranteed a shot at the National Championship game. If the Razorbacks win, then it will be a 3 way tie between those two teams and Alabama. If that happens, the lowest ranked team in BCS standings will be eliminated and then the winner of the head to head between the last two will win the SEC East. The full process is explained here, but it seems sketchy, as some of the involved coaches can make anonymous votes that actually affect the results of the poll.

November 20th update

BCS rocked by upsets

• Take what you thought about the BCS title picture after last week and throw it out the window because everything has changed now.
• #2 Oklahoma State only had a gimmie game against unranked Iowa State and a tough game against Oklahoma remaining before they made it to the national championship game (There's not a Big 12 championship game anymore because you're required to have 12 teams to host a conference title game and there are only 11 in the poorly named Big 12 now. Nebraska left for the Big 10, which now has 12. College football is great, isn't it?) But OK State lost the gimmie 37-31 in 2OT to Iowa State after giving up a 17 point lead and dropped to #4 in the polls. Yet another example of why playing games is a better way of determining which teams are better than simply letting sportswriters vote because nobody but the mothers of Iowa State players would have voted for the Cyclones to defeat Oklahoma State.
• The tough opponent that Oklahoma State was to play next week also lost as Oklahoma went down to Baylor and dynamic QB Robert Griffin III (who threw the game winning touchdown with just seconds remaining).
• Additionally, a week after beating undefeated Stanford, Oregon lost on a relatively short missed field goal as time expired (just as Boise State did last week) and Clemson got obliterated by N.C. State. If you can't keep track of all the carnage, here's what's left after all the dust has settled: Three of the six teams in the SEC West are now ranked #1, #2 and #3 as Arkansas jumped up to #3 behind LSU and Alabama. Arkansas sadly has to deal with the extremely sudden and mysterious death of freshman TE Garrett Uekman who passed away in his dorm Sunday. Arkansas will certainly be thinking of him next week as they take on #1 LSU for a possible shot in the title game. But we say possible because no one really knows what will happen. It all depends on the voters and the computer algorithms which is why we believe that the NCAA football system needs a major overhaul.


NFL week 11 recap

• The NFC North continued its impressive run as the Lions, Packers and Bears all beat solid teams on Sunday. The Bears beat perennial power (but currently struggling) San Diego Chargers 31-20 to go to 7-3 but they may have lost QB Jay Cutler for the year due to a broken thumb on his throwing hand. The Lions were down 24-7 to the Carolina Newtons... err Panthers, but Matthew Stafford caught fire and led the Lions to a 49-35 win. The Green Bay Packers were in a dogfight with the Tampa Bay Bucs but Aaron Rodgers and the mind-boggling Packers offense again proved to be too much and the Packers won 35-26 to go to 10-0.
• The only other NFL team with less than 3 losses is the 9-1 San Francisco 49ers who won easily over the Arizona Cardinals Sunday. They play against the Ravens this Thursday in a matchup of Harbaughs (rookie coach Jim coaches the Niners, brother John coaches the Ravens) and can actually clinch the division next week if they win and Seattle loses.
• Those same Ravens won a big game against the Bengals to take first place in the AFC North and go to 7-3 and the New England Patriots will look to do the same in the AFC East on Monday night against the injured but gritty Kansas City Chiefs.


Stewart wins NASCAR sprint for the Chase

• In one of the most tightly contested NASCAR finales ever, Tony Stewart won at Homestead in pouring rain and with a hole in his vehicle's grill to edge Carl Edwards for his third title and officially end Jimmie Johnson's run of 5 in a row. Stewart actually finished tied in points with Edwards, who finished second and led the most laps but the tiebreaker is total wins in a season, which Stewart dominated, 5 to 1.
• Edwards was disappointed but held his head high after the race, saying "This night is about Tony Stewart. Those guys rose to the occasion and they beat us fair and square. That is all I had. We came here and sat on the pole, led the most laps and Tony still managed. That’s it.

November 18th update

All's not Fine in Syracuse

• With the airwaves still churning out news about Joe Paterno and Penn State, it looks like the NCAA has another possible child abuse scandal to deal with. Longtime assistant coach of the Syracuse basketball team Bernie Fine has been placed on administrative leave after it was alleged that he sexually assaulted a former ballboy for more than a decade starting in 1983. The ballboy, now 39 years old, said that he never told head coach Jim Boeheim about the incidents.
• Apparently Post-Standard investigated the report back in 2003 but could not find enough evidence to continue with the story. As this story is just breaking, it's hard to say what happened or who knew what, however we will strive to maintain coverage as it becomes available.
• Regardless of what happens, the exposure from stories like these is good for the public consciousness, as it may shock administrators and other people in positions of power in schools and other institutions across the country, forcing them to take a more proactive stance against child abuse. Here's hoping we don't have to hear about any more stories like this any time soon.


NASCAR Championship Down to Two

• The NASCAR “Chase for the Sprint Cup” comes down to this weekend’s final race of the season where The Ford 400 in Miami will basically be a two man show. While 40+ drivers will actually be in the race, all eyes will be on Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.
• Edwards leads Stewart by 3 points in the standings with third place being 51 points behind Edwards. Stewart was the last driver not named Jimmie Johnson to win the NASCAR championship (in 2005). Using NASCAR’s complicated scoring system, it is a toss-up to know who will win the championship, or even who has won it if you were to watch the race without hearing any commentary.
• This championship format, which was introduced in 2008, was created in an effort to make the NASCAR championship as heart stopping and exciting as the Super Bowl and other major sports' playoff systems. NASCAR Chairman Bill France is very excited that his brainchild is working so well. As NASCAR tries to break into the top-4 American sports, a winner-take-all championship race will definitely help.

Weekend Football Story Lines

• NFL Game of the Week: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants – The Giants host the Eagles on Sunday Night. The struggling “Dream Team” Eagles coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals are in desperate need of a victory as they have started the season 3-6. Considering the talent they had before the season and then the amount they spent this offseason to add even more talent, this record is not acceptable. Ever the thoughtful/rational fans, Philadelphians are up in arms to fire Eagles coach Andy Reid, who is the longest tenured coach in the NFL.
• Battle in the Big 12: #13 Kansas State Wildcats at #22 Texas Longhorn – Texas, which started the season red hot (winning their first four games) has struggled recently (losing 3 of their last 5). Kansas State has struggled against the state of Oklahoma (losing to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) but is perfect against the rest of the country and looks to maintain any chance they have at winning the Big 12.
• NCAA Game of the Week: #5 Oklahoma Sooners against #22 Baylor Bears – The matchup of two very different superstar Quarterbacks. Both Sooners Quarterback Landry Jones (a traditional pocket passer) and Bears Quarterback Robert Griffin III (think Michael Vick but with a more accurate arm) will be playing in the NFL next year, assuming Griffin doesn’t pursue his very legitimate shot as a professional track star. Oklahoma, hopes a few teams in front them will stumble and are just hoping for a chance to play in another National Championship game. They'll get a chance to help themselves out a little as they still get to play #2 Oklahoma State.

November 16th update

NCAA Hoops kicks off

• On Veterans Day, a number of NCAA games marked the beginning of the 2011-2012 college basketball season, none receiving more publicity than the North Carolina-Michigan State matchup, the first ever to be played aboard an active aircraft carrier (or any other type of boat I'd imagine) and a rematch of the 2009 NCAA Title game.
• North Carolina won 67-55 to improve to 6-0 against Michigan State under coach Roy Williams. The Tarheels return nearly their entire team from a squad that won the ACC's regular season championship and begin the year as the consensus #1 pick. As always, they may face some competition from #6 Duke, who we'll mention more on later, although Duke is now without their trio of scorers from last season (Nolan Smith, Kyrie Irving and Kyle Singler).
• Kentucky may be the biggest threat to the Tarheels this season as the #2 Wildcats return some talent in the form of Doron Lamb and Terrence Jones and have also added superstar recruits Anthony Davis and Michael Gilchrist. The Wildcats may be the most athletic team in the NCAA's and will get another chance to defeat the Tarheels at home on December 3rd as they did in the Elite 8 last season.
• #3 Ohio State returns Jared Sullinger (who was probably the best player in basketball last year not named "Jimmer") and the defending champion UConn Huskies has plenty of talent to replace dynamic scorer Kemba Walker and starts at #4, in good shape to make a repeat title run. Vanderbilt started the year ranked #7, but suffered the first big upset of the young season, losing 71-58 to Cleveland State.


New Leader atop the Winners Board

• On Tuesday night the Duke Blue Devils defeated the Michigan State Spartans 74-69 at Madison Square Garden in New York. This was the 903rd win in the illustrious career of Blue Devil’s Coach Mike Krzyzewski and puts Coach K (as he is commonly known) ahead of his mentor Bobby Knight at the top of the list of winningest men's college basketball coaches.
• Krzyzewski (pronounced sha-shef-ski) began his career as a player at the US Military Acadamy. After serving in the military, Coach K returned to Army where he soon took over as head coach. After five years he went to Duke University in 1980. He has won 830 of his games during his 31 years at Duke.
• In addition to the litany of professional players that have come out of Duke during his tenure (Grant Hill, Carlos Boozer and JJ Redick), Coach K has also had many assistants go on to be head coaches at other schools, and has been the head coach of the US Mens Basketball team since 2006, winning a Gold Medal in the 2008 Beijing summer games.
• Coach K has also been one of the most hated people in all of sports, as the face of a university that has always been disliked for a number of reasons. As two UNC grads, this post has been hard to write but we have to admit that Coach K has been unarguably one of the best coaches of all-time. A four time National Champion in addition to the all time winningest coach, it’s hard to argue with Coach K’s pedigree, but much easier for us to continue disliking him on a non-personal level.


NFL Update

• Green Bay continues to roll. Monday Night, the Green Bay Packers crushed the Minnesota Vikings 45-7, completely demolishing the Vikings in all facets of the game, even though Jared Allen moved closer to the single season sack record and now only needs 9 more to tie Michael Strahan's record of 22.5. But the real story was not Allen, but the Packers, who have continued to prove they are the best team in the NFL. Lead by quarterback Aaron Rogers the Packers seem unstoppable and have not lost in nearly a full year. Rogers is on pace to have one of the best seasons for a quarterback in the history of the NFL.
• The Second Thursday Night game of the 2011 season features some early trash talk. The New York Jets travel to the Mile High City to take on the Denver Broncos. Unconventional Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow (who won last weeks game while only completing two passes) came under fire this week from Jets All-Pro cornerback Darrell Revis. Revis questioned Tebow’s ability to play quarterback and called him more of a running back than a quarterback. Additionally, he said that the Jets were not worried about Tebows ability (or lack thereof) to throw the football, worrying more about his ability to run.

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).

November 11th Update

Update on the Penn State Situation

• After our post Wednesday morning, Joe Paterno announced he would retire at the end of the season because of the situation with former coordinator Jerry Sandusky. However, this was not enough for the Penn State Board of Trustees. Wednesday night they announced that Paterno, who had been the head coach for 46 years, would be fired effective immediately. Tom Bradley, who replaced the accused Jerry Sandusky as the PSU defensive coordinator, will take over as head coach on an interim basis.
• Penn State students rioted after news of Paterno’s firing was announced. Taking to the streets and flipping news trucks as they chanted, yelled and cried about losing their football coach and patron. Penn State plays their last home game of the season this weekend against Nebraska. It remains to be seen how the students will react during this game.
• The scandal has potentially since grown with rumors that Jerry Sandusky would “pimp” out young boys to potential donors to the program. We want to stress these are currently unconfirmed reports. Mike McQueary, a current assistant coach who was the original "whistle blower" is being asked not to appear at the game against Nebraska for fear of his personal safety.


Non-Penn State Story Lines this Weekend

• Can New England recover: New England Patriots at New York Jets – a rematch of a game from just a month ago, where New England defeated the Jets, occurs while the Patriots are in the midst of a rare two game losing streak. The Jets have won three straight games since their last matchup with the Patriots. The winner of this game will have at least a share of the lead in their division.
• Many other great NFL games: The New Orleans Saints travel to Atlanta to take on the Falcons for supremacy in the NFC South Division. The Houston Texans travel to Tampa Bay to take on the Buccaneers as the Texans face one of their biggest tests this year. The Oakland Raiders defeated the San Diego Chargers in the first Thursday night game of the season, sending the Chargers to their 4th straight loss. For the rest of the regular season there will be one game on Thursday night.
• NCAA Game of the Week: Oregon Ducks and possibly the best RB in the nation (LaMichael James) travel to Stanford to take on possibly the best QB in the nation in Andrew Luck and his the Cardinal. If Stanford wins, they will likely move to #3 in the BCS Standings but both teams are undefeated in the Pac-12 and the winner will play in the first ever Pac-12 championship game. It's the only matchup of top 10 teams this week.

November 9th update

Smokin' Joe Frazier loses fight with cancer

• In the ring, Joe Frazier's legendary left hook could beat almost anyone, but a different type of opponent overwhelmed one of the greatest champions in boxing history on Monday as liver cancer unfortunately claimed his life. He was 67.
• Born on January 12th, 1944, Frazier was an Olympic and Heavyweight champion of the world whose professional career lasted for 11 years from 1965 to 1976 (and one comeback fight in 1981), Frazier was undoubtedly known best for his rivalry with Muhammad Ali. After Ali's return from a ban induced by his protest and refusal to partake in the Vietnam War, Ali challenged Frazier's title in 1971. It was dubbed as the "Fight of the Century" because both fighters were undefeated, considered themselves world champions (Ali had been the title holder before his position was vacated due to his ban) and had rabid followings. Frazier won the fight of the century and retained his title but ultimately lost it to George Foreman (although that was the first loss he suffered and it was not until 1973) and then lost his next 2 bouts against Ali including "The Thrilla in Manilla" in 1975. The 2 losses to Ali made up half of the losses all time for Frazier who was 31-4 overall.
• Despite their mutual respect, Ali was a promoter at heart and put on a persona to garner interest in his fights. One of the ways he did this was by mocking his opponents outside of the ring and Frazier was one of his biggest targets. Calling him the white man's hope and an "Uncle Tom," a "gorilla" and mocking his South Carolina upbringing, Ali tormented Frazier in the media during their rivalry and even after their fighting days barbs were frequently exchanged, both from Ali and Frazier. Despite their differences, Ali had nothing but kind words following the sad news.


Scandal Threatens a Legend’s Legacy

• Over the past few days, details of a Grand Jury investigation have been exposed that detail a shocking scandal at Penn State, which is ironically referred to sometimes as "Happy Valley." The basic details: Jerry Sandusky, the long time defensive coordinator of the Penn State football team, is being accused of having sexual relationships with 8 different boys over the span of 15 years, including at least one alleged instance that took place at a Penn State facility.
• A graduate student reported witnessing an incident (we are not going to delve into the particulars, but they are widely available on the internet if you care) including Sandusky and a 10 year old boy in 2002. He reported this to both the Athletic Director and the VP of Business and Finance at PSU, and nothing was done.
• There was a long time when Sandusky was the expected heir apparent to Joe Paterno (JoPa) who is nothing less than a living legend in college sports. This fact is beyond doubt. He is the all time leader in victories in Division 1 College Football history (409 and counting). Paterno and his wife have also given back to Pennsylvania community as the terrific Library and many other buildings on Campus at PSU are named after the Paterno family.
• The full facts remain to be seen but Paterno’s legacy will undoubtedly tarnished to some extent. He has been a mythical figure in that state of Pennsylvania, deified by some the way Bear Bryant was in Alabama. He also obviously held a very special place in the heart of players (an example being Matt Millen's reaction while discussing this) but it’s hard to justify his place in the cover up. If he knew about this for nearly a decade but did nothing to make it public, choosing instead to take action to protect his team, university or legacy, that action is inexcusable.
• As of the time of posting, Paterno is still the coach at PSU. There are calls and rumors that he will be asked to resign, stay tuned for more details as they emerge.

November 6th update

Exciting Games Abound in the NFL

• New York Giants 24 – New England Patriots 20: In a matchup hyped as Brady vs. (the other) Manning, this game was a shocking 0-0 at halftime as both teams looked sloppy and unorganized early on. It was the first game of the year that was 0-0 at halftime. The second half saw a 180 degree change though as both teams had a chance to get their games in gear. Eli Manning threw a touchdown with 15 seconds left in the game to cap a wild 4th quarter with 31 points scored. Manning (as we discussed on Friday) played fantastically against the porous defense of the Patriots. It was the first regular season home loss for Brady since 2006, a streak of 31 straight wins.
• Green Bay Packers 45 – San Diego Chargers 38: The exact opposite of the first game; there were four touchdowns in the first quarter, including 3 by the Packers in the span of 4 minutes. The Packers took a 45-24 lead with 10 minutes to go in the game, and looked to be in control. However, two quick touchdowns by the Chargers put them back into the game and when the Chargers got the ball back with 1 minute left they had a chance to tie the game. However, a long errant pass by Chargers quarterback Philip Rivers was intercepted to end what was a very entertaining comeback. The Chargers have now lost 3 straight games that they could/should have won and Philip Rivers despite having 385 yards and 4 TDs today also had 3 interceptions, increasing his NFL lead in that dubious category.
• Baltimore Ravens 23 – Pittsburgh Steelers 20: Capping off a wild Sunday was a great Sunday Night game in possibly the best rivalry of this decade. After dropping a touchdown pass earlier in the drive, Torrey Smith did not fail when given another attempt, capping off a 92-yard drive in just over 2 minutes with a diving catch in the end zone. With 8 seconds left, the Ravens regained the lead they held for most of the game. After winning both games against Pittsburgh this season, Baltimore gained a big edge in the race for the AFC North crown. Pittsburgh falls to 3rd, behind Cincinnati as well as Baltimore.


LSU wins, Oklahoma State up to #2

• The "game of the century" might as well have been the game of last century when offenses were still developing and defenses ruled. LSU and Alabama, the top two teams in the nation combined to score 0 TDs. The difference was 4 missed field goals by Alabama, including one in overtime as LSU won 9-6.
• At this point the national championship picture is starting to come into focus:
#1 LSU will almost certainly make it to the final game, possibly even if they lose once.
#2 Oklahoma State has put up mind-blowing offensive numbers but still plays at Texas Tech and against Oklahoma in their final 3 games.
Alabama only falls to #3 despite the loss but will not have a chance to contend for the SEC title which will certainly hurt them in the eyes of voters.
Stanford is #4 and features Andrew Luck, everyone's choice for the Heisman Trophy (college football's player of the year) , but they still have a very tough test against Oregon.
#5 Boise State, who seems to continually get shafted by voters (with a few exceptions) even though they never seem to lose will probably be on the short end of the stick again, however an opening week win over Georgia who is now 7-2 and in first place in the SEC East is helping them a lot. Oregon and Oklahoma are 6th and 7th but likely have not shot at a title game appearance because of losses to LSU and Texas Tech respectively.


NBA Lockout Update

• As previously reported on Sportico, the NBA has locked out its players in a labor fight that has already forced the cancellation of the first month of the season (which was to have started this past Thursday). The players were offered a deal but they quickly turned down, essentially signaling that the sides are still nowhere close to a deal.
• There is a fissure growing amongst the players. The average length of an NBA career is just above 2 years and many members of the Player’s Union are more concerned with maximizing their moneymaking ability than getting the best possible deal for the union as a whole. The head of the Union is L.A. Lakers Point Guard Derek Fisher, who has been in the league since 1996. Many of his rank and file are angry with him because they need to get a paycheck while they still can.
• Meanwhile, the owners side is not as unified as commissioner despite financial incentives for solidarity. Miami Heat owner Micky Arison and Charlotte Bobcats owner Michael Jordan have been fined 6 figures for venting and making comments that could be seen as breaking ranks with the league's stance.

November 4th update

Week 9 NFL Storylines

• In a battle of high-profile but struggling AFC West quarterbacks the Denver Broncos bring Tim Tebow (who is a fan favorite but not a great technical quarterback) against, the Oakland Raiders, who traded a huge amount for a quarterback who has already thrown three interceptions despite playing less than half of one game. This game will allow fans to see what these two signal-callers can do against relatively weak defenses.
• The other Manning: New York Giants at New England Patriots. If you look at the top rated quarterbacks this season none of the last names should surprise you, but to Eli Manning at the top instead of his injured brother Peyton has turned a few heads. Eli argued this offseason that he should be considered in the same breath as Patriots stud quarterback Tom Brady and most pundits scoffed but he's played phenomenally and this Sunday he will get a chance to prove himself on the field. Eli is currently the third rated quarterback in the league, while Brady is second. On a side note, Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw says he may play despite having a broken bone in his foot. Who says football players arent tough anymore???
• Game of the Week: Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens embarrassed the Steelers in the first game of the season forcing a Steelers record for turnovers. But since that point the Steelers have steadily gotten better, and the Ravens have struggled a bit, especially on offense. This Sunday night game will be a big test for the Ravens who are coming off of two straight poor showings (losing to Jacksonville and barely beating Arizona). The Steelers are coming off of a big win, dismantling the New England Patriots last week and they look to continue their winning streak and extend their division lead.


Week 10 NCAA Football Story Lines

• #9 South Carolina at #7 Arkansas: South Carolina is struggling to replace possibly the best running back in the NCAA when healthy (Marcus Lattimore who tore his ACL). Arkansas is looking to stay competitive in their division as they get closer to the end of the season. They only have one loss (to Alabama) but are third in their division behind both Alabama and LSU.
• #14 Kansas State at #3 Oklahoma State: Kansas State is coming off of their first loss of the year to Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State is looking to stay competitive and jump the loser of the LSU/Alabama game to have the inside track at the National Championship game. Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon looks to continue his torrid pace of 9 catches and 105 yards each game.
• Refer to Wednesday’s post for an in depth preview of the game of the week (or century as some are saying), #1 LSU at #2 Alabama.


Stay tuned Monday for an update of the NBA non-season which should have started this past week but is instead still floundering with a labor dispute

November 2nd update

College Football Preview: LSU at Alabama

• The game of the year. It’s not the actual National Championship game; it’s not even a conference championship game. However, this weekend’s matchup between #1 LSU and #2 Alabama has all the makings of the game of the year or as one writer on ESPN called it, the game of the century. Both the LSU Tigers and Alabama Crimson Tide feature top rated defenses and offenses that are efficient, if not explosive.
• The Tigers have undergone their share of off-the-field issues but have come out firing this football season, beating defending national runner-up Oregon and never looking back. They are undefeated and came into the season with high expectations after returning 18 of their 22 starters from the previous year. They have lived up to expectations winning every game they’ve played by at least 13 points. Their defense has only allowed more than 11 points twice in their eight games.
• The Crimson Tide returned 17 of their starters from last year and possibly have a better defense than LSU. They have not given up more than 14 points including 2 shutouts. Meanwhile their offense (that is replacing their Quarterback, Running Back and Left Tackle from last year) has been unstoppable.
• Alabama is a slight Vegas favorite due in large part to the game being in Tuscaloosa. The winner of this game would almost be a lock to play in the actual National Championship game on January 9th (which is coincidentally in New Orleans, Louisiana). Both of us here at Sportico would bet on Alabama if you're looking for a winner.


Rivers fumbles game away in Halloween Horror.

• Thirty three years ago, the Philadelphia Eagles won one of the most stunning games in NFL history over the New York Giants after a Giants player fumbled with only a few seconds left and an Eagles defender ran the fumble into the end zone the other way for a touchdown. The play was dubbed "The Miracle at the Meadowlands" (because that was the name of the stadium where it was played) and while it has been considered one of the single worst plays in NFL history, it may have met its equal on Monday in what I'd like to dub the "Halloween Horror."
• After completing a wild comeback that saw the San Diego Chargers tie the Kansas City Chiefs up at 20-20 with only a minute left, the Chargers simply had to kneel the ball a couple times and attempt a chip shot field goal to win and give them a two game lead in the AFC West. But then the unthinkable happened. Rivers failed to handle the snap from center Nick Hardwick and the Chiefs recovered the ensuing fumble, sending the game to overtime where they won with their own short field goal. Instead of a 2 game lead, the Chargers are now tied for first with both the Chiefs and the Oakland Raiders.
• There are actually a few connections to the Chiefs and the Miracle at the Meadowlands. The Eagle defender who returned the fumble was none other than Herm Edwards, who was the predecessor to current Chiefs coach Todd Haley. And the Chiefs coach before Edwards was Dick Vermeil, who coached the Eagles in the Meadowlands game. The Chiefs have won 4 in a row despite losing their star RB Jamaal Charles, star S Eric Berry and up and coming TE Tony Moeaki for the season, all by halftime of game #2.
• Rivers had two interceptions, and now leads the NFL with 11 and failed to get the Chargers into the end zone more than once despite 7-8 trips inside the Chiefs 40 yard line. Afterwards, TV cameras caught him mouthing "Worst. Game. Ever."


Wednesday spotlight: Tony LaRussa

• As mentioned in Monday’s post, The St Louis Cardinals won the World Series on Friday. Their manager, Tony LaRussa announced his retirement on Monday, going out on top. The 67 year old LaRussa, the third winningest manager in the history of baseball, capped off his final season with his third World Series Championship and was only the second manager to win a Series in both the American and National Leagues.
• LaRussa played 10 years in the MLB (though mostly as a backup and a end-of-the-roster player). After getting a JD from Florida State University, he began his managerial career in 1979 in the minor leagues for the Chicago White Sox. In less than a year, LaRussa worked his way from the manager of the Double-A affiliate of the White Sox to the Major League Manager. 7 years in Chicago followed by 9 years in Oakland (including a Championship in 1989) led him to St Louis.
• Since 1996 LaRussa has been the skipper of the Cardinals, where along with Albert Pujols, he has been the face of the franchise if not the city. He was fearless, publicly feuding with fan favorite Ozzie Smith and also bringing back disgraced legend Mark McGwire as the team's hitting coach. He led the Cardinals to two titles, the other being in 2006 and made the World Series in 2004 as well where they were beaten by the Boston Red Sox.