NFL Playoffs Set and a Robot Falls Just Short

NFL Playoffs Set

• After a frantic final day, the NFL Playoff picture was finalized and we now know who will play who (and where) next week as the playoffs begin.
• In the NFC, the Packers just needed to beat a Minnesota team that's starting lowly touted second year QB Christian Ponder; however the team's RB, Adrian Peterson, continued his hot streak, coming within 9 yards of the all-time NFL rushing yards record for a season (more on this below) and Ponder played well too as the Vikings dropped the Packers to the #3 seed and made the playoffs themselves. They will play again next week in Green Bay.
• In the other matchup, two red hot teams with rookie QB's face off as Russell Wilson's Seattle Seahawks travel to the nation's capital to face RG3 and the Washington Redskins. Seattle has won 5 in a row and 7 of 8 and Washington has won 7 in a row, including yesterday's "win and you're in, lose and you're out" game against Dallas.
• The Atlanta Falcons and San Francisco 49ers took the #1 and #2 seeds respectively.
• In the AFC, the #1 seed Broncos and #2 seed Patriots took advantage of a late season swoon by the Houston Texans to gain first round byes. Houston had a two game lead for the top seed over Denver with 2 games left but losses to Minnesota and Indianapolis dropped them to the #3 seed, meaning they will have to play next week (hosting Cincinnati). The Baltimore Ravens host Indianapolis in the other matchup.
• Interestingly, 5 of the 6 teams who made the playoffs in the AFC last year made it again, including the same 4 division winners. The only extra team in Indianapolis who predictably returned to form now that Peyton Manning is healthy again... except that Manning actually plays for Denver Broncos now. If the Colts and Texans win next weekend, Manning will face his old Colts for a berth in the AFC Title game.

Peterson Falls Just Short

• The incredible season of Adrian Peterson will continue into January as his Vikings defeated the Green Bay Packers yesterday to make the playoffs as the #6 seed in the NFC. However, the way the game ended left AD just 8 yards short of tying Eric Dickerson’s 1984 record of 2,105 yards.
• Peterson was on a roll early in the game, rushing for 61 yards in the first 9:14 of the game. He came into the game needing a huge (for mortal running backs) total of 208 yards to best Dickerson, and early on looked to be on pace. Peterson passed some of the greats in NFL history on Sunday, including OJ Simpson and Barry Sanders.
• Peterson set a career high with 34 rushes in a clear attempt by his team to get him the record, the final rush, which put him only 8 yards short, put the Vikings in easy field goal range for kicker Blair Walsh with only 3 seconds left in a tied game. The Vikings, needing to win the game to make the playoffs, couldn’t risk giving the ball to Peterson again to get the record. Walsh made the field goal (Walsh earlier in the game set an NFL record for most 50+ yard field goals in a season).
• Dickerson was happy that his record stood, even though he tweeted out respect for Peterson and support for him being the one that would eventually break the record.  All of this is much more impressive considering Peterson tore his knee up just a year ago. This robot-of-a-running-back is proving all doubters (and medical convention) wrong.
• Interestingly, Panthers running back DeAngelo Williams did hit the number Peterson needed running for 210 yards, despite only rushing for more than 25 in 8 of the 15 other games this season and not breaking 100 yards in any of those.

 

Jets QB's, Matsui retires

QB Carousel Continues in NY

• The New York Jets announced that they will be starting Mark Sanchez at quarterback on Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, in a game that should be marked with no additional interest. When the Jets announced that last week they would be starting Greg McElroy it was assumed that the second year player would be playing for the rest of the year. However, McElroy suffered a concussion last week and will be out this week.
• The announcement that Sanchez will start kept Tim Tebow on the bench yet again. Tebow said he wasn’t happy with the decision, but coach Rex Ryan said he chose Sanchez due to the short time frame before the game, and Sanchez’s comfort with the system.
• This caps an already disappointing season for the Jets. Both Tebow (who's already rumored to be traded to Jacksonville in the offseason) and Sanchez are unlikely to be with the team next year, and the Jets will be looking for their long-term answer at quarterback. That answer may very well be McElroy, but it could also mean that coach Rex Ryan will be fired and the new coach will look for his own QB in the draft, as new coaches typically do when there's not an established veteran already on the team.


Matsui retires

• Hideki Matsui ended his 20 year career (10 of which were spent in the MLB) on Thursday, officially announcing his retirement.  Starting off as a dominant outfielder in Japan for the Yomiuri Giants, he signed a deal with the Yankees in 2003, instantly becoming a fan favorite.  Over the course of his MLB career, he hit .282 with 175 home runs.
• Although he only finished 2nd in the 2003 Rookie of the Year voting, he had a much better career than the winner, Angel Berroa, going on to make 2 All-Star teams and win the 2009 World Series MVP with the Yankees against the Phillies.  He became only the third player ever to hit over .500 with 3+ home runs in the same World Series, joining Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig.
• Possibly the most impressive thing about him is not his stats, but the impression he left on teammates.  Derek Jeter gave him a glowing recommentdation, saying:  "I've said it numerous times over the years, but it's worth repeating now. I've had a lot of teammates over the years with the Yankees, but I will always consider Hideki one of my favorites."
• The 38 year old Matsui last played with the Tampa Bay Rays this past season, never really producing before the team released him in August.

L.A. teams rolling

Lakers Putting it Together

- The Lakers defeated the New York Knicks 100-94 as part of the NBA’s quintuple header. This win, the fifth in the row for the Lakers, put them at .500 for the first time since early November. The return of point guard Steve Nash helps the Lakers look like they are clicking the way the experts thought they would prior to the season.
- Of course, it helps to play some weaker teams. The five game streak included defeats of the Washington Wizards, Charlotte Bobcats and the still Andrew Bynum-less Philadelphia 76ers. However, this victory over the Knicks is the biggest single victory for the Lakers this season.
- The Lakers move to 14-14 on the season and the Knicks drop to 20-8 but still in control of their season and in second place in the Eastern Conference. The Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant who scored 34 points, becoming the highest scoring player on Christmas Day in NBA history. The Knicks were led by Carmelo Anthony who also scored 34 points.


Clippers win 14th straight

- Only a few hours after the Lakers extended their win streak, the Staples Center setup crew had changed out the floorboards to match that venue's other tenant, and the Clippers did not disappoint their home fans, beating the Denver Nuggets 112-100 which, combined with Oklahoma City's earlier loss to the Miami Heat, gave them the best record in the NBA.
- The Clippers have used superior depth all season and it showed again on Christmas; Jamal Crawford and Matt Barnes led all scorers with 22 and 20 points respectively, even though neither one started. 
- Every Clippers player scored and this is a team that is hitting its peak even without solid contributors Chauncey Billups and Grant Hill who have both been hurt all season long.
- L.A. additionally did a good job containing Nuggets superstar Ty Lawson, who only had 15 points and 5 assists.

Merry Christmas!

Seahawks steamroll 49ers

• In their 3rd straight blowout win, Seattle jumped on the 10-3-1 49ers with 2 quick rushing TD's and then a blocked FG returned for another and the showdown of the week was never close.  Seattle has outscored opponents 150-30 in the past 3 weeks and is looking to be an extremely dangerous team for whoever has to face them in the playoffs. 
• The good news for the rest of the league is that unless they can win their division (more on that below) they'll have to go on the for the whole playoffs, unless somehow they make the NFC championship game against the #6 seed.  The Seahawks look unstoppable at home, 7-0 so far, but are only 3-5 on the road.
• They finish the season against the St. Louis Rams and need to win in order to keep their chances of a division title (and playoff home game) alive.


NFL Playoff Picture Coming into Focus
• The American Football Conference is all set when it comes to post-season football. With the Cincinnati Bengals defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday (on a thrilling interception and last second, game-winning field goal), the Bengals guaranteed themselves a spot in the post season and ensured that the Steelers won't get one. They will be joined by the Houston Texans, Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens and Indianapolis Colts. The Bengals are currently in 6th place (with the rest of the teams in order of their ranking). Some of these rankings may shift next week, but these six teams are in.
• In the NFC, only half of the spots are set. The Atlanta Falcons have clinched the #1 overall seed in the conference. The Green Bay Packers are the #2 seed and the San Francisco 49ers are the #3 seed. Green Bay and San Francisco can flip flop depending on how week 17 goes. The Seattle Seahawks are the #5 seed, but could take San Francisco’s spot depending on how next Sunday goes.
• The Washington Redskins won yesterday, but it's meaningless and now they essentially have a one game playoff against the Dallas Cowboys with the winner taking the division.  The defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants can't win the division but still have an outside chance of making the playoffs as a wildcard. Speaking of which, the Minnesota Vikings currently have the last wild card spot after a huge win against Houston but the Chicago Bears will be hoping to get some help from the Packers against the Vikings, as they are in a position to overtake Minnesota.


Christmas Bonus!!

• Hey, we're not sports Scrooges, we know how to get into the holiday spirit, so check out this awesome video and have a wonderful Christmas!

Wolves down Thunder, NBA stars returning on Christmas?

Thunder's win streak snapped

- The Minnesota Timberwolves took a 12 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back against the defending Western Conference champion Oklahoma City, winning 99-93 and improving their record to 13-11.  Kevin Love had 28 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists and Nikola Pekovic had 24 points and 10 rebounds.  Pekovic has had at least 18 points in 6 straight games and at least 9 rebounds in 5 of 6.
- Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook technically outscored the T-Wolves big duo, each breaking the 30 point barrier, but the difference came in a pint-sized package off the bench.  Lightning-quick PG J.J. Barea scored 18 points for Minnesota, including 12 straight at one point as Minnesota fended off a 4th quarter rally from the division leading Thunder.  Oklahoma City only managed 7 total points off the bench.
- Things won't get any easier for either team as Minnesota travels to New York to face the leaders of the other conference, the New York Knicks.  The Thunder have to travel to Miami to face the next best team in the East and defending NBA Champions, the Miami Heat.


Christmas return for Nash, Stoudemire?

- Former Phoenix Sun teammates Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire technically play for the Lakers and Knicks, respectively but neither has contributed much this season.  Nash has a grand total of 9 points in 2 games before he broke his leg and Stoudemire has yet to play this season due to injury (after missing 13 of his team's final 17 games last season as well).
- It's only appropriate though that as the two teams face off on Christmas Day, the fans of those teams would receive a potential gift: the return of their star players.  Stoudemire has already mentioned that he thinks he'll be ready to play by Christmas and now Nash additionally has said that a Christmas return is realistic after he finished a full contact practice on Thursday with no issues. 
- The teams have gone in opposite directions this season, with New York leading the East (despite no production from Stoudemire) while the Lakers have looked completely lost on offense without Nash to run the show and have basically turned every game into a game of Kobe vs. 5 opponents.  Despite the fact that Bryant leads the NBA in scoring (Knick Carmelo Anthony is #2) the Lakers are a disappointing 12-14 and look to kick things into gear with Nash's pending return.

Sanchez out, Lakers do just enough to win

Sanchez finally benched

- After (another) monstrously terrible game, this one on Monday Night Football against a bad Tennessee Titans team, former first round draft pick Mark Sanchez was benched by coach Rex Ryan.
- The New York Jets, who traded for Tim Tebow this past year, presumably to be Sanchez's backup, will instead turn to second year player (and former Rhodes Scholar finalist) Greg McElroy, who has looked alright in limited action this year.  Generally speaking, "alright" is not the adjective you want describing the most important position on your team, but for the Jets that level play would probably have them in playoff contention at this point.
- Tebow will continue to back up McElroy, and Ryan did not elaborate on why he was not the starter. We at Sportico can only surmise that it is because he is not a good quarterback.
- Despite his lack of stats, especially while passing the ball, Tebow does have a winning record in the NFL and even led the Broncos to a playoff win just last season against the Pittsburgh Steelers.


Lakers (barely) win!

- You know the Lakers season hasn't been going according to plan when they only defeat the Charlotte Bobcats at home by 1 point.
- For perspective, the Bobcats set an NBA record for lowest winning percentage last season by 7-59 and while they did match last season's win total in only 12 games this year, they've lost 12 in a row since then.
- Kobe Bryant led the Lakers in the 101-100 "triumph" with 30 points but that was barely enough to overcome Kemba Walker and his teammates. Walker scored 28 and former Laker Ramon Sessions added 20.
- The big news was the return of Pau Gasol who missed the last ten games due to tendinitis in his knees. Gasol did not put up big numbers but played decently considering his recent injuries.  He scored 10 points on 3-10 shooting and grabbed 9 rebounds. The return of Gasol should help a team that was relying heavily on Jodie Meeks to be the second offensive fiddle next to Bryant.

Peterson Continues to Rock, Bynum Lets Loose on Bryant

Adrian Peterson continues his Torrid Season

• Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson leads the NFL in rushing this season. And to say that is to severely underscore his 340 yard lead over second place Marshawn Lynch. This is after another 200 yard performance on Sunday against the St Louis Rams. 
• Peterson's 1,812 yards put him well within striking distance of the hallowed 2,000 yard mark, and within reasonable striking distance of Eric Dickerson's record of 2,105 yards in a season. 
• All this is even more impressive due to the fact that Peterson tore his ACL and MCL on Christmas Eve of 2011 and was back for the preseason and week one of this season where he ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns. In the past 8 games Peterson has rushed for at least 100 yards and for at least 150 yards in 6 of the 8. In those 8 games Peterson scored 9 touchdowns. Peterson is the leader in the clubhouse for the NFL comeback player of the year and is battling with Peyton Manning and Tom Brady as the likely winner of the NFL MVP.

Bynum lashes out at Kobe

• Former L.A. Lakers Andrew Bynum is now with the Philadelphia 76ers and although he hasn't played a game yet, he's widely considered the best player on the team. But he doesn't credit his development from high school draftee to NBA All-Star to former teammate Kobe Bryant; in fact he thinks that Kobe stunted his development.
• In response to questions about how his game was with Kobe having the ball so often, he said: "I felt I was able to get the ball more and do more things with the ball, so I could definitely see how it could stunt growth." To his credit, Bryant agreed with Bynum's statements and was very supportive of his old teammate. The only negative comment he made was about Bynum's new hairdo, sarcastically saying, "I guess he's a trendsetter."
• The Lakers now have Dwight Howard but many people, Bynum included feel that those are the top 2 centers in the NBA today.

Hamilton Signs and Big East Sinks

Hamilton signs with Angels

• Former AL MVP and heart of the Texas Rangers lineup, Josh Hamilton, inked a 5 year, $125 million deal with Texas's rival, the L.A. Angels, on Thursday, possibly the coup de tat on a makeover for the worst in Texas.
• This year, they've already lost power hitting Mike Napoli and Michael Young, last year they lost start pitcher C.J. Wilson (also to the Angels) and two years ago they lost star pitcher Cliff Lee. No major American Free Agents have signed with them during this time span.
• The deal gives the Angels arguably the three best hitters in the American League (with apologies to Miguel Cabrera, Prince Fielder, Jose Bautista, Robinson Cano, Evan Longoria and others) in Hamilton, Albert Pujols and Mike Trout.

Big East Falling Apart

• Sources say that 7 schools are planning on leaving the Big East. This brings the number of schools who have left the conference in the past 8 years to 17. While the previous 10 departures have been spread out with no more than 2 leaving in any given year, this mass departure could be the death of the conference.
• The seven schools who decided to leave, are all affiliated with the Catholic church and there are rumors that they are looking to form their own "Catholic Conference." The seven schools are, Georgetown, Seaton Hall, Depaul, Marquette, Providence, St Johns and Villanova.
• The future of the conference is up in the air. Four of the seven schools are founding members of the Big East, and would only leave one founding member in the conference. The future of the conference (if it will dissolve or not) the future of the name of the conference (could the 7 schools vote to keep it to themselves?) and what will happen to UConn, the remaining both basketball and football school in the conference? All these questions remain to be determined, we will keep you updated on Sportico.

Heisman and Youk

Johnny (Heis)Manziel

• Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman trophy on Saturday, leading to a number of terrible puns with both his last name and his nickname (Johnny Football).... including this title.
• Manziel becomes the first freshman (albeit a redshirt) to win the Heisman trophy, an award that until a few years ago was exclusively for upperclassmen. Manziel broke the SEC's total yardage record for a season (breaking fellow Heisman winner Cam Newton's record), and went into Tuscaloosa, handing Alabama their only loss this season.
• Notre Dame linebacker Manti T'eo finished second and Kansas State quarterback finished third in very top-heavy and relatively weak Heisman class.

Youkilis to Yankees

• One of the most recognizable stars of the Boston Red Sox 2009 World Series winning team has taken the path of Johnny Damon, Wade Boggs, Babe Ruth and plenty of other former Red Sox stars in between, and will now be a Yankee after signing a 1 year, $12 million deal.
• Youkilis struggled last year (hitting only .235 with 19 homers and 60 RBI's) and was dealt to the Chicago White Sox mid-season, but will still be an improvement for the Yankees at third base while they wait for Alex Rodriguez to recovery from an offseason surgery that will keep him out for about half of the season. Even after Rodriguez returns, there is a good chance Youkilis would play a good portion of his games at third, with Rodriguez preserving his body by playing the DH position.

Marquez, Messi, Shields

Marquez KO’s Pacquiao

- In the biggest boxing match of the year, Juan Marquez stunned the world by knocking out Manny Pacquiao. It was the first time in Pacquiao’s career that he lost a fight by getting knocked out.
- Marquez landed a punishing right hook at the end of the 6th round that connected, and knocked Pacquiao out. It was a needed punch as Pacquiao was winning the fight. He had knocked Marquez down in the past two rounds, and was winning on all the scorecards before the 6th round.
- This was the first decisive ending to a match between these two men, who had met three times previously with each fight going the distance and being decided on the cards (Pacquaio had been 2-0-1 against Marquez previously). Boxing promoter Bob Arum says that he sees no reason why there couldn’t be a fifth fight in this tremendous rivalry.


Messi Sets Record

- At Sportico we are contractually obliged to mention soccer at least once a quarter, and today seems like a pretty good time. Lionel Messi scored his 85th and 86th goals of this year (74 for his club team and 12 for his national team) in a 2-1 victory for Barcelona against Real Betis.
- That broke a 40-year old record previously held by Gerd Muller of West Germany. Muller scored his 85 goals in 60 games, while Messi has played in 66 games, with three more before the end of the year to add to his total.
- Messi is one of three finalists for the Ballon D’Or and having the best season of his already historic career, there should not be much of a debate as to whether or not he deserves it. This year Messi became the highest scoring player in Barcelona’s storied history.


Shields traded to Royals

- Yet another MLB team is making a move, as the Tampa Bay Rays have sent ace pitcher James Shields along with starter turned shutdown reliever Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a package of prospects headlined by OF Wil Myers.  Shields is the Rays' all-time leader in wins (87), starts (217), innings pitched (1,454 2/3), strikeouts (1,250), complete games (19) and shutouts (eight). The seven-year veteran has made a club-record four Opening Day starts.
- He goes to a Royals team that looks to be competitive for the first time in years, having already signed pitcher Ervin Santana and re-signed Jeremy Guthrie.  Davis could join the rotation in addition to Shields, giving Kansas City a good starting rotation.
- In his final start for the Rays, on Oct. 2 vs. the Orioles, Shields struck out a club-record 15 Orioles in a complete-game two-hitter with no walks, but he sustained a 1-0 loss
- Before Rays fans boycott the team in 2013, it's worth noting that Myers was the minor league player of the year in 2012 and looks to be a Bryce Harper type, as he is a monstrous power hitter who started off as a catcher but was moved  to the outfield to preserve his body.  He could be up in the big leagues this season for the Rays, who need another big hitter to protect Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria in their lineup.

Biggest Fight of the Year and Heat Fall Again

Pacquiao/Marquez IV – the (hopefully) definitive fight

• When Manny Pacquiao enters the ring on Saturday night against Juan Manuel Marquez, it will mark the fourth time these two men have fought each other. The previous three fights have been largely inconclusive, though Pacquiao won two of the three (the third ending in a draw). Both sides say, that if either man wins this fight decisively they will be considered the “winner” of the series.
• This match features two distinctly opposite styles of boxing. Pacquiao is an aggressive fighter who likes to hit early and often. Marquez is a much more patient boxer, who is known for his counterpunch (the hit that comes immediately after your opponent has thrown a punch.
• While this fight will be highly competitive, the one everybody is waiting to see is Pacquiao vs Flloyd Mayweather. There have been reports that the two sides may be coming closer and closer to an agreement, but it still remains to be seen if the fight, which would essentially be the biggest thing to happen to boxing since Tyson bit an ear, will actually happen. 

Knicks cool Heat again

• When the New York Knicks defeated the Miami Heat by 20 points on November 2nd a lot of people had a lot of excuses for the defending champs. The season had just started, they weren't ready yet, the Knicks were playing their home opener, Carmelo Anthony just played too well, and the list goes on. 
• Fast forward to last night in Game 2 of the season series, this time in Miami with the Knicks playing minus Anthony, who hurt his finger the previous night diving for a loose ball. The result was the same, a 20-point win for the Knicks, who lead the Eastern Conference at 14-4 and will have another marquee game on Saturday in Chicago against the Bulls.
• The Knicks had a monster game from Ray Felton who scored 27 points and had 7 assists and Lebron James, who was 1 assist away from a triple-double with 31 points 10 rebounds and 9 assists, couldn't get enough help from his teammates.

Wednesday Basketball Preview

 Miami Heat fall to Feckless Washington Wizards

• The Washington Wizards entered last night's game against the defending champion Miami Heat with only one victory, the Heat had 12. Add on top of that, Lebron James (fresh of being named the Sports Illustrated Person of the Year) scored a triple double with 26 points 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Wizards looked like they were on pace for a 1-14 start.
• Then a crazy thing happened, the Wizard messed around and won a 105-101 game. Lebron James missed two three-pointers in the last 30 seconds that would have made the game a lot more competative. The Wizards were lead by Jordan Crawford's 22-points. The Wizards were mostly helped by their bench that scored 64 points.
• Washington Redskins superstar quarterback Robert Griffin III  was sitting court side for his first Wizards game, it is yet to be determined if RG3's magic on the football field translated to the basketball court.

Hornets to Change Name

• The New Orleans Hornets, recently bought by Tom Benson, the owner of the Saints, are changing their name to better illustrate the culture of Louisiana. Possibly as early as the beginning of next season, they will be known as the Pelicans, which is the state bird of Louisiana and appears on the flag. Other names that were the Krewe and Brass, but apparently the Unibrows was never seriously considered.
• Interestingly enough, Michael Jordan had recently mentioned that he'd be open to changing the name of his Charlotte Bobcats to the Hornets, which was the name of the New Orleans franchise before they moved away from Charlotte. Charlotte fans had already started a grass-roots movement to bring back the old team name and colors and now that the Hornets name is set to be available, it looks like that's a distinct possibility.

Belcher

Chiefs mourn Belcher, defeat Panthers

- In one of the saddest and most shocking sports stories in recent memory, starting Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend on Saturday morning before driving down to the Chiefs' training facilty and committing suicide in front of the team's GM, Scott Pioli, and head coach, Romeo Crennel.
- Belcher, who was 25 years old and had no history of violence actually thanked Pioli and Crennel for all they had done for him before taking his own life.  The story gets even worse.  Belcher and his 22 year old girlfriend had a 3 month old child.  The girlfriend was the cousin of Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles, who was one of Belcher's best friends.  And possibly the worst of all is that Belcher's mother was visiting at the time and witnessed her son murder her grandchild's mother.
- It continues a horrible history of Chiefs players dying in stunning manner: 
1. In 1965, star FB Mack Lee Hill died from complications during a knee surgery that he sustained during a game.
2. In 1983, second year star RB Joe Delaney, who set four team records in his short stint with the Chiefs died after trying to save three drowning children.
3. In 2000, Derrick Thomas, Hall of Famer and possibly the greatest Chief of all time, died after his car skidded off the road in a snowstorm.

- After what seemed like weeks but was barely more than 24 hours, the Chiefs played a game against the Carolina Panthers (they voted to play after considering cancelling or postponing the game).  Speaking within eyeshot of Belcher's locker, where his jersey still hung, Crennel summed up the team's feeling by tearfully saying, "We're football players and football coaches and that's what we do, we play on Sunday."  The results, although rendered moot in the wake of what had happened were inspiring:
- The Chiefs scored a TD on their opening drive for the first time since 2010.
- The team was less than three minutes away from going an entire game with no penalties and no turnovers, something that they had never accomplished.
- Career also-ran Brady Quinn had a nearly perfect game, throwing two touchdowns and only four incompletions.
- They won a home game for the first time all year.


- On a personal note, I'm as avid of a Kansas City fan as any of you will ever meet and my self-esteem actually rises and falls with the successes and failures (mostly failures of late) of the team.  I've spent the past two days coping with my own feelings on this story and have repeatedly changed my mind about how I feel about it.  First, I was shocked and ashamed to support a team that had employed an individual capable of such a heinous crime.  After giving it time to settle in, I came to realize that a team who employs hundreds of players and staff members should not be held responsible for the actions of one (obviously troubled) individual.  All that the fans and members of the organization can do is pick up the pieces and try to do what they can to bring about healing in the wake of an awful tragedy. 
- Finally though, I've come to realize how spoiled and petty I've been as a sports fan.  On Friday, I would have told you that nothing could possibly happen to make this season any worse.  The Chiefs were 1-10, getting blown out in multiple games.  They led the league in turnovers, didn't lead a game for the first half of the season and were even being mocked by fans both in and out of the stadium.  But football is only a game, and if there's one positive about this tragedy it's that it has given me (and hopefully thousands of other sports fans) some perspective on what really matters.


BCS games set

- The 5 major bowls of the college football postseason were set on Sunday, with a major BCS buster making the field despite not having a coach.
- First and foremost, Notre Dame was set to play in the National Championship game after finishing their undefeated regular season last week and now they know they will face Alabama, who defeated Georgia after coming back from a 21-10 deficit in the third quarter.  Georgia nearly won in the final seconds but down 32-28, their final drive failed when a receiver failed to get the last 5 yards needed for a touchdown.
- This year’s slate of games looks to be largely terrible, and almost all of them should result in double digit victories for the favorite (including Alabama in the National Championship game). Florida will be a huge favorite over Big (L)east Champion Louisville. Stanford should be a big favorite over Wisconsin, and Florida State should crush Northern Illinois (more on that below). Perhaps the only game that could be projected to be close would be Kansas State vs Oregon, which up until three weeks ago, was projected to be the national championship game.
- Northern Illinois jumped Oklahoma in the final BCS rankings to snag one of the coveted (and lucrative) BCS bowl games. They will be served up as fodder to ACC champion Florida State. However, another ACC school will be watching closely. Dave Doeren was named the new head coach of the NC State Wolfpack on Sunday, and will be leaving NIU immediately. The Huskies will be coached by long-time Doeren assistant Dana Bible in the Orange Bowl.

NHL still locked out, MLB free agency starting

NHL Lockout to Continue

- A federal mediator has be unable to do what the NHL and the NHL’s Players Association claim to be striving towards, starting the NHL season soon. Two days of meetings with both sides have led to nothing.
Recently, Gary Bettman (who is in the running for the worst commissioner in the history of North American sports) has offered to have the owners, the constituency he represents, meet with the players directly without any league or player’s association representatives available.
- The owners will be meeting on Wednesday, and the players have started rumbling about decertifying the union and suing the NHL in court. Neither of these two events is likely to bring quick resolution to this issue. It is beginning to look more and more likely that there will be no NHL season in 2012-13, the second time that the league would miss an entire season in the past eight years.


First Moves in MLB Free Agency

- BJ Upton, formerly of the Tampa Bay Rays, is the first big name to change teams this baseball offseason. Upton signed a 5-year $76 million contract with the Atlanta Braves. Upton will likely take over for fellow free agent outfielder Michael Bourn, who is now nearly certain to leave Atlanta.
- Another player leaving the AL East is Russell Martin, after he signed a 2-year $17 million contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Martin chose to leave the New York Yankees after two years behind the plate in the Bronx. Martin was a lower priority for the Yankees (who have already re-signed Andy Pettitte, Hiroki Kuroda and Mariano Rivera) and he never received an offer from his former team before accepting this deal with the Pirates.
- The biggest trade in the past few days has been the Washington Nationals, fresh off their first playoff win since moving to the nation’s capital, trading to get Denard Span from the Minnesota Twins for a minor leaguer. Moving some players around the field, Span will likely take the spot in the lineup of first baseman Adam Laroche who is a free agent this season.
- Two players who won't be changing addresses any time soon are Evan Longoria and David Wright, possibly the two best third basemen in baseball.  Longoria received a 6 year, $100 million deal that will kick in after the 2016 season and Wright received a 7 year $124 million deal that will kick in after the 2013 season.  Both deals are the largest in their respective teams' history.

College Football Movement All Over the Place

Miles offered Arkansas job

• Say what you will about Les "The Mad Hatter" Miles. While his coaching style may be unorthodox and risky, he wins games, both in the regular season as well as in the BCS (He's won two SEC title games and a BCS Championship).
• Arkansas has not done any of that lately although they were scratching at the door before coach Bobby Petrino was fired last year. So knowing the value of an elite coach, Arkansas has offered their position to Miles in a monstrous $27.5 million, 5 year deal. Miles' agent has denied that such an offer has taken place, as agents typically do for reasons that we don't understand.
• Miles has been connected to other jobs in the past, being rumored to have taken the Michigan job a few years ago before he turned it down and it was eventually given to Rich Rodriguez. Despite their 10-2 record in 2012, LSU will not play in one of the five "big" BCS Bowls this year.
• Meanwhile, Kentucky has agreed to hire Mark Stoops, the defensive coordinator from Florida State and younger brother of current Oklahoma head coach Bob Stoops. Expect to see a number of coaches hired and fired over the next few weeks.

College Programs on the Move Again

• In the past few weeks, many major college programs have eschewed their conference affiliation for new conferences. This started last week with Maryland (formerly of the ACC) and Rutgers (formerly of the Big East) both agreed to move to the Big 10 (which formerly had 12 schools, and will now have 14).
• Due to this move, Maryland was sued for $56 million by the ACC as an exit fee. Maryland has refused to pay for the fee, which is equal to 3-years worth of operating expenses for the ACC.
• In response to losing these schools, the ACC has agreed to add the Louisville Cardinals formerly of the Big East, and the Big East has agreed to add Tulane and East Carolina to replace Rutgers and Louisville.

Notre Dame books BCS ticket, other programs fire coaches

Notre Dame wins, will play in BCS Title game

- After years of mediocre coaching and blowouts at the hands of "rivals" like Michigan State and USC, Notre Dame is back atop the College Football landscape and will play for the BCS Title this January in Miami.  The final test for the Fighting Irish came Saturday in Los Angeles against a USC team that started the season ranked #1 but underachieved all season long and lost star QB Matt Barkley to a shoulder injury last week.  USC kept it close, but failed to score on 6 consecutive plays inside Notre Dame's 10 yard line late in the 4th quarter as Notre Dame's stingy defense held strong, as they have all year and they won the game 22-13.
- Lou Holtz, Dan Devine and Ara Parseghian all won National Championships at Notre Dame in their third season as head coach.  This season is Brian Kelly's third as Notre Dame's head coach.
- The Irish will play the winner of the SEC Championship game which pits #2 Alabama against #3 Georgia.  Alabama has won two of the last three BCS Titles and will likely be a huge favorite in this game as well but Georgia has put together an impressive streak since losing to South Carolina early in the season and veteran QB Aaron Murray is the only QB in SEC history to throw for 3000 yards in 3 seasons.


Black Sunday in College Football

- The day after the end of the regular season in most sports sees the firings of many coaches who haven’t performed up to snuff. This year’s coaches who were fired were particularly interesting.
NC State fired Tom O’Brien after 6 years. In those 6 years O’Brien was a fairly respectable 40-35, but was 22-26 in conference play (ACC). This year, the Wolfpack had one of the biggest upsets of the year defeating Florida State, but then lost back-to-back games to archrival UNC and then an inexcusable loss to lowly Virginia, that largely sealed O’Brien’s fate.
- The biggest firing of Sunday was that of Gene Chizik of Auburn, less than two years after winning a National Championship. Chizik coached four years, including the 2010 National Championship team with Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton. However, a 3-9 record including an 0-8 record in the SEC this year was Chizik’s downfall. Losing to #2 Alabama 49-0 (and it could have been a lot worse) this weekend was the final nail in the coffin.
- Tennessee coach Derek Dooley, who also went 0-8 in the SEC at a prestigious program didn't even make it to Sunday and was fired last week.

Thanksgiving Football Recap

Thanksgiving NFL recap

• True to Sportico's Wednesday predictions, the two early games were competitive while the late game was a blowout.
  In the first game, the Lions lost on Thanksgiving for the 9th consecutive year despite controlling most of the game against the 9-1 Houston Texans. The turning point came on Justin Forsett's 81 yard TD run when Houston had been down by 10. Two Lions defenders brought Forsett down and the play would have been automatically reviewed since it was a score, but Lions coach Jim Schwartz threw his review flag in the heat of the moment. According to NFL rules, after Schwartz threw the challenge flag, he could not benefit from an automatic review, and the play stood as called.
  After tying the game, it went to OT where both teams' kickers missed a FG before Shayne Graham made his second attempt giving Houston the win.
• In the second game, Washington Redskins superstar rookie Robert Griffin III announced himself to the national audience. RGIII threw four touchdowns en route to a 38-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys. 
• The Redskins went into halftime with a 28-3 lead and looked to be cruising, however Dallas scored 25 of the next 32 points to pull to 35-28. Both teams would kick a field goal and that was all she wrote.
• The Redskins and Cowboys, now both 5-6, will be watching Sunday night football closely to see if the division leading New York Giants who play the Green Bay Packers. If the Giants lose, the Redskins will play the Giants next weekend with the winner having the inside track for the NFC East title.
• In the late game, the New York Jets were tied 0-0 after the first quarter... and then the New England Patriots exploded for 35 points in the second quarter including 3 touchdowns in 53 seconds to win in a rout, 49-19, as Bill Belicheck won his 200th career game. Part of this was a defensive touchdown, followed by a fumble returned for a touchdown on the ensuing kick-off.
• The Jets are now 4-7 and boisterous coach Rex Ryan was forced to admit that he couldn't blame the Jets fans for booing their pathetic effort. Tom Brady through for 323 yards and 3 TD's and has only thrown 3 interceptions all season long.

Scoring Record Shattered and NFL Preview

Individual scoring record shattered

• Typically, when one team is making shot after shot against you, you will respond by changing defenders, switching defenses or pulling some other trick out of your hat in order to affect some change.
• With all due respect to Faith Bible College, it seems that their coach was lacking for answers because he allowed an opposing guard (Jack Taylor of Grinnell, a D3 school) to score 138 points, including 80 in the second half, both of which are unsurprisingly all-time NCAA records.
• How lopsided was the scoring? Taylor made 52 of 108 shots (none of his teammates made more than 5 or shot more than 6) and he played for 36 minutes while no one else on his team played more than 15. And while it can't be proved that Taylor failed to make a pass all night, he did fail to record a single assist. But hey if you can win a game 1 on 5 why pass?
• Lost in the ridiculous outburst is the fact that an opposing player, David Larson, also had a pretty great game as well, making 34 of 44 shots for 70 points.

Week 12 NFL Preview

•  The usual slate of Thanksgiving games gives us two pretty compelling games, and one that should be a blowout as most of us are getting ready to wake up early for some Black Friday shopping. The first game has the Houston Texans traveling to take on the Detroit Lions in what can basically be a win-or-end-the-season game for the Lions. While the Dallas Cowboys face a similar situation hosting their arch-rival Washington Redskins. The night game features the New England Patriots at the New York Jets, which should be an easy game for Tom Brady and a tough one for the struggling Jets.
• Perhaps the best game on Sunday will be the Atlanta Falcons at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Bucs, coming off of a overtime victory last week, host the NFC's best team. The Falcons, despite being 9-1 have many doubters, and are only favored by one point in this game.
• The second best game of the day is perhaps the San Francisco 49ers traveling to take on the New Orleans Saints. The 49ers, who dominated the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, will look to squash the renewed hopes of the Saints, who are now 5-5 after starting the season 0-4.

NCAA wraps up crazy weekend, Nascar title decided

Massive Upheaval in College Football

- #1 Kansas State and #2 Oregon were seemingly in cruise control, needing only to win a couple more games in order to play each other for the national championship in Miami in a couple months.  However, they both lost on Saturday opening the door for recently dethroned #1 Alabama to play for their third title in four years. The #2 ranked Oregon Ducks fell to the #17 ranked Stanford Cardinal 17-14 in overtime. Oregon missed a field goal in overtime allowing for Stanford to kick their attempt to win the game. If Stanford wins next week, the Ducks will go from a National Championship spot to not even playing in their conference championship game with this loss.
- The #1 ranked Kansas State Wildcats were stymied by one of the worst defenses in the country, losing to Baylor 52-24. Helped in large part by a 24 point 3rd quarter, the Baylor Bears destroyed the Wildcats, effectively knocking QB Colin Klein out of the driver's seat of the Heisman Trophy as well. Kansas State dropped to #6 in the newly released BCS rankings, while Oregon fell to #5.
- The undefeated Notre Dame Fighting Irish take over at #1 in the BCS championship, and will face a Matt Barkley-less USC Trojan teams with a shot at the National Championship game on the line. Should the Irish win, they will likely face the winner of the SEC championship game, which will be either the previously mentioned #2 Alabama Crimson Tide or the #3 Georgia Bulldogs as long as both of those teams beat lesser opponents this weekend.


Brad Keselowski wins Sprint Cup Championship

- Brad Keselowski won the first NASCAR championship for Penske Racing after five-time champion Jimmy Johnson blew out a tire and couldn’t finish the race. Keselowski, who got in trouble earlier in the season for tweeting from his car during a race stoppage, tweeted “We did it!” as soon as he left his car.
- This could have all been for not, as Keselowski ran out of gas and had to see Johnson go up a lap. After a poor pitstop by Johnson, Keselowski was able to catch up and he never looked back.
- This victory is the first for a Dodge car since 1975, and comes in the last race that Dodge will run in NASCAR.  Additionally, it was only the third time that a driver in his first three years won a championship and with the other two being Dale Earnhardt and Jeff Gordon, it looks like Keselowski has a promising career in front of him.

MLB awards, NHL in jeopardy

MLB hands out remaining awards

- Over the past two days the MLB has given out its MVP awards as well as its Cy Young awards, which are given to the league's best player and pitcher respectively.  THE A.L. MVP award pitted Miguel Cabrera against Mike Trout, each of whom had phenomenal seasons that would have likely won the award in a landslide most other years.  In the end though, the fact that Cabrera won the Triple Crown and also that his Tigers made it to the World Series while Trout's Angels failed to even make the playoffs pushed the odds in Cabrera's favor and he won by a surprisingly wide margin.
- The N.L. award went to Giants catcher Buster Posey who led the N.L. in hitting and had career highs in Home Runs and RBI's only a season after suffering a devastating leg injury and missing most of the 2011 campaign.  This year Posey came back and was a big reason the Giants were able to win their second World Series in three years.
- The Cy Young awards both had some intrigue: The N.L. award went to 38 year old knuckleballer R.A. Dickey, the first player ever to win the award who prominently used the quirky pitch.  Additionally, he was only the third player ever to win the award while pitching for a team that had a losing record and amazingly earned 20 wins for the Mets this season (their first 20-game winner since 1990) an incredible 27% of his team's total wins.
- The A.L. award went to David Price of the the Tampa Bay Rays who barely edged out Justin Verlander in what was by far the closest race of the year and was the second closest Cy Young race ever (only a tie in 1969 has been closer).  Price won despite losing a couple votes to his teammate Fernando Rodney, who finished 5th despite being a reliever (The Cy Young award almost exclusively goes to starters).  Interestingly enough, Verlander won both the Cy Young and the MVP award last year, but couldn't repeat with either despite having his team make the World Series.


NHL lockout still ongoing

- The NHL lockout, which has already cost the more than 300 games, including the very popular Winter Classic, looks like it will extend even longer. Commissioner Gary Bettman reportedly suggested a 2-week moratorium on negotiations with the NHL Players Association so that he can reconnect with his constituents.
- Players are asking for a fixed amount of revenue, while the owners don’t feel like it is fair to promise that not knowing the economic future of the league or the nation. Games are currently cancelled through the end of November, and this two week moratorium could force the cancelling of games through the end of 2012 and possibly into 2013.
- NHL greats Joe Sakic, Mats Sundin, Adam Oates and Pavel Bure were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame over the weekend but even during that festive occasion, the dark cloud of the lockout loomed and those players reminisced about the last lockout, which cancelled the 04-05 season completely. "It was awful," Sundin said. "I think it's devastating."  Hopefully the NHL can avoid more devastation only 8 years later.