January 20th update

Super Bowl on line this Sunday

• Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots: 3 PM Sunday – The AFC held true to form as the #2 ranked Ravens travel to Boston to take on the #1 seeded Patriots. The Patriots are coming off of an easy victory over the Denver Tebo… err Broncos and will look to contain Ravens star RB Ray Rice just as they did Tebow. The Ravens and their aging but stellar defense will look to find a way to slow down the Patriots potent offense led by Tom Brady. Brady as he has all year long, will look for his two star tight ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez.
• New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers: 6:30 PM Sunday – The Giants look to continue their white hot streak across the country taking on the 49ers. The 49ers, led by running back Frank Gore and quarterback Alex Smith, will look to build upon a big game last week which catapulted Smith from the realms of obscurity to the front page after leading his team back from two late deficits. The Giants are led by their passing game on offense with Eli Manning and two star receivers and a relentless pass-rush on defense featuring DL's Osi Umenyiora, Justin Tuck and Mathias Kiwanuka.


Pioneer X-Gamer dies after accident

• A story that we broke last week has gone from sad to tragic. Canadian Skier Sarah Burke died on Thursday after suffering severe brain injuries incurred during a training accident on January 10th. Burke, 29, was a free style skier, a sport closely related to free style snowboarding (made famous by Shaun White). Burke had won 6 gold medals at the X-Games (an ESPN sponsored event for extreme sports) and was instrumental in convincing organizers of the 2014 Olympics to include the sport.
• Married to a fellow skier, Burke leaves behind a legacy not only in actual competition but pioneering for changes within her sport. She had enough clout to convince the powers that be at the X-Games to include a few other forms of freestyle skiing into their competition, a feat that very few competitors in any sport can claim. She will not only be missed by everyone inside her sport, but by other athletes as well.


Mayweather calls Pacquiao, wants to fight on May 5th

• In an event that could be this generation's Ali-Frazier or "Fight of the Century" if it happens; the much anticipated Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao fight seems to be gaining some steam. Mayweather called his rival who is currently in the Phillippines where he acts as a legislator and one can only assume Mayweather reiterated his desire to fight on May 5th as he has been pining for for weeks.
• The two are unequivocably the two best boxers in the world today and a fight between the two would draw mind-boggling revenue, the likes of which will likely never have been seen before in any similar event.
• Just like Ali-Frazier, there's a brash, obnoxious loudmouth (Mayweather) and a quiet class act (Pacquiao or "Pac-Man). But these two take it even farther as Pacquiao gives back to his community in so many ways, not the least of which is acting as a Congressman despite being in his boxing prime while Mayweather won his last fight on a cheap shot and afterwords nearly picked a fight with boxing legend Larry Merchant who might not have been able to defend himself as he is over 80 years old. It would be a good vs. evil duel with the winner taking home the title of the best fighter of our generation. You better believe you'll be hearing a lot more about this if it actually does happen.