February 24th update

Ryan Braun’s Suspension Overturned

• Ryan Braun, the embattled Milwaukee Brewers outfielder, became the first player in Major League Baseball to win an appeal against the MLB over a failed drug test. Braun, who tested positive for Performance Enhancing Drugs in October, was facing a 50-game suspension until baseball’s arbitrator ruled in his favor.
• Braun, who won the National League MVP award in 2011, was facing a verdict that would have tainted not only his phenomenal season but his career in general. There were apparent questions about the chain of custody of the sample that tested positive. Nobody was sure that another factor didn’t taint the sample.
• This decision was not applauded by all. Travis Tygart the CEO of the US Anti-Doping Agency called the decision “a real gut-kick to clean athletes.” However, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers tweeted: “MLB and cable sports tried to sully the reputation of an innocent man. Picked the wrong guy to mess with. Truth will set u free #exonerated.” No reason was given for the reversal, further confusing the situation.


NBA All-Star weekend begins in Orlando

• The NBA's all star weekend begins tonight and unlike the All-Star events of the other sports, the NBA's has taken on a life of its own, almost like the Super Bowl, in the amount of buzz it creates and the number of major stars who show up. Entertainers and celebrities show up en masse and even take place in a celebrity game on Friday night. The other Friday event is the Rising Stars challenge, which used to called the Rookie-Sophomore game but has since undergone a bit of a change. In the past it was simply a game between the best first year players and the best second year players but this season Shaquille O'Neal and Charles Barkley are the "captains" and they took turns drafting players to their teams, playground style.
• Saturday houses the most events including the Slam Dunk Contest, and the 3 Point Contest , two hallmarks of the All-Star weekend. Also included are the skills challenge (similar to NFL comibne's shuttle drill, but on a basketball court), the D-League All-Star game and the Shooting Stars competition, which pairs a NBA player, a former NBA player and a WNBA player from the same city on teams together.
• Then finally, the game itself is on Sunday. There's not much to say about the game other than that you should watch and expect very little defense to be played, a lot of scoring, and if we're all lucky, a dunk like this or a shot like this.


NFL Combine this Weekend in Indianapolis

• This weekend marks a major point in the NFL draft process. The NFL Rookie Combine, held annually in Indianapolis, is an event that can basically be described as a meat market for football players. A few hundred potential future NFL players will compete in a variety of athletic and intellectual drills designed to give scouts and front office personnel measurable data. Doing well in these drills can make or break a player's draft position and possibly his career as members from all 32 NFL teams show up and all take the combine very seriously.
• Players will display their abilities in 8 events. The bench press (the maximum repetitions of bench pressing 225 lbs), the Vertical Jump, the broad Jump, the 3 cone drill (which tests speed and agility) the 20 and 60 yard shuttle and the all important 40-yard dash (aka the quickest way to become an Oakland Raider). Those who counted closely noticed I only listed 7 events, the 8th is the Wonderlic test. This secretive test gives a score out of 40 to test intelligence.
• In past years, many top level prospects skip the workout aspect of the combine in favor of meeting with teams off the field. These prospects wait in favor of their individual school’s pro day. A day when all the prospects at a certain school put on a performance for NFL scouts. Even without the top level prospects at the combine, the event will be an opportunity for many, lesser known prospects to showcase their abilities.