February 3rd update

Super Bowl weekend is here

• After a summer-stealing lockout, 17 weeks of regular season games, and 4 weeks of the postseason the 46th Super Bowl is finally here. The New England Patriots and New York Giants will take the field at Lucas Oil Field in Indianapolis.
• The Patriots, who are slight favorites, will rely on their high powered offense to defeat the Giants. Led by Quarterback Tom Brady and tight end Rob Gronkowski, the Patriots will try to avoid the dangerous pass rush of the Giants defensive line. Gronkowski is currently nursing a high ankle sprain but is expected to play. His health status will play a huge role in how this game turns out.
• The Giants will rely on a devastating pass rush to get to Brady. Their chances to win the game will hinge largely on whether Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul and the rest of the gang can harrass Brady. Additionally, Giants quarterback Eli Manning will look to cement his claims made in the preseason that he should be considered an elite quarterback along with Brady. Eli will be looking to take score early and often against the Pats, who feature a wide receiver (Julian Edelman) playing defense.

Sportico’s Predictions
• Anirudh: This game will be won and lost depending on if the Giants defensive line can get to Tom Brady. The Giants offense should be able to score a lot of points against the Patriots patchwork defense, so the ability of the Patriots offense to keep up should determine the game. I do not believe the Patriots will be able to contain the Giants defense, and this will be a repeat of Sl.uper Bowl 42. Giants 38 – Patriots 31.
• Alex: The Patriots are too good to lose to this team again and Bill Belicheck will do the right things at the right time to give his team the edge (he even gave his team a break during practice to simulate halftime. Whether or not the team was forced to listen to Madonna during that break is uncertain). Brady will outduel Eli, who's had a great season but just isn't on Brady's level. Patriots 27 – Giants 17.


NBA names All-Stars

• Less than a week after the NHL and NFL had their All-Star games, the NBA (who was obviously feeling left out) named their All-Star starters on Thursday.
• L.A. will get 4 starters as Chris Paul will and Blake Griffin of the Clippers will join Lakers Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum. Kevin Durant takes the other spot. In the East, leading vote-getter and de facto host Dwight Howard (The game is being played in Orlando, the first time an Eastern conference team has hosted the game since 2003) will be joined by Miami Heat duo Dwayne Wade and Lebron James as well reigning MVP Derrick Rose and Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony.
• The always entertaining game which features dunks-a-plenty and only the occasional lick of defense will be played on February 26th. The Dunk Contest, which many people look forward to more than the game, will be held on February 25th at 8:30. Odds are no one will attempt a car over a parked vehicle (as Blake Griffin did last year) but it should be great nonetheless. The above link will show the participants as soon as they are announced, although they have not been as of the writing of this article.
• Last year Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant combined for 71 points en route to a 148-143 West win and MVP honors for Bryant.