'Roids and a legend returns home

Steroids, Steroids Everywhere

- Last week Lance Armstrong finally admitted to doping during the entirety of his no-longer-impressive 7-straight Tour de France titles. In an interview with Oprah, Armstrong claimed that he did not feel like he was cheating because (in the words of an average 7 year old) everybody was doing it. Armstrong’s championships may have come with a level of fraud, but the almost half a billion dollars he raised to help fight cancer have to count for something.
- The Miami New Times reported a list on Sunday of a number of baseball players who may have gotten performances enhancing drugs at a number of “wellness clinics” in South Florida. The biggest name on that list is Alex Rodriguez. The Yankee slugger has retained representation to fight these claims. However, it is reported by ESPN that the Yankees are looking into options for voiding the remaining 5-years and approximately $114M left on Rodriguez’s deal, a decision that may also have to do with Rodriguez's recent injury (he'll be out for possibly all of 2013) and decline in performance. 
- As the Baltimore Ravens get ready to play in the Super Bowl this weekend (full coverage coming Friday on Sportico) they are being dogged by a late breaking story that could throw into doubt the feel good end of season by their biggest star, linebacker Ray Lewis. Lewis tore his right triceps in October, and made a stunning recovery to play in this year’s playoffs; an injury that generally takes a year to recover from. It was reported by Sports Illustrated that Lewis used a regimen of medication, including at least one banned by the sport, in his recovery. Lewis, who has never failed any kind of drug test before, has denied the accusation.


Nash returns to Phoenix

- The greatest player in Phoenix Suns history and arguably a top 3 point guard in NBA history, Steve Nash, makes his return to the city where he became a legend tonight as the Lakers roll into Phoenix (10:30, ESPN) for the beginning game of a 7 game road trip, hoping to break an 8 game road losing streak.  
- The Lakers have struggled mightily this season and currently sit in 10th place, a few games out of the playoffs.  A lot of that has to do with the fact that Nash, the assumed facilitator for the offense missed a huge chunk of time with an injury early in the year.  However, now he's back and his pass-first approach may have rubbed off on his teammates, including Kobe Bryant who has notched 14 assists in each of the past 2 games. 
- New Suns coach Lindsey Hunter hopes that his young, inexperienced squad can hold back the Lakers, who despite struggling this season do possess 4 potential Hall of Famers on their roster (Pau Gasol and Dwight Howard being the two others). 

NBA Star's Season is Over, Aussie Open Finals

Rondo Tears ACL

• Boston Celtics star point guard Rajon Rondo tore his right ACL and will miss the rest of the season, and potentially part of next season. Rondo’s injury, even though announced during the Celtics' double overtime victory over the Miami Heat, should mean the end of the Celtics' chances at a championship (or possibly even making the playoffs) this year.
• Rondo is arguably the Celtics best player, but is definitely their only young superstar. They have surrounded him with aging talent and relied heavily on Rondo to put Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce in a position to win now. However, with his injury the future of the Celtics, and the futures of Garnett and Pierce are also in doubt.
• Rondo’s injury marks the third major ACL injury to a NBA point guard in the last year with those of recent MVP Derrick Rose and Ricky Rubio. Rose has recently made his return, and Rubio should be returning in the next few months, but we do not know what the prognosis for Rondo is.

Azarenka, Dvokovic win Australian

• Novak Djokovic defended his Australian Open Title for the second time, winning his third straight down under by defeating Andy Murray 6-7 (2), 7-6 (3), 6-3, 6-2. Despite losing the first set and falling behind in the second, Djokovic was able to assert himself and win the final two sets fairly easily after winning the all-important second set tiebreaker (which ironically tied the match).
• A year after playing the longest final in Grand Slam history, an epic 5 hour, 53 minute win against Rafael Nadal, Djokovic finished this one a little more quietly. After all, you basically have to act like you've been there before after a three-peat. It was Djokovic's 6th Grand Slam overall, four of which have come in Australia.
• Victoria Azarenka defended her Australian Open Championship from last year against Chinese player Li Na. Na won the first set, but Azarenka was able to win the last two for her second Grand Slam championship. Na was hampered by twisted ankles and a bumped head (after falling with a twisted ankle). Azarenka was able to take advantage and win in the long run. Na was the crowd's favorite, but was unable to convert the necessary second set to win her second Grand Slam Championship. 
• Americans Mike and Bob Bryan also won their bracket, for their 13th doubles championship. That sets the record for the most double's championships for a duo.

Aussie Open Finals Set, Hornets name changing

Australian Open Finals Set

- On the women’s side, world #1 Victoria Azarenka will face Chinese upstart (ranked #6) Li Na, who burst on the scene after winning the French Open in 2011 but has been relatively quiet since. Azarenka defeated Sloane Stephens who came into the game after a major upset of Serena Williams, but the win was not without controversy.  At one point, when she was struggling, Azarenka took nearly 10 minutes to rest, which is more than triple the amount of time allowed for an injury.  Azarenka claims it was due to breathing difficulties and was ordered by on-court doctors but many people are still skeptical. Na defeated world #2 Maria Sharapova 6-2, 6-2 (which was even more impressive when you consider that Sharapova hadn't lost a set before that match) to face Azarenka for the Finals on Saturday.
- On the men’s side, Novak Djokovic will face Andy Murray. Djokovic, the world #1, and Murray, the world #3, have played 17 times with Djokovic leading 10-7. Last year, the two met in the Australian Open Semifinals with Djokovic winning a 5-hour epic battle. Murray got his revenge at the 2012 Olympics in his home country by taking Djokovic out and winning the gold medal for Great Britain.
- Djokovic is looking for his 3rd straight Australian Open Title, while Murray is looking to become the first male to win the next Grand Slam tournament after winning the first Grand Slam of his career.


Hornets to change name to Pelicans

- After weeks of speculation that it might occur, the New Orleans Hornets have officially stated that they will change their name from Hornets to Pelicans, a name that is more indicative of New Orleans culture.  While the NBA has not officially approved the change, no one seems to have any objections and David Stern has officially stated that he would not get in the way of any new name that Hornets (and New Orleans Saints) owner Tom Benson chose. 
- The name change, expected to take place before the start of next season will see the Hornets use a color scheme of blue, gold and red.  The change also opens the door for the Charlotte Bobcats to re-acquire the Hornets nickname, which fans of the area have wanted for some time.  Bobcats president Fred Whitfield has stated: "We are aware of the impending change regarding the team nickname in New Orleans and we are currently in contact with the NBA and conducting our own due diligence relative to this matter."

Stephens/Te'o/Callahan

Serena upset by 19 year old

- In what will come as a total shocker to most non-tennis fans, Serena Williams was defeated Wednesday morning by 19 year old Floridian upstart Sloane Stephens.  Not only was it the first time Stephens had ever been in a quarterfinals of a major, she was playing against her idol, whose picture she had on her bedroom wall as a child.  After winning the match in comeback fashion, 3-6 7-5 6-4, Stephens grabbed her cell phone and began to check her text messages and Twitter.
- It was Serena's first loss in 20 matches, since last August, a streak that included Wimbledon, the London Olympics and the U.S. Open.  It was the first time in 31 year old Serena's career that she had lost a match to a younger American player.   During this match, she had to be worked on by a trainer in the second set for a back that continued to lock up. The back spasms made it difficult for her to serve and to twist for a backhand.
- Things don't get any easier for Stephens who will look to continue her run through Melbourne against Victoria Azarenka, the #1 player in the world.

Te’o Situation Becomes More Confusing

- The Manti Te’o story has taken a few twists since we reported on it last Friday. Te’o did an off-camera interview with Jeremy Schaap of ESPN in which he stood by his claim that he was a victim of the hoax.
- Then yesterday, Te’o sat down with Katie Couric and partially admitted to lying. He claimed that he knew the situation on December 6th, when he got a call from his girlfriend, who he thought had died 6 weeks prior. He was on the stage two days later in New York City for the Heisman Trophy presentation where he was asked about his relationship with Kekua. In that interview, he still answered under the pretense that she had in fact died.
- As we said on Friday, this situation will continue to grow, but for right now, we are left even more confused.  The one thing that continues to gain in meomentum without looking back is the never-ending pile of jokes, but as Seth Meyers wisely said, "These Te'o jokes are all very funny but let's all try and remember that a person who never existed is dead."


Brown claims Callahan sabotaged Super Bowl

- Ten years after the Tampa Bay Buccaneers convincingly defeated the Oakland Raiders in Super Bowl XXXVII, one of the stars of the team, WR Tim Brown, is going on record as saying that his coach Bill Callahan intentionally sabotaged the team in an effort to allow his friend and Buccaneers coach Jon Gruden (who had formerly been the coach of the Raiders) to win the Super Bowl and because he hated the Raiders.
- Brown alleges that Callahan shifted the offensive gameplan to a very pass heavy just days before the Super Bowl after spending nearly the entire week-plus prior practicing and focusing on a run-heavy attack.  While other details are iffy, this one has been confirmed by multiple members of the Raiders including starting FB Jon Ritchie and HOF WR Jerry Rice, who started opposite Brown.
- On ESPN, Rice went so far as to say, "[Callahan thought] Hey look, maybe we should sabotage just a little bit and let Jon Gruden go out and win this one."  Other players have backed Callahan but a few of those have even mentioned that Callahan actively disliked the players and organization.
- Callahan called on the allegations against him to be taken back saying, "Any suggestion that I would undermine the integrity of the sport that I love and dedicated my life to, or dishonor the commitment I made to our players, coaches and fans is flat-out wrong," he said. "I think it would be in the best interests of all, including the game America loves, that these allegations be retracted immediately."

Harbowl tickets punched, NBA back to Seattle

San Francisco Roars Back in Stunner

- Things were not looking good for the San Francisco 49ers in the second quarter of Sunday's NFC Championship game. They were down 17-0, and the Atlanta Falcons looked like they could not be touched. However, just like the Seattle Seahawks last week, the 49ers were able to mount a huge comeback to take the lead against Atlanta late in the game. Unlilke the Seahawks, the 49ers finished the job, winning 28-24 in Atlanta.
- The 49ers, led by young quarterback Colin Kaepernick and veteran running back Frank Gore, stormed back. Two second quarter touchdowns brought the 49ers to 24-14 going into halftime. The second half was much lower scoring, but the 49ers got enough. A 5 yard touchdown run in the 3rd quarter and a 9 yard touchdown run in the 4th quarter by Gore gave the 49ers the lead they would not relinquish. The Falcons did a great job of keeping Kaepernick’s running in check, but he was able to throw for 233 yards and a touchdown.
- The 49ers will go to their 6th Super Bowl, which will be played in two weeks. They have won all five they have gone to in the past, but have not been to one since 1994, when Steve Young was their QB. Coach Jim Harbaugh and his defense held the high powered Falcons offense in check in the second half, and that led to a conference championship in only Harbaugh’s second season.


Ravens shut down Brady, Pats

- The New England Patriots had been 67-0 under Tom Brady at home when leading at halftime.  67-0.  So when they rolled into halftime ahead of Ray Lewis's Ravens 13-7, history suggested that the game was over.  But Ray Lewis was 2-0 in games that could potentially be the final one of his Hall of Fame career and it was his streak that endured yet again, only a week after the improbable 70 yard TD pass with 31 seconds left that led to a win against the Denver Broncos.
- The Patriots were plagued by poor play in the second half, especially on the offensive side where they repeatedly dropped easy passes to stall drives.  And pending free agent Joe Flacco was fantastic, throwing for 240 yards and 3 touchdowns in an efficient 36 attempts.
- The win also avenges Baltimore's loss to New England in last year's AFC championship game, where a lase second dropped TD and subsequent missed field goal ended their season directly before the game which they will now play: the Super Bowl.


NBA to return to Seattle

- The owners of the Sacramento Kings, the Maloof family, reached an agreement Sunday night to sell the struggling franchise to a Seattle based group led by Chris Hansen, a hedge fund manager.  In addition to the Maloofs 53% stake, a minority owner will also sell his 12% stake.  The team has to file to relocate before March 1st in order to be able to move by next season and even though the sale needs to be officially approved by NBA owners, there are typically not any holdups by the time the process gets to this point.
- The Seattle Supersonics won the NBA championship in the 78-79 season, defeating the Washington Bullets, who they had lost to in the finals the year before.  They made the NBA finals again in 95-96 but were beaten by Michael Jordan's Bulls in the first title of their second three-peat.  After the 2007-2008 season, Kevin Durant's rookie season, the Supersonics were sold to a group that moved them to Oklahoma City, where they became the Thunder.

Manti Te'o & Lance Armstrong

The Bizarre Story of Manti Te’o

• We at Sportico will do our best to recap the supremely bizarre story of Notre Dame star linebacker Manti Te’o. Starting with the facts; Te’o is arguably the best linebacker in college football. He will likely be a top 15 pick in this April's NFL Draft. He had a grandmother who died in September.
• Back in September, when it was said that Te’o’s grandmother had died, it was also reported that his girlfriend also died (of leukemia). Te’o’s story touched many and the publicity was part of the reason he catapulted to stardom and into the race for the Heisman trophy. On Wednesday, the story began to unravel. It turns out that Te’o’s girlfriend never existed, and Te’o was at best the victim of a horrible prank, at worst was complicit in one of the biggest fame-grabs of all-time.
• What sports news site Deadspin was able to uncover was that a friend of Te’o was keeping the twitter account attributed to Te’o’s girlfriend, and that she never existed, she never went to Stanford (where it had been reported she met Te’o in 2009) and she never died of leukemia. How Te’o knew the girl for four years and dated her for a little more than one, without ever meeting her is puzzling at best. According to him, their’s was a relationship entirely over the phone and internet.
• Both Te’o and Notre Dame have come out with a full throated defense of their parts in this situation. Te’o saying he was the victim of a prank, Notre Dame standing firmly behind Te’o. There is much that is yet to be uncovered, and this story will continue to unfold over the next few days and weeks, but two things are for sure: This is one of the most bizarre stories in the history of the internet and people are having fun with this.

Lance Armstrong Admits

• Perhaps the person happiest with the Te'o story is Lance Armstrong, because it turns the eyes of the sports world away from him. Armstrong sat down for an interview with Oprah which was aired last night. In that interview Armstrong finally admitted to doping during his run of 7 straight Tour de France titles.
• Armstrong expressed some regret for his decision,but said he was not cheating because he was "leveling the playing field." Armstrong argues that because almost every other cyclist was also doping it was not cheating for him to take steroids.
• Armstrong was largely unemotional during the interview which leads to some questioning the sincerity of his apology. While the doping scandal has followed Armstrong around for years, it should not be forgotten that he has raised almost half a billion dollars for cancer research. 

NBA hodgepodge

• As the NBA nears its all-star break, we decided to give a quick recap of some happenings around the league:
• The All-Star teams were announced and the Lakers (17-22) and Celtics (20-18) both got two starters.  Some people think that better teams should get better placement but I don't think you can blame Kobe Bryant or Dwight Howard for the abysmal start the Lakers have had, and I definitely don't think there's more deserving star power at that position.  Kevin Durant is the only non-L.A. player starting for the West with Clippers Chris Paul and Blake Griffin being the other two.  The East's starting 5 is aforementioned Celtics Rajon Rondo and Paul Pierce, Heat players Lebron James and Dwayne Wade, and Carmelo Anthony.
• Speaking of James, on Wednesday night he became the youngest player ever to score 20'000 points and just for good measure, he recorded his 5'000th career assist as well in a convincing victory over upstart Golden State.  And then last night the Heat beat the Lakers 99-90 in a game that was not as close as it looked and made the star-studded Lakers look old and slow.
• Carmelo Anthony, fresh off his one game suspension for confronting Kevin Garnett by the team bus after a Celtics-Knicks game was actually taped by his owner in the following game in an attempt to find proof that teams cross the line in attempting to antagonize him with trash talk. 
• And in a game that doesn't seem too important on the surface, the Milwaukee Bucks beat the Phoenix Suns 98-94 last night.  Why does this make news? It's the first time that the Bucks have won in Phoenix since 1987, ending a streak of 24 consecutive losses.  13 of the 30 players on the roster had not even been born yet the last time it happened.

Top teams struggle, Coaching seats get filled

Top Hoops Teams Struggling

• The new year has been unkind so far to the top teams in college basketball, many of whom have been getting upset already. First, #1 Duke lost senior forward Ryan Kelly to a foot injury and then lost their first game of the season 84-76 to N.C. State. Next, on the brink of their first #1 ranking in 20 years, #2 Michigan could not get by opponent Ohio State, who was more than happy to keep their bitter rivals from ascending to the top spot in the country.
• So cycle in some new teams at the top of the rankings, #1 Louisville and #2 Indiana. Right off the bat, Louisville began to struggle against unranked Connecticut, falling behind by 6 at halftime before they woke up and rode a strong second half to an easy win. The end was not so bright and shiny for Indiana, who lost to Wisconsin 64-59 Tuesday night, losing for the fifth straight time at home to Wisconsin, the first time they've had such a long home losing streak to one team in an incredible 80 years.
• While there are definitely some teams who are better than others, it's obvious that this is going to be a year where any one of a number teams could win the national championship because there are no clear-cut dominant teams who are leaps and bounds above the field.

NFL Coaching Carousel Starting to Settle

• Of the 8 NFL teams who were looking for a head coach after the end of the season, 5 have since hired a head coach. Of the 5, only the Kansas City Chiefs have hired a former NFL head coach. The Chiefs were happy to give Andy Reid their Head Coaching job, in addition to offensive coordinator and some player personnel decisions. The Arizona Cardinals, Jacksonville Jaguars and Philadelphia Eagles are still searching for their coaches.
• The Buffalo Bills have hired Syracuse University’s head coach Doug Marrone. Marrone joins the Bills after 4 seasons at SU, before that he was an NFL assistant coach. Even more surprisingly, was the Chicago Bears hiring Marc Trestman, one of the first head coaches hired from the Canadian Football League. Trestman was the head coach of the Montreal Alouettes who have won two Gray Cups (the CFL’s superbowl). Prior to the CFL he was a longtime assistant coach in the NFL, known as a quarterback’s specialist. The Bears are hoping Trestman will be able to help Jay Cutler make the jump to an elite quarterback.
• The San Diego Chargers have hired Denver Bronco’s offensive coordinator Mike McCoy as their next head coach. McCoy spent the last few seasons grooming Tim Tebow into a usable quarterback, and helping Peyton Manning’s recovery from his many neck surgeries. The Cleveland Browns have hired Carolina Panther’s offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski (in an attempt to make me spell an even more ridiculous name). Coach Chud (as he is known) spent the last two seasons helping #1 overall draft pick Cam Newton morph into one of the best young quarterbacks in the league. The Browns hope Chudzinski will be able to help Brandon Weeden or Colt McCoy (or another quarterback) lead the Browns to some sort of success.

NFL Divisional Playoffs

Ravens win thanks to Flacco's fling – In a matchup that was one of the coldest games in NFL history (the temperature dropped to 10 degrees and felt even colder with wind chill, the offenses of the Baltimore Ravens and host Denver Broncos were somehow as hot as ever, combining for 10 touchdowns.  In every quarter the Broncos took a one touchdown lead and in every quarter, the Ravens came back to tie them.  None was more stunning than what happened in the fourth quarter as the Ravens, down by 7 with no timeouts, 70 yards to go and only 31 seconds left in the game somehow completed a 70 yard pass down the field to Jacoby Jones after safety Rahim Moore misjudged the ball in the air.  In overtime, both teams took turns ineffectively moving the ball before Peyton Manning threw his second interception of the game (the first one was returned for a touchdown) and a few plays later Justin Tucker nailed a game winning field goal to eliminate a stunned Broncos team from the playoffs.  Denver hadn't lost a game since October 7th, reeling off 11 straight wins since then but in the end Peyton Manning's 2012 Broncos won fewer playoff games (zero) than Tim Tebow's 2011 Broncos who beat Pittsburgh before losing to New England.  And if you were wondering how the Tebow family feels, check out this series of tweets.

Niners, Kaepernick steamroll Packers – Aaron Rodgers is a former MVP, as State Farm commercials keep reminding us, but after Saturday's game it might be the Packers defense who needed to do some double-checks, specifically on QB Colin Kaepernick who ran wild, setting an all-time NFL record for rushing yards by a QB (not in the playoffs but in ANY game) exploding for 181 yards and 2 TD's while also throwing for 263 yards and 2 more TD's in a 45-31 win over Rodgers and the Packers.  The game was close for a while (it was tied as late as 7:07 remaining in the third quarter) but eventually San Francisco's running duo of Kaepernick and Frank Gore (who went for 119 yards and a TD) wore down the Packers, who had just shut down the best runner in the NFL week before in Vikings superstar Adrian Peterson.  The game pitted two QB's who grew up as fans of the opposite teams but for this weekend anyway, it's the Packers fans who probably wish Kaepernick was still one of them and not vice-versa.

Atlanta Wins Thriller – With 2 minutes left in the third quarter in Atlanta, the Falcons took a seemingly insurmountable 27-7 lead over the Seattle Seahawks, who looked lost and unorganized. Then the fourth quarter saw the Seahawks mount one of the greatest comebacks in NFL history.  First, Rookie QB Russell Wilson had a one yard run and after Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan threw an ill-advised interception, Wilson led the Seahawks on another quick TD drive, culminating with a pass to Zach Miller. With 2:30 left in the game, the Falcons punted the ball back to Seahawks holding a 27-21 lead. Wilson marched the Seahawks down and scored a go-ahead touchdown with 31 seconds left in the game to take a 28-27 lead. As the Carolina Panthers can attest Matt Ryan can take any small window and burst it wide open. Ryan needed only 23 seconds to go 41-yards in three plays setting up a 49-yard field goal attempt by kicker Matt Bryant. Bryant missed the first kick, but Seahawks coach Pete Carroll had called a timeout right before the kick.  Given another shot, Bryant made good giving the Falcons a 30-28 lead, that held up, allowing the Falcons to host the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game next weekend.  It was the first playoff win for QB Matt Ryan or TE Tony Gonzalez, who is unquestionably the greatest TE in NFL history.

Patriots Sprint to AFC Championship Game – The Houston Texans started the game with a 94 yard kickoff return but despite starting the game on the New England 12 yard line, they only kicked a field goal to start the scoring in this game.  After that, the Patriots scored the next 17 points in a row and never looked back. Two minutes into the fourth quarter, the Patriots had a 38-13 lead. The Texans scored 15 straight points to make the game a little closer, but a late field goal gave the Patriots a 41-28 victory that was not as close as the score may indicate. The Patriots suffered one big loss in the first quarter when stud tight end Rob Gronkowski landed on his left forearm, breaking the bone for the second time in the past 2 months, ending Gronk’s season. The victory was Tom Brady’s 17th playoff victory giving him one more than Joe Montana , for the all-time NFL record. The breakout star of the game was Shane Vereen. The seldom used running back scored three times (two running one receiving). The Patriots go on to host the Ravens next weekend in the AFC Championship Game.

Preview of Second Round of NFL Playoffs

Preview of Second Round of NFL Playoffs

• The Baltimore Ravens will travel to Denver to play the Broncos at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon (on CBS). The Ravens will look to continue the emotional high that came from defeating the Colts last week. The Broncos, who ended the season on an 11 game winning streak, are the #1 seed in the AFC are heavy favorites. The Ravens will look to continue the season (and career) of one of the greatest players in their history, Ray Lewis who has promised to retire after the year. Anirudh’s prediction: Broncos 37 – Ravens 23.
• The Saturday night game features the Green Bay Packers traveling to take on the San Francisco 49ers at 8 PM (on Fox). This game features arguably the best quarterback in the NFL (Aaron Rodgers) facing a player who has only made 5 starts (Colin Kaepernick). It features one of the league’s best defenses (the 49ers) versus one of the league’s worst (the Packers). This will be a typical game that features an unstoppable force vs an unmovable object and should be a fantastic game. Anirudh’s prediction: Packers 27 – 49ers 24.
• Sunday afternoon, the Seattle Seahawks will fly to the east coast for the second time in a week this time to play the Atlanta Falcons at 1 PM (on Fox). This is an enigma of a game as the Falcons are the #1 seed in the NFC, but many experts are expecting the Seahawks to win. The Seahawks fantastic defense matches up well to the Falcons’ powerful offense. This game comes down to the Seahawks offense (which is hitting its stride) versus the Falcons’ defense which can show up or can be flat. Anirudh’s prediction: Falcons 27 – Seahawks 20.
• Late Sunday afternoon, the Houston Texans travel to Massachusetts to take on the New England Patriots at 4:30 (on CBS). The Texans, who ended the season on a swoon, barely defeated the Cincinnati Bengals in the first round, will look to slow down Tom Brady and the potent Patriots’ offense. Texans’ defensive line JJ Watt will be an x-factor, if he can get to Tom Brady on a regular basis, the Texans have a shot. Anirudh’s prediction: Patriots 31 – Texans 16.

Alabama Rolls, and RGIII Begins to Recover

Alabama Rolls to 3^rd in 4 years

• Yes, the picture above is not from the field on Monday night, it was however the most interesting aspect of the game, especially to your author. But more on the game first, all season the vaunted Notre Dame defense had given up 9 touchdowns, and only 4 rushing. The Crimson Tide had 4 touchdowns just one minute into the 2^nd quarter.
• Alabama used an NFL quality offensive line and two seemingly untackleable running backs (who both rushed for over 100 yards) to put the Notre Dame defense on their heels. Notre Dame didn’t score until late in the 3^rd quarter, at which point it was too little too late. The game ended with the Crimson Tide up 42-14.
• The biggest winner from the game was undoubtably the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron, Katherine Webb. The beauty queen (Miss Alabama and top-10 finisher in the Miss USA competition) is an Auburn graduate student, but has been dating McCarron for a few weeks. Perhaps the most creepy part of the whole thing was 73 year old Brent Musburger, the lead play-by-play analyst on the game. He made a number of comments about the beauty of Webb, in increasingly leery ways. Musburger is not the only admirer (look how pretty she is while watching the game, feel free to google images of her from the pagents), as Webb went from only a few hundred twitter followers to over 100,000 in the span of the game, and was one of the most Googled searches during the game and the next day.

RGIII undergoes surgery

• Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III underwent surgery that was initially intended to repair a torn LCL in his right knee and to identify the scope of the damage of the ACL in the same knee. During the surgery, it was discovered that the ACL tore in the same place it had in 2009 while Griffin was playing at Baylor University.
• Griffin, who was playing on Sunday with a heavy knee brace, looked hurt, and especially after a bad snap forced him to turn quickly. As he turned, his knee buckled and he collapsed to the ground in very obvious pain.
• Griffin’s recovery is scheduled to take 6-8  months, which means he should be ready for the start of the 2013-14 season, barring any setbacks.

Post #250

Roll Tide vs. Luck of the Irish: Winner-Take-All

- After weeks of increasingly high-caliber bowl games, the NCAA season finally reaches the one game that has any bearing beyond this season: The BCS Title Game.  By now you know that #1 undefeated Notre Dame is playing #2 Alabama, but for all intents and purposes, those rankings might as well be switched. 
- Notre Dame comes in as a massive (by Title Game standards) 9.5 point underdog.  Alabama blistered their competition this season, winning all but 5 of their games by 29+ points while Notre Dame won 5 games by 7 points or less and 2 in overtime.  Alabama has one of the best offenses in the country while Notre Dame's is middle-of-the-road, and QB Everett Golson only has 11 passing TD's (less than half of what Alabama's AJ Mccarron has).  Possibly the most telling stat of all is that Alabama has won two national titles in the last three years while Notre Dame has won 2 bowl games in the past 18 years. 
- However, you'd be foolish to count Notre Dame out before taking note of a few more facts:  Notre Dame has the #1 defense in all of college football and and only gave up more than 14 points twice all year, despite playing a stout schedule.  Arguably, no one on Alabama's roster or in the entire NCAA has the combination of talent and drive that Notre Dame LB Manti Te'o has, and after being absolutely robbed of the Heisman Trophy by a voting group that won't give the award to a defensive player, he'll be hungry.  And last but not least, let's not forget to mention that famous Notre Dame coaches Frank Leahy, Ara Parseghian, Dan Devine and Lou Holtz all won their first national championships in their third seasons as coach of the Fighting Irish, while Knute Rockne finished his second straight undefeated season. The combined record of the five in their third season: 50-2-1. 
- For coach Brian Kelly (in his third year as well) whose Irish started the season unranked and an afterthought but are now on the precipice of an undefeated season and national title, perhaps just a little more luck is required to make the third time a charm once again for college football's most storied team.


NHL sets tentative agreement

- After a lengthy lockout that many thought would cancel the entire season, similar to the one 6 years ago, the NHL players and owners have come to a tentative agreement that will be voted on Wednesday and it looks like hockey will happen this season after all.
- The new CBA is set to be 10 years in length with mutual opt-out clauses beforehand and contains language concerning revenue sharing, contract length, salary cap and other issues.  More details of the agreement can be found here, but the important thing is that if agreed upon, the season will start either next Tuesday or Friday and will consist of either 48 or 50 games in the regular season.  (It's worth noting that the 1994-95 NHL season was 48 games, while.the 1998-1999 lockout shortened NBA season was 50 games long).  Then the postseason would likely stretch until late June. 
- Although it might throw off the typical calendars of the hockey world, the fact that the season is (probably) going to happen is a giant relief for everyone involved, making today a great day for hockey.


NFL Playoffs kick off

- The NFL Playoffs began over the weekend with a troupe of thrilling matchups, although none of them really came down to the wire. 
- It began on Saturday with the Houston Texans holding off a hot Cincinnati Bengals team 19-13.  The Bengals scored a TD on a interception return by Leon Hall to give them a 7-6 lead early in the game but their offense couldn't help out their suddenly stifling defense and Houston moved on. 
- In the late game, Adrian Peterson couldn't carry the Vikings by himself and QB Joe Webb, an emergency fill-in who hadn't thrown a pass all season long simply wasn't ready to face the Packers defense.  Green Bay strolled to a 24-10 victory that was not as close as the score indicated.
- On Sunday, one of the greatest (if not the greatest) defensive players in NFL history played his final home game as Ray Lewis led his Baltimore Ravens to a 24-9 win over the Indianapolis Colts.  Lewis, who is injured, dropped an easy interception early in the game but still made 13 tackles and provided an emotional spark for his team who was fortunate enough to draw a young Colts team who actually gave up more points than they scored this season despite their 11-5 record.
- In the final game, potential Rookies of the Year RG3 and Russell Wilson faced off and while RG3's Redskins got off to a fast start, taking a 14-0 lead, his injury and the Seahawks tenacious style of play enabled them to get back into the game, dominating the game after the first quarter and winning 24-14.  And as for the Rookie of the Year, it can probably be summed up by this, a downfield block by a rookie quarterback that is a microcosm of all the things that the Seahawks and Russell Wilson are doing correctly.  The Seahawks are the lowest seed left in the playoffs but the #1 seed Atlanta Falcons are next up and they had better watch out.

NFL Postseason Preview, and where will Chip Kelly Land?

 

NFL Wildcard Weekend Preview

• The first game of the weekend (Saturday 4:30 on NBC) features the Cincinnati Bengals at the Houston Texans. Two teams going in opposite directions. The Bengals finished the season winning 7 of their last 8 games while the Texans, who won 11 of the first 12, lost 3 of their last 4 and dropped from #1 in the AFC to #3, and having to play the Bengals. Houston’s rushing attack should be too much for the Bengals. Anirudh’s prediction: Houston 24 Cincinnati 17.
• The second Saturday game (8 on NBC) features the Minnesota Vikings vs the Green Bay Packers. The high flying Packers will look to contain NFL rushing leader Adrian Peterson. The Packers, who were screwed out of a first round bye by the infamous replacement referee debacle, will look to cap off another impressive season with a second Super Bowl under quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Anirudh’s prediction: Green Bay 31 Minnesota 20.
• The first game on Sunday features the upstart Indianapolis Colts vs the Baltimore Ravens (1 on CBS). The Colts, who are riding a wave of emotion because of the heroic battle with cancer of head coach Chuck Pagano, over performed all expectations by winning 11 games and getting into the wildcard game. The Ravens, who lost 4 of their last 5 games, seemed to be coasting and trying to get healthy. Ravens All-Pro middle linebacker Ray Lewis has announced he will be retiring after this season, which should give the Ravens even more motivation. Anirudh’s Prediction: Ravens 17 Indianapolis 14.
• Finally, the biggest game of the weekend, features two big rookie quarterbacks, the Seattle Seahawks vs Washington Redksins (4:30 on Fox). This game should be a firecracker with two very similar offenses centering on explosive rookie quarterbacks. Robert Griffin III leads the Redskins and Russell Wilson leads the Seahawks, to 5 and 4 game improvements respectively. The difference in this game is the strong Seahawks defense. Anirudh’s prediction: Seattle 30 Washington 17.

Kelly to interview for NFL

• Possibly the best coach in college football over the past few years has a busy week. Just last night, Chip Kelly coached his #4 Oregon Ducks to an impressive 35-17 win over the #5 Kansas State Wildcats, all but assuring that his team will finish #2 in the final rankings at the end of the season. Then today, he will go to interview with the Buffalo Bills, the first of many interested teams who will get their shot at the offensive mastermind.
• Kelly's been the man most responsible for the spread of the lightning quick offense that calls plays before the defense can react and because of it, his Ducks have been atop the NCAA leaderboards in points scored (and rushing yards) for nearly every year during his tenure.
• Despite not being in the NFL yet, NFL teams have already started to copy his methods and Bill Belicheck even spent some time with Kelly this year, presumably to better understand the philosophy before implementing it for his Patriots this year.