December 16th update

Paul on the Move, Howard to Follow?

• As widely reported on Sportico and elsewhere, New Orleans Hornets Point Guard Chris Paul has been actively shopped around the NBA, and after a very questionable move by the NBA was finally dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers. In return, the Hornets would acquire 3 players and a first round draft pick.
• We're of a mixed opinion on Sportico as to who made out better in this deal. One of us feel that this move makes the Clippers markedly better, pairing arguably the best pure point guard and the best young big man, in Blake Griffin. The other one feels that the Clippers gave up too much, including superstar-in-the-making Eric Gordon and former All-Star and future Rogaine spokesman Chris Kaman. The lowly Clippers are looking to make moves to take themselves from the basement of the NBA to major basketball relevance. Even more important, it pushes the “big brother” Lakers to the back page of the Los Angeles newspapers (or websites, since who reads newspapers anymore?).
• Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard is the last remaining major piece that is unsettled. It is widely assumed that he will not resign with the Magic next summer when he is a free agent, so it would behoove the Magic to trade him and receive something in return. It was reported that there was a deal close to completion with the New Jersey Nets before that fell apart. The Magic have claimed that Howard is no longer on the table, but that remains to be seen as this story seems to change every day.

NFL Week 15 Story Lines

• First Saturday game of the year: Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers – this game would not be of any note if not for the fact that it is the first Saturday game of the year and the fact that no NFC East team is playing particularly well. The Bucs are coming off an awful stretch where they have lost 7 straight games, and have looked even worse than you'd expect while doing it. The Cowboys seem to be trying their hardest to fall out of the playoff race but continue to share first place with the New York Giants at 7-6.
• Sunday Night Brings Intrigue: Baltimore Ravens at San Diego Chargers – the Ravens are known as a team that plays to the level of its competition; that is they play badly against bad teams, and well against good ones. The problem with the Chargers is that nobody’s quite sure which category they fall in. A supremely talented team (that generally plays very well in December) the Chargers are 6-7 (including losing 6 straight earlier in the season). This game pits the historically great Ravens defense against Philip Rivers and the always potent Chargers offense.
• Monday Night Showdown: Pittsburgh Steelers at San Francisco 49ers – After a bunch of less than interesting MNF games, this one should be good. Both teams are licking their wounds a bit as the Steelers stud QB Ben Roethlisburger is nursing a high ankle sprain that could cause him to not play, and the 49ers are coming off a stretch where they have lost 2 of their past 3 games. While they still hold a commanding division lead, the 49ers need to pick it up before the playoffs start, a demanding win against the Steelers could prove they are one of the teams to beat.

December 2nd update

BCS: Big Confusing System

Note: Skip to bullet #2 if you're already familiar with the BCS system.
• Starting in 1998 college football went to a new system that set up a set of national championship games. This new system was coined the Bowl Championship Series (or BCS). A set of 4 games featured the winners of the 6 biggest (read: most profitable) conferences and two wild card teams (in 2006 a 5th game was added, adding 2 additional wild card teams). Over the past few years many people have had issues with the system saying it wasn’t a good representation of the best teams or it didn’t allow for smaller schools to get representation.
• The South Eastern Conference (SEC) has been the dominant conference in the BCS winning 7 of the 12 championships including the last 5 in a row. This year’s LSU and Alabama teams are currently ranked in the top 2 of the BCS. However, as they are in the same division only one (LSU) can play for the SEC championship (against Georgia this weekend) for that right. If LSU wins, they will most likely face Alabama in a rematch of their offensive explosion from earlier in the year. If LSU loses they will likely still play Alabama for the National Championship despite neither of them winning their own conference. If you’re confused, you’re not the only one.
• Of the other 5 major conferences, each of them sends their conference champion to one of the coveted BCS games. This year the Pac 12 championship features a team, UCLA, that can win their conference and go to a BCS game (and get all the money that comes along with it) with a 7-6 record. If UCLA loses the game they will be 6-7 and not be eligible for any bowl game. This situation makes even less sense than the SEC confusion scripted above. Additionally, the Big East’s presumptive champion, Louisville, is 7-5, but they will make a BCS game even with their mediocre record while teams with only one loss will likely be left out.
• College football is a jumbled mess that is beyond comical at this point. Why not just play a 3 or 4 round playoff that would occur during the regular bowl season? Here's a detailed look at how that scenario might look if it were in place this season.


Weekend Football Preview

• NCAA Conference Championship Games: In addition to the SEC and Pac 12 championship games listed above, the ACC championship game will feature #5 Virginia Tech taking on #20 Clemson. The Big 10’s championship game will feature #15 Wisconsin vs #13 Michigan State and the Big 12 Championship game will not happen this year because 12 teams are required and the no-longer appropriately named Big 12 only has 10 teams.
• The “Who Thought This Game Would Be Good” Game: Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers. The surprisingly competitive Cincinnati Bengals travel to Pittsburgh to take on the always Stout Steelers. The Bengals are 7-4 behind the power of their Rookie Quarterback and Wide Receiver (Andy Dalton and AJ Green) and their veteran Running Back (Cedric Benson). The Steelers defeated the Bengals 3 weeks ago and are looking for the season sweep.
• NFL Game of the Week: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints – The Saints are coming off of a Monday Night Football clobbering of the New York Giants are looking to continue clicking against the Detroit Lions. The Lions, who lost their star Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh to a suspension, are looking to rebound after having lost 4 of their last 6 games after starting the season with 5 straight wins.


NBA stars on the move?

• With the NBA lockout finally resolved, the most entertaining part of the NBA other than the games can finally begin: Offseason player movement and the potential for big names to switch teams.
• Superstar PG Chris Paul of the New Orleans Hornets has stated that he will not sign a long term deal and since he only has one year left on his contract the Hornets may try to trade him in order to get something in return. He's been linked to the Boston Celtics in a trade for defensive wizard Rajon Rondo but both teams have denied that rumor. Paul has stated that he wants to play in New York with good friends Amare Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony.
• Orlando Magic Center Dwight Howard is in a similar position as Paul with only one year remaining on his contract and the New Jersey Nets have expressed interest in trading for him, likely giving up two first round picks and young Center Robin Lopez in return.
• If it happened, the Howard deal could convince superstar PG Deron Williams to change his mind about opting out of his current deal with the Nets as it seems that NBA stars nowadays trend towards pairing up with other big names. It's also worth noting, however, that Williams could opt out of his deal and still sign with the Nets, presumably for more money under the new collective bargaining rules.