February 6th update

Giants Nick(s) Patriots in Thrilling Game

• The New York Giants defeated the New England Patriots 21-17 in a game that met most expectations laid upon it. Eli Manning cemented his place amongst the elite quarterbacks by winning his second Super Bowl MVP trophy while completing 30 passes for 296 yards and a touchdown. Hakeem Nicks had dreamlike game, with 10 catches for 109 yards, while Victor Cruz and Ahmad Bradshaw each scored a touchdown.
• The game got off to an interesting start after the Patriots were called for a penalty in their own end zone on their first offensive play, giving the Giants a 2-0 lead. Still, the Patriots stormed back and were in front for the entire second half, except for the final 57 seconds. Bradshaw’s touchdown with 57 seconds to go in the game gave the Giants the lead for good, even though the Patriots had a chance to win the game with a last ditch hail mary that just missed.
• This is the 4th Super Bowl for the Giants franchise, and the second for Manning and his head coach Tom Coughlin. After 12 games the Giants were 6-6, winning 3 of their remaining 4 games, the Giants entered the playoffs on a hot streak. They rode that streak all the way through the playoffs and can now once again call themselves Super Bowl champions.


Super Similarities

• There were remarkable similarities between this year's Giants team and the Giants team that won it all in 2007. It's pretty remarkable when you look at some of these coincidences, check them out:

- In December 2007 the Giants lost 38-35 to the undefeated Patriots in the regular season and in December 2011 they lost 38-35 to the undefeated Packers in the regular season.
- In 2007 they lost 22-10 to the Redskins in Week 15 and in 2011 they lost 23-10 against the Redskins in Week 15.
- In 2007 they defeated the #1 seed Cowboys in the Divisional Playoff Round and in 2011 they defeated the #1 seed Packers in the Divisional Playoff Round.
- In 2007 they won the NFC Championship game on an OT FG by Lawrence Tynes against the #2 seed Packers and in 2011 they won the NFC Championship game on an OT FG by Lawrence Tynes against the #2 seed 49ers.
- The defining play of the 2007 Super Bowl was a 32 yard catch by David Tyree in the 4th quarter and the defining play of the 2011 Super Bowl was a 38 yard catch by Mario Manningham in the 4th quarter.
- In 2007 the Giants scored a TD in the final minute, beat the Patriots by 3 and Eli Manning was the MVP. In 2011 the Giants scored a TD in the final minute, beat the Patriots by 4 and Eli Manning was the MVP.
- In 2007, the Giants stopped the Patriots 18 game winning streak in the Super Bowl and in 2011 the Giants stopped the Patriots 10 game winning streak in the Super Bowl. On a side note, the Giants stopped the Patriots 20 game home winning streak in November of 2011.


Doleman, Roaf lead 2012 HOF class

• Since this weekend has pretty much been dominated by football, we might as well stick with the theme right?? On Saturday the NFL announced its 2012 Hall of Fame inductees who are as follows:
• Chris Doleman: Defensive End
• Willie Roaf: Offensive Tackle
• Curtis Martin: Running Back
• Dermontti Dawson: Center
• Cortez Kennedy: Defensive Tackle
• Jack Butler: Cornerback

• Doleman was one of the greatest pass rushers of all time, his 150.5 sacks are 4th on the all-time list. He was named to 8 Pro Bowls in his 15 year career and was named to the 1990's all decade team.
• Roaf, who played for the Saints and Chiefs is considered by many to be one of the top 5 offensive tackles of all time and helped pave the way for Priest Holmes' record setting 27 touchdowns in 2003.
• Martin was a workhorse, piling up terrific stats with the Patriots and Jets. He had:

• 3,518 career rushing attempts (3rd all-time)
• 14,101 career rushing yards (4th all-time)
• 17,430 career yards from scrimmage (7th all-time)
• 90 career rushing touchdowns (12th all-time)
• 100 career rushing/receiving touchdowns (19th all-time)
• Was also the oldest player to win a rushing title (age 31) in 2004

• Dawson, Kennedy and Butler also had terrific careers but Roaf, Doleman and Martin will probably be the ones you'll hear the most about.

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.

January 23th update

Giants and Patriots to meet again in Super Bowl

• The New York Giants are back in the Super Bowl after defeating the San Francisco 49ers 20-17 in OT, the second time in 3 years that the NFC championship game has been won on a FG in OT. Vernon Davis caught two long TD passes for the Niners but a fumbled punt in OT put the Giants in prime field position and they used the very short field to allow kicker Lawrence Tynes to make the game clincher quite easily.
• Eli Manning was beaten up all day by the 49ers tough defense, getting sacked 6 times and knocked down 12 times, but he kept popping back up and will now go to his second Super Bowl, this one in Indianapolis, the hometown of his brother Peyton no less (who has only played in one).
• Eli's Giants will go against Peyton's longtime rival, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots. It's a rematch of the Super Bowl from 4 years ago when the Patriots entered the game 18-0 needing only one more win to become the first team in NFL history to finish a season 19-0. Instead the Giants upset them, keeping the Patriots from even winning the Super Bowl in a season where they may have been the best team in NFL history.
• The Patriots beat the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 after Ravens WR Lee Evans dropped a game winning touchdown that he had in his hands but was then knocked out by a Patriots defender, and then kicker Billy Cundiff missed a short FG that would have sent the game to OT.
• It was rough day for the Harbaugh family, as brother John and Jim are the head coaches of the two losing teams, the 49ers and the Ravens.


Paterno Dies of Cancer

• Legendary Penn State football coach Joe Paterno died on Sunday from complications from lung cancer. Paterno, the winningest coach in NCAA football history, passed away less than 2 months after his condition was initially divulged to the public.
• Paterno was fired from his position at PSU earlier this year due to allegations that he covered up child abuse reports involving his former assistant coach, Jerry Sandusky. Whether or not you believe that Paterno should have been fired, or he was unjustly villified, he did plenty of good in his life and we will take some tine to review a bit of that life.
• Paterno and his wife were a fixture in the central Pennsylvania town of College Park. The library on campus, and other buildings on and around campus are named for the family. Patrons of many charities, Paterno and his wife have given countless hours and millions to different charitable organizations.
• Paterno will be remembered as a fantastic football coach and a beloved mentor. The number of lives he changed by giving an opportunity to play football, the number of coaches who have come from his coaching “tree” and the numerous charitable and philanthropic organizations he supported will be the bulk of the footprint Paterno leaves on this earth, to say nothing of the staggering numbers he put up in terms of wins, players drafted into the NFL and bowl game records, the likes of which will very likely never be seen again in the history of football.


USA Soccer has Big Month

• The Olympic qualifying tournament (Jan 20th-Jan 29th) for soccer is underway and the U.S. will try to first of all make the tournament, and then progress further than they have in the past. While the U.S. is not considered a favorite to win, they have been improving and will hope to make some noise. Argentina has won each of the past 2 Olympic tournaments, both in 2004 and 2008.
• The team defeated Venezuela 1-0 Saturday night for their first victory over a South American team since 2007. Much maligned US player Ricardo Clark headed in a corner kick in the 94th minute (extra time) to give the US the victory. It was Clark’s first goal since 2009, and a chance to help forget a blunder in the 2010 World Cup that cost the US team against Ghana.
• Meanwhile, earlier this month across the pond, US superstar Clint Dempsey became the first American to score a hat trick (3 goals) in the English Premier League. Dempsey and fellow US star Landon Donovan helped Everton advance in the FA Cup, a major knockout tournament of English soccer teams.

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.

January 18th update

Wednesday spotlight: Eli Manning

• When the Super Bowl takes place in a little over 2 weeks in Peyton Manning's hometown of Indianapolis, there's a good chance that a Manning will be playing for the Super Bowl championship, but it will be Eli, not Peyton.
• After years of languishing in the giant shadow cast by his brother, Eli is starting to come into his own. Although many people called his Super Bowl win a few years ago a fluke (as the team barely snuck into the playoffs that season and then took advantage of David Tyree's miraculous catch) he's now beaten the two best regular season teams of the past decade in the playoffs, downing the 15-1 Green Bay Packers in addition to the 18-0 New England Patriots, the Giants' opponents that year in the Super Bowl.
• At the beginning of this season, Eli boldly stated that he should be mentioned in the same breath as Tom Brady and the general public's reaction was mostly derision (or questioning why he wouldn't name his brother as the standard bearer instead of Brady). But after a season in which he threw for 4'933 yards beating his career total by nearly 1'000 and a figure that would lead the NFL in most seasons as well as throwing for nearly twice as many TD's (29) as interceptions (16) it's time for people to start taking Eli seriously. The Green Bay Packers certainly will. And with Peyton's career in question after missing this entire season due to a neck injury, the time may have come where Eli is the predominant Manning in the NFL.
• Eli faces a big test this week, going to San Francisco to face the 49ers and one of the best defenses in the NFL this season.


Big Year at Baylor

• As previously noted here, the Baylor Bears had a very good football season. Led by Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III, the Bears finished 10-3 with a victory in the Alamo Bowl (one of the more exciting of the bowl games this year). But despite winning arguably the most coveted individual award in college sports, Griffin has some competition for the title of big man on campus, even if in this case it's not a man who he's competing with.
• The Baylor women’s basketball team is currently undefeated at 17-0 and ranked #1 in the nation. Led by superstar center Brittney Griner, the Lady Bears have not really been tested yet this year, through no fault of their own. There just hasn’t been anybody who can compete with the talent that head coach Kim Mulkey has assembled.
• Not to be outdone, the men’s basketball team is also undefeated at 17-0. If not for a fast start by the Syracuse Orange the Bears may be #1 in the Men's poll too. Led by super sophomore forward Perry Jones, the Bears have been tearing there way through Big 12 competition. Jones had the option to go to the NBA last year, and opted for another year under coach Scott Drew. Baylor's recent success has gone a great deal to making people forget about the major scandal that rocked Waco, Texas just 5 years ago.

November 4th update

Week 9 NFL Storylines

• In a battle of high-profile but struggling AFC West quarterbacks the Denver Broncos bring Tim Tebow (who is a fan favorite but not a great technical quarterback) against, the Oakland Raiders, who traded a huge amount for a quarterback who has already thrown three interceptions despite playing less than half of one game. This game will allow fans to see what these two signal-callers can do against relatively weak defenses.
• The other Manning: New York Giants at New England Patriots. If you look at the top rated quarterbacks this season none of the last names should surprise you, but to Eli Manning at the top instead of his injured brother Peyton has turned a few heads. Eli argued this offseason that he should be considered in the same breath as Patriots stud quarterback Tom Brady and most pundits scoffed but he's played phenomenally and this Sunday he will get a chance to prove himself on the field. Eli is currently the third rated quarterback in the league, while Brady is second. On a side note, Giants RB Ahmad Bradshaw says he may play despite having a broken bone in his foot. Who says football players arent tough anymore???
• Game of the Week: Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers. The Ravens embarrassed the Steelers in the first game of the season forcing a Steelers record for turnovers. But since that point the Steelers have steadily gotten better, and the Ravens have struggled a bit, especially on offense. This Sunday night game will be a big test for the Ravens who are coming off of two straight poor showings (losing to Jacksonville and barely beating Arizona). The Steelers are coming off of a big win, dismantling the New England Patriots last week and they look to continue their winning streak and extend their division lead.


Week 10 NCAA Football Story Lines

• #9 South Carolina at #7 Arkansas: South Carolina is struggling to replace possibly the best running back in the NCAA when healthy (Marcus Lattimore who tore his ACL). Arkansas is looking to stay competitive in their division as they get closer to the end of the season. They only have one loss (to Alabama) but are third in their division behind both Alabama and LSU.
• #14 Kansas State at #3 Oklahoma State: Kansas State is coming off of their first loss of the year to Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State is looking to stay competitive and jump the loser of the LSU/Alabama game to have the inside track at the National Championship game. Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon looks to continue his torrid pace of 9 catches and 105 yards each game.
• Refer to Wednesday’s post for an in depth preview of the game of the week (or century as some are saying), #1 LSU at #2 Alabama.


Stay tuned Monday for an update of the NBA non-season which should have started this past week but is instead still floundering with a labor dispute