February 27th update

Daytona 500 rained out for first time

• The Super Bowl of Nascar, the Daytona 500, was supposed to take place Sunday, marking the beginning of the Nascar season, but the rain came down too hard, making it impossible for Nascar officials to clear the track up in time to start the race. The race will commence at Noon on this afternoon instead, making it much tougher for fans to catch the race.
• It was the first time in more than 50 years that the race had been postponed, and Jimmie Johnson summed it up with a good quote saying, I guess the deal [Nascar owner] had with the man upstairs was put on hold this year.
• It will still be a great race with lots of fanfare but there will be significantly fewer in the stands and it's expected that teams will have a rough time getting all the way across the country to Phoenix by Thursday for the next race since they would generally have left Sunday night but instead will have to leave late Monday afternoon. Carl Edwards, who barely lost the 2011 championship to Tony Stewart, has the pole (or leading) position when the race starts.


West Wins Climactic All-Star Game

• The Western Conference won the 2012 NBA All-Star game 152-149, the highest ever combined score in an All-Star game. Both Kevin Durant (for the West) and LeBron James (for the East) scored 36 points leading their respective teams. Durant won the MVP, most likely just because his side won. This game, that usually focuses on offense, saw much better defense being played towards the very end, especially by the East.
• The West had a major lead most of the game, and had a 20 point lead in the 4th quarter, but Dwayne Wade, Carmelo Anthony and James led a furious comeback and the East had the ball with 16 seconds left and a chance to tie or take the lead. Deron Williams missed a 3-point shot that would have given the East a lead and then Wade missed a last second 3 that would have tied the game at the buzzer.
• Kobe Bryant scored 27 points to move past Michael Jordan for first place on the All Star Scoring list. His 14 All-Star Game appearances is equal to Jordan as well, but still short of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s record 19 games.
• On Saturday, Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love won the 3-point contest, and Utah Jazz forward Jeremy Evans won the Slam Dunk Competition.


As we approach March Madness in College Hoops, Sportico will be recapping the NCAA season.

Big Weekend in the Big 12

• Having two of the top 4 teams in the country (at least as of this weekend) the Big 12 arguably has the best chance to win a National Championship.
• We have previously written about Baylor, but the Bears have slipped recently allowing for Missouri and Kansas to jump to the top of the Conference. This past weekend these two teams played for the second time this season. Kansas avenged an earlier season loss defeating Missouri 87-86 in overtime. All three of these teams have good chances to make it through the second weekend of the NCAA tournament, and send at least one representative to the Final Four in New Orleans.
• While Kansas has been a national power for years on the College Basketball scene, Missouri is a relative newcomer, entering the top ranks for the first time in a long while. This success is built on an explosive offense and a very experienced roster. Of the 5 players who play the most, 4 are Seniors and the other is a Junior.

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.

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.