November 18th update

All's not Fine in Syracuse

• With the airwaves still churning out news about Joe Paterno and Penn State, it looks like the NCAA has another possible child abuse scandal to deal with. Longtime assistant coach of the Syracuse basketball team Bernie Fine has been placed on administrative leave after it was alleged that he sexually assaulted a former ballboy for more than a decade starting in 1983. The ballboy, now 39 years old, said that he never told head coach Jim Boeheim about the incidents.
• Apparently Post-Standard investigated the report back in 2003 but could not find enough evidence to continue with the story. As this story is just breaking, it's hard to say what happened or who knew what, however we will strive to maintain coverage as it becomes available.
• Regardless of what happens, the exposure from stories like these is good for the public consciousness, as it may shock administrators and other people in positions of power in schools and other institutions across the country, forcing them to take a more proactive stance against child abuse. Here's hoping we don't have to hear about any more stories like this any time soon.


NASCAR Championship Down to Two

• The NASCAR “Chase for the Sprint Cup” comes down to this weekend’s final race of the season where The Ford 400 in Miami will basically be a two man show. While 40+ drivers will actually be in the race, all eyes will be on Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart.
• Edwards leads Stewart by 3 points in the standings with third place being 51 points behind Edwards. Stewart was the last driver not named Jimmie Johnson to win the NASCAR championship (in 2005). Using NASCAR’s complicated scoring system, it is a toss-up to know who will win the championship, or even who has won it if you were to watch the race without hearing any commentary.
• This championship format, which was introduced in 2008, was created in an effort to make the NASCAR championship as heart stopping and exciting as the Super Bowl and other major sports' playoff systems. NASCAR Chairman Bill France is very excited that his brainchild is working so well. As NASCAR tries to break into the top-4 American sports, a winner-take-all championship race will definitely help.

Weekend Football Story Lines

• NFL Game of the Week: Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants – The Giants host the Eagles on Sunday Night. The struggling “Dream Team” Eagles coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Arizona Cardinals are in desperate need of a victory as they have started the season 3-6. Considering the talent they had before the season and then the amount they spent this offseason to add even more talent, this record is not acceptable. Ever the thoughtful/rational fans, Philadelphians are up in arms to fire Eagles coach Andy Reid, who is the longest tenured coach in the NFL.
• Battle in the Big 12: #13 Kansas State Wildcats at #22 Texas Longhorn – Texas, which started the season red hot (winning their first four games) has struggled recently (losing 3 of their last 5). Kansas State has struggled against the state of Oklahoma (losing to Oklahoma and Oklahoma State) but is perfect against the rest of the country and looks to maintain any chance they have at winning the Big 12.
• NCAA Game of the Week: #5 Oklahoma Sooners against #22 Baylor Bears – The matchup of two very different superstar Quarterbacks. Both Sooners Quarterback Landry Jones (a traditional pocket passer) and Bears Quarterback Robert Griffin III (think Michael Vick but with a more accurate arm) will be playing in the NFL next year, assuming Griffin doesn’t pursue his very legitimate shot as a professional track star. Oklahoma, hopes a few teams in front them will stumble and are just hoping for a chance to play in another National Championship game. They'll get a chance to help themselves out a little as they still get to play #2 Oklahoma State.

September 26th update

NFL's Week 3 Produces Surprise Contenders

• Two of the worst teams in the NFL the past decade improved to 3-0 on the season after overcoming major deficits. These two teams proved they belonged in the discussion of the best teams in the league.
• The Buffalo Bills (who were 58-102 in the past 10 years) defeated the New England Patriots for the first time in 15 tries. They were down 21-0 in the second quarter but their offense, led by former Harvard Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, hit their stride in the second half; while their defense also locked down a very high flying Pats offense, intercepting Tom Brady 4 times (for reference, Brady was only intercepted 4 times for the entire 2010 season). The Bills scored 34 points in the second half, only allowing 10 more, to win 34-31.
• The Detroit Lions (who were 33-127 in the past 10 years) defeated the Minnesota Vikings in overtime. Down 20-0 at halftime, the Lions stormed back with a very big second half to actually take the lead before the Vikings tied the game at 23 with just over a minute to go in the game. In overtime the Lions took the opening kick-off and drove almost 60 yards to put themselves in a position to allow Jason Hanson, who has been with the team for 20 years, to win the game with a field goal. The Lions won in Minnesota for the first time since 1997. They play there every year. They also started 3-0 for the first time since 1980. And yes, they also play at least 3 games every year.
• The only two undefeated teams other than those 2 are the Redskins, who will try to go 3-0 on Monday Night Football against the Cowboys, and the defending Super Bowl champion Packers.
• For the rest of the results from Week 3 click here.

LSU new #1 after Oklahoma struggles

• The LSU Tigers overtook the #1 spot in the AP poll after handily beating West Virginia, 47-21. Oklahoma on the other hand, trailed for most of the game against unranked Missouri resulting in the somewhat rare win that moves a team out of the #1 spot.
• #8 Texas A&M used a raucous home crowd to get off to a scintillating start against #7 Oklahoma State but star WR Justin Blackmon came back and started the second half on a 23-0 run to win 30-29. It was fitting justice for some Big 12 fans as Texas A&M was officially accepted into the SEC over the weekend as well.

• In other action, Alabama easily dispatched a highly ranked Arkansas team that never seems to live up to expectations, Clemson continued their hot start, sending #11 Florida State to a second straight loss, 35-31 and LaMichael James continued to set records by rushing for an Oregon record 288 yards. He already owns nearly every Oregon career record for RBs and after Saturday's effort, he moved into the top 10 in all-time rushing yards in the Pac-12 conference (formerly Pac-10).

August 5th update

Oklahoma Sooners: Best in NCAA Football?

• Sportico has spent many a update discussing the NFL. However, today it's time to start paying some attention to the younger players as the NCAA is preparing for their season. USA Today has released its first preseason top-25 ranking, picking the Oklahoma Sooners as the team to beat.
• Oklahoma, lead by Junior Quarterback Landry Jones (pictured), won the Fiesta Bowl last year and return a large crop of starters from that team. Alabama, the 2009 National Champions, ranked second, while last years runner-up Oregon ranked third.
• This ranking has no actual impact on who ends the season playing for the championships, but is a good directional indicator of who will be ranked highly in the all-important Bowl Championship Series rankings that are released for the first time in the middle of October.


NFL Hall-of-Fame Inductions this Weekend

• This year’s class is highlighted by a couple of razzle-dazzle players. “Primetime” Deion Sanders, and Marshall Faulk changed the way the game was played during the 90s. Joining them are Shannon Sharpe, Richard Dent, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter and Ed Sabol
• Sanders won Super Bowls with the Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers, in the mid-90s and also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens in the NFL and Florida State in college. While playing in Atlanta the versatile Sanders also played baseball for the Atlanta Braves. He remains the only player to ever hit a home run and score a touchdown in the same week, also the only player to win both a Super Bowl and World Series. Sanders was known as a ladies man and cad during his playing days, but has since turned to the church and began mentoring young men helping them avoid the same mistakes he made.
• Ed Sabol enters the Hall of Fame as a “contributor to the game.” Sabol and his son Steve founded NFL Films. This repository of films of NFL games has become a great bridge between the younger generation and the great players of the past. Sabol (94) has been hospitalized for various reasons recently and his son lead a big push to get him into the Hall of Fame before he passed away.
• Faulk and Sharpe were both among the greatest players ever at their position as Faulk set the single season TD record and Sharpe set almost every receiving record for Tight Ends (although they have since been broken by Tony Gonzalez).