Heisman and Youk

Johnny (Heis)Manziel

• Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel won the Heisman trophy on Saturday, leading to a number of terrible puns with both his last name and his nickname (Johnny Football).... including this title.
• Manziel becomes the first freshman (albeit a redshirt) to win the Heisman trophy, an award that until a few years ago was exclusively for upperclassmen. Manziel broke the SEC's total yardage record for a season (breaking fellow Heisman winner Cam Newton's record), and went into Tuscaloosa, handing Alabama their only loss this season.
• Notre Dame linebacker Manti T'eo finished second and Kansas State quarterback finished third in very top-heavy and relatively weak Heisman class.

Youkilis to Yankees

• One of the most recognizable stars of the Boston Red Sox 2009 World Series winning team has taken the path of Johnny Damon, Wade Boggs, Babe Ruth and plenty of other former Red Sox stars in between, and will now be a Yankee after signing a 1 year, $12 million deal.
• Youkilis struggled last year (hitting only .235 with 19 homers and 60 RBI's) and was dealt to the Chicago White Sox mid-season, but will still be an improvement for the Yankees at third base while they wait for Alex Rodriguez to recovery from an offseason surgery that will keep him out for about half of the season. Even after Rodriguez returns, there is a good chance Youkilis would play a good portion of his games at third, with Rodriguez preserving his body by playing the DH position.

Marquez, Messi, Shields

Marquez KO’s Pacquiao

- In the biggest boxing match of the year, Juan Marquez stunned the world by knocking out Manny Pacquiao. It was the first time in Pacquiao’s career that he lost a fight by getting knocked out.
- Marquez landed a punishing right hook at the end of the 6th round that connected, and knocked Pacquiao out. It was a needed punch as Pacquiao was winning the fight. He had knocked Marquez down in the past two rounds, and was winning on all the scorecards before the 6th round.
- This was the first decisive ending to a match between these two men, who had met three times previously with each fight going the distance and being decided on the cards (Pacquaio had been 2-0-1 against Marquez previously). Boxing promoter Bob Arum says that he sees no reason why there couldn’t be a fifth fight in this tremendous rivalry.


Messi Sets Record

- At Sportico we are contractually obliged to mention soccer at least once a quarter, and today seems like a pretty good time. Lionel Messi scored his 85th and 86th goals of this year (74 for his club team and 12 for his national team) in a 2-1 victory for Barcelona against Real Betis.
- That broke a 40-year old record previously held by Gerd Muller of West Germany. Muller scored his 85 goals in 60 games, while Messi has played in 66 games, with three more before the end of the year to add to his total.
- Messi is one of three finalists for the Ballon D’Or and having the best season of his already historic career, there should not be much of a debate as to whether or not he deserves it. This year Messi became the highest scoring player in Barcelona’s storied history.


Shields traded to Royals

- Yet another MLB team is making a move, as the Tampa Bay Rays have sent ace pitcher James Shields along with starter turned shutdown reliever Wade Davis to the Kansas City Royals in exchange for a package of prospects headlined by OF Wil Myers.  Shields is the Rays' all-time leader in wins (87), starts (217), innings pitched (1,454 2/3), strikeouts (1,250), complete games (19) and shutouts (eight). The seven-year veteran has made a club-record four Opening Day starts.
- He goes to a Royals team that looks to be competitive for the first time in years, having already signed pitcher Ervin Santana and re-signed Jeremy Guthrie.  Davis could join the rotation in addition to Shields, giving Kansas City a good starting rotation.
- In his final start for the Rays, on Oct. 2 vs. the Orioles, Shields struck out a club-record 15 Orioles in a complete-game two-hitter with no walks, but he sustained a 1-0 loss
- Before Rays fans boycott the team in 2013, it's worth noting that Myers was the minor league player of the year in 2012 and looks to be a Bryce Harper type, as he is a monstrous power hitter who started off as a catcher but was moved  to the outfield to preserve his body.  He could be up in the big leagues this season for the Rays, who need another big hitter to protect Ben Zobrist and Evan Longoria in their lineup.

Biggest Fight of the Year and Heat Fall Again

Pacquiao/Marquez IV – the (hopefully) definitive fight

• When Manny Pacquiao enters the ring on Saturday night against Juan Manuel Marquez, it will mark the fourth time these two men have fought each other. The previous three fights have been largely inconclusive, though Pacquiao won two of the three (the third ending in a draw). Both sides say, that if either man wins this fight decisively they will be considered the “winner” of the series.
• This match features two distinctly opposite styles of boxing. Pacquiao is an aggressive fighter who likes to hit early and often. Marquez is a much more patient boxer, who is known for his counterpunch (the hit that comes immediately after your opponent has thrown a punch.
• While this fight will be highly competitive, the one everybody is waiting to see is Pacquiao vs Flloyd Mayweather. There have been reports that the two sides may be coming closer and closer to an agreement, but it still remains to be seen if the fight, which would essentially be the biggest thing to happen to boxing since Tyson bit an ear, will actually happen. 

Knicks cool Heat again

• When the New York Knicks defeated the Miami Heat by 20 points on November 2nd a lot of people had a lot of excuses for the defending champs. The season had just started, they weren't ready yet, the Knicks were playing their home opener, Carmelo Anthony just played too well, and the list goes on. 
• Fast forward to last night in Game 2 of the season series, this time in Miami with the Knicks playing minus Anthony, who hurt his finger the previous night diving for a loose ball. The result was the same, a 20-point win for the Knicks, who lead the Eastern Conference at 14-4 and will have another marquee game on Saturday in Chicago against the Bulls.
• The Knicks had a monster game from Ray Felton who scored 27 points and had 7 assists and Lebron James, who was 1 assist away from a triple-double with 31 points 10 rebounds and 9 assists, couldn't get enough help from his teammates.

Wednesday Basketball Preview

 Miami Heat fall to Feckless Washington Wizards

• The Washington Wizards entered last night's game against the defending champion Miami Heat with only one victory, the Heat had 12. Add on top of that, Lebron James (fresh of being named the Sports Illustrated Person of the Year) scored a triple double with 26 points 13 rebounds and 11 assists, and the Wizards looked like they were on pace for a 1-14 start.
• Then a crazy thing happened, the Wizard messed around and won a 105-101 game. Lebron James missed two three-pointers in the last 30 seconds that would have made the game a lot more competative. The Wizards were lead by Jordan Crawford's 22-points. The Wizards were mostly helped by their bench that scored 64 points.
• Washington Redskins superstar quarterback Robert Griffin III  was sitting court side for his first Wizards game, it is yet to be determined if RG3's magic on the football field translated to the basketball court.

Hornets to Change Name

• The New Orleans Hornets, recently bought by Tom Benson, the owner of the Saints, are changing their name to better illustrate the culture of Louisiana. Possibly as early as the beginning of next season, they will be known as the Pelicans, which is the state bird of Louisiana and appears on the flag. Other names that were the Krewe and Brass, but apparently the Unibrows was never seriously considered.
• Interestingly enough, Michael Jordan had recently mentioned that he'd be open to changing the name of his Charlotte Bobcats to the Hornets, which was the name of the New Orleans franchise before they moved away from Charlotte. Charlotte fans had already started a grass-roots movement to bring back the old team name and colors and now that the Hornets name is set to be available, it looks like that's a distinct possibility.

Belcher

Chiefs mourn Belcher, defeat Panthers

- In one of the saddest and most shocking sports stories in recent memory, starting Kansas City Chiefs linebacker Jovan Belcher shot and killed his girlfriend on Saturday morning before driving down to the Chiefs' training facilty and committing suicide in front of the team's GM, Scott Pioli, and head coach, Romeo Crennel.
- Belcher, who was 25 years old and had no history of violence actually thanked Pioli and Crennel for all they had done for him before taking his own life.  The story gets even worse.  Belcher and his 22 year old girlfriend had a 3 month old child.  The girlfriend was the cousin of Chiefs RB Jamaal Charles, who was one of Belcher's best friends.  And possibly the worst of all is that Belcher's mother was visiting at the time and witnessed her son murder her grandchild's mother.
- It continues a horrible history of Chiefs players dying in stunning manner: 
1. In 1965, star FB Mack Lee Hill died from complications during a knee surgery that he sustained during a game.
2. In 1983, second year star RB Joe Delaney, who set four team records in his short stint with the Chiefs died after trying to save three drowning children.
3. In 2000, Derrick Thomas, Hall of Famer and possibly the greatest Chief of all time, died after his car skidded off the road in a snowstorm.

- After what seemed like weeks but was barely more than 24 hours, the Chiefs played a game against the Carolina Panthers (they voted to play after considering cancelling or postponing the game).  Speaking within eyeshot of Belcher's locker, where his jersey still hung, Crennel summed up the team's feeling by tearfully saying, "We're football players and football coaches and that's what we do, we play on Sunday."  The results, although rendered moot in the wake of what had happened were inspiring:
- The Chiefs scored a TD on their opening drive for the first time since 2010.
- The team was less than three minutes away from going an entire game with no penalties and no turnovers, something that they had never accomplished.
- Career also-ran Brady Quinn had a nearly perfect game, throwing two touchdowns and only four incompletions.
- They won a home game for the first time all year.


- On a personal note, I'm as avid of a Kansas City fan as any of you will ever meet and my self-esteem actually rises and falls with the successes and failures (mostly failures of late) of the team.  I've spent the past two days coping with my own feelings on this story and have repeatedly changed my mind about how I feel about it.  First, I was shocked and ashamed to support a team that had employed an individual capable of such a heinous crime.  After giving it time to settle in, I came to realize that a team who employs hundreds of players and staff members should not be held responsible for the actions of one (obviously troubled) individual.  All that the fans and members of the organization can do is pick up the pieces and try to do what they can to bring about healing in the wake of an awful tragedy. 
- Finally though, I've come to realize how spoiled and petty I've been as a sports fan.  On Friday, I would have told you that nothing could possibly happen to make this season any worse.  The Chiefs were 1-10, getting blown out in multiple games.  They led the league in turnovers, didn't lead a game for the first half of the season and were even being mocked by fans both in and out of the stadium.  But football is only a game, and if there's one positive about this tragedy it's that it has given me (and hopefully thousands of other sports fans) some perspective on what really matters.


BCS games set

- The 5 major bowls of the college football postseason were set on Sunday, with a major BCS buster making the field despite not having a coach.
- First and foremost, Notre Dame was set to play in the National Championship game after finishing their undefeated regular season last week and now they know they will face Alabama, who defeated Georgia after coming back from a 21-10 deficit in the third quarter.  Georgia nearly won in the final seconds but down 32-28, their final drive failed when a receiver failed to get the last 5 yards needed for a touchdown.
- This year’s slate of games looks to be largely terrible, and almost all of them should result in double digit victories for the favorite (including Alabama in the National Championship game). Florida will be a huge favorite over Big (L)east Champion Louisville. Stanford should be a big favorite over Wisconsin, and Florida State should crush Northern Illinois (more on that below). Perhaps the only game that could be projected to be close would be Kansas State vs Oregon, which up until three weeks ago, was projected to be the national championship game.
- Northern Illinois jumped Oklahoma in the final BCS rankings to snag one of the coveted (and lucrative) BCS bowl games. They will be served up as fodder to ACC champion Florida State. However, another ACC school will be watching closely. Dave Doeren was named the new head coach of the NC State Wolfpack on Sunday, and will be leaving NIU immediately. The Huskies will be coached by long-time Doeren assistant Dana Bible in the Orange Bowl.