07 February 2011

1)  Packers Win Super Bowl 

The Green Bay Packers won their fourth Super Bowl title on Sunday in a 31-25 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.  The Packers got out to a 21-3 lead early in this game and never relinquished the lead despite a valiant comeback effort by the Steelers.
 
2)  Aaron Rodgers Super Bowl MVP

Aaron Rodgers, the key to the Packers' offense all season, earned MVP honors in the Super Bowl with another great performance.  Rodgers threw for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns in the Super Bowl, but more importantly did not throw an interception.
 
3)  Bon Jovi to Buy Part of Falcons?

Rock Singer Jon Bon Jovi was reported to be in talks to buy a 15% stake in the Atlanta Falcons.  The Falcons have not confirmed the rumor, but Bon Jovi previously owned an Arena League team as well which is like a minor league football team.

14 March 2011

 1) OSU, Duke, KU, and Pitt #1 Seeds (ESPN)
 
Ohio State leads the field of 68 teams in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tourney, along with fellow #1 seeds Duke, Kansas University, and Pittsburgh University.
 
2) Duke Crushes UNC (Fox Sports)
 
The Duke Blue Devils beat the University of North Carolina 75-58 for the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship, putting another notch in future hall of fame head coach Mike Krzyzewski's (pronounced shu-shefski, AKA Coach K) tally.
 
3) Cris Collinsworth Takes a Boatride (CBS Sports)
 
Former Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver, and current NFL announcer, Cris Collinsworth found himself floating down the river for dinner.  He was dining at Jeff Ruby’s waterfront restaurant, a Kentucky eatery located on a barge moored on the Ohio River.  Rising river levels seems to have contributed to the barge breaking away from its hold on shore, stopping only when getting stuck on a bridge.

02 February 2011

1) Damon, Ramirez Reunite in Tampa Bay

Johnny Damon, 37, and Manny Ramirez, 38, both signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Rays this week.  The veterans played together several years ago in Boston and now are reunited in Tampa Bay with hopes of a championship.  Truthfully, they both should hope they can just make it through the season at their age.

2) Bird to Stay with Pacers

Basketball legend Larry Bird will remain with the Indiana Pacers for at least this year.  Bird, famous for his playing days with the Boston Celtics, will return as the Pacers’ team president despite their troubles on the court.  They are 17 games behind the leader of their division, Bird’s old team the Boston Celtics.

3) Signing Day is Today

National Signing Day for college football is today when high school players have to declare what school they will sign with.  Right now Texas is in the number one spot according to the “experts” based on this year’s recruiting class, but several top recruits are waiting until this afternoon to make their announcement.

03 February 2011

1)  Alabama Has Top Recruiting Class 

Really, it depends on who you ask.  Rivals.com, a big college football website, had Alabama as the school that secured the top class while ESPN ranked Florida State number 1.  Wednesday was national signing day in college football where high school athletes across the country had to put pen to paper and declare who they will play for next season.
 
2)  Patriots' Belichick Named Coach of the Year

For the third time in his career, the New England Patriots' head coach, Bill Belichick, has been named the "coach of the year" by the Associated Press.  Belichick led the Patriots to a 14-2 record, the best in the league, but his team lost their first playoff game to the New York Jets.
 
3)  Mustain Hits Bottom With Drug Charge

Mitch Mustain came out of high school as one of the most highly rated quarterbacks in his class.  Mustain signed with Arkansas, then transferred to the University of Southern California, but never really played much in college.  He was arrested Wednesday on drug charges, signaling the end to a college career that never achieved even a glimpse of its promise.

11 February 2011

Utah Jazz Coach Jerry Sloan Retires (ESPN)
 
Hall of Fame NBA coach Jerry Sloan retires after 23 years coaching the Utah Jazz.  Sloan indicated that the time was right and that he was tired of the stress the job brings with it.  Sloan ranks 3rd all time in wins in the NBA.
 
NFL Labor Talks Collapse (Fox Sports)
 
Negotiations between the NFL and the NFL Player’s Labor Union broke down and resulted in the cancellation of their next meeting.  The collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and the Player’s Union, the NFL Player’s Association (NFLPA) expires on March 4th.  If an agreement isn’t reached by then, the players could begin to lock-out from the off-season schedule, and threaten the beginning of the season in the fall.
 
Bonds’ Charges Reduced from 11 to 5 (CBS Sports)
 
The federal perjury charges levied against former Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds were reduced from 11 to 5 on Thursday.  Bonds is accused of lying to a grand jury when he was questioned about taking performance enhancing drugs while playing baseball.  He will stand trial beginning on the 21st of March.

12 February 2011

Cavs Losing Streak Ends (ESPN)
 
The Cleveland Cavaliers ended their 26 game losing streak Friday night with a win over the Los Angeles Clippers.  The 26 straight losses set an NBA record for the most consecutive losses.  The final score was 126 – 119 in overtime.
 
Daytona is Fast (Fox Sports)
 
Test runs on the newly paved Daytona International Speedway topped 203 MPH, leading up to the start of the NASCAR season.  NASCAR may decide to act in order to slow down the cars in the name of safety, but they have yet to make any moves.
 
Woods only 1 Back (CBS Sports)
 
Tiger Woods shot a par 72 at the Dubai Desert Classic, going into the final round of the tournament, putting him only one stroke behind leader Rory Mcllroy.  The windy conditions allowed Woods back in the tournament as the leaders struggled with the weather.

22 January 2011

1)  Texas Snaps Kansas' 69-Game Home Win Streak (Kansas City Star)  No. 2 Kansas had won 69-straight home games coming into Saturday's contest against the No. 10 Texas Longhorns, but this one wasn't even close.  Texas won the game 74-63, setting up a big battle for these two teams to see who will win the Big-12 conference.
 
2)  Last Hoo-rah for Auburn Football Team (Atlanta Journal Constitution)  The Auburn Tigers had a celebration for their national championship winning team on Saturday that drew 80,000 fans in their stadium.  Auburn is losing their two biggest stars from their championship team, Cam Newton and Nick Fairley, to the NFL, so most folks aren't expecting anything close to a repeat next year.
 
3)  Trash Talking Continues Before Jets/Steelers Game (NFL.com) 
The New York Jets, known for their trash-talking as much as their play on the field, continued their usual routine this week, shifting their focus to Steelers' wide receiver Hines Ward.  Ward was singled out by Jets' cornerback Antonio Cromartie as being a dirty player, among other things remarking that he was not "man enough to hit you when you're looking at him."  The Steelers and Jets play at 6:30pm on Sunday, so be sure to check out our preview article in the NFL section.