SUPER BOWL XVIII

Finally today is the DAY.  It’s Super Bowl Sunday, and the game everyone’s been talking about for two weeks is finally here.  Arizona has been an underdog all season, but many actually expect them to win — and the Cardinals don’t do too well as the favorite.  Also, people have talked about Pittsburgh’s ‘D’, however, they don’t discuss how GREAT this defense actually is.  It’s very possible that the Steelers completely shut down the Cards.  This could be a real blowout.  Either way, we’ll find out at 6:00 ET.  Anyway, if you’re just a casual football fan, here’s something you can root for:  Arizona Cardinals QB, Kurt Warner, told his kids they could get a puppy if he won the Super Bowl.  Thus, cheering on the Cardinals = cheering for puppies. And how can you root against puppies?

In other sports news……

NBA

Some VERY bad news for Laker fans.  The Lakers traveled to Memphis to take on the Grizzlies in what should have been a beat ’em and leave unharmed game.  Well, the Lakeshow did take care of the first part of that equation, with Kobe putting up 25, and Pau Gasol 24 — but, in the first quarter, Kobe collided HARD with Andrew Bynum.  Bynum hit the ground, and clutched his knee.  He had to be helped off the court, and there is no indication how much time he will miss.  Could be a couple of games, could be the rest of the season.  Kobe was visibly furious with himself, as many thought with a healthy Bynum, the Lakers could beat the Celtics if they had a finals rematch.  The city of Los Angeles is crossing their fingers right now for an optimistic MRI.  LA Lakers 115, Memphis 98.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

In college basketball, #2 UCONN was hoping to claim the #1 seed with Duke’s loss to Wake Forest earlier this week.  A convincing win over Providence should do the trick.  Well, they did just that.  Behind their star center Hasheem Thabeet’s 15 points and 11 rebounds, the UCONN Huskies destroyed Providence, and hopefully convinced the voting committee that they deserve the #1 seed.  UCONN 94, Providence 61.

Meanwhile, Wake Forest, the team that just beat #1 Duke, was looking to prove that they are in fact a dominate team to be reckoned with.  They had a Saturday showdown with the unranked Georgia Tech Yellowjackets — and it did not go well for Wake.  Their star guard, Jeff Teague had a nice showing with 16 points, but it was Georgia Tech’s Gani Lawal that stole the show.  He had 25 points, 10 rebounds, and 2 blocks.  And in the end, Georgia Tech’s Iman Shumpert hit a beautiful shot with 1 second remaining to give his team the upset.  So, if you’re looking for early round upsets come March, don’t be too afraid to pick against Wake Forest.  Georgia Tech 76, Wake Forest 74.