BASKETBALL

In the NBA, the Los Angeles Lakers haven’t been impressive on the road.  They lost to Detroit 2 nights ago, and last night they were hoping to get back on track against a typically bad Washington Wizards squad.  But… the Wizards were ready, even though they were playing a home game under seemingly a Lakers fan base.  Kobe did what he did best, putting up 30 on the night.  But Pau Gasol was the man for LA with 19 points and 15 rebounds, and 3 blocks.  It looked like the Wizards were going to lose again, but they got a late surge from Nick Young, Kevin Seraphin and Roger Mason, and actually pulled off the upset win!   Wow!  All this when their star player, John Wall had a slow night with just 4 points.  Maybe these guys are starting to shape up.  Washington 106, LA Lakers 101.

FOOTBALL

Elsewhere, in college football, the conference landscape remains in flux.  The next move, the Temple Owls joining the Big East.  The Big East seems to be one of those conferences that’s about to downgrade.  They used to have bigger football programs like Miami (FL), but Miami bolted to the ACC.  Their powerhouse teams were typically West Virginia and Pitt, and West Virginia is headed to the Big 12, with Pitt most likely joining the ACC.  So they’ve been inviting football programs on the rise.  Temple had a great season last year, especially because of their high-powered running attack.  And whenever a team does well, they attract better recruits.  Being in the Big East will help Temple with recruiting AND give them more money because the Big East plays on television more often.  Congrats to Temple.

Finally, in the NFL, the day has come.  It’s official, and try and prepare yourself for such a weird statement:  “The Indianapolis Colts have CUT Peyton Manning“.  Doesn’t that sound like a dirty joke?  But… its true.  If the Colts didn’t cut him, they would need to pay him $28 million.  That’s something they may have been prepared to do prior to his injury, as even though Manning is getting older, he’s still a Top 10 quarterback even in his older age.  But, it’s just a bad perfect storm for Manning, as the Colts are holding the #1 pick in a year when the experts are saying that Andrew Luck could be the NEXT Peyton Manning.  When you have a chance to get a guy like that, you take it, and build around him for at least the next 12 years.   If Luck wasn’t in the draft, Manning would probably be re-signed.  But as of now… he’s looking for a job.