FOOTBALL

The Indianapolis Colts big win over the Houston Texans Thursday night was bitter sweet for many people. Obviously the players on the team were happy with their play. No one wants to go into their locker room after a losing game. And, some players in particular like WR Reggie Wayne were playing their hearts out because their contracts are up at the end of this season and they likely want to stay in Indy. Wayne finished the day with 8 catches for 106 yards and the game winning TD. Indy now has two wins (13 losses) on the season and is tied with St. Louis and Minnesota for the worst record in the league. Of course, this means that the might now have jeopardized the only good thing about being the worst in the league….the number one first round pick in the draft. And, everyone knows the number one pick is likely the great QB Andrew Luck from Stanford.  Who knows, maybe Indy doesn’t want Luck as much as we all anticipated. After all, before the game, Colts owner, Jim Irsay,  told NFL Network that “if Peyton Manning plays next year, it will be in  Indianapolis”.

In college news, USC quarterback, Matt Barkley, announced he would return to school and play his senior year. This is great news for USC. Barkley led USC to 10 victories and 2 losses this year but was unable to represent them in a post season bowl because the Trojans were ineligible due to NCAA violations. Next year, USC should make a splash on the national title scene and Barkley’s name will likely be on the short list of Heisman trophy candidates.

Remember: Big lineup of NFL games on Saturday the 24th and only one game Christmas Sunday (Chicago Bears at Green Bay Packers). Enjoy!

FOOTBALL

This is a big weekend in the NFL for the four teams that are close but haven’t secured a playoff spot yet: 

Cowboys, Falcons, Lions and the Broncos

The seven teams that have clinched: 

(NFC) Green Bay Packers, San Francisco 49ers, New Orleans Saints, (AFC) Houston Texans, New England Patriots, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers.

In other NFL news, Hall of Famer, John Elway gave Tim Tebow a big vote of confidence as the guy who can lead the team to the playoffs.  “Tim Tebow’s not going anywhere,” Elway said. “I mean, he’s going to be a Bronco and we’re going to do everything we can and hopefully he’s that guy.”

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Get ready for the NBA season to finally begin. This Sunday, Christmas Day, the NBA kicks off with five games.

Celtics vs Knicks, Heat vs Mavs, Bulls vs Lakers, Magic vs Thunder and Clippers vs Warriors. Basketball fans everywhere must be counting the seconds…..

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The most exciting news of the weekend (for me and my fantasy team, the Screaming Weasels (don’t ask)), was, after a pretty dismal season, our big win over Sutters Wings to get us to the Championship game. We knocked it out of the park the last few weeks and are now up against our rival (Ziti Shooters). Our season really turned around after we picked up Tim Tebow…coincidence or the power of Tebowing….we’ll never know.

Speaking of Tebow, his five game winning streak at the helm of the Bronco’s offense, came to a halt Sunday with a 41-23 loss to  Tom Brady and the Patriots. With the win, the Patriots clinch the AFC East.

In other NFL news, the NY Giants didn’t just lose on Sunday against the Redskins, they got destroyed. The 23-10 loss was not even as close as the score would imply. Eli Manning threw three interceptions and didn’t get their only touchdown until 33 seconds left in the game. If you’re a Giants fan, no need to panic just yet. If they can win their last two games (Jets and Cowboys), they will be the NFC East Champs.

The Green Bay Packers perfect season is now over (Miami fans are certainly celebrating as the 1972 Dolphins remain the only undefeated team in NFL history ) with a 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Packers previously hadn’t lost a game since December 19th, 2010.  The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers was without his favorite target wide receiver Greg Jennings. The Packers can still get the #1 seed in the playoffs if they beat Chicago and Detroit in their last two regular season games.

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In the NFL, it was a Thursday Night Football match-up between the lowly Jacksonville Jaguars and the Atlanta Falcons.  The Falcons desperately needed this game if they wanted to continue their playoff campaign, but the Jaguars are just the type of team that causes hopeful teams to overlook them.  That’s when the Jags sneak up and bite you.  But, Atlanta is on way too much of a mission to let that happen.  They simply took care of business.  The Falcons defense completely stifled the Jaguars, and the Falcons Roddy White had a monster of a game.  He had 135 yards receiving and hauled in two touchdown passes.  Given that this is a playoff week for fantasy football, that could have seriously helped someone.  With the win, the Falcons continue to make that late push for the post-season.  They’re clicking at just the right time.  Atlanta 41, Jacksonville 14.

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Elsewhere in the NBA, Chris Paul finally officially arrived in Los Angeles yesterday, and, in his press conference, said that he BELIEVES in this organization.  That hasn’t been uttered by a Clippers superstar in, um, forever — primarily because they’ve never really had a superstar before.  Additionally, two days ago it was reported by the Orlando Magic that Dwight Howard was off the trade market.  Just yesterday, Howard made it clear that his request for a trade still stands.  He still wants out of there, and the Magic will try, until the trade deadline, to ship him out of town for something in return or sign him to a huge deal.  If they don’t, Howard could just jump ship leaving the Magic with nothing in return.  And once he leaves, it’s going to take the Magic organization at least 4 or 5 seasons to rebuild into a contender again (if they’re lucky).  They need to sign him or bring in some serious talent.

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Finally, in some strange news, several High School athletes were suspended… for “Tebowing”.  As a refresher, “Tebowing” is in reference to Tim Tebow’s prayer ritual after scoring a touchdown.  He gets down on one knee, and gets in a worship position with his elbow touching his knee and his knuckles touching his forehead.  This used to be just called praying, but Tebow-mania comes with a whole new set of vocabulary words.  These High School athletes did it in the hallways for 4 minutes in between classes for 3 days in a row.  The school said they were blocking the walkway for other students and suspended them.  The students were outraged, saying they only did it to pay tribute to Tim Tebow — a guy they said has great faith and is a great role model.  Seems like the school may have overreacted.  Here’s a link to the story in which you can see the students “Tebowing“.

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In the NBA, the major news of the day was centered around none other than Chris Paul.  And finally, Paul was able to get out of New Orleans.  Was he headed to Los Angeles?  Yes.  But… not the Lakers.  For the first time in what seems like forever (and possibly ever), the Los Angeles Clippers brought in a big name star instead of their big brother Lakers.  In fact, with Paul, on paper, you could argue that the Clippers now have a better young nucleus.  They had to ship Eric Gordon to New Orleans, a move they dreaded making, but a team made up of superstars Chris Paul and Blake Griffin, with supporting players like DeAndre Jordan and Caron Butler around — they might be even better than the Lakers.  This is a huge move for the Clippers, making a big statement to their fan base that they are finally trying to win.  Those that have stuck with a horrible Clippers franchise for over 20 years might actually have hope that their team could make some noise in the playoffs.

The Lakers, on the other hand, look like they’re headed downhill.  They were forced to trade Lamar Odom to Dallas after he demanded to be sent out of town after being insulted that they would ship him off without talking to him first.  Pau is also feeling slighted for being included in the first Chris Paul trade attempt, Andrew Bynum is injury-prone, and Kobe Bryant, well, he’s getting older.  Plus, Kobe is definitely seething that the Lakers couldn’t finalize the Chris Paul deal.  And, to top it all off with a bitter cherry, it looks like Dwight Howard isn’t going anywhere.  According to the Magic, there was nothing worthwhile on the table that would merit trading Howard.  He’ll stay in Orlando this season, and have to make the most of what’s down there.  They don’t have a shot at a title, but he can continue to dazzle the crowd.

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Finally, in college football, this time of year is always frustrating for teams.  Even if they’re headed to a bowl game, their coaches don’t always go with them.  And at Pitt, this is exactly the case.  They have a Compass Bowl date with SMU, but it looks like their coach Todd Graham won’t be making the trip.  After just one year as head coach of the Panthers, Graham is bolting for Arizona State — a much cushier job, in better weather, and with a brighter future.  Pitt was set to move to the ACC where they will have a tough time adjusting, and Graham said that the Arizona State job just felt like a better fit.  But… here’s the thing:  Graham told his players about it… via text message.  And that didn’t exactly sit right.  A few players tweeted derisive stuff about Graham saying their coach was a fake and without loyalty, but such is the business of college football. However, Graham may face some karma, as the Sun Devils expect a great season right away.  If he fails, he might be looking for another job very soon.

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In the NBA, it seems Chris Paul is trying to do anything possible to get to Los Angeles.  Except, it doesn’t look like he cares which LA uniform he wears.  Yesterday, a trade was proposed that would make Paul a Clipper.  The Clips would send Chris Kaman, Al Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe, and the T-Wolves #1 pick in 2012 for Paul.  Since the NBA owns the Hornets right now, they vetoed the trade, thinking it wasn’t fair.  Plus, they wanted the Clippers to throw in their rising star Eric Gordon.  But the Clippers didn’t want to include Gordon because he’s one of the key people they want to build around.  After all, having a nucleus of Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, and Eric Gordon would almost surely put the Clippers in the playoffs.  As of right now, the deal is still pending, but the Clippers want him badly, while the Lakers are still eying Dwight Howard.

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When Albert Pujols decided to take the Los Angeles Angels 10-year offer for $254 million, he received a lot of flack in the St. Louis media.  They said he was all about the money.  Pujols said that wasn’t the case, but nobody believed him.  Pujols wife, Diedre, addressed the St. Louis media yesterday to give their side of the story.  She said Pujols said he was prepared to take less money to stay in St. Louis.  Plus, the Pujols’ are very active in local community service projects — they have all the reason in the world to stay.  Then, the Cardinals organization said they wanted to make Pujols a Cardinal for life, but their initial offer was only for 5 years.  Pujols wondered:  How is that a life-long deal?  Additionally, Albert said he felt the Angles just wanted him more.  After all, a 10-year deal with no deferred payments sends the signal that this team intends to make you the face of their franchise for the foreseeable future.  Pujols will also embrace the Angels organization with open arms, and most likely truly come through for them.

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Finally, we just saw more coaching dismissals in the NFL.  First up, the Dolphins have finally given up on Tony Sparano.  Sparano has been leading a lackluster Dolphins team the past few years, never really posing a threat in the AFC East.  Many thought that Sparano was going to be let go in the off-season, but they gave him one more chance, and with the Dolphins at 4-9, they’re just gonna get rid of him.  The Dolphins have a few big-name coaches they could go after, including Bill Cowher and Jeff Fisher.  Either way, they want to get this franchise back on track as attendance has been truly horrible.  The Dolphins general manager said he’d like to find a young Don Shula… if that’s possible.  And, elsewhere, the Kansas City Chiefs have called it quits on head coach Todd Haley.  Haley won the AFC West and made the playoffs last year, but the Chiefs have been putrid this season, and don’t show any signs of getting better.  They need new leadership to help rebuild the storied franchise and get the team playing with passion like they used to in the 90s.  Believe it or not, Kansas City used to be one of the toughest places to play in the NFL.  Who can make this a reality again?

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In college football, this Saturday was the annual Heisman Trophy Presentation.  Prior to the season, everybody thought that Andrew Luck was an absolute shoe in for the award.  He was a finalist, to be sure, but was also joined by 4 other incredible candidates:  Tyrann Mathieu (LSU), Montee Ball (Wisconsin), Robert Griffin III (Baylor) and Trent Richardson (Alabama).  Any one of these guys could make a case for deserving the trophy, but at the end of the night, only one man was standing.  None other than RG3, Baylor’s Robert Griffin III.  This guy was responsible for posting gaudy numbers and running up the score, and put Baylor back on the map.  Congrats to RG3!

In the NFL, everyone wanted to see if Tim Tebow, 6-1 as a starter with Denver, could work his magic again.  At this point, the number of miracles these guys have pulled in the 4th quarter is astounding.  There’s no way they could get another one, right?  Not so fast….Tebow played quite poorly in the first half, and it looked like the Bears were on their way to a victory.  Even in the 4th quarter, with just over 2 minutes, the Bears were in position to end the game.  But then, Bears’ running-back Marion Barber accidentally went out of bounds, saving the Broncos a full 40 seconds.  The Bears had to punt, giving the Broncos a chance for “Tebow-Time”.  And, out of nowhere, he got them into Bears territory, giving their kicker Matt Prater a chance to tie the game with a 58-yard field goal.  And he kicked it so hard and so straight, that it would have been good for 68 yards.  Overtime.  Then, in overtime, the Bears looked like they had it again, when Marion Barber broke away and was about to run to daylight, when… he was miraculously stripped and fumbled the ball.  It came out of NOWHERE!  The Broncos got it back, headed into field goal range, and won the game.  Amazing!!!  Tebow’s miracles continue, and he will face Tom Brady and the Pats next week.  Denver 13, Chicago 10.

And on Sunday Night Football, a key game with playoff implications between the New York Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.  Last week, the Cowboys lost in stunning fashion when they missed a field goal after their OWN coach called a timeout to seemingly ice their OWN kicker.  This week… they needed redemption.  The Cowboys started out strong with Tony Romo connecting on some  touchdown passes to Dez Bryant, Laurent Robinson, and John Phillips.  And just when they thought they had the game in their hands in the 4th quarter, the Giants launched their comeback.  With under 4 minutes to play, Eli Manning hit Jake Ballard for a touchdown, the Cowboys didn’t do anything on offense, the Giants got it back, Manning marched them down the field, and finally Brandon Jacobs got into the end zone.  The Giants also got the two point conversion to make it a 3-point game.  But… the Cowboys did get in field goal range — and here we go again.  Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey kicked one, but Giants coach Tom Coughlin called timeout.  For a second week in a row, he would have to do it again.  And on the second kick… BLOCKED!!!  And the Cowboys lost two straight and seriously hurt their playoff chances.   NY Giants 37, Dallas 34.

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In the NFL, it was Thursday Night Football between the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers.  This was a pretty dull game, with exception of Ben Roethlisberger getting hit hard and laying in the middle of the field convinced his leg was broken.  Fortunately, he was able to get up, and realize it was just a twisted ankle.  Most coaches would keep their star quarterback out of the game, but not Steelers coach Mike Tomlin.  He left Big Ben in the game, and in the 4th quarter, Roethlisberger connected with the ultra-speedy Antonio Brown for a 79 yard touchdown pass.  The Steelers are now 10-3 and trying to get that first round playoff bye.  Pittsburgh 14, Cleveland 3.

BASEBALL

The Albert Pujols sweepstakes are finally over.  The Cardinals said that they did everything in their power to keep Pujols as the key part of their organization.  But in the end, they just couldn’t make it happen.  So who was the lucky winner?  None other than the Angels of Los Angeles.  They signed the 2nd Highest Contract ever to make Pujols an Angel for the next 10 years (aka the rest of his career).  The deal is worth $252 Million dollars and should keep Pujols sleeping comfortably at night.  The Angels also added left-handed pitcher C.J. Wilson from the Rangers, and are clearly dead set on getting back into first place in the AL West.  All this spending most likely comes because of the woes of their cross town rival, the Dodgers.  The Dodgers are having ownership problems and it seems they probably won’t right the ship for at least the next few years.  This is a good time for the Angels to acquire a new younger fan base when they will have little competition.

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Finally, the big news of the day came out of the NBA.  In a blockbuster trade, the Hornets agreed to send superstar Chris Paul to the Lakers in a 3-team deal.  The trade would send Paul to LA, who in turn would ship Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets and Lamar Odom to the Hornets.  Odom was completely shocked by the news, saying he didn’t even receive a phone call about it.  He felt disrespected by the Lakers, saying he thought he would be there for life.  But here’s the crazy thing — just 2 hours after the trade was executed, it was VETOED by David Stern.  This came from a protest by all the owners asking him to cancel the trade.  It remains to be seen why, but as of now, Paul isn’t reporting to either Lakers or Hornets camp.  This will most likely be settled soon, and when it is, it looks like the Lakers are back!  Now… can they get Dwight Howard?

BASEBALL

The most coveted free agent in baseball is, without a doubt, Albert Pujols.  He’s coming off a World Series win and is pretty much everyone’s unanimous decision for “Best Player In Baseball”.  The Cardinals definitely want him back, but it’s unclear if they can actually afford him.  And, after all, Pujols wanted a big contract going into the season, and they didn’t grant him one.  That may have left a bad taste in his mouth.  Now, he has two big suitors chasing after him.  First the Los Angeles Angels.  This team dominated the AL West until the Texas Rangers got good 2 years ago.  Having Pujols on their roster would get their big fan base excited and seriously increase their run totals.  The other suitor:  The Miami Marlins.  Yep, that’s right, Miami, as they’re re-branding their team to make their immediate city feel more involved.  They haven’t done well financially lately, and this is their shot to reinvigorate the franchise.  They just brought in Jose Reyes from the Mets, and getting Pujols would further enhance their attempt to pander to huge Latin fan base.  Although, it may be some time before we have a decision from Pujols.

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And in college football, Stanford’s athletic director is being quite vocal about his disgust for the BCS system.  His team, who finished 4th in the BCS standings, will take on Oklahoma State, but won’t get a shot at the National Title Game.  He says that a “Plus-One Model” (meaning a 4-team playoff) is inevitable.
Also in college football, this is the time of year where some major coaching changes take place.  It seems like an odd time considering that some schools flush their head coach even though they’re headed to a bowl.  And it also works the other way, as good coaches heading to a bowl leave their school for another job that they won’t even assume until next year.  Seems unfair to the players.  The latest major change is at North Carolina — a school that had a burgeoning football program, and was expected to play very well this year, but completely fell off the rails after their coach Butch Davis was fired prior to the season.  Now, they’re bringing in Larry Fedora, a guy who led Southern Mississippi to a fantastic season and an upset win of undefeated Houston in the Conference USA Championship game.  This guy is a great coach who might be able to get the UNC program back on track.

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In the NBA, we have even more suitors for New Orleans Hornets superstar Chris Paul.  Apparently the Golden State Warriors, now under new coach Mark Jackson, are interested in bringing Paul to town to boost their profile in the bay area.  Remember, the Warriors are in a rather major market and having a superstar like Paul would immediately put them on television more.  However, the Hornets are saying they want current Warriors star Stephan Curry in return.  Curry’s good, but if you have a chance to get Paul… you take it.  Also courting Paul, the Los Angeles Clippers, who are trying their hardest to eclipse the Lakers as the team to watch in LA.  Can you imagine a Chris Paul / Blake Griffin combo?  But the Hornets are asking for Clippers star guard Eric Gordon in return.  But again, with the exception of trading LeBron or Dwayne Wade, Chris Paul is just one of those you have to get on your team.

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And in college football, the Big East division has pretty much fallen apart.  Next season, West Virginia is reportedly bolting for the Big 12, and Syracuse and UCONN are heading to the ACC (for football).  Possibly Pitt too.  So… that means they need to rebuild.  And they’re not exactly picky about where in the country those teams are coming from, pretty much rendering the moniker of Big EAST mute.  First up, Boise State (yes, in Boise Idaho).  These guys needed to leave, as being in a major conference would give them an automatic bid to a lucrative BCS bowl in if they win the conference.  People won’t have to debate them anymore.  The other teams  were looking for the same opportunity — those teams include SMU (Southern Methodist), UCF (Central Florida), San Diego State (very far from the east) and Houston (a team that looked fantastic this season).  This could become a very entertaining conference to watch.

Finally, in the NFL, former great Archie Manning (father to Peyton and Eli) said on the radio that he doesn’t think that Peyton would do well with Andrew Luck on the team.  The Colts are on pace to get the #1 pick in the draft, and that is unanimously Andrew Luck.  But Peyton still thinks he has some great years in him (if he can successfully recover from neck surgery).  Archie Manning said that Andrew Luck is the type of mature player who can walk right in and play.  He wouldn’t necessarily benefit from studying under Manning for a few years.  It could be a bad situation if they were on the same team, as eventually, one would have to go.  And all signs suggest that would be Peyton packing his bags.  The Colts may try to trade the #1 pick for maximum value and give Manning some incredible offensive and defensive support to help him win over the next few years.