Super Bowl and Some Upsets

This has been the craziest last few days in sports. Good thing I am here to straighten it out.

Today, Sunday January 22nd, former Penn State head coach Joe Paterno passed away at the age of 85 due to complications with lung cancer.  Paterno won 409 career games as a head coach, all of them with Penn State. He is the all time winningest coach in college football history.  He took the Nittany Lions to 37 bowl games and two national championships, and over 250 of his players would go on to the NFL. "He will go down as the greatest football coach in the history of the game," Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said today.  The circumstances surrounding his death are extremely sad. 

How do I describe this week in college basketball? Exciting? Crazy? Unstable? How ever you say it, it was awesome for any hoops fan, or anyone that loves to watch a good upset.  The first team I would like to highlight is Baylor.  The Bears came into this week 17-0 and ranked #3 with two top ten matchups within  the Big 12. They lost them both. First, an 18 point whooping at #7 Kansas, followed by a 1 point 89-88 loss at home to #5 Missouri.  This gives Kansas 16-3(6-0) the lead in the Big 12, but with a very tough schedule to come, that includes Missouri twice, and Baylor one more. Looks like a great race in the Big 12.  

Duke came into the week with a 45 home court winning streak. That streak is no more.  Thanks to the giant killer Florida State, Duke suffered their first ACC loss at the hands of the Seminoles.  Junior guard Michael Snaer hit a game winning three as time expired to upset the #4 Blue Devils 76-73. A week earlier the 'Noles upset #5 North Carolina 90-57. This is coming from a team that lost to Harvard and Princeton, and lost their first ACC game by 20 to a inconsistent rebuilding Clemson team. But Florida State is 4-1 in the ACC, and might be the hottest team in college hoops right now.  

After Baylor went down, there were two undefeated teams left: number 1 ranked Syracuse and Murray State. Then Syracuse lost.  Playing in a very hostile environment at Notre Dame, the Irish were in control of the game from the start, out hustling Syracuse the whole game. The Orange, playing without their starting center Fab Melo, who was unable to make the trip due to academic issues, were outmatched in the post. Notre Dame is now 12-8 (4-3 in the Big East), and has suffered this year after losing star forward Tim Abromaitis early in the season to an injury.  But this win could spark the Irish, who definitely have to ability to step up this year in the Big East. Syracuse still leads the Big East, however, leaving Murray State as the only undefeated team left in college basketball.

The Super Bowl matchup is set, and I can't wait.  Patriots vs. Giants. The New England Patriots, defeated the Baltimore Ravens 23-20 thanks to a Billy Cundiff missed 32 yard field goal with 11 seconds left to send the game into overtime. This will be Tom Brady's fifth career trip to the Super Bowl.  

It is very difficult to win games when you go 0-12 on 3rd down conversions. The San Francisco 49ers learned this, losing to the red hot New York Giants 20-17 in overtime. Two fumbles on punt returns for the normally turnover free 49ers led to a crucial touchdown and the game winning Lawrence Tynes field goal in overtime. Tynes also kicked a game winning overtime field goal in 2007 to put the Giants in the Super Bowl against the Patriots, which the Giants won. The stage is set for a great, deja-vu, Super Bowl!

The Super Bowl is set, college basketball is on fire, the NBA and the NHL are getting exciting, and I think I can almost smell spring training! 'Til Next Time.

6 Men, Tebow, and an Undefeated Season

The sports world is a jungle of insanity, but I'm here to lead you through it.

On January 5th, chaos erupted in Bowling Green, Kentucky.  In a game with Louisiana-Lafayette, Western Kentucky was down 3 with under a minute to play.  Western Kentucky's Derrick Gordon made a three to tie the game at 70 with 25 seconds to go in overtime.  Louisiana-Lafayette called a timeout to draw up a play, and both teams broke the huddle to resume play. There was just one small problem: Western Kentucky had 5 players on the court, and Louisiana-Lafayette had 6. With the aid of an extra player, ULL was able to score a layup that would eventually win the game.  Both teams, the officials, and an arena full of fans were unable to notice the extra player until after the game was over.  The game stood, however, and Louisiana-Lafayette got credit for the win.  Interestingly enough, Western Kentucky fired their head coach, Ken McDonald, the day after that chaotic ending.  WKU claims that it has nothing to do with the specific loss, but with the horrid 5-11 start. Assistant Ray Harper was appointed coach, and since then, the Hilltoppers have gone 0-3.

Denver Broncos head hancho John Elway has named Tim Tebow the starting quarterback in next season's training camp. Though heavily criticized for literally everything a quarterback could be criticized for, Tim Tebow has shown that he has the passion to win games, and lead his team.  Elway said that Tebow has "Earned the right" to be the starting quarterback in camp. Tebow went 8-5 this year as a starter, leading a Broncos team that started the season 1-4 into the second round of the playoffs.  Tebow earned the right to start, but that doesn't mean he won't be in competition next season for the starting job.

The Minnesota Timberwolves have had a slow start to the 2011-12 NBA season, but one bright spot has been power forward Kevin Love. His stats are incredible to start the year, but what amazes me has been his consistency.  He has recorded a double-double in every single game so far this season.  He is 12 for 12 in double doubles (double digit stats in two categories, for Love, it's been rebounds and points).  I'm not saying he will go the whole season like this, but it's something to watch for.

March Madness is so close I can almost smell it. Okay, maybe not, but college basketball is heating up, and tournament hopes are already on the lines for some teams. One team to watch for is Murray State, out of the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC). They are one of just 3 undefeated teams left in the country (Baylor and Syracuse), and they hold an impressive #10 ranking.  One interesting thing about Murray State, is that they have a chance to pull off an undefeated regular season.  They have already played the tough games in their schedule, and are heavy favorites in the rest of their games. They have crushed every OVC team they have played.  The OVC is especially weak this year, other than Murray State, and that makes the odds of an undefeated season even greater. Even if they pull it off, they would still have to win the NCAA tournament.  That's a tall order for any team, but Murray State has the talent to do so, and land themselves in the record books, and basketball lore forever.

The NFL is down to 4 teams, basketball is heating up, and college lacrosse is right around the corner. Life is looking good. 'Til next time.