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.

Little Giants, Locker Room Fights, and the '72 Dolphins

With the NFL playoffs looming just around the corner, tensions have begun to rise, as have the stakes. Here is a glance around this weekend in sports:

Facing a critical point in the game, the Carolina Panther's offensive coordinator Rob Chudzinski turned to... a movie.  The play, which involved Cam Newton handing the ball between his legs to fullback Richie Brockel, went for a touchdown in the Panther's 28-13 win over the Houston Texans.  The play was loosely adopted from  the 1994 movie "Little Giants".  Whatever it takes to win. 

More disappointing news from Penn State: Quarterback Matt McGloin got in a fight in the locker room with wide receiver Curtis Drake. Apparently several punches were thrown, and McGloin was knocked unconscious when he hit his head against the concrete floor.  He was taken to the hospital, but discharged that evening with no injuries of any sort. He took full responsibility for the fight.  McGloin has not been cleared for practice, so normally Rob Bolden would step in. Bolden split snaps with McGloin for the first half of the season before McGloin was named the definite starter.  This would work, however Bolden is facing internal discipline for the theft of a Gator-Aid bottle from a campus store Friday night. Penn State could be facing serious quarterback questions going into their January 2 meeting with #19 Houston in the TicketCity Bowl.  The situation at Penn State just keeps getting worse and worse. 

The biggest news of the weekend (aside from Tebow's ball security issues) was the Packers' unprecedented 19-14 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs.  The 1972 Dolphins can now exhale, their perfect 17-0 season record is intact for another year. This just proves how amazing that season was. There was quite a bit of talk about whether or not the Packers should bench Aaron Rodgers. The Chiefs answered that question for them, beating the Pack with Rodgers under center.  With everyone amazed that Green  Bay could lose, I want to remind you that they are still 13-1, and I expect them to make another deep run in the playoffs.

It was quite the weekend in sports, and I hope everyone can watch a little football. Oh, and that thing called the NBA starts Sunday.  'Til next time.