Super Bowl Prediction, and a Story From "Down Under".

Imagine the world of sports as a canyon. I'm the bridge that leads you across it.

Several athletes have been making a splash "down under". In the Australian Open, Novak Djokovic defeated Rafael Nadal in the finals to win the first major of the year in five sets. The match was the longest championship match in grand slam history at 5:53 minutes long. This was Djokovic's third consecutive final victory when facing Nadal. Nadal beat Roger Federer, and Djokovic beat Andy Murray to reach the final. On the women's side, Victoria Azarenka defeated Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 to take the title. Both Azarenka and Djokovic rose to #1 in their respective World Rankings.

When you think of Australian sports, rugby, soccer, cricket, and tennis come to mind. Not basketball. Matthew Dellavedova strives to change that perception. The 6-4 190lb shooting guard from Maryborough, Australia has led the St. Mary's Gaels to a well deserved #16 ranking, averaging 15.5 points and 6.4 assists per game. The Gaels have won their last 12 games, and are 22-2 overall, leading the West Coast Conference.

For the first week this year, we have some news on the links. This probably coincides with the return of Tiger Woods to action, playing in the Abu Dhabi HSBC World Golf Championship. Tiger finished tied for 3rd, two shots behind champion Robert Rock of England. Tiger went into the final round tied for the lead with Rock, who held his nerve down the stretch, making clutch shots to lock up the victory. On the PGA Tour, the Farmers Insurance Open looked to be all over going into the final hole at Torrey Pines. Kyle Stanley had lead the whole round, and looked to have it in the bag, as he walked down the 18th fairway with a three shot lead. Stanley proceeded to hit a wedge into the water, and three putt to make an 8 on the par 5 18th. This 8 put him in a sudden death playoff with Brandt Snedeker, who didn't think that there was any chance that he would be in a playoff. Snedeker made the most of his opportunity, winning on the second playoff hole with a miraculous up-and-down, while Stanley three putted to hand the victory to Snedeker.

This weekend might be the best sports weekend all year. That's because of the Super Bowl, the greatest football game of the year, is here.  Not only the Super Bowl, but the commercials that come with it. Look for Budweiser to win this year with the ever-popular Clydesdale's. But on to the matchup. Patriots versus Giants in Indianapolis. You can't get much better than this. My prediction: Patriots 31 Giants 24. Tom Brady takes over the game in the 4th quarter, with several key connections to Rob Gronkowski and Wes Welker.   Look for the Patriots defense to step up, and for the most part, contain Eli Manning, forcing the Giants to rely on the running game. However the outcome, it will be a phenomenal matchup.

The Super Bowl is here, but sadly that means football is almost gone.  With signing day completed, we will have to rely on basketball for some excitement, and I am sure that it will supply. 'Til next time.

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.