Leap Weekend (or intercalary Weekend)

Well the busy week is over and now begins the busy weekend, and my anxious anticipation of the second leg of the UEFA Champions League! At least I’ve found another “10 Things” to keep me busy till Tuesday.

10 Things I’m “Looking Forward to” This Weekend

1. WWE Friday Night Smackdown


I know what your thinking, wrestling?! But there is one upside to the WWE, hot chicks rolling around together in more or less their underwear. See when you look at it that way, the WWE isn’t so bad after all.

2. Capitals' Busy Weekend


I thought my weekend was going to be busy, but the Caps may have me beat. The Capitals take on the New Jersey Devils tonight, in the Garden State. Then tomorrow, they come home to face the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Caps are coming off of a three game loosing streak, after thumping the Minnesota Wild 4-1 on Tuesday.

3. F@cking Ben Affleck


Sure its not sports related, but its funny.

4. Clemson v. Maryland


The Terps take on the Tigers, at the Comcast Center, as number three takes on number four in the ACC. This is the Terps next to last game of the regular season. They need these last two wins, in an attempt to snag that third spot before the ACC Tournament. Important “’Fro-watch” information: Last night’s game against Wake Forest saw Bambale Osby in cornrows, that’s right cornrows. “’Fro-watch” will continue to cover this story, and see if Osby stay’s in cornrows against Clemson, or if we will see the return of the ‘fro.

5. College Basketball Fans


I recently read an article about concern over some of the signs and taunts during college basketball. Let me just say this… I LOVE THEM! I think they are great, clever, and just plain fun. One thing you have to love about college sports is the passion of the fans. Now if American sports can only get down mid-game chants/taunts that would be great.

6. A Weekend Full of Perjury Speculation


Between Bonds and Clemens were going to hear these words a lot this weekend: perjury, FBI, Attorney General, Justice Department, Congress, performance-enhancing, and testified under oath. Thanks to Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens, the American public can expand its vocabulary, and its understanding of the American Justice system all at once. Who ever said steroids were bad? I even know how to spell indictment now, Thanks guys.

7. Someone Else Winning a PGA Event


The Honda Classic is this weekend, and the good news for the rest of the PGA is Tiger Woods isn’t playing. Wouldn't let it go to your head, whoever wins, Tiger will be back, its not like someone lynched him. Too soon?

8. La Liga


Well I didn’t jinx it last week, so I’ll try for two in a row. The race is back on in La Liga! Barcelona is only two points behind league leaders Real Madrid, who have squandered their lead over the rest of the league. Real faces Recreativo Huelva this weekend. Recreativo is in a relegation battle at the bottom of the table, they drew Valencia last round and will look to put pressure on Los Blancos, and relief some of the pressure off of themselves. Barca face Athletico Madrid, as they continue their push to snatch the title from Real.

9. Four More Years of Mascherano


The long awaited deal between Liverpool and Javier Mascherano has finally been completed, as the midfielder makes his move to Anfield permanent. Wh00t!

10. Everton v Portsmouth


Finally, Everton take on Pompey at Goodison Park Sunday. I’ll be rooting for Portsmouth, since Everton currently holds the last Champions League spot, that rightfully belongs to my Reds.

Busy Day = NHL Ice Girls

It's a busy day, I have to run to Circut City to pick up an hard drive enclosure for my lunch break. But I thought I'd share something that I just found out today... THE NHL HAS ICE GIRLS!!! Why didn't I know this?! Because not every team has Ice Girls and the Captials are one of the teams with out Ice Girls. Tonight's goal is to find out who I need to talk to about getting the "D.C. Secretaries" started.

What's in a Name?

After spending the night installing a wireless network, and updating my old computer until 4am, I am pretty tired. However, I promised my roommate a re-cap of all of yesterdays trade action from the NHL. So lets see if I can get all of this right.

The Lord Giveth ....… and The Lord Taketh Away

Capitals
Alexandre Giroux, LW ....... Joe Motzko, RW to Atlanta Thrashers
Matt Cooke, LW ................ Matt Pettinger, LW to Vancouver Canucks
Sergei Fedorov, C .............. Theo Ruth, D to Columbus Blue Jackets
Cristobal Huet, G .............. Second-round pick to Montreal Canadiens

Penguins
Marian Hossa, F ........ Erik Christensen, F to Atlanta Thrashers
Pascal Dupuis, F ........ Colby Armstrong, F
.................................. Angelo Esposito, C
.................................. 2008 first-round pick
Hal Gill, D ................... 2008 second-round pick to Toronto Maple Leafs
................................ 2009 fifth-round pick

Rangers
David LeNeveu, G ....... Al Montoya, G to Phoenix Coyotes
Fredrik Sjostrom, F .... Marcel Hossa, F
Josh Gratton, F
Conditional draft pick
Christian Backman, D ... 2008 fourth-round pick to St. Louis Blues

Panthers
Chad Kilger, LW ..... 2008 third-round pick to Toronto Maple Leafs
Wade Belak, F ....... 2008 fifth-round pick

Predators
Brandon Bochenski, F ..... Future considerations to Anaheim Ducks
Jan Hlavac, F ............ 2008 seventh-round pick to Tampa Bay Lightning

Ducks
Jean-Sebastien Aubin, G ....... 2008 seventh-round pick to Los Angles Kings
Jay Leach, D ........... Brandon Segal, RW to Tampa Bay Lightning
.................................... 2008 seventh-round pick
Marc-Andre Bergeron, D ............ 2008 third-round pick to New York Islanders

Red Wings
Brad Stuart, D ......... 2008 second-round pick to Los Angles Kings
................................. 2009 fourth-round pick

Wild
Chris Simon, F ............ 2008 sixth-round pick to New York Islanders

Avalanche
Adam Foote, D ........ 2008 or 2009 conditional first-round pick to Columbus Blue Jackets
.................................... 2009 conditional fourth-round pick
Ruslan Salei, D ....... Karlis Skrastins, D to Florida Panthers
...................................... 2008 third-round pick

Stars
Brad Richards, F ......... Jeff Halpern, C to Tampa Bay Lightning
Johan Holmqvist, G ....... Jussi Jokinen, F
.......................................... Mike Smith, G
...................................... 2009 fourth-round pick

Sharks
Brian Campbell, D .............. Steve Bernier, F to Buffalo Sabers
2008 seventh-round pick ........ 2008 first-round pick

Blues
Cam Janssen, F ............... Bryce Salvador, D to New Jersey Devils

Blackhawks
Andrew Ladd, F .............. Tuomo Ruutu, F to Carolina Hurricanes

Senators
Martin Lapointe, F ........... 2008 sixth-round pick to Chicago Blackhawks

Islanders
Rob Davison, D .............. 2008 seventh-round pick to San Jose Sharks


The New Viagra Triangle?

One last side note, chief executive officer of the Tribune Company Sam Zell said, in an interview on CNBC, that he would not hesitate to sell the naming rights to Wrigley Field, no matter what anyone thinks about it. Zell says he plans to sell the Cubs and the naming rights to Wrigley separately.

Just When I Thought There was Nothing to Blog...

Some days I don’t know where it comes from, or how I find it, but there it is, BAM!, something worth bloggin’. This morning, as I read through sports news, I realized, there wasn’t anything going on, besides the everyday run of the mill NBA scores, and occasional NHL trade deadline. At anytime somewhere in the nation, a college basketball game seems to be going on, but that’s not the kind of thing you write about in “Not your average sports blog”. As I moved from front page headlines, to the rest of the news that is sport, I stopped. I almost could believe my eyes, but then I thought about it, and I realized, "yea I could".

Sports always bring together such a eclectic cornucopia of personalities. The talent of the athlete never quite seems to have a bearing in which direction a personality might lean. There are amazing athletes who are mild mannered and even rather humble, people like Tiger Woods, David Beckham and even Michael Jordan. Then there are others... some so brash, so full of themselves, so arrogant, so flamboyant you can’t help but shake your head, or laugh, every time they do something. They regularly garner as much attention, if not more than, their mild mannered counter parts do in achieving twice the professional success. But, then there was “Pretty Boy” Floyd Mayweather Jr.

In the last two years or so, I’ve found myself more an more interested in boxing. I believe that Mayweather’s fight with Oscar De La Hoya might have had something to do with it. Not that the fight was so good, but the publicity was, and the pre-fight build up, which was once a simple press conference with two men talking trash to each other, had evolved into a month of documentary anticipation on HBO. A pretty good idea if you ask me, as normally most fights actual excitement pales in comparison to the pre-fight excitement, that swarms around before the first blow is even thrown. But, what could “Pretty Boy” do to get my attention, to inspire me to dedicate an entire day’s worth of bloggin’? A rematch with Ricky Hatton? Another spin on Dancing with the Stars? No. “Respectable” WBC Welterweight Champion Floyd Mayweather Jr. decided to get back in the ring. Not the boxing ring, but the “squared circle” of the WWE, formerly know as the WWF, until animals were offended because they do more real wrestling in the wilderness than the ‘roid-rage that occurs in the WWE.

I can’t say that I am surprised by the announcement, as Mayweather will face Paul "Big Show" Wight in WrestleMania XXIV.* It’s no secret that Mayweather has struggled with hand problems, after a fight with Carlos Baldomir. It is also no secret, that the WWE will do anything to make money, including as I found out by mistake some moths ago, allowing geriatric Rick Flair to continue to wrestle. Incase you didn’t know, Flair will turn 60 this year. The WWE also faked the death of its owner, Vince McMahon, in a car explosion, yet another shameless attempt to bring in the bucks. Mayweather’s opponent the “Big Show”, weighs in at 7 feet tall and 430-pounds, Mayweather weighs in at a slightly lower 5-foot-8, and 150-pounds. Mayweather will be training with mask wearing WWE Latino star Ray Mysterio. I’m actually chuckling a little right now. Ahem.


Throughout his career, Mayweather has been arrogant and brash, so it comes as no surprise that he would take another opportunity to prance around and brag about is abilities, inside a ring of any kind. It is also not uncommon for legitimate athletes, especially boxers, to take the WWE pay-day; such as Muhammad Ali, Mike Tyson and Joe Louis. It's just usually after their professional careers are over. Mayweather, however, is still the reigning WBC Welterweight Champion. Anyways, Mayweather shouldn’t have to worry about his health much, since the only way WWE “athletes” get injured is by falling off scaffolding, or by killing themselves in ‘roid-rage. The good news, fight fans, is Mayweather still has a rematch with Oscar De La Hoya in September, which will make the WWE’s money look like chump change, the last time he fought De La Hoya he earned an estimated $120 million dollars.




* Note: Mayweather will earn a record $20 million for his first professional wrestling match at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Fla., on March 30.

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

It was a busy weekend, and it's going to be a busy week. So sorry in advance, for the short bloggin' this week. "Super Happy Ultra Mega Weekend Review" has been replaced, with a shortened version this week, that I'm callling:

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE UGLY

THE GOOD.

Spurs won the Carling Cup. Tottenham beat Chelsea Sunday 2-1, in a come from behind win as the two London clubs faced off in the Carling Cup Final at the new Wembley Stadium. Congrats Spurs. I'm happy any time someone other than Manchester United or Chelsea win silverware in England.

THE BAD

Tiger Woods is bad ass. Tiger won the Accenture Match Play Championship Sunday. That's three straight World Golf Championship events and four straight PGA Tour event. Can anyone beat Tiger? The answer to that question is... No.

THE UGLY

Yes, that is bone poking out of his sock. Yes, that is broken. Arsenal foreward Eduardo sufferd a nasty leg break Saturday against Birmingham, at the "hands" or feet of Martin Taylor. That's just painful to look at, ouch!

10 Things is Back!

It’s Friday, and after all the excitement of this weeks Champions League, I was wondering if there were going to be ten things worth being excited about this weekend. The good news is, there are. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for that slick over-produced 3-D animation, cause its time for:

10 Things I’m “Looking Forward to" This Weekend


1. Bond’s is Hooked on Grammar


Barry Bonds has found another excuse for his massive mass gain around 2000-2001, grammar. I had no idea that performance enhancers could do that! Typographical errors showed up in a recent filing by prosecutors, wrongly accusing Bonds of flunking a drug test in 2001. They later admitted they instead meant 2000. Bonds has filed a complaint over the errors. Bonds' attorneys also intend to attack the credibility of the November 2000 test results, which were seized in 2003 when the government raided the now-defunct Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, headquarters of a drug ring that peddled steroids to numerous elite athletes. Apparently, Bond’s doesn’t understand that he’s being charged with perjury, not over what year he did performance enhancers, but that he did them. For all the money Bond’s is paying those lawyers, you’d think they’d have advised him of this.

2.Tiger Winning Everything


Tiger Woods is still alive in the Accenture Match Play Championship, Phil Mickelson isn’t. Poor Phil, if he hadn’t played during the “Tiger Era”, “Lefty” would have been the top golfer of his time. Sorry about that Phil. "Match play is an animal that's all about the moment," Woods said after his 3-and-2 victory over Arron Oberholser. Tiger is an animal on the golf course, funny how that little pun worked it’s way in there. Ian Poulter won’t get to challenge Tiger in match play.His comments from a few weeks ago, about being the only person who could challenge Tiger, have become a complete joke. FYI: Ian got knocked out by K.J. Choi.

3. Capitals at Hurricanes


The Caps take on the Hurricanes in a Southeast Divisional showdown on Saturday night. The Hurricanes are five points clear of the Caps, in first place, in the Southeast. The Caps will need the win, to get back in the hunt, for that number one spot.

4. Spygate


Spaygate won’t end! And that’s fine by me, cause I think the Pats are cheaters, and Bill Belichick is an arrogant prick. The Patriots' pattern of illicitly videotaping the signals of opposing NFL coaches is now rumored to have begun with the Buccaneers, in Belichick’s Patriots debut. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it, I guess, hell it almost got the Pats a Super Bowl last year. Good news for Tom Brady, Randy Moss seems to enjoy his company. Moss has said that he wants to stay a Patriot, as the Patriot’s passed on putting a franchise tag on Moss, that would have kept him in New England.

5. Maryland v. Miami (FL)


The Terps take on the Hurricanes in Miami on Saturday. Miami is coming off a big upset over Duke from the mid-week, and will look to keep to their winning ways. The Terps are in fourth in the ACC, and will want the win as they try to push past Clemson in third. Is there any question that the ACC is the toughest conference in NCAA Division I? I think not. Let’s just hope that “Grumpy” Gary Williams takes his blood pressure medication.

6. College Cheerleaders/Dancers


They make time-outs and half time that much better! Thanks ladies.

7. Guess Who’s Back?


That’s right, beer. We missed him last “10 Things”, but he's back. Beer will be an important part of the sports action this weekend, through out the weekend, as it makes things that much better.

8. The Carling Cup Final


Sunday is the Carling Cup Final, which sees Chelsea take on Tottenham Hotspur. Chelsea and Spurs have a mixed history behind them, and it should make for a good match up. John Terry and Frank Lampard are listed as questionable for the final, which could favor Spurs. There’s always something magical about a final at Wembley Stadium, even now that its new, and has a large arch over it. I have no idea what that thing actually does, but it looks cool. I’ll be rooting Spurs on, since I hate seeing Chelsea win only second to how much I hate seeing Manchester United win.

9. Becks Trying to Carry the L.A. Galaxy on His Back


The Galaxy lost in the their first match of the Pan-Pacific Championship exhibition tournament, this being it’s inaugural year. Next year, they might want to invite some good teams. The declining years of any sports superstar are always strange, as they usually find themselves on a second rate team, trying to do all the work. It doesn't make it easier that they are usually out of their prime. My advice to the Galaxy, "Get outside the 20-yard box and dive!", give Becks a free kick. It’s pretty much the only chance the Galaxy have, as they are fielding a sub-par side, even for their standards. Note: Landon Donovan sat out with tendonitis in his right knee.

10. La Liga, Again.


Last time I was looking forward to La Liga, I jinxed it. Let’s hope I don’t this weekend. League leaders Real Madrid take on Getafe, as they come off their mid-week defeat to Roma in the Champions League. Second place Barcelona take on lowest of the low Levante, as they come off their mid-week win over Celtic in the Champions League. Could the title race be back on? Let’s hope so. Also, FC Sevilla take on Real Zaragoza, and Osasuna take on Atletico Madrid, which could both turn out to be exciting matches.

Friend or Foe?

With the thrill of Champions League over, and the UEFA Cup a sub-par source of amusement. There is only one thing that puts a smile on my face, Duke Lost again! Wh00t. That makes it two losses in a row for the Blue Devils, who lost 96-95 to the Miami Hurricanes, ouch. The Hurricanes went on a 15 point run, that went unanswered by Duke, as Miami recorded their first win against the Dukies in 45 years. In other ACC news, the Maryland Terrapins lost to Virginia Tech 65-69, “’Fro-watch” was unable to detect any significant hair growth on Bambale Osby, but fear not I will keep a watchful eye.

In the world of golf Tiger Woods had a close call yesterday at the Accenture Match Play Championship. Tiger was three holes behind, against J.B. Holmes, with five holes left to play. "You're playing the best player in the world, 3 up with five to play," Holmes said. "I just said, 'Don't do anything stupid. Make him beat you.' And he did. What do you do?". Tiger won four straight holes, with three birdies and an eagle, to advance in the competition. Steve Stricker, and Phil Mickelson also advanced, while Ernie Els made his way home losing to Jonathan Byrd.

On the ice last night, the Capitals blew a two goal lead against the New York Islanders to loose 3-2, in an overtime shootout. The Caps are now back in second behind the Carolina Hurricanes, who they face Saturday in Carolina. We slip off the ice, every pun intended, and on to the professional hard court, as the NBA trade deadline comes ever so close. Rumors continue to fly about last minute trades, but what is for sure is Shaquille O'Neal's has made is Phoenix Suns debut, against his former team the Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers trumped the Suns 130-124, as Kobe Bryan put up 41 points, his former teammate O’Neil put up 15 points. The two teams sit tied atop the Pacific Division.

Finally, the UEFA Cup continues third round play, but there are so many teams left I’ll just mention a few names that you might recognize: Bayer Leverkusen v. Galatasary, Spartak Moscow v. Marseille, Panathinaikos v. Rangers, Bayern Munich v. Aberdeen, Atletico Madrid v. Bolton, Villarreal v. Zenit St. Petersburg, Helsingborg v. PSV Eindhoven, Tottenham v. Slavia Prague, Everton v. SK Brann … are all competing in the UEFA Cup, remind me to pay attention when they are down to the semi-finals or something, ‘till tomorrow.

UEFA Champions League Wednesday

Champions League Day Two! Yesterday’s action was full of action, controversy and joy for this Reds fan. There were one or two suprises to be had, on a cold European night. Most had written off Liverpool, in their recent poor run of form. However, Rafa orchestrated his men to a 2-0 win over Inter Milan. Inter were delt a tough blow, after Marco Materazzi was controversially given two yellow cards in a 30 minute time span. Chelsea were unable to break Olympiakos, as Avram Grant left John Terry and Frank Lampard on the bench to begin the match. Olympiakos will travel to Stamford Bridge for the second leg of their tie, after the 0-0 draw in Greece. Schalke 04 got the win over Porto, off the boot of Kevin Kuranyi, they will travel to Portugal for the second leg of that tie. Finally, Roma beat Real Madrid 2-1 in Italy, however on away goals that will put them even when they travel to the Bernabéu, for their second leg. With everything good and recapped, lets look at tonight’s match ups.

Fenerbahce v FC Sevilla
Fenerbahce will be home at the Şükrü Saracoğlu Stadium, in Turkey, as they take on Spanish side Sevilla. De Souza Alex leads the scoring for the Yellow Canaries with two goals. It’s the first time in five attempts that the Turkish side have made it to the knockout stages. They will look to fend off Sevilla’s top goal scorer Frederic Oumar Kanoute, who leads Sevilla’s scoring effort with four goals. Having lifted the UEFA Cup last year, Sevilla would like nothing more than to add the Champions League trophy to their silverware case. Sevilla, like Liverpool and AC Milan, are struggling in their domestic league and will be putting most of their eggs in the basket that is Champions League glory.

Celtic v Barcelona
Barcelona travel to Celtic Park in Glasgow to face 'The Bhoys', as they attempt to win their third Champions League. Celtic have only won the Champions Cup once and sit second in their domestic league behind Rangers, just four points off. Celtic have looked good in the new year and will look to continue their good run of form. Meanwhile, in Spain Barca also sit second domestically and are coming off a win over the weekend, at the expense of Real Zaragoza. Leo Andres Messi is Barca’s top scorer in the Champions League with four goals. He is named in the squad that also boasts the names of Samuel Eto'o, Ronaldinho, and Thierry Henry, I call that keeping good company.

Lyon v Manchester United
Man U travels to Stade Gerland in France to face Les Gones, as Ryan Giggs is set to make his 100th Champions League appearance for the Red Devils. Sir Alex Ferguson will be happy to see the return of Cristiano Ronaldo, who has recovered from a stomach virus, perhaps it was a side effect of all the hair product he uses. Lyon have never won the Champions League, and United have not lifted the Cup since 1999. Lyon are only one point clear of Bordeaux in Ligue 1. Meanwhile, in the Premier League, Manchester United are six points behind league leaders Arsenal.

Arsenal v AC Milan
Finally, last years Champions League winners AC Milan travel to the Emirates Stadium to face The Gunners. Milan have had a busy year after winning last year, and are struggling in their domestic league. But don’t count Milan out, they seem to be one of those clubs that have what I like to call “European Magic”, they can conjure up some magical wins on cold European nights. Arsenal are lead their domestic league, however, they are feeling frustrations, after falling out of the FA Cup to Manchester United, in an embarrassing 4-0 loss over the weekend. Arsene Wenger’s men will have a tough job ahead of them, and will not want to concede goals against the prolific scorers Filippo Inzaghi and Kaká, the FIFA World Player of the Year.

UEFA Champions League Tuesday

Champions League is back! My heart is a flutter! Maybe its because this is the only piece of silverware my Reds are still in contention for; or maybe its bringing the best clubs in Europe, and possibly the world, together for two match play-offs, just makes me happy. I think part of the excitement with leg play is that even if your team wins or looses the first leg, its still not over yet because there’s a second leg, insert dramatic music here.

How important is Champions League to this guy? Well, He went home on his lunch break to set his DVR to record his club taking on, Italian giants, Inter Milan. Champions League is the club version of Eurocup, except it happens every year! Sure your domestic cup is important, and winning the league is important, but only Champions League brings together the best of the best. With the first four matches kicking off in just a few hours, lets take a quick look before the excitement begins.

Olympiakos v. Chelsea
Chlesea travel to the Karaiskaki Stadium to face an Olympiakos side that joins FC Barcelona and Manchester United FC as the only unbeaten sides in the 2007-08 Champions League. Chelsea sit third in the Premier League an will welcome the return of Didier Drogba. Sorry Olympiakos, I don't know much about you guys, other than your from Greece.

Liverpool v. Inter Milan
Inter Milan will travel to Anfield, to face a struggling Liverpool side. That will be fighting tooth and nail, to say in the only competition they still have a chance in. Under-fire Manager Rafael Benitez will also be determined to see his side stay afloat in the Champions League. American owners George Gillette and Tom Hicks have already shown they are less than supportive of their manager, crashing out of the FA Cup to Barnsley didn’t help his case with the American ownership. Inter sit on top of Serie A, some 11 points clear of second place Roma and look secure to win their second Scudetto, having won last year. Both clubs could reach 500 European goals in tonights match up, with Inter needing one, and Liverpool needing two.

Schalke 04 v. FC Porto
Porto will travel to the Veltins-Arena, to face Schalke 04 who currently sit in fifth place in the Bundesliga. Lucho González leads Porto’s scoring with three goals in the competition, while Kevin Kuranyi leads Schalke 04 with two. Porto sit ten points clear of second place Benfica in the Portuguese Liga. The Dragoes will certainly look to take advantage of a slumping Schalke 04, who will hope to find some of the magic that found them second in the Bundesliga last year.

Roma v. Real Madrid
Finally, Real Madrid travel to the Stadio Olimpico, to face AS Roma in the Italian capital. Both teams are coming off hard losses over the weekend, while Real remain on top of La Liga, Roma sit in second 11 points away from Inter Milan. Ruud van Nistelrooy, or the amazing flying Dutchman as I like to call him, leads Real’s scoring with four goals. He returned from injury in the clubs loss over the weekend. However, manager Bernd Schuster will be without Robinho, Wesley Sneijder, Marcelo and Christoph Metzelder who all have injuries. Schuster will welcome back Gabriel Heinze, who will play in defense with Fabio Cannavaro. Mirko Vucinic leads Roma’s scoring with three goals, however, Real Madrid will be sure to keep an eye on Francesco Totti, who is always a potient threat.

Sorry if Bloggin’ is short, matches are about to kick-off.

Happy Presidents Day

Sorry for the disappearing act last week, but it was a busy one. The good news is I got my taxes done, and Uncle Sam’s mailing me a check as we speak. Now, I just want to know where my “BushBucks” are?! Well after a busy week, and a couple of days in Chicago, I’m back and ready for some bloggin’. So cue the 3-D animation, cause its time for:

Super Happy Ultra Mega Weekend Review


Let’s talk upsets, the good, the bad, and the ugly. The weekend had a couple of surprises in it, for the better or the worse. Duke Lost! Ahhh, typing never felt so good, I am over joyed to say “Congratulations!”, to the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest. Who started off strong and never gave up against the Blue Devils, winning 86-73. Freshmen Jeff Teague put up 26 points against Duke saying, “That's why I want to play. I'm not an All-American or nothing, but I want to go out and try to beat one." I like Teague’s attitude, especially when it give those Dukies a loss. The trip from Durham to Winston-Salem wasn’t that far, but Duke’s loss could see them trip right out of second in NCAA standings. Wh00t.

It’s funny to mention Joe Gibbs, and not be talking Redskins football, but were talking NASCAR here. "Yeehaw!", for some reason that just felt right. The ’08 season got under way, with the 50th running of the Daytona 500. Ryan Newman got a little help from teammate Kurt Busch as they charged past Tony Stewart, to finish first and second, respectively. Newman said, "I got the push from heaven. He was a great teammate and chose to do the honorable thing. Tony blocked me hard, but when Kurt pushed me, we just struck together. It was awesome." Sounds like the loss hit Tony Stewart pretty hard, "I thought I ran one of the best races of my life," Stewart said. "I just couldn't finish it off. It's hard to explain. It's probably one of the most disappointing moments of my racing career." That’s just part of the beauty of the upset, the emotion.

Across the pond in England, sigh, Liverpool lost to Barnsley 1-2. Talk about upsets! This one hit me hard, another match that should have been won, not won. Unfortunately, rather than the usually disappointing draw, the Reds were brought to their knees with a injury time goal from Brian Howard. Rafa’s rotation policy again the source of scrutiny. The season, which has been plagued with problems on and off the pitch, seems to be slipping away from my Reds. This is actually painful to write, so lets just hope for better in the only competition we’re left in, the Champions League. Where we face Inter Milan, Sigh.

Finally, like the end of a long term relationship, La Liga seems to be “on again/off again”. Last week, after Real Madrid won, and second place Barcelona drew too Sevilla. Most people believed that the title race was over, and Real Madrid would retain the title. But low and behold, the weekend has brought renewed hope for an exciting end to the season. The upset was Real Madrid loosing to Real Betis 1-2. It wasn’t an upset but Barcelona’s win over Real Zaragoza was a surprise, as Barca has had a bit of a problem putting teams away this season. Barca is now five points behind Real Madrid and the title race may well be back on.

Liar, Liar Pants on...'Roids?!

Sorry, it's another busy day in the world of Gabe. Which is a shame, because today is not only the day before Valentines day, but also "National Lie before Congress Day". It is my hope that next year Congress will take on the Patriots, but we'll have to see. Today, I have just a bit more time than yesterday, so how about a game?



Above: One of these men is lying can you guess which one?

Busy Day = No Bloggin'

Sorry, I am in the middle of hell at work, and there will be no bloggin' today. Instead, I offer a comic that I found funny this morning.

Rough Weekend

It was a rough weekend for a lot of people, especially Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik. We got a lot to cover, so no time to waste, lets put aside our "case of the Mondays" and get on with:

The Super Happy Ultra Mega Weekend Review

By far the roughest weekend was had by Florida Panthers forward Richard Zednik. Zednik suffered a “horrific injury”, his teammate Olli Jokinen's skate slashed his throat open, which required surgery to close, to make matters worse the Panthers lost 5-3. Way to take one from the team Zednik! He is now in stable condition. Also in the NHL, it was a rough night for the New York Rangers who lost 3-2 in overtime against the Capitals. The Caps move back on top of the southeast division with the win. Mike Green scored 23 seconds in to overtime on a power play to give the Caps the win at home. Olaf Kolzig stopped 31 shots to earn his 296th victory, putting him only four away from 300.

It was a bad weekend in college hoops for several teams, including Clemson, who lost 103-93 against North Carolina in double overtime. Clemson lead most of the game, the Tar Heels extended their unbeaten run at home this season, keeping North Carolina perfect in 53 home games against the Tigers all-time. Clemson’s loss also alleviated some of the pressure on Maryland, who won 84-70 over North Carolina State. Maryland travels to Duke for a classic ACC show down on Wednesday, Let’s go Terps!

The Prow Bowl was in full swing down in Honolulu, Hawaii Sunday. But apparently, someone forgot to tell rookie Adrian Peterson that no one plays too hard during the Pro Bowl. Peterson ran for 129 yards, and two touchdowns, and helped the NFC to a 42-30 win over the AFC. Peterson was awarded the MVP of the Pro Bowl, joining Marshall Faulk as the only rookies to be named MVP. Back in the states, the Washington Redskins head coaching search took a strange final twist, as Jim Zorn was promoted from offensive coordinator to head coach after only two weeks on the job. That has to be one of the fastest promotions ever. Only time will tell how this plays out for the Skins. Zorn was brought in to help school young quarterback Jason Campbell. Unfortunately, As head coach he might not be able to devote the amount of time he would have, into his development as he would have as offensive coordinator. The good news is Dan Snyder is happy, even if Skins supporters are or not, we’ll just have to see how this Zorn decision pans out.

The Busby Babes were remembered at Old Trafford Sunday, as Manchester United remembered the Munich Disaster of 1958. A minute’s silence passed unbroken, as had been feared. The Red Devils dawned 50’s era kits, with out names or sponsorship, in honor of those that died in Munich 50years ago. In spite of the wonderful memorials United lost to Manchester City, in a classic Manchester Derby loosing 2-1. Looks like a bad weekend for United, though its no secret I enjoy that. It was also a relatively bad weekend for Liverpool, who drew 0-0 with Chelsea in anther classic stalemate. Liverpool are now out of the title race, and will hope to improve as they search for a Champions League spot next year. Sigh. Liverpool supporters, including myself will be disappointed to not challenge for the league title again, still owning the most league titles in history, however not one in recent Premier League.

Such much for a close finish to La Liga, Real Madrid ran rampant on Valladolid winning 7-0 on Sunday. Even, Arjen Robben scored. Meanwhile, Barcelona drew with Sevilla 1-1 on Saturday, leading Spanish sports magazine ‘Marca’ to comment; 'Who said the league was opening up?' Xavi once again came to Barca’s rescue, as the were behind for most of the match. Real Madrid is now eight points clear of Barca, considering Barca’s recent form it pretty much destorys their chances to topple league leaders Real Madrid.

Finally, Egypt secured their second Africa Cup of Nations winning 1-0 over Cameroon.

Pro Bowl Weekend

The weekend is here, and even though Tom Brady didn’t make it to Hawaii other players did, well eventually. Without further to-do, cue the 3-D animation its:

10 Things I’m “Looking Forward to” This Weekend

1. The Cinco Ocho Bowl


Tom Brady didn’t make the flight to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl, but Chad Johnson did, eventually. Chad Johnson arrived at the Pro Bowl late, and not in a good mood. Johnson has been very open, perhaps too open, with his unhappiness with the Cincinnati Bengals organization. Johnson blew off a NFL public relations representative, who attempted to stop him for his mandatory Pro Bowl interviews, Johnson will probably face a fine for that one. What little he did say spoke volumes. Calling out people in the Bengals organization who have been speaking out against him to step foreword, "But now I don't hear them," Johnson said. "Where are you at now? It's time to let it out. The only voice I hear is mine". Maybe Chad will have a special celebration for the Bengals if he scores a touchdown in the Pro Bowl.

2. No Bill Murray at Pebble Beach


Unfortunately, Bill Murray was unable to attend this year’s AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. Let’s just hope this doesn’t happen again, Bill Murray has been one of the biggest reasons to watch the early rounds of Pebble Beach.

3. The Year of the Rat


Chinese New Year celebrations are going on through out China, here in the States Yao Ming decided to celebrate the New Year, with 22 points and 12 rebounds as Houston Rockets topped the Cleveland Cavaliers 92-77. LeBron James had 32 points, but the Cavs couldn't find a win against Yao and the Rockets. Next up, the Rockets face the Atlanta Hawks Saturday night at home. Yao’s New Year’s resolution looks like its get the Rockets out of fourth in the Southwest. Maybe Rick Adelman got Yao some lai shi (Red Packets).

4. North Carolina State v. Maryland


The Terps are back down to fourth in the ACC, after Clemson beat Virginia, surprise, last night. The Terps are on a bit of a roll right now and “Grumpy” Gary Williams will want win 601. The Wolfpack will have to make the trip up to the Comcast Center for Saturday's game, be sure they’ll want the win, sitting two places back in sixth place in the ACC. I’ll keep the ‘Fro-watch going and see if Bambale Osby got a hair cut, but I wouldn’t count on it.

5. Hurricanes v. Capitals


Life is starting to get a little bit sweeter for Caps fans, Alex Ovechkin leads the league in scoring and the Caps are sitting on top of the Southeast. The Caps will be tested tonight by a tough Carolina team that wants first place back. C-A-P-S! CAPS!! CAPS!! CAPS!!

6. Pro Bowl Cheerleaders


There’s eye candy and then there’s the best of the eye candy. Thank God! The Pro Bowl brings together some of the best cheerleaders from around the NFL and puts them in Hawaii. That’s just a good idea. Way to go ladies, Congratulations on the free trip to Hawaii!

7. Cameroon v. Egypt


Africa Cup of Nations concludes Sunday as Cameroon takes on previous cup winners Egypt. Egypt thumped Ivory Coast 4-1, in the semi-finals, and look to win another Cup of Nations. But, Samuel Eto'o and Cameroon will look to win a record-equalling fifth title, having won the tournament in 1984, 1988, 2000 and 2002. The biggest shame is that you won’t be able to find the final on American television.

8. Liverpool v. Chelsea


It figures, one of the most important matches to even pretend the Reds are in contention for the title, let alone our place in Europe next year and Liverpool are crippled with injuries. Chelsea will welcome back Mikel John Obi from international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations. Meanwhile, Liverpool are down Fernando Torres, Andriy Voronin, Fabio Aurelio, Alvaro Arbeloa and Daniel, and Ryan Babel, due to injury. Not to mention Xabi Alonso is suspended. Captain extraordinaire, Steven Garrard is going to have a lot of weight on his shoulders, as the Reds take on second place Chelsea. Sigh.

9. The Manchester Derby


Manchester City won’t have to travel far to Old Trafford for another classic Manchester Derby. City are certainly a much stronger side than last season, and might introduce new January transfer signing Benjani Mwaruwari, who was as surprised as many about his transfer from Portsmouth. City will have to find away to contain Christiano Ronaldo, though they will be glad that Sir Alex Ferguson is forced to leave Wayne Rooney out of his line up, due to suspension. United will also pay tribute to the Munich Air Disaster before the derby. There also might be some retro jerseys worn by the Red Devils, in honour of the 50th Anniversary of the Munich Air Disaster. Hope United supporters know which numbers players are, or it might be hard to keep up with the action.

10. La Liga


Finally, La Liga should be good this weekend, with Sevilla taking on Barcelona, as Barca try and make a push for the title. In other action, league leaders Real Madrid will try and comeback from last weeks loss against Almeria. Real Madrid takes on Valladolid, if Real were to slip-up a second time this round, Barca could move to three points behind the reigning champions.

After two weeks straight beer was unfortunately omitted from “10 Things”, don’t worry I don’t think it’s the last time we’ve heard from our good old fresh brewed friend. ‘Till Monday.

There's a New Sheriff in Town

First of all let me just say, I hate Duke. I hate the Duke Blue Devils. I was tempted to make today’s bloggin’: “10 Reasons I Hate Duke”, but that would be rather one dimensional of me. So before we get this Shaq-Attack under way, just incase someone wasn’t paying attention, I hate Duke. I hate Duke more than the Pats, more than the Yankees, and more then Manchester United and Chelsea combined.

Criminals of Phoenix beware, there’s a new sheriff in town. Well, sheriff may not be accurate. Anyway, the big news out of the NBA yesterday was that Shaquille O’Neal has been traded to the Phoenix Suns, for forward Shawn Marion and guard Marcus Banks. Eastern Conference teams will sigh in relief, they will be seeing less of O’Neal at center. The real question is, after being a reserve police officer in his previous cities of Los Angeles and Miami, will Shaq take-up the badge in Phoenix? I don’t know. The news left LeBron James speechless, "Unbelievable," James said after practice Wednesday. "That's all I got. It's unbelievable."

From professional hoops news to college hoops we go, and if you couldn’t tell earlier, Duke beat North Carolina last night 89-78. The Tar Heels were with out injured guard Ty Lawson, out with an ankle sprain. Tyler Hansbrough did his best to pick up the slack, shame the rest of the team could get on the same page as Hansbrough. He might not have been able to win the game for his team, but he did get one reward: Passing Michael Jordan as the number 11 North Carolina All-Time Scoring Leader. He’s still got a ways to go before he catches “The Big Smooth”, Sam Perkins, who sits at number two, and Phil Ford North Carolina’s All-Time Scoring Leader. Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said, "We know who we are. We're a very unconventional team. We're not a strong physical team, but we are strong team emotionally, a real together group". I hate Duke, and I hate “Coach K”. Duke remains number one in the ACC, North Carolina number two.

On to some good news, the Maryland Terrapins beat the Boston College Eagles 70-65. Good old “Grumpy” Gary Williams got win 600 last night, and is the Terrapins' all-time winningest coach. Coach Williams also retains all-time highest blood pressure in active coaches. Our “’fro-watch” continues, Bambale Osby's ‘fro can only be a few games way from a block of it’s own. Osby’s stocking must have been filled with ‘fro-picks this past Christmas, thanks Mrs. Osby. The good news, besides Osby’s continued hair growth, is that with the win, the Terps move up in to third place in the ACC.

Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, Clemens former personal trainer, seem to have different views on events a few years ago. Clemens continues to deny the use of any performance-enhancing drugs. "I'm ready for Wednesday to get here," Clemens said referring to the committee's public hearing next week. Where he and current Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte are set to testify. The only problem for Clemens might be, word emerged that McNamee's representatives turned over gauze pads and syringes they said had Clemens' blood to IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky in early January, McNamee's lawyers did not want to publicly discuss details. If this is true Clemens' self-righteous defense might not hold water much longer. The funny part is, McNamee is rumored to have had the gauze pads and syringes since 2000-2001. That sounds a little premeditated to me, it’ll be very interesting to see how all of this plays out for the seven-time Cy Young Award winner.

Quick news from the Redskins head coach search, New York Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo has decided to stay with the Giants. Spagnuolo got a new three-year contract in excess of $2 million per year, that makes him the highest paid defensive coordinator in the NFL. This puts former Giants head coach Jim Fassel as the leading candidate for the Redskins head-coaching job, sorry Skins fans.

From the field to the ice, the Capitals beat the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 last night and moved into first place in the Southeast Division. C-A-P-S. CAPS! CAPS! CAPS! Alexander Ovechkin scored his 46th goal of the season and continues to lead the league in scoring. The Caps face the second place Carolina Hurricanes tomorrow night as they attempt to stay top of the Southeast Division.

Some quick news from yesterdays slew of football friendlies, The U.S. national team tied Mexico 2-2 in Huston last night. Jozy Altidore made his first start for the U.S. national team and got his first goal, in the draw. Oguchi Onyewu had the other goal, the U.S. national team moved to 10 games unbeaten at home against Mexico. Good news for England, Fabio Capello started his run as head coach with a 2-1 win over Switzerland. The Three Lions still have a way to go to reach their full potential, however, this puts Don Fabio’s reign off to a good start.

Tomorrow’s Friday so that means another “10 Things”. ‘Till Tomorrow. I still hate Duke.

February 6, 1958.

Who says I don’t have a heart? Today marks the 50th anniversary of the Munich air disaster. In honor of the 23 victims of the crash, today’s bloggin’ will recount and re-examine the disaster, which took the lives of eight Manchester United players.

* A quick note as we start, for those who are already mistaken, the Munich air disaster is not when several Israeli Olympians were murdered, and then Steven Spielberg made a movie about it, with the Hulk in it.

The team was known as the “Busby Babes”. It was so nick-named, because of head coach Matt Busby. His Manchester United squad consisted of several players who were in their early 20s, this was quite remarkable for the time. It was very uncommon to have so many players of such a “young” age, the irony is that today a young footballer’s age is around 16. Prior to the Munich tragedy, The Busby Babes had claimed two consecutive league championships, a runners-up place in the 1957 FA Cup final, five back-to-back FA Youth Cups between 1953-57, a place in the 1957 European Cup semi-finals and the same again in 1958.

Unfortunately, their European success would directly lead to the Munich air disaster. Before placing any blame, let's get the facts out of the way. The Red Devils were attempting to win their third consecutive league title, still alive in the FA Cup, and were also facing a European Cup quarter-final. United had defeated Red Star Belgrade at Old Trafford 2-1, in the first leg of their quarter-final tie. Back home, Wolves were top the league, but before facing Wolves, United first had the task of finishing their tie in Belgrade.

United would start strong against the home side leading 3-0, but Red Star would fight back to draw the match at 3-3. United would still go through to the semi final on the aggregate 5-4. The players would have cocktails at the British Embassy that night. They would board BEA Flight 609 the next day.

The flight would successfully arrive at Munich-Riem airport, in West Germany, for refueling. It would be the planes final destination. The plane would attempt to take off twice unsuccessfully. After the second unsuccessful attempt, some of the players would telegram home that they would not arrive home that night. Duncan Edwards sent his landlady a telegram, which read: 'All flights cancelled. Returning home tomorrow. Duncan.'

At 3:04pm Captain James Thain would attempted a third take off. The slush and snow on the runway kept the plane from reaching take off speed. The plane would crash through the airport's perimeter fence and into an unoccupied house. Seven players died in the crash: Geoff Bent (25), Roger Byrne (28), Eddie Colman (21), Mark Jones (24), David Pegg (22), Tommy Taylor (26) and Liam 'Billy' Whelan (22). Duncan Edwards would survive the crash, but die in hospital February 21st. The teams “father” Matt Busby would fight for his life over the following weeks. His condition so grave, he would be read his last rites twice at Munich's Rechts der Isar Hospital.

A ravaged United squad would make it to the FA Cup Final, only to loose to Bolton Wanderers. They would be defeated by AC Milan in the European Cup. As a mark of respect, UEFA would invite United to compete in the competition the following year, United would decline the offer.

Most talk always refers to the loss of such young lives, however, my perspective is always slanted. At the time, the FA (Football Association) was quite opposed to the gaining popularity of the European Cup, they felt that it “under minded” domestic competitions. Dismissing any appeals to clear any congestion in the league calendar, the FA hoped to force United’s not to compete in the European Cup. Under new league rules any team competing in Europe had to be back in England a “full 24 hours before their next domestic fixture”. Had the FA not been so concerned with its own importance, United would not have had to charter that fateful flight from British European Airways.

Sorry for the somber bloggin’ today, I promise some fun tomorrow.

Super Tuesday

What?! Apparently, Super Tuesday is some political thing, but that won’t stop me from using such a timely, and catchy title for today’s bloggin’. Well it looks like this Super Tuesday is not just about politics, but also poor sportsmanship. In one form or another.

Our first poor sport is actual a tag-team duo, Tom Brady and Randy Moss have opted out of the Pro Bowl. Apparently, both have not only brusied egos, after loosing the Super Bowl, but they also have bruised ankles. The Brown’s Derek Anderson will replace Brady, and “Cinco Ocho” himself, Chad Johnson, will replace Moss. You can’t help but wonder if Brady and Moss would have made the trip to Hawaii, if they’d won the Super Bowl. It’s got to be hard for a athletic trainer to treat bruised pride. Way to be poor sports guys!

Our next poor sport is good old Bobby Knight. Knight retired midseason, leaving Texas Tech 12-8, overall, and 3-3, in the Big 12. Bobby was kind enough to stick around to break the 900-win mark, ending his career with 902 wins. Bobby’s excuse; “…the best thing for the long run for this team would be for Pat and his staff to coach these remaining 10 [regular-season] games". Incase you didn’t know, Pat is Bobby’s son. Pat Knight will take over with 10 regular season games left on the schedule, and at least one in the Big 12 Conference tournament. Way to stick in there Bobby! Bobby's not unfamiliar with quitting, and poor sportsmanship; 902 wins, a dozen or so head butts, one chocked player, one chair thrown, one battered student, and enough profanities to fill the swear jar a couple hundred times over. There’s a lot of talk about Knight leaving on “his own terms”, seems like Bobby did everything on his own terms, with out respect for others. Way to show what a poor sport really is Booby!

Our third “poor” sport is Roger Clemens. Clemens is testifying before congressional lawyers about his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs today. Yesterday, former Yankee teammate, Andy Pettitte gave sworn testimony on the matter. Unlike many other baseball players accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, Roger has decided to go with a self-righteous defense. "Roger is not going to take the Fifth Amendment," one of Clemens' lawyers, Rusty Hardin, said in a statement e-mailed Monday by spokesman Joe Householder. "He is going to answer the committee's questions truthfully under oath." Good for you Roger, I don’t know why anyone would think that you would use performance-enhancing drugs; after slumping for several years only to come raging back, a little buffer, I might add. No Roger, we’d never think you, or your old buddy Andy, would have “knowingly, and willingly” taken any performance-enhancing drugs. Way to show those poor sports an cheaters what being self-righteous is all about.

Our final poor sport is Didier Drogba, who is away from Premier League club Chelsea, on international duty in Africa at the Cup of Nations. The Ivory Coast striker was rumored to have won Africa’s Footballer of the Year, for a second year in a row. However, the award was to be awarded in Togo, and Drogba is currently in Ghana. Drogba has a quarter-final two days after the cermony, not to mention, his previous national coach reacently had a son die. Does this make Didier a poor sport? No. But, upon learning that the award was to be given to Frederic Kanoute, Didier kindly asked that he never be considered again for the honor. That’ll show ‘em Drogba! It’s your way or the highway, huh? Maybe Bobby Knight and Didier Drogba should start a mentoring school for children, they could call it “Why play well with others when you can throw a fit, or a chair”. Well maybe that’s a bit wordy for t-shirts. Anyways, kudos to Didier Drogba for temper tantrum of the week, and for showing what being a poor sport is all about.

Couple of quick notes:
The Capitals take on the Blue Jackets tonight, in Columbus. Come on Caps!

I can’t wait for Wednesday night, as Number two Duke takes on Number Three North Carolina. My family is from North Carolina, so I’ve been a Tar Heels fan longer than a Terps fan. I know, I’m conflicted. One thing is for sure, I hate Duke. (FYI. The lady Tar Heels played the lady Dukies yesterday, and won 93-76. I love the sound of that, even if it is women’s basketball.)

Super Monday

So, the Giants won the Super Bowl. But, did you know all of the other interesting and important things that happened this weekend in the world of sports? I didn’t think so. I can’t waste time, cause there’s too much to cover, so let’s get this puppy rollin’.
It’s time for:

The Super Happy Ultra Mega Weekend Review

The New York Giants beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLII* last night. I would just like to say, “Thank you”, to the Giants. They restored my faith in karma. Last year, it was Payton Manning raising the Lombardi Trophy on Super Sunday, this year it was younger brother Eli. Good for you Eli, maybe you won’t have to play in your brothers shadow as much anymore. Unfortunately, Tom Brady can’t hope for family revenge next season, he's the youngest of four, and his siblings are girls. I was happy to see the Pats dream of a perfect season ruined, and so was Don Schula. Schula and the ’72 Dolphins remain the only undefeated Super Bowl era team. It’s no secret that the former Miami Dolphins wanted to retain their status as the only undefeated team in NFL history. Former Dolphins offensive lineman Bob Kuechenberg, who was passed over for the Pro Football Hall of Fame 24 hours earlier, said, “He'd be OK with that if the Giants could somehow find a way to drop New England from the ranks of the unbeaten”. Bill Belichick proved he was a poor sport by leaving the field before the end of the game, also proving what a big jerk he is.

A little note, earlier in the week, I had said to my best friend of several years that Giants were either the best or the worst team to play the Patriots, having been the last to play them in the regular season. It seemed to me, either the Giants would learn from their lost in the regular season and adjust, or the Patriots formula for beating the Giants would work a second time. I guess I should have put some money on that one.

The Super Bowl wasn’t the only thing that happened in professional football this weekend. The “Kooch” might not have gotten a Hall of fame vote, but Darrell Green did. Green was voted in along side fellow Redskin great Art Monk, joining Fred Dean (49ers), Andre Tippett (Patriots), Gary Zimmerman (Vikings/Broncos), and Emmitt Thomas (Chiefs).

The Redskins head coaching drama could hopefully end this week, but not without one last crule twist. Dan Snyder said, that it would be correct to list Ron Meeks, Jim Fassel and Steve Mariucci as the leading contenders for the position. Patriot’s offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels is no longer in the running for the job, no surprise there. Snyder is said to be interviewing Giants Defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo on Tuesday. It would come as no surprise if Snyder attempts to lure Spagnuolo after winning the Super Bowl, since he’s proven his decision making process is less educated, and more topical. The cruel twist for Redskins fans is that assumed successor to Joe Gibbs, Greg Williams, who was let go by Snyder, is said to be interviewing with archrivals the Dallas Cowboys. It would be a cruel knife in the back of Skins supporters, who would only have their owner to blame.

Two pieces of news from the ACC, North Carolina, currently ranked number four in the nation, beat Florida State in overtime to put their record 21-1 over all, and 6-1 in the ACC. Bad news for the Tar Heels is point guard Ty Lawson had to leave the game with a sprained left ankle, that could be a blow to the Tar Heels shot at a National Title. Other news from the ACC, as Maryland won over Georgia Tech over the weekend 88-86, that puts the Terps tied in fourth with Clemson. The Terps are on a two game winning streak, they could make it three against Boston College on Wednesday.

In the NHL, the Capitals lost Saturday night to the Atlanta Thrashers 2-0, that keeps them in third in the southeast. The Caps are now three points behind the Thrashers, who are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes in first place. The Caps face the Columbus Blue Jackets tomorrow night. The Thrashers held Alex Ovechkin to a scoreless night over the weekend, hopefully he can get back on the score board against the Blue Jackets.

Tiger Woods maintained his top spot on the leaderboard at the Dubai Desert Classic Sunday, to nab his second win of the season. Last week Ian Poulter had been quoted saying that he was the only one that could challenge Tiger on the golf course, he finished 39th. Looks like Poulter might want to hit the driving range for a bit before his next outing. Tiger thought it was rather funny too saying, “"I thought Ian Poulter was No. 2?".

Tiger was not the recipient of any racism over the weekend, however, Formula One star Lewis Hamilton was in Spain. The Spanish are building quite the reputation for their racism. They will be facing strong punishment from the International Automobile Federation for taunts such as, 'negro de mierda' (black shit), and 'puto negro' (fucking black). I think I’ll postpone my vacation to Spain for the time being.

In the Premier League, Liverpool trumped Sunderland 3-0. Wh00t. The win was much needed, and will only continue to exacerbate the problems involving owners Gillette and Hicks. It moves the Reds into fifth place, behind Merseyside rivals Everton. If Rafa and the Reds can keep it up they’ll secure European football for next year. Arsenal went top of the table again as United failed to top Tottenham, who led until a late equalizer from Carlos Tevez. Arsenal are now two points clear of Manchester United and six points clear of Chelsea, who played an exciting nail bitter against Portsmouth, that ended in a 1-1 draw. David James was impressive as Jermain Defoe netted his first goal in a Pompey jersey. Note: David James is 38, good show old man! Finally, on the lighter side, Referee Chris Foy was not amused, as Fulham's mascot Billy was aparenlty "feeling the beat" at half-time. His break-dance routine went a bit long, forcing Referee Foy to drag the mascot off the pitch. Sometimes you just gotta dance, I guess.

Finally, Thank you Almeria! Almeria might have single handedly gifted us with the potential of an exciting end to La Liga. Almeria pulled the big upset by defeating Real Madrid 2-0. Meanwhile, Espanyol topped Getafe 1-0 moving into a third place tie with Villarreal, still eight points behind second place Barcelona. Barca’s late winner against Osasuna pulls them within six points of Real Madrid. It would be fitting if Barca could come back to take the title, since Los Merengues did the same to Barca last season.

Whew! That was a lot. Oh and apparently this Super Tuesday thing has nothing to do with the Super Bowl. Who knew?



*See Patriots, cheaters don’t prosper.

Super Weekend

It’s Friday and you know what that means, its time for:
10 Things I’m “Looking Forward to” This Weekend

I guess we could also call it:
“10 Things Happening in Sports This Weekend Other Than the Super Bowl”

But, that’s not as catchy. Also, I’d just have to change it back next weekend. So, we’ll just stick with the original for now. So, cue the 3-D animation, and lets try not too talk about Super Bowl XLII*.

1. Lingerie Bowl V

I don’t know if I even need to explain this, but I will. Models. Lingerie. Running. Touching. I think that covers it. Thank all that is holy, that this "Super Sunday" tradition has returned.

2. Thrashers v. Capitals

Alexander Ovechkin has made the Capitals a great team to watch. He had four goals last night, in an exciting overtime win against the Montreal Canadiens. I’ve always wanted to get into hockey more, and Ovechkin just might be the man to do it. The Thrashers sit one point behind the Caps in the Southeast Division. With the win the Caps could pull within one point of first place Carolina Hurricanes. Let’s go Caps!

3. Terps v. Yellow Jackets

After a mid-week win against Virgina, the Maryland Terrapins take on the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Maryland Head coach Gary Williams, or "Grumpy Gary" as I like to call him, is only two wins away from 600 wins. The Yellow jackets are tied in 5th palace with the Terps in the ACC, and a win down in Georgia could help the Terps out of that five way tie for 5th in the ACC standings.

4. Poulter v. Woods

Earlier in the week, Ian Poulter had claimed that he was the only person who could challenge Tiger Woods. I guess Ian was wrong, cause there are a lot of people between him and Tiger on the leaderboard right now, at the Dubai Desert Classic. Including, Irishman Damien McGrane who is just one stroke behind Tiger Woods in second place. Looks like Poulter has a little ground to cover over the next two days. It also looks like he should probably ignore Plaxico Burress’ drunk texts about predicting victories before they happen.

5.Super Bowl XLIII

I’m so uninterested in Super Bowl XLII*, I’m just looking to Tampa. Hopefully, next year there will be a team that I kind of like in the Super Bowl.

6. Beckham Left Out of England Squad

Fabio Capello’s decision not to pick David Beckham for his squad to face Switzerland in a friendly this month, will be all the talk during the weekend’s Premier League matches. It’s not a big deal and it’s not a surprise but everything Becks does is news worthy in the football world, kind of like Brittney Spears here in America. Ohhh Burn!

7. Arsenal v. Manchester City

No. 2 takes on No. 6 in the Premiership. Arsenal need a win to get back on top of the table or maintain their tie with Manchester United. A win for Man City, however, could see them leap frog to fourth, giving City dreams of European football next season. Either way, it should be a hard fought match. Also, Chelsea take on Portsmouth, and Manchester United take on Tottenham.

8.Getafe v. Espanyol

Getafe are on their way up in La Liga. And after a promising start to the season, Espanyol seem to be on their way down the table, should make for some good football. The action in La Liga is always intense so keep an eye on other action around the league; Villarreal take on Mallorca, and league leaders Real Madrid face Almeria.

9.Haters

My favorite hater of the weekend will be Republican Senator Arlen Specter from Pennsylvania. Sen. Spector is upset with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about the destruction of evidence from “Spygate”, earlier this season. In his letter to the commissioner, Sen. Spector said, "I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes". Way to get face time the week before the Super Bowl Senator! If that’s not a hater I don’t know what is. In case you were wondering, the Senator is an avid Eagles fan.**

10. Beer

For the second week in a row… Beer has to be one of the things I’m looking forward to most this weekend as I enjoy all the great action above over the weekend. In fact, my friends better bring some Sunday for Super Bowl XLII*, since they invited themselves to my apartment for the game.

* If you’ve been living under a rock and don’t know, the Patriots are one win away from cheating their way to perfection.

**Technically it's also probably cause the NFL receives an antitrust exemption, but that's not as much fun to talk about.