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The End Of Lin-Sanity?

It’s impossible to be an NBA fan without seeing Jeremy Lin. Mimicking the NFL’s Tim Tebow, to whom he is frequently compared to in the press, New York Knicks‘ Jeremy Lin came out of nowhere to spur his struggling team on to a series of dramatic victories. Lin was rejected by several NBA franchises, including the Golden State Warriors and the Houston Rockets, and his early career in the court was uninspired, with several trips down to the D-League. At the beginning of the abbreviated 2011 season, several Knicks players succumbed to injury, leaving a classic, fairy tale opening for Lin to shine. Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni says he gave Lin a chance out of “desperation.” Lin, who speaks vocally about hard work and dedication, lead the team to a thrilling last minute victory, which turned out to be the first in a string of white-knuckle victories for the struggling Knicks. However, fortunes seem to be reversing as the Knicks lost by five last night against the Chicago Bulls, their sixth loss in a row. As the Chicago crowd, who are no strangers to victory, chanted “overrated!” Lin was dominated by veteran Derrick Rose. Is it an end to Lin-sanity, or is it just an indication that the talented first-year player can’t carry the entire team on his own?

Superbowl XLVI: Patriots Vs. Giants, The Rematch!

In what many are calling an epic sequel, the stage is now set for a New York Giants Vs. New England Patriots rematch in Superbowl XLVI on February 5th. With a couple of exceptions the cast remains the same: Superstar Tom Brady matched against clutch phenom Eli Manning, and Bill Belichick matched against Tom Coughlin. While the match-up may be a disappointment to anyone not living in the North East, both teams are famous for their passionate supporters, and it’s a guarantee that emotions will run high. Famously, the Giants took on the undefeated Patriots in 2008, and came from behind in spectacular fashion for an upset 17-14 victory. Odds-makers note that both teams struggled to win their conference finals, and both of last Sunday’s games—The Giants against the San Franciso 49’rs, and The Pats against the Baltimore Ravens.—were decided by errors on the losing side and much as by the winning team’s offense. Some NFL fans are disappointed not to see a 49’rs vs. Ravens Superbowl, since that would have pitted the talented Harbaugh brothers, Jim and John, against each other in what would surely have been a dramatic blood match. But given their history, Superbowl XLVI promises no shortage of drama. Bookmakers currently have the Pats ahead by a slim margin but, needless to say, history can have a sneaky way of repeating itself.

Drew Brees Beats Out Marino For All-Time Pass Record

Setting the NFL bar ever higher, the New Orleans Saint’s Drew Brees set a new all-time record for passing yards just after the Christmas holiday. Brees surpassed Dan Marino’s 1984 record, and gave future QB’s something to aspire to. Marino’s record was 5,084 yards, and Brees entered Monday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons with 4,780., making 305 yards the magic number. It took a 9-yard touchdown pass to Darren Sproles to secure Brees a place in the record books. This isn’t the first time that the talented Brees has threatened the legendary Marino—in 2008, he fell just 15 yards short of the legendary Miami Dolphins star. The Falcons were generous losers, congratulating Brees and The Saints on their place in the record books. Falcons coach Mike Smith told a press conference “We didn’t really play well enough in any phase of the game to give ourselves a chance to win. There were some opportunities early on, and then it kind of got out of hand there at the end. … It’s not the type of effort that you want to have with so much on the line with what the outcome could have meant to our team.” The final score was Saints 45, Falcons 16. In a nearly scripted flourish, Brees broke Marino’s record on the final throw of the game, bringing his count to 5087 yards total.

Miami Heat Beat Orlando Magic In Telling Preseason Opener

Ok, sure, the preseason doesn’t count. But it sure was an interesting game, given that both teams have been making headlines, but for different reasons. The final score, Heat: 118, Magic: 85, should just tell the whole story. Miami actually seemed excited to finally be on the court, and stars LeBron James and Dwayne Wade were both in excellent shape. The two teammates passed the ball with effortless energy, and seemed to inspire their teammates. Considering that many were free agent from training camp being put through their paces before (likely) being cut, this was a really great effort from a competitive, mentally grounded team. On the other side of the court were the Orlando Magic. While Dwight Howard is currently, theoretically, the team’s captain, his blatant contempt for the team and his refusal to extend his contract has clearly soured that relationship. Howard played for only 30 minutes and scored only 5 points which, in a real game, would have been a career low. It certainly did not serve to motivate the rest of the team. The media circus surrouning the Magic means that some commentators actually speculate that Howard’s poor performance was a deliberate message demanding a quick trade. Many sources indicate that Howard may go to the LA Lakers, and he has expressed a preference for the city himself.

Chris Paul Signs Surprise Deal With LA Clippers

Lets face facts; the Los Angeles Clippers are not a franchise known for post-season glory. They have made it into the NBA playoffs exactly four times in thirty-five years. But, lucky for devoted Clippers fans, hot prospect Chris Paul sees this as an opportunity, not a handicap. Paul, who characterized himself as “crazy ambitious” in a recent ESPN interview, turned down a deal with the high-profile LA Lakers in favor of the Clippers franchise. Paul, along with Chauncey Billups, Blake Griffin, and DeAndre Jordan, see the struggling Clippers as a “blank canvas” on which they plan to do great things. The Clippers bought out Paul’s two-year contract, but they have informally told the press that he has made a longer-term commitment to the team. However, details have not been disclosed. Paul has already been welcomed to the team in style by Griffin, whose cheerful quip “Lob city!” is already a popular tshirt and a trending twitter topic. Will Paul lead the LA Clippers to greatness during this abridged NBA season? Expect the Clippers to see a lot more media attention than they’re used to!

Albert Pujols Signs 10-year, $254 million Deal With LA

Albert Pujols In Cardinals Uniform

St. Louis must feel bleary eyed this morning, waking up to the news that their star, home-town hero, Albert Pujols, will be moving to California next year. In an eyebrow raising $254 million dollar deal, Pujols will be wearing a Los Angeles Angels uniform for the 2012 season, and for the next ten years. Commentators estimate the difference between LA’s offer and The Cardinals at about $44 million. Reaction in St. Louis to the news that Pujols will not be a lifetime Cardinal is, predictably, mixed. Online commentary ranges from cold pragmatism (“we won’t need to pay him $22 million per year to watch his decline”) to wounded, with some reports of burning Pujols jerseys. Fans frequently compare Pujols to the legendary hitter Stan Musial, who played 22 seasons and wracked up an amazing set of statistics, including a record 24 All-Star game appearances. Meanwhile, in Los Angeles, Angels fans are eagerly awaiting Pujols arrival and the franchise recently signed a lucrative $3 billion, 20 year deal with Fox for broadcast rights to games. Will the Pujols give the Angels the competitive edge they need to be great? Analysts also point out that the move uniquely qualifies Pujols to win both an MVP and a World Series in both leagues if he can keep his performance up. Pujols is also poised to break records an become baseball’s home run leader, without any of the scandal associated with the recent steroid investigations.

2011 NBA Lockout Is Over!

Finally! NBA fans can breathe a sigh of relief as players and agents finalize negotiations to begin the 2011 season. Many had already written the season off, but the 153-day lockout came to an end November 26. In the deal, which was reached during a frantic 15 hours of negotiation on November 25, players are entitled to 51.2% of all Basketball Related Income (BRI) that the NBA takes in, and the NBPA will reinstate their union to negotiate on other game related issues like age limit and draft rules. The NBA’s official season begins December 25, and will run for an abbreviated 66 games. Training begins December 9th, and players are now free to begin negotiations via agents.

Many fans view the lockout as a “millionaires vs. billionaires” fight, with true NBA fans being the real losers. Some estimates put loss of revenue for local businesses surrounding basketball stadiums in the millions, while all of the NBA support staff, such as ticket takers, stadium employees, and ushers, have not received their expected paychecks. Many fans have turned to NCAA college games, and it is a point of curiosity as to how ticket sales will fare now that

The Detroit Tiger’s Justin Verlander Becomes First Starting Pitcher To Win MVP In 25 Years

In a victory for pitchers everywhere, the Detroit Tigers’ Justin Verlander was voted 2011’s MLB MVP on Monday. Verlander is the first starting pitcher to bag this honor in 25 years. The dry spell for pitching MVPs has been the subject of debate among baseball fans, since clearly they play a crucial roll in any team’s victory. The last starting pitcher to be voted MVP was Roger Clemens with the Boston Red Sox in 1986. The last pitcher to win MVP was Dennis Eckersley playing for Oakland in 1992. “I’m happy that the voters acknowledged that, that we do have a major impact in this game and we can be extremely valuable to our team and its success,” Verlander said a at a press conference following the announcement.

Verlander’s stats speak for themselves: 24-5 with a 2.40 ERA and 250 strikes in the season. When the votes were tallied, Verlander had 13 of 28 first place votes, and 280 points from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America. The Red Sox center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury came in second place in the MVP race. There was some debate among sports fans when Pedro Martinez lost to Texas catcher Ivan Rodriguez in 1999, and many fans feel that the pitchers contributions are not valued highly enough by the journalists who give out the award. “Not even in my wildest dreams had I thought of this,” Verlander said. Some might raise an eyebrow at his humility—the last time a MLB pitcher had that many wins was Oakland’s Bob Welch, who went 27-6 in 1990.

NBA Officially Cancels All Games Through Dec 15th

In a disappointing turn of events, the NBA gave official notice to all franchise teams that the strike would cancel all scheduled games until at least December 15th, 2011. The announcement was made on Tuesday, a day after the player’s union turned down the owner’s offer. The player’s league also told the media that they plan to disband and bring an anti-trust suit against the league. Union president Derek Fisher and executive director Billy Hunter explained that the suit would make the current players vs. owners shutdown illegal. The player’s reps then went on to forecast a gloomy future for the 2011 seasons, saying that it will likely not happen at all due to the lengthy legal mess currently under way. Not mincing words, NBA commissioner David Stern told ESPN “We are about to go into the nuclear winter of the NBA.” This is the latest in a series of bitter announcements that have plagued NBA fans since July 1st. Tuesday would have been the first paycheck for the NBA players, and CNBC reported that the average player lost $220,000. Needless to say, fans were disappointed and disgusted with both sides, and the general consensus in online forums was that the disagreement was motivated by greed on both sides.

Joe Paterno Fired In Penn State Scandal, Replaced By Tom Bradley

Renowned veteran coach Joe Paterno was informed on Wednesday, November 9th, that his services would no longer be required. This was a day after he announced his intention to resign at the end of the 2011 NCAA season. It was announced Wednesday night that Paterno will be replaced by Penn State’s defensive coordinator Tom Bradley. Bradley has worked closely with Paterno for 12 years. “I take this job with mixed emotions,” he told the press. “Coach Paterno will go down in history as one of the greatest men,” he added, going on to say that Paterno meant more to him than any man with the exception of his own father.

Paterno was fired by the Penn State board of trustees after his long-time defensive coordinator Jerry Sandusky was arrested on 40 counts of juvenile sexual abuse that spanned the 15 yeas of Sandusky’s employment. During the grand jury investigation that followed, it was found that Paterno had been alerted to at least one instance of abuse. He did report this to Penn State’s athletic director, but that was as far as the internal investigation went. It was decided that Paterno had fulfilled his legal obligations and no charges were brought against him, but ethical questions remain.