SportSpectator Blog

 

December 1, Week in Sports

 

:: OKLAHOMA EDGES TEXAS IN BCS RANKINGS (College Football)

:: ALABAMA AND FLORIDA SLATED TO FACE OFF (College Football)

:: PLAXICO BURRESS WOUNDED IN ACCIDENTAL SHOOTING (Pro. Football)

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BIG 12 CIRCUS

The Oklahoma Sooners outranked the Texas Longhorns in this week’s BCS rankings. As a result, the Sooners earned a chance to play in the Big 12 Conference championship next week. More importantly, since the Sooners are expected to win that game, they will very likely have a chance to compete in the national championship game–the most important game of the college football season.

Normally, conference rankings are determined by team records. However, this year the Big 12 was highly competitive, with Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech finishing the season with identical records. Per conference rules, the BCS rankings serve as one of the tie-breakers to decide which team wins the Big 12 South.

The fact that Oklahoma so narrowly outranked Texas is sure to draw the ire of Longhorns fans, particularly since Texas actually beat Oklahoma earlier this year. The BCS rankings are subject to criticism year in and year out. While the final BCS rankings come out next week, this week’s rankings will likely be the most controversial from the 2008 season.

Quote of the Week: “Oklahoma jumped over Texas and into the No. 2 spot of the Bowl Championship Series standings Sunday, putting the Sooners in prime position to play for the national title should they defeat Missouri this coming Saturday.” — Eddie Timanus, USA Today

Further Reading: ”Sooners Mess with Texas” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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CHOMPING AT THE BIT

 

Alabama and the Florida Gators are slated to play each other next week in the Championship game of the SEC Conference. Whoever wins this game is virtually guaranteed a spot in the national championship game.

 

Alabama and Florida are ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in the AP poll, and No. 1 and No. 4 in the BCS rankings. When it comes down to it, the BCS rankings are more important, since the top two teams in the BCS get to play in the national championship game. Though Florida is currently in the 4 spot, knocking off top-ranked Alabama would certainly help them jump into the top two.

 

The college football rankings system is often criticized for being too subjective. However, there can be no complaints about the game between Alabama and Florida. Both teams are playing at their best going into next Saturday, and all they have to do is beat the other team to make it to the national championship game. Let the best team win.

Quote of the Week: “[Florida Quarterback] Tebow could have demanded more throws and more carries, and he probably would have run away with the Heisman…. But the Gators would be 9-3 and headed for a second consecutive Capital One Bowl instead of 11-1 and headed for the national semifinal SEC Championship game next week against Alabama.” — Ivan Maisel, ESPN

Further Reading: “Gators eyeing SEC showdown in Atlanta” — Ivan Maisel, ESPN

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BENCHED, SUSPENDED, FINED, SHOT

 

Plaxico Burress, a wide receiver for the New York Giants, accidentally shot himself in the thigh on Friday night, according to reports. Burress is one of the stars of the Giants, and one of the most famous football players in New York.

 

Plaxico Burress has been a premier player in the league for years, but he arrived at true superstardom in last year’s Super Bowl, when he caught the game-winning touchdown. However, Burress has had his run-ins with authority in the past, including a suspension and fine this year. Regarding the shooting, the facts are not all in, but early reports suggest that Burress was at a Manhattan night club when his own weapon went off. If it turns out that Burress is not licensed to carry that weapon, he could face criminal charges, as well as punishment from the NFL.

 

Obviously, gunshot wounds are not to be taken likely. That being said, the damage to Burress’ leg is reportedly very minimal. However, it will likely take days, if not weeks, before it becomes clear when Burress would be able to play again, and whether or not he will face a suspension from the league.

Quote of the Week: “We’ve come to anticipate the worst whenever Burress’s name appears in a news headline, and this was no different.” — William C. Rhoden, New York Times

Further Reading:  “Giants’ Burress hurt in accidental shooting” — ESPN Services

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: COLLEGE FOOTBALL: On Saturday, Alabama plays Florida in the SEC championship game. The game will be played during the day, and it will be aired on CBS. The winner will almost certainly earn a spot in the national championship game. Oklahoma is also scheduled to play Missouri on Saturday–Oklahoma needs to win the game in order to get into the national championship. On Sunday, the BCS will announce the final rankings for the season, which determine the matchups in this year’s bowl games.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

ACTIVE SEASON

 

:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The 2008-09 season is currently underway. It runs from late October to April of 2009, when the playoffs commence.  [Official NBA Website]

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): The college basketball season started last week and runs through “the Tournament,” which takes place in March. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The regular season is now underway. The Tennessee Titans and the New York Giants are currently the best teams in the league. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now in full swing. The BCS Standings currently place Alabama as the best team in the country. The final BCS rankings will be released this week. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. Now that the PGA Championship is over, mainstream golf news will most likely revolve around Tiger Woods’ return from injury and preparation for next year’s Majors. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

 

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season runs through April of 2009. By the new year, the league power rankings should be pretty well set. [Official NHL Website]

 

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

 

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): The Philadelphia Phillies defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in this year’s World Series. During the off-season, baseball news will focus on major trades and player signings. [Official MLB Website]

September 1, Week in Sports

 

::   COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON BEGINS (NCAA Football)

::   MLB PLAYOFF RACES HEAT UP (Pro. Baseball)

::   NFL SEASON PREVIEW (Pro. Football)

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COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON OFFICIALLY KICKS OFF

The college football season officially started last Thursday, and by the end of the weekend, dozens of games had been played. The college football season eventually culminates in 32 bowl games, where the top 64 teams in the country play on the national stage.

Because ranking all of the teams in order is extremely complex (since every team in the country has a different schedule, different opponents, different styles of play, etc.), every college football season is filled with controversy and conflicts of opinion. For many teams in the country, just making a bowl game is a huge accomplishment. The most elite teams in the nation, though, have their hearts set on making the national championship game–which features the top two teams in the country. In order to have a good chance to make it to the national championship, a team can only afford to have one or two losses. But sometimes, even one or two losses won’t cut it. In 2004, Auburn went undefeated, but there were two other undefeated teams who were ranked higher, so Auburn was denied a chance at the national championship. In short, sometimes going undefeated isn’t good enough, so every single game matters.

For better or worse, then, following the college football season mostly involves keeping track of the upsets and watching to see how ranked teams fare against other ranked teams. This week’s big victory (and big upset) came when No. 24-ranked Alabama beat No. 9-ranked Clemson. Clemson is the first top ten team to fall this season, which means they will be knocked out of the top ten in next week’s rankings. But rest assured–those rankings will change many, many times before this season is through.

Quote of the Week: ”A pair of parachuters who were slated to deliver the game ball for North Carolina’s opener against McNeese State inadvertently landed eight miles away–at Duke’s stadium. “In about five years,” said concerned UNC associate AD Rick Steinbacher, “maybe this will be funny.” Oh no–it’s plenty funny right now.” — Stewart Mandel, SI.com

Further Reading: ”The Tide Is Rising” — Ivan Maisel

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ROUNDING THIRD…MLB PLAYOFF RACES HEAT UP

As we enter the month of September, this year’s playoff races are beginning to take shape. The regular season ends on September 28, and the playoffs begin on October 1. Only eight teams make it to the postseason–four from the American League and four from the National League.

Several of the eight playoff spots are all but guaranteed already. The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, Tampa Bay Rays, and Chicago Cubs are virtual locks to make the postseason. The Milwaukee Brewers and Boston Red Sox are likely to make it into the playoffs, as well. That leaves just a handful of playoff spots. Here are some of the key battles to focus on in September:

1. The New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies are currently scrapping it out in the NL East. Whoever wins the division will secure a playoff spot, while the other team will go home empty-handed.

2. The Los Angeles Dodgers and Arizona Diamondbacks are competing for the NL West. While the Diamondbacks have taken command of the lead in the past weeks, it is a shaky division and nobody is counting the Dodgers out.

3. The Minnesota Twins, White Sox, and Boston Red Sox are fighting for two playoff spots in the American League. The White Sox and Twins are competing for the title in the AL Central. The Red Sox are poised to win the Wild Card, but whoever finishes second in the AL Central could certainly give them a run for their money.

Of course, no team has guaranteed their spot in the playoffs yet, which means that nobody is safe. If one team collapses or another team catches fire, the face of the playoffs could change in a heartbeat.

Quote of the Week: “[The Angels are] in the HOV lane for 90-plus victories and a fourth division title in the past five years. And if you can find a weakness in their everyday lineup, the Rally Monkey will wax and buff your car.” — Gene Wojciechowski

Further Reading: Current MLB Standings — via ESPN.com

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ARE YOU READY FOR SOME FOOTBALL?

This weekend marks the beginning of the season for the NFL–the most popular sport in the country. The season officially begins on Thursday, when the New York Giants play the Washington Redskins. The rest of the Opening Week games will be played on Sunday and Monday.

There are a number of teams that are widely expected to be hugely successful this year, such as the New England Patriots and the Dallas Cowboys. And while some teams are expected to be a major disappointment this year, the vast majority of the teams in the league fall somewhere in the middle. The result is that at this point in the year, every team has a chance to make the playoffs, no matter how bleak things look–it is one of the reasons why the sport is so popular. There is no telling where the season will take us. For the time being, though, these are some of the big storylines of the season:

1. New England Patriots: Last year, the Patriots went undefeated in the regular season, but then they were devastated by a loss to the underdog New York Giants in the Super Bowl. Can Patriots quarterback Tom Brady bring the team to a championship this year?

2. Dallas Cowboys: The Cowboys, “America’s Team,” are perennial contenders, and this year many analysts predict that they will win the Super Bowl. However, as good as the Cowboys have been in recent years, it hasn’t helped them in the playoffs, where they have not won a game since 1996.

3. New York Jets: The Jets traded for Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre during the offseason. Will Favre help catapult the Jets to the playoffs? Will the Packers still win their division without their Hall of Fame quarterback?

Quote of the Week: ”There are exactly 267 games that matter in an NFL season, and it’s always a guessing game to predict the winners and losers.” — Don Banks, Sports Illustrated

Further Reading: ”Fact Check: The 2008-2009 NFL Preview” — ESPN the Magazine Staff

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: FOOTBALL: The NFL season begins this week. With games on Thursday, Sunday, and Monday, you can expect to hear a lot about all of them from your friends, family, and co-workers–particularly from those involved in “fantasy football” leagues. Visit www.nfl.com  for details on the game schedules.

:: TENNIS: The U.S. Open continues this week, finishing up on September 7th.

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ALL-SPORTS UPDATE

 

ACTIVE SEASON

:: BASEBALL

MLB (Pro. Baseball): In the final month of the regular season, teams are still jockeying for spots in the post-season–either by winning their division, or by taking the Wild Card spot. [Official MLB Website]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The regular season begins this week. The standings will begin to take shape in just a few weeks, once teams begin to play their division rivals. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football started last Thursday. USA Today and the Associated Press have both ranked Georgia as the number one team. [NCAA Football, ESPN]

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:: GOLF

MEN’S GOLF: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Major Championships: The Masters, U.S. Open, The Open (The British Open), and the PGA Championship. Now that the PGA Championship is over, mainstream golf news will most likely revolve around Tiger Woods’ return from injury and preparation for next year’s Majors. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: TENNIS

MEN’S AND WOMEN’S TENNIS: While there are professional tournaments throughout the year, the most important tournaments are the four Grand Slam tournaments: the Australian Open, French Open, Wimbledon, and US Open. The U.S. Open is currently underway–it runs through September 7. [USTA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Maria Sharapova, Ana Ivanovic

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OFFSEASON

:: BASKETBALL

NCAA MEN’S BASKETBALL (College): Now that the tournament is over, college basketball news will focus on which players leave their schools for the NBA, and which college teams land the premier high-school players for next season. [CBS Sports]

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The Detroit Red Wings defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Stanley Cup Finals, completing the 2007-08 season. [Official NHL Website]

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:: BASKETBALL

NBA (Pro. Basketball): The Celtics defeated the Lakers to win the NBA Finals, ending the 2008 season.  [Official NBA Website]