SportSpectator Blog

January 26, Week in Sports

:: STEELERS AND CARDINALS PREPARE FOR SUPER BOWL (Pro. Football)

:: AUSTRALIAN OPEN KICKS OFF TENNIS SEASON (Pro. Tennis)

:: EAST BEATS WEST IN NHL ALL-STAR GAME (Pro. Hockey)

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SUPER BOWL PREVIEW

 The biggest story in sports this week will be the lead up to Super Bowl Sunday. The Super Bowl is the most highly-watched sporting event in the country, and this year it will be played between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals.

The Steelers and Cardinals are two very different teams. While the Steelers are one of the most successful franchises in the NFL and won a Super Bowl as recently as 2005, the Cardinals have been one of the worst teams in the league, and this is their first Super Bowl appearance. The Steelers have the best defense in the country, and Cardinals have one of the most explosive offenses. The Steelers also have one of the biggest fanbases in the country, dubbed “Steeler Nation,” while the Cardinals fanbase is small and regional. However, since the Cardinals are a longshot to win this year’s Super Bowl, expect them to have plenty of people rooting for them on Sunday, since this country loves an underdog.

Of the many storylines going into this game, two of the biggest will be centered around Cardinals players Kurt Warner and Anquan Boldin. Warner is an aging veteran who has been underestimated by people his whole career–while football fans love him, nobody expected him to lead this Cardinals team to a Super Bowl victory. If the Cardinals win, Warner will almost surely be the hero. Boldin, on the other hand, is in the Cardinals’ doghouse right now, after he pouted over his lack of playing time in the team’s last win over the Philadelphia Eagles. Boldin’s surly behavior was one of the big talking points last week, and it is sure to be brought up during Sunday’s game.

Quote of the Week: “The Super Bowl XLIII storylines are pretty much set. The Arizona Cardinals’ high-flying offense and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ top-ranked defense are rightfully commanding significant attention.” — Mike Sando, ESPN.com

Further Reading: “UnCommon Ground” — Don Banks, SI.com

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TROUBLE DOWN UNDER

The Australian Open is currently underway, and it runs through Sunday, February 1. The Australian Open is the first of four “Grand Slam” tennis tournaments–the most important tennis events of the year.

The competitors will be facing each other in the quarterfinals early this week, and the championship matches will be played next weekend. Almost all of the big names are still in the competition at this point. On the men’s side, the most prominent three players are Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer, and Novak Djokovic, who won the men’s singles championship last year. On the woman’s side, Jelena Jankovic, the top-seeded player, has been eliminated from competition, but the second seed, Serena Williams, is still going strong.

The Australian Open has drawn plenty of negative attention this week because of the violent behavior among spectators. On Friday, 30 fans were ejected after Bosnian and Serbian fans clashed. This is the third straight year of such behavior at the Australian Open.

Quote of the Week: ”The world comes to Melbourne Park for the Australian Open and, increasingly, brings its troubles along.” — Kamakshi Tandon, ESPN

Further Reading: ”Australian Open Ejects Fans as Ethnic Clashes Return” — Grant Clark, Bloomberg.com

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STARS ALIGN IN MONTREAL

On Sunday night, the city of Montreal hosted this year’s All-Star Game. The game was a high-scoring affair, with the Eastern Conference defeating the Western Conference by a score of 12-11.

Unlike the All-Star game for the NBA or MLB, the All-Star hockey game draws considerably less interest and arrives with much less fanfare. Part of the reason is that the NHL All-Star game is far less intense than an actual hockey game, since the players refuse to risk injury in an exhibition game. As a result, the combined score of this year’s game was over 20, whereas in a typical hockey game, only a handful of goals are scored. The excess number of goals and lack of physical play contributed to a relatively uninteresting game for devoted hockey fans.

However, the game did come to an exciting finish. After three periods, the East and West were tied, which brought the game to a shootout. This was the first time that an All-Star game had ever been decided by penalty shots. Alex Ovechkin, last year’s MVP, scored the winning goal.

Quote of the Week: “The NHL All-Star game was settled in the newest of ways in hockey’s oldest city.” — Associated Press

Further Reading:  “Stars Go the Distance” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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 WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: PRO. FOOTBALL: The Super Bowl will be played on February 1 in Tampa Bay, between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals. The game is the most highly-watched sporting event of the year in the U.S.

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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 is currently underway and runs through “the Tournament,” which takes place in March. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will face off in the Super Bowl on February 1. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeating Oklahoma in the national championship game. [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. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season is currently under way and runs through April of 2009.  [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. The Australian Open is taking place this week, and will be completed on February 1. [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]

January 12, Week in Sports

:: CARDINALS STUN EAGLES; STEELERS BEAT RAVENS (Pro. Football)

:: HENDERSON, RICE ELECTED TO MLB HALL OF FAME (Pro. Baseball)

:: COLTS COACH TONY DUNGY RETIRES (Pro. Football)

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CARDINALS RULE

The Arizona Cardinals shocked the league on Sunday when they beat the Philadelphia Eagles to advance to the Super Bowl. The Pittsburgh Steelers also stamped their ticket to the Super Bowl with a win over the Baltimore Ravens. The Super Bowl is the most highly-watched sporting event of the year.

In recent years, the Cardinals have been one of the worst franchises in football, and this year, they posted a 9-7 record before backing into the playoffs. Since then, however, the Cardinals have been red-hot, knocking off Atlanta, then Carolina, and now the Eagles–and in each situation, the Cardinals have been the underdogs. Led by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner and superstar Larry Fitzgerald, the Cardinals now have just one more game to win to complete their Cinderella story. This is the first time in franchise history that the Cardinals have made it to the Super Bowl.

The Pittsburgh Steelers, on the other hand, are one of the most successful franchises in the history of the NFL. Led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the best defense in football, the Steelers beat the rival Baltimore Ravens to advance to the Super Bowl. Right now, they are running on all cylinders and their defense is better than ever, so they will be heavy favorites to beat to Cardinals.

Quote of the Week: “I think we’ve been an underdog every game that we played–for us to overcome that means a lot.” — Anquan Boldin, Cardinals receiver

Further Reading: “Deep Impact” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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HALL LOVES RICKEY AS MUCH AS RICKEY

This week, Rickey Henderson and Jim Rice were voted into the Major League Baseball Hall of Fame. Being inducted into the Hall of Fame is the greatest of all honors for for a professional baseball player.

This was the first year that Rickey Henderson was eligible for the Hall of Fame, and it comes as no surprise that he was voted in. Henderson is the greatest leadoff man of all time, though he is perhaps even more famous as the greatest base stealer ever. Henderson holds the record for most career stolen bases at 1,406, which is almost 500 more than Lou Brock, who is second on the list. Henderson is also known for giving some of the funniest (and most narcissistic) quotes ever, many of which feature Rickey talking about himself in the third person.

Jim Rice’s journey to the Hall of Fame was very different than Henderson’s. While Henderson made it to the Hall his first year of eligibility, Rice slipped into the Hall during his last year on the ballot. Rice was a power-hitting outfielder for the Boston Red Sox and an 8-time All Star. Henderson and Rice will be inducted into the Hall of Fame in July.

Quote of the Week: ”The voice-mail message on Rickey Henderson’s cellphone is unusually wordy and quirky. He says hello and pauses, presumably to confuse callers into thinking he has actually answered and that it is not a recording. After some silence, Henderson repeats the gag by saying, “How are you doing?” and pausing again…. The message takes 30 seconds, but it is fraught with excess. It is a message that befits the flamboyant Henderson, who is the greatest leadoff hitter in baseball history.” — Jack Curry, New York Times

Further Reading: ”Henderson, Rice elected to Hall of Fame” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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COLTS COACH RIDES INTO THE SUNSET

Tony Dungy, the great coach of the Indianapolis Colts, retired from the NFL last week. Dungy was one of the most celebrated coaches in the league, and will doubtless be remembered as one of the greatest coaches of his time.

Dungy has coached in the league for more than a decade, but he made a name for himself coaching Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, whom he led to a Super Bowl victory in 2007. In a sport full of screaming coaches, stomping up and down the sidelines, Dungy was known for his reserved demeanor. He was respected by everyone–players, other coaches, and football writers have nothing but good things to say about him, both professionally and personally–which is truly rare in the NFL.

When the Colts won the Super Bowl in 2007, Dungy became the first African-American NFL coach to win the championship.

Quote of the Week: “There are people you meet in life who profess great religious faith and then live a hypocritical lie of an existence. Then there is Tony Dungy, who knew everybody’s name, whether you were the equipment guy or the left tackle, who cared about everybody’s story, who was genuine to those who were essential to his life and those who were not.” — Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star

Further Reading:  “He Won the Right Way” — Bob Kravitz, Indianapolis Star

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: PRO. FOOTBALL: The Super Bowl will be played on February 1, giving both teams a week off to recover. However, Super Bowl hype will still be the dominant story in the sports world this week. Now is a good chance to catch up on the storylines from the season, as well as to hear predictions for the game itself, which is the most important sporting event of the year.

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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 is currently underway and runs through “the Tournament,” which takes place in March. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals will face off in the Super Bowl on February 1. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeating Oklahoma in the national championship game. [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. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season is currently under way and runs through April of 2009.  [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]

January 12, Week in Sports

:: NEW YORK GIANTS FALL TO PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (Pro. Football)

:: FLORIDA BEATS OKLAHOMA IN BCS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME (College Football)

:: CARDINALS STUN PANTHERS (Pro. Football)

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GIANT KILLERS

On Sunday afternoon, the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New York Giants, knocking them out of the playoffs. The Giants are one of the most popular teams in the league, as well as the defending Super Bowl champions.

The Philadelphia Eagles have had a long and dramatic season, with most of the drama centered around embattled Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. McNabb is one of the top quarterbacks in the league, and his talent is undeniable, but he is past the prime of his career. Age, injuries, and a contentious relationship with Philadelphia fans have dogged McNabb the past few years, and earlier this season he was struggling so much that he was actually benched by his coach. But now that McNabb has led the Eagles past Eli Manning and the New York Giants, one of the best teams in the league, McNabb will be the hero of Philly–at least for the time being. The Eagles play the Arizona Cardinals next week, and the winner of that game will represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.

On Sunday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the San Diego Chargers. As a result, the Steelers and the Ravens will face off next week, and the winner of that game will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Quote of the Week: “He is the best quarterback in the NFL. I don’t think I have to say anything more than that.” — Andy Reid, Philadelphia Eagles Coach on Donovan McNabb

Further Reading: “Eagles Pick Giants Apart” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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FLORIDA CHOMPS DOWN ON OKLAHOMA

On Thursday night, the Florida Gators defeated the Oklahoma Sooners 24-14 to win the BCS championship game. The BCS title game is the culmination of the college football season, and the victorious team is the national champion.

The Florida Gators have now won the national championship two out of the past three years. The past two years, the face of the team has been quarterback Tim Tebow, who won the Heisman Trophy in 2007 and was a finalist for the award in 2008. Tebow was the driving force in Florida’s victory this year. Meanwhile, the winner of the 2008 Heisman Trophy was Sam Bradford, the quarterback for the losing team, the Sooners. Because two of the most impressive quarterbacks in the nation were facing off in the national championship game, the game was widely expected to be a high-scoring affair. In reality, the game was relatively slow-paced, and both team’s offenses made critical mistakes throughout the contest. In the end, though, Florida managed to outlast Oklahoma.

The college football season is now over, with Florida winning the championship and being ranked number one overall. However, there is a small contingent of sports writers who made the case that Utah, despite not even playing in the national championship game, should be regarded as the best team in the country. Utah was undefeated this year, and defeated Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. However, according to the current college football ranking system, the degree of difficulty of Utah’s schedule was not as high as Florida, making their quest for the number one spot impossible. In the end, Utah was ranked number two in the nation.

Quote of the Week: ”Florida? Oklahoma? Who cares? Utah is the national champion.” — Rick Reilly, ESPN

Further Reading: ”Florida Raises another Trophy” — Pete Thamel, New York Times

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WILD CARDS

The Arizona Cardinals handily defeated the Carolina Panthers in the playoffs on Saturday night, winning the game by 20 points. The Cardinals were major underdogs in the game (and in the post-season in general), but now they are one win away from making it to the Super Bowl.

The Cardinals are led by veteran quarterback Kurt Warner, the aging superstar who made a name for himself ten years ago, when he was the league MVP and led the St. Louis Rams to a Super Bowl victory. Since then, Warner’s presence on the national stage has diminished–at least until this year, when he led the Arizona Cardinals to an unlikely playoff berth. The Cards were widely considered the worst team to make the playoffs, but now that they have two post-season victories under their belts, Warner and star receiver Larry Fitzgerald are turning some heads. Of course, they got some help from the Carolina Panthers, who had a complete meltdown on Saturday night, when Panthers quarterback Jack Delhomme threw five interceptions.

Earlier on Saturday, the Baltimore Ravens knocked off the Tennessee Titans. The Ravens, who have been one of the hottest teams in the league, did not play particularly well on Saturday, but they still managed to drop the powerhouse Titans. The Ravens and the Pittsburgh Steelers will play next week, and the winner will represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

Quote of the Week: “We picked a bad day to have a bad day.” — John Fox, Carolina Panthers coach

Further Reading:  “Soaring Cardinals one game away from first Super Bowl berth” — Associated Press, via ESPN

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WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK

:: PRO. FOOTBALL: The playoffs continue next weekend. The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Baltimore Ravens, and the Philadelphia Eagles will play the Arizona Cardinals. The winners of those two games will ultimately play each other in the Super Bowl, the biggest event in American sports.

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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 is currently underway and runs through “the Tournament,” which takes place in March. [CBS Sports]

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:: FOOTBALL

NFL (Pro. Football): The playoffs continue this week and culminate in the Super Bowl, which takes place later in January. [Official NFL Website]

NCAA FOOTBALL (College): The college football season is now over, with Florida defeated Oklahoma in the national championship game. [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. [Official PGA Website]

NOTABLE PLAYERS: Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson

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:: HOCKEY

NHL (Pro. Hockey): The hockey season is currently under way and runs through April of 2009.  [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]