Australian Open Ends With Familiar Names Winning Again

The first Grand Slam of the year is over with the Australian Open finishing on Sunday. I usually like this one the most mainly because, for some reason, I watch this the most over the rest of the Grand Slams, even Wimbledon.

On Saturday, we saw the women's final with Justine Henin, who is coming back from retirement, vs Serena Williams, who may be the most recognizable name to US tennis along with her sister, Venus. The match was a good one with Henin fighting back in the second set to force a third set. Serena though would dominate the last set and claim her 12th Grand Slam Title in Singles play. This is also Serena's 5th Australian Open Title.

The men's Final had Roger Federer vs. Andy Murray on Sunday night. Federer has the most Grand Slam Singles Titles ever at 15 while Murray is trying to get his first one. Federer dominated the match until the third set when Murray started to put up a fight. Murray would lose that Set, however, and the match but still played significantly better there. Federer now has 16 Grand Slam Titles.

A nice tournament all around except for Nadal who lost to Murray even though he retired in third set due to injury. He was losing anyway. I hope Rafa gets healthy fast. True he has a few months until Roland Garros but he needs to have some momentum and playing time if he is going to have a chance.

But the praise goes to Federer and Serena. Congrats to them both.

Kurt Warner: A True Underdog Career

Kurt Warner, age 38, is retiring from Football after 12 Seasons in the NFL. He was first known not as a NFL QB, but as an Arena Football League QB as he played in the league for 3 seasons and then one season in NFL Europe. He finally got in the NFL in 1998 at 27 years young and the next year won the Superbowl for the Rams. He would get them to another Superbowl but they would lose to the Pats. He would leave the team and try his luck with the Giants but Eli Manning would become the starter there. He then went to Arizona where he helped the Cardinals get to a Superbowl where they would lose to the Steelers. Now Kurt closes this Storybook career as one of only two guys in NFL history to lead two different teams to the Superbowl.

Now the big question that many will ask in a few years: Is Kurt Warner a Hall of Famer? He has thrown 32,344 yards in his career along with 208 TDS in which he has thrown over a hundred TDs for two different teams, which has only been done by Fran Tarkenton until now. He has won one Superbowl while getting to 3 of them. He also finishes his career with a 93.7 passer rating which is 5th best all time. I think he should get in. If not for these accomplishments but for the fact that he had to work outside the NFL to get a shot and then to have this kind of success. Kurt Warner was a True Underdog that could not be held down.

P.S. While I will miss Kurt Warner in the NFL, I'm glad he is gone (at least from Arizona). The 49ers may be the favorite in the NFC West now that Arizona may have to rely on Matt Leinart.

No More Unbeatens In College

The number one team in NCAA Basketball was the last undefeated team. They WERE the Kentucky Wildcats. They played South Carolina last night and lost to them 68-62. Gamecocks' player Devan Downey scored 30 against the Wildcats as he was the top scorer of the night. The Wildcats are now 19-1 as there are no more undefeated teams left in College Basketball. Kentucky is still one of the best teams in the country so no worries there. It is North Carolina who is in trouble as this elite program is 13-7. It is a rebuilding year what with a lot of starters from last year's National Title Team going to the NBA but I still expect better especially now that teams have rely on Freshman starters to make an impact.

Colts Outgun the Jets and The Saints Go Marching On to Miami

What a day in the Conference Title games. The first being the Jets vs. the Colts. The Jets came in with a passion while the Colts were always good with Manning. The Jets hung in there for a while but just couldn't do anything against the Colts in the second half. Colts win 30-17 and go on to the Superbowl. The Colts did the two things needed to win this game. They stopped the Jets running game limiting them to under a 100 yards and they wore down that defense so they could have a big second half. I must give credit to Mark Sanchez though who had a great game 17/30, 257 yards, 2 TDs and one INT. He has proved that he can deliver in a big game. Manning though was just accurate the whole day with 377 yards and 3 TDs. The Jets had a great run but the "Superbowl Favorites" are going home while the Colts will go to the Superbowl for the 2nd time in 4 years.

The NFC Title game of Vikings vs. Saints came down to the wire more or less. It actually went into OT thanks to an interception off Favre thanks to Tracy Porter. The Saints would win the toss and thanks to some key plays, favorable calls and booth reviews, Garrett Hartley kicks the game winning field goal from 40 yards away. The Saints win 31-28 and March On to their first Superbowl ever. The story of the game for Minnesota was turnovers, especially fumbles. 6 fumbles from the Vikings in which it went to the other side 3 times. They just couldn't hold on to that ball. However the Vikings did play well enough to at least have a chance. Drew Brees had a good day of 197 Yards and 3 TDs as he finally gets a Superbowl appearance.

It will be the Colts and the Saints for Superbowl XLIV. Peyton Manning vs. Drew Brees. The best two teams (record wise and playoff spot wise) meet in the Superbowl. The Colts who have been one of the best teams of the decade and the Saints. WHO DAT? NFC CHAMPIONS!!! THATS THAT!!!

P.S. Yes I'm aware of the bad puns I wrote.

Meyer to Coach in the Spring and Cable Still in Oakland

Urban Meyer stated a few weeks ago that he was going to take a leave of absence instead of leaving the Gators. Well that leave may already be over as Meyer says he is feeling better and he plans to coach in the spring. Sounds like the biggest false alarm ever. It looks like Meyer still has a way to go but it does look like nothing is changing in Gainesville.

Another coaching situation has been settled but in the NFL, not in college. Al Davis and the Raiders have been debating amongst themselves whether to keep Tom Cable. The Raiders did have a losing record this year but they did have some impressive wins. It might have one of their better seasons in recent memory. For that, Tom Cable will stay on for the next season as head coach of the Raiders. I say give him a couple more years to get in the playoffs. If they have more of those kind of wins, Cable may be the coach for a long time in Oakland.

Jim Calhoun's Medical Problems and the Bills Find a New Head Coach

The Connecticut Head Coach Jim Calhoun is taking a leave of absence due to a serious health issue. Calhoun has been the head coach of UConn's basketball team since 1986 and has won two national titles with the team (1999, 2004). There is no timetable to when Calhoun will return to UConn but he is expected to come back at some point. Calhoun is 67 right now and is definitely in retirement territory. It's clear he doesn't want to leave the team but if his health doesn't improve, he might call it quits.

The Buffalo Bills finally find another head coach for their team as they have been looking all over the place for one. They have talked to some big coaches out there but instead they get is Chan Gailey (OUCH!!!). Gailey was recently the offensive coordinator for the Kansas City Chiefs and his last head coaching job was at Georgia Tech. His NFL career record is 18-14 as he coached the Cowboys for a short while. Gailey is definitely an unproven Head Coach as he has had limited experience with that role in the NFL. The Bills seem to have no choice but to see what Gailey can do. While I think that Gailey should be given a few years to see how strong he can make this team, it is likely that if Gailey doesn't impress right away, he might be fired if the Bills come across a Proven Coach like Bill Cowher or Jon Gruden.

P.S. Gruden or Cowher are just examples of the kind of coach that this team would be looking for and nothing more. If these two guys want to stay in Broadcasting, that's fine by me.

P.P.S. Please come back Gruden. I miss you Chucky.

Vikings and Jets Move On

The divisional round was finished the other day as the first game on Sunday was the Cowboys vs. Vikings. The Vikings were able to crush the Cowboys by a final of 34-3. Tony Romo was assaulted in this game as he fumbled the ball 3 times in which they lost the ball twice, threw one INT, and sacked 6 times. There was a lack of poise from Romo in this game. Favre on the other hand threw 4 TDs in which 3 went to Sidney Rice. The Vikings now have to face the Saints Sunday for the NFC Title.

The shocker of the weekend was the Jets pulling off a victory in San Diego over the Chargers 17-14. This game was about defense the whole way and the Jets defense played well enough to keep the Jets in reach the whole time until the Jets grabbed the lead and never let it go. Rex Ryan may be right about his team after all. If their defense continues to play this good, they might pull off a stunner in February. The Jets however may face their biggest challenge this week as they have to play the Colts in the AFC Title Game. Though they beat the Colts in Week 16, the Colts were resting that game and it looks like the Colts have come alive with their win over the Ravens. Good Luck J-E-T-S JETS JETS JETS!!!

The divisional round is complete with the Conference Titles to only be decided. The winners of this weekend will go to the Superbowl in Miami.

P.S. Not all good news for Football over the weekend as Gaines Adams of the Chicago Bears died Sunday of cardiac arrest due to an enlarged heart. Adams was a DE and recorded 13.5 sacks in his career. He was 26 and will be missed.

No Rust for the Saints and the Colts

Many analysts recently questioned whether a team can pick up the pace after a bye week in the playoffs. The Colts and the Saints didn't get the message. The first game had the Saints pick apart the Cardinals 45-14. Drew Brees was in top form as he threw 247 yards and 3 TDs in the win. The Saints go marching on to the NFC Title Game which will be at the Superdome.

The Colts were under more scrutiny as they just gave away the last two games of the year and many thought it was a bad move (including myself) as it would make them lose an edge and they also gave up a chance at history. The Colts needed a win and they got one beating the Ravens at Indianapolis 20-3. The Ravens allowed 4 turnovers which gave the Colts fuel for the win along with Manning's 246 Passing Yards, 2 TD passes and one INT. The Colts will host the AFC Title Game next week.

The number one teams in both conferences break a trend of previous top teams. They proved they belong there and they both have one more step until the Superbowl.

P.S. DAMN IT RAVENS!!! If you're going to beat the Pats, YOU BETTER BEAT THE COLTS!!!

Tennessee Finds New Head Coach and the London 49ers?

With Lane Kiffin leaving the team and going to USC, the Volunteers now needed to find a new head coach very fast as National Signing day was fast approaching. They couldn't find any great coaches to take the job what with the limited time and Kiffin practically flipping them off as he was leaving. They did hire Derek Dooley who was recently the Louisiana Tech head coach. His team was in the Wac Conference which was dominated by Boise State this year. He has a career record of 17-20 all at Louisiana Tech. This is a great job for Dooley but bad luck for the Volunteers.

Meanwhile the 49ers will have one less home game in San Francisco next year as one of their home games will be used in the annual NFL London trip where the 49ers are technically hosting the Broncos. While I've never supported any NFL games being played in Europe or even outside of the USA, this may be good news for the 49ers. It may mean a little more league recognition provided we win this game. The London game is regrettably isn't going away soon so why not try and spin this in a positive light.

P.S. DAMN YOU ROGER GOODELL!!!

Arenas Plead Guilty

NBA fans have been aware of the Gilbert Arenas situation where he pulled out a gun in a NBA locker room as part of a "joke" about a month ago. David Stern has already taken action because of Arenas' behavior after the event and has suspended the star indefinitely. Now it was the DA's turn as they sought to prosecute Arenas. Arenas would plead guilty to a single violation of DC's guns policy. While Arenas will not be sentenced until March, there is speculation that he will get little or no jail time.

Maybe the seriousness of the situation has caught up to Arenas now that the law has made it's presence known. I hope that Arenas is sent to jail for a time even if it is for less than a few months. This experience has been a humbling one to Arenas and has brought him down to earth. How this will hurt the rest of his NBA career, we will have to see when Arenas' legal trouble is over.

Lane Kiffin: Third Job in Three Years

When Pete Carroll left USC to coach the Seahawks, USC then needed to find a head coach. There was talk to hire Jack Del Rio but he is staying at Jacksonville. But the true hire is Lane Kiffin from Tennessee. Lane Kiffin was 7-6 this last year with the Volunteers in a tough SEC conference. Before that, he was the Raiders coach for a couple years before being fired. Lane Kiffin will now try to hold this USC team together and keep it a dominate program.

Now my comments: Kiffin doesn't deserve this nor should he have been offered the job. Kiffin has not yet proven he can be a good coach in college or the pros. He's only been in Tennessee one year and he barely made it over .500. I don't know why USC has hired this coach that may not have enough experience. Also I still don't why the NCAA allows this kind of thing where a coach can resign a post in one school to just coach at another. The NCAA needs to stop this.

Goodbye USC, Hello Seattle

Pete Carrol's tenure at USC is officially over as he resigned as the Trojans head coach to become the head coach of the Seattle Seahawks. Pete Carroll ends a great tenure at USC that has included 7 Pac Ten Titles in a row, Two National Titles, and nearly a hundred wins in his USC career. Carroll was without a doubt a great coach at the college level and maybe the best of the last decade. USC now needs to find a new head coach to lead this football program.

Carroll now takes his experience into the pros as he will try to make this trip to the NFL better than his previous ones. They weren't bad but they weren't great either. He will be taking a team that has hit a rough patch the last two seasons with at least 10 losses in each one. The challenge for Carroll is to make this team a playoff contender in a few years. The team still has Hasselbeck but he will be pushing retirement age pretty soon. Carroll will have to make a push in the next couple of years.

P.S. Bad News for the Niners as they now have to fear a improved team in the NFC West.

Mark McGwire is Captain Obvious

Today the identity of another Captain Obvious is revealed. My favorite so far is Orlando Bloom in a movie role. But today's captain is Mark McGwire as he finally admits that he used steroids when he was playing baseball especially when he had the 70 homers in 1998. McGwire has not commented in his steroid involvement until now. He has admitted his guilt and said it was a mistake and he wished he would've never taken them.

The obvious thing is that everyone already knew he was taking steroids by just looking at the guy's big muscles. However this is a huge step for McGwire as he may have set an example for other steroid users to come forward, admit their guilt, and apologize to the game. While I do see some sincerity in this story, this apology is a LITTLE late and might be a move for McGwire's Hall of Fame chances. But then that is just the cynic in me talking.

One of the biggest names of the steroid era has admitted his guilt. Will another person follow his lead? Maybe Bonds when he is up for the Hall of Fame.

Patriots Fall to the Ravens and a Shootout in the Desert

The rest of the Wild Card playoff games were today with the first one being at New England were the Ravens took on the Patriots. The Raven lost to the Pats earlier this season and wanted some revenge on the way to the next round. They would get that revenge as they beat the Pats 33-14. They took a 24-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. All of Baltimore's TDs were on the ground with Ray Rice leading the way with 2 TDs and 159 rushing yards. Brady was picked apart by the Ravens as he threw under 200 yards, only 2 TDs and 3 INTs. The Ravens now go on to the next round to face the Colts.

The other game of the day was the Green Bay Packers and the Arizona Cardinals. While the Cardinals did get beat last week by the Packers, they put up some fight this week. The Cardinals would grab the lead and hold it for a while but the Packers came back thanks to Aaron Rodgers. It would be tied 45-45 heading into OT. The Packers got the ball but Rodgers fumbled it and Karlos Dansby picked it up and scored the game winning score for the Cardinals. Final score was 51-45 making the highest scoring game in playoff history. It was battle of QB's as Kurt Warner threw for 379 yards and 5 TDs while Rodgers threw for 422 yards, 4 TDs, and one INT. Thanks to this win, the Cardinals will face the Saints next week.

Round one was filled with exciting games. Round two will be fun to watch as well. In the AFC, the Jets will face the Chargers while the Ravens will Face the Colts. The NFC will have the Cardinals playing the Saints while the Cowboys will face the Vikings.

I WANT A REMATCH!!!

The NFL Playoffs started today with the Wild Card round featuring two games that are essentially rematches from Week 17. The first game was the Jets vs. the Bengals in which the Jets Shutout the Bengals a week ago. This time they would play in Cincinnati instead of New Jersey. The Bengals played better in this game but the Jets still dominated. The Jets and the Bengals effectively ran the ball but the Jets managed to air it out better. Sanchez threw a nice play action pass to Dustin Keller for his only TD pass of the game. Jets would win the game 24-14.

The second game was Eagles vs. Cowboys in Dallas after the Cowboys shut them out a week ago in the same stadium. Except for a TD pass from Vick to Maclin, the Eagles didn't improve. Tony Romo's 244 Passing yards and 2 TD passes helped the Cowboys but the running game lead by Felix Jones with 148 rushing yards and one TD run was the key to the win. The Cowboys finally win a playoff game for the first time in this century (first since 1996) and I'm sure Wade Phillips can breath a little easier tonight. The Cowboys will face the Vikings next week in the Divisional Round.

P.S. The other rematch from week 17 will be played tomorrow when the Packers take on the Cardinals. Also the Ravens will take on the Patriots who they played much earlier this season. It is all rematches.

Seattle Fires Jim Mora and Goes After Carroll

Jim Mora was fired earlier today after just one season as the Seattle Seahawks' head coach. He was 5-11 with the team struggling all year long as Hasselbeck and the others never really got into a good rhythm. Perhaps the real reason for firing Mora was a chance to go after Pete Carroll of USC. While Carroll has been very successfully in College, his NFL coaching career has been mediocre at a record of 33-31. The Seahawks are willing to give Pete Carroll a chance to see if he can actually be successful at the professional level. If Carroll takes the job, he will be trying to rebuild this franchise.

Couple of things here. I don't approve of them firing Mora after only one year. He wasn't really given a chance to prove he could improve the team or get them into the playoffs. The first year of coaching is really to see what you got and what you need to work on. However I would like to think that they did indeed fire Mora to get to Carroll. The Seahawks want another successful coach like Holmgren so they go after Carroll. The thing is several coaches from college have tried their luck in the NFL and have failed in recent years like Nick Saban and Dennis Erickson. Whether Carroll will be hired or not will be decided in the next few days.

P.S. I say thank you Mike Holmgren for keeping Eric Mangini on as head coach of the Browns. He has done well ending the year on a 4 game winning streak. I think he needs to get at least 7 wins next year in order to impress Holmgren more

Alabama Wins the National Title

The BCS Title Game was yesterday between Texas and Alabama. It was about a month ago when these teams earned their spots and when the moment finally came, it was a dissapointment. Alabama would dominate the game on the ground with over 200 yards ruhsing with over a 100 yards a piece for Trent Richardson and Mark Ingram. The Final Score was 37-21. McElroy passed the ball only 11 times and didn't make any mistakes. Congrats to Alabama. They are champions of a flawed system. With this title, this is Saban's second National Championship as he won one with LSU years ago.

The dissapointment was on the Longhorns first offensive drive when Colt McCoy got hurt. After that, the team's morale had sunk way low and it affected the offense and the defense. McCoy would not return to the field but he did come back as a cheerleader. The back up QB, Garrett Gilbert, just looked awful for most of the game. Texas tried being conservative but eventually had to pass it out. They managed a comeback in the second half getting within 3 points but Gilbert's inexperience buried his team later on.

Overall it was a good game. It would have been better with McCoy but not everything can be perfect. The College Football season is over with Alabama on top. It looks like the Crimson Tide may be the best team next year as well considering many of their stars are returning including Heisman winner Mark Ingram. Also considering that Tebow is leaving Florida, Alabama will likely be SEC Champs for next year. People shouldn't ask who will be the best next year but who will be number 2? That may be the interesting race to watch.

P.S. Now it's time for College Basketball to take off. Wake me when it's March.

How Many Bowls Were There?

Well the College Football Bowl Season is over with the exception of the BCS National Championship game which doesn't even have the word bowl in it so I don't really consider it one. We have had some good games over these past couple of weeks and I have got to say: we are all winners here. NO SERIOUSLY, WE ARE ALL WINNERS!!! This bowl season had a total of 33 bowl games. That means that 66 teams of the 120 FBS teams were in some sort of bowl game, 68 if you count the Title game. That means that over half of all teams get in to some sort of Bowl game that they may not deserve.

Now the NCAA keeps this system because of Tradition and its hard to change tradition like this. I mean who wants to get rid of the great Papajohn's.com Bowl or the Little Caesers Bowl. It is truely America when a bowl game for college students is brought to you by Capital One. This is one of the worst traditional systems in the history of sports. This is not a system worth saving.

And then what makes it worse is when they have a poll decide who plays in the title game rather than a playoff system to determine who really deserves a shot. What they should do is just play the BCS Bowl Games (Orange, Rose, Sugar and the stupid named Fiesta Bowl) and then the winners would play a semifinal and then those winners would play for the National Title. The only thing the polls would decide is who would get the last three spots. If they would do this, they would be done before the end of the month. It would only take a couple extra weeks.

P.S. AND YES YOU COULD STILL KEEP THE OTHER BOWL GAMES FOR THE TEAMS WHO WANT TO MAKE THEIR SCHOOL FEEL LIKE A "WINNER" AND ALSO TO APPEASE THOSE GREAT SPONSORS!!!!!

Agent Zero Gets a Burn Notice, Holliday Re-Signs with Cardinals, and the Baseball Hall of Fame '10

The NBA has finally done something regarding Gilbert Arenas. The Commissioner of the NBA, David Stern, has suspended Arenas indefinitely without pay because Arenas brought guns into a NBA lockeroom and pulled them to play some sort of joke that I still don't get. The guns were not loaded at the time of the incident but it is still a very serious matter. I actually support David Stern in this decision. This is different from the Plaxico Burress case as this actually involves the NBA (locker room). This is legitimately a Legal and NBA affair. I hope that Arenas is suspended for a whole season's worth of games.

In the baseball world, the ST. Louis Cardinals re-signed Matt Holliday to a 7 year, 120 million dollar deal. This is a great deal for Holliday in that he gets this kind of long term deal and the big bucks. The Cardinals, though, might be hurt in the long run as they might lack to funds to do certain things in the future like re-sign Albert Pujols. The Baseball Hall of Fame Class of 2010 was announced with only one player getting the necessary amount of votes. That player is Andre Dawson and he is a class of one. Bert Blyleven and Roberto Alomar fell a few votes short this year as Blyleven was just 5 votes short and Alomar was just 8 votes short. Dawson has a career total of 438 homers and over 1500 RBI's. He spent most of his career with the Montreal Expos and then a notable tenure with the Cubs. Andre Dawson will be inducted in July of this year.

P.S. How can Arenas actually strike a pose pointing his fingers out like a pair of guns? Someone needs to tell him he is not at the chuckle hut, please.

Redskins Hire Mike Shanahan, Iowa Wins the Orange Bowl, and the BCS Title Pre-thoughts

There was no secret who the Redskins wanted to hire even when Jim Zorn was still there. It was made official in the last couple of days as Mike Shanahan was introduced as the Redskins new head coach. Shanahan had won two Superbowls back when he was the Broncos head coach however that was back when John Elway was on the team. Shanahan was also made Vice President of Football operations which gives him a significant influence on who gets on the team. Shanahan's 1st issue he needs to address is whether Jason Campbell is a good enough player to keep as the starting QB. What makes this more difficult is that Campbell's contract is up and he won't have a season or so to properly decide.

Meanwhile in college football, the Iowa Hawkeyes won the Orange Bowl beating the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets 24-14. Iowa did a great job competing with that Georgia Tech's Running Game and effectively kept them back near the end. Iowa turned out to have a pretty good year after all even though they didn't win the Big Ten Title. They still won a BCS Bowl Game.

The bowl games are pretty much over except for the BCS Title Game which doesn't even have the word Bowl in it's name. I don't feel enough hype for the title game this time around. Either way, my pick: Texas Wins it All. While I do think that Mark Ingram might be the most dangerous player in this game, Texas has a good defense that can possibly combat Ingram. Texas also can run and throw the ball. Colt McCoy has been showing off both of those abilities lately. It will be close but Texas will prevail.

Big Unit Retires

Hitters can finally breath a sigh of relief as Randy Johnson, the Big Unit, has retired from baseball. For 22 years, Johnson has been one of the most dominating pitchers in the game. He had a fastball that often was in the high 90's and his slider could strike you out and sit you down. Not to mention this all came from a guy that was almost 7 feet tall. That's Intimidation. Johnson finishes his career with a 303-166 record, a career 3.29 ERA, and 4,875 Strikeouts which is second to only Nolan Ryan. He won one World Series Title (2001) and was Co World Series MVP with Curt Schilling. He pitched great games including two no hitters in which one was a perfect game back in 2004. Johnson also has 5 total Cy Young Awards spread throughout his career. Johnson retires as a Giant but will be remembered mainly for his tenures in Seattle and Arizona. Johnson is definitely a Hall of Famer and is in the debate for one of the best lefties of all time. I don't know however if Johnson can get into Cooperstown. Those doorways only go so high.

Bowl Update: Battle of the BCS Busters and the Alamo Bowl

The 3rd of the 4 BCS Bowl games came as the Boise State Broncos played against the TCU Horned Frogs in the Fiesta Bowl. Two non BCS teams played for a BCS Bowl title. Ironic, huh. I was expecting a big scoring game from at least one side but it was all about defense in this one. In fact, both offenses only scored 10 points a piece. Boise State would go up early due to a interception return for a TD by Brandyn Thompson. Boise State would go on to win this game 17-10. TCU had its biggest game in decades and they fall just short of winning. Chris Petersen (BSU Head Coach) has truly made Boise State the team to fear outside of the major conferences.

Last Saturday, the Alamo Bowl was played with Texas Tech playing against Michigan State without Mike Leach. This was a true test for the Red Raiders to show how good they really were. They would not disappoint as they won 41-31. This would be a back and forth game throughout until late in the fourth quarter when Texas Tech had a solid enough lead to win. Texas Tech's Interim Head Coach Ruffin McNeil did a good job with this win. Whether he will be the Red Raiders permanent Head Coach is still anyone's guess. I think he should at least retain a spot on the coaching staff.

P.S. How does College Football expect me to take the Fiesta Bowl seriously with that name? You couldn't think of any other name?

Ravens and Jets Get In, Chris Johnson Becomes 2K Man, Cowboys Take NFC East and More

The last week of the year was not a disappointment at all. There was still the AFC Wild Card Spots that needed to be filled with the Ravens and Jets having the advantage with simply just needing to win to get in. The Ravens would play against the Raiders and win it 21-13. Willis McGahee had 167 Rushing yards with 3 Rushing TDs. The defense and the ground game carried them into the postseason. As for the Jets, they had a easier time getting in beating the Bengals 37-0 in their last game in Giants Stadium. The rushing attack carried this team into the playoffs with 257 rushing yards and 4 TD on the ground. Both the Jets and the Ravens are in.

The NFC East showdown was in Dallas as the Cowboys beat the Eagles 24-0 and claimed the division title. The Cowboys not only shut out the Eagles but swept them this season. Thanks to this win, the Vikings clinched a bye week with a win of their own over the Giants 44-7. 316 Passing Yards and 4 TD passes from Favre was the deciding factor in this game. Green Bay enters the postseason on a high note with a win over the Cardinals 33-7. The Packers finish strong with an 11-5 record as a Wild Card team. Though not playoff related, the Titans beat the Seahawks 17-13 as the big story here was Chris Johnson getting 134 yards on the ground which gets him over the 2000 yard mark. Johnson finishes 6 yards over the mark for the season and the sixth man in NFL history to run for 2000 yards or more in a single season. I'm sure the lineman will love their new cars from Johnson.

The season ends with some drama and disappointments as well. Great drama at the end to see who would get into the postseason. Bad year for the World Champion Steelers as they don't even get into the playoffs. Two teams flirted with 16-0 for a bit while two others (Broncos and Giants) just fell apart down the stretch. Not a bad year at all.

P.S. Would've loved to see the Niners in the playoffs but 8-8 is not bad.

49ers Win Their Last Game and a Look Backward and Forward

Today the Niners played the Rams in their last game this season. It was mainly a defensive game until the fourth quarter when the Niners finally came alive with a 73 Yard TD pass to Vernon Davis. Frank Gore would later score 2 TDs to add some cushion. He had 107 rushing yards on the day as well. Alex Smith played alright with 222 passing yards and one TD pass. Final score was 28-6 with the Niners winning.

The Niners finish the season 8-8. While they do miss the playoffs again, the Niners managed to get to .500 for the first time since 2002. True they are not over .500 but it is a step in the right direction. As for personal stats, Vernon Davis ties the NFL record for most TD catches in a single season by a TE with 13. A nice achievement for him but we need more out of the Wide Receivers. Frank Gore finishes the year with 1120 yards on the ground making it his fourth straight year with over a thousand rushing yards rushing. As for our QB situation, Alex Smith played 11 games this year with 2350 yards passing, 18 TDs, 12 INTs, and a QB rating of 81.5. It's his first time he has thrown for more TDs than INTs in a season and his first season with over an 80 passer rating.

What We Need for Next Year: A new QB would be nice but WRs might be better. For the first time, Alex Smith played a decent season. While he could have done better, it is not all his fault. Smith now may need better targets to throw to in the next year. They do have Michael Crabtree and Vernon Davis but a third dependable option would be nice. I would be looking for that the most. The Defense was great this year though with a couple bad games. The Running game was good yet again. The problem is still the passing game.

Briuns Win in Fenway, Buckeyes Win the Rose Bowl, Gators Crush Cincinnati, and Bowden's Last Game

Happy New Years everyone. New Years day provides the country with some great sporting events every year. One of which was a fairly new tradition with the NHL Winter Classic which has been played outdoors all three times. This year had the Flyers and the Bruins play in Fenway Park. It was a beautiful sight to see a hockey rink in the middle of the infield. The home team didn't disappoint this time around as the Bruins won in OT 2-1. Marco Sturm got the game winning goal making the city of Boston very happy.

College football had some big games as well. One was the Rose Bowl in which the Ohio State Buckeyes beat the Oregon Ducks 26-17. Terrelle Pryor was the player of the game getting 2 TD Passes and over 300 yards in total offense which was more than what the Ducks had total. The Ducks just never got their big scoring game started. The Other BCS Bowl Game today was the Sugar Bowl featuring Tim Tebow in his last game for the Gators. He did not disappoint at all as he threw 31/35, 482 passing yards, and 3 TD passes. He also got 51 yards on the ground and one rushing TD. The Gators would beat Cincinnati 51-24. Tebow ends his college days on a very high note.

Though not a BCS Bowl Game, The Florida State Seminoles played against the West Virginia Mountaineers in the Gator Bowl. This was Bobby Bowden's last game ever as head coach. The Seminoles didn't let their coach down this time as they won 33-21. Bowden finishes his career with 389 career wins (only behind Joe Paterno) and with two career national championships back in the 1990's. One of the best coaches in College Football history is now retired.