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When Wisconsin Badgers head football coach Barry Alvarez announced that he would be retiring from coaching duties at the end of the 2005 season, that might have been cause for UW fans to panic.  But Coach Alvarez arrived at his press conference as well-prepared as if he were arriving at a bowl game.  He had already tapped Badgers defensive coordinator Bret Bielema as the team's next leader.  The fact that Alvarez had the chance to hand-pick his replacement and spend a whole season grooming him for the job had to put Wisconsin players, alumni, and fans at ease about the impending change.

Judging by Bielema's first month in office, the transition is going as well as anyone could have hoped.  He has spent the last few weeks hiring some assistant coaches to help him revamp the Wisconsin program.  So far, he has named appointed four coaches to different posts, three on defense and one on offense.

Bielema has been involved with defenses for a majority of his coaching career, and it's clear that defense is going to remain a top priority when he's running the show.  Towards that end, he has brought in Mike Hankwitz, Dave Doeren, and Kerry Cooks to  help with both coaching and recruiting duties.  All three men have experience with NCAA Division I-A teams, so they will be able to hit the ground running at Wisconsin.

Mike Hankwitz was the defensive coordinator of the Colorado Buffaloes, where he won several Big 12 North Division titles as well as a national championship in 1990.  His teams are known for playing very aggressively and going after the quarterback with a lot of different blitz schemes.  In fact, Hankwitz-led defenses have been nationally ranked in the top-25 poll for 13 of his 21 years as a defensive coach.  Wisconsin Badger fans are definitely looking for Hankwitz to get that level of play from next year's team as well.

Also helping Hankwitz run the defense will be Dave Doeren, who was appointed by Bielema as the team's co-coordinator on defense.  I think Bielema made a great decision by picking up Doeren.  First, Doeren has delivered excellent results in relatively short periods of time.  He spent three years coaching linebackers for Kansas, and in that time, the team was very successful.  They won the Fort Worth Bowl over Houston, and their defense was the second-best in the tough Big 12 conference that features such storied football programs as Texas (this year's national champions), Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Colorado.  Second, Doeren is considered one of the brightest up-and-comers in NCAA coaching.  He's got a lot of experience and had a lot of success in his career, so people tend to forget that he's just 34 years old.  In my opinion, Doeren is shaping up to be head coaching material someday -- and I think it will be sooner rather than later.  

Kerry Cooks has the least experience out of the three men that Bielema has chosen for his coaching staff, but he obviously has a lot of potential.  Cooks has spent the last two seasons as a defensive backs coach at the collegiate level.  In 2005, he was a member of the Minnesota Golden Gophers' staff, and in 2004 he was with Western Illinois.  He will fill the same capacity for the Wisconsin Badgers.

As a longtime Wisconsin fan, I am glad to see the new coaching staff being announced this early in the year.  It will give both the players and the coaches an opportunity to get accustomed to one another before summer two-a-days start, which will hopefully make things easier for everyone.  There's no doubt that Barry Alvarez was a beloved leader at Wisconsin, and he will definitely be missed.  So it's good that Bielema is taking these steps to ensure that the program doesn't miss a beat in 2006.

I for one am looking forward to the new, and perhaps improved, Wisconsin team.  It will be interesting to see what a defensive-minded head coach will bring to the table.  Wisconsin finished 9-3 overall last year, which was good enough to put them in a tie with Michigan for second in the Big 10 conference.  I think they have a good chance to knock Iowa off the top of the heap and bring the conference title back to Madison next season.

Learning the game of American football is a little tough if all you are doing is watching the game. You may find it confusing, in the way that many Americans find European football (or soccer) or cricket or other sports that Americans do not play en masse.

Because of this potential confusion, I am providing you with a basic guide to football, American-style. You should be able to get the basics down and go from there. First, the field is technically 120 yards long. The playing field is only 100 yards long, but the end zones can count, too, especially when you are talking about interception returns and the like. Each team fields 11 players on offense, defense, and special teams. Although there is some overlap in players, these groups typically are different sets of players.

The game is divided into four quarters. The most common length of playing time for each quarter is 15 minutes although it varies based on the level of the players. After the first half (two quarters), there is a half-time, or intermission, during which the teams return to their locker room for a little pep talk (or yelling) and a bit of a rest. There typically is some entertainment, such as a marching band, during this break.

The game traditionally begins with a coin toss. The referees go to the middle of the field with the captains or other representatives of the teams, and then they toss the coin up in the air. The team that wins the toss gets to choose whether they want to play offense or defense first. They also can defer their decision to the second half of play when they will have a better idea of how the game is going.

The game begins with a kickoff. The team that will be playing defense first kicks the ball to the other team. Someone from that team, on the kick return team, will catch the ball. That person can signal a fair catch, meaning that he (almost always he) will keep the ball where he caught it or he may attempt to run up field to see how far he can get.

After the kick-off return, the offense and defense take the field. The quarterback is the centerpiece of a team's offense. This player directs the offense on the field. How much control he has over the plays depends largely on the coach's desires. The teams line up at the line of scrimmage, which is the point where the football was at the end of the previous play. The center holds the ball, and the quarterback signals to the center to let him know when to hike the ball back to the quarterback. That means that the center essentially tosses the ball, in a move called the snap, through his legs to the quarterback.

Once the ball is snapped, the players from both sides get moving. The job of the defense is to get to the quarterback, or whoever has the ball at the time, to stop that player. The offense's job is to give the quarterback time to get the ball to another player or to run it himself. Few quarterbacks run very often because it puts them in greater danger of injury. They can pass the ball to a receiver, or they can hand off to a running back who just grinds out yards down the field.

Once the person with the ball is tackled, the teams get ready for the next play. The line up and start all over again. The offense must get 10 yards in a max of four plays to continue with the ball. Once they have completed four plays, they must give the ball to the other team. Few teams wait until the fourth down. Instead they punt, meaning that they have a kicker come in and kick the ball to the other team, much like the kick-off.

A team can get into the opposing team's end zone with the ball for six points (and an after-touchdown kick worth one point or another play worth two points). They also can kick the ball through the goal posts for a field goal, worth three points. These basic rules will get you started learning about football.

By Julia Mercer

Coming off a strong 2005 season in which they won the NFC North division title, the Chicago Bears are in a very good position personnel-wise.  In fact, they have very few real needs to address this offseason, and they have a lot of wiggle room under the salary cap to go after the kinds of players that they do need.  And despite having a low pick in the draft (26th), there should still be some very solid selections left at that time.  Overall, the Bears will have the funds necessary to build on last season and make the playoffs again in 2006.  Let's take a look at where they could use some improvements.

Wide receiver
I think it's safe to say that nearly every Bears fan was disappointed with the play of Muhsin Muhammad.  Muhammad was coming off a stellar 2004 season with the Carolina Panthers in which he was the league's leading receiver.  

Yes, the Bears are primarily a running team and the fact that rookie Kyle Orton was under center for most of the season didn't help as far as Muhammad's numbers are concerned, but I don't think anyone expected this much of a dropoff.  He had 93 catches for 1405 yards and 16 touchdowns for the Panthers, then fell to 64 catches for 750 yards and 4 touchdowns for the Bears.  I can understand the yardage and number of catches being lower; however, I am very surprised that Muhammad didn't have more than 4 touchdown grabs all season long.  Some of that can be laid at the feet of the quarterback, but Muhammad had more than his fair share of drops in there.

Nevertheless, the Bears aren't going to part ways with him so soon into his big-money deal.  So that means they need a strong receiver to start opposite Muhammad and draw some defensive cover away from him -- which is why the Bears are looking closely at Antwaan Randle El of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  

Randle El becomes a free agent after this season and would be the perfect candidate to step into the starting role at the number two receiver slot.  His good hands and quick feet make up for his lack of size, and he is gaining invaluable experience as a first-year starter with the Super Bowl-bound Steelers.  The Bears will likely have to give Randle El a rather large contract, especially if the Steelers go on to win the Super Bowl, but they have the means to do so.  Randle El could be missing ingredient that will finally allow the Bears to take the next step and win a playoff game.

Punt Returner
The Bears had major problems with this aspect of special teams last season. Bobby Wade held the job for most of the season before finally being released by Chicago on December 14.  When Wade was in there, the Bears never knew what to expect.  On the one hand, he had his good days where he would make smart decisions and elude defenders.  He was the early-season leader in average punt return yards, and even had a 73-yard touchdown against Detroit.  But his fumbles, muffs, and other mistakes were becoming too frequent for the Bears coaching staff to simply overlook.  

Because the Bears need both a wide receiver and a punt returner, the prospect of signing Randle El becomes even more attractive.  Randle El happens to be an excellent special teams return man, and would really solidify the position for the Bears.  Randle El is dependable, rarely fumbles, and has been returning kickoffs and punts ever since he came into the league four years ago.  It seems like an intelligent move on the part of the Bears personnel director and coaching staff to monitor Randle El and make it be known this early on that they're interested.

Overall, I think the Bears will be in great shape next season if they can sign Randle El and whoever they select with their first round draft pick (which looks to be a tight end or another offensive player).  Then, if everyone can manage to stay healthy throughout training camp and the exhibition games, Opening Day of 2006 should be an exciting one for Bears fans in Chicago and across the entire country.

By Ed Jennett


If a big trade takes place and no one notices, it still a big trade? In the case of last week's Minnesota and Boston swap, which was overshadowed by the Ron Artest/Peja Stojakovic trade taking place the day before and almost being consummated the day prior to that, the answer is a definitive yes. Wolves GM Kevin McHale and Celtics GM Danny Ainge worked out a seven-player deal on January 26th that was most likely an attempt by both teams to make a run at a playoff spot. There had been trade rumors about both clubs for some time, and there had recently been speculation that the former Boston teammates were about to swap underachieving centers Michael Olowakandi and Mark Blount.

While those players switched sides, the deal turned out to be much bigger. The actual trade was Boston sending SG/SF Ricky Davis, C Mark Blount, PG Marcus Banks, SF/PF Justin Reed, and two conditional second-round draft picks to Minnesota for SG/SF Wally Szczerbiak, C Michael Olowakandi, C Dwayne Jones, and a future first-round draft pick. The Wolves had also traded seldom-used SF/PF Nikoloz Tskitshvili to the Phoenix Suns for a second round pick earlier in the day. Szczerbiak, Olowokandi, and Blount had been involved in trade rumors for most of the season.

There is a lot more to this trade than just two struggling franchises trying to sneak into the playoffs in their respective conferences. Wolves' superstar PF Kevin Garnett supposedly wants to be traded to a contender or the New York Knicks. While New York may be an even bigger mess than Minnesota, KG has stopped feuding with Knicks PG (and former Wolves' teammate) Stephan Marbury. The two have obviously renewed their friendship and have said in the media that they would love to be teammates again, with both saying they'd like the other to be the one relocating. Garnett is clearly being politically correct by pining for Marbury's return to Minnesota. Despite the fact that the Knicks have been a disappointing embarrassment this year, Marbury is from New York and doesn't want to leave. So it's obvious where the duo would like to reunite.

Celtics' All-Star SG/SF Paul Pierce requested a trade this past offseason, but immediately changed his mind and rescinded the request when he found out that the Portland Trail Blazers were one of the teams attempting to acquire him. Pierce recently told the media in Boston that even though he wants to remain a Celtic, he would not be upset if he was traded to a contender. Which is the politically correct way of saying that he would love to be traded? Pierce probably doesn't even have to make these requests and statements because Ainge has been trying to completely tear down the Celtics to rebuild since he was hired. There have also been endless rumors that Ainge wants to trade Pierce. Hopefully Pierce will be lucky enough to avoid the Antoine Walker treatment of getting traded away by Ainge in an awful deal and then brought back by Ainge for a playoff run. Ainge doesn't appear to have any sort of plan (how does a team rebuild by taking on Szczerbiak's grotesque contract?) so that ridiculous scenario is actually possible.

Long-term, it is very difficult to tell who got the better end of this trade. Garnett and/or Pierce could be dealt before the trade deadline. Both teams will have a tough time making the playoffs for the forseeable future, but neither is lousy enough to get a franchise player in the draft.

Short-term, the Wolves appear to have gotten the better end of this trade. Szczerbiak has had a previous All-Star season and is playing great this year, but these accomplishments have taken place while playing with one of the best, and most unselfish, players in the league. It is debatable if Szczerbiak can be as effective paired with Pierce, who is known as a ballhog. While Davis has a reputation as a headcase he has stayed out of trouble in Boston and has played the best basketball of his career. If Davis continues to stay on his best behavior he will most likely be more useful to the Wolves than Szczerbiak is to the Celtics because Davis can score just as many points and is a better defender.

The spare parts of this trade are pretty much a wash. Blount is better than Olowokandi, but Olowakandi is in the final year of his contract while Blount's contract has several years left. The Wolves gave up a first-round pick, but they received two young players and two conditional second-round picks.

The AMA Supercross series is generically referred to as the "indoor" season or the "indoor" circuit.  However, that's not really an accurate description, as nearly a third of the races take place in stadiums and venues that don't have a roof.  That means the weather can -- and often does -- come into play. Last weekend's contest at SBC Park in San Francisco was a prime example of how a rainstorm can really mix up the event results and overall point standings.

The West Coast series is just 8 races long, which means that it only takes one bad race to end a rider's title hopes.  The key to winning the championship is consistency, which is often a tall order for the guys in the Lites class.  Just take a look at the up-and-down season of privateer Sean Collier.  He failed to qualify for the main event in the series opener at Anaheim, then put in two consecutive top-10 rides to vault right back into the top-10 in the overall standings.  But the mud and rain caused all kinds of problems for Collier, who ended up not qualifying for the main event.  Factory Connection's Jake Weimar was another top rider who had trouble with the adverse conditions.  He watched the main from the sidelines as well.

We saw new names and numbers out front right from the first heat race of the night.  The mud seemed to agree with Yamaha of Troy pilot Brett Metcalfe.  The veteran rider from Australia charged out to his first heat race win of the season and showed that the conditions weren't going to hamper him at all.  Following Metcalfe was Ryan Mills of the Rockstar Suzuki team, another rider who has been quiet for far too long.  Marco Dube finished in third, with Grant Langston right behind him in fourth, and Billy Laninovich in fifth.

Heat two brought out most of the big guns and that was clearly evident in the finishing order, with the first six guys being riders you expect to make the main event week in and week out.  Rookie sensation Ryan Villopoto scored the first heat win of his career in just his fourth Supercross.  The managers over at Pro Circuit Kawasaki must be absolutely ecstatic with their young rider.  Following the rookie were Paul Carpenter, Nathan Ramsey, Jason Lawrence, Andrew Short, and Mike Alessi.  

Just before the main event got underway, the riders were informed that the race would be shortened from its usual 15 laps to just 8 due to the nasty weather and track conditions.  That meant the start would be more critical than ever.  If a rider got a slow jump out of the gate, he probably wouldn't be able to catch up because of the mud, the rain, and the shorter race.

Villopoto grabbed the holeshot and the $1,000 bonus with Metcalfe right behind him.  I guess these guys were out to show that their heat race wins weren't just flukes.  Ramsey started in third, while Short and Langston, the other two major title contenders, were back in 12th and 18th, respectively.  Then Villopoto started experiencing problems and was losing position on the track.  After four laps, he was down to fourth place after Ramsey, Metcalfe, and Alessi all passed him by.  Meanwhile, Short and Langston weren't able to move up as quickly as they ordinarily would under dry conditions.  Short was still in 12th and Langston had passed two guys into 16th.

As expected, there wasn't much passing taking place in this race.  Most of the riders were just intent on keeping their bikes upright and not stalling out.  Finishing the race and scoring points was uppermost in everyone's minds.  As it turned out, Ramsey took the checkered flag for his second win of the season.  He was joined on the podium by Metcalfe and Alessi, both of whom earned the best finishes of their Supercross careers.  Jason Lawrence and Ryan Mills rounded out the top 5.

Ramsey's win combined with Short and Langston's relatively poor finishes means that the Red Bull KTM rider is now in sole possession of first place with 79 points.  Laninovich is in second with 74 points, while Short has 71 and Langston has 69.  The series will continue next week with the third and final stop in Anaheim.

I can sum up my thoughts on the Super Bowl pretty quickly. I wish it were about football.

That is it. I absolutely love football. It is a sport that people outside the United States, and even many inside it, cannot understand. There is no way that someone can be a casual observer and get the intricacies of the game and the skills and strategy it requires. This game is uniquely American and represents the best of who we are.

Still the premier game of the season is now about commercials and half-time entertainment and personalities and not a lot of football.

There was a time, I hope, when the game was billed as exactly what it is - a game between the best two teams in the National Football League. In the week leading up to the game, we should be reading columnists who are talking about the blitzing defense of one of the teams and the shaky play of one team's quarterback.

We should not be thinking about creative the ad executives at Bud Light will be or about how what songs we will hear during halftime. Concerns about those peripheral issues mean that many of the people who watch the game are not actually fans of football. They are fans of the atmosphere. I cannot blame them for that preference. I know of no other event, sport or otherwise, with a tension and excitement as tangible as that before a big football game. I can experience the smells of fall and the sounds of fans and transport myself to big games I have attended.

Still, I cannot help but be annoyed when the halftime entertainment is considered more interesting than the game itself. Some of that is the fault of the NFL. The powers-that-be allowed the halftime show to become a display for popular entertainers. I for one am thankful that the whole Janet Jackson fiasco a couple of years ago pushed the NFL to take a fresh look at the game's entertainment and how it was playing out for America. Although I thought people blew the episode out of proportion, I am glad that the entertainment will be toned down, at least for a few years.

I do enjoy the commercials. I am not a complete spoiled-sport about the whole event. I have laughed at my share of commercials. There are several that I recall seeing for the first time during Super Bowls. Some popular commercials, such as the Budweiser frogs, will be associated with the Super Bowl and football commercials for a long time. I will tell you a secret, however. I do not even see all of the commercials. I subscribe to an old-fashioned notion that commercial breaks during football season are for three purposes: going to the bathroom, getting another beer, and recapping the last play. So I have missed out on my fair share of commercials.

A few years ago I attended a party with some people who I knew were not big football fans. Only when I arrived did I realize what a mistake it was. Several people walked in and asked who was playing, which I thought should be an automatic dismissal from the party. Other people had no clue about the game and asked questions every time the few real sports fans in the room cheered or jeered.

A friend and I came up with an idea. All Super Bowl parties should have a litmus test. It would be simple but could weed out the non-sports fans. Let them go to their own parties and enjoy the commercials together. When anyone comes in, we decided, that we would ask two questions. We would ask who is playing - the city and mascot. Then we would ask another simple question about the sport.

"Who is the player who directs the offense?"

"How many yards does it take to get a first down?"

"Name one current NFL coach." We would even make exception for the season's coaches who had lost their jobs already.

This litmus test is perfect for anyone trying to throw a real Super Bowl party. The sad part is that I find myself not as excited about the Super Bowl as I should be, given my attachment to the game. Get these posers out of here. I want to watch football.

By Julia Mercer

It was only a few weeks ago that the world, myself included, could not get enough of the Cincinnati Bengals. Although not exactly an unexpected Cinderella season, this year was the time for the Bengals. After two years under the always staid direction of Marvin Lewis, the Bengals were poised at the beginning of the 2005 season to end the reign of embarrassment associated with Cincinnati sports. They surprised many doubters by beginning the season at 6-0.

Then their fairy tale started to unravel. When they lost to the Jacksonville Jaguars, it brought the idealist dreams of starved Bengals fans to a crashing halt, but the game was a good one. The lost was respectable, and it only served to show the Bengals fans that their utter disappointment was proof that their franchise had indeed come a long way.

Then came the rest of the season. The team showed some flashes of brilliance. I will admit that despite my utter hatred for the University of Southern California, even Carson Palmer began to win my heart. Commentators and older fans alike began to ignore the touchdown celebrations and ever-running mouth of receiver Chad Johnson. Some of them even began to look forward to Johnson's tirades.

The team played well in some areas and struggled in others. Deltha O'Neal and Odell Thurman were the highlights of a weak defense. More players like O'Neal and Thurman would give Cincinnati the chance to be a Super Bowl-caliber team. In too many games, like the one against the Indianapolis Colts, the Bengals poor defense forced the offense to need to score on every possession. Still it is an area where one can foresee improvement and can point to drastic changes since Lewis' tenure began.

Then came the last two games of the regular season. The Bengals beat their nemesis, the Pittsburgh Steelers, in a much-hyped game before dropping contests they should have won to the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs. The Bengals clinched their division and could have earned a first-round bye had they won out, but they dropped the ball, literally in some instances, in those cases.

Never mind, thought Bengals fans. They are in the playoffs for the first time since 1990, and that is sweet enough. The Bengals did manage to clinch home field advantage so that the fans of the Queen City could host the game. The Bengals played against the much-despised Steelers again in their first playoff game.

At the beginning of the game, Carson Palmer went down on a sketchy play. With Palmer out with two torn tendons, the Bengals had to rely on backup quarterback Jon Kitna. That did not lose the playoff game for them. Kitna kept it together, helping the Bengals pull ahead by 10 points. The defense could not get their act together, and after some sort of altercation at halftime between Chad Johnson and one of the assistant coaches, the offense fell apart, too. Cincinnati's first playoff in 15 years was not the victory they had hoped. Instead it was an utter failure.

Still Cincinnati was in the playoffs, and that matters. And we are back to my original question. Are the Bengals falling apart?

I think that the answer is a resounding no. Lewis denies reports that Johnson got into a fistfight in the locker room during halftime. He is couching questions about what happened with vague comments about Johnson's passion for the game, which probably means that there was a physical altercation. Still I don't know that many fans would give up on Johnson because of the heated exchange. They must understand that the excitement they see on the field translates into other strong emotions and a desire to win, too.

Bengals fans also should be confident that Lewis will done as he has in past off-seasons. He will work until next fall to make the team better. He will examine their weaknesses and bring in new players. The Bengals should have Palmer back, all rehabbed, assuming his progress goes smoothly. The Bengals will have a better defense. They will fill in the gaps. They will show that they can compete year-after-year now. And their fans will be there cheering.

By Julia Mercer

Well, now we know who we will be watching in next week's Super Bowl. The Seattle Seahawks will be taking on the surprising Pittsburgh Steelers. It hurts me to have to say anything good about the Steelers as I do not want them to win. I am a Cincinnati Bengals fan. I wanted America's favorite son, and a good quarterback, to be playing in the Big Game. Still I am psyched about watching the Seahawks and Steelers take on each other.

When I was watching a show yesterday about the game, I was listening to several sports commentators discuss what a bad match-up this one will be. They believe that because there is no controversy, such as the rumblings of the Terrell Owens fallout that started with the Super Bowl last year, that there are no good stories. The only story, these reporters argue, is that Steelers mainstay Jerome Bettis will be going back to his hometown to play. And that, my friends, is not an exciting story.

I beg to differ. First the Bettis story is a good one. Though the Bus has only hinted, everyone believes that this year will be his last in the National Football League. His career has not been full of the highlight reels that other players have seen, mainly because being the tank of the team is not that impressive. Bettis, though, will leave the NFL as the third all-time rusher in the league with more than 13,000 yards. He has parents who attend every game. He has no ugly history that we all speak about in hushed tones. He seems like a good guy - one from a tough city who plays for a tough one as well. Bettis' return to Detroit is the stuff of millions of little boys' dreams, and it is something that should excite sports fans.

Then there are the Seahawks. They are not the team anyone expected to be in the Super Bowl. They are playing their first Super Bowl ever, and I believe that America wants them to win. (I also believe that it is easy not to like the Steelers, but that is another story.) The Seahawks are a quiet team playing on the less football-crazy coast. Seattle does not conjure up images of football. Instead it conjures up images of coffee shops and hippies. But this team perseveres. They do not have controversy or scandal crowding their team, and that is something that sports writers love, though they claim to hate it. Instead of scandal, they are a solid team with solid players. They do not make the news with their backstabbing of teammates or coaches. No one is coming to the practice field straight from a jail cell. They represent what professional sports should be, and instead of being exalted, they are being told that they are boring.

How can we have that kind of hypocrisy?

Can we not just be happy that these teams are playing?

I, for one, will be excited about the game. I am prepared for watching it. I will sit back with my husband and son and enjoy the game (not the commercials, just the game). I will love that American football will have a new champion. (Yes, I am glad the Broncos knocked out the Patriots.) Although I did not anticipate that either of these teams would end up in the Super Bowl, and I am indeed a little shocked that they did, I am happy for the teams and their fans. I hope to be among the happy fans in the next years, but I am content this year just to watch.

This game pits two rugged defenses against each other, giving credence to the old saying about defense winning championships. The more exciting match-up, of course, will be the Steelers offense, being led by second-year quarterback Ben Rothlisberger, against the Seahawks defense, which is ranked second in the NFL. That match-up will allow us to see what it is like when an all-or-nothing QB goes against a defense determined not to let him get anywhere. We will see the fun and excitement in this game. It will show us again what football is supposed to be.

By Julia Mercer

One has to wonder how he does it. Supposedly Woods went some 24 days without picking up a club. He had yet to play a tournament in the first three weeks of the 2006 season and he even looked rusty with his first round 71.

But there are four rounds to every tournament and by the end of the day Sunday, the world's number one player was in a playoff for the Buick Invitational. Two holes into the playoff, Woods had his first victory for 2006 in his first tournament.

Woods did have to hole an 8-foot birdie on the 18th hole Sunday to get into the three-way playoff, but won by making pars as Jose Maria Olazabal and Nathan Green each bogeyed a hole to put an end to their days.

For Woods, it was the fourth time in his 10 year PGA Tour career that he won in his first start of the year. Tiger also became the first four-time winner at the Buick Invitational.

For the second time in three years, the winner at Torrey Pines failed to break par in the final round. The South Course, set to host the 2008 US Open, played at 7,630 yards for the final round.

And the demanding course did a number on most of the game's top players on Sunday. From Phil Mickleson to Sergio Garcia to Rod Pampling, the course got the better of virtually everyone to produce a crowded leaderboard.

Then somehow, some way, as he always seems to do, Tiger Woods emerged with yet another PGA victory, his first since turning 30th. It will not be his last after the age of 30, and it will likely not be his last in 2006.

But it will most certainly be his last until he decides to tee it up again, when ever that is.

Now that every NBA team has played at least 41 games, we can now probably predict the play off positions for the year end with some sense of certainty.

At the halfway point, there appear to be three legitimate contenders for the NBA title. In the West, the defending champion Spurs are tooling along at 34-10 while in the East, the other of last year's finalists are putting together an outstanding season at 36-5. Also, moving into the title mix for 2006 are the Dallas Mavericks. Mark Cuban's bunch has matched the Spurs at this juncture, 34-10 on the season, and the team is playing superbly at this point in the season.

While most experts feel Detroit might be set to regain the title they won in 2004 but lost last year, others insist that the Spurs are treating the first half of the schedule as an extension of the exhibition season. However, Detroit is simply dominating teams this year as Flip Saunders has built the offense of the Pistons without undermining their ability to play defense.

The Mavericks are also playing extremely well, and in Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas has one of the NBA's elite players. Unfortunately for the NBA, Dallas and San Antonio are in the same division, therefore come playoff time, even if these two continue to lead the Western Conference standings, they would be ranked first and fourth as the other two Division winners will receive the second and third spots in the playoffs. This could lead to the disappointing situation of those two having to meet in the Western semifinals instead of the finals.

The remainder of the NBA East is essentially jockeying for playoff positioning. The Heat, thought to be a possible contender for the East title, continue to be just a solid team, even after Pat Riley has taken over as coach. At the same time New Jersey is a funk, so they have fallen further behind the Heat. Cleveland is having a solid season and should garner the fourth slot though the team has struggled since the injury to Larry Hughes. But he will be back and when he does, Cleveland could end the season with the second best conference record giving the East the same situation as the West when it comes to the playoffs since the Cavaliers are second fiddle in their division to the Pistons.

Slots 5-8 in the East appear to be truly meaningless. The likely teams to fill them include an improving Milwaukee, a sliding Indiana, a no-defense Philadelphia, and then a sub five hundred Washington or Chicago or Orlando in the 8th spot. None of these teams have played with any consistency on the season and they can't win on the road. Any of these will truly be one and done when it comes to any playoff series with only Philadelphia and Indiana potentially pushing the higher seed at all.

As in prior years, the strength of the NBA is clearly in the Western Conference. First of all, there are the two previously exceptional teams in the Spurs and Mavericks. Then, there is Phoenix which is cruising along even as they play without Amare Stoudamire. If and when the big fella' gets back, the West may actually have three true contenders.

Though that may be it for real title hopes, the West also has some other very competitive teams. The revamped Clippers have regained their early season stride after a short lull while the Memphis Grizzlies have been strong all season. The Nuggets look destined to win their division but they will have their hands full with either the Clips or the Grizz in a potential first round match-up.

Then there are the Lakers and scoring machine Kobe Bryant. Phil Jackson appears to have LA ready to return to the playoffs and well if Kobe goes for 81 again, any team other than Dallas or San Antonio could be in trouble. Then again, Kobe would never get 81 against the Spurs defense, not a chance.

However, after the Lakers the West too looks likely to have a sub five hundred team in the final slot. Two surprises in the Jazz and Hornets appear to be fighting for the final berth along with the underachieving T-Wolves. Minnesota is hoping its trade with the Celtics will jar the team from its first half doldrums.

First Half Kudos: To the Bucks who continue to be a tough game for every team in the league and Michael Redd one of the best shooters in the NBA. To Utah who in Jerry Sloan may have one of the most underrated coaches in NBA history; how they manage to win is beyond most people. To the Suns who have lost one of the NBA's premiere players yet still have the fourth best record in the league. And finally to the Pistons who could challenge for the best record in NBA history. This team has three of the best two way players in the game in Billups, Prince, and Rasheed Wallace.

First Half Duds: To the continued struggles of the Houston Rockets. The Rockets are now 15-27 on the season including a dismal 4-14 at home. Yes they have had some injuries but no one would have guessed Houston would fall so far. To the Pacers who have had to endure yet another fiasco with Ron Artest. The team picked by Sports Illustrated to win the East is barely at five hundred at the mid-season mark. To the Bulls who were thought to be a playoff lock after last season's strong finish. And to the first half of the year for both the Nets and the Heat, two teams that have enormous talent but just haven't been getting it done consistently. However, in fairness, watch the second half closely as Miami, under Riley, may finally start living up to the preseason hype.

With fans calling for the firing of head coach Doc Rivers, Celtics General Manager Danny Ainge responded with yet another major deal prior to the NBA trading deadline. For the third consecutive year, Ainge dramatically shook up the Celtics roster in the middle of the season.

In a seven player deal, the Celtics sent Mark Blount, Ricky Davis, Marcus Banks and Justin Reed to the Minnesota Timberwolves for Wally Szczerbiak, Michael Olowokandi, and minor league player, Dwayne Jones. The deal also included draft picks, the T-Wolves picking up two conditional second round picks while the Celtics received a conditional number one pick.

Ainge's propensity for wheeling and dealing has earned him the nickname of "Danny The Dealer" from Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan. Says the columnist of Ainge, "Antoine goes. Ricky comes. Antoine returns. Antoine just floats away. And now, Ricky goes."

Say this about Ainge, he certainly isn't afraid to admit his mistakes, at least in the course of his later actions. First there is the Mark Blount issue, a major mistake by the GM. Ainge knew he needed to get rid of the center after signing him to a long term contract at inflated dollars.

In fairness to Ainge, Blount worked diligently to make himself into a decent NBA player, having his best season as his contract came to an end. Assuming he had a player with a strong work ethic, Ainge stepped in to reward the center with a fairly big contract at the end of the 2003-04 season. There was never any thought that Blount would be an elite player but Ainge and the Celtics assumed he would continue to work on his game and be a solid second tier center.

But there in lies the mistake, because some players get the big guaranteed money, then basically coast. That is what happened with the 7-footer, his statistics dropping off the board after the big signing, particularly in the two areas that are defined by effort, defense and rebounding. Give Ainge credit here, he knew he needed to send Blount packing.

Second up on the mistake list was Marcus Banks, Ainge's first number one draft pick, selected 13th overall. The super-quick, 6-1 point guard just never developed any feel for running an NBA team. Other than putting some defensive pressure on the ball with that quickness, Banks height liability and his inability to run the offense definitely made him expendable.

As for Justin Reed, he is a late second round pick who could have a bit of an NBA career as the 9th or 10th man on a roster. But the youngster was not going to solve the Celtics problems.

On the flip side, Ricky Davis going to the Wolves gave Celtics fans serious pause. The extremely athletic guard was averaging nearly 20 points a game and was leading the Celtics in minutes played. He was also demonstrating that he was finally maturing as a man, making him a force to be reckoned with. Most Celtics fans feel that this is where Ainge may have made a major mistake.

In return the Celtics received another underachieving and overpaid center in Olowokandi. However, whereas Blount had four years left on his inflated contract, in Olowokandi the Celtics have a player with a contract that will expire at the end of the season. Therefore, the newly acquired center has little chance to play as the Celtics commit to the development of post players Kendrick Perkins and Al Jefferson.

In Szczerbiak, the Celtics match the scoring potential that was lost in sending Davis to the Wolves. The forward is an outstanding shooter, having averaged around 50 percent for his career from the floor with an ability to truly stretch a defense with his ability to shoot the three as well as anybody in the league. In that regard, the Celtics moved Davis who had many of the same game attributes as Paul Pierce and acquired a player that compliments Pierce much more.

But it is hard to see how the Celtics defensive woes get any better by adding Szczerbiak. He is actually a shade worse than the athletic Davis who is known as everything but a defensive stopper.

And that is why the fans are struggling with the entire deal - couldn't Ainge at lest have addressed one of the team's weaknesses even as he moved players he no longer needed. Especially, in throwing in Davis, one would have thought Ainge could have upgraded the team defensively.

In analyzing the trade, the basketball experts at TNT had the audacity to state that the deal actually hurts both teams. The experts at Fox Sports hammered Ainge mercilessly for undermining the deal by including Davis, noting that getting rid of the other players was probably in the team's best interest. One writer noted that when Ainge took over the Celtics they were a plus 500 basketball team. Three years later the team is seven games under 500.

And Bob Ryan, well he just shook his head at "Danny The Dealer." Ryan wondered aloud who would be next to go and what Ainge's next deal would be, noting that there was still time for the dealer to pull yet another trade prior to the NBA deadline in 2006.

Say this for Ainge, he is indeed willing to pull the trigger.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are slated to play in the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks on February 5 at Ford Field in Detroit.  I have to say that I'm not very excited about the game.  Of course I'll watch it, as all avid football fans will be doing.  But I don't know much about the players on either team or what those teams had to do to make it to the ultimate game this season.  Nevertheless, I feel like I have a sentimental bond to the Pittsburgh Steelers dating back to early childhood.  Let me explain.

Even though I grew up in Chicago, the Bears teams of the late '70s and early '80s were so horrible that fans often looked elsewhere for a team to root for.  At least, that's the excuse that my father gave me as he consistently cheered on the strongest teams in the league back then.  That meant he alternately waved the flag of the Dallas Cowboys, San Francisco 49ers, Oakland Raiders, Washington Redskins, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.  I wouldn't call him a fair-weather fan so much as I would say that he was just a big football fan.  After all, he still watched every single embarrassing Bears game each season.

When I was about 4 years old, I started watching football alongside my father and brother.  At that time, the Pittsburgh Steelers were the two-time defending Super Bowl champions and they had some of the best players in the league.  Around the same time, the Dallas Cowboys were emerging as America's team and appeared in five Super Bowls during the 1970s.  They won two of those:  a 24-3 win over Miami in 1972 and a 27-10 victory over Denver in 1978.  The Steelers and the Cowboys also, not surprisingly, had something of a rivalry going on.  The two teams met in the Super Bowl twice that decade, with the Steelers winning both meetings.  This rivalry carried over to my own household as my older brother decided he was a Cowboys fan, which of course meant that I would be a Steelers fan.

So I asked for all the Pittsburgh Steelers merchandise I could get my hands on.  I had Steelers pajamas, t-shirts, sweatshirts, hats, jackets, and socks that I would wear nearly every day of the week.  I also decorated my room with Steelers pennants and posters of the biggest stars of that time, including Terry Bradshaw, Lynn Swann, Franco Harris, John Stallworth, Mike Webster, and "Mean" Joe Green.  I had Steelers sheets and blankets on my bed.  Anyone walking into my room would have thought I lived in Pittsburgh!

I also watched as many Steelers games as I could, but this was a time well before satellite television, so I didn't get to see that many.  I probably saw four or five regular season games per year between Monday Night Football and other national broadcasts, then I got to see all the playoff games on TV.  I knew the starting lineup of both the offense and defense by the time I was six, and would rattle it off to anyone who would listen.

After the Chicago Bears emerged as a solid team in the mid-1980s, I gave up on the Steelers and focused more on the hometown guys.  I don't think I missed that much, however, as the Steelers were then led by quarterbacks such as Bubby Brister, Kordell Stwart, and Tommy Maddox.  Sure, the Steelers were still making the playoffs pretty regularly in the 1990s, but they weren't the same dominating team that they were in the late 19070s.

So this year, I'll be rooting for the old black and gold team in the Super Bowl, even though I haven't followed them for years.  I hardly know any of their personnel beyond Jerome Bettis and Ben Roethlisberger -- and I couldn't even tell you what numbers those two stars wear without having to look it up first.  

However, the funny thing about sports teams is that when you cheer for them long enough, you always feel a kind of sentimental attachment to them no matter how many years have passed since you last watched one of their games in its entirety.  No, I won't go so far as to jump on the bandwagon and call myself a fan of the 2005 Steelers.  But as I'm watching the game, I'll no doubt think back to my old room filled with Steelers memorabilia and smile as the memories of those times come flooding back.

By Ed Jennett

Under the circumstances, they felt that they had no choice. So they made the best trade that was available to them. The Sacramento Kings decision to deal SF Peja Stojakovic for SF Ron Artest may be the biggest gamble of the season. Despite the fact that the Kings owners, brothers Joe and Gavin Maloof, also own casinos in Las Vegas and should be experts on taking risks, Sacramento should have stepped away from the table.

The Kings received a sign, a huge neon sign, of what their future may hold when Artest's agent Mark Stevens said that his client "would not be happy" if he went to Sacramento. This resulted in the Kings backing out of the deal, temporarily anyway. Sacramento should not have been surprised, because when Artest initially made his public trade demand in December he said that if he went to a West coast team he would leave and go play for his hometown club the New York Knicks when his current contract expires in two years.

Artest's trade demand came immediately after the rumor that the Pacers wanted to trade him for Stojakovic started again. Indiana initially tried to make this trade at the 2004 NBA Draft, but Sacramento turned it down at the time.

While Artest is clearly the better player, he is also clearly unstable. The Pacers figured that the Kings would be willing to make the trade because Stojakovic was not getting along with his then-teammate PF Chris Webber. There had been speculation throughout the league at the time that Stojakovic would be the one to go because the older Webber also had a reconstructed knee and a bad contract, all of which made him seemingly untradeable. It was also being speculated because of his feud with Webber that Stojakovic would opt out of his contract after the 2005-06 season and leave the team as an unrestricted free agent.

The Kings turned down the trade and decided to gamble (that seems to be a theme with them) that they would be able to trade Webber instead, thus making Stojakovic happy and keeping him in Sacramento. The gamble initially looked like it would pay off as Webber was traded shortly before the ‘05 trading deadline to the Philadelphia 76ers (albeit only for spare parts) and Artest was suspended for the majority of the season for role in the infamous Brawl at the Palace in Detroit.

But Artest and Webber were not the only ones to have difficult seasons. Stojakovic was not nearly as effective without the low-post scoring and excellent passing of Webber and retired C Vlade Divac. In addition to his skills, the loss of Divac's leadership had a huge negative impact on the Kings, especially Stojakovic. Like Stojakovic, Divac is Serbian and was a role model for him.

Stojakovic's slump continued into this season. So did the rumors that Stojakovic would opt out of contract and leave Sacramento. This led Indiana to offer the Artest for Stojakovic swap again.

After Artest's trade demand and the Pacers subsequent announcement that he would remain on the inactive list until he could be traded, Indiana was bombarded with bad offers. The Pacers then decided to gamble that if they waited after the first waive that they would eventually start to receive better offers. While that did happen, it remains to be seen if the gamble will payoff long-term.

PF Jermaine O'Neal, the Pacers other All-Star, repeatedly told the media that Indiana should swap Artest for their former Pacers teammate Al Harrington of the Hawks or for O'Neal's former Blazers teammate Bonzi Wells of the Kings. O'Neal also went out of his way to explain that the team should not acquire Stojakovic because he is a poor defender and would not fit in with the defensive mind-set of the Pacers.

Ironically the main purpose of bringing in Stojakovic is for his outside shooting to complement O'Neal's low-post scoring. The timing of the trade worked out well as O'Neal is expected to miss the next eight weeks with a torn left groin muscle and the team would have been severely undermanned if the trade hadn't been made. After his injury O'Neal changed his tune and stated that "it would have been a great opportunity to play with a guy like Stojakovic, and I think his ability helps everybody on our team."


The O'Neal/Stojakovic relationship has the potential to quickly turn into another Webber/ Stojakovic feud. That could result in Stojakovic leaving Indiana in the offseason. Since he is an unrestricted free agent the Pacers may not be able to arrange a sign-and-trade because they cannot threaten to match an offer that Stojakovic signs with another club.

From Sacramento's stand point the downside to their gamble is obvious - the high likelihood of more incidents involving Artest.

Both franchises have put their futures at risk with this trade. Although this trade rumor really came true, it might have been better off dying on the vine as most of them usually do.

Even though Team Makita Suzuki rider Ricky Carmichael has never failed to defend a championship (he has 10 major titles in all), he somehow is pegged as an underdog year after year.  A couple of seasons ago, Yamaha's Chad Reed was picked to replace Carmichael as the AMA Supercross champion, but that didn't happen.  Then last season, Kawasaki's James Stewart was the chosen one.  Again, Carmichael held onto the title.  When the start of the 2006 season rolled around, you'd think people would give the champ a bit more respect.  But once again the hype centered around Stewart.

You can't blame anyone for picking Stewart.  After all, he won the first two warm-up rounds in Canada before going on to post a convincing win at Anaheim 1.  Stewart's wins were so dominant, in fact, that there was even some talk of an undefeated season.  Carmichael, meanwhile, seemed to be slightly off of Stewart's pace in all three races.  When questioned about the difference in lap times, Carmichael appeared unworried.  He stated that his training program has always been structured so that he would peak in January, not December.  He quietly and confidently said he would be ready to go when the AMA series started.  As it turns out, he was right.

Round Three brought the riders back to Angel Stadium in Anaheim, CA for the second of three scheduled races.  Carmichael and Stewart were locked in a tie at the top of the points standings with 45 each, and Reed was just one point back in second place with 44.  Clearly, the outcome of this race would provide a bit of separation.

In the first heat race of the night, Stewart showed that the fast laps he was putting down in practice were just a taste of what was to come.  He won the heat and secured a good gate pick for the main event by finishing 2.1 seconds ahead of Reed.  Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca took third place, and seven-time champion Jeremy McGrath, who is making limited appearances this year, also qualified for the main with a fourth-place finish.

Heat two wasn't even a contest, as Carmichael took the win despite getting tangled up with Factory Connection's Mike Larocco as the two riders came off the gate.  Ivan Tedesco finished in second, a distant 17 seconds behind teammate Carmichael.  In third it was Kawasaki's Michael Byrne, and Larocco crossed the line in fourth.

In the main event, David Vuillemin of the Bookoo Honda team was first to cross the Toyota holeshot line, so he scored a $1,500 bonus check.  But he soon fell behind Tedesco, who led after the first lap.  Stewart came around in fifth place, with Carmichael in hot pursuit in sixth and Reed lurking in eighth.  Stewart got around Vuillemin to move into second place by lap two, and he finally got past Tedesco for the lead in lap four.  Carmichael followed suit and was on Stewart's tail by lap five.

They would stay close together for the next 13 laps in what was shaping up to be a great finish.  The crowd could see Carmichael looking for a way around Stewart, perhaps mentally noting where he would try to pass the number 7 bike on the last lap.  For every fast lap that Stewart put down, Carmichael did the same.  At times there was less than one bike length separating the two riders as they went at it at full speed.  After matching each other jump for jump over the triples, into the rhythm sections, and through the whoops, Carmichael caught a break.  Stewart came into a blind corner a little too hot and didn't notice a downed rider in front of him.  In his haste to stop, he slid down and stalled his bike.  Carmichael had the presence of mind to ride around both Stewart and the other rider, and cruise on to victory.  Reed also took advantage of Stewart's mishap to move into second place, where he would finish for the third week in a row.  Stewart was able to remount and cross the line in third place.

So after three rounds, Carmichael now holds a four point lead over Reed and a five point lead over Stewart.  The next race will be January 28 at Pac Bell Park in San Francisco.

The West Coast Lites class of the AMA Supercross series is living up to its billing as unpredictable and wild.  Through three races, we have three different winners, and a very close points chase in the championship standings.  While title contenders Andrew Short and Nathan Ramsey earned wins in the first two rounds, Grant Langston, another favorite, has been plagued by bad starts that have kept him off the top step of the podium.  Nevertheless, Langston was in fourth place in the standings and trailed leader Billy Laninovich by just four points.

Round 3 at Anaheim looked like it had a chance to go Langston's way.  He was throwing down some of the fastest laps in practice, and the word around the pits was that Short was nursing a bum ankle.  If Langston could get a good start, things might finally go his way.

Langston did very well in his heat race, beating runner up Sean Collier by more than 10 seconds.  Ramsey finished that heat in third place and Laninovich ended up in fifth.  In the other heat, Langston's teammate Ryan Villopoto got the job done.  The rookie pilot out of Washington state crossed the finish line just two and a half seconds ahead of Short, and six seconds ahead of Team KTM's Mike Alessi.  The wins assured both Langston and Villopoto of excellent gate picks for the main event.

When the main event finally got under way, Mike Alessi took the holeshot and the $1,000 bonus check from series sponsor Toyota.  Langston did indeed get the good start he was hoping for, as he finished the first lap right behind Alessi.  Short and Ramsey were in third and fourth, respectively, so the three biggest contenders were in a great position to make it an exciting race.  

Alessi held on to the lead for a lap and a half before Langston put a move on him.  By the fourth lap, Alessi had dropped all the way to sixth place as the freight train of Short, Ramsey, Laninovich and Collier passed him by.  Alessi, an admitted outdoor specialist, has been having trouble in the whoops all season long.  The other riders know this and have been passing him in that section more often than not.  

Despite Short and Ramsey moving into second and third place on the third lap, Langston was able to pull away and win easily.  He led 14 out of 15 laps for his first victory of the year.  Not surprisingly, he had the fastest lap time in the main event, clocking a 00:45.74 at one point.  Short finished in second, while Ramsey rounded out the podium in third place.

After Round Three, the points chase is even more congested than before.  Now Langston and Short are tied for the lead with 63 points apiece.  Laninovich sits in third place with 60 points, and Ramsey is right there in striking distance with 54.

The top four riders in the series should not be a surprise to anyone.  Someone who has been turning heads the last couple of weeks, however, is privateer Sean Collier.  After finishing dead last in the first race of the season, Collier has put together two fantastic rides in the last two weeks.  He finished sixth in Phoenix after running in second place until the last lap, and he backed it up last week with a fifth place showing.  So even after not scoring any points in the first round, Collier sits in 10th place overall.  If he continues to turn in consistent rides like this, you can bet he won't be a privateer for much longer.  Several teams have riders out with injuries right now, so there's a chance that Collier will be picked up as a mid-season replacement for someone.  That would be a smart move on the manager's part and would give Collier to showcase his talent on better equipment.  He seems like a great kid, so here's hoping that someone gives him a shot.

The series resumes next weekend in San Francisco.  It will be interesting to see if we'll have yet another different winner in the Lites class or if one of the previous winners will be able to pull off a repeat.    

By now everyone has heard of the monster game that Kobe Bryant put together for the Lakers Sunday night. The superstar and NBA scoring leader on the season struck for 81 points for the game, 55 of those in the second half, as the Lakers thrashed the Toronto Raptors.

Bryant went 28 for 46 from the floor (that's right 46 shots taken) including 7 for 13 from the three point line and hitting 18 of 20 foul shots. Bryant also grabbed 6 rebounds, had 3 steals and a block.

When it comes to the NBA mark for most points, the 81 ranks second all time to the famous 100 point night for Wilt Chamberlain while playing for Philadelphia against New York on March 2, 1962. Seventy plus points had been scored a total of 8 times in NBA history, with Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, David Robinson, and David Thompson all topping the 70 point mark previously. Of the 8 games of 70 points, Chamberlain had five of them, with his second best outing being 78 points. Ironically that was against the Lakers back on December 8, 1961, in a game that went three overtimes.

In fact, when it comes to big scoring numbers, Kobe's 81 is second all-time but he has a long way to go to make headway on Wilt. Though many are now wondering if Kobe could go for 100 some day, it is interesting to note that Chamberlain went for 65 points or more a total of 15 times in his career. Kobe's 81 is his first such game of that magnitude. Another way of understanding where Wilt fits in is that here have been 21 games in NBA history where a player has gone for 65 points or more, 15 by Wilt and 6 other such games by 6 different players (Bryant, Baylor, Robinson, Thompson, Pete Maravich, and Michael Jordan).

But also to put the number in perspective, there have been 88 instances this season where a team did not score as many as 81 points in a game. In addition, Bryant outscored the Raptors himself in the second half, his 55 points topping the entire Toronto output (41).

Indeed it was a special game by an enormously talented player who has folks once again thinking the unthinkable, that another 100 point game just might be possible.

One of the most interesting aspects of college basketball is its parity. That parity was on full display Saturday when the last three major college programs still undefeated on the season all fell victim to upset specials, on the road and by a combined 12 points.

First, number nine ranked Pittsburgh dropped a tough roadie to the Red Storm of St. John's, 55-50. Then top-ranked Duke dropped one in Washington, DC, falling to the Georgetown Hoyas 87-84. That left number two ranked Florida with the chance to move the nation's top spot, but they too ran into a buzz saw in Knoxville, losing to Tennessee in yet another close game, 80-76.

On the same day that St. John's honored 10 former coaches and players, including coaching legend Lou Carnesecca and former, NBA great Chris Mullin, the Red Storm knocked off a ranked team for the second time in less than a week. Just Tuesday, the Storm handled then No. 17 Louisville, 68-56, also at Madison Square Garden.

Lamont Hamilton led St. Johns, matching his career high of 24 points, including two free throws with 12 seconds left that gave the Red Storm their 53-50 lead. The win was third in a row for St. John's, now 10-6 overall and 3-2 in the Big East in coach Norm Roberts second year. The upstart Red Storm went 9-18 a season ago.

St. John's got off to a roaring start, scoring the game's first 14 points and holding a 31-19 halftime. The Panthers meanwhile shot just 27 percent (7-for-26) while committing 12 turnovers.

Pittsburgh made a move early in the second, using a 13-2 spurt to get to 37-34 with about 13 minutes left in the game. The Hoyas utilized backdoor layups to frustrate the aggressive Blue Devils man-to-man half court pressure defense, recording the first Georgetown win over a number ranked team in 21 years.

Prior to the game, the Dukies at 17-1 had matched their best start in school history. But a Hoyas team that shot 61 percent while holding Shelden Williams to a season-low four points proved to be too much for the Devils.

Brandon Bowman led the Hoyas with 23 points while Jeff Green chipped in with 18. The Hoyas, now 12-4 on the season, had previously lost nine straight games to ranked opponents. Their last win over a number one ranked team came against St. John's on Feb. 27, 1985, when John Thompson senior bested Lou Carnesecca 85-69.

J.J. Redick matched a career high with 41 points, but he was about the only Duke player to get it done on Saturday. A crowd of 20,035 saw the upset, fueled in great part by Georgetown's ability to handle the Duke defense. Georgetown had 24 assists and only 16 turnovers, just the second team on the season to have more assists than turnovers against the Blue Devil man-to-man pressure.

The Florida Gators, in prime position to take the top spot in the rankings after the Duke upset, fell later Saturday night before a boisterous crowd in Knoxville. The game was a classic Southeastern Conference match-up that was nip and tuck until the final whistle.

Tennessee put an end to the surprising start of Florida behind Chris Lofton's 29 points. The Vols finished with nine steals, and Florida had 19 turnovers against the aggressive Vol defense.

Like Duke, the Gators were 17-0 coming into the contest. Unlike Duke, the preseason favorite in college basketball, Florida was not even ranked in the preseason poll. After all, the Gators had lost Matt Walsh, Anthony Roberson and David Lee from a team that went 24-8 a year ago.

However, the Volunteers (12-3, 3-1) are also surprising a lot of people under new coach Bruce Pearl. Tennessee had also knocked off then Number 6-ranked Texas a month ago and looked every bit an even match for the Gators, especially when playing before more than 24,000 fans in the cavernous Thompson-Boling Arena. Among the people sited were Lady Vols coach Pat Summitt and football coach Phillip Fulmer.

The extremely young Gators start four sophomores. Whereas Duke had tied a record start to the season, Florida had put together the longest winning streak in school history. The team had in fact won 21 regular season games in a row going back to Feb. 19, 2005, and their game with LSU.

But the Volunteers have been the spoiler for Florida before. Last year, Tennessee won in Gainesville giving Florida its first SEC loss of the season then as well.

On Saturday morning three unbeatens took the floor for the final time in 2005-2006 season, each emerging on the short end of the score against a quality opponent. Unlike football where a loss can take a team out of the BCS picture, a loss in basketball is merely a marring of the record. In fact, do not be surprised if any of the three, Duke, Pittsburgh, or Florida loses another game or two or even three.

It's why we love college basketball, the parity and the idea that on any given night, any team in the land can get it done against the better opponent, at least for one night.

As PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem tinkers with the Tour schedule, one of professional golf's biggest sponsors is raising concerns as to how the revamped schedule will affect their tournament.

Accenture is a major sponsor for the World Golf Championships, events that were positioned to be the "Biggest Tournaments" after the four majors. The WGC events began in 1999 with some of the largest purses for the best players around the world. But the revamped schedule has Accenture raising questions about the value of these tournaments.

A new, NASCAR-like points chase, called the FedEx Cup is set to begin next year. The points race will begin with the season opening tournament and will allow players to qualify until a week after the PGA Championship. That points chase will them conclude with the Tour Championship.

Jim Murphy, the global managing director of marketing for Accenture, has expressed concerns that the new format will knock the World Golf Championships down a peg or two, with the FedEx chase and the four majors becoming golf's top tier events. According to Murphy, the new points chase will interfere with the WGC's initial "ambition to be the next layer behind the majors."

Accenture is the primary sponsor of the most unique WGC event, a match play tournament that is the first of the WGC events. The company also has an endorsement contract with Tiger Woods. Though Murphy Murphy says his company wants to stay involved in golf, he'd like more answers from Finchem regarding the changes and how they will affect the WGC events.

Murphy also expressed his concerns with other changes on the golf scene. The Accenture spokesperson stated he was not thrilled that the television contract for the first three days of the event had been moved to The Golf Channel instead of ESPN, the largest national sports marketing station. That is just one aspect of the new television deal beginning next year. At that time, the tour will continue on NBC and CBS for another six years but The Golf Channel moves into the picture with coverage for the next 15 years, taking the coverage of both the ESPN and ABC.

In addition to those concerns expressed by Murphy, he stated that he also felt Accenture was left in the dark during the discussions about the revamping the Tour schedule and the negotiation for the new television deal. Though Accenture is the first Tour sponsor to express this concern, they are not alone in expressing a need for additional information about the changes.

The PGA Tour players themselves also expressed the same concerns earlier this year at the Sony Open, the Tour's kick off event. They too indicated that they were left in dark about the revamped schedule due to begin in 2007 as well as the TV deal.

The decision-making does not entirely rest with Finchem. The tour has a 16-member Players Advisory Council and a 9-member Policy Board. However, even on the policy board, the players are in the minority, with just 4 members on the 9 man-committee.

The new schedule and format is an attempt to create new excitement for a tour season that has been thought to be too long by many players. When the four majors are completed, the final being the PGA in mid-August, the season moves into a second season that seldom sees the best players at events. Without those players, it is difficult to get the television ratings necessary to keep the TV contracts flowing, a huge part of the revenue stream for the tour.

The revamped schedule is an effort to keep the top players interested later in the season so that golf can compete with the early stages of the college and professional football season, earning those necessary ratings points to ensure the television revenue keeps growing.

Perhaps it was Theo changing his mind, that he now wanted to be back with his beloved Red Sox. Or maybe it was that no one seriously came after Epstein after he departed the Sox, that the former GM could not find any other job. Then again, perhaps it was the fact that Red Sox had no center fielder or shortstop and those player holes caused the team to seek his services once again.

Whatever, the case, former Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein is reported to be returning to the team. A recently released joint statement from John Henry, Larry Lucchino, and Tom Werner stated, "Theo will return to the Red Sox in a full-time baseball operations capacity, details of which will be announced next week."

There are many who insist he never left. But while his status was in limbo, the team traded several top prospects in the Josh Beckett deal and then named co-General Managers to take Theo's place. The team then lost popular center fielder Johnny Damon to the hated Yankees in free agency. The team also dumped shortstop Edger Renteria for a prospect, a sign that the Epstein off-season acquisition of Renteria had been a real bust.

Then, the weeks went on without any resolution regarding the filling of those two key positions. And that led Sox fans to grow extremely nervous. Perhaps Epstein will help fill the two positions or perhaps his hire is to serve as a distraction while the team works on filling those positions, but whatever the reason the Sox now have an extremely strange front office arrangement.

Of course, it still remains to be seen what Epstein's title will be, though many are betting that "director of baseball operations" is the likely choice. However, where that leaves co-GMs Hoyer and Cherington remains to be determined. Who will have what authority is as confusing as the whole episode of Epstein's departure.

However, what role Epstein will have is the least of the concerns of fans. Whether he can help solve the current issues remains to be seen but make no doubt about, the team has major issues. Besides needing a center fielder and a shortstop, someone has to figure out what to do with Manny Ramirez and David Wells, two players who have sought trades out of Boston.

The Red Sox will soon be heading to Fort Myers for preseason and the exhibition season. At this time, it appears the team could still be short a couple of position players to say nothing of having also lost two very popular players, third baseman Bill Mueller and Damon. The team may still have a disgruntled Ramirez and Wells seeking trades, perhaps the two even holding out.

But fans can at least welcome back Theo Epstein. They can also hope that he will be able to solve the current issues in time for opening day. That is most likely the reason management brought Epstein back into the fold.

To once again create hope in Red Sox nation.

If there's anything you can count on in the Supercross Lites class of the AMA Supercross Series, it's unpredictability.  The riders in this class are generally younger, more inexperienced, and less in control than their counterparts in the big-bike class.  That usually makes for chaotic starts, hard crashes, and great racing.  

Before the start of the 2006 season, there were several promising up-and-comers to watch out for.  First of all, Factory KTM rider Mike Alessi, who finished second in last year's outdoor series, was poised to make his first run at Supercross in the United States.  Alessi has ridden a few selected SX events in Europe over the last two years, and has done very well.  But team manager Larry Brooks, as well as those in the Alessi camp, thought it best for the young rider to sit out the 2005 AMA Supercross season in order to get a little more experience under his belt before contesting the premier series.  All eyes would be on him to see if his outdoor success would transfer to the indoor circuit as well.

Another rider that had everyone talking was Pro Circuit Kawasaki rookie Ryan Villopoto.  After turning pro near the end of the outdoor season in 2005, Villopoto placed 15th overall in his very first event.  He then went on to improve by leaps and bounds, securing a 5th place finish in his next event, and then turning in an incredible 2-2 performance for 2nd overall at the final round in California.  If there's one thing you can say about the Pro Circuit team, it's that manager Mitch Payton certainly has a knack for picking winner after winner to fly his colors.  But until the gate dropped on the Supercross Lites series opener at Angel Stadium in Anaheim, nobody knew how Villopoto would do indoors.

Other key players in the West Coast series include title contenders Grant Langston, Andrew Short, Nathan Ramsey, and Billy Laninovich.  All four of these guys have significant experience in Supercross and have won races in their careers.  They know what it takes to put together 15 solid laps, and each one of them has the ability to put some consecutive wins on the board to help their title chase.

In the Main Event at A1, things started out rough for both Langston and Ramsey.  Langston was involved in a first-turn pileup that resulted in the former East Coast champion finishing the first lap in dead last.  Meanwhile, teammate Villopoto had grabbed the holeshot and was charging out to a lead, with Canadian transplant Darcy Lange in close pursuit.  Ramsey also had some problems and was sitting way back in 18th place, while Short was mid-pack in 11th.

Villopoto held onto the lead for nine laps until Short finally caught and passed him.  By lap 10, when Short took over, Langston had worked his way up to 4th, but was sitting behind Villopoto and Laninovich with time running out.  No one was able to make a move in the final five laps, so the finishing order remained the same.  Short took the win, with Villopoto scoring a very impressive second place in his Supercross debut.  Ramsey finished in 12th.

Since the Supercross Lites series is only eight races long, it's important for riders to be consistent.  One bad race can put the championship out of reach for good.  So the top four finishers in Round One were looking for another good weekend in Phoenix for Round Two.  

For the second race in a row, Langston got a horrible start and came around the first lap in 19th place.  To make things worse, Short had grabbed the holeshot with Villopoto in tow.  But then Short and Villopoto came together on lap two, and both went down.  That opened the door for privateer Sean Collier to take the lead with Ramsey right behind him.  Ramsey would move into first on the next lap, but Collier was surprisingly able to hang with him all the way until lap 14.  By that time, Laninovich, Langston, Villopoto, and Short were one long freight train, so when the first guy went past Collier, the rest followed in quick succession.  As a result, Collier dropped all the way to 6th place on the last lap.  Ramsey took the win, followed by Laninovich and Langston.

After two races, there are just eight points separating the top 5.  Looks like the "Wild West" is living up to its billing, so be sure to follow the rest of the series this year!

It seems that before each new Supercross season, fans are treated to tantalizing scenarios of all the close racing that is supposed to unfold.  Yet for some reason, it never quite plays out that way.  From the days of Jeremy McGrath's dominance to Ricky Carmichael's current reign, we usually get to witness nothing more than one man running away with the title year after year.  McGrath won the championship seven out of eight seasons throughout the 1990s and the early part of this decade.  Then Carmichael stepped in and proceeded to win four championships in the last five years.  All told, in the last 13 years, there have been only four different champions in the 250 class.  Where was all the competitive racing?

Well, this year just might be the year we've all been waiting for.  With the first two rounds in the books, the top three contenders -- Carmichael, Chad Reed, and James Stewart -- are very near to each other in speed.  In fact, just a couple tenths of a second have separated their best lap times at both Angel Stadium in Anaheim and Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix.  What's more, all three superstars are relatively healthy, which is something that couldn't be said in the last few years.  Let's take a look back at the action so far this season.

Round One in Anaheim featured all the faces you'd expect to see there.  The only big-name rider who was absent from the gate due to injuries was Kevin Windham.  The Factory Connection veteran sustained a broken arm in practice a couple of weeks ago and is scheduled to miss a significant portion of the Supercross season.  Nevertheless, the gate was stacked with talent, including names such as:  Jeremy McGrath, David Vuillemin, Ivan Tedesco, Michael Byrne, Mike LaRocco, Ernesto Fonseca, and Nick Wey.  

From the first few practice laps, everyone had a feeling that Stewart would be able to keep his win streak, which started in Canada, going for at least one more night.  He was on the gas, and looked very smooth through all sections of the track, including the massive whoops section that would claim a lot of riders that night.  Carmichael and Reed weren't just going to lay down and let Stewart have an easy time of it, though, and were right behind him in terms of lap times.

The heat races went pretty much as expected.  No big names had to go through the Last Chance Qualifier in order to make it to the Main Event.  When the gate dropped in the Main, it would be Team Honda's Ernesto Fonseca who would lead the pack on the first lap.  Reed started in fourth, while Carmichael and Stewart finished the first lap in seventh and tenth place respectively.  Fonseca held onto the lead for four laps before yielding to Chad Reed.  By that time, Carmichael had worked his way up into second, with Stewart right behind him in third.  Reed stayed out in front for five laps before Stewart was finally able to work around him.  Once Stewart took the lead on lap 10, he held on for good and took the checkered flag.  Carmichael made a mistake in the whoops on lap 8, but was able to recover for a third place finish.  Meanwhile, Reed held on to second place for the night.

The next weekend in Phoenix would prove to be an even more exciting race.  That's because in addition to the same full gate of talented riders, Stewart went down in the first turn on lap one and remounted in dead last.  Meanwhile, Reed and Carmichael were way up front in positions 2 and 5, respectively.  It looked like Stewart's streak was finally going to come to an end!  The only thing left to see was how many points Stewart could salvage for the evening.  He put his head down and charged hard, moving all the way up to tenth place by lap 4.  By lap 11, he found himself sitting in third place, but by then Carmichael and Reed were long gone in the number 1 and 2 position.  The finishing order would be Carmichael, Reed, and Stewart, which means that after two rounds, there is only one point separating the big three.

After years of waiting, Supercross fans might finally get to see the close racing they've been yearning for.  Check back next week to find out what happened at the Anaheim II race, which will take place this Saturday.

The New England Patriots were able to keep their key coaches throughout their spectacular four year run that brought home three Super Bowls. But a year after losing both their offensive and defensive coordinators in the off-season, the Patriots have lost yet another coordinator in 2006.

The latest casualty is Eric Mangini, who at 35 years of age became the youngest head coach in the NFL when he was hired this week to revive the moribund New York Jets. Despite his youth and inexperience, the Jets are hoping that Mangini has developed his pedigree after serving for two of the premiere head coaches in the NFL, the Patriots Bill Belichick and the Cowboys Bill Parcells.

Mangini, reserved and low key, two descriptors that did not fit prior coach Herm Edwards, takes over a team that suffered from injuries on its way to a 4-12 season. The Jets selected Mangini after interviewing seven other candidates, settling on Mangini because of his background in the NFL and his exceptional work ethic.

The Patriots head man Belichick gave Mangini his first job as an assistant in 1995 when Belichick was coaching the Cleveland Browns. Mangini took a job in Baltimore in 1996, then worked for both Parcells (head coach) and Belichick (defensive coordinator) as part of the Jets staff from 1997-99. Mangini the accompanied Belichick to New England, serving as an assistant until last year when he was promoted to the position of defensive coordinator in 2005. All in all, Mangini spent 10 of his 11 years in the NFL working under Belichick, the consensus top coach in the NFL today.

Among the other candidates that the Jets interviewed were former Vikings coach Mike Tice, former Saints coach Jim Haslett, former Rams interim-coach Joe Vitt, Giants defensive coordinator Tim Lewis and current Jets assistants Donnie Henderson, Mike Heimerdinger and Mike Westhoff.

Mangini will have his work cut out for him rebuilding the Jets. The youngest coach in the league will need plenty of enthusiasm as deals with he team that must essentially be rebuilt on offense. Both quarterback Chad Pennington, coming off his second major shoulder injury, and running back Curtis Martin, the stellar back who appears to be finally looking his age, are major questions marks, that along with the offensive line and receiving corps.

Mangini is the fourth NFL coach to be hired since the regular season ended. However, there are still five openings across the league, Buffalo, New Orleans, Oakland, Houston and St. Louis. Detroit, which appointed Dick Jauron interim coach during the season, also reportedly reached agreement yesterday for its head coaching position as well.

The single-elimination format of the NFL playoffs makes it different from any other major sport in the United States.  In baseball, basketball, or hockey, a team has at least three chances to score a couple of wins in the first round series.  Not so in football.  That means there's no time to recover from nerves, mistakes, or poor play.  Teams have to get it right the first time, or go home and wait until next year.

Unfortunately for the Indianapolis Colts and the Chicago Bears, they're going to be taking the latter course.  Both were eliminated from the playoffs by teams that they had previously beaten in the regular season.  The Colts lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 21-18,and just a few hours later, the Bears fell at the hands of the Carolina Panthers by a score of 29-21.  Let's take a look at some of the highlights from each game.

This year seemed to be the year that the Colts turned the proverbial corner.  After jumping out to a 13-0 start, most sports analysts figured that the Colts could run the table and post a perfect season in the NFL for the first time since the 1972 Dolphins.  That didn't happen, but the regular season stilled proved a couple of important points for the Colts.  First, they won several games based on defense rather than their much-vaunted offense.  Second, they defeated both the New England Patriots and the Steelers -- two teams that have given them fits over the years -- in their regular season matchups.  The New England game was especially important since it occurred in Foxborough on a national stage during the Monday Night Football telecast.  Indianapolis quarterback Manning finally upstaged Patriots' counterpart Tom Brady, something that he hadn't been able to do in his career before.  And when the Patriots were eliminated from contention by the Denver Broncos, most people figured that the Colts would have an easy march to the Super Bowl.

But then again, Manning and the Colts have made a bad habit out of not coming through in the big games, which is exactly what happened on Sunday.  The usually-solid Colts' offensive line didn't provide enough pass protection to give Manning time to throw.  And while Manning was able to put up good numbers, completing 22 out of 38 passes for 290 yards, he only found the end zone once.  In addition, kicker Mike Vanderjagt, who is usually as reliable as they come, missed the potential game-tying field goal in the fourth quarter.  As I said before, teams don't get a second chance to overcome these kinds of mistakes in the NFL playoffs.  The result is that the Colts will go home until training camp, while the Steelers will play on.

In Chicago, things got off to a rough start for the Bears.  On the second play from scrimmage in the first quarter, Panthers' quarterback Jake Delhomme connected with wide receiver Steve Smith for a 58-yard touchdown to take a 7-0 lead in less than a minute.  The Bears never quite recovered from the demoralizing blow, and Smith continued to light up the secondary all game long.  The NFL's leading receiver would finish the game with 12 catches for 218 yards and two touchdowns as the Bears' defense stubbornly refused to double-team the Panthers' only real scoring threat.

In addition to not being able to contain Smith, the Bears' defense wasn't able to make big stops when necessary.  The Panthers seemed to march down the field and score points at will in the first half, and much of that carried over into the second half.  This was surprising to fans and analysts alike, as many expected the Chicago defense to keep Carolina in check.

Despite putting 21 points on the board, the Bears' offense didn't play much better than the defense.  Starting quarterback Rex Grossman missed badly on a lot of his passes, and several receivers dropped balls that should have been caught.  Grossman completed just 17 out of 41 passes for 192 yards and a touchdown, which was not nearly enough to overcome the 319-yard, 3-touchdown performance of Delhomme.  So Carolina will go to the NFC Championship game to meet the Seattle Seahawks, and the Bears will try to come up with a way to win in the playoffs.

In Seattle, the Supersonics' Bob Weiss was fired before the season was even a third of the way completed. In Boston, if the local fans have their way, the Celtics' Doc Rivers would be the next to go.

The Celtics have definitely had their problems to date. Record-wise, the C's are having their worst season since the days of Rick Pitino. But for General manager Danny Ainge to pull the plug on Rivers at this point, just a year and a half after being hired by the GM, Ainge would have to admit that the hiring was indeed a monumental mistake. So even as fans insist Rivers should go, many also insist the Ainge should submit his resignation as well since Ainge is the guy who wanted Rivers and then paid him some $20 million to coach the team.

As the team heads towards the 40 game mark, there clearly are issues of epic proportions. Despite having played nearly half a season, the Celtics as a team have no apparent rotation, they are woeful defensively, and they collectively have a total disdain for hanging onto the basketball. The fact that the team is playing so well offensively even as they turn the ball over routinely gives fans the feeling that the team does have talent. And as the fans see it, if a team has talent, they have the ability to play defense, it's just that the coach has failed to instill in his players the need to play defense.

The Celtics are definitely not a very good basketball team right now. They also do not give any indication of having a real shot at making the playoffs. Yet the greatest issue with the fans isn't the losses, it is the fact the team seemingly committed to a youth movement a year ago when they chose not to pursue free agents Antoine Walker and Gary Payton in the off season.

The theory was that the Celtics had some good young talent and it was time to see if the kids could play. The team felt it had two potential young studs in point guard Delonte West and power forward Al Jefferson, along with other talented youngsters like Tony Allen and Kendrick Perkins. The failure to sign the two free agents was as much about giving West and Jefferson playing time as it was about spending money and competing right now.

But that is precisely why the fans have been angry with Rivers. It isn't so much the losing as it is his failure to see the youth movement through even as he plays veterans who do not defend or rebound.

Rivers has now committed to West at the point guard slot and Delonte is beginning to look like the real deal. But West's extensive playing time early in the season came as much from injuries to Marcus Banks and Dan Dickau as it did from a commitment to the youth movement. For fans, the development of the 6-4 point guard is a sign that perhaps the youth on this team are indeed talented enough to carry the Celtics if those players would just be given the chance.

But Rivers has failed to make the commitment to Jefferson, a player who has shown equal flashes of brilliance and ineptitude. Just in his second year out of high school, Jefferson has at times looked like the low post presence the team thought he could be. But every time he struggles, his minutes go down, and then with less playing time, the 21-year old begins to press whenever he does get into a game. In recent games, the highly touted youngster has played as little as six minutes while time is given to veterans Mark Blount and Raef LaFrentz.

Talked about much less but still thought to be part of the youth movement is center Kendrick Perkins, another player who came to the NBA right out of high school and just in his third professional season. Like Jefferson, Perkins is frightfully inconsistent, especially offensively, but the kid has proven to have a nose for the ball off of the glass, making him one of the team's top rebounders per minutes played. Yet he too has failed to see the commitment to the youth movement, actually seeing just one second of playing time in a recent Celtics loss.

What has the fans angry is that Rivers has no coherent rotation, that he is often sitting the kids in favor of other players, even as those players fail to produce wins. The team does become offensively challenged without Paul Pierce and Ricky Davis on the floor but the two of them playing 40 plus minutes is not translating to victory either. More importantly, many players get the same minutes whether they play defense or not, another major problem for those who follow the team closely.

The Celtics are now at or near the top of the league in field goal percentage and they have proven that they can score points with any body in the league. But the team has lost numerous games down the stretch due to a failure to execute at key moments. The team has also consistently failed to defend, something that is more a function of effort and discipline than it is of talent.

These failures lead many to feel that Rivers is actually the problem, not the team or its youth. Throw in Doc's unwillingness to consistently play the youngsters despite a public commitment to a youth movement and everyone has to wonder what's up with the coach.

The bottom line appears to be twofold, continuing down the current path will lead the fans to holler all the more loudly. Either the team starts winning despite Doc's rotations and its defensive ineptitude or Doc starts playing the kids more during the losses.

Because continuing the current situation is likely to lead to Celtics fans to seek that Doc Rivers follow Bob Weiss into retirement, insisting that he take Danny Ainge along with him.

As the NBA season nears the 40 game-mark, the inexplicable now seems possible. A New York Knick franchise that was in complete disarray, during the off-season, the pre-season and even in the early season has thrust itself into the position of obtaining a playoff spot in 2006.

OK, the Eastern Conference is weak, and the Knicks likely only have a shot at the number eight slot. That would give them a first round date with the Pistons. But for a team left for dead 28 games into the season, the accomplishment would be a huge step forward.

The team won its sixth straight contest Friday in what would be Larry Brown's 1,000 victory in the NBA. Their 105-94 win over the lowly Atlanta Hawks pushed the team over five hundred on the season at home, and moved the team within two games of the final Eastern Conference playoff spot currently held by the Washington Wizards.

For New York, the six game streak still leaves the team a weak 13 and 21 record for the season. But, prior to the six game stretch, the team was 7 and 21, a record with a winning percentage of .250 and pushing for the league's worst mark.

The streak includes some very impressive victories, a 140-133 win over the high-scoring Suns, a 113-92 thrashing of the eighth place Wizards, and a scintillating 117-115 victory over the Dallas Mavericks - all came at home. The Knicks also topped Lebron James and the Cavaliers in Cleveland during the stretch, 92-84.

The upsurge comes just as Coach Brown was beginning to get a great deal of criticism. The basis for the negativity involved the fine start of his former team, the Detroit Pistons, who seemed to be playing a notch better without Brown, at least early in the season, and the poor start of the Knicks.

But if Brown has proven anything over the years, it is the fact that he can coach. And his 1,000 victory put him in a territory reserved for the NBA best. Only Pat Riley, Don Nelson and Lenny Wilkens have accomplished that achievement in NBA history. Ironically, all four coaches served as the head man for New York at one time or another. Brown, who is now 1,000-762 all time while coaching 23 seasons in the NBA.

Coach Brown has Stephon Marbury returning to the form that makes him one of the league's better point guards. Marbury has averaged 23.3 points and 9.3 assists during the six game streak. In addition the Knicks appear to have garnered one of the better draft picks in 2005 with their selection of Channing Frye out of Arizona. The 22-year old forward is averaging 15 points and 6 rebounds per game in just 26 minutes of action.

The team also appeared to be taking a chance when they made an off-season move to get Eddie Curry from the Bulls. Curry, with potential heart issues, was drafted in the first round of the 2001 draft, picked fourth overall, but his health concerns led the Bulls to move the center. The big fella', still only 23-years old, is at 14 points and nearly 7 rebounds a game for Brown.

New York has ten more games in January but only two come against teams over five hundred on the season, dates with the Pistons and the Lakers. However both contests are in New York. The Knicks also play the 76ers and T-Wolves who are both at five hundred, but the other six contests are games that revamped New York should have a chance to win.

There is still a long way to go in the 2005-2006 season, and things change rapidly in the world of the NBA. But for now, it appears Larry Brown may have righted the ship and may well make yet another NBA playoff appearance with yet another team.

Like him or not, the man can coach.

When Major League baseball released the final salary figures for the 2005 season, the New York Yankees once again took home the top honor.

George Steinbrenner's crew topped the $200 million mark with a new record $207.2 million payroll. The Yankees had established the previous record high of $187.9 million in 2004 .In claiming top honors for the past season, the Yankees not only set a new salary mark, the team spent almost double the amount of their closest pursuers.

Boston proved to be the second highest spender for 2005, topping $116 million, still a distant $90 million behind the Bronx bombers. New York's market competitor, the New York Mets were third at $104 million.

Both Boston and New York did make the playoffs for 2005 but both teams were eliminated in the first round of action.

Big market teams had the most money to spend and those three teams were followed by the Los Angeles Angels at $97 million, Philadelphia with $95 million, the Los Angeles Dodgers at $88 million, St. Louis with $87 million and Atlanta at $86 million.

The two World Series opponents, the Chicago White Sox and the Houston Astros finished 13th and 12th respectively. Chicago, the World Series winner spent $73 million while Houston spent $76 million. Chicago of course won its first World Series title since 1917 in sweeping the Astros in four games. For Houston, it was the team's first ever World Series appearance.

The San Diego Padres who slipped into the playoffs with the worst record had the lowest payroll of the eight teams qualifying for the postseason. The team spent $66 million, good for 16th place overall. The Padres were eliminated in a first round swept by the Cardinals.

At the bottom of the expense list was Kansas City ($35 million). Colorado ($32.5 million, Pittsburgh ($30 million) and Tampa Bay with the lowest payroll at $27 million.

When it comes to individual players, Alex Rodriguez, the American League's Most Valuable Player, topped the list, earning an official $21.8 million as part of his deal with the Yankees. The third baseman had his contract restructured when he was traded from Texas to New York.

Next up on the list was San Francisco's Barry Bonds, at $21.3 million. Bonds of course spent almost the entire season on the disabled list after an off season cloud of steroid use and several knee surgeries. Third on the list was Boston's Manny Ramirez at $19.9 million.

The Yankees also had the fourth and fifth highest individual contracts, with Derek Jeter next at $19.6 million and Mike Mussina at $19 million. The overall average salary for all players for 2005 was up more than 5% from the prior year. The average individual player salary according to Major League baseball was $2,349,394, up from the 2004 average of $2,227,347.

If you took a poll of avid sports fans in all the major North American sports, I bet you would find that, no matter how many records are set or no matter how many individual awards are won by members of their favorite team, the season won't be considered a success unless the team makes it to the playoffs.  After all, the goal of every team is to win a championship, and that's what sports fans want to see most.  

So it naturally follows that every sports fan's dream is to be able to attend a postseason game in person.  But that's much easier said than done.  Provided your team even makes it to the playoffs, which is a long shot to begin with, it's often next to impossible to get playoff tickets through regular means -- unless you happen to be a season ticket holder.  Every sports organization offers special perks to their season ticket holders, and first dibs on playoff tickets is one of them.  The rest of the fans have to rely on a combination of luck and perseverance in order to score playoff tickets.  The usual scenarios go like this.

First, after offering playoff tickets to season ticket holders, the sports organization usually announces that there will be a lottery for the remaining tickets.  Although each organization might conduct their lottery a bit differently, the basic premise is the same.  You fill out a registration form and then submit it, either online or through the regular postal mail.  Once the entry deadline is reached, the team will hold a drawing to determine which fans can buy playoff tickets.  But of course the number of tickets you can buy is extremely limited.  In fact, most organizations place a limit of two tickets per person for each name drawn in the lottery.  That might seem like an okay deal if you're talking about the NFL playoffs, which only run a couple of games anyway, but baseball, hockey, and basketball playoffs all run for several rounds.  So fans in those sports might feel cheated.

A second method of purchasing playoff tickets is to call into the team box office or a specially designated ticketing service on a specific day.  This means you have to hope that you somehow get through to an operator when thousands of other fans in your city are also trying to call in at the same time.  As you can imagine, a majority of fans hear nothing but a busy signal whenever they try to call in.

A newer approach to selling playoff tickets is to do it online.  The team will direct fans to go to a specific website at a specific time in order to try to purchase tickets that way.  As with the telephone method, it's very difficult to get connected to the website during this time.  

If after trying all the methods mentioned above you still come up empty on tickets, there is yet another option available to you.  You can try purchasing playoff tickets from licensed ticket broker.  Many of the larger brokers are able to get blocks of tickets for each game, while the smaller brokers might only get their hands on a couple of pairs of tickets.  And yes, we've all heard horror stories about people paying $1500 or more for a pair of seats in the last row of the upper deck.  While I personally would never do such a thing, I can understand how others would.  For example, if you were a long-suffering Red Sox fan, wouldn't you do anything you could to be able to be there in person to wear their first title in 86 years?

While it's true that ticket brokers charge high service fees for the most popular playoff games, the prices are still within the comfort range of many fans.  Plus, if ticket brokers in your city are charging too much, you can easily go online and try brokers from neighboring cities.  Sometimes you'll find better deals at out-of-town agencies.

It's not every season that your favorite team makes it to the playoffs, and you never know when it will happen again.  So when it does happen, do what every avid sports fan would do:  try to get your hands on some playoff tickets!    

  

Over the past five years, folks in Happy Valley began to assume that big time college football had passed 78-year-old Joe Paterno by. Penn State had managed to win just three conference games in the tough Big Ten the prior two seasons and the team had endured four losing seasons in the past five years.

Then came 2005 and the resurrection of the Nittany Lions on the national scene. The team posted an 11-1 record, including a 26-23 triple-overtime victory over Florida State in the Orange Bowl. The team also shared the Big Ten title and finished the season ranked No. 3, the best final ranking for Penn State since being second in 1994.

All those accomplishments earned Joe Pa the American Football Coaches Association coach of the year award. For Paterno, it was his fifth time taking home the trophy symbolizing the best in collegiate coaching.

Then came the disappointment, the release of comments made by the coach prior to the game with Florida State. The statements made by Paterno regarding an alleged sexual assault were deemed so outrageous by women's rights advocates they stated they wanted the Penn State football coach to resign.

Joe Pa's remarks came the day before the Orange Bowl. At the time, a reporter asked the Penn State coach a question related to Florida State linebacker A.J. Nicholson. Nicholson had been accused of sexual assault and sent home by the team prior to the Bowl Game.

Paterno is reported to have responded:

"There's some tough - there's so many people gravitating to these kids. He may not have even known what he was getting into, Nicholson. They knock on the door; somebody may knock on the door; a cute girl knocks on the door. What do you do?"

"Geez. I hope - thank God they don't knock on my door because I'd refer them to a couple of other rooms," Paterno continued. "But that's too bad. You hate to see that. I really do. You like to see a kid end up his football career. He's a heck of a football player, by the way; he's a really good football player. And it's just too bad."

Paterno's insensitivity to the alleged assault led the National Organization for Women to issue a news release calling for Paterno "to apologize and step down from the post he has held for 40 years." The organization insisted that Paterno's comments are the latest in a series of insensitive actions by the university's athletic department, in particular that a football player accused of sexual assault in 2003 was allowed to play in a bowl game by the University.

It isn't the first time that Paterno has been deemed insensitive . It wasn't all that long ago that Penn State receiver Tony Johnson was arrested for driving under the influence. Said the Penn Sate coach at the time, "Obviously, it will all get blown out of proportion because he is a football player, but he didn't do anything to anybody." Then he added that he would discipline Johnson "just because I have to send a message to the squad that it is inappropriate to be out in the middle of the week having a couple of drinks."

Though calls for his resignation seem a bit strong, a sincere apology would seem to be in order. Soft-peddling a rape allegation is not the type of leadership young men need, especially in today's world. Though he was right that the young man was also a loser in this ordeal, making wise-cracks in the midst of discussing a sexual allegation doesn't give the public the sense that the man is aware of the world he lives in today.

Ironically, the calls for his resignation had been going on for the past five years, but in that case it had been for his failure to win football games. Because Penn State went 11-1 this season and Joe Pa took home the coach's award, he appeared to be on the upswing once again.

But the recent comments did much to undermine his resurgence while his failure to step forward and acknowledge his mistake has lead many to wonder if this just might not be the time for the legendary coach to step down.

There is an expression that the very best sports programs use as a slogan. There are variations but essentially it goes something like this:

At local University X, we don't rebuild, we simply reload.

Well it is a different year, and for the North Carolina Tar Heels, it is a team with totally different players. After all, the defending national champions had the misfortune of having four players drafted by the NBA, all in the first round, during the annual selection process for professional basketball. The loss of such talented players as Raymond Felton, Rashad McCants, Sean May and Marvin Williams would theoretically have forced even the mighty Tar Heels to think about rebuilding.

Especially given the strength of the Atlantic Coast Conference, the consensus number basketball league in the country. How good is the ACC? Well, heading into Saturday, the top seven teams in the conference had an overall record of 78-11. Moreover, the entire league was a combined 118 wins against 32 losses. Five of 32 losses represented the opening games between league teams. Top to bottom, the ACC is truly the nation's best.

And on Saturday, when the Tar Heels executed down the stretch to take home an 82-69 triumph over No. 13 North Carolina State, Roy Williams' bunch gave notice that North Carolina would need to be reckoned with once again this season. In the conference and nationally, because yes, there is no rebuilding for Carolina, just reloading.

Freshman point guard Bobby Frasor tallied15 points in the second half and came up with a big a steal in the final 2 minutes. Outstanding freshman Tyler Hansbrough converted all of his 14 free throws on his way to scoring 20 points as the 25th-ranked Tar Heels held off the Wolfpack.

Returning veteran David Noel contributed 14 for North Carolina, now 9-2 overall and 1-0 Atlantic Coast Conference. The Heels actually scored the game's final 13 points, breaking open a tie game over the final two and a half minutes of the contest. For the Wolfpack, the loss dropped the higher ranked team in the State to 12-2 and 1-1 in the ACC. The loss snapped the best start in 17 years for State.

The extremely young Tar Heels finished an amazing 26-for-28 at the line while shooting 53 percent from the field. It was the first time during the 2005-2006 collegiate season N.C. State had allowed a team to make 50 percent of its shot attempts.

With the addition of a strong Boston College Eagles team to the conference, the Heels will have their work cut for them. Sooner or later, the have to play the likes of Duke (13-0,1-0), Clemson (12-2, 1-0), Maryland (11-2, 1-0) and the aforementioned B.C. Eagles (11-2, 0-1).

But just one year after their first national title under Roy Williams and the professional draft that took the team's top talent, the Carolina Tar Heels are off to a great start, serving notice that will be team to be reckoned with even this year, and among the favorites for 2006-2007.

Indeed, the Tar Heels appear to have reloaded for yet another run at a future NCAA title.

It was a classic New England Patriots' performance.

A veteran, playoff-tested Patriots football team simply out-executed the playoff newbie, the Jacksonville Jaguars, en route to a solid 28- 3 thrashing in the cold in Foxboro. And when the term out-executed is used, the focus has to be on the little aspects of the game that matter.

A simple review of the total game stats yields a rather interesting set of figures. When Twain said that statistics lie, a look at the final numbers Saturday night would yield a thorough understanding that Mr. Twain knew what he was talking about.

By game's end, the Pats had 17 first downs while holding the ball for 30:26 - Jacksonville on the other hand had 15 first downs and the ball for 29:34. The Pats had 307 yards of total offense, the Jags 292. The best playoff quarterback in recent years, Tom Brady threw for 201 yards . The two Jaguar QBs threw for 247. The Pats ran 59 offensive plays, the Jags 62. There's more if you keep digging, stats that belie the final rout.

But then you move to what matters, big plays, and the concept of execution at critical times. The first really important stat in the NFL that is truly important is that of third-down conversions. The team that manages to keep drives moving forward by making plays when they need to generally wins. That stat was the first overriding domination by the Pats. The Jags converted just one third down in twelve tries, good for eight total yards. The Patriots were a solid seven out of fourteen, a Brady specialty.

Then comes the truly big plays, the game breakers. Here the Pats dominated completely, New England had three, Jacksonville zero. The first was a fumble recovery by the Pats who were driving in the Jags red zone. New England tight end Ben Watson coughed up the football after a catch, a potential drive ending blow. But teammate Andre Davis was the first to the ball and the Pats maintained possession. New England scored on the very next play on a Brady to David Givens pass for the touchdown.

The second came when that same tight end, Ben Watson, busted a big one. The Pats were third and thirteen at their own 37 yard line and a good rush by the Jags forced Brady to dump the ball to Watson, well short of the first down. But though initially two Jags appeared to be able to stop Watson short of the first down, the big tight end somehow broke that initial tackle. The play however didn't end with Watson getting the first down, because shortly after making the yard marker the receiver took bounced off another tackler and into the open field. The 63-yard touchdown was a great example of player for the Pats making a big play at a key moment, as well as atoning for his mistake earlier.

Finally, the third play was also classic Pats' head coach Bill Belichick, he of the crafty defensive mind set. With the Jags driving in New England territory, Jacksonville had a key fourth and five at the Pats 32 yard line. A quick out pattern by the Jags would have had enough yardage for the first down, but the receiver clearing the area for a second receiver was released by Asante Samuel. Reading the play perfectly, Samuel let his man go deep, the Pats defensive back turned into the route that was being covered by another Patriot, picked off the Leftwich pass and went 73 yards for the game-clinching touchdown. That defensive read had been called by the Pats coaching staff and was executed to perfection by Samuel.

The three big plays led to or created three Pats touchdowns, putting New England in the driver's seat midway through the third quarter and as of the first play in the fourth quarter, the Samuel return for touchdown. That execution meant New England had established yet another NFL record, earning their tenth straight playoff victory.

After the game, the New England players said all the right things, including there was room for improvement in their play. And looking at most of the stats one would think there was indeed room to grow. But when it comes to game breaking plays, three to zero is about as good as it gets.

And because of that stat, the Pats have a chance to extend their playoff record as they head to Denver or Indianapolis next week.

As the NFL playoffs get under way today, the team that has take three of the last four Super Bowl titles has somehow managed to make the playoffs yet again, given rise to the question:

Can the Patriots win yet another one?

In New England, there doesn't appear to be much doubt about tonight's contest. After all, its going to be cold in Foxboro and in recent years the Patriots always win when it's cold. Then there's the fact that the game is at Gillette Stadium and in recent times the Patriots always win when there's a playoff game at home.

Add to that two amazing other situations - that Tom Brady's going to be at quarterback and the Patriots are undefeated when Brady is calling the signals in the playoffs. And oh yea, head coach Bill Belichick is at the helm today, and well, the Patriots are also undefeated when Belichick coaches them in the playoffs.

No one in New England has any doubt about today, because, well this team hasn't lost a playoff game this century. The Patriots' last playoff loss came back in 1999 - the coach in that game was Pete Carroll, he of the USC Trojans. Scott Zolak was filling in for an injured Drew Bledsoe, he of the Dallas Cowboys. Zolak now does postgame commentary for the team while Pete Carroll is better known as the current god of college football. So its been a long time since New England lost.

But if that is the case in New England, don't tell that to the Jacksonville Jaguars. The up and coming Jags leapt right past the Pats this year, going 12-4 in the regular season as compared to New England's 10-6. The Patriots running game has been suspect all season and the defensive secondary weak, leaving the defending champs seemingly vulnerable.

No, New England hasn't lost a playoff game this century but the fans in Jacksonville are totally aware that the Patriots' last postseason defeat, way back in 1999, came at the hands of the Jaguars, a 25-10 thrashing in Alltel Stadium. Yes, the same stadium that served as the site of last year's third Patriots Super Bowl win.

But somehow, someway, the Pats have been installed the favorites nationally. Many Patriot fans have actually spent the better part of the last three weeks thinking about the seeding and all of them have been talking about tomorrow's playoff game between Pittsburgh and Cincinnati. That is the game that will establish the next phase of the playoffs, the location of the game of the winner of tonight's contest. For New England, a win tonight and Pittsburgh win tomorrow sends the Patriots to Denver for a another Saturday night special. If Cincy should win, the Patriots (if they win) would advance directly to the RCA Dome for yet another game against those Indianapolis Colts. Every Pats fans knows that because, well every Pats fan is used to winning and the expectation is the same for tonight.

Those same fans have expressed their doubts about what happens then, when it comes to round two. Because the Patriots will not have the luxury of playing at home as they did the past two years, playing the New England cold. Whether it is Denver or Indianapolis, they also would be playing a team that had beat them earlier in the season. And to get to yet another Super Bowl the team would have to win three games just to get there - three wins was all the Pats needed in the playoffs to get their past two titles.

Amazingly, no one north of Jacksonville expects anybody but New England to win this game. And for those that are superstitious that just might be the biggest problem of all. The long and even more difficult than usual road to another Super Bowl begins for the Pats tonight.

The Jags would like nothing more than earn a little respect by repeating their 1999 victory, becoming the first team to beat Tom Brady in a playoff game and the first team this century to beat the Patriots as well.

It was just a month ago that the Nets were being listed among the NBA's three or four most significant early season disappointments. After a 27-14 run to close the 2005 season, much was expected of New Jersey for 2006. And now nine games later, nine straight wins no less, the team is playing like many thought they would. Thirty games into the season, the team now has the third best record in the NBA's Eastern Conference and the look of a possible contender come playoff time.

On Friday, Jason Kidd recorded the 69th career triple-double of his career, propelling the Nets to that ninth straight win, easing past the Orlando Magic, 113-106. The Nets are on their fourth longest winning streak in franchise history, and at 18-12 are trailing only the white hot Pistons at 26-4 and the hard-rushing Cleveland Cavaliers, 19-11.

Kidd had one of usual stat lines, going for 16 points, 13 assists and 11 rebounds. Kidd is now fourth all-time in triple-doubles (trailing only Oscar Robertson (181), Magic Johnson (138) and Wilt Chamberlain (78)) and his career total is more than that of 22 of the NBA's teams.

But the team continues to ride the strong play of Vince Carter. Vin-Sanity continued his outstanding play, tossing in 31 points and going 14-of-15 from the free throw line on Friday night, yet another in a long line of great games. Carter has been especially impressive since joining the team in the middle of last year and has made a full return to All Star form playing alongside of Kidd. For the season, Carter is averaging nearly 25 points per game to go with 6 rebounds and 4 assists.

In addition, a healthy Richard Jefferson is also having a stellar season. At 19 plus points and 7 rebounds game, the leaper is clearly recovered from the injury that kept him out most of 2004-2005. Throw in the usual numbers from Kidd, currently averaging 14 points, 8 assists and 7 rebounds a game, and the Nets have three All Star caliber players on top of their games.

While the team struggled at the start a year ago, going 15 and 26 over their first 41 games, the team began developing some of its younger players while Jefferson was on the shelf. That helped immensely as this season the team has seen the continued growth of Yugoslavian, Nenad Krstic. The 22-year old, seven footer, is averaging 12 points and nearly 6 rebounds a game, giving New Jersey a strong presence in the middle to go with the outstanding, up-tempo perimeter game the Jersey brings to the table.

The team has also received very strong play off the bench from veterans Clifford Robinson and Jacque Vaughn. Both were in double figures on Friday, helping the Nest produce a balanced attack in dropping the Magic.

The Nets 8-6 record on the road trails only that of Detroit in the conference - a real sign that the veteran team could be a NBA team to be reckoned with in the months ahead. The Nets now lead the Atlantic Division by 3.5 games over the Philadelphia 76ers and are also a game up on the team that most picked as a possible competitor to Detroit, the Miami Heat.

With 50 games still to be played, there is a great deal of the season left. But right now New Jersey is turning it on and giving the other conference teams the message that the Nets are back among the toughest teams in the East.

Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks couldn't have picked a better time to have an outstanding season.  Not only did he help the Seahawks make it to the postseason, but he was also named the NFL's Most Valuable Player.  The six-year veteran out of Alabama will be a free agent at the end of the season and stands to be rewarded with a lucrative multi-million dollar contract for the huge numbers he posted this year.  The only thing that remains to be seen is whether he will get the money from the Seahawks, or if another franchise will outbid the Seattle organization for Alexander's services.

Alexander rushed for a total of 1,880 yards on 370 attempts this season.  That averages out to a very impressive 5.08 yards per carry.  He broke the 100-yard barrier in 11 of the team's 16 games, and had a season-high of 173 yards back in Week 9 against the Arizona Cardinals.  His lowest total came in Week 13 against the Philadelphia Eagles.  The Seahawks were well out in front in that game and the outcome was never in doubt, so Alexander didn't play very much.  He rushed for only 49 yards on 19 carries, but still managed to score two touchdowns in that time.  

In addition, Alexander rushed for more than 150 yards on three different occasions, and averaged a whopping 117.5 yards per game.  This was enough to edge out Tiki Barber of the New York Giants for the NFL rushing title.  Barber put forth a monster effort in his last game of the season, gaining 203 yards on 28 carries, but he finished just shy of Alexander with a total of 1,860 yards.

Even more impressive than Alexander's total yards was the number of touchdowns he scored this season.  Alexander put up 27 rushing touchdowns and added a receiving touchdown to set an NFL record for most in a season.  The previous record was held by Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs, who set the old mark in 2003 with 27 rushing touchdowns alone.  Alexander was held out of the end zone only twice all season:  once in Week One by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and then again in Week 7 by the Dallas Cowboys.  He finished the season by scoring touchdowns in nine straight games.  In addition, Alexander had an incredible total of eight multi-touchdown games, and scored 4 touchdowns in a game two different times this year.  

Alexander's main competition in the MVP race was Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning.  Manning, who had won the MVP award in the two previous years, led the Colts to a 13-0 start before finishing the season with a 14-2 record.  His passer rating of 104.1 was tops in the league, and his 305 completions for 3,747 yards and 28 touchdowns put him near the top in the other important quarterback stat categories as well.  

Many analysts and fans were both surprised and disappointed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady didn't get much recognition from voters.  Brady, who twice has been named the Super Bowl MVP but has failed to garner the regular season award, had one of the best years of his career.  He threw for 4,110 yards, which far surpassed his previous best of 3,764 yards, and had 26 touchdowns versus just 14 interceptions.  Brady's passer rating on the year was 92.3, which was just .3 shy of tying his career-best.  More importantly, Brady was the glue that held the New England team together when the squad was ravaged by injuries during the regular season.  Brady consistently stepped up as the leader of the team, and is largely responsible for the Patriots making it back to the postseason with a 10-6 record despite starting out at a mediocre 4-4.  Even after all that, Brady received just one first-place vote in MVP balloting.

Nevertheless, there can be no question that Alexander deserves the MVP award as much as anyone for his stellar season.  Now the only thing left for him to do is continue putting up the same big numbers in the playoffs in the hopes of leading the Seahawks to the ultimate goal, which of course is a Super Bowl appearance and the Vince Lombardi trophy.  Seattle will play its first postseason game on either January 14 or 15, depending on the outcome of other games.

It has been over a month since college football's regular season ended, and in that time, we've been anxiously awaiting the Rose Bowl matchup between the number one and number two teams in the nation.  The USC Trojans and the Texas Longhorns came into the season ranked first and second, and after each squad completed perfect campaigns, the stage was set for the title game.  The winner would exit the Rose Bowl as the 2005 National Champions, while the loser would leave with their sights set on next year.  

The media hype leading up to the game was predictable.  There were countless analyses of every aspect of the game, from head coaches Pete Carroll and Mack Brown to all the star players who would be taking the field.  Surprisingly enough, many people picked the Longhorns to pull off the upset victory on Wednesday night despite the Trojans' impressive 34-game winning streak and two consecutive national titles.

Early on, it looked like USC was off to a good start.  The Longhorns held the Trojans to a 3-and-out on their first possession, forcing a punt.  But then Aaron Ross of Texas fumbled the punt and USC recovered.  Running back LenDale White made the Longhorns pay for their mistake by scoring on a 4-yard run just three plays later to put the Trojans ahead 7-0.

But then Texas quarterback Vince Young took over the game, as he has done so often all season long.  Young, who is ranked as one of the best quarterbacks in the country, poses a double threat -- unlike his counterpart on the Trojans, Matt Leinart, who really lacks any kind of running ability.  Young led a couple of long scoring drives as the Longhorns put up 16 points in the second quarter to take a 16-10 lead into the locker room at halftime.  Young completed 13 out of 15 passes in the first half, and also rushed for 60 yards.  He accounted for almost as many total yards in the half as the entire USC team.  

In the third quarter, the Trojans came back strong, which has been a familiar theme for them in a season where they notched several come-from-behind victories over strong opponents.  Leinart started getting some good pass protection, which allowed him to hit his receivers in stride -- something he wasn't able to do in the first half.  White also continued his impressive play and added two more rushing touchdowns to his total.  White finished the game with 123 yards and 3 touchdowns on 20 carries.  

But the Longhorns were able to keep USC's other star running back, Heisman winner Reggie Bush, under control for almost the entire game.  In fact, the only time Bush was really able to break free was in the fourth quarter when he scored on a 26-yard run.  He would finish the night with 80 yards and one touchdown on 13 carries.

Shutting down Bush allowed the Texas offense to get back on the field so that Young could work his magic.  Young ended up accounting for 467 of the Longhorns' 557 yards in the game.  He completed 30 out of 40 passes for 267 yards, and he rushed the ball 20 times for 200 yards and three touchdowns.  He clearly was the dominant and deciding factor in the game, and was much-deserving of the MVP award.

Despite the heroics shown by Young, the game was in doubt until the final seconds.  The Trojans had a 38-33 lead with just over two minutes to go in regulation, but couldn't convert on a 4th-and-2 situation, so Texas got the ball back.  The Trojans defense appeared to have forced the Longhorns into their own fourth down quandary, but a face mask penalty resulted in a first down.  That was the lifeline that the Longhorns needed, and they continued their march down the field, capping off the scoring drive with a 9-yard touchdown run from Young to seal the 41-38 victory.

Football is most certainly a team game, but in this case, an individual rose above all others and stood in a class by himself.  Without Vince Young, the Longhorns wouldn't be celebrating a National Championship right now.  You can bet all Texas fans are hoping and praying that Young agrees to return for another season next year instead of heading to the NFL!

With the completion of this week's NFL games, another professional football season is now in the books.  There weren't too many surprises to speak of in the final week.  The New York Giants clinched their division and made it into the playoffs.  The rest of the teams that advanced to the postseason are:  the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Washington Redskins, New England Patriots, Chicago Bears, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cincinnati Bengals.

Teams that don't make it to the playoffs can typically expect a lot of personnel changes in the offseason.  Those moves started very early this year, as five teams announced head coach firings soon after the final games were over.  Let's take a look at some of the swan songs that we saw on Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings over Chicago Bears
Minnesota head coach Mike Tice has been under fire for most of the year.  His troubles started way back in training camp when a story broke that he had been reprimanded by the league for selling his Super Bowl tickets.  Then Tice's troubles continued during the season as the Vikings got off to a very slow start.  When several members of the team were involved in a midseason boat party scandal, rumors started flying that Tice's days as head coach were numbered.  Those rumors proved to be correct, as Tice was let go shortly after the Vikings defeated the Bears 34-10 in a game that was largely meaningless for both teams.

The playoff-bound Bears rested most of their starters, including newly-anointed starting quarterback Rex Grossman.  That meant rookie Kyle Orton got another chance to play under center for the entire game.  He was virtually ineffective from start to finish, and showed that the coaches are making a smart decision by going with Grossman, who actually has a worse won-loss record in the NFL.  Orton completed just 6 out of 14 passes for a scant 59 yards.  The Bears offense had trouble moving the ball all game long and was held to 251 yards on the day.  Running back Thomas Jones gained 62 yards on 12 carries in his limited playing time before giving way to backup Adrian Peterson.  Peterson ran the ball 8 times for 35 yards.

Minnesota QB Brad Johnson had a nice game to finish off the season.  He completed 27 out of 40 passes for 247 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions.  Johnson spread the ball around to eight different receivers, but clearly favored going to Travis Taylor and Nate Burleson.  Taylor had five catches for 68 yards and a touchdown, while Burleson ended up with six catches for 66 yards.  Running back Michael Bennett chipped in 82 rushing yards and a touchdown of his own to round out the Vikings' scoring threats.

Green Bay Packers over Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks were another playoff-bound team that had nothing left to prove in the final week of the season, so the 23-17 setback at the hands of Brett Favre and the Green Bay Packers didn't mean much.  However, the game itself was still noteworthy for several reasons.  

First of all, Favre might very well have played in the final game of his storied NFL career.  The veteran of 15 seasons has been contemplating retirement all year long, and early indications are that he will indeed hang up his spikes for good.  Despite the win, the lowly Packers finished the season at 4-12, which was the first time in all of Favre's years with the team that they ended up with a losing record.  Favre also had the worst year of his career stat-wise.  He had a rating of just 70.9, and threw 29 interceptions.  Nevertheless, if Favre does decide to retire, he will do so as a winner and as a lock for the Hall of Fame.

The second noteworthy aspect of this game is the fact that Seattle running back Shaun Alexander was able to accomplish two spectacular feats in his limited playing time.  Alexander scored a touchdown on a one-yard run in the second quarter, which gave him a total of 28 on the season.  That mark is now the new NFL record for touchdowns in a season, previously held by Priest Holmes of the Kansas City Chiefs.  Then, later in the game, Alexander overtook Tiki Barber of the New York Giants for the league rushing title.  All in all, it was an excellent season for Alexander, who didn't let impending contract negotiations distract him from doing his job out on the field.

Finally, the game was noteworthy because it was Packers' coach Mike Sherman's last one with the team.  Even though Sherman had a lot of success in Green Bay in recent years, including three consecutive divisional championships, a lot of analysts expected his firing.  It seems that the Packers franchise would like to move in a different direction, and that involves bringing in a new head coach to groom their young quarterback Aaron Rodgers to take over for Favre.  It will be interesting to see where Sherman ends up, and which coach the Packers will bring in to replace him.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers over New Orleans Saints
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers secured the NFC South championship by defeating the New Orleans Saints by a score of 27-13.  The Buccaneers finished the regular season with an 11-5 record and will play host to the Washington Redskins in the first round of the playoffs next week.  The Saints, on the other hand, finished their season with a dismal five-game losing streak that dropped their overall record to 3-13.  Needless to say, they will be in rebuilding mode during the offseason.

Wide receiver Joey Galloway led the way for the Tampa Bay offense.  He had four catches for 38 yards and two touchdowns.  Those two touchdowns brought his season total to 10, which set a franchise record.  Getting the ball to Galloway was third-year quarterback Chris Simms.  Simms completed 12 out of 25 passes for 143 yards in the game, plus the two touchdowns to Galloway.  He'll be making the first postseason start of his short career next Saturday.

The Saints, meanwhile, continued to be mired in the mediocrity that defined the majority of their season.  Quarterback Todd Bouman was 25 out of 37 on pass attempts in the game for 265 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.  Running back Antowain Smith gained 55 yards on 16 carries and tight end Zachary Hilton caught five passes for 74 yards to lead the Saints in those categories.

The day after the game, the New Orleans organization announced that they had decided to part ways with head coach Jim Haslett.  Haslett had been at the helm in New Orleans for the past five seasons and amassed a 45-51 record in that time.  Although his record is below the .500 mark, it nevertheless put him second on the Saints' all-time win list.  Haslett also coached the Saints to their first-ever postseason victory in the 2000 season, which helped him earn Coach of the Year honors.  But the last four years have been marred by a failure to win big games, so the Saints are looking to move in a new direction.  According to most analysts, Haslett should have no trouble landing another head coaching gig in the NFL very soon.

San Francisco 49ers over Houston Texans
This game was a matchup between two of the worst teams in the league.  The 49ers prevailed by a score of 20-17 in overtime, which allowed them to end their 4-12 season on a note of respectability.  The loss gave the Texans the distinction of locking up the first overall pick in the upcoming NFL draft.  This most likely gives them the rights to USC star running back Reggie Bush, should he decide to turn pro and declare himself eligible for the draft.  It will be the second time in the four-year history of the franchise that they will get the number one pick.  When the Texans entered the league in 2002, they selected quarterback David Carr with the first pick.  

Speaking of Carr, he saw limited action as he went out in the first half of the game with an injury to his right elbow.  Until that point, he had completed 4 out of 11 passes for 23 yards.  Carr was replaced by veteran backup Tony Banks, who connected on 14 out of 25 passes for 173 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions.  Rookie running back Vernand Morency got some significant playing time in the game, and made the most of his chances by gaining 83 yards on 21 carries to lead the Texans in that category.  He also scored the second touchdown of his career on a three-yard run in the first quarter.

The 49ers had a less than stellar season themselves, dropping seven consecutive games at one point.  But they were able to put things together in the final two weeks of the season and end with back-to-back wins.  That's certainly something positive that they can build on in the offseason.  Rookie quarterback Alex Smith completed 16 of 29 passes for 159 yards on the day.  The former Utah star and the first overall pick of the 2005 draft also reached the first milestone in his NFL career when he hit wide receiver Brandon Lloyd late in the second quarter for his very first touchdown pass.  Lloyd had a total of 4 catches for 48 yards in the game.

Houston head coach Dom Capers turned into yet another coaching casualty this season when the organization announced his firing on Monday.  In his four seasons with the Texans, Capers put together an 18-46 record and never made it to the playoffs, so the firing really didn't come as a surprise to anybody.  Some might argue that he never had the right players to help him succeed, but that's really to be expected with an expansion team in its first few years.  The bottom line is that he failed to make significant improvements this year, and actually regressed in terms of the team's record.  According to most NFL analysts, it will be a difficult task for Capers to find another head coaching job in the pro ranks for next season, which means we might not be seeing him for a while.  

When your star player demands a trade to another organization, every team in professional sports attempts to meet that request. After all, who wants any part of a disgruntled veteran, not when the difference between winning and losing is as mush a matter of effort as it is talent.

But when that player is a flake, one who's standard moniker is "that is just Manny being Manny," an organization like the Red Sox may fail to find any truly viable suitors. Throw in the current contract that Ramirez has with the Sox, and well it appears Manny might just be in a Red Sox uniform again next year.

Certainly there a few interested takers, given that Boston placed Manny on waivers a year ago and there were not takers. Placed on waivers meant that any team could have claimed the star hitter and then activated him, required only to pay the current contract that Ramirez negotiated a scant five years ago.

One has to give the Sox outfielder's agent great credit for the package that he was able to get for Ramirez. First, the basics of the deal involved an eight-year, $160 million contract that will expire at the end of the 2008 season. But that tells only a small portion of the story - in fact under the current contract, the Red Sox's financial obligation to Ramirez will continue long into the future.

The $160 million deal breaks down into three separate financial components. First, Ramirez received a bonus of $16 million for signing with the Red Sox with the final $1 million payment of that sum due in 2006. Second, Manny signed for $113 million which was set to be paid out over the eight seasons of the basic contract.

Those two numbers, the signing bonus and the yearly paychecks, total just $129 million. There in lies the rub, the real basis for which Ramirez agent deserves phenomenal credit. The remaining $31 million is all deferred money - actually, that sum is also earning interest so the expected payout will be roughly $1 million more.

The deferred money is due in 2011, when Ramirez reaches the age of 39, and then continues until the year 2026, when Ramirez will be in his fifth year of eligibility for AARP membership. The deferred payments are to be paid in one lump sum, each July 1, that once a year for the 16-year period.

The deferrals consist of two basic components. The amount deferred from the first year of his contract on 2001 was $3 million - that amount will be paid out, one-sixteenth of it each year, beginning with that first year 2011. That payment figures to be about $187,500 per year for the period. The amount deferred from 2002 to 2008 was $4 million per year. That total yields $28 million which will again be paid out, one-sixteenth of it paid each year, for the period from 2011 to 2026. That of course yields another $1.75 million per year for the slugger during the seemingly early days of his well-deserved golden years.

Therefore, beginning at the age that most players are thinking about retirement, whether Ramirez is still playing or relaxing in his Ritz penthouse suite, the flakiest slugger in the game will receive roughly $1.94 million every year until he turns 54 years of age.

Unloading a man who may not always be the best team player, one who's head is often rumored to be anywhere but focused on the game being played at the moment, is always a challenge. But unloading Ramirez this offseason has the added contract burden for the taker of $57 million in salary for three years and another $12 million in deferred payments for the sixteen year period, or about $750,000 a year.

It is no wonder that the Red Sox have had difficulty finding a team willing to take on the player many call one of the best right-handed hitters in the game. In fact, look for Ramirez to be in Boston for 2006 at least, if not for the duration of the 8 year contract he signed with the Red Sox.

But that said, Ramirez and, even more so, his agent, deserve credit for negotiating a contract that will have the slugger on easy street financially long after his playing days are over.

Well, another bowl season has come, and we are finding more and more athletes getting into trouble. A.J. Nicholson, a needed defender for the Florida State Seminoles, was sent home after being accused of sexual assault on the team's trip to the Orange Bowl. Other athletes have missed court appearances to play in bowls and have found themselves in all types of minor trouble. The bad headlines just lead more people to conclude that athletes are bad seeds who are protected by academic institutions making millions of dollars off students' hard work.

I have another view, though, and I think that more people should consider it. Do athletes get in trouble more proportionately than the general population? What about in comparison to other students? To be honest, I am not sure. Athletes may in fact get in trouble more than the average student, but I really do not think so. The difference is that people have their hopes and dreams riding on the backs of 18 and 19-year-olds who make stupid decisions sometimes. No one knows if Johnny the pre-med student gets arrested for disorderly conduct, and quite frankly, no one cares. But if Johnny the quarterback gets arrested, then everyone cares.

In defense of these college athletes, few of them get in trouble. A college football team has 75 athletes. One getting arrested is not a huge percentage. If you factor in the number of students who play less-celebrated sports, such as track, cross country, and lacrosse, then you will find the percentage of student athletes who get in trouble dwindling even more.

If you could get the time or opportunity to know any of these athletes, you would discover that most of them go to class, go to practice, and then go on with their lives. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) has a line of commercials that says that that there are "millions of college athletes. Most of us go pro in something other than sports."That line of reasoning stands here, too. Most student athletes are not high-profile. They simply live their lives and pay for their college education based on talents they have on the courts or fields of their universities. These students are not trouble-makers; they, like the people in many other areas of life, are often branded spoiled and excused based on a very small number of them who make poor decisions.

I also think that people who are not sympathetic to student athletes should think about what their lives are like. While everyone sees athletes running out of the tunnel and being celebrated, few people see what goes on behind the scenes. These athletes often rise at 5 or 6 in the morning, either for mandatory team practice sessions or to help ensure that their individual performance gets better. Then these students go to class and have homework and all of the other requirements that other students have. After class, these athletes spend their time practicing again before going home to learn new plays or to get work done for classes.

The pressure on these students is enormous. People want them to win and do it with confidence. People put pressure on these students to do well and to perform before the media and fans without flaws. These students are supposed to be everything to the fans and the media, and then they are not expected to falter.

Instead of putting these students up on a pedestal, we should remember that they really are children. Few people expect their 18-year-old sons and daughters to have their lives figured out. We expect them to falter a little bit until they find their footing. We have come to accept youthful indiscretions as part of the journey to adulthood. Yet when it comes to student athletes we do not want them to have the same margin of error.

These are young men and women who work hard everyday and give everything they have to themselves, their teams, and their universities. As a group, they are not selfish and unconcerned with anything outside themselves. They are hard workers who are trying to learn their way in the world - just like other 20-year-old college students. It is time we treated them that way.


By Julia Mercer