Category College Football

Daily Sports Roundup 1/1/08

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It has been a pretty big day in sports so let’s get to the stories:

Penguins Win Winter Classic: The Pittsburgh Penguins won the first ever NHL Winter Classic 2-1 in shootout over the Buffalo Sabres. The game was held outdoors in the Buffalo Bills football stadium. This was the first ever pro hockey game held outdoors in the United States and the weather did not agree. A mix of snow, sleet, and rain covered the ice for almost the entire game and forced Zambonis to redo the ice during the middle of each period. The puck moved slower and players had to battle the wind, yet the event was a huge success. Sidney Crosby scored in the shootout to give the Penguins’ the win and jumped towards his bench in celebration when the puck hit the back of the net. 71,217 people braved the elements to see the NHL’s first ever Ice Bowl. Fans loved the game and created an energetic atmosphere that players loved. Watching it on TV, the ice looked small in the huge stadium, but it was a great game and I could feel the energy in the air.

Non-BCS Bowl Games: New Years has brought plenty of great bowl games today including the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl. First, though, was the Capital One Bowl where Michigan defeated Florida 42-35. It is a sweet ending for Michigan who lost to Appalachian State earlier this year, erasing any hopes for a National Championship. The Wolverines came out on top in Lloyd Carr’s final game and will hopefully move back into the Top 25 after beating number 12 Florida. In the Cotton Bowl, number 6 Missouri destroyed Arkansas in what could have been Darren McFadden’s final collegiate game. McFadden ran for 105 yards and a touchdown, but was not happy with the result. “We had a bad game. You don’t want to lose a bowl game. You only have fun when you win a bowl game” McFadden said. He has not stated whether he is going pro or not, but most scouts expect McFadden to forgo his senior year and enter the NFL Draft. Also today, number 16 Tennessee faced off against number 18 Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl. Tennessee finished the year at 10-4, the Vollunteer’s first 10 win season since 2004. Led by Quarterback Erik Ainge, Tennessee had 365 yards passing with Josh Briscoe receiving 7 of those passes for 101 yards and a touchdown. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/1/08” →

Daily Sports Roundup 12/31/07

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

Happy New Years Eve to all of my readers. This New Years Eve has also seen a fair amount of sports news, so let’s get to it:

Ravens Fire Billick:The Baltimore Ravens fired head coach Brian Billick today, after the Ravens finished the year at 5-11. After a 13-3 season last year, the Ravens underachieved this year and Billick has taken a lot of the blame. The team even lost nine consecutive games before finishing with a 27-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. Since the Ravens won the Super Bowl in 2000, they have won only one playoff game. Less than a year ago, Billick received a contract extension through the 2010 season and stated a couple weeks ago that he would be back for 2008. Owner Steve Bisciotti had other ideas. “I just changed my mind. I can’t explain it to you. It’s the toughest decision I’ve had to make” the owner said Monday. The Ravens were a disappointment this year and someone had to take the fall. Unfortunately, it was Billick’s turn.

McGrady Out For A Few Weeks:Though it looked like the injury would only need a couple days to heal, Tracy McGrady’s left knee has not gotten any better. The Houston Rockets are coming to a tough stretch in their schedule playing at both Boston and Orlando this week. It looks like McGrady will miss those games and more as he could be out as many as three weeks. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 12/31/07” →

Daily Sports Roundup 12/29/07

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A big day in sports today so here we go:

College Basketball:With school finals and winter break over, college basketball is back in full swing with 20 ranked teams playing today. There have been a lot of great games, but the best game of the night has yet to come with 18 Arizona travelling to 2 Memphis. A 3-pointer with 2 seconds by Michael Flowers of Wisconsin gave the Badgers a one point victory over 9 Texas. 19 Miami (FL) suffered its first loss of the season as Winthrop beat the Hurricanes 76-70. Just finished, Oklahoma defeated 23 West Virginia in double overtime. Those games and more are discussed in today’s earlier blog post.

UCLA Hires Neuheisel As Head Coach: The UCLA Bruins have hired their former QB Rick Neuheisel as their new head coach. The Bruins fired Karl Dorrell on December 3rd after five years as head coach. Neuheisel takes over a football program that went 6-6 and lost to BYU in their bowl game. The loss in the Las Vegas Bowl was tough as the Bruins had a field blocked as the time expired and lost the game by one point. UCLA was looking at their defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker for their coaching job and other schools will definately look at him to fill their coaching vacancy. Neuheisel has already stated that he hopes to keep Walker on the staff. UCLA had a mediocre season this year, ending in a tough loss, and they are hoping that Neuheisel will be able to take the program to the next level. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 12/29/07” →