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Daily Sports Roundup 1/6/08

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

Sunday is always a pretty slow day in sports, but there are a couple of interesting stories that made news today. Here they are:

Wild Card Games: The final two wild card games of the NFL Playoffs are today. The New York Giants visited Tampa Bay while the Tennessee Titans travelled to San Diego. In the first game today, the Giants defeated Tampa Bay 24-14 behind a strong outing by Eli Manning. The Buccaneers stadium was rocking, but three costly turnovers helped Eli and the Giants escape with the win. Manning completed 20 of 27 passes for 185 yards and 2 touchdowns while Bucs’ quarterback Jeff Garcia completed only 20 of 39 pass attempts for 207 touchdowns while throwing one touchdown and two interceptions. The Buccaneers chose to shut down the Giants’ running game, which they did as New York averaged only 3.3 yards per rush. Unfortunately, in shutting down the run, Tampa gave Manning the opportunity to pass. He took that opportunity and made the best of it, leading the Giants to the victory. New York will face Dallas in the Divisional Playoffs next weekend. The AFC Wild Card game takes place tonight. Vince Young will need to play a great game to overcome the Chargers’ balanced attack. If the Chargers win, they will face Indianapolis in the next round, but if the Titans win, Tennessee will face New England.

Arenas Hopes To Return This Year: Washington Wizards guard Gilbert Arenas is hoping to play basketball again this year, but doesn’t want to risk further injury. Arenas had surgery last April and then another surgery in November to repair his knee. Though he is progressing, Arenas is still months away from returning. He wants to get back this year, but realizes that it may not be in his best interest to do so. “I have to protect the rest of my career, too, so I won’t jeopardize that for just 15 games if I’m not 100 percent,” he said Saturday “If it’s aching, if I’m out here practicing and it’s swelling up then, I’ll see you next year.” Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/6/08” →

Daily Sports Roundup 1/4/08

Danny Vinik Leave a comment

It’s late and it has been a light day in sports so here are the couple short stories that made news today.

Battle in Detroit: The Detroit Pistons won their eleventh game in a row Friday night while the Boston Celtics extended their winning streak to eight. The two Eastern Conference powerhouses face off Saturday night. The Pistons beat the Celtics in the teams’ first meeting on two clutch free throws from Chauncey Billups. The Celtics are out for revenge. It should be a great game and I am looking forward to watching it.

Clemens Saga Continue: The House Oversight Committee has asked Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Brian McNamee, Kirk Radomski, and Chuck Knoblauch to testify before Congress. The biggest name in the Mitchell Report, Clemens has denied using performance-enhancing drugs, though he did admit to taking Lidocaine and B-12 vitamins. His interview with CBS’ “60 Minutes” will air this week and the fans and media will get to hear Roger speak for the first time. It is going to be extremely difficult for Clemens to restore his reputation as he has already been convicted in the “court of public opinion”. Maybe going to court and testifying under oath will cause Clemens to admit steroid use and not risk perjury (see Barry Bonds). Or maybe Clemens will continue in his denial and McNamee will admit he was lying. Or maybe Clemens just won’t show up. The hearing is scheduled for January 16th and will hopefully shed some light on this hazy situation.

Okay, so I know that is only two articles and neither has much substance, but weekends are the toughest to find time to write and there were really no big stories out today. Tomorrow should be an exciting day in sports with NFL Wild Card games, college basketball games, and the Celtics-Pistons match-up at night. Enjoy!

Daily Sports Roundup 1/2/08

Danny Vinik 3 Comments

There were only a couple of stories worthy of writing about today so here they are:

SMU Wants June Jones: Hawaii head coach June Jones just finished the final year of his contract with the Warriors and SMU has shown interest in the coach. Hawaii went 12-1 this year with their only loss yesterday to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl. Jones has spent the last 9 years in Honolulu, compiling a 75-41 record and making a BCS Bowl this year. SMU is prepared to offer Jones between $1.5-1.7 million a year while Hawaii has yet to negotiate with the coach. I’m sure they will make a bid for Jones and I hope Jones accepts an offer, even if it is for a little less. He has done such a great job in Hawaii and the school loves him.

BCS Bowls A Bust, So Far: Yesterday was the first day of BCS Bowls with the Sugar Bowl and Rose Bowl. Unfortunately, the games were one-sided and were not close for long. USC destroyed Illinois 49-17 in the Rose Bowl while Georgia beat up on Hawaii 41-10. Hawaii and Illinois were both underdogs going into the game and rightfully so. Some experts believed that the Warriors and Illini could pull upsets, but neither had a chance. They both were dominated in all statistics and both quarterbacks struggled mightily. Hawaii’s Colt Brennan threw three interceptions and zero touchdowns while the Illinis’ Juice Williams threw 2 interceptions and also did not throw a touchdown. For those college football fans looking for close the games, the Rose Bowl and Sugar Bowl were both disappointments. For those fans looking to change the college football playoff system, then they were happy. USC and Georgia both looked capable of playing in the National Championship Game. There is hope though, as West Virginia and Oklahoma face off in the Fiesta Bowl tonight. It should be a close, hard fought game and I am looking forward to watching it. Continue reading “Daily Sports Roundup 1/2/08” →