MAKE PLAYS

...if you're not a Steelers fan.

It happens in every sport, and we know it every year. There will only be two teams in the championship game, and of course just one winner. What are the odds our beloved team is in the mix? Don't bet on it.

But that fact takes a different twist when you're at a place like Penn State. It already happened earlier this academic year. The Phillies made an improbable run to the mecca of baseball, the World Series. And actually won, for crying out loud! Maybe that one was a little different. Just a season after notching their 10,000 all-time loss, a World Series win was a nice little gift for the fans of Philadelphia. Hence, the miniature riot on Beaver Avenue. I can handle that.

But then there's this little game going on today. The Steelers are now going for their sixth championship and second in the past four years. There already was a celebration three years ago.

But what are the rest of us supposed to do? The Super Bowl is practically a national holiday. If you're a football fan, you're going to pick a team in the big game even if your team isn't one of them. But let's face it, in a place like this it's not as fun.

We all want our team playing for the Lombardi trophy, but it's salt on the wound when you're literally surrounded by fans of a team that is actually in the Super Bowl. Hence, my experience last night.

Now, I know very well my apartment isn't quiet in the slightest. Weekend or not, there is always people singing/yelling/running in the streets amid the frequent fire trucks passing by. But when my head hit the pillow last night at around 2:30 a.m. I heard that all too familiar beat. "Here we go Steelers, Here we go." And again, and again, and again. Some nearby apartment was excited for "Dem Steez," and they were going to sing all night long. For a while, I thought they were. The chant continued for 15 minutes straight..no joke. Just when I thought it was over, there was that reminder that "Pittsburgh is going to the Superrrr Bowl." I'm sure it helped some of us make the start of the Federer-Nadal Aussie Open at least!

I'm impressed with the enthusiasm, but it's one of the things us out of staters envy. Last year, the Giants won arguably the most unexpected Super Bowl ever. There I was, with my fellow G-Men friends, going crazy. We took to the streets and drove around beeping our horn. But unlike those celebrations for the Steelers three years ago or the Phillies in October, we were practically by ourselves. We even got pulled over because they thought my friend was driving under the influence. No sir, we're sober but drunk with excitement. There were a few Big Blue fans we passed that understood what we were doing, but nothing compared to last night's early celebration.

So that's just a long-winded story for my point. If you're not a Pennsylvania fan, you're forced to be a sore loser. Nearly half this campus is just a reminder your team is not in the Super Bowl. That's why I'm hosting a non-Steelers party and sporting my Eli Manning jersey amid all this black and gold...in memory of the SB that was.

But in the middle of all this, there is one big thing to be thankful for. At least the team on the other side of the Steelers is not the Eagles.

- Julie

The day has come and gone and the Steelers are Super Bowl Champions once again. Let the debates begin.

First, is Ben Roethlisberger worthy of being added to the name of greats? At 23, he won his first Super Bowl and second just three years later. His numbers are pretty impressive, but is he better than Tom Brady, Brett Favre or Peyton Manning? Nah. For some reason, Big Ben doesn't get the love as much as these other guys. He's accomplished more than some of them already, but many would argue he can't stack up to them. Don't ask me why, because I can't really give you that answer. All I do know is that I would have to agree. When you think of great quarterbacks in the NFL, the guy from Pittsburgh isn't totally on my radar screen. Now, maybe that's because I'm an NFC gal, but that's just the way I see it.

However, if Roethlisberger can produce a game like he did yesterday, he should be given some more attention. He's 26, he'll have time to develop into one of those big names. As of now, he's practically still a kid but with a hell of a lot of potential. Sure, his numbers weren't as good as Kurt Warner's but it's the final score that counts, as cliche as that is. In the Super Bowl, anything and everything will happen, which leads me to the catch.

Another dilemma. David Tyree's helmet, physics-defying catch or Santonio Holmes' perfect, game-ending snag? Now, I will say the first three quarters of SB XLII and XLIII weren't the most thrilling. I'm OK with that. Last night, my group of friends were more concerned with catching Miller Lite's one-second ad than how the snoozefest was playing out. (On a side note, I'd like to say the commercials also weren't totally entertaining. Although there were some gems.) But here's the clincher in the catch debate. Tyree's catch made Super Bowl XLII one of the best, if not the best, ever.

We're so quick to judge which SB is best but at least in my life time, there still hasn't been anything to top last year. The Steelers were supposed to beat the Cardinals...handily. They didn't even cover the spread of 7. Take what you can get in the Super Bowl and the Steelers certainly deserved it after clutch plays like Harrison's pick 6 and Holmes' catch. It was a fantastic fourth quarter, but it didn't beat Eli Manning's sudden slick maneuvering in the pocket and Tyree's improbable shining moment. It didn't match the Wild Card Giants beating the "dynasty," one-win-away-from-perfect New England Patriots.

Congratulations Steeler fans. Your team has the most Super Bowl wins in history and deservedly so, but best Super Bowl ever? I don't think so.

- Julie

Most hockey fans and then some have watched and enjoyed the film Slap Shot. The 1977 film starring Paul Newman is arguably one of the best sports comedies of all time.

And now, a remake is in the works.

Universal Studios is behind the horror and has tabbed the director of "21" to take the helm. Personally, I think this is horrible. Slap Shot is such a classic, and it will now be tarnished by some crappy remake. Now, you might say, "It could turn out fine." But lemme ask, how many times has a remake of a sports film turned out for the best?

"The Longest Yard" remake with Adam Sandler was more like "The Longest Yawn." And watching Billy Bob Thornton starring in a remake of "The Bad News Bears" was just bad news for everyone in attendance.

I can see no way this will turn out to be a faithful and equally as funny remake. Even bringing back Newman from the dead will not get me to go see this movie when it comes out.

- Miniaci

I know I wasn't alone, but it sure seemed like it. I have a confession and I have stood by it since Day 1. This summer, I was rooting against Michael Phelps.

I got some looks, some "how could you's," and a difference of opinion from my mom who watched every Phelps gold with near tears. My reasoning? Too much hype. He overshadowed every other swimmer and the games as a whole. Sure, I respect the guy for being a beast in the water but the media was completely obsessed. Thanks, but I don't need reminders of what Phelps eats in a day while watching volleyball. It didn't stop after the Olympics with VISA, Rosetta Stone and arguably the worst athlete host of SNL.

And now, the media will reap what it sewed. If you haven't heard, the almighty Phelps was caught in the act when News of the World, a British tabloid, printed a picture of him hitting a bong at a South Carolina party in November. Let the madness ensue. The story was released on Super Bowl Sunday, the most holiest of days in the sports world, and a swimmer was to blame. Not just any swimmer, obviously. But the same one who nearly everyone was behind, and now it's the media's turn to eat some of its words.

During the Olympics, Phelps was praised for overcoming his ADD, and his mom became an example of strength and patience. That was the Phelps story we saw a million times. Every once in a blue moon, there would be a segment of how Phelps was charged with a DUI. Surprise, surprise, he apologized and gave the PR answer that's spit out from every celebrity that gets caught doing something illegal. And for a time, he was forgiven. After all, he was America's hero just four years later. His whole little DUI incident didn't get much play.

But could his fans forgive him again? Well, he apologized aaaagain, the same way he did four years ago. He's getting a talking to from the USOC, but swimming's governing body backed him up and accepted his apology. He is swimming's ticket to the big time.

Whatever comes of the Phelps' scandal, I could only hope there will be a little less excitement in 2012. Phelps is human, but in his position he is going to have to be held to a higher standard. He's not the second coming of Christ, and this situation will just prove that.

- Julie

I'll admit I was practically giddy. The almighty David Beckham was coming to America! Let soccer kick off in the US! Uummm..well that's how it was supposed to go.

England's royal soccer family hopped the pond more than a year ago to finally make "footy" popular in the States. Beckham was picked up by, who else, the L.A. Galaxy and definitely made a splash at first. Soccer was actually getting some attention, and he was the reason.

I personally had to take advantage of seeing one of the best to play the game, and it was awesome. I went to a game in a packed (for a soccer game, remember) Giants Stadium to see the Galaxy play the New York/New Jersey Red Bulls. I have been to a few MLS games before, but this one definitely surpassed it. Seeing Becks' famous bending free kicks was something you can only fully appreciate if you see it in person. Besides the hype around the star, the game was actually pretty good, a 5-4 win for the Red Bulls. Yes, there can be more to soccer than a dull stalemate.

Since then, the Galaxy and soccer have pretty much stayed the same here in America. Overseas, however, there was a lot of talk about the MLS and how Beckham was doing in it. I know my cousins in Portugal asked if he really was saving soccer. Sorry, but nothing like in Europe...not even close. They didn't seem surprised, and why should they? If you thought Beckham was going to make soccer popular in the United States, you're delusional. That will never happen, and that's coming from a huge soccer fan.

With that in mind, can you blame Beckham for his recent want to leave L.A. to stay in Milan, where he was been "rented out?" I wouldn't. He did what he could, but once he got a taste of top-shelf soccer again, he couldn't resist. Good for him. He and Posh Spice have enough money to buy an island, so you know he's doing it for the love of the game. He wants the competition, he wants to get back to the nitty gritty. After reading his biography this summer (I know I'm a dork like that), I know he's one athlete who isn't a sell-out. He may like beautiful women and nice clothes, but soccer is something he wouldn't compromise.

- Julie

Just about two weeks after he was said to be A-Fraud, we have reason to believe that is actually a perfect nickname for Alex Rodriguez.

If you haven't been living under a rock, news broke that the Yankee third baseman tested positive for two anabolic steroids in 2003. That just happened to be his last year with the Texas Rangers and the first season he earned the AL Most Valuable Player award. The slugger's name was one of 104 players that tested positive in the MLB survey testing. The testing was used in an effort to determine if there should be mandatory drug testing in the following year.

Apparently, that answer should be yes. The more the better.

With the entire Barry Bonds fiasco, there were more people rooting against him than for him. A-Rod was supposed to be the savior to all that. He did it the right way and is on pace to be the new home run king. And now this. Should we be surprised? Absolutely not. But if you're a baseball fan, you can't help but feel disappointed.

We all know steroids are ruining the game, but is everyone on the juice? With names like McGwire, Clemens and Rodriguez tainted with the black mark, who isn't? There's hope for some, of course. Players like Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols and Chase Utley are expected to keep this sport afloat and somewhat pure.

A-Rod, though? He's already a drama king with strippers, Madonna and being a fortified choke artist. This situation will undoubtedly follow him to the plate, and we already know how he deals with under pressure.

- Julie

For more than 30 minutes, the latest to get caught with his hand in the cookie jar gave his best shot at a "mea culpa."

Plastered on nearly every ESPN outlet was Alex Rodriguez admitting to using Performance Enhancing Drugs from 2001 to 2003, when he was with the Texas Rangers. The Yankee third baseman was looking his best, albeit a little orangey, as he pursed his lips and made fishy faces in between Peter Gammons' questions.

Now what did we learn from this heart-to-heart, boys and girls? Well, that the time span in which he took the banned substance was "pretty accurate." And that he was under pressure to succeed, naive aaanndd...oh man, what was that other word? Oh yeah, stupid.

A-Rod said he is the only one responsible for his mistakes, but he seemed to point the finger at the culture of the time. There was no punishment for steroids back then, so any number of things could have triggered a positive test. He said he still doesn't know what he was guilty of taking. Kinda sounds like Mr. Bonds claiming he didn't know what was being injected into his body. Rrriiigghhhtttt.

Believe him or not, you can't take baseball players for their word anymore. As for Rodriguez, it's hard to believe he was that stupid. Plus, there are sources saying he knew of his positive test for the past few years. Meaning he lied to Katie Couric last year. Who lies to Katie Couric anyway? Another strike against Rodriguez (pun intended) is the timing of this confession. He's learned from the mistakes of Clemens and Bonds who are still denying their alleged usage. One point for his PR man to convince him to come clean. Andy Pettitte took a similar road and is certainly the better for it now.

Aside from the criticisms, there are some props in order for A-Rod. Since 2003, he's been tested "8-10" times and as far as we know, those results were negative. Kinda surprising since he seems to be bogged down with the pressure of playing in New York. Also, Rodriguez deserves some credit for being "open" about his situation. We'll probably never know what's true and what's not, but at least he's talking. He admitted to his wrongdoings and his legacy will pay for it. Some will say it's just because the news is out, but I don't think that makes it all that much easier. There were several moments, he was getting a little choked up in his responses...especially when facing the reality that a lot of his fans will never see him the same way again.

There are several gradings of this interview in the web world, but the question remains, "What now?" Does he deserve to be a Hall of Famer? Even if he fessed up? Does this mean other players will come out or does this mean everyone is doing it or did at one time?

I've never been a huge fan of Alex Rodriguez, but I'm willing to give him credit for coming clean. Hopefully he learned from his mistakes and stopped when he said he did. I might just be like any other baseball fan...just hoping there's an end to this. But then again, we're reminded there are 103 more names on the tainted list yet to be revealed.

- Julie

Throughout my life, I have been accused of the crime of living vicariously through my sports heroes, and I must admit, I often do this.

Nothing thrills me more than watching Nick Markakis deposit a fastball in the right-centerfield bleachers at Camden Yards, or seeing do-it-all Paul Harris posterize an opposing defender with a sweet dunk.

But when it comes to living vicariously through sports heroes, nothing compares to golf. Why do I love watching golf? Because I can actually play it! Not nearly as well as the pros, but it's a lot easier for me to relate to my golf heroes than to other athletes (and yes, golfers are athletes).

The PGA Tour is bringing its vicarious living potential to new heights this week with one of my favorite events of the season: The Pebble Beach Pro-Am. In this tournament, amateurs (some of them celebrities) are paired with a pro, with the top 60 pros and 25 pro-am teams making the cut.

Getting to see the celebrities (who most of the time are average golfers at best) is always enjoyable. And I always like seeing golfers with marginal skills get a chance to play on TV.

Watching the pros play at Pebble Beach also brings back memories of my younger days, when I used to play the greatest golf video game of all-time. That game pummels any of the more modern Tiger Woods video games.

While there will be some big names on the golfing side this week, including Padraig Harrington, Phil Mickelson, and the sweetest swing in golf, Fred Couples, the attention will mostly be focused on the celebrities.

Among the celebrities slated to play are Pebble Beach favorites Kevin James, Bill Murray and David Putty (a.k.a. Patrick Warburton).

Will this year's Pebble Beach Pro-Am be fun to watch? All signs point to yes.

-Steve

It's not Thanksgiving, but I have something to be thankful for. I'm thankful for the fact that I don't live in the city of Pittsburgh, though my town borders the city. Why am I thankful that I don't live in the city?

Because then I'd be governed by this moron.

That douchey-looking guy next to Snoop Dogg is Pittsburgh "mayor" Luke Ravenstahl, famous for being the youngest mayor of a major city and also for changing his name to Steelerstahl before the AFC championship.

Hey, look, there he is at the BodyBuilding.com Super Bowl party:

Of course, he'll probably be re-elected because he did change his name to Steelerstahl.
-- Shorts

Yesterday, I wrote about how I like to live vicariously through my sports heroes, so it's no surprise that some shocking, saddening news regarding one of my childhood sports heroes comes out today.

Roberto Alomar, the slick-fielding, switch-hitting second baseman who spent three glorious seasons with my Baltimore Orioles, helping lead the Birds to back-to-back playoff appearances from 1996-97, is being sued by his ex-girlfriend for knowingly giving her AIDS.

I still vividly remember attending Robbie's first game as an Oriole, Opening Day in 1996. Bill Clinton threw out the first pitch and the Royals turned a triple play, but the Orioles ended up winning. A pretty memorable day for a seven-year old.

Most remember Alomar for spitting on umpire John Hirschbeck, but for me Robbie evokes mostly fond memories of the last great Orioles team.

It's those type of memories that I associate with Alomar that make today's news so disappointing to me. Alomar's health is apparently in bad shape, as he supposedly has full-blown AIDS, but his father, the Mets' first-base coach Sandy Alomar, had no idea his son had full-blown AIDS. There is more to the story obviously, as it seems to me that full-blown AIDS would be difficult to hide from your family.

If this is true, it's obviously a horrible story, but I just hope that this woman isn't trying to eaxct some type of revenge on Alomar.

-Steve

Well, we haven't been updating in awhile, but thats because we have real work to do. Anyway, Kyle Busch was taken out after Dale Jr. wrecked Brian Vickers who in turn took out the 18. I hate Dale Jr.

***

Back and we have a new leader, Kyle Busch's ex-teammate Tony Stewart is now in first.

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'Nother yellow flag, for what I'm not sure, for all two of y'all reading, you're gonna have to wait while I go clog my arteries at Five Guys.

***

As I was trying to come up with stuff that geriatrics like, cops reporter Adam Clark suggested that NASCAR should have an old-timers tour. A brilliant idea, I must say.

***

98-year-old Mark Martin, driving the No. 5 Ensure Oldsmobile, (not his real sponsor or car) is somehow in second place behind Kyle.

***

I'm being ridiculed here in the office. Icers' writer Patrick McDermott and Web guru Ian Brown suggest that I write "Martin Truex Jr. turns left, Casey Mears turns left, etc." I'll ignore those city folks.

***

Well, hot damn, we got our first yeller as the No. 8 (not Dale Jr.) spins out.

***

The race is underway and Kyle Busch takes his usual spot on the track -- first place.

***

What a wonderful day it is for America. That's right, the NASCAR Sprint Cup season starts today with the Daytona 500.

Much to the dismay of vegan Kevin Zitzman, we're gonna live-blog this thing today. There's no sound on the TV in the office, so we can't hear this.

Myself, along with T. Wayne Johnson were the brainchild behind the Collegian Fantasy NASCAR league, titled the Winston Cup.

I have Kevin Harvick, Denny Hamlin, Kurt Busch and Terry Labonte as my drivers. I'm saving the greatest NASCAR driver in the history of the sport, Kyle Busch, for the home stretch.

Yahoo! says that the start of the race may be delayed because of rain, and with that, we'll be back.

-- Shorts

Michel Therrien, a man who never should have been hired to coach a pee-wee hockey team, let alone an NHL one, was finally canned by the Pittsburgh Penguins today, according to TSN.

This was the reaction here at Collegian headquarters

Sure, the Pens should have fired him a long time ago, but better late than never.

-- Shorts

The great Santonio Holmes, the ex-Ohio State player, did this.

Those yellow gloves, which he used to catch that remarkable touchdown, were auctioned off. Today, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that they were sold for $70,200.

The money will be donated to the Sickle Cell Association Disease of America. So, here, we gives props to 'Tone, as he did a good thing for something that matters to him. His son, Santonio III, has sickle cell.

-- Shorts

Tiger Woods may not be playing at this week's Northern Trust Open at the fabled Riviera Country Club, but a player whom many regard as a potential challenger to Woods will be.

Who is this mystery player? None other than 17-year old Japanese phenom Ryo Ishikawa, who will be playing this week on a sponsor's exemption.

Back in 2007, Ishikawa became the youngest player to win a Japanese Tour event at the age of 15, and added two victories to his resume last season.

Ishikawa has also been invited to play at the Masters in April, which will give us a chance to see how he handles the intense spotlight of a major.

Do I hope Ishikawa can eventually challenge Tiger's supremacy? Sure.

Do I think he will? No.

Why? Because for every Tiger Woods, there are a boatload of phenoms that fail to live up to expectations. Look at Phil Mickelson. In 1991, Lefty became only the fourth amateur to win a PGA Tour event, and while he has certainly done well for himself, his career has not lived up to the lofty expectations he brought with him when he turned pro.

Ditto for Sergio Garcia. After his spirited run at the 1999 PGA Championship, when he was just 19 years old, most expected that El Nino would have at least one major by now.

Phil and Sergio are some of the happier examples of phenoms that failed to live up to the hype. Ty Tryon, who became the youngest player to make the cut at a PGA Tour event in 2001, is perilously close to having to find a new day job.

What is it that seperates Tiger from these also-rans? Mental toughness. Tiger has mental toughness unlike anyone we've ever seen. His birdie putt on the 18th to force a playoff at Torrey Pines in last year's U.S. Open is evidence of that.

The thing about golf that makes it different from other sports is that simply having the skills to play the game well isn't enough. You have to know how to win.

When it gets down to crunch time in a golf tournament, things change. Why does it happen so often in a major that the leader coughs up the lead to a guy who teed off in the morning, rather than the leader hitting great shots to hold on to his lead? Anyone who has seen the excellent documentary The Back Nine at Cherry Hills knows what I'm talking about. Arnold Palmer came back from seven strokes back on Sunday to win that 1960 U.S. Open, and while we can never know for certain whether Arnie would have still shot 65 if he had been in the lead to start the day, it certainly made it easier on him that he had nothing to lose that day.

Before he even turned pro, Tiger knew how to win. He won three U.S. Junior Amateur and three U.S. Amateur titles apiece, an amateur record that is about as impressive as it gets.

Perhaps Ishikawa has similar mental abilities to Woods, but until I see them, I am hesitant to anoint him as a successor to Tiger.

-Steve

After much debate and discussion, we have created a shortlist for the 2010 USA Hockey Team. When looking through every NHL team, we came to the realization there aren't many good players born in in the good ole US of A. This made the decision even tougher. We decided on a 14-8-3 roster. It's a very young team. It's not as stacked as the Canadians or Russians, but it's got some potential. Our top line of Parise-Stastny-Kane is pretty awesome and the goalies aren't too shabby. It looks worthy of a medal, but only time will tell.

FORWARDS
Zach Parise-Paul Stastny-Patrick Kane
Blake Wheeler-Chris Drury-Phil Kessel
Dustin Brown-Joe Pavelski-Bobby Ryan
Ryan Malone-Ryan Kesler-Jamie Langenbrunner
Extra F1:Brian Gionta
Extra F2:Kyle Okposo

DEFENSE
Ryan Suter-Mike Komisarek
Brian Rafalski-Jack Johnson
Ryan Whitney-Erik Johnson
Paul Martin-Jordan Leopold

GOALIES
Tim Thomas
Ryan Miller
Rick DiPietro

- Miniaci, Shorts and Ian

First, he was rumored to be on the trade block. Then, he was told he was staying. Lastly, he will be out for two months for his second eye surgery in the past year.

Yep, Amare Stoudemire, one of the most talented players in the NBA, is injured again and will need surgery to repair a detached retina suffered in the Phoenix Suns whooping of the Clippers Wednesday night, reports said.

The Suns were trying to trade the phenom for cap purposes, but when no good offers were available, GM Steve Kerr decided to keep Stoudemire and fire head coach Terry Porter. Two games into the Alvin Gentry era and the Suns were back to their old run-n-gun selves, averaging 141 points per game in two annihilations of the lowly Clippers.

But just as Suns fans like myself were optimistic once more, Stoudemire's injury has Phoenix fans looking toward the offseason. Unless Shaq plays like it's 1999, the Suns look like they will be the ninth team in an eight team playoff system. The blow might not be as crippling as John Paxson in the 1993 NBA Finals, but it still hurts considering the Cardinals made the Super Bowl before the Suns returned to the finals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMzY3n0S4-4

At least the NFL Draft is only a couple months away.

Zitzman

We made our picks for the 2010 USA Olympic Hockey team yesterday. As I was browsing the interweb, I found this. Looks like we just narrowly beat Yahoo! Sports to the punch.

Looking at their list, it's pretty darn close to ours. We agreed on 12 players, and they mentioned 5 additional players that we had on our team. I guess great minds think alike.

- Miniaci

Sure they are often put in two completely different categories, but I could not help to think of the ESPYs as I watched the Oscars last night. With every sealed envelope and golden statue, I couldn't wait until the end of the Academy Awards to revist Justin Timberlake's wonderful hosting skills at the 2008 ESPYs, the sports version of the Oscars.

When I heard Hugh Jackman was hosting the Oscars, I'll admit I was a little worried. He's not really known for his comedy, but the Aussie (I think?) was not too shabby. Most notably, with his proclamation of "I am Wolverineeeee!!" I guess that movie was popular. Sorry, I'm not an X-Men kinda gal.

BUT despite the upset from the guy down under, JT's job at the ESPYs was beyond fantastic. So in the season of awards, let's take a look back at JT and the highlights of the 2008 ESPYs.

First, there is Timberlake's opening monologue. Full of Brett Favre, Mario Chalmers and Eli Manning's wife being embarrassed.

Second, there is his skit where he magically appears in some classic press conferences such as the tear-jerking TO saga, Brett Favre's faux retirement and of course Roger Clemens against Congress.

Now the next one isn't really with JT, but it's still a classic with the Step Brothers duo of Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly. Playing Tiger Woods on the moon would be pretty awesome.

And now, the real granddaddy of them all. There's not much I can say about Justin Timberlake's "I Love Sports" that would make it any better. It is pretty spectacular, and I hope you enjoy it.

So there you have it, some classic ESPYs clips that will make us all love sports more than some movie about a contestant on Who Wants to be a Millionaire?

- Julie

Dan Orlovsky is a crappy, irrelevant quarterback from a crappy, irrelevant football school (UConn). In fact, the only reason people know who Orlovsky is because he was fortunate enough to lose a couple of games for the worst team in NFL history.

Orlovsky is a free agent. Let's have Yahoo explain what Orlovsky will do during free agency.

DETROIT (AP)--Dan Orlovsky says he's pretty confident free agency will be better for him than accepting a contract to be a backup quarterback for the Detroit Lions.

"They made an offer, but I'm going to test the market and see what's out there for me," Orlovsky said Monday in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "I'm pretty confident that I'm going to get a better offer."

There is no way Orlovsky will get a better offer. He's a horrible quarterback. How horrible? He averaged a whopping 161 yards per game passing last year, and had eight interceptions.

Also, this is his highlight for the season. Just look at the title of this video and tell me if you think he's going to get a good offer this season.

-- Shorts

Don't let the title of this post alarm you, I am not going to channel Dick Vitale in this post, but I am going to make some picks for tomorrow's Accenture Match Play Championships, which like the NCAA tournament, features a field of 64, including this one guy named Tiger that a lot of people are excited to watch tomorrow.

I won't pick all of the matches, just the ones I think will be compelling tomorrow. While I am excited to see Tiger return to action, there's no way he's losing to Aussie Brandon Jones, and I don't think it will even be an exciting match.

However, that doesn't mean there won't be some good matchups tomorrow. Here are my picks for upsets:

Jones Bracket
12 Hunter Mahan over 5 Mike Weir. Got to have a 12-5 upset.

11 Rory Sabbatini over 6 Miguel Angel Jimenez. I know that Jimenez plays on the Euro tour and Sabbatini doesn't, so I see Sabbatini play more often, but it seems like we haven't heard much from Jimenez lately, and Sabbatini has had a solid '09 campaign.

Hogan Bracket
13 Soren Hansen over 4 Ernie Els. Hansen's a solid player, and Els hasn't been the same since his knee injury.

15 Angel Cabrera over 2 Phil Mickelson. How's this for a 2-15 matchup? I know I club Lefty a lot, but I think this is a good pick. Which Mickelson will show up tomorrow? The one who shot 62 on Saturday at Riviera, or the one who almost blew a four shot lead on Sunday? With a tough matchup with Cabrera, Lefty's good side better come out.

Player Bracket
13 Boo Weekley over 4 Justin Rose. I didn't really appreciate Weekley's antics or his shameless attempt to come off as a Good Ol' Boy at the Ryder Cup, but the man knows how to beat Europeans in Match Play.

11 Aaron Baddeley over 6 Paul Casey. I don't want to discount Casey because he plays in Europe most of the time, but I think this will be a good match to watch.

Snead Bracket
16 Pat Perez over 1 Padraig Harrington. In this tourney, a 16 over a 1 is possible, and this is my candidate for it happening. Perez is playing well this season, and if you've been watching the past few weeks, Harrington just hasn't been himself. He better hope he's found his game before tomorrow.

10 Andres Romero over 7 Justin Leonard. Golf geeks won't think that picking last year's Rookie of the Year over Leonard is much of an upset, but to the average viewer it is. I also think 15 seed Davis Love will give 2 seed Henrik Stenson a good match too.

I'll be posting again tomorrow. We'll see how well I do, I went out on a limb with some of these picks, and if I get half of them right, I will be ecstatic.

-Steve

Well, most of my predicted upsets didn't come to pass, but that doesn't mean the first day of action at the Accenture Match Play Championships wasn't full of surprises. Tiger Woods won handily, but most of the big names struggled to advance.

Two number one seeds fell. Padraig Harrington, as was predicted in this blog, fell to Pat Perez, which actually isn't surprising considering how those players have performed this season. However, Sergio Garcia lost to little-known Charles Schwartzel, in a shocker.

Besides Perez, my only other correct upset picks were Boo Weekley over Justin Rose and Hunter Mahan over Mike Weir. Not a great day for me, though Angel Cabrera nearly helped me achieve my goal of 50% correct by taking Phil Mickelson to extra holes.

The other big upsets were 15 seed Davis Love over 2 seed Henrik Stenson, and 14 seed Matthew Goggin disposed of 3 seed Kenny Perry.

The rash of upsets (can you imagine if two No. 1 seeds lost in the first round of the NCAA tournament) is a good illustration of both the volatility of match play, as well as the parity in professional golf.

Now I know that parity is an overused buzz word, but in golf its real. Is Davis Love beating Henrik Stenson that big of an upset? Not really, but Stenson was a 2-seed and Love was a 15-seed. Cabrera vs. Mickelson was a 2-15 matchup too, but I don't think the 2007 U.S. Open winner is the golf equivalent of Central Connecticut State.

The match play format also brings out upsets. On any given day, any player that can qualify for the Match Play Championships can beat anyone. In match play, blowup holes aren't as harmful, as scoring is hole-by-hole. A bad stretch of holes is easily overcome with a string of birdies.

Tomorrow's intriguing matchups:
1 Tiger Woods vs. 8 Tim Clark (Got to love watching Tiger).
4 Ernie Els vs. 5 Steve Stricker (Two pretty big names).
2 Phil Mickelson vs. 7 Zach Johnson (Showdown between Green Jacket Winners).
15 Davis Love III vs. 7 Justin Leonard (Love is one of the best players in the history of this event, and Leonard is a great match play player too.)
3 Lee Westwood vs. 6 Stewart Cink (This one reminds me of the Ryder Cup).

-Steve

That sound you may have heard four months ago was the collective inhale of the New Jersey Devils' fan base. Martin Brodeur was hurt. Our franchise player went to the IR with a torn biceps tendon in his elbow. It was over. Forget the playoffs, we thought. I was about ready to curl up in a ball in the corner.
Then, probably by selling his soul to the Devil himself, longtime backup Scott Clemmensen emerged from mediocrity, going 25-13-1 with a 2.39 GAA and a .917 save percentage.
Somehow, someway, we are in first place.
And now, after months of waiting, Brodeur made his return to the ice. We were uncertain how it would go. Brodeur would be rusty. Head coach Brent Sutter said he might split time between Brodeur and Clemmensen, and Brodeur wasn't happy about that,
But Clemmensen went to the minors, and Brodeur stepped on the ice tonight for his first game back.
How did it go?
Magnificently.
Marty turned aside all 24 shots the Avalanche put on net, and the Devils won 4-0. It was an incredible feeling, having Marty back out there.
If he can keep this up, and he should, the Devils are looking good in the playoffs. Some may say he's still rusty. However, you could just say he's very well rested. He should also position himself atop the all-time wins list by the end of the season. This could very well be the Spring of Brodeur.

Would you want to face this in the playoffs?:

- Miniaci

The Accenture World Match Play Championships is playing down to the final four right now and Tiger Woods is nowhere to be seen after his loss to Tim Clark on Thursday.

But does anyone care the World's No. 1 isn't there?

Every year this is one of the tournaments I circle on my calendar and make sure I don't miss, no matter who's around come the weekend. This year's field is just as good as any, Tiger or not.

Ernie Els is playing like his old self, and his matchup with Stewart Cink is tight moving into the back nine. With the "Big Easy" playing at this level he may be a tough out as the weekend progresses.

Justin Leonard is showing his own resurgence and keeps plugging along against up-and-comer Ross Fisher. Another great match with no end in sight, as both men are playing very well.

Geoff Ogilvy, the 2006 U. S. Open winner, has a lead over Rory McIlroy and could be making an early season statement in the desert. If Ogilvy can find his form from a few years ago, he may be unbeatable in this one.

And last, but certainly not least, is Paul Casey. The Englishman has been on fire this week, annihilating everyone that's getting in his way. He's 5-up at the turn on Sean O'Hair, as O'Hair cannot generate any momentum against Casey.

So my predictions? Simple.

Els is gonna come back and take out Cink, no doubt about it. You can love Cink, but the "Big Easy" is back in top form.

Leonard will hold on and take out Fisher, and proceed onto the semifinals.

Ogilvy is on his way to the finals, maybe even the title, so my apologies to McIlroy in this one.

Taking Casey as he is now 6-up on hole 11 isn't really going out on a limb, so I'm taking him to win the whole thing. Casey over Ogilvy in what will be a great 36-hole match.

Casey wins the Accenture Match Play Championships, 3-and-2. Book it.

Zitzman