Sports Agenda for Tuesday (1/11/11)
Brought to you by….the fine folks at Palindrome Central and the band Europe, because we're now finally in the "Final Countdown."
Big Story:
Well, considering the game ended just after midnight, and that almost none of you are college football fans (except you Kelly), the college football season ended with Auburn as your BCS Champions. It was a heckuva defensive game that actually had fourth quarter heroics. Oregon drove down and tied the game up with a touchdown and two-point conversion, but they left 2+ minutes on the clock. Enter Cam Newton and the Auburn offense. Newton didn't do much, instead, it was running back Michael Dyer who punched Oregon's defense right in the mouth for two big runs, the second of which ended on the six-inch line of the field.
Enter senior field goal kicker Wes Byrum (from….St. Thomas Aquinas), the kick went up and through and Auburn is your new national champion.
Interesting notes to amaze your friends with: with Auburn's win, it was the first time since 1938 and 1939 that two different teams from the same state won the national championship. It was Auburn's first national championship since 1954. It was the first time that two different teams from the same state had a Heisman Trophy winner in consecutive years and national championships in consecutive years. It's the fifth straight national champion to come from the SEC and since the BCS began in 1998, the SEC has accounted for all but five of the national champions.
Heat: next game Wednesday @ LA Clippers
Well, the Heat have a couple of days off during their road trip on the west coast. The Heat's next game will see them battle the LA Clippers. Okay, I'll let you process just how bad the Clippers are now…….still not done……..yeah, still going…….WOW…..yup, they're that bad. Still, if you haven't seen the Clippers play this season, it's a fun team to watch for one player, Blake Griffin. He's a power forward who can jump out of the arena. His dunks are becoming things of beauty and he'll get his during the game.
That said, the Heat will still murder the Clippers and run their winning streak to 14 straight games on Wednesday night. The next game after that is against the Denver Nuggets on Thursday night. The good part about that game is the Nuggets players are demoralized and their star player, Carmelo Anthony is totally mailing it in right now while he tries to talk his way out of town.
Why the New Jersey Nets are willing to give up their city to get him is beyond me. He doesn't play defense, gives a lackadaisical effort, and is just not that good. The Nets think they can build a trio of monsters like the Heat…the problem for them is they don't have the cap room, even if it's two years down the road. Don't try to copy what Riley does unless Riley is making your decisions for you.
Dolphins:
All's finally quiet on the Dolphins front. The Fins lost quarterbacks coach David Lee to Ole Miss, he apparently wanted to be an offensive coordinator. But, outside of the Wildcat, which he never fully utilized with a quarterback, Lee's not that innovative. So in this case, it will be addition by subtraction. The Fins desperately need a new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach.
There's a possibility they could promote from within, namely wide receivers coach Karl Dorrell. That won't appease Ross and won't help the dejected fan base right now. So, they're going to have to spend some money to get someone good. Who that will be is beyond me.
Also, if you've heard of conflict of interest, check this out. Jeff Darlington of the Miami Herald covers the Miami Dolphins for the Herald. He gets a lot of great scoops before anyone else. Well, it turns out there's probably a reason for that…He also works for the Dolphins on their website the Finsiders.com! Seriously, that's some big time FAIL there. (h/t to ProFootballTalk.com for finding that little nugget)
Marlins:
37 days until pitchers and catchers report for training camp.
Panthers: vs. Carolina Hurricanes (7:30 p.m. Fox Sports Florida)
The Panthers hit the ice again looking to move back up into the playoff race. The Canes are just two spots ahead of the Panthers in the Eastern Conference. Still, the Panthers are 9 points behind Montreal for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Panthers need better goalie play from Tomas Vokoun to get anywhere this year. He's 15-14 on the season and that's just not good enough to get to the playoffs in the National Hockey League.
Hurricanes: basketball is off until Saturday
I'll have more on the football recruiting during the next 24 hours.
