Upset specials

So the Giants come into the Super Bowl nearly two-touchdown underdogs against the Patriots. In fact, they're one of the biggest underdogs in the championship of any sport. But they do have tales of inspiration to draw upon. We could include some of the biggest upsets in sports history, but upsets could happen anywhere, especially when the favorite is looking past its opponent to another game. The pressure of pulling off an upset is at its highest when you're playing for all the marbles. So let's look at the greatest upsets in championship history. That means the 1980 U.S. hockey team doesn't count. Yes, it beat the Soviets in perhaps sports' greatest upset, but it didn't happen in a championship game. Same with Duke's big upset over UNLV in the 1990 Final Four and Man o' War's loss to a 100-to-1 shot in the Sanford Memorial Stakes in 1919. By the way, do you know the name of the horse that handed Man o' War his only loss? Upset. That's believed to be where the term comes from. Anyway, here's our take on the 10 greatest upsets in championship history. And you might not even know No. 1.

1.Rulon Gardner over Alexander Karelin
2000 Olympics
You don't have to follow Greco-Roman wrestling to understand what a major upset this was. Russian Alexander Karelin was the Michael Jordan/Babe Ruth/Tiger Woods of his sport. Simply the best. Going into the gold-medal match of the 2000 Olympics, Karelin hadn't lost in 13 years and had not even given up a point in 10 years. But Gardner won 1-0. To this day, Karelin, known as "The Russian Bear,'' "The Experiment'' and "The Meanest Man in the World,'' won't even talk about Gardner or the famous super-heavyweight match.

2. New York Jets over Baltimore Colts
Super Bowl III
People sometimes forget how improbable it was for a team from the old AFL to beat an NFL team. And not just any NFL team, but one that went 13-1 and beat the Browns 34-0 in the NFL Championship Game. In fact, if the Colts had beaten the Jets, they might be considered one of the greatest teams in NFL history. Behind the guarantee of quarterback Joe Namath, above,  and Matt Snell's 121 rushing yards, the Jets stunned Don Shula's Colts 16-7.

3. Buster Douglas over Mike Tyson
1990 heavyweight fight
Iron Mike Tyson was 37-0 with 33 knockouts, easily the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world and on his way to becoming, perhaps, the greatest heavyweight ever when he climbed into the ring in Tokyo to face Buster Douglas an okay boxer who had lost four times. Oddsmakers made Tyson a 42-1 to favorite, but Douglas scored an upset for the ages by knocking out Tyson in the 10th round.

4. Villanova over Georgetown
1985 NCAA championship
Georgetown, with legendary center Patrick Ewing, was the defending NCAA champ. Villanova was a No. 8 seed and a 10-point underdog going into the final. But the Wildcats of Rollie Massimino shot 79 percent for the game, including an incredible 90 percent in the second half to pull off a 66-64 shocker. By the way, the basketball game was played on April Fools' Day. The 1985 Villanova team is still the lowest seed to ever win the NCAA men’s tournament.

USSR over USA
1972 Olympics (basketball)
We have the Miracle on Ice. The Russians have the 1972 Olympic basketball tournament. Sure, the game ended in controversy and maybe the USSR had help from the referees, who added seconds to the clock that allowed it to win the gold  51-50. Still, it was an upset that the Soviets even had a chance late in the game, considering the USA was 63-0 in Olympic basketball competition. The U.S. players have never accepted their silver medals, but the Soviets did accept the gold because, well, officially they won.

6. North Carolina State over Houston
1983 NCAA championship
The only reason N.C. State, which had lost 10 regular-season games, made the NCAA Tournament was because it won the ACC tournament. Meantime, Houston's Phi Slama Jama, led by Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, entered the final with a 26-game winning streak and looked invincible. But a desperation shot followed by Lorenzo Charles' dunk gave N.C. State a 54-52 victory that was so shocking coach Jim Valvano raced around the court not believing what had just happened.

7. New York Mets over Baltimore Orioles
1969 World Series
There is a reason they were called the Miracle Mets. Just seven years earlier, the expansion Mets might have been the worst team in baseball history. Even in 1969, the Mets needed the Cubs to choke away a 9 1/2-game lead on Aug. 13 to get into the playoffs. Few gave them a chance against a Baltimore team that had won 109 games in the regular season and a pitching staff that had two 20-game winners, plus Jim Palmer. The Mets not only won, but they needed just five games to take the best-of-seven series.

8. Los Angeles Dodgers over Oakland A's
1988 World Series
The Dodgers only won 94 games that season and didn't have one players hit 30 homers or bat .300. The mighty A's won 104 games, led by Bash Brothers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco and a pitching staff that was first in the American League in ERA, wins and saves. But thanks to the "I don't believe what I just saw'' homer by Kirk Gibson in Game 1, the Dodgers rolled to a shocking five-game upset of Oakland.

9. Jack Fleck over Ben Hogan
1955 U.S. Open
Jack Fleck was a virtual unknown in golf, having joined the PGA Tour full time just six months earlier. Ben Hogan was a legend, having won nine majors. Yet Fleck, in the biggest round of his life, shot 69 to beat Hogan in an 18-hole playoff by three strokes. Fleck would win only twice more on the PGA Tour. Neither he nor Hogan would win another major.

10. Hickory over South Bend
Indiana high school basketball championship
See, you thought we were going to say the 1954 Milan basketball team that was the inspiration for the movie Hoosiers. Yes, it's true the Milan team that was from a 161-student school beat a Muncie Central school that had an enrollment of 2,200. But you might not know that Milan had reached the state semifinals the year before and, with four returning starters, was picked by many to win the title. So that's why we go here with Hickory. Besides, if Coach Dale, Shooter, Ollie and Jimmy can't inspire the Giants then no one can.

Shooting from the lip

Looking back at the best and worst from a weekend of televised sports ...

Best and worst event
The NHL All-Star Game on Sunday was fun to watch, though Versus fell a little too much in love with talking to players during the game. The NHL YoungStars Game and SuperSkills competition, meantime, were pure torture. Despite the NHL's best efforts to keep the skills moving along, it just comes off as flat, slow and boring. And didn't it seem like not all the lights were turned on inside Philips Arena during the skills? The hardest shot used to be mildly entertaining, but now everyone shoots about the same speed. Same with the fastest skater. Is it really entertaining to watch two guys race from the goal line to the other blue line? The whole race lasts five seconds. Breakaways are fun, but we see so much of that now anyway with shootouts to decide games. The target shooting is okay.

What does it all mean? Time to revamp the whole thing. Come up with new skills or games. Add some events that take longer than a few seconds or one shot.

Biggest waste of time
If Versus is going insist on talking to players so much during the NHL All-Star Game, don't ask them about the game, which is an exhibition not to be taken all that seriously anyway. Ask about their personal lives, ask about their teams, ask about their seasons. Ask which players they hung out with over the weekend.  That's where the personality comes out. Asking about the score or the last play or "how does it feel to play in a game like this'' or some dumb question that is supposed to be an attempt at humor seems like a waste of time.

Most disappointing event
Despite a little prime-time coverage, the U.S. Figure Skating Championships came off as less than spectacular and it seemed more of a problem of the sport itself than NBC's coverage. (Though the once-charming Dick Button, more than he used to, sometimes doesn't know when to just shut up.)

Nope, something is missing and fans are noticing. Ratings continue to fall year after year and the USA Today's Christine Brennan, as much of an authority as anyone on figure skating, points out that the decline started at the exact moment of the judging scandal at the 2002 Olympics.

While Saturday night's women’s championship offered some drama, it was really a bad night for figure skating. The most recognizable name, defending champion Kimmie Meissner, finished seventh. Mirai Nagasu, just 14, was a breath of fresh air and won the championship, but she's too young to compete at the world championships. So is 15-year-old American Rachael Flatt, who finished second. So now the top two Americans can't compete in the worlds — another reason for American audiences to ignore the sport.

Biggest question
By now, you've heard that ESPN personality Dana Jacobson was suspended for a week by the Worldwide Leader because of her drunken rant at a roast for Mike & Mike (radio hosts Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic). Know what I find to be the craziest part of this story? That there was a roast for Mike & Mike. Seriously, what's next, a roast for John Clayton? Now that Dean Martin is gone, there should be no more roasts anyway.

Hardest-to-believe fact
ESPN's Outside the Lines pointed out this interesting fact: David Stern has been NBA commissioner longer than LeBron James has been alive. Stern has been the commish since February 1984. LeBron was born at the end of 1984.

Best announcing team
HBO's Boxing After Dark team of Bob Papa, Max Kellerman and Lennox Lewis was flawless covering the Eddie Chambers-Alexander Povetkin heavyweight fight Saturday night. Other announcing teams in all sports could learn a lesson from these three — just because it's a three-man booth, it doesn't mean someone has to be talking at all times. Sometimes silence is fine, and if you don't have anything to say, don't say it. And anytime one of these three did say something, it was worth listening to.
By the way, Povetkin outpointed Chambers in one of the more entertaining fights in the past few months.

Best voice
It was a joy to listen again to Bud Collins, who showed he still has it while offering commentary during ESPN's coverage of the Australian Open. Why NBC would cut this guy out of its Wimbledon coverage remains a mystery … and a mistake.

Collins' best line of the weekend was criticizing all the players who yell "Come on!'' during a match: "That's Lleyton Hewitt's call,'' Collins said disgustedly  during the women's final. "Now all the other players have picked up on it. Get your own expressions, kids!''

Most revealing game
It says something that a mediocre team from the Big East missing two players (UConn) went on the road and beat what might be the best team in the Big Ten (Indiana) on Saturday. Maybe it was just one game, but it lent some credence to a popular belief in college basketball circles that the Big East is grittier, more resilient and tougher, in general, than teams from the Big Ten. The ACC might be tougher, too. Something to keep an eye on during March Madness.

Most disturbing comment
Shame on ESPN's John Saunders, the normally outstanding host of the Sports Reporters who made a comment that makes everyone in the media look bad. His panel Sunday included the Boston Globe's Bob Ryan, Mike Lupica from the New York Daily News and Mitch Albom from the Detroit Free-Press. When kicking off the topic of the Super Bowl, Saunders started with Albom because, he said, "Mitch, you're the only impartial observer on this panel.''

Saunders should know better than to even hint that Lupica, Ryan or any member of the media is rooting for teams they cover. Most fans think that the media does root for teams and nothing could be further from the truth. Any media member worth anything never cares who wins or loses any game and Saunders should know that, and how frustrating it is for the media to hear such misguided beliefs from fans. His comment Sunday only added weight to the fans who think the media isn't objective.

Best new show
If you get a chance, try to catch one of the episodes of Framed on the Independent Film Channel. It's one of the more entertaining half-hours on TV these days as a celebrity gets together with an athlete for two days and the  result is a short documentary directed by the celebrity. And the combinations of athletes and celebrities are inspired: actor Regina King with NFL star Vince Young, for example. Or Entourage star Emmanuelle Chriqui and the NBA's Baron Davis. Allen Iverson is directed by Nelly. So far, the best pairing has been Spanish actor Paz Vega and soccer's Thierry Henry. It's usually on Friday nights at 11. Check it out.

Biggest NHL news
Versus has exercised an option to remain the league's exclusive cable home through 2011. However, the NHL and ESPN could possibly still work a deal in which Versus would give up exclusive rights. Whatever that deal requires, the league needs to make that happen. Ratings for games are up on Versus to about 261,700 viewers per game from 195,666 a year ago, but the NHL needs to be on ESPN in some form.

Best insight
I must admit, I was a little surprised that Colts coach Tony Dungy decided to return for another season. He has already won a Super Bowl and I assumed he would want to move on to another phase in his life. But on ESPN's Sunday NFL Countdown, Tom Jackson offered up a pretty good theory on why Dungy is coming back.
"Coach Dungy is coming back for one reason,'' Jackson said. "He really likes the football team that he has and he feels that when they are healthy they are going to be able to do great things. I think the organization — and give them kudos — they understand clearly that it's appropriate that he be around for the opening of that new stadium after what he and general manager Bill Polian have been able to accomplish and put together one of the great organizations in sports.''

Bucs ring of honor

The Bucs do not have a ring of honor at Raymond James Stadium. Maybe now with the retirement of Mike Alstott and Warren Sapp and other stars drawing close to the end of their careers (John Lynch and Derrick Brooks come to mind), the Bucs might need to start contemplating a ring of honor to celebrate the greatest players in franchise history.

What if they did have a ring of honor? Who would be on it? We took the question to you in a Times online poll. We asked which member of the organization should be first to go on the ring and we gave you 10 choices. We received more than 2,500 responses. Here are the results.

Lee Roy Selmon, DT, 1976-1985
1,436 votes, 56 percent
The overwhelming winner and no surprise, really. Still the only player to go into the Hall of Fame after spending all (or even most) of his career with the Bucs. And still the only player to have his number (63) retired. He remains the franchise’s all-time leader in career sacks (78.5).

Derrick Brooks, LB, 1995-present
320 votes, 12 percent2
A 10-time Pro Bowl player who made the game every year from 1997 to last season. A shoo-in for the Hall of Fame. When it's all said and done — and it appears as if a rejuvenated Brooks has a lot more to say and do — he likely will be known as the best football player in Bucs history, if he isn't already.

Tony Dungy, Coach, 1996-2007
219 votes, 9 percent
Isn't it interesting that a coach who didn't win a Super Bowl in Tampa Bay is more worthy for your ring of honor than a coach who did? Dungy took over, arguably, the worst franchise in the NFL and turned it into a perennial playoff team. The Bucs made the playoffs four times under Dungy. He never got to the big game but, as many of his backers will tell you, his team did.

Mike Alstott, FB, 1996-2007
213 votes, 9 percent
A true fan favorite, and one of the most beloved athletes in the history of Tampa Bay sports. He made the Pro Bowl six times and was named All-Pro four times. But forget all that. It was his bruising, straight-ahead, no-nonsense, take-a-hit-but-deliver-a-bigger-hit style that made him such a favorite. Two words perfectly describe Alstott: football player.

John Lynch, S, 1993-2003
77 votes, 3 percent
Intelligent. Good looks. Funny. Charismatic. Lynch is all of those things. Bucs fans always loved that about him. But what did they love most of all? His bone-crushing hits to ballcarriers who dared to run his way. What Alstott was to the Bucs offense, Lynch was to the defense. What stings around here is the guy keeps on ticking in Denver long after the Bucs thought his time was up.

Warrick Dunn, RB, 1997-2001
72 votes, 3 percent
Dunn's football ability is impressive: NFC offensive rookie of the year and two Pro Bowls with the Bucs. But it was his off-the-field efforts that earned such high respect. His foundation helps build homes for families with single parents and, to date, has helped nearly 50 single parents and more than 120 children.

Doug Williams, QB, 1978-82
69 votes, 3 percent
It seems like he should be higher on the list, don't you think? The first great quarterback in Bucs history. Heck, he still might be the best quarterback the Bucs have ever had. His greatest glory came after he left the Bucs and won a Super Bowl with Washington. Still, he led the young Bucs to their first three playoff appearances.

Warren Sapp, DT, 1995-2003
62 votes, 2 percent
Not exactly the friendliest fellow Bucs fans have ever known. But he was, perhaps, the most charming player in team history — in a scary sort of way. And, of course, he was a heck of a player. He made his first Pro Bowl in 1997 and made it every year after during his time with the Bucs. Sapp redefined the postition.

Jon Gruden, Coach, 2002-present
59 votes, 2 percent
Considering he remains the only Bucs coach to win a Super Bowl, you think he would get more love from the voting public. But Gruden seems to have a love-hate relationship with the fans. Those who love him love him because he has won. Those who hate him hate him because he is not Tony Dungy. Still, in six years, these are the facts: three playoff appearances and a Super Bowl title.

Ronde Barber, CB, 1997-present
46 votes, 2 percent
The Bucs' all-time interception leader is, along with Brooks, the mainstay of the defense that has to be considered among the greatest in league history. Holds the distinction of being the only cornerback in NFL history to record 20 interceptions and 20 sacks. In fact, only eight other players have accomplished that feat. His place on this list says less about Barber and more about how impressive the rest of the list is.

If it were up to me
There were plenty of names not included in the Times poll that deserve to be mentioned when considering a ring of honor. Names such as John McKay, Paul Gruber, Ricky Bell, Simeon Rice, Malcolm Glazer and Bill Capece. (Okay, I'm kidding with Bill Capece.) So, taking everything into account, here is whom I would nominate to become the Bucs’ first class of five to make the ring of honor.
Lee Roy Selmon: I agree with you.
Derrick Brooks: Best player in team history.
Mike Alstott: The heart and soul (and blood and sweat and guts) of the Bucs.
Doug Williams: The team's first real star.
Malcolm Glazer: Put together  a winner and got a swanky stadium built.
And, I can't leave him out, so I'm adding a sixth -- John McKay, who turned the worst expansion team in NFL history into a playoff team in only four years.

Q/A with Dave Mishkin

Scooooooooooooooore!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
If you’ve ever listened to a Lightning game on radio and the Lightning scored , there was no mistake about it. You’ve heard Dave Mishkin scream it so loud that you probably don’t need  your radio  to hear it. Now in his sixth season as the voice of Lightning radio, Mishkin, 38, recently chatted with Times staff writer Tom Jones.

Were you one of those kids who turned down the sound on the television during a game and announced it into a little tape recorder?
No tape recorder. That didn’t come until college. I had Strat-O-Matic baseball. I would do play-by-play of those games. I had the 1981 season. The A’s would be playing the Royals or whatever, and I would do the play-by-play as I played the game.

But then you ended up going to Yale. What did you study there?
My major was American Studies. It’s a liberal arts school so they don’t really have communications or journalism. What people do there, however, is a tremendous amount of extracurriculars — acting, singing, sports. What I got involved in was college radio.

And that’s what got you started in broadcasting?
Basically the sports department was run by all seniors and I was a sophomore and there were no juniors. So by the luck of the draw, by my junior year, me and another guy become co-sports directors and I got on the air a lot. But when I was a sophomore I did take the tape recorder and practiced doing as many games as I could. And the upperclassman would critique my tapes.

Did you end up calling games at Yale?
Yeah. All sports, but I was the only one who had a major interest in hockey so I did the majority of the hockey games — all the home games and about half the road games. So I probably did close to 60 games between my junior and senior years. So I had a tape that was far along enough that I was able to use that to get my first job.

And what job as that?
The Johnstown Chiefs. I was lucky. I got it right out of college. So a week after graduation, the car was loaded up for western Pennsylvania.

And then you went from there to Hershey?
Yeah. … Jay Feaster hired me there. It was great. Obviously, being in the NHL is the pinnacle of this profession, but for me, calling games has always been enough. And if you’re going to be in the minors, there aren’t too many better places than Hershey. My last year was the last year of the old building. It was a great historical building. The franchise was stable, it wasn’t going to fold like often happens at that level. There was a great fan base.

Your trademark is screaming, “Score!’’ Is that something you planned out or is that just a natural call?
It just happens. The only conscious decision I’ve ever made about my calling a game — I always like the announcers who weren’t afraid to show emotion. When people say someone is a “homer,’’ there are two definitions of a homer. The one definition, and I would classify myself as this kind, is someone who gets much more enthusiastic for the team he is representing than for the other team as opposed to calling it down the middle. The other kind of homer, which I very much don’t want to be classified as, is somebody who just puts on the home team glasses. The home team never does anything wrong. They never get a penalty. The other team is always getting the calls. Every call is a bad call. I don’t want to be like that, and I don’t think I am. The decision I made was I would never censor myself. I never said, “I’m going to get really excited.’’ If you hear me getting excited it’s because I really am excited.

Do you ever hear yourself in the postgame show when you do the highlights and think, “Man, I really went crazy on that goal?’’
Yeah. (Laughs) It’s kind of like hearing yourself on the answering machine. But I’ve heard it so much I’m used to it now.

Okay, who’s the toughest name to pronounce in hockey?
It’s not even so much how many vowels or consonants there are because once you learn how to say it, you remember it. Like there’s this guy in Chicago named Dustin Byfuglien (pronounced BUFF-lihn). He’s got like every consonant in his name. But once you learn it, it’s easy. But there are some names that are just hard to say. There was a guy from Carolina named Jaroslav Svoboda. And if you’re saying the first and last name together in the flow of the game, that’s physically hard to say. The mechanics of saying the name are tough.

Best building to call a game?
In this day and age, a lot are pretty similar. The St. Pete Times Forum is fun because it’s the home-team building. As far as road games, I like Atlanta. You’re right on top of the ice.

Worst building?
It’s a great building, but Madison Square Garden. It was a building built in 1968 and they weren’t thinking press boxes with 150 seats and big booths for announcers. Visiting radio there is close to the ice, but there are parts of the ice you can’t see. You lose the puck sometimes.

And you’re in the crowd there. How’s that?
First off, the Rangers fans are great. So I don’t mind it, but maybe the fans sometimes don’t like hearing me! They hear this crazy guy yelling, “Scoooooooores!’’

(Times photo - Dirk Shadd. Click to enlarge.)

Best bad-weather games

The forecast for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game in Foxboro, Mass. is cold. The forecast for the evening’s NFC hampionship Game in Green Bay is really cold. We could see single-digit temperatures in both games. We might see a little snow, too. This on the heels of last week’s winter wonderland in Green Bay.

So to get you warmed up, so to speak, for the games, we look back at some of the worst weather conditions in NFL history.

The Ice Bowl
Dallas at Green Bay
Dec. 31, 1967
Still the coldest game in NFL history. Game time temperature was minus-13. Throw in the wind and it felt like minus-48 degrees. Several players suffered frostbite. Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith was hospitalized after for pneumonia. The marching band couldn’t play because the instruments froze. Officials’ lips stuck to the whistles, which didn’t work after the opening kickoff anyway. On top of all that, it was a classic game with the Packers winning the NFL Championship, 21-17, on Bart Starr’s 1-yard sneak with 16 seconds left. And it all happened on, literally, the frozen tundra of legendary Lambeau Field.

The Freezer Bowl
San Diego at Cincinnati
Jan. 10, 1982
Just a week after surviving an overtime thriller in steamy Miami in the Kellen Winslow game, the Chargers had to go to the other extreme in Cincinnati. The temperature at kickoff was minus-9. Winds howled at 35 mph, making it feel, at times, like 59-below-zero. By the way, Bengals coach Forrest Gregg played in the Ice Bowl as an offensive lineman for the Packers. Whether he had any advice or not, it was his Bengals who won this AFC Championship matchup in a game that was fairly well-played considering the conditions. Well, well-played by the Bengals, who easily advanced to the Super Bowl with a 27-7 victory.

The Fog Bowl
Philadelphia at Chicago
Dec. 31, 1988
When this playoff game started, all was normal. But in the second quarter, a dense fog rolled into Soldier Field, cutting visibility down to a mere 10 to 20 yards. Players claimed they couldn’t see the first down markers or even the sidelines. Fans had no chance of knowing what was going on and whether to cheer or boo. Television cameras were virtually useless and the network was reduced to trying to cover the game with roaming field cameras. Announcers guessed at what was going on. The fog didn’t stop the Eagles from moving the ball. Quarterback Randall Cunningham threw for 407 yards, but the Eagles couldn’t score a touchdown and lost to the Bears, 20-12.

The Tuck Rule Game
Oakland at New England
Jan. 19, 2002
This playoff game is often best remembered for an apparent Tom Brady fumble that was ruled not a fumble, thus allowing the Patriots to continue their drive and kick a game-tying field goal to send the game into overtime. The Pats then won on another Adam Vinatieri field goal. But what is often forgotten is the game was played in a blizzard. The field was covered in four inches of a snow — all of which fell during the game — making Vinatieri’s 45-yard tying field goal and his 23-yard winner all the more impressive.

The Snowplow Game
Miami at New England
Dec. 12, 1982
Once again, Foxboro was the sight for one of football’s legendary snow games. Neither the Dolphins nor Patriots could score because of the heavy snow being dumped on the field. New England finally moved into field goal position late in the fourth quarter, but the conditions made it nearly impossible to kick. Snowplows were used to clear off every five yards, but that’s when Pats coach Ron Meyer ordered a prisoner on work release plowing the field to veer off course and he did — clearing a perfect patch for kicker John Smith to attempt a 33-yard field goal. Miami coach Don Shula went nuts, but the snowplow driver cracked, “What are they going to do, throw me in jail?’’ Smith made the field goal and the Pats won by that 3-0 score.

The Rain Game
Kansas City at Tampa Bay
Dec. 16, 1979
With four weeks left in the season, all the Bucs — in only their fourth year of existence — needed to make the playoffs for the first time was a victory or a Bears loss. What followed was three straight losses and three straight Chicago victories. That left a final week showdown against the 7-8 Kansas City Chiefs ... and the weather. A classic Florida torrential downpour turned Tampa Stadium into swamp. Rain water poured down the steps of the stadium like waterfalls. The Bucs scored the only points of the game on a 19-yard field goal by Neil O’Donoghue with 8:50 left and won their division title.

Red Right 88 Game
Oakland at Cleveland
Jan. 4, 1981
The AFC Championship started with a game-time temperature of 4 degrees, making it the coldest game since the famed Ice Bowl game in 1967. Trailing 14-12 and only needing a field goal to win, the Browns appeared on their way to reaching their first Super Bowl as they drove deep into Oakland territory. But nervous because kicker Don Crockett had missed two field goals and had an extra point blocked, the Browns tried to score a TD, opting to throw the ball on a play called Red Right 88. Brian Sipe’s pass was intercepted in the end zone by Oakland’s Mike Davis with 41 seconds left, preserving Oakland’s victory and crushing the Browns’ dreams.

The Mud Bowl
San Francisco at Green Bay
Jan. 14, 1997
Of all the bad-weather games, the weather might have affected play more than any. First, there was rain, turning the field into a slip-and-slide. Then it turned to snow. Then back to rain. Then back to snow. By the fourth quarter, the field was a half-frozen, half-slushy mess. Despite their high-powered offenses, the Packers managed only 210 yards of offense, while the 49ers had 196. Green Bay jumped out to a 21-0 lead then cruised to a 35-14 victory.

The Snowman Game
Buffalo at Cleveland
Dec. 16, 2007
Why is it called the Snowman Game? Well, for starters, there was enough snow in Cleveland last month to make a snowman as a wintry mix of snow and wind blew off Lake Erie and plowed over Browns Stadium. And it was that snow that held down the offenses. Cleveland won 8-0. Get it? 8 looks like a snowman. “When you’re a kid, you dream of playing in a game like this,” Browns wide receiver Joe Jurevicius, who grew up just east of Cleveland, said. “Today was the Turkey Bowl or the Christmas Bowl in the backyard, when you’re wiping snow out of your eyes.’’

The Snowball Game
Seattle at Green Bay
Jan. 12, 2008
Yep, this was just last week as the Packers wiped out a 14-0 deficit and wiped out the Seahawks, 42-20. It was one of those games you love to watch — from the comfort of your cozy and warm living room. The game started with a light snow. Then a noticeable snow. Then snow so hard that it looked like giants bugs attacking the cameras. The prevailing memory from this game was and will always be quarterback Brett Favre playing as if he were 10 years young and acting even younger than that by scooping up a snowball and throwing it at a teammate after a touchdown. And, of course, it was only appropriate that it happened at legendary Lambeau Field.

Shooting from the lip

Looking back at the best and worst from a weekend of televised sports

Worst decision
When are teams going to learn? The Jacksonville Jaguars fell into the same trap that every other team that loses to New England has fallen into. They came out all gutsy and carefree, went for it on fourth-and-1 at midfield on the first drive, threw the ball downfield often and threw caution to the wind. And for much of the game hung with the Patriots. Then, the deeper the game went, the more conservative they became. And that’s when the Pats kill you.

If you want to beat the Patriots, you have to match them score for score. Forget field goals. Forget punting on fourth-and-anything near midfield. You have to score. You have to score touchdowns.
Defensively, you can't sit back like the Jags did. You have to gamble. Try all-out blitzes. Jump into patterns. Because if you don't do those things, the Patriots are going to score anyway. Every team that has stayed in games with the Patriots (Eagles, Ravens, Giants, Jaguars) played recklessly for much of the game and gave itself  a chance. It  lost that chance when it  started acting as if it  were playing a normal team and turned traditional. The Patriots don't play scared. Their opponents can't, either. It's the only chance, and maybe even that isn’t enough.

Worst word
Who knows which part of Kelly Tilghman's brain short-circuited on the Jan. 4 telecast when the Golf Channel host said that the rest of the PGA players should get Tiger Woods and "lynch him in a back alley?'' Tilghman was simply trying to make a joke that the only way the rest of the PGA could catch up to Tiger was to remove him from the equation. If she had said "beat him up in a back alley,'' we wouldn't have heard a word about this and she wouldn't have been suspended for two weeks.
Sometimes we all overreact to such things, but, in this case, there was no overreaction. Using the word "lynch'' was inexcusable. Anyone in this country should know exactly what that word represents, especially someone who is 38 years old and was smart enough to go to Duke.

Misleading number of the day
NHL broadcasts on Versus are up 32 percent from the same time last year. And the ratings these days are pretty close to the numbers ESPN2 was getting in 2003-04. In fact, Versus is getting about 261,406 viewers per telecast compared with about 209,000 that ESPN2 averaged for 2003-04. But here's the rest of the story: ESPN2 blacked out games in local markets. Versus doesn't. So the numbers aren't all that comparable. Versus does a nice job, and you can't deny the viewership is growing. But the NHL needs to be on ESPN to start making more of an impact in this country.

Funniest line
CBS NFL Today pregame analyst Dan Marino, talking about Patriots quarterback Tom Brady: "The Jacksonville defense didn't know whether to sack him or kiss him.''

Best hockey player of the weekend
So the Lightning's Brad Richards snapped his 12-game goal-less streak with two goals Saturday against Florida. And now he has 13 goals and 25 assists in 45 games. Frankly, it's surprising he is averaging nearly a point a game considering whom he has been playing with. While Vinny Lecavalier is on a line with Marty St. Louis and Vinny Prospal, Richards is playing on lines with a bunch of grinders. They all work hard. They're honest players. But they don't remind anyone of Jari Kurri or Mike Bossy. Really, who is the best player he has played with — Jan Hlavac? Sorry, but no wonder Richards went 12 games without a goal.

Best shows
The two most entertaining sporting events on television over the weekend weren't even live events.
NBC showed On the Brink, a 90-minute show hosted by Jimmy Roberts about the 1,100 players entering a three-stage event to get their PGA Tour card. The show went over the final stage — a nerve-racking, six-day tournament with only 25 emerging with their tour membership. It was compelling stuff with a special emphasis on former Gators All-America golfer Matt Every, who came up just short of qualifying.
Meantime, Versus showed the 2007 XTERRA USA Championships, the most extreme of triathlons. It's a 1,500-meter swim in 58-degree Lake Tahoe, followed by a 30-kilometer mountain bike ride (18.6 miles) and a 13-kilometer trail run (8.1 miles). Again, Versus went the way of many networks by boiling down a full-day event into  a crisp and interesting 60-minute show.

Most surprising revelation
Hockey legend Scotty Bowman said over the weekend on Hockey Night in Canada that he was prepared to leave his role as a consultant with the Red Wings before the season to take over the Maple Leafs as a director of hockey operations. A divided ownership board in Toronto decided to stick with its current setup, but if the Leafs continue to free-fall, don't be surprised if Toronto does make another run at Bowman, who, by the way, lives in Sarasota and attends just about every Lightning game.

Loudest announcer
Anyone catch CBS's Gus Johnson calling Kentucky's double-OT victory over Vanderbilt on Saturday? Johnson was so excited and so loud I thought I'd fallen asleep for three months and woke up during the Final Four. Gus, it's a regular-season game. In January. Easy, buddy. Easy.

Story of the month
The Roger Clemens did-he-or-didn't-he steroid story continues to dominate headlines, and we're no closer to knowing who is telling the truth and who isn't. And you have to wonder if we ever will. But Detroit Free-Press columnist Mitch Albom isn't necessarily believing Clemens just because Clemens swears he never took performance-enhancing drugs.
"There's one lesson here from all the steroid mess that is very, very clear,'' Albom said on Sunday's Sports Reporters on ESPN. "These athletes will lie to the media, without conscience … to their teammates, without conscience … to the managers, without conscience … to the commissioners, without conscience.''
He's right. Just think about these two words: Marion Jones.

Most surprising stat
Do you realize the Cowboys haven't a playoff game since 1996? Twenty-four franchises have won at least one playoff game since then.

Best line
Fox's Joe Buck said something none of us would've dreamed at any point this season: "There is a Manning in a championship game next weekend, and it's not Peyton.''

Three things that popped into my head over the weekend
1. Unless you're from Wisconsin and wear a Cheesehead on a regular basis, you're lying if you said you had the Packers in the NFC Championship Game.
2. Give credit to the Chargers, but the only team that had a chance — and it wasn't even a great chance — to beat the Patriots was the Colts. The Patriots are not going to lose.
3. Maybe it is all Jessica Simpson's fault.

Thanks for coming

So now we're down to four teams in the NFL playoffs. Two are not a surprise: the Patriots and Packers. Two are: the Giants and Chargers. And now I've added the Indianapolis Colts to the list of teams I don't like.

Why? They messed up next week. Come on, you can't beat the Chargers? A Chargers team missing key players? At home? After a week off? And so now we're going to have to sit through the Patriots crushing the Chargers next week. Hey, give San Diego credit. It deserved to win, especially after having to beat the referees, too. But the Colts were the only team that had a crack at beating New England. The Chargers won't. No way. No chance. I'm not sure the Colts would have. But at least they believed they could've won. They weren't going to get rattled if they fell behind 7-0 or 10-0 or even 14-0. San Diego is going to have to play a perfect game. And even then, it might not be enough.

Speaking of the Colts, as much as I hate to say it, but once again, a Tony Dungy-coached team loses a playoff game it shouldn't have. Just like two years ago when they lost to the Steelers at home, the Colts lost to a team they simply have to beat. And now think about it. Throw out last year, and Dungy is 3-5 in the playoffs with the Colts. And he was 2-4 with the Bucs. That's 5-9, mostly with teams that should've done better.

Meantime, I got an e-mail a couple of weeks ago because I had ranked Tony Romo sixth among playoff quarterbacks. "Too low'' the e-mail said. You know what? It was too high. Until the guy wins a playoff game, I don't want to hear how he is an elite quarterback. It's like commercial says, "A quarterback is defined by what he does in the playoffs and the Super Bowl.''

In the NFC Championship, the Packers will be favored, but there's something about the Giants, don't you think? Right now, something is telling me to pick the Giants to beat the Packers. Not that it matters because the Patriots could beat an all-star team made up of the Chargers, Giants and Packers.

Uh-oh

Pffffffftttttttt!!!!!!! What's that? That's the sound of Lightning GM Jay Feaster doing a spit-take when he heard how much money the Caps are paying Alex Ovechkin over the next 13 years. Uh, that would be $124-million. So answer this: If Ovechkin is going to make $9.54-million a season, exactly how much is Vinny Lecavalier worth?

Ovechkin is an incredible player, no doubt. Probably top five in the league. One day he just might be the best player in the world. But has he won a Cup? Has he ever led the NHL in goals? Is he the favorite, right now, to win the league MVP award? Lecavalier is all of those things. Vinny's contract runs out after next season. When he sits down to talk numbers with the Bolts, you gotta think $9.55-million a year is a starting point.

Thursday was a great day for Ovechkin. It was a great day for Lecavalier. For Feaster and the Lightning? Not so much.

Best moments in NFL divisional round history

This is the best weekend of the football season. Way better than the Super Bowl. Just a little better than the conference championship weekend. Two days. Four games. Eight good teams.

Even though all the home teams are favored by at least a touchdown, you know there is going to be at least one or two great moments because that's what happens in the divisional round of the playoffs.

Here are my 10 favorite divisional playoff games/moments

1. Franco Harris' Immaculate Reception leads Steelers over Raiders in 1972.
2. San Diego beats Miami in OT (the Kellen Winslow game) in 1982 -- maybe the best game ever played.
3. Raiders beat Dolphins on a Kenny Stabler-to-Clarence Davis pass in Miami's "Sea of Hands'' in 1974 -- maybe the second-best game ever played.
4. Miami's Garo Yepremian ends the longest game in NFL history with field goal to beat the Chiefs on Christmas Day, 1971.
5. Roger Staubach's Hail Mary to Drew Pearson leads Dallas past Minnesota in 1975.
6. Raiders lose to Patriots in infamous "Tuck Rule'' game at snowy Foxboro in 2002.
7. Down 28-10, the Cowboys score 17 points in the fourth quarter to beat the 49ers in 1972.
8. Big Ben Roethlisberger saves Steelers improbable season with game-saving tackle after a Jerome Bettis fumble to upset the Colts in 2006.
9. Bernie Kosar throws 64 times for 489 yards as Cleveland scores 10 points in the final four minutes to win in OT over the Jets in 1987.
10. Ken Stabler throws his "Ghost to the Post'' pass to Dave Casper as the Raiders beat Bert Jones and the old Baltimore Colts in OT in 1977.

10 athletes to watch in 2008

One year ago, I looked at 10 athletes to watch in 2007 — young athletes who would burst onto the sports scene in a big way. Among those listed? Gators quarterback Tim Tebow, who became the first sophomore to win a Heisman Trophy. A then-college freshman basketball player named Greg Oden, who went on to become the No. 1 pick in the NBA draft. Delmon Young, who was in the running for American League rookie of the year. And Jimmy Clausen, a high school quarterback who appears to now be Notre Dame's starting quarterback. So, with that in mind, here's a look at 10 athletes to watch in 2008.

Shawn Johnson
The Olympic Games have a way of turning gymnasts into world icons. Think Mary Lou Retton, Olga Korbut, Nadia Comaneci. Here's another name we might someday add to the list: Shawn Johnson, the best gymnast in the world, at them moment, having won the 2007 U.S. and world all-around championships. Johnson, who turns 16 later this month, is no daisy. This girl is best known for her power. By year's end, she might best be known for being one of the best gymnasts ever.

Matt Garza
This right-handed pitcher is considered one of the top baseball prospects in the majors. He better be, considering he was the key piece the Rays received when they shipped the highly talented Delmon Young to the Minnesota Twins in November. He has appeared in only 26 games in the majors, going 8-13, including 5-7 with the Twins last season. Nevertheless, the 6-foot-4, 205-pound Garza, who just turned 24, already is penciled in as the Rays’ No. 3 starter behind Scott Kazmir and James Shields.

Karri Ramo
Of course, hockey fans in Tampa Bay already know this Lightning goalie from Finland. That's a bad thing, really. If Johan Holmqvist and Marc Denis had been able to perform to expectations, Ramo would still be developing in the minors. But desperate to turn its season around, the Lightning turned to this 20-year-old goalie last month. Asking him to save this Lightning season might be asking too much. But he has shown flashes that he can compete at this level. Give him the rest of this season to continue to hone his skills and it would be no surprise to see him as the team’s clear-cut No. 1 goalie when the 2008-09 season begins.

Steven Stamkos
If the 2008 NHL draft were held today, Steven Stamkos most likely would be the name called first. A native of Unionville, Ontario, Stamkos is a 6-foot, 170-pound center for the Sarnia Sting in the Ontario Hockey League and he's a scoring machine. He had 42 goals with 50 assists in just 63 games last season when he was mostly 16. (He didn't turn 17 until February.) This season, still just 17, he had 30 goals and 21 assists in the first 32 games. The 2009 draft holds supposedly the next "great one'' in John Taveras, a center with the Oshawa Generals of the OHL. Scouts say that Taveras would be the hands-down No. 1 pick even if he were eligible to be drafted in 2008. But anyone who gets Stamkos — and that anyone might include the Lightning if its season doesn’t turn around — will get a very good hockey player who is expected to make an impact as early as 2008.

Tamira Paszek
Women's tennis these days continues to be dominated by the same familiar names: Justine Henin, Svetlana Kuznetsova, Jelena Jankovic, Ana Ivanovic, Maria Sharapova and the Williams sisters. But don't be surprised if Tamira Paszek, a Austrian who just turned 17, climbs up the list from her current No. 42 ranking into tennis' elite. Last year was her first full year on the women's tour and yet she managed to make it to the fourth round at Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Nick Flanagan
The 2007 Nationwide Tour player of the year earned his PGA Tour card after winning three times on the   Nationwide Tour. He is just the eighth player from the Nationwide Tour to earn an immediate three-victory promotion to the PGA Tour and the first since Jason Gore in 2005. The 23-year-old born in Australia, who happens to be a former U.S. Amateur champ, played in four PGA events in 2007 and finished in the top 20 twice. Also keep an eye on fellow Aussie Jason Day, another golfer making the leap from the Nationwide Tour.

Terrelle Pryor
This kid is a beast. He's 6 feet 6. He weighs 235 pounds. He runs a 4.4 in the 40. Now the kicker: he's a quarterback. Pryor, who played at Jeannette High in western Pennsylvania, is considered the top high school recruit in the country. And he could have an immediate impact wherever he decides to go to college. And where might that be? It could be Gainesville. Pryor is still making up his mind, but it's down to Florida, Michigan, Ohio State, Penn State, Oregon and Pitt.

Homer Bailey
Don't you just love this guy's name? The flame-throwing right-hander was the first pick of the Cincinnati Reds in the 2004 major-league draft. After tearing up the minors, Bailey was called up in June and was the youngest player in the majors at 21. And what a debut — a victory after five innings of two-run ball. He bounced back and forth between the majors and minors, and ended up starting nine big-league games, going 4-2. In his last start, Bailey retired 15 in a row before giving up a hit on his 80th pitch. That prompted Reds interim manager Pete Mackanin to take him out of the game. Mackanin knew that Bailey could be the future of the franchise. That future begins in 2008. My early pick for NL rookie of the year.

Allyson Felix
It's an Olympic year, and Allyson Felix could be this year's version of Mark Spitz or Michael Phelps — the American star of these Olympics. Track fans might remember Felix won a silver medal in 200 meters at the Athens Olympics in 2004. Now, at age 21, the Los Angeles native seems to only be getting faster. She dominated the 2007 world championships, winning the 200 by a record margin and picking up gold medals in the 400 and 1,600 relays to become just the second woman to win three golds at the worlds. She is coached by Bobby Kersee — husband and coach of Olympic medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee. She should be the heavy favorite to win the 200 in Beijing and could take home four medals, possibly all gold.

Michael Beasley
Michael Beasley was considered by many to be the top high school basketball player in the 2007 graduating class. Scouts thought the 6-9 forward could have easily made the jump to the NBA right away if the rules allowed. Born in Washington, Beasley went to six high schools, then surprised many by choosing to go to Kansas State. He mostly went there because of coach Bob Huggins, who has since gone to West Virginia. So rumors are swirling. One says he will stay at K-State after this season. Some think Beasley, who turned 19 on Jan. 9, will join Huggins for a year or two at West Virginia. I'm predicting he chooses to play for pay by joining the NBA this fall. Whatever he does, you're sure to hear his name a lot.

Vinny vs. Sidney

Who's the best hockey player in the world right now? I'd take the Lightning's Vinny Lecavalier just barely over the Penguins' Sidney Crosby. The two faceoff against one another for the first time this season on Thursday night.

Now before you accuse me of being a homer, know this: I've been a member of the Professional Hockey Writer's Association for 16 years, which means I get to vote in the various offseason awards. And, last season, I voted for Crosby ahead of Lecavalier for the Hart Trophy (league MVP). A year ago, I thought Crosby was the better player. But now, I think Lecavalier is the more complete player.

Two things, right now, give Lecavalier the edge over Crosby. One is a physical presence. Vinny has it, Crosby doesn't. The other is the ability to score goals from the top of the faceoff circle and out. Vinny can do it. Crosby really can't. Crosby can't tee up a one-timer from the point and blow it by a goalie. Lecavalier can. For those reasons, I'd take Lecavalier -- for the moment -- as the best hockey player in the world.

Crosby is second. Just barely. But second.

Shooting from the lip

Looking back at a weekend of televised sports

Best coverage
The best sporting event on television in recent memory was NBC’s coverage Tuesday of the NHL Winter Classic, the outdoor hockey game between the Penguins and Sabres. NBC covered it as an event and not as a game, and that was exactly the way to do it. Every part of the coverage was masterful, including a feature on star Sidney Crosby and an intermission story about Slap Shot, the best movie ever made about hockey. Studio hosts Bob Costas and Mike Milbury told great hockey anecdotes. Announcers Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk and Darren Pang talked as much about the conditions as the game, which is what they needed to do because this wasn't just another game in the middle of the season. Somehow NBC walked the fine line of making the game enjoyable to diehards as well as those nonfans tuning in just to check it out. By the way, the NHL couldn't have asked for a better scenario than Crosby winning the game in the shootout.

Best idea
Speaking of the Winter Classic, the idea itself is brilliant and went over very well in NHL circles. But holding the game on Jan. 1 still seems like a bad idea because of all the college football bowl games. Here are two thoughts:
One, hold the game on Christmas Day. Other than an NBA game or two, the sports calendar is pretty much wide open on Christmas and the NHL could get exposure like it has never had.
Here's an even better idea: play the NHL All-Star Game outside. The All-Star Game has become boring because no one hits and it doesn't resemble a real game. Well, this would add some pizzazz to a game that needs it. Yes, it means that you couldn't hold the All-Star Game in southern locations, but so what? An outdoor NHL All-Star Game would be a blast and could become the league's signature event.

Best interview
Mike Wallace's highly anticipated 60 Minutes interview with Roger Clemens on Sunday night did not disappoint. The bulldog Wallace hammered away at Clemens' claim that he did not use steroids. Clemens was emphatic he did not, though he was not necessarily convincing. Several times he insisted that steroids "break down'' an athlete and that those who use them are "in and out'' of the game when that is, obviously, not the case. Many of his other answers ranged from evasive to "that’s not true.''
Wallace did ask the one question that you just can't get away from in this controversy. Why would the trainer accusing Clemens of taking steroids tell the Mitchell report the truth about Clemens’ buddy, Andy Pettitte, but lie about Clemens? Clemens did not even offer an explanation, choosing to say he was unaware of anything Pettitte might have done.

The interview moved us no closer to knowing the truth, but Wallace asked all the right questions. It remains to be seen — and we might never see — if Clemens gave the right answers.

Craziest story with the best quote
So did you see where the Bucs contacted ESPN analyst and former receiver Keyshawn Johnson about dusting off his cleats and coming back for the playoff run? Johnson confirmed it to Times Bucs writer Rick Stroud on Sunday, as well as to the Sunday NFL Countdown audience.

"I always said that if they pick up the phone and want me to help them make that run into the playoffs that same year, I had no problems doing it,'' Johnson said. "I don’t have a problem with Jon Gruden. I think we both understand football, we're both competitors and, look at it, George Steinbrenner hired Billy Martin several times.''

Most troubling thought
Lightning center Vinny Lecavalier continues to be the best player in the NHL this season. The best. By far. Way better than Sidney Crosby, Jarome Iginla and anyone else you want to throw out there. But if the Lightning can't rally to make the playoffs — and nothing suggests it'll come close — you have to wonder if Lecavalier even has a shot at the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player.

There are plenty of voters out there who, understandably, hesitate to give an MVP award to a player on a team that can't even make the playoffs. After all, how valuable is a player who plays on a team that is only three points ahead of the worst record in the NHL?

Most honest assessment
Kudos to Lightning broadcasters Rick Peckham and Bobby "Chief'' Taylor. Neither is shying away from the Lightning's problems in this seven-game losing streak. Chief, who has never been afraid to point out a bad play, needed to be hard on the bad overtime goal given up by goalie Johan Holmqvist against Ottawa on Saturday, and he was. "That's a shot that has to be stopped,'' Taylor said.

Worst trouble
Geez, what has happened to Kentucky basketball?
Rival Louisville embarrassed the Wildcats on Saturday, beating them by 14. Kentucky is 6-7 including losses to Gardner-Webb and San Diego at home and Houston on the road. It has played two ranked teams and has been blown out in both games. Next up is No. 15 Vanderbilt. "Making the NCAA Tournament could still happen,'' CBS' Billy Packer said. "But they've got a lot of work to do.''

Maybe Tubby Smith is better off these days. His University of Minnesota Gophers haven't played a tough schedule, but at least they're 10-3, and their lone game against a ranked team was at least close: They lost 65-59 at Michigan State on Saturday.

Strongest statement
On ESPN's Sports Reporters, Mike Lupica let the Steelers have it. "The Steelers turned out to be a fraud team,'' he said. He might not be far off, but it must be noted that the Steelers did lose the NFL's leading rusher (Willie Parker) and an All-Pro defensive lineman (Aaron Smith) to injuries down the stretch. True, everyone has injuries and the Steelers aren't as good as the Patriots and Colts, even with those guys, but it does explain their late-season fade. And even still they lost on a last-minute field goal to a team (Jacksonville) everyone seems to be in love with these days.

Biggest jerk
Once again, basketball coach Bob Knight shows what a jerk he can be. His latest stunt was Saturday. After his 899th victory, the Texas Tech coach dragged his 21-month-old grandson into the postgame news conference to help ridicule and show his disdain for the media. Worse yet, when asked if the victory would give his team momentum, Knight, with his grandson on his lap, said, "Who knows? I don't know any of that stuff. You guys read fairy tales on all that (expletive).''

Isn't that classy, cursing with a 21-month-old on your lap? And all you Knight lovers, save the e-mails. There's no defense for this behavior. It doesn't matter that his kids graduate and that he runs a clean program and all that stuff. So does Joe Paterno. So does Mike Krzyzewski. So did John Wooden and Dean Smith. And you never saw them act like this. Knight is a bully and a baby and an attention hound. His act is old and tired. Dealing with the media, helping to sell and respect the game of basketball is a part of being a coach. If he hates it so much, he should quit.

Best class
Anyone notice Jaguars quarterback David Garrard being interviewed on the field by NBC after Saturday night's victory against the Steelers? If so, in the background, you saw Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben didn't get to Garrard before NBC did, so he stood patiently for several minutes until Garrard's interview was done so he could congratulate Garrard on the victory.

Three things that popped into my head over the weekend
1. The Steelers are fortunate to have lost to the Jags on Saturday night because the Patriots would've destroyed them.
2. Playoffs? Playoffs?! The Lightning should worry about getting to .500 before it starts talking about making the playoffs.
3. There still is a huge gap between the Patriots/Colts and the rest of the AFC.