Friday Tidbits (Jan. 9)

Peyton Manning won his third MVP.  He got bounced from the playoffs by Super Sub Darren Sproles and the Chargers.  Old Man Kurt Warner and the Cardinals beat the Falcons. 

Ed Reed and the Ravens took it to Miami.  Philadelphia played it close with the Vikings until Brian Westbrook busted one.  Home teams on Saturday and Road teams on Sunday.  Asante Samuel returned an NFL-record fourth INT for a TD in the game.

Bill Parcells won’t opt out.  The Pats are going to slap the Franchise tag on Matt Cassel.  Atlanta’s Mike Smith won Coach of the Year.  What do Award winners Peyton, Pennington, and Smith have in common?  They all lost this weekend.

Do we have a new Curse?  Pittsburgh better hope not, as James Harrison won Defensive Player of the Year.  The Packers fired Defensive Coordinator Bob Sanders.  Marvin Harrison had his charges dropped. 

Drew Brees won Offensive Player of the Year.  Vincent Jackson got popped for a DUI.  Reggie Bush had knee surgery.  The Cowboys cut PacMoron Jones.

Eric Mangini is the Browns' new Coach.  Brilliant.  It worked out so well for the Browns with Romeo and Belichick.  Why not another person from that line?

LeBron James messed around and got a Triple-Double.  Marcus Camby grabbed 23 Boards.  Tyson Chandler was suspended for elbowing Joel Pryzbilla. 

Following Barkley’s lead, Antoine Walker and Jason Richardson got popped for DUIs.  D.J. White will miss three months following surgery to remove a growth on his jaw.  Carmelo Anthony will miss three weeks with a fractured finger.

Phoenix released Dee Brown.  It must be bizarro world, because in a eight-game stretch, Minnesota went 6-2 while Boston went 2-6.  Denver sent Chucky Atkins to Oklahoma City for Johan Petro.  Andrew Bogut is out with a back injury.

Marian Gaborik, the World’s softest Slovakian, will miss 10 weeks following hip surgery.  Who am I kidding?  He probably will miss the rest of the season.  He’s that soft. 

Paul Kariya also had hip surgery. He’ll likely miss the rest of the season, too.  Anaheim’s Corey Perry was suspended four games for elbowing Claude Giroux. 

Colorado’s Adam Foote (triceps) landed on the IR.  Jarkko Ruutu got suspended two games for biting Andrew Peters.  Mike Tyson should have played hockey. They aren’t as strict. 

Joe Sakic (back) will miss a couple months. Mats Sundin made his Vancouver debut.  Jordan Staal signed a four-year, $16 million deal with Pittsburgh.

Shutouts:  Minnesota’s Niklas Backstrom vs. Colorado and Boston, Anaheim’s Jonas Hiller vs. Phoenix, New York Rangers Henrik Lundqvist vs. Pittsburgh, Detroit’s Ty Conklin vs. Columbus, Chicago’s Cristobal Huet vs. Phoenix, Atlanta’s Kari Lehtonen vs. New Jersey.

Hat Tricks:  Montreal’s Robert Lang vs. New York Rangers, Anaheim’s Bobby Ryan vs. LA.

 

Tony Clark is returning to Arizona.  Florida signed Scott Proctor.  Pat Burrell signed with Tampa.  Milton Bradley signed with the Cubs.

J.C. Romero and Sergio Mitre each got suspended 50 games for using PEDs.  Twins owner Carl Pohlad died at 93.  Texas signed Derrick Turnbow.  Anaheim gave Mike Scioscia an extension. 

Andy Pettitte turned down a one-year deal with the Yankees.  The Indians signed Carl Pavano.  The Cubs sent Jason Marquis to Colorado for Luis Vizcaino.  Jason Giambi returned to BALCO, I mean the A’s.  Baltimore signed P Koji Uehara.

The Reds signed Jerry Hairston Jr.  The Red Sox signed John Smoltz and Rocco Baldelli.  Trevor Hoffman signed with Milwaukee.  San Diego signed Scott Hairston.

 

#25 Ole Miss beat #7 Texas Tech in the Cotton Bowl.  Kentucky beat East Carolina in the Liberty Bowl.  #6 Utah beat #4 Alabama in the Sugar Bowl.  I love that outcome. UConn beat Buffalo in the International Bowl. 

Rutgers WR Kenny Britt, Southern Miss LB Gerald McRath, Alabama T Andre Smith, Georgia QB Matthew Stafford and RB Knowshon Moreno, Ohio State RB Beanie Wells, Wisconsin RB P.J. Hill, and UNC WR Hakeem Nicks have declared for the NFL Draft.

Another Bowl Game and another loss for the Big Ten.  This time it was Texas against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.  Tulsa destroyed #22 Ball State in the GMAC Bowl.

Boston College fired Coach Jeff Jagodzinski for interviewing with the Jets.  Florida beat Oklahoma in the BCS Championship.

 

South Carolina beat #20 Baylor.  #14 Arizona State beat Stanford behind Jeff Endergraph’s 31 points & 11 rebounds.  #3 Pitt took it to #8 Georgetown behind DeJuan Blair’s 20 points & 17 rebounds.

#6 Wake Forest beat BYU to end their 53-game home winning streak.  St. John’s beat #10 Notre Dame.  Kansas beat #18 Tennessee.  #21 Minnesota beat #23 Ohio State.

Boston College beat #1 UNC.  Cal beat #14 Arizona State.  #13 Notre Dame beat #10 Georgetown behind Luke Harangody’s 31 points, 11 rebounds.  #6 Oklahoma’s Blake Griffin had 20 points and 16 rebounds in a win over UMES. 

#5 UConn beat #22 West Virginia as Stanley Robertson grabbed 15 boards.#17 Villanova beat Seton Hall behind Scottie Reynolds’ 40 points.  Penn State upset #14 Purdue.

Arkansas upset #7 Texas.  Harvard beat #24 Boston College.  Gonzaga beat #2 Tennessee.

 

John Daly was suspended for six months by the PGA tour. Vijay Singh will miss five weeks following knee surgery.

Andy Murray beat Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal to win the Capitala World Tennis Championship exhibition.

That concludes the Tidbits. As always feel free to add any stories you liked this week in sports or discuss any of the stories I mentioned.  Be sure to check out my Links Page for some great sites.