Mighty Mississippi

Now that Duke has taken care of business and Major League Baseball has begun its 4000-game schedule, it's time to talk football. Frivously, of course, but, nonetheless, football. How about this: could you make an argument that Brett Favre is the best quarterback in NFL history? Certainly you could. What about Walter Payton, the best running back? Jerry Rice, the best receiver the league has seen? We could easily prove all of these. So what do these men have in common? All hail from the great, and misunderstood, state of Mississippi. Favre from Gulfport, Payton from Columbia and Rice from Starkville. Not only were they the best, but all attended small schools; Southern Miss, Jackson State and Mississippi Valley State! Incredible. I guess some college scouts missed out huh? Funny. I guess you never know. Other great players from the Magnolia State include Lance Alworth, L.C. Greenwood, Hugh Green, Archie Manning, Deuce McAllister, Steve McNair and Jackie Slater to name a few.

But...... Butler?

Well, they're in. Butler is in the title game. A liberal arts college near Indianapolis. Enrollment just over 4,000. Facing Duke. Duke. The Duke Blue Devils. 13,000 students. 10 title game appearances. That Duke. Duke vs. Butler. Did you have that in your bracket? Who knew? We know this; the Bulldogs will need to shoot better than they did against Michigan State. Duke is complete, they are deliberate, patient, talented. Good luck Butler.

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TODAY IN SPORTS HISTORY:

1876 - The first official National League baseball game took place. Boston beat Philadelphia 6-5.

Finally... Four!

Well, they're set. The four remaining teams in NCAA March Madness: Duke and, er.. three other teams. Just kidding. Congratulations to Butler, Michigan State and West Virginia. Great job. You've got the sports world in a turmoil. You ruined everyone's bracket. You took office workers' chance of winning money, prizes or maybe time off. These worker ants mill around in their mundane existence day after day, trolling for any fun they can get. Every March brings the office pool for the tournament. Most of them wouldn't know a basketball from a buckeye, much less a Spartan from a Mountaineer, but they cling to the chance to have 3 minutes of fame and a $47 kitty. Oh well, back inside your cubicle, Edgar, because Syracuse and Kansas State are out. The final question: will anyone watch? History says no. We say we love underdogs and great stories in sports, but ratings research shows the talk doesn't translate to the tube. So who is this year's biggest loser? Edgar, you and your cubicle mate can rest easy because the ones really crying... CBS.

DNF-Danica Not Friendly

Goodbye, Danica Patrick, goodbye. Your three-race stint in NASCAR was newsworthy, but for reasons I'm sure you would rather forget. Most will not miss you. They may not say it, but they will not miss you. Look, it's not that we dislike a female in the sport or that we think you're not a good driver. In fact, most of us think you're pretty good. The point is, we just don't like you. And it's not like you're the first female driver, there's been plenty before you. It's not me it's you. You came into the sport with an attitude. Not a "I'm a great driver and I'm gonna prove myself against the best" attitude. More like, "I deserve to win races because I'm a woman and GoDaddy.com sponsors me". Frankly, we're tired of all of it. Your sponsor, whose commercials appeal to men superficially, is wearing on us in a bad way. Your attitude, your spoiled brat attitude, well, that wore out a long time ago. You whine, you blame, you pass buck, you frown.... come on, smile once in a while. Show us you love the sport and you really want to compete, even if DNF comes to mean Danica Not Finish for the first year or two. Just ask Junior. It's not who you are it's what you do. Be a great ambassador for the sport, it sure needs it. And please get a new sponsor... really.

A Tiger By The Tail

How do you feel about Tiger Woods right now? We would love to know what you think about his situation, how it affects golf, sports in general and you. Does he owe you anything? We're looking at a major watershed event in history. Period. We're a sports and pop culture society, that's the people that make history in this age. So how big was this? Maybe it was nothing at all. After all, his first match back, whenever it is, will get a high T.V. rating. You know it will.

Role Model

Recently, the Philadelphia Phillies signed veteran catcher Brian Schneider to a two-year deal. It got virtually no notice on national sports shows and appeared in the agate type in the newspaper sports section under transactions. Schneider, a solid veteran who is most noted for his defensive prowess and ability to handle young pitching staffs, has played his entire career in the National League East. He debuted with the Montreal Expos, moved to the District of Columbia with the franchise as the starting catcher for the Washington Nationals, and joined the New York Mets in a 2007 trade (with Ryan Church for Lastings Milledge). When the Mets chose to go in a different direction, Schneider, who went to high school in Pennsylvania, grew up a Phillies fan (and as a National kept a Chase Utley jersey in his locker). What makes this a nice story is that Schneider is one of those guys who appreciates his role as a major league baseball player. Three seasons ago, I sat outside the players parking lot with my six-year old son after a night game at RFK Stadium. Every car passed by a small group of autograph seekers. But only one car stopped and it was right where my son stood. Schneider stuck his head out of the car window signed a picture for a thrilled six-year old boy, and then several others for other fans. I had the opportunity a few days later to speak to Schneider and thank him as a father. He smiled shyly, and said, "I was one of those little boys hanging outside of the Los Angeles Dodgers' spring training camp looking for autographs. I know what it's like to be passed by, so I always told myself I'd never take this life for granted and I'd never try to disappoint any of the kids." Brian Schneider is my kind of role model.

Super Puck!

This coming Sunday, NBC will show one of the biggest rivalry games in the country. Lakers-Cavs? No. Ravens-Steelers? No. The Game of the Week features Ovie-Crosby? You got it. For those not familiar with the National Hockey League, the Washington Capitals host the Pittsburgh Penguins at noon. It promises to be a classic. The two franchises have met a number of times in the playoffs and the Pens ousted the young Caps a year ago in an epic seven-game series. The two faces of the NHL - Sidney Crosby and Alexander Ovechkin - highlight the matchup. The two had a little dust-up in front of the Caps bench last year about this time, making the rivalry a little more heated. Fans of each team hate the other. Pittsburgh fans boo Ovechkin every time he touches the puck. Caps fans leave pictures of Crosby in the men's urinals throughout the Verizon Center. It gets intense. The Caps are in the midst of a 13-game winning streak, lead the league in points, and are scoring goals in bunches. Ovechkin leads the team with 39 goals but nine of his teammates have at least 10 goals this year, including Alexander Semin's 26 and Niklas Backstrom's 25. Pittsburgh has Crosby's 33 goals as well as Evgeni Malkin's 19. The last time they met, the Caps' Tomas Fleischmann and Backstrom each scored in less than a minute to break a tie in the third period on their way to a 6-3 win. But stats mean nothing going into this game. It'll be a high-speed, no-holds barred, hard-hitting contest between two teams that do NOT like one another. Even if you're not a hockey fan, check out the Capitals-Penguins on Super Bowl Sunday on NBC.

Katrina Bowl?

Well, pigs have flown and the hot place has it's snow... right, the New Orleans Saints have reached the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. Even non-NOLA fans have somewhat of a sentimental feeling for the Saints, what with hurricanes and, quite frankly, just years of humiliation and frustration. But let's not surround this game with too much unnecessary sentiment. I mean, really, disasters happen. Tragedies arise. We all have them, individually and collectively. Katrina was horrible. A nightmare to haunt for a lifetime for sure. The Super Bowl has nothing to do with that. Why do we feel the need to combine events? Are the Saints really playing for a hurricane-stricken city? I don't think so. This is big bucks. This is big egos. Not that some of the players don't feel some satisfaction in bringing the city it's first championship. Surely they do. But is it really about the past? The 2005 season, yes. That was lovely indeed. The city rebounded nicely and it was heart-warming to watch the city embrace the team. That was four years ago. How long do we have to revisit that catastrophe? Just play the game.