* While much is still being made of the deflated footballs used by the New England Patriots against the Indianapolis Colts, largely overlooked was a more important issue in the Seattle Seahawks’ overtime win against the Green Bay Packers. How, in a playoff that will determine one of the participants in the Super Bowl, does a game get decided in overtime where one team doesn’t get the ball? “Sudden death” makes sense in hockey–not football.
* Athletes, no matter how prominent, are not bigger than the game they play. From LeBron James to Tom Brady. But nobody came closer than the recently deceased Baseball Hall of Famer, Ernie Banks. Incredible talent, consummate gentleman, racial pioneer. Fitting that he lived long enough to receive the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama in November 2013.
Imagine the contract he would be signing if he were in his prime today.
* We live in a high school football hotbed of talent. In fact, ESPN has named Armwood High defensive end Byron Cowart as the No. 1 prospect in the country. With recruiting in the news as national signing day approaches, it would be an excellent sign to see USF, in a downward spiral despite tons of potential, in the hunt for the best local talent. Alas, it won’t be this year unless there are some surprising, last-minute changes.
* Nothing makes less sense in the parallel universe of Las Vegas betting than quoting odds and point spreads for the NHL All-Star game and the NFL’s Pro Bowl game. Rules and style of play are altered to accommodate minimally-practiced players and limit their chances of injury.
And, BTW, who the hell bets on such punch-pulling exhibitions?