I was going to start this article by stating that for a baseball player, or any athlete for that matter, that “a championship is priceless.” Well, not only is that tremendously cliché, but I didn’t want to sound like a credit card commercial. So, I decided to get the facts about the Commissioner’s Trophy. The Commissioner’s Trophy, given to the World Series Champion each year, usually costs around $15,000 to make. The trophy was slightly redesigned from its original design in 1999, and is made by Tiffany & Co. The trophy is 24 inches tall, excluding the base, and has a diameter of 11 inches. It weighs approximately 30 pounds and is made of sterling silver. It features 30 gold-plated, hand-furled flags, one for each of the 30 MLB teams, which rise above an arched silver ox baseball with latitude and longitude lines that symbolize the world. The baseball also contains 24-karat vermeil baseball stitches. The baseball itself weighs over 10 pounds. The base contains an inscription and the signature of the commissioner.

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     As we enter into the conference schedules, where every game is a tough game, it is important to be aware of the teams flying in under the radar.  I try and stay away from the term sleeper because honestly I am just tired of hearing it.  As we have seen in the last few years, the Big East and ACC have been reigning supreme.  The Big East has posted a record-high nine teams in the top 25, while the ACC has three of the top four.  There are a number of teams out there that need to be watched carefully come March.  Counting down from ten, I will take a look at teams out there that may be ranked high or not ranked at all, but are not getting the publicity they deserve.

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     Bobby Bowden, Dennis Erickson, Joe Paterno, Pete Carroll, and now Urban Meyer are the only coaches in college football history to have won two national championships in their career. Meyer’s Florida Gators capped their one loss season with a 24-14 victory over the Oklahoma Sooners. 

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       The guys from The Sports Take have given their picks for the NFL playoffs. This year’s playoffs seem to be very interesting. Not only does the first round feature every possible type of bird, but a team that was 1-15 last year who finished 11-5 in the Dolphins, a team that lost their star quarterback to dog fighting charges and seemed like a lost cause in the Falcons, and a .500 team in the Chargers. Oh yeah, and most importantly, there won’t be any games played in New England this year, or played BY New England. Sure, we can get into arguments as to who should and shouldn’t make the playoffs, but that won’t change a thing. The fact of the matter is that the playoff schedule is set, and the road to the Super Bowl is ready to be traveled by 12 teams. Only one team can be Super Bowl champions. Will it be a repeat by the Giants, or will one of the many birds fly high? The guys seem to have an idea as to who may win it, and their picks are listed below.