Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum will be out 8-12 weeks after tearing a ligament in his right knee.

     Bynum injured his knee after trying to grab a rebound over Memphis center Marc Gasol in a game on January 30th . As he came down from his jump, Lakers star Kobe Bryant ran into his knee and Bynum collapsed in excruciating pain.  As Bynum was getting helped off the court, my initial reaction was “wow,” he would be lucky to ever play again.  To my surprise, Bynum is expected to return later this season, as the diagnosis shelves Bynum for an upwards of two months. Read the rest of this entry »

       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.

  
     Only one other active NFL coach (Jeff Fisher) has had a longer tenure with one team than Mike Shanahan.  The Denver Broncos fired coach Shanahan on Wednesday after 14 seasons on the job.  Since taking the head coaching position with Denver, a lot has happened.  He has been through two U.S. presidents (nearly three), the founding of Yahoo and E-Bay, the birth of the IPOD, all of Tiger Woods’s fourteen majors, four Yankee World Series wins, but only half the career of Julio Franco. 

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The NFL season is just about coming to a close, and expecting quite the ending. This weekend presents two matchups that will decide the #1 seed in both the AFC and NFC. The Steelers will face off against the Tennessee Titans. The Steelers come into this matchup after squeeking out a win against division rivals, the Baltimore Ravens. The Tennessee Titans, who weeks ago seemed like the favorite in the AFC seems to have lost their swagger, especially after their loss to Houston in which Jeff Fisher’s play calling was called into question. In the NFC, the Super Bowl champion New York Giants began the season looking dominant. After a loss to the Browns, they rebounded nicely. After their star wide receiver suffered an injury after shooting himself in the leg, and was arrested, the Giants were forced to suspend him. Along with the bad publicity, the Giants went on to lose to their next two games without him. This game not only has #1 seed implications, but the Gmen must also prove that they can continue to be just as dominant without Plax, and with an injured Brandon Jacobs. The Carolina Panthers, on the other hand, are flying high. After defeating division rival Tampa Bay Buccaneers by a sizeable margin, and then the Broncos by a 20 point deficit, the Panthers enter Giants Stadium with all the momentum in the world. Their running back tandum of Jonathan Stewart and DeAngelo Williams finally seem to be clicking, and seem near unstoppable. But, how will they fare against the #4 rushing defense in the NFL? Four AFC playoff spots remain, and four in the NFC. Carolina will clinch a playoff spot this weekend, but because of the close divisions, it seems like the final wildcard spot in the AFC can come down to the final week, and the 3, 4, 5, and 6 seeds seem like they will need another week to be decided. Below are the guy’s week 16 picks. As of right now, the playoff picture looks like this:
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     One of the most anticipated national championship games in a long time, the Oklahoma Sooners will battle the Florida Gators from the Orange Bowl in Miami on January 8th.  We have two Heisman Trophy winning quarterbacks going against each other for the first time since Jason White went against Matt Leinart.  Does Florida have an unfair advantage?  Some may say home field hurts the Sooners chances. Instead of looking at that stupid reason, take a look at the matchup.  The offense of Oklahoma against the defense and speed of Florida.  We take a look at each position and see what team has the advantage. HERE IS THE REPORT CARD: Read the rest of this entry »

Growing up, what was your dream? Was it to throw the winning touchdown in the Super Bowl? Or maybe to throw a no hitter, or score the buzzer beater in the NBA Finals. Growing up, I remember playing the sports because I loved them. Growing up I played soccer, basketball, and baseball. In high school, I played football for four years. While I was never a stand-out player on the teams I was on, I loved the game. I loved every sport, especially football and baseball. If you’re like me, that’s why you played the game: because you loved it. Read the rest of this entry »

Before the College Basketball season, the guys of The sports Take made picks for the upcoming seasons for major conference champions, sleepers, player of the year, and National Champion. The Final 4 was a bit of a stretch without seeing a bracket, but consider it their opinion on the 4 best teams in college basketball. Check back throughout the season, and before the tournament to view our picks seen here!   Read the rest of this entry »