RCS Sidelines

February 8, 2010 1:55 PM

The Week in Sports Columns, Vol. LVI

A look back at the week that was in sports, through the voices that tell the stories. Did we miss a column? Let us know in the comments.

Top Columns of the Week, February 1 to February 8, 2010

1. NFL Braces for Storm of Its Own Making- Michael Wilbon, Washington Post

2. How Florida Pulled Top Recruiting Class- Pat Dooley, Gainesville Sun

3. Kovalchuk Trade Is Sad, Expected Ending- Jeff Schultz, Atlanta Journal Constitution

4. For Tomlinson, All That's Left Is Goodbye- Tim Sullivan, San Diego Union-Tribune

5. Danica Looks Like She Belongs- Dan Wetzel, Yahoo! Sports

6. Picking Hall of Fame Class Was Brutal- Vic Carucci, NFL.com

7. In the Shadow of the Olympics- Greg Bishop, New York Times

8. Tim Tebow: Cultural Warrior?- Tom Krattenmaker, USA Today

9. Accusation Casts Doubt on Irvin's Sincerity- Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star

10. Learning to Be a Better Role Model- Gilbert Arenas, Washington Post

February 5, 2010 6:00 AM

Pay Homage to Gamblor - Super Bowl

It's time for the most gambled upon event of the year, with at least $90 million to be spent in Vegas alone it's the degenerates Christmas, Super Bowl Sunday.

logo_2010-super-bowl.gif

Never is there another day so in tune with the philosophy of 'gambling makes everything better.' People bet on everything for the Super Bowl - the traditional bets are there as well as MVP, player prop bets, team prop bets, commercial bets, halftime bets, coin toss bets, anything you want.

Side note on the halftime show - Isn't it kind of funny that the Super Bowl is on CBS and The Who will be playing the Super Bowl Halftime Show? The Who also happens to be the band that sings the theme song to all three CSI shows, CBS's cash cow. The Super Bowl is also in Miami, the home of the most annoying of the CSI shows. Even though I like the Who I'm hoping CBS goes really overboard with some sort of cross-promotion involving David Caruso being on the pre-game and post-game shows, and dancing at center stage for the entire halftime set.

You want to make six bets specific to Donald Brown? Not a problem, sports books have you covered. Who scores first? How many yards each player accounts for? Completion percentages? How many tackles certain players get? Yep, it's all there, ready to make you rich, or more likely, take your money. Unless you bet the over on four camera shots of Archie Manning, because there's no way CBS doesn't show him at least eight times.



Continue to Pay Homage to Gamblor - Super Bowl
February 4, 2010 11:30 AM

Bob Huggins Chews Out WVU Fans

The classy fans at West Virginia threw various items on the court multiple times during their victory over hated rival Pitt last night. After an incident WVU coach Bob Huggins made an address on the PA.
 


It was not quite at the level of Sam Wyche's famous speech to Cincinnati Bengals fans, but it got the point across, or so one would have thought. But later in the game Pitt assistant coach Tom Herrion was hit by a penny that was lobed from the stands. At this point the announcers had had enough.


nba feb2.jpgThe RCS NBA Power Ranking Averages combine seven other sites' power rankings to make the most balanced and unbiased grade possible, and to offer the most accurate look at the state of the NBA on a weekly basis.

The Cavaliers remain the unanimous number one team in the RCS NBA Power Ranking Averages this week. While no one is challenging the Cavs at the top, both the Jazz and Thunder are making moves in the top half of the rankings. The Jazz enter the top five for the first time this season, even earning one second place vote from FanHouse. Meanwhile the Thunder enter the top ten for the first time since moving to Oklahoma City.

The Thunder and Bulls are the two teams with the wide range of ranking from the various sites used to compose the RCS Averages. The Thunder are ranked as high as 6th by FanHouse and as low as 16th by ESPN. The Bulls (15th) are ranked all the way up at 7th by Fox Sports, and down at 17th by Hoops World and Sports Illustrated.

No surprises or discrepancies at the bottom of the rankings, as it would be nearly impossible to dethrone the Nets as the unanimous 30th ranked team.
February 1, 2010 12:23 PM

The Week in Sports Columns, Vol. LV

A look back at the week that was in sports, through the voices that tell the stories. Did we miss a column? Let us know in the comments.

Top Columns of the Week, January 25 to January 31, 2010

1. Kurt Warner Is the Rare Two-Town Sports God- Gary Belsky, ESPN

2. Arenas Suspension Reflects Poorly on NBA- Adrian Wojnarowski, Yahoo! Sports

3. Super Bowl Is a Dream Matchup- Greg Cote, Miami Herald

4. Tennis Needs Nadal to Overcome Injury Woes- Tom Tebbutt, Toronto Globe & Mail

5. The Real Meaning of Tebow's Pro-Life Super Bowl Ad- Jason Fagone, Slate

6. UK's Loss Shows No Team Will Dominate- Jeff Goodman, Fox Sports

7. Brett Favre Is Worth the Wait- Jay Mariotti, FanHouse

8. Time for Daly to Actually Leave PGA Tour- Robert Lusetich, Fox Sports

9. Divorce Leaves Damon, Yankees Hurting- Joel Sherman, Boston Herald

10. All Eyes on Mickelson With Tiger Out- Jonathan Kantor, Examiner

mlb2k10.jpg

2K Sports is offering $1 million for the first player who pitches a perfect game in Major League Baseball 2K10. From Darren Rovell:

When a player starts a game, he or she will be able to go to default settings (including All-Star mode) that will automatically qualify him or her should he pitch the perfect game. If a player accomplishes the feat, a code will pop up and if 2K Sports verifies that the player is the first one to do so, he or she will win the $1 million in a lump sum payment.

Where was this type of promotion when I was playing the first Madden? I won the Super Bowl like every year with the 49ers. I even ran around the field for an entire quarter before scoring. Despite blazing that trail for future success in the video game market I don't even get a benefits package. You should see the calluses on my thumbs! This was well before the more ergonomic controllers that protect against that sort of thing.

jaym.jpgIn Jay Mariotti's column today at FanHouse he calls Kurt Warner a "rare great who shouldn't retire." Mariotti opens his column writing:

Normally, I run the Legacy Protection Program, urging premier athletes to retire so our fondest memories don't fade on a tear-drop canvas of creaking bones, senility and Viagra ads.

He goes on to say that Warner is an exception, and he should continue to play. This is fine, if taken as a statement by itself, but just THREE DAYS AGO he wrote a column entitled "I'm Not Afraid to Beg: Come Back, Brett" in which he uses the line "Come back, Brett. Please, come back."

Yeah Jay, sounds like you are urging older athletes to retire left and right. I'm ready for Mariotti's next column, "Mark Brunell, the One Athlete Who Shouldn't Retire."

Warner: Rare Great Who Shouldn't Retire - Jay Mariotti, FanHouse
I'm Not Afraid to Beg: Come Back, Brett - Jay Mariotti, FanHouse


nhl jan 26.pngThe RCS NHL Power Ranking Averages combine six other sites' power rankings to make the most balanced and unbiased grade possible, and to offer the most accurate look at the state of the NHL on a weekly basis. 

The San Jose Sharks are back atop the RCS NHL Power Ranking Averages for the first time in two months. The Blackhawks who had spent the past month at number one, are tied with the Capitals for second this week. At the bottom of the rankings the Oilers are the unanimous selection at 30th.

More analysis

Moving up in the rankings: Ottawa Senators - 19th to 12th

Falling down the rankings: Boston Bruins - 14th to 20th; Calgary Flames - 11th to 16th

Ranking Outlier: The Senators are ranked 7th by ESPN while every other site has them ranked 13th or 14th. 

Not Making Any Sense: The Ducks are ranked as high as 11th by CBS and TSN and as low as 21st by Sports Illustrated. The Canadiens are ranked 10th by Sports Illustrated and 25th by FanHouse.
January 26, 2010 2:15 PM

Van Damme Confuses Real Life with Movies

bloodsport_180.jpgJean-Claude Van Damme, the 49-year-old movie star has agreed to a K1 MuayThai fight with 1996 featherweight boxing Olympic gold medalist Somluck Kamsing. While Van Damme was awesome in Bloodsport, he was 28 years old then, and that was a movie. Now, I'm sure Van Damme is still in good shape, as he continues to be in movies where he kicks more than he talks, but he is 49, and although Somluck is 38, he will actually kick Van Damme in the face for real.
 

Van Damme's experience against Chong Li, Attila, and even General M. Bison won't help him here.

In reality, Van Damme competed in martial arts fights from 1976 to 1980, but hasn't fought professionally in 30 years. Van Damme has wisely disallowed elbows in the fight which is scheduled to take place in March. I'll admit, I'm intrigued and would be interested in watching this fight.

Boxing Scene via SB Nation

big baby.jpgThe Celtics forward wants a new nickname, claiming he is a new person and is shedding the past, including his life-long nickname. Well I don't know about you, but in my world nothing makes a nickname stick more than a person not wanting that nickname, particularly if the name is unflattering. Add in the fact that Davis has been called 'Big Baby' all his life, and there is simply no way I'm ever referring to him by any other name. I don't think I'll even say 'Glen Davis' again.

Davis wants nickname suggestions on his twitter page (@GlenDavisNBA). Feel free to go tweet to him that you plan on calling him Big Baby, or suggest 'Big Baby' as his nickname.

Davis thinks he has decided on a suggested nickname, 'Uno Uno' for his number 11, much like Chad Ochocinco. In declaring this his new nickname, Big Baby gives us even more reasons to continue to call him by his former moniker.

"I like that," he said. "I'll be 'Uno Uno.' That's my new name. Don't call me 'Big Baby' any more. 'Uno Uno.' I'm serious. If somebody calls me ('Big Baby'), I'll be really mad. I'm going to blast that out on Twitter and Facebook."
Wuh woh, is someone gonna get really mad if they get called 'Big Baby'?

Glen 'Big Baby' Davis Wants a New Nickname - Ball Don't Lie