Saturday, 01 January 2011
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Georgia vs. Central Florida: Liberty Bowl
Filed under: Georgia, UCF, Bowl Games
The Liberty Bowl between Central Florida and Georgia could be a game of firsts. The Knights hope to finally earn their first bowl victory, while the Bulldogs aim to avoid their first losing season in 14 years. The Liberty Bowl kicks off on Dec. 31 at 3:30 p.m. ET at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tenn. and will be aired on ESPN.
UCF is led by freshman quarterback Jeff Godfrey, who has completed 68.4 percent of his passes this year for 13 touchdowns and just six interceptions. The Conference USA freshman of the year is the eighth-highest rated QB in the FBS at 165.3 and is 9-2 as the Knights' starter. Godfrey has been effective in the air and on the ground, combining for 2,588 yards and 22 TDs.
Godfrey's counterpart in the Liberty Bowl is redshirt freshman Aaron Murray, who is having a stellar season in his first year as the Bulldogs' starting QB. He's thrown for 2,851 yards for 24 TDs and just six picks and is the second-highest rated freshman quarterback -- trailing only Godfrey with a rating of 162.7. If Murray can account for one TD in the Liberty Bowl, he'll break former Bulldogs QB D.J. Shockley's school record of 28 total TDs in a single season and match Matthew Stafford's record of 25 passing TDs in a season.
Liberty Bowl: UCF Stifles Bulldogs -
Pickin' on the Big Ten: Bowl Picks Part 2
Filed under: Alabama, Arkansas, Michigan, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Ohio State, TCU, Wisconsin, Big 10, Bowl Games
With five games on New Year's Day and one in the week leading up to the BCS Championship Game, the Big Ten has only begun to fight. I previewed the TicketCity and Gator Bowls in Part 1 of my bowl picks, but here are my picks for the rest of the Big Ten's 2011 bowl games.
Capital One Bowl: Alabama vs. Michigan State
The intrigue here is that Nick Saban used to coach at Michigan State but fled for LSU the minute that job was offered to him. It would be a great "how ya like me now?" moment if Sparty could put it to the man who left for greener, warmer pastures, but do the Spartans have such a game in them?Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments
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Friday, 31 December 2010
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Looking Back at the 2010 Golf Storylines, On and Off the Course
Filed under: PGA, PGA Championship, Ryder Cup, FedEx Cup
If golf 2010 reminded us of anything it was that seasons are often remembered not as much by what was accomplished as they are by the moments that made people pay attention.
There are news stories and then there are newsmakers. Although easily confused, the two are as different as a hook and a slice. News is the result of proficiency and production. Something happens. It is created by events, challenge and adversity.
Making people look is always interesting, but not always an accomplishment.
Because no season in memory so blurred the lines as 2010, somebody has to sort the laundry.
NEWSMAKER -- Tiger Woods
Never has so many words been written and said about a golfer who did not win a single event.
Everybody knows why. Woods' tumble from his lofty perch became news, but the reasons that caused it were all self-inflicted wounds.
The rest of the story: There's a little National Inquirer in everybody.
NEWS STORY -- Lee Westwood
The 38-year-old Englishman replaced Woods as the world's No. 1 ranked golfer. Considering almost six years had passed since anyone could make a similar claim, that's news.
Westwood won only once on the PGA Tour in 2010, but finished second in both the Masters and British Open. And after coming back from being sidelined for almost two months, he immediately starred in Europe's Ryder Cup victory and added a victory in South Africa.
The rest of the story: Now, let's talk about a major championship.
Mick Elliott: 2010 PGA Season Was a Wild Ride
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John Shurna returns to practice
Northwestern can not afford a long-term injury to John Shurna. The Wildcats, being a bubble team with a bad loss to St. John's sullying an already weak nonconference record, are on a bit of thin ice. Even this early in the season, Northwestern can't afford to drop too many Big Ten games going forward. It needs every single league win it can get. Without their brilliant sharpshooting forward, those wins would be much harder to come by.
Given all that, the Wildcats got some good news last night. Per ESPN Chicago's Scott Powers, Shurna returned to practice Wednesday. It's the first time Shurna's been able to get on the floor since he sprained his ankle against Mount St. Mary's on Dec. 23. Even better, it appears Shurna will be able to play in the Big Ten opener Friday against Purdue:"If I'm able to cut and able to just help the team, I want to be out there," Shurna said. "It was fun to be out there [Wednesday at practice.] Hopefully, I'll get a shot Friday."
Northwestern coach Bill Carmody also was optimistic about Friday, but he thought how Shurna's ankle responded to Wednesday's practice would be telling.
"Ankles are weird," Carmody said. "Sometimes it gets better all of a sudden; sometimes it just lingers. Judging by yesterday, it didn't look too good [for him to play Friday]. Today, it looked better. I think each day it'll get better."
Shurna is as important to his team's offense as any player in the country. He's averaging 23.3 points on 60.3 percent shooting, including a ridiculous 62.3 percent from beyond the arc. Shurna's effective field goal percentage (74.2) is the second-best mark in the nation. His true shooting percentage (74.3) is the fifth-best. His offensive rating is a silly 132.6. He is, in layman's terms, an incredibly efficient shooter and one of the nation's best scorers at any position.
Shurna's absence would be tough even if Northwestern had an easy start to the Big Ten season, but that's not the case. Northwestern's difficult upcoming schedule -- at Purdue on Friday, vs. Michigan State on Monday, at Illinois on Thursday -- makes his presence all the more crucial. So, yeah. Good news.just sports store pro image sports store eastern mountain sports store
Thursday, 30 December 2010
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Darryl Sutter Out as Flames GM
Calgary Flames general manager Darryl Sutter resigned Tuesday. Assistant Jay Feaster will take over the team on an interim basis.
Sutter, 52, has been with the Flames in some capacity since 2002. He was the team's coach and general manager until 2006, when he stepped aside from the coaching job to concentrate on GM duties.
In 2009, he hired younger brother Brent as head coach, but the Flames have floundered since, missing the playoffs in 2010 and starting poorly this season. Calgary enters Tuesday's games 14th out of 15 teams in the Western Conference, only five points ahead of last-place Edmonton, who has three games in hand on the Flames.
Feaster is best-known for leading the Tampa Bay Lightning organization to their only Stanley Cup title in 2004, when they beat Darryl Sutter's Flames in seven games.
