All I Want for Christmas is a Break From Sports….

Hey ladies… hopefully you made it through Monday. I am totally in countdown mode for my holiday vacation to kick in….I am so over sports right now because I have gifts to still buy, parties to attend and decorating to finish.    Just a quick post here to recap another weekend full of sports.  Maybe you were lucky enough to avoid a heavy dose of televised football and basketball, but I’m sure some of you weren’t, and I’m sure that some of you want to impress the cute guy at the office, so that being said, here’s what happened this weekend:

• On the “Hot Stove”… what’s the “Hot Stove”, you may ask??  Thats what my husband tells me they call offseason baseball talk and transactions since the thoughts of baseball keep you warm in the winter… Anyway, the Phillies made some news by signing 46 year old Jamie Moyer to a new contract… not just a one year contract, but a 2 year contract!  This is crazy, it means that he’s going to be a professional athlete when he’s 48 years old, which is comparable to a woman being a 48 year old Victoria’s secret model….and I don’t know if you saw the Victoria Secret fashion show a few weeks ago…but I can’t even imagine.  Also, it is confirmed that Pat Burrell will not be returing to the Phillies…at least he got to ride in the carriage pulled by the Clydesdales for the Phillies World Series parade…I am sure he is super disappointed though….
• In the NFL, the Cowboys put aside their differences to beat the Giants in a big Sunday night game.  In case you hadn’t noticed, the Cowboys, particularly Terrell Owens, Jason Witten, and Tony Romo, have been bickering more than the cast of “The Hills”, but apparently they were able to overcome it for one night and beat the Giants to keep their playoff hopes alive.
• Sam Bradford, who is Oklahoma’s QB, won the Heisman Trophy on Saturday night.  He seemed to be a pretty nice soft-spoken guy at the ceremony, and he’s only a sophomore, so there’s always the chance he could join the very thin ranks of multiple Heisman winners (can you name any of them?  More on that next time)

 

Sam Bradford...Cute or Not Cute???? The verdict is still out....

 

 

Also…one more thing that I almost forgot to tell you….if your man is involved in Fantasy Football…which it seems like pretty much every guys is….most leagues have the championship coming up this weekend…therefore you might notice the guys in your life having a little more free time and away from their computer…enjoy it…

 

Hope you’re enjoying the week so far and making it through, the holidays are almost here (along with College Football bowl season, which starts Saturday! Ummm, I’m not so psyched)  I’ll have the answers on the multiple Heisman winners next time, along with an update on some things to watch for later this week.  Until then…here’s to wishing that next week I can have a small break from any sports on the television (doubtful.. but we’ll see)…

-sportsgirl

That Guy in Whom You Have Little Interest? Show Him the Heisman…

Hey ladies.. so in my post the other day I was discussing the Villanova-St. Joe’s rivalry and how Villanova has made it to the ‘Sweet Sixteen’ in three out of the past four years.  I had heard that they were one of only six teams ever to do this, which I found a little hard to believe, so I decided to check it out, and here’s what I found:

The NCAA Tournament expanded to its current 64 (or 65) team format in 1985, some Sweet Sixteen facts:

• There have been 384 Sweet Sixteen teams (24 seasons, 16 teams make it per season)
• 16 different schools have accomplished the 3 Sweet Sixteens in 4 seasons:  Villanova, North Carolina, Arizona, Kansas, West Virginia, UCLA, Duke, Arkansas, Wake Forest, Seton Hall, UNLV, Indiana, Syracuse, Kentucky, Alabama, and Connecticut… pretty much a who’s who of college basketball
• The sixteen schools I named have accounted for 138 of the 384 Sweet Sixteen appearances, that’s 36%, which is amazing considering that they are less than 5% of the schools in Division 1 basketball
• The longest consecutive Sweet 16 streak belongs to North Carolina, who made it for 9 straight seasons from 1985-1993

For those of you who know me personally…it is now obvious that my husband has helped me research this information…he loves numbers and percentages….but guaranteed…not many people you are around will know those kinds of stats. …

So, I obviously need to apologize for my misleading trivia question, but take some of these facts with you as you’re watching TV on Saturday… its the first Saturday since August without college football, so college basketball is taking over the airwaves on Saturdays now (can’t you tell how excited I am?)

 

The Heisman Trophy:

The college football regular season is over, but there is still some hardware to be handed out:  The Heisman Trophy will be awarded in NYC Saturday night, and the three finalists are all quarterbacks:  Tim Tebow (Florida), Sam Bradford (Oklahoma), and Colt McCoy (Texas).  The ceremony itself is pretty boring, its probably more entertaining to go out and watch girls at the bar give guys “the Heisman”… if you don’t know what I mean, take a look at the pose that the player on the trophy is in.  Either way, there may be some entertaining pictures on the Internet Sunday morning… a few years ago when Matt Leinart won the Heisman he made the papers with some rather drunken pictures taken at Marquee later on.

Also a common pose for the ladies at the bars...

See, the Heisman can get a little bit more interesting than just the boring ceremony with a bunch of old guys in blue blazers (just Google “Matt Leinart” + “Marquee” and let the viewing begin)… So keep your eyes peeled for some juicy photos, which I’ll be sure to fill you in on, and keep an eye out for another post tomorrow, when I’ll discuss everything you need to know for another NFL Sunday (isn’t THAT over yet either?  It’s endless!)

Now go get your holiday shopping done…you don’t want to wait until the last minute do you????  Until then….

-sportsgirl

Holy War? Am I in high school history?

Hey ladies… well, I’m going to catch up via a quick post tonight on a topic that I’ve largely ignored to this point:  college basketball.  As you’ve probably figured before, I live in the Philadelphia area, which is a great sports town.  One of the best reasons that Philadelphia is a great sports town is Big 5 college basketball… the Big 5 is made up of LaSalle, Penn, St. Joseph’s, Temple, and Villanova.  Yes, they’re all in different conferences (well, 3 different conferences), but they make up the unofficial Big 5.  The Big 5 is a huge tradition in Philadelphia, every year there is a round robin played among the five teams to determine a city champion.  Why did I pick today to write about this?  Well, Thursday night is the annual playing of perhaps the most heated Big 5 rivalry:  St. Joseph’s at Villanova.

Thursday's game will be played at the Pavilion (top...not the footbal field), known in Philadelphia as "the ski lodge"

In Philadelphia, this game is known as the Holy War.  Now, I’ve learned that other parts of the country have other games that are referred to by this name (BYU and Utah in college football, for example), but in Philadelphia this one takes the cake.  Here’s a few fun facts that you can impress your friends with while you watch the game, at 8:00 EST on ESPN (unless, of course, you’re lucky enough to be in the Pavilion):

• The rivalry began in 1921, and Villanova leads the all time series 41-25. 
• Each team has a fairly solid history in college basketball despite being relatively small schools without Division I-A football programs:  they have been to a combined 23 Sweet Sixteens (Villanova accounting for 16 of those), and Villanova won the National Championship in 1985.
• Although Villanova has made it to the Sweet Sixteen in three out of the past four years (fun fact:  they are one of only six schools in the country to ever accomplish this, can you name the other five? I am still researching…so I will get back to you with the actual fact), the Hawks have accounted for the best National Championship chance, when in 2004 they went undefeated in the regular season and lost to Oklahoma State in the Elite Eight.

So, I know its not quite March Madness yet (although it is Mall Madness for the holiday season, but thats another story), but you should give this rivalry a shot on ESPN tomorrow night, if nothing else I can guarantee that the fans will be passionate and you can see if you can try to catch the St. Joe’s mascot…the Hawk not flapping his wings…it won’t happen.  I’ll be back tomorrow with some more football info (ugh), but until then..just remember…”The Hawk Will Never Die…”  

-sportsgirl

Everything comes back into fashion…

Hey ladies… a shortened post today due to some time constraints, but wanted to give you a quick overview of what you need to know for this Sunday’s Week 14 NFL games… there are two games that will be the focus, with one of them in particular conjuring up memories of the 1970’s… here’s a quick look at what you need to know, if you’re not lucky enough to escape to do some shopping:

Dallas (8-4) at Pittsburgh (9-3), 4:15 EST (FOX)

Bell bottoms, plaid, oversized sunglasses, Cowboys vs. Steelers… wait a minute, Cowboys vs. Steelers?  Thats right girls, you may have heard your Mom or an older relative always tell you that fashion is cyclical, everything that goes out will eventually come back into style, and the same holds true for this great NFL rivalry.  The Cowboys and Steelers were consistently the two best teams in the 1970’s, and the two franchises have met each other in the Super Bowl three times (X, XIII, and XXX).  The rivalry is renewed this weekend, as the Cowboys visit Pittsburgh for the teams second meeting this decade (the Steelers won 24-20 in 2004).  Should be a good game, and the two quarterbacks in this one also have been known to date some pretty famous girls, so keep your eyes on the fan shots during the broadcast.

Philadelphia (6-5-1) at New York Giants (11-1), 1:00 EST (FOX)

This might seem to be a bit of a mismatch on paper (the Giants are favored by a touchdown), but these two teams always seem to play very close games against each other.  The Giants have had a lot of controversy over the past week, with Plaxico Burress’ self-inflicted gunshot wound and Antonio Pierce’s alleged cover-up, so this game won’t lack any off-the-field drama for the announcers to discuss and you to chat about with your viewing partners.  Also, the Eagles QB Donovan McNabb welcomed twins to his family last week prior to Thanksgiving, so maybe we’ll see if he can win a big division game for his new kids.. after all, if the Eagles lose one more game their playoff hopes are officially toast.

Sorry for the shortened post today ladies, hopefully this will give you at least some of the crucial facts for Sunday’s games while you’re watching, decorating the tree, dreaming of new clothes, etc.  Hope you’re having a great weekend, I’ll be back soon with a recap of some key events this weekend and also a little more basketball info.  Until then,

-sportsgirl

It’s Not Always Sunny in Philadelphia…but it’s the Place to be this weekend!

I’ve been talking about it for weeks, maybe even months now, and its finally here:  the last Saturday of college football until next August.  To big college football fans tomorrow is known as “Championship Saturday”, since most of the larger conference championship games are held tomorrow (ACC, SEC, Big 12).  If you were paying close attention to my post from yesterday, you’d also know that there are still a couple of big rivalry games this weekend as well, one being USC vs. UCLA.  Thats a great time for the West Coasters out there, but how about those of us shivering back East? Well, here’s a little something thats local to my area:

Army vs. Navy (12:00 EST, CBS)

Army and Navy renew their historic rivalry in the city of Philadelphia tomorrow, with thousands of cadets and midshipmen descending on the city for a weekend of partying (any of you single girls out there might want to hit up the bars in Philly tomorrow night after the game).  Makes me think of the Sex & the City episode when the gals go out on the town for Fleet Week…such a good episode…Ok back to the game….Why in Philadelphia?  Because its about halfway between West Point and Annapolis.  Also in attendance will be President Bush, and no matter what you think of his politics and decisions, you must admit that he has been pretty good as the nation’s sports fan in chief.  No one really cares who wins the game (except alumni and those in the services), however it is a great display of tradition and its always a good reminder that while most senior college football players are thinking about the NFL, or getting jobs, etc., the guys in this game are enjoying their last game before likely being shipped overseas into harms way, and you have to admire that.  

Since I know I have never covered any famous alumni from these schools…I thought I would cover a few from the Army & the Navy for you this weekend….

Army Alumni: 

• President Ulysses S. Grant (18th President)
• President Dwight Eisenhower (34th President)

Navy Alumni: 

• President Jimmy Carter (39th President)
• Montel Williams (the talk show host)…would you have guessed???

 

#1 Alabama vs. #4 Florida (4:00 EST, CBS)

The SEC Championship game, held in the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, is the most highly anticipated conference championship game in maybe forever.  Undefeated Alabama is coming in to this game knowing that if they win they will be in the BCS Championship game, and the same likely holds true for Florida, so this game is serving as a virtual national semifinal.  The city of Atlanta is always a college football hotbed… you may not know that almost every young alumni of an SEC school looking for a big city job moves to Atlanta after graduation, so I’m sure the bar scene will be rocking this weekend for the Southerners.  Florida’s pure speed and athleticism against the more powerful style of the Crimson Tide will make for an interesting matchup (my husband gave me this lingo).  And, you know what else makes it interesing?  College Gameday of course!  Although I’m excited for the season to wrap up, it won’t be the same without looking forward to Corso’s headgear selection every Saturday morning.  Next season I have vowed to be in attendance at one of the College Gameday broadcasts and the subsequent game, I’ll be sure to blog about that.

#2 Oklahoma vs. #20 Missouri (8:00 EST, ABC)

This is the Big 12 Championship game, held in Kansas City’s Arrowhead Stadium (home of the KC Chiefs).  There has been a bit of controversy surrounding the participants in this game… Oklahoma, Texas, and Texas Tech all finished tied for first place in the Big 12 South Division:  Oklahoma beat Texas Tech, Texas Tech beat Texas, and Texas beat Oklahoma… so how did they decide who got to go?  By the team that was highest in last week’s BCS standings, where Oklahoma edged out Texas, even though the Longhorns beat them by 10 points on a neutral field back in October.  Needless to say, the people in Austin aren’t too happy about this.  If Missouri manages to upset Oklahoma in this game, then Texas still might have a shot to get into the championship game even without playing in their conference championship.  The BCS is more complicated than television ratings… think about it…most of us ladies watch our shows from the DVR…especially shows like Lipstick Jungle…I am pretty sure the DVR viewings don’t count in their decision to keep a show…so not right.   Have you noticed that I complain about show cancellations a lot?

 

Alright…so if you are in the colder parts of the nation…chances are you will be holiday shopping or doing something at home or at a party of some sort…if it is the latter two you will most likely have sports surrounding you at some point….especially with the caliber of games that are on this weekend…just look for some hotties in the crowd…there are bound to be some at the Army v Navy game.  

 

Stay tuned for some info about the NFL games tomorrow…

-sportsgirl

Girls Aren’t the Only Ones to Make a Fashion Statement

TGIF Ladies….it has been a busy week and with a lot of good television wrapping up, I have been able to avoid sports to some degree…but the weekend is now upon us, which means, no Dirty Sexy Money or Gossip Girl but 24/7 sports, unless you like the Hallmark holiday movies (which I would vote at times are better….).  I thought today I would give you some info about some stories that I read…that while I am sure are interesting to guys, they were definitely written to keep us ladies entertained…

So, as you know, every weekend I cover the top College Football games that are going on for the weekend.  This weekend, I typically wouldn’t be writing about USC….although they are ranked #5…they are playing their rival UCLA, who isn’t ranked…not a big deal..why even cover the game…except for the fact that the game is played at the Rose Bowl.  (Note:  the Rose Bowl is UCLA’s stadium, not just the name of the Bowl game that is played on New Years)  Well, I was reading on philly.com that the coach of USC, Pete Carroll, has told reporters that his USC Trojans would be wearing their red & gold home jerseys…even though they are the away team.   So what’s the big deal? This is against the NCAA’s rules.  The away team has to wear their white AWAY jerseys or sacrifice 2 timeouts per half. …leaving the USC Trojans only 1 timeout per half.  What’s the reason???  Well, apparently Carroll thinks that this is the fun thing for his team and the fans…until the early 80’s both teams used to wear their home jerseys for this rivalry game, but then NCAA rules changed it…so Carroll has decided to restore the tradition…his team is the 31 point favorites…why not take the chance and lose the timeouts…he believes this game won’t be a problem for USC.  I personally think this story is hilarious…not going to lie, it forced me to ask my husband questions about it when I read it…It is so something us girls would decide to do…don’t you think??? Rebel for fashion…totally love it…at least I can now explain to my husband why I will give up a meal or two for a new sweater, dress, or pair of shoes…I love when things are relatable like this….

 

Ok, so the second story…not going to lie…I am a little behind the times with this story and I do apologize…but I was in a meeting today and we started talking about college basketball and I learned about the oldest men’s basketball player that is currently playing college ball.  Not going to lie, I might have guessed that maybe the guy was like 25 or 26…I was so far off…this oldest college basketball player right now is 73…not a typo girls…totally true.  Ken Mink, 73, of Roane State junior college in Tennessee is on the basketball team.  Now he is not a starting player or one of the first subs to come into the game…however when the team is up by a lot or losing by alot, Mink gets the opportunity to play and live out his hoop dreams.  He has even scored some baskets in a few games….as you might have guessed, he’s a good shooter…maybe not the best defenseman, but in general he can hold his own.  If you are wondering how he is even eligible to play it is because he only went to college for one year at Lee’s College…therefore, he still has eligibility.  When he realized he still had his solid shooting skills…Roane Junior College gave him the opportunity to try out and play.  So girls, just remember, age is just a number…Mink reminds us what we learn when we see someone like Faith Hill on the cover of Shape magazine…age 41, with kids, posing in a bikini, looking better than most girls in their early 20’s…anything is possible if you put your mind to it (or if you have good genes or a good airbrusher). 

 

This isn't an office scrimmage....

So…not sure if you agree…but I really think these stories were meant for us ladies…hopefully it made for an easy read on a Friday…be back tomorrow with your College Football information…

-sportsgirl

 

Image from foxsports.com, Saul Young/Knoxville Sentinal