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Many people around the country spent the final weekend before Christmas in malls and department stores doing last minute gift shopping, but for those of us stuck inside due to snow or the wonders of shopping via the Internet, there was plenty of interesting sports news and events that took place.

My personal favorite of the past week was the introduction of NFL Saturday night, which brings the number of days we can watch the NFL up to four (3 more to go!). We also saw the start of the college football bowl season, another MLB trade, our first disgruntled NBA’er of the year, some bold accusations against a college basketball coach, and the untimely announcement of the PGA Tours’ player of the year.

So, in case you missed out on this past weekend in sports, here are five interesting stories that your friends and co-workers will be talking about around the proverbial water cooler.

And then there was one: This seasons Saturday NFL debut actually gave fans a solid matchup between the New Orleans Saints and the Dallas Cowboys. The Saints entered the game as one of two remaining undefeated teams in the league but left their loyal home fans in disappointment as their fourth quarter rally fell just short. The loss leaves the Indianapolis Colts as the lone team with the chance at perfection, with two winnable games left against the New York Jets and at the Buffalo Bills.

Not all Knicks have an Empire State of Mind: No can say that New York Knicks’ guard Nate Robinson has been unprofessional, but after being benched for 8 straight games I don’t think anyone would blame him if he was. Robinson’s agent, Aaron Goodwin, is another story. He reportedly asked the Knicks to have his client traded and the two-time slam dunk champion has been surprisingly quiet about it. He says that he wants to stay in New York, but one has to assume that because he is in a contract year he will want minutes on the court more than anything else.

More college football improprieties: The USC football program finds itself in the middle of another recruiting scandal (remember Reggie Bush?), this time surrounding running back Joe McKnight. McKnight was allegedly seen driving an SUV purchased by Santa Monica businessman Scott Schenter, who has thus far denied any wrong doing. Schenter claims that the car belongs to McKnight’s girlfriend and that he is in fact a Washington Husky fan who merely helped her purchase the car because she couldn’t qualify for the loan.

I know we live in America and people are innocent until proven guilty, but if it looks like a duck and it quacks like a duck…

Bob Knight still causing controversy: Coach Knight hasn’t been a coach in years but he can still cause a ruckus better than anyone in the game. He recently said — completely unprovoked, I might add — that college basketball lacks integrity and that University of Kentucky coach John Calipari was a prime example. When Calipari heard the news he basically went all Voltaire on the media, saying he disagreed with what Knight said but still respected him as a basketball coach.

I suppose Calipari is simply being the bigger man, although I can’t help but think that Memphis and Missouri, which were both forced to vacate Final Four appearances by the NCAA for infractions made during Calipari’s tenure, would say otherwise.

The PGA is a mess: By now we have all heard about Tiger Woods’ accident and subsequent fallout with his family and commitment to the PGA Tour, so it is with what I would imagine are ambivalent feelings that the PGA announced Woods as the Tour’s Player of the Year. It is the 10th time he has won the award and the 8th time he has swept the Tours three biggest awards.

There is no question that Woods is golf’s best player and most marketable asset; the question is when will he return and how will the Tour fare without him? The answers, in my humble opinion — not soon enough and not well.

Image Source: Zimbio

When I woke up on Friday morning I thought that our recent streak of highly entertaining sports weekends would finally come to an end. After all, bowl season for college football has not yet begun, Major League Baseball’s winter meetings have been mostly a bore, and the NBA and NFL were scheduled for plain old regular season action.

To the delight of sports fans everywhere, I was wrong.

The weekend may not have featured any college bowl games or blockbuster trades, but it did have an assortment of interesting stories develop, some of which we may not soon forget.

There is no crying in baseball, but there is in Heisman Trophy speeches: This past weekend college football had its annual Heisman trophy presentation and Alabama’s Mark Ingram brought home the hardware for the first time in Crimson Tide history. Ingram beat out four other finalists — Tim Tebow of Florida, Toby Gerhart of Standford, Colt McCoy of Texas, and Ndamukong Suh of Nebraska — and shed a few tears along the way.

Ingram’s tears were not the only reason for excitement though. The sophomore running back won by only 28 points over Gerhart, which was the closest margin of victory in the history of the award.

Tiger becomes an endangered specie: Tiger Woods dropped a bombshell on the PGA Tour over the weekend, telling the world that he is taking an indefinite leave from golf while he sorts out his family life. In case you have been living under a rock, Woods was recently involved in a one-car accident in the middle of the night and is believed to have cheated on his wife.

Unfortunately for Tiger, family is no longer his only problem. Accenture became the first major sponsor to cut ties with Woods and told the Associated Press that he is “no longer the right representative.” It is admittedly a small dent to his massive wallet, but could it be the first of many with the possibility that at some point in the future half of his assets could land in the pockets of his wife?

One more thing for Terrell Owens to complain about: Brandon Marshall began Sunday’s game against the Indianapolis Colts as No. 2 on the all-time list for receptions in a single NFL game. He finished the game as No. 1 on that prestigious list, surpassing Owens’ 9-year-old record by catching an amazing 21 balls for 200 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Too bad his impressive performance was for not; the Colts improved to 13-0 on the season with a 28-16 victory.

Some NBA fans prove to be idiots: The first round of NBA All-Star voting was announced recently and most of the names you expect to see are leading the way. Kobe Bryant is the top vote getter so far, with superstars Lebron James, Dwayne Wade and Dwight Howard not far behind. But guess is who would be Bryant’s backcourt mate if the all-star game were played today?

Tracy McGrady. Yes, Tracy-freaking-McGrady, who has not suited up for a single game this year due to injury. I understand that it’s a game for the fans and whoever they vote in should play, but in this case I have to say the fans are being absolutely ridiculous. There are oodles of players more deserving of the honor and I can only hope that McGrady does the right thing and turns down the opportunity.

Image Source: Getty Images

Forbes magazine just released their annual listing of NBA franchise values and for the first time in four years a team other than the New York Knicks sits atop the metaphorical pile of money.

This year it is the Los Angeles Lakers who win the crown for most valuable franchise in the NBA with a Forbes listing of $607 million (a four percent increase over last year). It is no surprise that the reigning champs are raking in the dough given that they are perennially successful, have a highly marketable superstar, and play in one of the best U.S. markets.

And with the Lakers sitting so high on Forbes’ list it is safe to assume they have a lot of fans across the country. So for those fans who can’t see Kobe and company in person, and even for those who can, here are some great deals on unusual Lakers gear for this week’s edition of our Deal of the Day.

I’m not a big fan of attending baby showers but the next time I’m forced to go to one you can bet that my gift will be this Los Angeles Lakers Basketball Mobile. Not only does this mobile provide “visual and auditory stimulation,” but it is also a great way to indoctrinate children to the ways of the purple and gold. This great gift is currently on sale for $43.99 from Fan The Fire.

Do you or someone you know like the Lakers? Do you or that same person also enjoy being able to see when it’s dark? If you answered yes to both of those questions, this Guidecraft NBA Table Lamp is the ideal present for the holiday season. This amazing piece of memorabilia is currently on sale for $44.99 over at BJ’s and promises to light (pun alert!) up the face of whomever you give it to.

This Los Angeles Lakers Yellow Team Logo Drawstring Backpack from Football Fanatics is ideal for showing off your Lakers’ pride in style. Currently on sale for only $14.95, this stylish gift is also eligible for free shipping when purchased on a ticket of $50 or more.

Find more deals on Los Angeles Lakers gear at Smarter.com.

It was another busy weekend in the sports world as college football wound down its regular season, the National Football League inched its way closer to the playoffs, and both college basketball and the National Basketball Association chugged away through the early part of their respective seasons.

And while there were good games across all sports over the weekend, by far the most interesting were those college football games that impacted the upcoming bowl season. Perennial favorites fell, games that should have been blowouts went down to the final seconds, and as it will always be as long as there is no playoff system in place, college football fans were left with more questions than answers.

So, without further ado, here are four of the biggest stories in sports that you may have missed over the past weekend.

Another year of B(C)S

There were multiple match ups that had serious bowl implications, chief among them the Southeastern Conference showdown between Florida and Alabama. The Gators, who were the No. 1 seed in most polls for the majority of the season, fell short against the Crimson Tide and left star quarterback Tim Tebow and his fans around the country in tears.

Other games of relevance — No. 3 Texas narrowly escaped Nebraska, 13-12; No. 5 Cincinnati came from behind over Pittsburgh, 45-44; No. 6 Boise State trounced New Mexico State, 42-7; and No. 18 USC continued its fall from grace, losing 21-17 to Arizona.

Charlie Weis is bitter beans

In what was one of the stranger (and unexpected) stories of college football this year, former Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis alleged infidelity on the part of USC head coach Pete Carroll during an interview with Notre Dame sports Web site IrishIllustrated.com.

Weis says the quote was taken out of context and Carroll told the Los Angeles Times that Weis had already “apologized profusely,” but one has to wonder why Weis would say something, even speaking hypothetically, that would portray Carroll so badly. Could someone be bitter over his recent dismissal?

The year of the undefeated

It is very rare for one team to be undefeated this far into the NFL season, which makes the fact that two teams are all the more impressive. On Sunday the Indianapolis Colts had an unremarkable 27-17 victory over the Tennessee Titans and the Saints were forced to go to overtime in their 33-30 win over the Washington Redskins, but both teams managed to leave week 13 with their records unscathed and will have to deal with questions of the perfect season from here on out.

The 1972 Miami Dolphins remain the only team to go wire-to-wire without a loss, with the 2007 New England Patriots being the most recent team to approach the historic record.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall

File this one under the letter “n” for not surprising at all to anyone who watches even the smallest amount of professional basketball; Portland Trail Blazers center and former No. 1 overall pick Greg Oden broke his left kneecap Saturday night in a game against the Houston Rockets and is out for the season.

As John Hollinger of ESPN made note, it was ironic that it happened on 70′s retro night given the Trail Blazers history of highly touted but often injured big men like Sam Bowie and Bill Walton. General Manager Kevin Pritchard will defend his pick of Oden over Kevin Durant to the death, and apparently every team in the NBA would have done the same, but it is still fun (unless you are a Trail Blazers fan, in which case it is depressing) to imagine what the team would be like if KD were draped in the black, red and white instead of Oden.

Image Source: Palm Beach Post

It is not too often that sports fans get to witness history, but the 11,689 people who had tickets to the Izod Center Wednesday night got to do just that. However, something tells me that all those New Jersey Nets fans would like to put this particular milestone behind them and focus all their attention on the free agent bonanza that is scheduled to be the summer of 2010.

Confused? Let me explain. On Wednesday night the Nets surpassed both the 1988-89 Miami Heat and the 1999 Los Angeles Clippers, who both dropped their first 17 games of the season, and took sole possession of the NBA’s record for worst losing streak to open a season. The Nets have opened up with an impressive 18 consecutive losses and will try to break their historic struggles Friday at home against the Charlotte Bobcats.

I imagine it is not too easy to be a Nets fan right about now, so to help ease their fan base’s pain I have gathered up some great deals on Nets gear and memorabilia for this Thursday edition of our Deal of the Day.

Watching your favorite team lose over and over again can make even the most caffeinated of us tired, which makes this New Jersey Nets Pillow by Northwest the perfect companion to watching the Nets on TV. This officially licensed 18″ x 18″ Jacquard-weave pillow bears the team name and logo and is currently on sale for only $14.99.

Take your mind off your favorite team’s horrible start with this New Jersey Nets Shot Glass Set. Each set comes with four 2 oz. glasses that each have a different design. They are currently on sale for $13.99 and available for next day shipping.

It seems like only yesterday Jason Kidd and company had the Nets as annual contenders in the Eastern Conference. If you’d rather bask in those memories than watch the current squad take the court, this Jason Kidd Reebok NBA Replica New Jersey Nets Jersey is the perfect way to do it. This 100 percent nylon mesh jersey is currently on sale for only $19.99.

Shop for more discount New Jersey Nets gear at Smarter.com.

When it comes to Allen Iverson, apparently retirement means nothing more than a short vacation.

Iverson and his representatives met in Dallas on Monday with Philadelphia 76ers head coach Eddie Jordan and general manager Ed Stefanski, apparently discussing a possible reunion between the two parties. Iverson, who played in only three games for the Memphis Grizzlies earlier this season before he and the team mutually agreed to part ways, spent much of his career in Philadelphia and even took the 76ers to the NBA finals in 2001.

The move is a shocking one because Iverson left the team in 2006 under volatile circumstances, but fans of AI should be thrilled at the possibility of him going back to where it all started. While the team is struggling with injuries (Lou Williams) and the under performance (Elton Brand) of its starters, Iverson could come in and provide an immediate boost to the team and, perhaps most importantly, its fans.

It is still too early to call it a done deal, but the prospect is definitely enticing. With that in mind I bring you a collection of Allen Iverson gear and memorabilia for this post-Thanksgiving edition of our Deal of the Day. Act quickly because many of these items are going fast!

This dark navy Denver Nuggets Swingman Jersey of Allen Iverson is the last jersey Iverson wore as a productive member of a playoff caliber team. His time with the Detroit Pistons was rocky at best, and his short stint with the Grizzlies was an absolute disaster. The jersey is currently on sale for $19.99 over at Fanzz.com and ships the same day when ordered by 2 p.m.

The book Allen Iverson: Fear No One is currently on sale at Buy.com for only $3.77 plus shipping. From its product summary: “This unauthorized biography of the Philadelphia 76er who was named MVP of the NBA in the 2000-01 season provides a revealing look at one of professional basketball’s most controversial superstars. From Iverson’s poverty-stricken beginnings in Virginia to his amazing records with the Georgetown Hoyas and the 76ers, readers will learn the heartbreaking story behind the man.”

This 2008-09 Allen Iverson Action Poster is a great gift for fans of The Answer. It is 8″ x 10″ and shows Iverson hanging on the rim after a monster dunk. It is currently on sale for $4.60 over at Discountpostersale.com, which offers free shipping on customers’ first order.

Just because Iverson rarely shows up on time to practice doesn’t mean you have to be late to your appointments. With this Philadelphia 76ers Allen Iverson Wall Clock you will always know what time it is; whether you are on time is up to you. The clock has a built in hanger for easy wall mounting, runs on 1 AA battery, and measures 12″x12″. It is currently on sale for $26.95 at Carroll’s Sports Cove and usually ships within one business day.

Find more Allen Iverson gear at Smarter.com.

Thanksgiving weekend is a holiday when many people spend time with their family, eat way too much food, and begin fighting their way through malls to complete their Christmas shopping. This year it was also a time ofmemorable sports events, ranging from the historic to the just plain odd. One of the best things about this past weekend was the variety of action to watch. There was exciting college football and basketball, the usual professional football and basketball, and some great international soccer. One world renownedsuperstarunusual trouble, providing highly flammable fuel to the media and tabloids.

With so much going on in the world of sports on a weekend where you might not have been able to sit down in front of the TV, I have pulled together the five biggest stories that you may have missed.

1) An unexpected Tiger: In what is surely one of the most unexpected series of events to occur over the past year, Tiger Woods was involved in a one-car accident at 2:25 a.m. Friday morning just two days after rumors of him having an affair hit the tabloids. Even more intriguing is the fact that Woods has cancelled meetings with local law enforcement twice, leaving everyone to draw their own conclusions about the incident.

The most telling piece of information of possible foul play — at least in my humble opinion — is that Woods’ wife used a golf club to smash the back window of the vehicle to allegedly help Woods out of the car. If this were any other professional athlete we would all be jumping to much more salacious conclusions, but since it is Woods the media has given him the benefit of the doubt … for now.

2) Winless in New Jersey: If you think that being a professional coach comes with a certain amount of job security, well, think again. Lawrence Franks became the second NBA coach fired this year (the first being Byron Scott in New Orleans) after his New Jersey Nets started the season with the second worst record in league history (0-16). The silver lining of the situation? There isn’t one. The Nets tied a league record with a loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last night and have a chance to secure sole possession of the dubious record against Dallas at home on Wednesday.

3) College football showdown: December marks the start of the BCS Bowl Series and with another week of games under our belts we are one step closer to cementing which teams will be paired together in a few short weeks. Top teams Florida and Alabama both won this weekend and are on course to face each other in the Southeastern Conference championship for the right to play in the national championship game. Texas, TCU, Cincinnati and Boise State also remained undefeated and remain in the hunt for the other spot in the national championship game.

4) NFL concussions: If you think your job gives you a headache just try to step into the shoes of an NFL player. On the heels of Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger, Arizona’s Kurt Warner and Philadelphia’s Brian Westbrook missing time due to concussions, the NFL and NFL Players Association announced a new rule (to be instituted in the near future) that will not allow a player who leaves a game due to a concussion related injury to re-enter the game.

While fans always want to see their favorite players on the field, this is great news for the NFL because recent studies have shown the long term effects of repeated brain trauma of football players is more troubling than previously thought.

5) NIT domination: People always hate teams that continually crush the competition, so it is no surprise that college basketball fans loathe Duke more than any other school in the country. This weekend Duke gave detractors another reason to despise them, winning their fourth NIT Season Tip-Off Tournament with a 68-59 victory over No. 13 Connecticut on Friday. It was the Blue Devils’ 12th consecutive victory in the tournament and brings their record to 22-2 all time in the tournament.

Image Source: Newsday

For anyone who thought that the sports world would slow down in the excitement department now that the World Series of Major League Baseball is over, well, think again. From upsets in college football to a certain disgruntled basketball player to the World Series of Poker, this past weekend had a lot of compelling action. There were teams that showed why they are considered among the best in their sport and teams that gained firsthand knowledge of what it means when people say it is a long fall from the top. So without further ado, here are the highlights of another great weekend in sports.

College Football: The top three teams in college football — Florida, Alabama and Texas — made it through the weekend unscathed and remain control of their destiny. If they win out, they will be in the BCS National Championship game. The emerging story, though, is the rise of TCU. Another lopsided victory at the expense of San Diego State has them No. 4 in the latest BCS poll and a potential BCS buster come bowl time. They are joined by No. 5 Cincinnati and No. 6 Boise State, who are both 9-0 along with TCU, as teams that could potentially cause controversy when it comes time to crown a national college football champion.

NBA: In what comes as no surprise to anyone outside of the Memphis Grizzlies management team, newly signed Allen Iverson is already disgruntled with his role on the team. He was allowed to return home over the weekend to attend to a personal matter, but many with insight into the NBA are predicting that we may have already seen Iverson in a Grizzlies’ jersey for the last time. ESPN’s Chad Ford summed it up best when he quoted an unnamed NBA general manager: “He’s finished in the NBA. He can go hang out with Stephon Marbury.”

NFL: While it is still much too early to start dreaming about the perfect season, there are still two teams that have an unblemished record. The New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts both won on Sunday in games that were much closer than anyone expected and moved to 8-0 for the season. Perhaps the most interesting news of weekend, however, came from former Colts coach Tony Dungy. He said that Michael Vick, whom he has mentored since Vick’s incarceration, could end up quarterbacking for the Buffalo Bills. The Bills reportedly had interest in Vick prior to him signing with the Philadelphia Eagles and are currently struggling with the injured Trent Edwards and underwhelming Ryan Fitzpatrick.

WSOP: If it seems like the WSOP has been on hiatus for eternity, that is because it has. On break since the end of summer, the November Nine resumed action on Friday and played until the wee hours of the morning. The field has been whittled down to the final two players, who will square off for the WSOP Main Event bracelet tonight at 10pm PT. I won’t say who the final two are out of consideration for those waiting to catch action Tuesday night on ESPN, but you can get a full recap here on ESPN’s Poker Blog.

MLS: The Chicago Fire, Los Angeles Galaxy, Houston Dynamo, and Real Salt Lake are Major League Soccer’s final four teams following an intense weekend of play. The Western Conference finals kick off on Friday at the Home Depot Center at 8pm PT and can be seen on ESPN 2. The Eastern Conference finals will take place in Chicago on Saturday at 5pm PT and can be seen on the Fox Soccer Channel.

Image Source: TCU Athletics

As I noted last Friday, the first few weeks of the fantasy basketball season are of the utmost importance. I promise when you look back at the end of the season at the roster of the championship team you will see that many of their big contributors are players they scooped up off the waiver wire early. 

With that in mind, last week I pointed out five players that were readily available in standard leagues that I believed were going to be key contributors for the foreseeable future. It is just as important, though, to identify players that are not likely to perform at a high level over the long haul that may have found their way on to your roster. We are specifically looking to identify two types of players:

1) A player that has started off better than expected and is unlikely to keep up that production.

2) A player that was drafted with potential that doesn’t look like he will live up to it.

Identifying these players is important because it will allow you to make better trades and avoid picking up flash-in-the-pan players after single-game breakouts. For instance, if you own a player that is playing above expectations but for whatever reason cannot be reasonably expected to continue to do so, you can trade him at his peak value for a player you believe will help your team more for the rest of the year.

Now that you have a better understanding of what we are looking for, here are a few players that you should either sell high on or avoid picking up on the waiver wire.

G Tyreke Evans, Sacramento Kings (Drafted in 45.8 percent of ESPN leagues): Evans was drafted by a lot of people (including myself in one league) as a rookie point guard with a lot of potential to play big minutes on a team that lacks a lot of talent. How foolish we all were. While Evans may have a bright future ahead of him, he is a rookie playing the most difficult position to learn in the NBA and, as a result, will struggle at times. From a fantasy perspective, owners can look forward to a lot of turnovers, nights of poor shooting, and fewer assists than you would like because the Kings are by far the worst team in the still brutal Western Conference.

F Channing Frye, Phoenix Suns (Drafted in 5.9 percent of ESPN leagues): Frye had back-to-back games in which he hit an impressive six 3-pointers and saw his ownership rise all the way up to 50.1 percent. While those two outings were indeed great from a fantasy perspective, there is absolutely no reason to think he can have that type of production from here on out. Frye has shot 35 percent from behind the arc for his career and offers little else in terms of fantasy production. I would not drop a more reliable big to pick him up unless you feel you can parlay him in a trade for a better talent.

C Brad Miller, Chicago Bulls (Drafted in 78.9 percent of ESPN leagues): His ownership has already dropped to 68.1 percent, so the window of opportunity for savvy owners to trade him for another big man is closing fast. There are many reasons to not like him from a fantasy perspective — he plays under 25 minutes a game, doesn’t get enough rebounds or blocks for his position, and isn’t on the floor enough for his solid field goal and free throw percentage to make an impact on your team. My advice is to trade him while it is still possible or consider dropping him for a less heralded center like Roy Hibbert.

Image Source: Yahoo! Sports

If the NBA is where amazing happens, the AT&T Center is where extermination happens. In case you haven’t seen the first NBA highlight of the year that has gone completely viral, take a look here. A word of caution, if you are a bat lover you may not want to see what San Antonio Spurs’ guard Manu Ginobli had in store for a bat that somehow made its way into the arena.

YouTube - Watch 

No, your eyes are not playing tricks on you. During a home game for the Spurs on Monday night there was an interruption to the game because of a bat that was flying around the court. Ginobli, who apparently is a man who likes to take matters into his own hands, swatted the bat in midair instead of waiting for arena personal to take care of the matter. After he struck the bat he proceeded to pick it up off of the floor and carried it over to the nearest arena attendant.

All good, right?

Wrong!

As a quick look (and common sense) over at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention website will tell you, a small percentage of bats carry the rabies virus. And since the bat was not available for testing, Ginobli had to receive four shots on Monday and is scheduled for four more sessions in the next month.

The moral of the story: while it might be fun to play Batman, animal extermination is best left to the pros (not the NBA variety).