10. Former American Idol Winner Kris Allen Sings National Anthem at Pro Bowl
This is on the heals of Fox planting last year’s winner into the halftime show at the Bears-Packers game (note to NFL teams: Don’t hire struggling reality show winners as your halftime entertainment. It’s not good karma). I can appreciate the efforts of Fox trying to raise the profile of these two singers, but at some point they have to realize that the majority of America doesn’t care about them. What’s next, fat Ruben singing before the Daytona 500?
9. “Grey’s Anatomy” Star Patrick Dempsey Finishes 3rd at Daytona Rolex 24
I’ve never watched “Grey’s”, and have very little knowledge of a guy who is referred to as “McDreamy” by TV Guide, but it’s not every day you see an actor for a chick-show finish well in one of the most prestigious auto races in the world. This isn’t just some celebrity race. These cars get up to 200 mph. I’m not sure how he finds time for this hobby, but kudos to him.
8. St. John’s Destroys #3 Duke
You either hate Duke or you love Duke. There is no middle ground. Being in the first group, I was pleased with this result.
I’ve never understood why St. John’s has struggled for the last 20 years. The college is in New York City, the Mecca of basketball. They play their home games in Madison Square Garden. How do they not get a top-5 recruiting class every single year? It’s never made sense. Now that they have former UCLA coach Steve Lavin (and more importantly, Steve Lavin’s hair. Have you ever seen Lavin’s hair? It should have its own Twitter account), St. John’s should be able to capitalize on their prime location.
7. Djokovic Wins Australian Open
I know as much about tennis as the Kardashian sisters know about calculus, but I do know that Djokovic is kind of an asshole (which I like in an individual sport). And he has two funny consonants at the beginning of his name. I hope he makes a good run at Wimbledon.
6. Team Lidstrom Beats Team Staal 11-10 in NHL All-Star Game
It was an entertaining game, but I had a hard time trying to pick which team to cheer for, or figure out who was on which team. Hopefully next year we can get the Crosby-Ovechkin rivalry at the forefront of this game.
5. Miami Holds Off Thunder
Sunday’s game between Durant and Lebron was an oddly paced affair. It started as a wide-open game (38-35 at the end of the first quarter) and then ended as a defensive battle. As currently constructed, the Thunder doesn’t have a strong enough post player to take advantage of Miami’s weakness in the paint. Miami finally put its best crunch time lineup on the floor (Lebron at the point, Wade and Mike Miller on the wings, Bosh in the post, and some stiff filling the 5th spot) in the last 5 minutes that proved to be effective. The “stiff spot” (sounds dirty, but in this case, it isn’t) actually proved to be valuable for Miami, as they are able to use the spot on a bigger guy when needed (Joel Anthony, Big Z), or a 3-point specialist (James Jones, Eddie House’s carcass that somehow hit the go ahead shot on Sunday). Miami is a half-court offense away from being a very dangerous team.
4. Zdeno Chara Shoots a Puck 105.9 mph. During Skills Competition
For those of you not in the know, that’s really, really hard. Chara looks like these creature that was created by Dr. Frankenstein whose sole purpose is to fire slap shots and crush people. Also, he’s the second person mentioned in this column that has two weird consonants as the first two letters of his name.
3. O.J. Mayo Claims Energy Drink Caused Failed Drug Test
No word yet on whether Mayo is also blaming the energy drink for being the reason he’s only averaging 12 points per game. Memphis has some nice pieces in place (Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol, Mike Conley), which in my opinion means they should look to move Mayo for draft picks. They’re already using their designated “crazy dude” spot on Randolph.
2. Celtics Defeat Lakers
What do you get when you have a team with a chip on its shoulder playing a team that doesn’t care until the playoffs? The game we saw yesterday between Boston and the Lakers.
Apparently there’s major panic going on in Los Angeles over the state of the Lakers. Some callers on sports radio shows have suggested everything from trading Andrew Bynum for Carmelo Anthony, starting Lamar Odom at point guard, and even trading Kobe Bryant. While those are all amusing suggestions, we won’t know what this Lakers team is capable of until we get to April. If Ron Artest can rediscover the desire to play lockdown defense, they will still be the favorites in the Western Conference.
1. NHL Hold’s First Ever Fantasy Draft to Select All-Star Rosters
This event was five times more interesting than the actual All-Star Game. On paper, watching socially awkward hockey players sitting around in suits waiting to get picked onto a side may not sound like a strong television program, but it was a fascinating watch. The NBA needs to just blatantly copy this for next years game, and maybe if the Pro Bowl squads were picked this way, and the winning side could split $1 million, we’d see an actual football game.
