Sports Oscar Goes To.........

It happens every year. The best of the best in the world of film get together to honor what was in the past year in Film. What gets talked about so little at the Oscars is sports films. Sure there have been a few sports movies that have been up for major awards at the Oscars. You had Sylvester Stallone nominated for Best Supporting Actor in Creed this year. There are other sports films that have had a big impact at the Oscars. There was The Blind Side (2012), Moneyball (2011), The Fighter (2010), Million Dollar Baby (2004), Jerry Maguire (1996), The Natural (1984), Raging Bull (1980), Chariots of Fire (1981), Heaven Can Wait (1978), Rocky (1976), The Hustler (1961), Pride of the Yankees (1942), The Champ (1931) just to name a few of the great sports movies that have been up for nomination. So since there have been many sports movies that have been made over the years, we figured we would hand out our own version of the Oscars. This time its all sports films and it will be broken down a little bit differently. We are handing out the awards in a bit of a different fashion. Sure we will give out best picture. But the rest of the catagories will go as follows: Best Sports Comedy, Best Football Movie, Best Basketball movie, Best Baseball Movie, Best Hockey Movie, and Best Boxing/Wrestling Movie!

Best Boxing/Wrestling Film:
Rocky

Raging Bull

The Wrestler

Cinderella Man

Million Dollar Baby

The Fighter

Ali

Welp lets get this list started with the best fighting movies of all time. Like anything else you will see on these lists tonight, there are plenty to choose from.  Million Dollar Baby an underdog story of a fighter who will not give up. The Wrestler, the story of a man past his prime, trying to recapture his glory days and get his life back in order. Then there's the Fighter, Ali and Cinderella Man, all based of true stories. Ali looks at the greatest fighter of all game. Cinderella Man and the Fighter are about two different men who fall on hard times and get it all together in the ring. They are all great films, but there are two that top the list. Raging Bull, the story of one of the greatest fighters of all time Jake LaMatta. It shows how a great career can go from on top of the world to losing it all. They are all great films, but fall just short of the top of the class. Its the greatest underdog story in all of film

Winner: Rocky!

Best Basketball Picture:
Hoosiers

Blue Chips

He Got Game

White Men Can't Jump

Space Jam

Coach Carter

The Air Up There

For this being one of the more popular sports in the world, you would think there would be a lot of great movies made. But the list above is actually the crème of the crop from a surprisingly small sample size. Space Jam is the first real kids movie about the sport, a very good movie in its own right. The Air Up There another solid, yet very under appreciated movie. White Men Can't Jump gave a voice to street basketball. Coach Carter showed that there should be more to life than sports and that hard work can get you wherever you want in life. Blue Chips shows what goes on in College Basketball that most people don't get to see. The one that tops them all is the Rocky of Basketball films.

Winner: Hoosiers

Best Football Picture
Remember The Titans

Any Given Sunday

Invincible

Friday Night Lights

Rudy

Varsity Blues

The Blind Side

The Express

This category has plenty of fantastic movies to choose from. That's what the most popular sport in America can do. Any Given Sunday, a good movie in it's own right. Invincible and Rudy give you an underdog look at the world of football and show that the biggest heart does pay off. Friday Night Lights  and Varsity Blues take you inside a different world of High School football. The Express and The Blind Side will pull on your heart strings throughout the whole film. To me, the one the tops the list is the one that shows how walls can be broken down. It gives you a whole different perspective on the sport and on life. It shows what the world of sports can do and how it can bring people together.

Winner: Remember The Titans

Best Hockey Movie:
Slap Shot

Miracle

The Mighty Ducks

Mystery, Alaska

Youngblood

The Rocket

Goon

One of the pro sports that doesn't get enough respect in the film industry. The Goon has turned into a cult favorite so it was placed in here. Rocket an underated biopic for the late Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. The Mighty Ducks is the one film series that introduced a whole generation of kids to the great game of hockey. Youngblood shows what the world of Junior Hockey can be like. Mystery, Alaska brings hockey to its roots in the outdoor game and shows you yet another side of the sport you've never seen before. Slap Shot (My favorite sports movie ever) will go down as one of the funniest sports movies ever made. It shows the life of a minor league hockey player and it introduced three of the greatest characters in the world of film, the Hanson Brothers. But the one that tops the list gives us another look at the greatest upset in all of sports. Its a true underdog story. It helped give an entire country a reason to believe.

Winner: Miracle

Best Baseball Movie
Field of Dreams

Major League

Bull Durham

Eight Men Out

A League Of Their Own

The Natural

Moneyball

The Rookie

61*

The list in Baseball can go on and on and on. There are WAY too many fantastic movies that have been made about America's pastime. You can make a solid argument for any one of these films to be the greatest ever made about the game. 61 tells the story of chasing one of the greatest individual records in the history of the sport, most home runs in a season. Moneyball takes a look at what goes on inside of a Major League Baseball organization. Eight Men Out takes on one of the biggest scandals in the history of the game. The Natural and The Rookie shows what heart and believing in yourself can get you. A League of Their own shows what goes on in the world of Women's Baseball. Bull Durham takes you inside the world of Minor League Baseball. Major League takes a comedic look at the great game. The one that tops it all though makes us believe that anything can happen. It shows how the sport can bring people and families together.

Winner: Field of Dreams

Best Sports Comedy

Major League

Slap Shot

Waterboy

Dodgeball

Caddyshack

Happy Gilmore

Semi-Pro

Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby

Now for the most side splitting list on here. The best sports comedy. More often than not, at least in reality, you don't get too many comic moments in the field of competition. Whoever came up with these ideas for the films listed above, deserve a medal for what they were able to do. I'm sure there have probably been a picture or two that was left out, but there have been too many options not to run with here. So I'll let you draw your own conclusions. As for me, this really came down to two films: Major League and Slap Shot. Both movies are so quoteable that you can probably recite most of the film just talking with your buddies. It was so hard to pick a winner here but it had to be done.

Winner: Major League

And last but not least.

Best Picture:
Rocky

Raging Bull

Field Of Dreams

Miracle

Rudy

Hoosiers

The Natural

The Rookie

There are so many great sports movies that have been produced over the years that there are way too many to put into one total list, You can go on and on about the movies that have been put out, but I'm restricting it to the list you see above. Now you can pick anyone of these movies to be the greatest of all time. A couple of them are based on true events, like Remember the Titans and Miracle. A few of them take us on a magical ride and make us believe anything can happen, like Field of Dreams and Rocky. But it is so hard to really pick a winner for the greatest of all time. You have the greatest comeback story of all time in Hoosiers and Miracle. You have the ultimate underdogs in Rudy and Rocky. You have one the greatest ballplayers ever in Roy Hobbs. Then there's Raging Bull, the Story of how Jake Lamatta's life has turned around. There was so many tough decisions in life to make and this one was one of them. At the end of the day, its the ultimate underdog who comes through.

Winner: Rocky

Do you agree with this list? Did we leave anything out?

Calm Down David Ortiz

Don't get me wrong, I love Big Papi! David Ortiz has quickly become one of my favorite baseball players in the game today. He has hit some mammoth home runs for the Red Sox. There we're times where he's carried the team on his back and done great things for both the team and the city of Boston. What he came out saying the other day, is a little over the top even for me.

It is no secret going into this season that David Ortiz is playing his final year of pro baseball. But what he said made me scratch my head a little bit. Ortiz revealed to The New York Post that he wants a standing ovation in his final game at Yankee Stadium on Sept. 29.

“You know what I want most of all?’’ Ortiz told The New York Post. “I would love it if the fans at Yankee Stadium gave me a standing ovation.’’

Ortiz, who is entering his 20th and final season, has had some memorable moments against the Yankees, including leading the Red Sox back from a 3-0 deficit in the 2004 American League Championship Series. Lets not get this wrong, David Ortiz has had a great career. Ortiz is a nine-time All-Star, having played a big role in the Red Sox win the 2004 World Series for their first title since 1918. To go along with that, he added championships in 2007 and 2013. He hit .273 last year with 37 homers and 108 RBIs. Ortiz has a .284 career average and 1,641 RBI in 2,257 games. He enters this season, his 14th with the Red Sox, with 503 home runs, 27th on the career list and third among active players behind Alex Rodriguez with (687) and Albert Pujols (560). Only Hall of Famers Ted Williams (521) and Carl Yastrzemski (452) have more homers for the Red Sox than Ortiz (445). He has put up good numbers over the last few years too, reaching 30 homers and 100 RBIs for three straight years. But you can kind of tell that on the field his time is coming to an end.

The numbers speak for themselves, putting him as one of the best Designated Hitters to ever play the game. Here's the problem. I can understand that he wants the farewell tour, as does everybody who plays sports. Look at what Kobe Bryant is getting in the NBA right now. The difference is Kobe didn't ask for this reception on his swan song. He was just so good and earned so much respect from his peers that its just happening that way.

Look at the last two swan songs we really got in baseball, Derek Jeter and Mariano Rivera. Both guys knew they were heading into their final year, and neither one asked for standing ovations wherever they went in the bigs in their final season it just happened. That's because they were the two best at what they did, Jeter being the last great shortstop in the game, and Rivera going out as the greatest closer in the history of the sport. Ortiz is a great hitter, and will go down as one of the best to ever play the role of DH, but he's not the greatest.

Plus I think most Yankees fans will agree with this, why would he be getting a standing ovation at his final game in the Bronx? He's one of the most hated opposing players to ever step foot on the field in the Bronx. There's a big difference between what he might get and what Derek Jeter got when he left the field after his final at-bat in Boston in 2014. Jeter always played well against the Red Sox and still got a classy reception for a classy player. Papi isn't going to get that.

David I love you man but get with it your not going to get a Jeter like reaction at your final stop in the Bronx at the end of the year.

Jose Bautista Throws It Down

There's no denying the fact that the man they call Joey Bats has become one of the premier power hitters in all of Major League Baseball. For a man who's spent twelve years in the Majors, Jose Bautista really needed a change of scenery for his career to take off. Before signing with the Blue Jays in 2010, he hasn't really put up solid power numbers, even after spending five years in Pittsburgh. Hell his first two years North Of The Border were average at best. Then he got the contract in 2010, his career has really taken off. Now the question is can he stay put North Of The Boarder? Bautista has thrown down the offer to the Toronto Blue Jays, they can either take it or leave it.

According to reports, Jose Bautista has give the Jays a set number. What exactly that number is has not be made public knowledge yet. He said to the Jays flat out that he has given them a number that he wants to sign an extension for, as his contract is up at the end of the season. He has said he gave them a number and isn't willing to negotiate further.

According to ESPN: "I did not go to them. They asked me a question, 'What would it take to get it done?' and I gave them an answer. It's not an adamant, drawn lines in the sand or anything. Simply questions were asked, I felt like for this process to go down smoothly there didn't need to be any time wasted and efforts wasted for either party. If this is going to happen, they should know what it takes, and I told them the number because they asked me," he told ESPN's Britt McHenry.

The thing is, Jose Bautista has put up the numbers to back that move up, at least over the last few years. Over the last six seasons, Bautista has led the major leagues with 227 home runs and ranks second only to Miguel Cabrera in slugging (.555) and OPS (.945). Last season, he hit 40 home runs with 114 RBIs, helping the Blue Jays win the American League East and putting Bautista in the playoffs for the first time in his career (ESPN). His first six years in the Majors he looked average at best. His first year and a half in Toronto, it took him that length of time to get comfortable.

Then in 2010, his career took off with the 54 homers. He followed that up with a 43 home run season in 2011. Since then he has hit at least 25 homers in each season. He had injury issues in 12 and 13 but the last two years saw 35 homers and 103 RBI and then 40 homers and 114 RBI a season ago, helping the Jays run away with the AL East. He has all the talent in the world, but he is 35 years old. Its a gamble.

Don't get me wrong the guy has all the talent in the world and can crush a baseball like its nobody's business. He throws down the challenge saying here's what I want, either take it or I walk there is no changing the terms. I give him credit for saying that this is what I'm worth (at least in his mind) and here's what I'm asking for. If I don't get it from you I can get it somewhere else. Its talking a big risk because there's no way of knowing if he can still produce at 35, 36 years old. Since there's no public knowledge of the actual number that was thrown out, we don't know what terms were looking at. The guy can hit but his age has to be a factor if your the Jays, or any other team that's looking for his services.

If your Toronto, you now know what the offer is, since its on the table. I would say wait. See what kind of year he has. If he can still produce at the pace he has in the last few years, when healthy, I'd say take the shot at it. Make sure there's an opt out option in the contract if your the Jays so that way you can cover your rear end if his numbers start to fall off. You also have to consider the fact that the Jays are going to want to stay in contention in the American League so they may take that into consideration as well.

I give Bautista marks for having the guts to throw down the challenge to the Jays saying here's what I'm worth, take it or leave it. Be careful what you wish for Jose, it might come back to bite you in the rear end!

Winners And Losers Of The MLB Offseason

Its Time! We've gone through some of the biggest events of the winter already. Super Bowl? Check. All Star Weekends? Check. Winter Classic? Check. Grammy's? Check. Oscars? Check too (almost) So now what do we do? That's where baseball comes back in! Training camps are now starting to get rocking and rolling. We are just a little over a month away from the start of a new baseball season. We're going to have some new faces in new places in Major League Baseball this year. So with that being said, lets take a look back at some of the biggest winners and losers from the offseason in the big leagues.

Lets start with the teams:

Winners:
Arizona Diamondbacks
Biggest signing they had over the winter was bringing Zach Grenkie into the mix to be the ace of that starting rotation. In fact, raise your hand if you predicted in October that the D-backs would be the club throwing $206.5 million at Zack Greinke. Raise your hand if you saw them dropping the No. 1 pick in the country in June, shortstop Dansby Swanson, into a package that brought Shelby Miller. Hmmm. We're not seeing a lot of hands out there. Throw in Tyler Clippard coming out of the Pen as well and you have something to work with in the Desert. Don't get me wrong I think the Dodgers and Giants are still going to be the class of the National League West again, but I think with this new pitching staff that the Diamondbacks have may make them a threat out West to those top powers!

Boston Red Sox
Zach Grenkie and Aroldis Chapman were the two biggest pitching names that were moved over the winter, to the Diamondbacks and Yankees respectively. Next up on the list were David Price and Craig Kimbrel. Funny thing is, both of those guys landed in the exact same place. Do you know what city that happens to be? Yeah, it was those Boston Red Sox. Boston managed to pull off the trick and bring both those guys on board. You bolster that pitching staff a bit more by adding those two guys into the mix, espically when you look at the rotation that now has Price, Clay Buchholz, Rick Porcello, Eduardo Rodriguez, and Joe Kelly, that's a pretty good rotation. And toss Kimbrel into the mix at the back end of the pen with Koji Uehara, its something to watch. There's still some issues that need to get worked out in Bostonm like being able to turn Hanley Ramirez into a real, live major league first baseman. Also, trying to get Pablo Sandoval to hit the gym instead of the dessert buffet is something that needs to be delt with. Getting those two pitchers is a big improvement but there still a little work to be done in Boston. They may still be a contender but aren't quite there yet.

Chicago Cubs
Here's a team who won 97 games a season ago and made it all the way to the National League Championship Series. Now they got better. Chicago has gone out and brought in right fielder Jason Heyward, second baseman/do-everything infielder Ben Zobrist and right-hander John Lackey. In right-handers Trevor Cahill and Adam Warren, who they also brought on board, they've also secured some solid depth for their pitching staff. Now you add some depth into that outfield with Heyward. Zobrist, you can put pretty much anywhere, so that makes him a dual threat. Add Warren into the mix out of the Pen, I'd make the Cubs a strong favorite coming out of the Central

Losers:
St Louis Cardinals
Last year the Cards won the Central for the 3rd year in a row. This year I feel that run is going to stop. They actually may have taken a step backwards during the offseason. Think about it. They lost Jason Heyward and John Lackey to free agency, making matters worse is the fact that they went to the Cubs. Then they got a scary health bulletin on Yadier Molina and Lance Lynn. Lynn has been lost for all of 2016 due to Tommy John surgery, and Yadier had to have a second surgery on his left thumb after the first didn't take. St. Louis' rotation will miss Lynn, and the entire team will suffer if Molina's thumb hinders his catching or hitting. Finally, they ]got outbid for their top free-agent targets, which was the biggest shock. Normally, when the Cards want somebody in free agency they get him. Didn't exactly happen this winter.

Los Angeles Dodgers
I'll give the Dodgers a little credit, they did try. Just didn't try hard enough. They lost out on both David Price (Boston) and Zach Greinke (Arizona)and have had deals for Hisashi Iwakuma and Aroldis Chapman fall apart. Along the way, the best they've been able to do is retain Brett Anderson and Chase Utley and settle for Scott Kazmir in lieu of their top pitching targets. Now lets not fully hit the panic button on the Dodgers, they still have a talent laiden team that has Yasiel Puig, Carl Crawford, Joc Pederson, Andre Ethier, Adrian Gonzalez and Clayton Kershaw. But the reason I consider this a failure is because the Giants and Diamondbacks got a lot better and the Dodgers didn't.

Cincinnati Reds
Cincy was thinking the same thing that the Braves were. By selling bigtime in the offseason, they would be able to rebuild with what they had and the cap space. Atlanta has the talent to possibly do that, but the Reds don't. The first big trade the Reds tried to make would have sent flame-throwing closer Aroldis Chapman to the Dodgers. But that fell apart and as a result, the Reds were forced to trade Chapman to the New York Yankees in a deal that looks like an absolute steal for the Bronx Bombers. The other big trade the Reds have been involved in this winter was the three-team deal that sent third baseman Todd Frazier to the Chicago White Sox and brought back three prospects from the Dodgers. The thinking here and everywhere else is that the Reds got an underwhelming return in that deal too. This team gave away some key pieces and depleted their depth. To make matters worse, they just so happen to play in one of the most talent laiden divisions in all of baseball.

What's Up With The New York Knicks

Just when you thought things couldn't get any stranger with the New York Knicks, they may have. I mean think about it. On January 21st the Knicks were 22-22, and right there in the thick of things in the playoff hunt in the East. Then the wheels have fallen off. Th team has now lost six straight games, and lost ten of their last eleven. New York's lone win in their last eleven games came on January 29th, a 102-84 victory over the Phoenix Suns at the Garden. What was once a positive outlook for the Blue and Orange has turned sour quickly. It cost Derek Fisher his job, Kurt Rambis is coaching the team the rest of the season. To make matters worse, Phil Jackson may also be on his way out the door too.

First, let's start with the coaching shakeup. Derek Fisher had no luck whatsoever here in New York. He went 40-96 as head coach of this basketball team. There were times where you could see the struggles of Fisher making the transition from player to head coach, he had never had any coaching experience before getting hired as Knicks coach before last season. His first year on the job wasn't a good one, New York finished the year 17-65, the 2nd worst record in the East (Philadelphia had the worst). A lot of it had to do with the Knicks had a bad team, and were also trying to implement the new Triangle Offense. So ok you put that to the side. This year, the Knicks get a little bit of talent in the mix and looked like they could be a contender for the final playoff spot. But the wheels fell off and now Fisher is out of a job. There are other factors that had to have gone into the decision I'm sure, but the fact that the team has slumped as bad as it has the last two weeks was good enough reason to let Fisher go.

Kurt Rambis takes over, and the losing continues. Now what do you do if your the Knicks? Rambis will finish the year out running the ship. Depending on how well he does, he may stay on as coach. There are other options on the market as well. If that doesn't work out, I've heard a few other names thrown out there. Names like Luke Walton (current Warriors assistant), Brian Shaw (Ex-Nuggets coach), Tom Thibodeau (ex-Bulls coach), and Mark Jackson just to name a few. Lets be honest, out of who is listed, Tom Thibodeau may be the best fit to coach this team. His five year run as the boss in Chicago shows he can run a team. He made the playoffs every year in Chicago, it didn't result in a title, but still he has the tools and the knowledge to be able to make this thing work. I feel most comfortable with him running the show. The question is, will the triangle stick around?

Reports have come down that Phil Jackson may even consider scrapping the Triangle with the Knicks. Not a bad idea to be honest. Something clearly isn't working with this offense. Its either the system isn't right for this team, or the talent isn't here to make this system work. And besides Phil Jackson may not even still be here next year to see if it works out.

Rumors are floating around that there is a possibility that Phil could be heading back to LA. According to a story in the NY Daily News: "There’s still a strong belief Jackson will eventually find his way to his fiancée Jeanie Buss and the Los Angeles Lakers. Walton will be competing with [Tom] Thibodeau for the Lakers job in the spring, and who knows: Jackson and Walton could be reunited there.” So yeah there's that. Phil does have the option to leave the Knicks at the end of this season, its written in his contract. I give him credit for trying to change the culture here in New York. But the settings and time wasn't right I guess. He could still stick around and see this thing through but who knows. Phil hasn't been making headlines and noise this year in the media like he did last year. This could be a reason why.

There's no way of knowing now what the future really holds for the Knicks. Either way its still a three ring circus!

Broncos Dominate In Big Game

As the old saying goes, defense wins championships. Boy was that saying on display on Sunday in Super Bowl 50! It was a battle between two of the top five defenses in the National Football League during the regular season. Denver had the best defense in the entire league all year long, and it showed up in spades in the game when it really mattered the most. They shut down the highest scoring offense in the entire league in the Carolina Panthers, holding them to just ten points on the afternoon. Cam newton had a rough go of it. Carolina's offense had rolled along all year, then they just happen to run into Von Miller, DeMarcus Ware, Malik Jackson, Wade Phillips and the entire Denver Broncos defense that bruised, battered and eventually beat him in the biggest game of them all.

It was the Broncos' defense, not Peyton Manning and the offense, that was most responsible for Denver's points. A Miller sack and strip of Newton in the first quarter was recovered in the end zone by Jackson to give Denver a 10-0 lead and set the tone that this was a different level than Carolina had seen. The game was capped by another Miller strip of Newton that set the Broncos up on Carolina's 4-yard line. C.J. Anderson scored a few plays later to put it out of reach. Newton was sacked six times, tossed around like rag doll (Yahoo Sports).

Denver got off to a good start setting up for the field goal on their opening drive. Then the defense took over, as mentioned above. After each team punted, Cam Newton appeared to completed a 24-yard pass Jerricho Cotchery, but the call was ruled an incompletion and upheld after a replay challenge. For once the league got the call wrong, even with the review. For anybody who ever followed Jericho Cotchery when he played for the Jets, you know good and well that the guy never ever complained about a pass or a call from the ref unless he was sure that they got it wrong. That's not Cotchery's style to complain, so when he does, it means that somebody got something wrong. Even the TV feed the refs got the call wrong.  Mike Carey came on TV and stated stated he disagreed with the call and felt the review clearly showed the pass was complete.

A few plays later, on 3rd-and-10 from the 15-yard line, linebacker Von Miller knocked the ball out of Newton's hands while sacking him, and Malik Jackson recovered it in the end zone for a Broncos touchdown, giving the team a 10–0 lead. This was the first fumble return touchdown in a Super Bowl since Super Bowl XXVIII at the end of the 1993 season. Carolina then finally looked they would get there offense back on track, thanks to that 9-play, 73-yard scoring drive. Newton completed 4 of 4 passes for 51 yards and rushed twice for 25 yards. Jonathan Stewart finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the score to 10–7 with 11:28 left in the second quarter.

One play that sticks out to me from that first half, was when Broncos receiver Jordan Norwood received Brad Nortman's short 28-yard punt surrounded by Panthers players, but none of them attempted to make a tackle, apparently thinking Norwood had called a fair catch. Norton had not done so, and with no resistance around him, he took off for a Super Bowl record 61-yard return before Mario Addison dragged him down on the Panthers 14-yard line. Despite Denver's excellent field position, they could not get the ball into the end zone, so McManus kicked a 33-yard field goal that increased their lead to 13–7. On Carolina's next possession fullback Mike Tolbert lost a fumble while being tackled by safety Darian Stewart, which linebacker Danny Trevathan recovered on the Broncos 40-yard line. However, the Panthers soon took the ball back when defensive end Kony Ealy tipped a Manning pass to himself and then intercepted it, returning the ball 19 yards to the Panthers 39-yard line with 1:55 left on the clock.

The Panthers could not gain any yards with their possession and had to punt. After a Denver punt, Carolina drove to the Broncos 45-yard line. But with 11 seconds left, Newton was sacked by DeMarcus Ware as time expired in the half. When the 2nd half started, Carolina got the ball back, and had a chance to cut into that Denver lead. Carolina would eventually get the ball back, and thanks to a 12-yard run by Stewart late, it set up Gano's 39-yard field goal. That kick cut the Panthers deficit to one score at 16–10. The next three drives of the game would end in punts. With 4:51 left in regulation, Carolina got the ball on their own 24-yard line with a chance to mount a game-winning drive, and soon faced 3rd-and-9.

On the next play, Miller stripped the ball away from Newton, and after several players dove for it, it took a long bounce backwards and was recovered by Ward, who returned it five yards to the Panthers 4-yard line. Newton would later face heavy criticism for not aggressively going after the ball while it was on the ground. Although several players dove into the pile to attempt to recover it, Newton did not. Meanwhile, Denver's offense was kept out of the end zone for three plays, but a holding penalty on cornerback Josh Norman gave the Broncos a new set of downs. Then Anderson scored on a 2-yard touchdown run and Manning completed a pass to Bennie Fowler for a 2-point conversion, giving Denver a 24–10 lead with 3:08 left and essentially putting the game away. Carolina had two more drives, but failed to get a first down on each one.

Cam Newton finished the day 18 of 41 for 265 yards and a pick, he also ended up rushing the ball 6 times for 45 yards which lead the Panthers. Newton was also sacked six times and fumbled the ball twice, losing the ball both times. That goes to show how good the defense was. Peyton finished the day going 13 of 23 for 141 yards and a pick. He was sacked 5 times as well, so it shows that Carolina too got pressure on the opposing quarterback.

Super Bowl 50 featured numerous records from individuals and teams. Denver won despite being massively outgained in total yards (315 to 194) and first downs (21 to 11). Their 194 yards and 11 first downs were both the lowest totals ever by a Super Bowl winning team. The previous record was 244 yards by the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XXXV. Only seven other teams had ever gained less than 200 yards in a Super Bowl, and all of them had lost. The Broncos seven sacks tied a Super Bowl record set by the Chicago Bears in Super Bowl XX. Kony Ealy tied a Super Bowl record with three sacks. Jordan Norwood's 61-yard punt return set a new record, surpassing the old record of 45 yards set by John Taylor in Super Bowl XXIII. Denver was just 1-of-14 on third down, while Carolina was barely better at 3-of-15. The two teams' combined third down conversion percentage of 13.8 was a Super Bowl low. Manning became the oldest quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl at age 39, and the first quarterback ever to win a Super Bowl with two different teams, while Gary Kubiak became the first coach ever to win a Super Bowl with a team he had played for. Super Bowl XXVIII was also the last time we saw a game in which neither QB provided a touchdown.

Von Miller was named MVP of the Super Bowl!

Super Bowl 50 Preview!

Here. We. Go. The single biggest sporting event of the calendar year is here. Super Bowl Sunday has arrived. Number 50 is set to be one hell of a football game. A battle of the two top seeds in the league to determine who's the best team in all of professional football. Cam Newton leads the Carolina Panthers to Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, to take on Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos. Kickoff is set for Sunday at 6:30PM and the game will be televised on the local CBS stations. Lady Gaga is set to sing the national anthem, while Coldplay, featuring Beyoncé and Bruno Mars will be playing the halftime show. This is the third consecutive year both top seeds reached the Super Bowl. Prior to 2013, that had only happened three times since the NFL adopted the current seeding system and the 12-team playoff format in 1990. So now that the stage is set, lets take a look at how the teams got to this point in the year.

The Denver Broncos finished the season at 12-4, which was good enough to finish in first place in not only the AFC West, but int the whole AFC. Once the playoffs started, Denver beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 23-16 in divisional playoffs and followed that up by beating the New England Patriots 20-18 in AFC Championship Game. Denver is now 23-19 lifetime in post season play. This marks the 8th time that Denver has played in the big dance, but they are 2-5, with their wins coming in 1998 (Superbowl 32 over Green Bay) and 1999 (Superbowl 33 beating Atlanta).

As for the Carolina Panthers, they come in having finished the regular season at 15-1, which was not only good enough for first place in the NFC South but first place in the NFC and the best record in football. Once the playoffs got started, Carolina beat the Seattle Seahawks 31-24 in divisional playoffs, and followed that up by beating the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 in NFC Championship Game. Carolina is now 11-6 lifetime in the post season. This marks the second time ever that Carolina has played in a Superbowl, as they lost Superbowl 38 to the New England Patriots. This will mark the first ever meeting between the teams in the playoffs and they did not face eachother during the regular season.

Now lets break down what's going to go down on Sunday.

If you're the Denver Broncos, to be more specific the Denver Defense, you're going to have a challenge ahead of you bigtime. You haven't faced an offense, or a Quarterback, like this so far. I'll give Denver credit where it's due, they have beaten the likes of Joe Flacco, Teddy Bridgewater, Matthew Stafford, Aaron Rodgers and Jay Cutler to go with two wins over Philip Rivers and two wins over Tom Brady, including in the AFC Championship Game. Cam Newton, however, plays a different style of game, he's way more mobile than any of the other QB's that Denver have faced this year. He can create more plays and expand the play with use of his legs.

Denver has had the best defense in the NFL all season long, you can't deny that. Quarterbacks have avoided throwing to receivers shadowed by Chris Harris Jr. or Aqib Talib, both of whom are Pro Bowl selections. So it makes the pass game a little tough. But again, its dealing with a guy like Cam Newton who's quite mobile, that is going to make this matchup tougher. They have to try everything in their power to be able to contain him. To their credit, Denver has beaten five teams that made this year's playoff field. The Panthers beat just three but none since Nov. 8. Also, the Panthers allowed one 100-yard rusher (Jamaal Charles in Week 2). The Broncos surrendered a league-low 3.3 yards per rushing attempt. So its something to pay attention to, especially with Jonathan Stewart having a big impact like he has the last couple of games.

Carolina isn't a slouch on defense either. They've had the 6th best defense during the regular season, so they can hang with the best of them. Look at the last two weeks of play. The Panthers forced seven in the NFC Championship Game and two in the divisional round. Luke Kuechly had an interception returned for a touchdown in each of those games. He's not a member of what the secondary calls "Thieves Avenue," but he should be. So don't sleep on this defense.

For good reason, the offense has been what's been getting talked about most coming out of Carolina. The Broncos haven't faced a running quarterback like Newton all season. Newton had 10 rushing touchdowns during the regular season and two more in the NFC Championship Game. He won't be fazed by the league's best defense. He helped put up 31 points on Seattle's second-ranked defense in the first half of the divisional playoff game. He led Carolina to a rout of Arizona, which had the league's 5th ranked defense, in the NFC title game. With the way the offensive line and receivers are playing around Newton, he is almost impossible to stop.

So with all that being said, as much as I love Peyton, I have to go with Carolina here! I just think the Panthers are too good and too well rounded a team for Denver to handle. I'd love to see Peyton ride off into the sunset with a title, but I think this is the year of the Panthers.

Pick: Carolina 27 Denver 17

NHL First Half Recap

Mid season has arrived for the National Hockey League. Now that the All-Star break has come to an end, teams are getting ready to return to hockey after a much needed rest. The first half of the season, though, was a lot of fun to watch. I mean look at what's happened around the league so far this year. We have 43 year old Jaromir Jagr being very productive for the Panthers, Florida and Chicago each had 12 game winning streaks. Montreal has hit a tailspin. Patrick Kane was hotter than a wild fire for a two month stretch. Teams are showing up out of nowhere to become contenders and some players have had seasons, at least to this point that have been below par. Streaks, records being set and a whole lot more has gone down in the first half of the year. So let's now take a brief look back at some of what has already gone down in the National Hockey League this season.

Here's what the standings look like right now as we hit the break:
ATLANTIC
1. FLORIDA 29-15-5 63pts
2. TAMPA BAY 27-18-4 58pts
3. DETROIT 25-16-8 58pts
4. BOSTON 26-18-5 57pts
5. MONTRÉAL 24-22-4 52pts
6.OTTAWA 23-21-6 52pts
7. BUFFALO 20-26-4 44pts
8. TORONTO 17-22-9 43pts

METROPOLITAN
1. WASHINGTON 35-8-4 74pts
2. NY RANGERS 27-17-5 59pts
3. NY ISLANDERS 25-16-6 56pts
4. PITTSBURGH 24-17-7 55pts
5. NEW JERSEY 25-20-5 55pts
6. CAROLINA 23-20-8 54pts
7. PHILADELPHIA 21-18-8 50pts
8. COLUMBUS 19-27-5 43pts

CENTRAL
1. CHICAGO 33-16-4 70pts
2. DALLAS 31-14-5 67pts
3. ST. LOUIS 28-16-8 64pts
4. COLORADO 27-22-3 57pts
5. NASHVILLE 24-18-8 56pts
6. MINNESOTA 23-17-9 55pts
7. WINNIPEG 22-24-3 47pts

PACIFIC
1. LOS ANGELES 30-16-3 63pts
2. SAN JOSE 26-18-4 56pts
3. ARIZONA 24-20-5 53pts
4. ANAHEIM 22-18-7 51pts
5. VANCOUVER 20-19-11 51pts
6. CALGARY 21-24-3 45pts
7. EDMONTON 19-26-5 43pts

We've had a few record setting numbers put up in the first half. First off there's Patrick Kane and his 26 game point streak, something we haven't seen since Sidney Crosby's 25 game point streak in 2010. Then you have both the Florida Panthers (Dec. 15-Jan 10) and the Chicago Blackhawks (Dec 29-Jan 19) each had 12 game winning streaks. Jaromir Jagr, who is going to be 44 years old in a couple of weeks, is 2nd on the Florida Panthers in scoring with 33 points, on behind team leader Jonathan Huberdeau. Jagr is 43 years old. Panthers teammate Aleksander Barkov had not even been born when Jagr won his first scoring title, while Aaron Ekblad was born on the night when Jagr scored his 200th goal. So the fact that Jagr is still producing big-time numbers, 15 goals and 33 points in 46 games, is sort of difficult to comprehend. He has been a key part in the Panthers’ climb to the top of the Atlantic Division. We only hope that he has saved more in the tank, because we not only want to see Florida make a long playoff push, but also for Jagr to keep playing for another two, maybe three, years (Sun Sports).

We've seen a new record set in the first half. Alexander Ovechkin has now scored more goals than any other Russian born hockey player. On November 19,  Ovechkin scored in a 3-2 loss to the Dallas Stars, the goal broke Fedorov's record. On January 10, 2016, Ovechkin scored his 500th and 501st goals in a 7-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators, becoming the 43rd player to reach the 500-goal plateau, and the fifth-fastest player to do so.

We have more good going around the league right now. The NHL hasn't had somebody score more than 115 points in a year since 2007 when Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins finished with 120 points in his second season. It's been almost a decade, but the way things are going, Patrick Kane could be the one to do it. Right now he's projected to pass that 115-point finish. He's already tied his career high in goals with 30 (which he first set in 2009-10) and he has 73 points. Both of those numbers just so happen to lead the NHL right now! Then you have to mention some of the young guns in this league this year. It sucks that Conor McDavid has been hurt most of the year, denying fans a chance to see a real special talent. But we have had some studs this year: Jack Eichel of Buffalo, Dylan Larkin of Detroit, Artemi Panarin of Chicago, Max Domi and Anthony Duclair of Arizona are just some of the rookies who have been lighting it up this year.

But wait there's more. You're also going to have a few duds this year too. Phil Kessel was supposed to take the Pens to another level. Well, its been 48 games in the Steel City and he's got 15 goals, a number that's a little low for a guy of his talent level. Same thing for Sid the Kid. Sure he has 43 points (2nd on the Pens to the 47 of Evgeni Malkin) but for a guy of his talent level, he should have had at least 60 points by now. Sticking with the idea of total duds this year, how about Ryan Getzlaf. Three goals to this point on the year. THREE. That MIGHT possibly explain why the Ducks are sitting on the outside looking in at the playoffs right now. You also have to remember this was a team that was the best team in the Western Conference just last year.

Finally, there have been a few other notable milestones hit during the regular season. We already talked about Ovechkin hitting the 500 goal mark. On November 21, Patrick Marleau of the Sharks scored his 1,000th career point, becoming the 83rd player in league history to reach this milestone. Then, on November 27, Arizona Coyotes coach Dave Tippett won his 500th game, becoming the 22nd coach in league history to reach this milestone. Once the calender changed over, a pretty exclusive club had a new member. On January 4, Jarome Iginla of Colorado scored his 600th NHL goal, becoming the 19th player in league history to reach this milestone. Chicago Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville hit rarefied air on January 14th. That's the night Coach Q won his 783rd game, surpassing Al Arbour to become the second winningest coach in league history. On January 21, Daniel Sedin of Vancouver scored his 347th NHL goal, surpassing Markus Naslund for most goals in franchise history. Finally, on January 26, Joe Thornton of the Sharks scored his 1,300th career point, becoming the 33rd player in league history to reach this milestone.

That's pretty much the long and the short of what's been an entertaining first half of the NHL season. If that's been any indication, we are in for one hell of a finish to the regular season!

NHL All Star Weekend A Success

For a long time now, the National Hockey League has been looking for a way to improve the midseason all star game. Lets face facts, the last few years the All Star Game hasn't been much fun to watch. The Skills Competition is on another level by itself, most fans think that is the most enjoyable part of all star weekend and usually it is. As for the game, well we can't really say the same thing lately. They've gone with a battle of the conferences, they've tried North America against the World, hell they've gone with fantasy drafts the last few seasons. Lets face facts, it had grown stagnant, looked uninspired and often failed to live up to the hype. In recent years it has really looked like one big shoot around, as nobody was really playing hard (nobody wants to get hurt in an exhibition game which is understandable). That was not the case this time around. Oh no, this year we had a different story. There was flow to the game, there was buzz in the building all night long. There was excitement. Sure the game was a joy to watch, but so too was John Scott.

The Pacific Division took home the All-Star crown in the first-ever 3-on-3 tournament. Their captain, the guy that has gotten all of the attention, both in a positive way and in a negative way as well to a degree, leading up to this event was the MVP. John Scott is, and was, the single biggest reason this is an All-Star game we will never forget. Scott wasn't even included as an option for the fans to select in the fan vote for MVP. Instead, he won by write in. He's a trending topic on Twitter, everything about him and now this game is going viral across the sports world. Of all people, the guy with 11 career points who will go back to the American Hockey League's St. John's IceCaps (in Newfoundland, Canada) after all this is over was the one who made this game relevant again.

Lets look at that fact first shall we. John Scott really isn't a guy many people would see belonging in a game like this. When people think of All Star games in the four big pro sports, they think of skill and finesse players. John Scott isn't one of those guys, as he's really made a living in pro hockey as an enforcer. Then again, All Star games are supposed to be an exhibition so eh what the hell right. John had really started getting support from fans and players alike. Ever since Scott penned his piece in the Players' Tribune last week, he became a sympathetic figure. He detailed how the league tried to get him to back out and how the Coyotes trading him seemed a little suspicious. So the league let him back in the game (a screwup the league made from the start and had egg on its face the whole time), and he walked away with MVP after scoring a pair of goals in the game.

As for the game itself, most people never really take the All Star game seriously, which hockey players are no different. This new format that the league tried did make things a little better. Players still didn't take it totally seriously, but it was just enough to improve the quality of the game. The first two semifinals were great. The opening game came with Atlantic earning a close 4-3 game. The lower score was actually kind of cool, its something you don't really think of when you hear all star games, at least not as of late. Look no further than last year's All-Star Game, which ended in a 17-12 score. A game like that got boring to watch, it was so bad that I didn't even really watch the 2nd half of the game that's how bad it was.

The second semifinal had a lot more action, with a 9-6 score and Scott stealing the show. Then we had the championship game, where it was the goalies putting on an absolute show. Roberto Luongo and Jonathan Quick made some acrobatic saves to make the low scoring game remain fun, especially if you like goalies. Ben Bishop and John Gibson pretty much did the same thing, with Corey Perry getting the only goal on a perfect shot. The players played. That's all you could really ask for. It wasn't overly awe-inspiring, but it wasn't in the least bit boring. That's a big change from recent years. The new format for the game was kinda cool and the John Scott story made it even better!

By the time all was said and down, the crowd was chanting "MVP! MVP!" for John Scott. His teammates lifted him up on their shoulders. He was the People's Champion.