Good Morning...It's Monday February 1, 2010..
Welcome to the shortest month of the year, that rarely feels like the shortest month of the year.
CONFERENCE CUPCAKE
Jordan Crawford scored 23 points and Jamel McLean and Kenny Frease ruled inside as Xavier crushed Fordham Sunday 108-60. Crawford was seven of eleven from the field, a lot of those were drives to the basket. McLean had 16 points and Frease scored 14. The two big guys accounted for 15 rebounds.
HOME COOKING
Xavier has won its last 21 home games, the fifth longest active streak in Division I basketball.
THAT CHAMPIONSHIP SEASON
I would have loved to be in Columbus on Sunday because Ohio State honored one of my favorite teams of all time, and I've never been much of an Ohio State fan. But as a kid, I really took an interest in their NCAA championship team of 1960. Every kid knew who Jerry Lucas was. We all tried to shoot hook shots like him. None of us could spell John Havlicek, but we learned it years later when he starred for the Celtics. Bobby Knight wasn't well-known until years later when he became a great coach. Mel Nowell and Larry Siegfried were other Bucks who went on to play in the NBA.
THE COACH AND THE COACH
Bobby Knight spoke on behalf of the late Fred Taylor, the coach of those Buckeyes. A banner was unfurled from the rafters, celebrating Taylor's teams that won seven Big Ten titles, and four trips to the Final Four. There was a delay as the banner was revealed, prompting Knight to crack: "I thought we had a referee involved for a minute."
The crowd roared.
HOW GOOD WAS THAT TEAM?
Four members of that team are in the Basketball Hall of Fame. Taylor and Knight are in the coaches wing, while Lucas(who starred at Middletown) and Havlicek were selected as players. Lucas and Hondo were selected among the NBA's 50 greatest players ever in 1997. All five starters played in the NBA. That's a pretty good college team.
LET'S NOT FORGET
Ohio State also advanced to the national championship games in 1961 and 1962, but lost both games to the University of Cincinnati under Ed Jucker.
OH...I ALMOST FORGOT
The 2010 Buckeyes beat Minnesota 85-63. The Bucks are 16-6, 6-3 in the Big Ten
SUNDAY DRIBBLES
...South Florida upset #17 Pittsburgh 70-61
...Former Lakota East star James Dews had 21 as Miami beat Virginia Tech 82-75
CONGRATULATIONS
To the girls from Newport Central Catholic who won the Kentucky All "A" Classic on Sunday. They beat Louisville Holy Cross in the finals.
SHORING UP SHORT
The Reds have signed shortstop Orlando Cabrera according to MLB.com. Cabrera is 35, but last year with the A's and the Twins, he batted .284 with nine home runs and 77 rbi's.
THE PLUCK OF THE IRISHSt. X quarterback Luke Massa, who had verbally committed to play football at UC, has decided to follow Brian Kelly to Notre Dame instead. I talked with Luke on Sunday night and he says he liked Notre Dame's tradition, the Catholic education and he was comfortable in the setting. He also said he believes in Brian Kelly.
ALL OFFENSE, NOT MUCH DEFENSE
That sizes up what we saw in the Pro Bowl on Sunday night in Miami. There's never much hitting in these games, but players seemed to go out of their way to avoid collisions on Sunday. Blocking was more of an escort service. There was a lot of swinging and missing when it came to chasing the quarterback.
THE BOTTOM LINE
The AFC won 41-34 as Matt Schaub of Houston threw for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He was the MVP.
WHAT ABOUT CHAD
Mr Ochocinco caught four passes including a 40-yard reception. He had a few drops including a couple of potential touchdowns. He didn't kick, after practicing all week. "That's okay, it was fun anway" said Chad.
WAS IT A SUCCESS?
If you judge it by ticket sales, I guess it was. The crowd of nearly 71,000 was the largest since the 1959 game in LA. Half the crowd was gone by the third quarter. But it was raining and temperatures had dipped into the 60's.
SUPER BOWL COUNTDOWN
Now we get to Super Bowl week. The big story to start the week is the health of Colts defensive end Dwight Freeney. He's been hobbled by an ankle sprain. But a couple of reports surfaced Sunday that said his injury is more serious, and ESPN.com said he has a torn ligament.
SHORT STOPS
...The Cleveland Cavaliers set a franchise record with 46 points in the first quarter against the Clippers. Lebron James had 23 first quarter points.
...Yahoo Sports reports that Hornets guard Chris Paul needs knee surgery and will be out for one to two months.
...Action Express Racing won the 24 Hours of Daytona on Sunday. It was the team's first appearance in the endurance race.
...Roger Federer won his 16th grand slam title on Sunday by taking the Australian Open.
....Ben Crane won the Farmers Insurance Open at Torrey Pines with a closing round of 70. He finished 13-under par.
BELATED BIRTHDAY WISHES
To my wonderful sister Margaret. I was the youngest of three boys, she was the youngest of three girls, so we had something in common. But we also still love the Cleveland Indians. How many people can claim that? Her birthday was Sunday
THE MEIJER MINDBENDER
Each week I'll pose a trivia question on Meijer Sports of All Sorts, and we'll repeat that question in this newsletter for a few days. If you know the answer, go to WCPO.com, click on Contest and register to play The Meijer Mindbender. From the correct entrants, we'll pick a winner at random each week. That winner gets a $50 Meijer gift card.
THIS WEEK'S QUESTION
This week in 1980, I hit the first 3-point shot in the history of the NBA All-Star game. Who am I?
IF YOU KNOW THE ANSWER
Go to WCPO.com. Click on Contests and register to play. I'll be announcing the winner next Sunday night. We'll have a new question every Sunday on Sports of All Sorts. And I'll repeat that question in this newsletter
POPO, I'LL JUST SEND YOU THE ANSWER
Sorry, that won't work with this contest. You have to go to wcpo.com.
Hope this is the start of a good week for you...and for me. See you on TV
Popo
