So having the last name does have its benefits

Still, if the game is close and the old Colts have the ball, do not count out Manning.Pick: Indianapolis Sunday’s Games Dallas Cowboys vs. right? Well, with the Mets already signing Jason Bay, and I predict (and hope) that they will sign Bengie Molina, and then my other 2 pitching predictions, I think they'll be done this off-season... Struggling with a groin injury all year, Scifres has lost a significant amount of leg strength. The Los Angeles Lakers continued their misery in Portland by dropping their ninth consecutive game to the Trail Blazers in the Rose Garden, but were able to retain their league-best record due to losses by the rest of the NBA's top contenders.It was a strange night indeed, which saw Boston lose to Atlanta, Orlando lose to Washington, and Cleveland lose to Denver, with all those losses coming on the road.For the Lakers it was their third consecutive road loss in a city in which the Lakers have been unsuccessful since the season of 2008, a streak so long that Laker coach Phil Jackson was able to find humor in it.Jackson said he usually looks at the schedule and marks an "L" in the loss column whenever he sees a road game against the Blazers, and his team re-inforced his premonition by playing as if the game were already lost.The Lakers prolonged their longest road streak to any team in the NBA by losing the battle in almost every category in the stat book, and counted the days to the return of injured forward Pau Gasol.Both teams played short-handed, but the effort Portland mustered without their top two centers in Greg Oden and Joe Przybilla was great, while forward Nicholas Batum was impressive.They out-shot the Lakers 50 percent to 43 percent, out-rebounded them 42 to 38, had more assists, a better free-throw percentage, and guard Jerryd Bayless out scored the entire Laker bench 21 points to 10.It was a thoroughly dominant performance and it left the Lakers with no answers to a stream of very familiar questions pertaining to their inability to defend the perimeter, and the continued inconsistent play of center Andrew Bynum.Los Angeles didn't have a player capable of staying in front of Bayless and Bynum gave another un-inspired performance in the post on a night in which he was set up to rule the paint.It could be due to the Lakers' inability to get the ball to Bynum as he had only 13 attempts from the field on a night which saw the Lakers shoot only 10 shots from the charity stripe while Portland managed 39.The discrepancy would leave room to question the officiating, but the Lakers left little space for that as they strangely reverted to a jump-shooting team when their obvious advantage was in the paint.Kobe Bryant did score 32 points but it took him 37 shots to get it and he only attempted four shots from the free-throw line, while counter-part Brandon Roy scored the same amount of points on 11 attempts and 14 shots from the charity stripe.The Lakers reluctance to go to Bynum in the post may be more of a trust issue since that can be the only explanation for Los Angeles failing to take advantage of Bynum's pairing against smaller players in LaMarcus Aldridge and Juwon Howard.The Lakers desperately need the hamstrung Gasol back and Jackson indicated he may make his return in Sunday's home game against the Milwaukee Bucks, and it can't come soon enough.Rebounding is usually a strong point for the Lakers but on this night they failed to block out, were slow to recover on long shots, and allowed the smaller Trail Blazers to establish position in the post.The final score should have been worse than 107-98, as the Blazers held leads as large as 20 points, but the Lakers were able to muster a run in the fourth quarter which made the final margin more respectable.There was nothing respectable about the lack of effort on the part of the Lakers, and their reserves made matters worse with a totally useless performance when their energy was needed the most.To only manage 10 points through the course of an entire game is a travesty, and although Jackson is reluctant to tinker with the roster this late in the season, he should explore thepossibilities of a move.Under no circumstances should one player out-perform an entire bench, and it's not like Bayless lit up the scoreboard, it's just the Lakers had no one with the ability or willingness to match him.So the road woes of a normally strong road team continue and the Lakers find themselves mired in their second losing streak of the season after suffering their fifth loss away from the Staples Center.Actually, their fourth loss away from Staples since the last game was against the Clippers, but the crowd and the court were changed to reflect the blue and red of the other Los Angeles team.Even though the Lakers were able to maintain the league's best record in the midst of defeat, they can find little solace in that fact since it was largely due to default, as the rest of the NBA's elite fell victim to a black Friday. .

To be honest, it developed and survives due to two major factors: • A history rich with memorable games throughout the years • Each city has a huge and devote fan base. I'm going to lay all my cards out on the table right now.I am not a Mike Milbury fan.For as good as a player that he was he was a terrible General Manager for the New York Islanders, and even though it is hard to believe he might just be a worse commentator for NBC when it comes to hockey.He seems to have this aura about him that he just doesn't like European hockey players. A prime example for those of you in our Nation's capitol, his constant back handed compliments for Washington Capitals' star Alexander Ovechkin and his complete fawning over Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby.However I'm not here to talk about Sid the Kid versus Alexander the Great and whether or not Milbury has it out for Alex, ask any Caps fan and they will surely tell you he does.No, I'm here to talk about his comments towards European hockey teams.After last night embarrassing loss to team Canada, Milbury said they had no fire and "brought their Eurotrash game here".Shoot even before that he compared the German team to fire hydrants being peed on.As I said before, I'm not a fan of his, and even if I was or at the very least indifferent I'd be disgusted with his comments.I have always believed that as a commentator for a national broadcast you should remain impartial.Sure we all have teams we love to root for and would find it hard not to if any of us were given the chance to be up in the booth. However, being in that booth means that you are a professional and should act as such. Calling a team "Eurotrash" (or at least their game) or saying that a team is a hydrant and is getting peed on certainly isn't a sign of professionalism.I don't wish for anyone to be fired (though I've seen many comments on throughout the internet that think he should be), but I think someone from NBC should have a sit down with him and show him some of his comments. And explain to him why he can't say these things.Maybe that person should be Al Michaels. If you have the ability to go back and watch the entire 1980 Miracle on Ice game you won't hear one derogatory statement about the USSR team, even though the Soviets were the biggest thorn in the United States' side.Why?'Cuz Michaels is a professional and knows how to call a fantastic game without letting personal bias leak in.Whether it's a dislike for European hockey players or something else I hope for Mike's sake he figures it out and watches his tongue, or else he'll be watching a lot of hockey from his couch.. Kudos to them for winning and not losing, but I for one am not sold. Also, it was nice to see the Jets finally not blowing their fans hopes by coming up with the win in the must-win game, a win that has avoided them in recent years. The Giants and the Jets records are only separated by 1 game, but with the Jets ending the last undefeated team’s run, beating the Pats, and finally making the season really worthwhile by making the playoffs, it leaves the Giants fans feeling a little more than just one game worse This article is also featured on Sports Radio NY.

The offense was patient and productive against one the league's toughest defenses. And the age old argument that "The stats don't lie" often fails to address the 3rd down conversion rate, as well as the "vs. No official word on who's starting for the Bruins, though rookie sensation Tuukka Rask is coming off a 18 save shutout against the Thrashers on Wednesday. That is why the running game has always been what works in Cleveland.Chicago went out last year and made the blockbuster trade for Jay Cutler to get afranchise quarterback.

Such flirtation must have been a huge lure for Coyle, but he stayed loyal to the cause at Burnley.He had a job to do.Halfway into the season, and that job was only half done. Outfielder Jim Edmonds has been busy trying to convince the St. Again, the Cavs big men (Shaquille O'Neal and Zydrunas Ilgauskas) aren't quick enough laterally to keep up when either of Boston's bigs set a pick for Paul Pierce.But with Jawad Williams on the court, he can match up with Rasheed Wallace and is quick enough to hedge out on the screen and recover. Open champion Juan MartinDel Potro experienced a third-set hiccup against scrappy American Michael Russell, defeating his unseeded opponent 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.Entering the year's first major with a slight wrist injury,Del Potro's shot-gun forehand and improved service speed aided him in leading two sets-to-love.Russell's never say die attitude rose to the occasions in set three, scoring a mid-set break to force a fourth set.However,Del Potro's wherewithal dominated the fourth set, striking a 136 mph serve the fastest of the Championships while gaining a commanding 4-1 lead.Breaking Russell's serve to reach the second round,Del Potro's remained alive in his quest to capture a second straight Slam title.At this stage of the event, it's far too early to gauge the status ofDel Potro's injury.The weather at Melbourne Park was cooler than normal on Monday, enabling the Argentine to avoid heat-related issues.The closed roof also aidedDel Potro in serving 21 aces a stat he may not be able to duplicate under the sun.Nevertheless, the juggernaut from Tandil will now await the challenge of either James Blake or Arnaud Clement in round two.Del Potro told reporters after his victory that his wrist was on the rebound."Well, of course, I don't feel 100 percent, but I am feel better than yesterday, and I hope be better for tomorrow, for Wednesday, in my next match," said the No 4 seed.No. Payton led the Saints to a great season and can be given a lot of credit for hiring Gregg Williams as defensive coordinator.Runner up: Jim Caldwell,Indianapolis Colts Comeback PlayerWhile many will want to give this award to Tom Brady, I'm going to go with the underdog. He also said he is "completely healed" from the two concussions he suffered this past season. So, having the last name does have its benefits.Robert Gardner: As an amateur, how difficult is it for you to balance your training schedule with your career?Larry Mir: At first it was really tough, but my job at the TV station is pretty lenient on my lunch hours.