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If you are one of those people that prefer the round ball over the oblong ball then Thanksgiving day is for you. A total of four games will be available on the ESPN family of networks. One of the most intriguing games features two teams that have started off well, and hope to keep it up in conference play. The South Carolina Gamecocks (2-0) will square off against the Penn State Nittany Lions (1-0). You might know these teams more for their prowess on the football field, but in the last couple of years they have also enjoyed some success on the court. Senior guard Geary Claxton scored 23 points in the season opener against St. Francis PA. Locals are expecting big things from this kid. Any help they can get to help them in the tough Big Ten conference is a plus. The Gamecocks have shown an explosive offense in their first two games of the year. They scored 92 on South Carolina St and 103 on The Citadel. While those two teams are hardly spectacular, the rate of them filling up the bucket like that is. South Carolina has six players scoring ten points or more, led by 17.5 from guard Devan Downey. Usually I favor the home team on games played on holidays, but because of the offensive power of the Gamecocks I’ll pick them in a semi-upset.

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The final NFL game on turkey day features the defending Super Bowl champions the Indianapolis Colts on the road against the Atlanta Falcons. The Falcons will either come into this game the loser of an unprecedented three games in a row, or the winner of one in a row. The Colts, for the first time in a long time, lost back to back games to the Patriots and the Chargers. They are also dealing with a whole slew of injuries that have left many wondering if the Colts will even be able to make a serious run at defending their championship status.

Peyton Manning threw a career high six interceptions in the Colts loss to the Chargers, so his numbers may seem a little skewed. Many people would be pretty shocked if Manning ever comes close to those marks again. In fact, he is one of the better quarterbacks when it comes to rebounding after a bad game. He has passed for 16 touchdowns, and is on pace for yet another season over 4000 yards passing. The injury that may hurt the team the most is that of their biggest defensive star, Dwight Freeney. On November 14th, it was announced he would be placed on the season ending injury list because of his foot. Other star players that are dealing with injuries are multiple time Pro Bowler Marvin Harrison, top tight end Dallas Clark, and emerging wide receiver Anthony Gonzalez.

The Atlanta Falcons will enter this game in the exact opposite fashion of the Colts. They will either be on a three game winning streak or on a one game slide. The Falcons have had an interesting season. They entered it knowing that their superstar Michael Vick would be unable to join them because of his ongoing legal troubles. But, they have played tough in nearly every game, including winning some games they weren’t expected to win. One of those wins was last week, against the Carolina Panthers. Interestingly enough, the quarterback who led his team to the last two victories, Joey Harrington, is being rumored to be replaced by Byron Leftwich, a move Harrington said he finds shocking. It should come as a bit of a shock, because Harrington has been playing well lately. We will see how this plays out over the next couple of weeks. Because of this quarterback merry go round it’s hard to guess who will be leading the team on Thanksgiving Day.

This should appear as an easy victory for the Colts, but the Falcons are getting their shot at them at the right time. The Colts are struggling a bit, and the birds get to play them at home. With all of that I still think Peyton Manning and company finds away to get past Atlanta in a closer than expected game. I’m thinking something like 31-27.

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A lot of rivalries allow us to take records out of consideration, but these two teams have pretty decent records as well. The Cowboys are tied for the second best record in the league with Green Bay, and of course right behind the undefeated New England Patriots. The Redskins are 5-4 but they could be so much better. They have held a lead going into fourth quarter in eight of their nine games, with the exception being the beatdown they receiving against the Patriots. The Redskins once again blew a fourth quarter lead to the Philadelphia Eagles, before losing a heartbreaker 33-25. With the Giants and Lions losing though, the Redskins are still in the thick of things when it comes to an NFL playoff birth.

After struggling for quite a while, the Clinton Portis of old has shown up, running for over 100 yards the last two games. He is averaging 4.2 yards per carry and has found the end zone six times. Prior to the Philly game, the Redskins had been unable to complete a single touchdown pass to a wide receiver. That changed when quarterback Jason Campbell found James Thrash twice in the end zone. But, Thrash’s good game was ruined by an ankle injury. He joins Santana Moss with receivers having injuries on the Redskins. It is unsure which players will be able to suit up for the Redskins against the Cowboys, but being a meaningful game my guess is that they will both do everything they can to get onto the field.

Tony Romo continues to light up the field for the Dallas Cowboys. If it wasn’t for that quarterback in New England, I think his name is Brady, he could be considered an NFL MVP candidate. Romo already has over 2500 yards passing and 23 touchdown passes. Eight of those passes have gone to Terrell Owens, who despite getting a little older, is still among the top wide receivers in the league. Running back Marion Barber III is also becoming the number one option, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. He has also found the end zone six times. When Barber runs he shows a brute force that is hardly matched by any other player in the league. With him, the play isn’t over until you see him on the turf for good. Another player enjoying a career year is tight end Jason Witten. Witten has 47 catches for five touchdowns.

This is a tough game for the Washington Redskins. They have to travel to Dallas and they are coming off a game that they could have won. The Cowboys-Redskins match-up always seems to be close though, making it very hard to predict. In the past few years the Cowboys have dominated the series, with the Redskins sneaking in a victory every now and then. The Cowboys are rolling though, and I’m not sure the Redskins defense can stop them. With that, I think the Cowboys may win this one a little more easily then they have in the past. I’m predicting a score of 31-17.

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This event will go down in history for the UFC. Not only does it pit two undefeated fighters looking for the next big break in their career, but it also features winners from UFC’s reality series “The Ultimate Fighter” squaring off for the first time. Michael “The Count” Bisping sports a record of 15-0, while opponent “Sugar” Rashad Evans has won 15 of his 16 fights with the one blemish being a draw. The winner of this “first of its kind” fight will most likely find themselves in great position to fight light-heavyweight champion, and a man that has been on an unprecedented “Rampage” through the UFC, Quinton Jackson.

Bisping won the third season of “The Ultimate Fighter,” and has shown his success has been no fluke, as he continues to rise up the rankings. Since beating Josh Haynes in the finale of “The Ultimate Fighter,” Bisping has been on three UFC cards. At UFC 66, he defeated Eric Schafer by a TKO is the first round. In his second fight he would have to go two rounds in order to beat Elvis Sinosic, also by TKO. After his victory against Sinosic at UFC 70, he would next face his toughest challenge to that time at UFC 75, Matt Hamill. Hamill had only had three rights, but he was also a challenger on the same season of the show as Bisping. Bisping was able to eek out a split decision victory over Hamill, further propelling him up the rankings and popularity charts. What should be noted about Bisping is that he had previous experience in MMA before his UFC days. While those fights were in generally small arenas against people many fans have never heard of, it ultimately helped in his development, giving him fighting experience. He’ll need all he has learned in the past when he steps into the ring against Evans.

Evans won the second season of “The Ultimate Fighter” when he defeated Brad Imes by a split decision. Much like Bisping, Evans also had some previous fighting experience prior to the start of his UFC career, although, not quite as much. While it is sometimes hard to judge exactly how many fights one has had due to certain organizations not existing anymore and things like that, it is apparent Evans had at least a handful of fights. Evans first victory after his win was Imes was also a split decision victory, this time coming over Sam Hoger. Believe it or not, his next fight was also a decision, this time a majority decision victory over long time fighter Steven Bonnar. Finally, at UFC 63 he recorded a KO victory against Jason Lambart. Following this fight he also stopped Sean Salmon, before finally being unlucky in the scorecards with a draw against UFC legend Tito Ortiz. One day the lucky decisions may run out for Evans, but against a tough striker like Bisping it might not even make it that far.

Despite the abundance of close decisions on his record Evans has beat the better competition. That is most likely the reason that he is currently a little more than a two to one favorite.

The under card is also very solid, with a lot of contenders that could be the next wave of UFC superstars. Thiago Silva takes on Houston Alexander, Joe Doerksen challenges Ed Herman and filling out the main part of the under card is the tough Ryo Chonan taking on game Karo Parisyan.

Tune in this Saturday for one of the best UFC cards of the year, only on PPV.

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The LA Lakers have gotten off to a decent start, which is more than some expected of them. Many think that if the Lakers are even to make the playoffs The LA Lakers have gotten off to a decent start, which is more than some expected of them. Many think that if the Lakers are even to make the playoffs this season it will be a miracle. But, don’t tell that to Kobe Bryant. Bryant is averaging over 30 points per game, and is also leading the team in assists, with five a game, showing he’s more than just a point scorer. Power forward Lamar Odom is averaging 10 rebounds a game as well, so Kobe is getting a little help from his supporting cast. He’ll need all the help from his teammates at the one loss Pistons will come to town on Friday. The Pistons one loss came as a bit of a surprise to the one win Bulls, but they have rebounded well. The Pistons are once again playing very solid defense, out scoring their opponents by over 60 points on the season. Richard Hamilton is scoring 20 points per game to lead the offense. Hamilton is usually known as a second option, but has stepped up this year, as his teammates start to show a little sign of wearing down after more than a few years of NBA service. This game will be the fourth of five west coast games for the Pistons, so wear and tear might start to be an issue here. I think I will take the Bryant and the Lakers in a mini-upset.

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A day after facing the Mavericks in Dallas the San Antonio Spurs will return home to take on a very good Houston Rockets team.  The Rockets are being led by first year coach Rick Aldelman.  Aldelman is well known among NBA fans for his creative offenses that revolve around good high-post players.  Unsure if center Yao Ming would fit this mold going into the season, it’s worked so far.  Because of his accurate passing, Tracy McGrady is leading the team with 27.3 points per game.  McGrady has always been a top scorer, but has failed to go deep into the playoffs in any of his previous seasons.  The duo of Ming and McGrady have fans believing this could be their year.  In order to make it their year they will have to get through the team who has a lot of good years, the San Antonio Spurs.  The Spurs have all of their championship pieces back from last year, including Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, and Tony Parker.  The new look Boston Celtics may have their big three, but this big three has already proven their worth.  Both teams are in a very busy stretch of their schedules so it’s hard to predict how much energy these teams will bring into this one.  I favor the Spurs in this one because their offense is a little slower pace while the Rockets are in the middle of revamping their offense to a more up tempo pace, meaning the fatigue may hurt them more. 

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A week after the “Mid-Year Super Bowl,” won by the New England Patriots over the Indianapolis Colts, the NFL season returns back to earth a little bit.  But, that doesn’t mean it isn’t bringing some good games with them in the process.  The Dallas Cowboys and the New York Giants will meet to determine who will be top dog in the NFC East.  With the Washington Redskins nipping on their heels at 5-3, every win, especially one against a divisional foe, is important in this talent laden division. 

After dropping the first two games of the season, the Giants have won six games in a row.  They are returning from a bye week, but they needed the rest.  Prior to that they traveled across the Atlantic to meet the Miami Dolphins in the first regular season game played outside the USA in the history of the NFL.  The Giants won that won against the no win Miami Dolphins, but it was a lot tougher then expected, sneaking out of there with a 13-10 win.  Nevertheless, they got the job done, and will be happy to be playing at home this week.  Leading the Giants is quarterback Eli Manning.  Manning is off to a so-so start, completing 58.2 percent of his passes with 13 TD’s and nine interceptions.  His completion percentage is actually about four percent up from his career average, but if they want to make a serious run in the playoffs they will need better performance than that.  Since Tiki Barber retired somewhat unexpectedly last year the Giants have had a void at running back.  But Brandon Jacobs and Derrick Ward have filled in nicely, compiling almost nearly identical stats.  Both players are right at 450 yards rushing for the year, and have five touchdowns each.

The Cowboys continue to roll, losing only once to the undefeated New England Patriots.  Quarterback Tony Romo is fresh off a new deal that will keep him in Dallas for a long time, and is already coming close to breaking some of Troy Aikman’s records, including most 300 yard passing games in a Cowboy uniform (8). Romo’s 100.4 quarterback rating consists of 19 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.  Romo has also done well keeping plays alive on his feet.  While he doesn’t have a lot of yards rushing, he is able to run out of the pocket, trying to find an open player.  Usually that open player has been Terrell Owens.  Owens is his usual productive self, catching 44 balls for six touchdowns.  The biggest story of the year has been tight end Jason Witten.  Witten has 45 catches for five touchdowns, among the best for tight ends in the NFL.

The Cowboys are 4-0 on the road this year, but the Giants are also on a nice streak.  Eli Manning has a tendency to start off slow and it is my firm belief he won’t be able to get away with that against the Cowboys.  I’m taking the Cowboys in this one by the score of 24-14, the Plaxico Burress of the Giants catching a TD for the Giants.

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“Sugar” Shane Mosley (44-4 37 KO’s) is one of the few fighters who have actually made that nickname proud.  Many others have donned it, but I bet the average sports fan can only name two other “Sugars,” and the last two retired long ago.  Mosley, at 36 years old, may be close to be taking the exit, but before he leaves there is some things he would like to take care of, namely, a WBA champion name Miguel Cotto.

Cotto is undefeated in his first 30 fights, having stopped 25 of them within the distance.  Cotto doesn’t have special one punch power, but what he does have is one of the most relentless approaches in boxing to be seen in a while.  While “Super” Zab Judah had been beat before, nobody had ever beat him the way Cotto did in their June of 2007 title fight.  Judah did fairly well early, using his speed to his advantage, but by the later rounds it was clear Judah was tiring.  Not only was he tiring, but he was bleeding all over his face, and had enough lumps on him to last a life time.  Finally, in the 11th round Judah went to the canvas a beaten man, and Cotto retained his WBA championship.  Cotto is getting a good reputation for just beating the fight out of a man.  Any opponent who enters the ring with Cotto hoping to be a model, or in the acting industry, is quickly taken back down to earth from a body shot followed by a hook to the chin. 

There are a couple of concerns that do follow Cotto.  When he was fighting at 140 he was having a lot of trouble making weight.  Often times he looked drained heading into his fights, and in result sometimes had a hard time getting going.  Since moving up to 147 this hasn’t been a problem, but people are concerned that the time he spent struggling to make weight at 140 could have long term effects on the rest of his career.  At only 27 though, this isn’t a huge concern for Cotto fans.  What is a concern for Cotto fans is his chin.  While he has never been knocked out, obviously, he has been hurt by some less than stellar power punchers and other fighters not on his level.  In February of 2005 he was hurt bad by the light hitting Demarcus “Chop Chop” Corley.  Many believe that Corley was a punch or two away from a huge upset.  Cotto rebounded well, and ended up stopping Corley in round five, even though many believe the fight was stopped prematurely.  Later that year, in September, he was hurt by Ricardo Torres.  Torres has a ton of power, but is regarded as not being very skilled.  Once again, these instances may be related to his weight drain at the time.  At his time spent at 147 he hasn’t really shown any signs of being hurt.

One man that thinks he can hurt him is Mosley.  Mosley has been fairly inactive the last couple of years, fighting twice in 06’ and once this year, but he has also been biding his time until another big pay day.  Here it is.  It’s really hard to gauge what Mosley has left based on these last three fights.  In 06’ he beat Fernando Vargas twice.  If you are a fan of Vargas, many are concerned that he is fighting too long, and should have hung up his gloves a while ago.  In his only fight this year, against Luis Collazo, Collazo suffered a broken hand in the early parts of the fights.  Collazo is an underrated fighter, and many would have liked to see what he could have offered Mosley in terms of competition if he would have been healthy.  Instead, Mosley won a wide decision.  The people who are picking Mosley to win are doing so because of his speed and power.  Even at 36 he is still very fast, and as his record indicates, he can crack.  His four loses have came to two men, Winky Wright and Vernon Forrest.  If you follow boxing, those are, or at the time, two of the biggest names of the sport.  What those to had advantages over Mosley in was size, Cotto is short for his weight, negating any reach advantage. 

The bookies are favoring Cotto because he is nearly 10 years younger than Mosley, and because of Cotto’s recent path of destruction.  It should also be noted that if Mosley has anything close to left what he used to have he will easily be the toughest fight for Cotto.  Mosley is an elite boxer and will be one of the names you bring up when you talk about the best fighters from this era. 

This is just the start of some big fights this winter, turn in to get your holidays started off right!

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The Cleveland Cavaliers (1-2) are off to a bit of a bumpy start since winning the NBA eastern title last season.  But, none of their games have been easy.  Their two loses have came on the road against Dallas and Phoenix, both title challengers.  Their win came at home against the New York Knicks.  Once again they have to travel across the country to take on the 2-2 Utah Jazz.  The Jazz have been knocking on the door of the NBA’s elite for quite some time, and would finally like to make another deep run in the playoffs, something missing since the combination of “Stockton to Malone” left some years ago.

Now leading Utah is an emerging star, Deron Williams.  Williams is averaging 24.5 points and nearly ten assists a game so far.  If he could maintain those numbers he could be looking at an MVP trophy come summer. His main partner in crime is Andrei Kirilenko, who has already come close to getting a triple-double this year.  Kirilenko is a do it all on the court.

When you think of the Cavs, you think of one man, Lebron James.  James almost single handedly got his team to the NBA finals last year and if they are hoping to repeat that performance it looks like he may have to lead the way again.  James and his 27.3 points per game are among the top of the league.  He is also a near triple-double threat every time out. 

The early schedule for the Cavs has been brutal.  I can’t see them winning in Utah, but they will be a better team in the future because of this tough start.

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At the time of this writing Miami is off to an 0-3 start and are still without the services of their top player Dwayne Wade.  Things will not get any better for the Heat, as they travel to San Antonio to take the 3-0 Spurs.  Miami was hoping that Shaq would have a return to form of some years ago, but instead they have been led by Ricky Davis.  Davis, always a borderline star in the NBA, is averaging 16 points and six rebounds a game in the early going.  O’Neal on the other hand has only been able to score 11 points with six rebounds.  They new the time would come that Shaq would eventually where out after a long NBA career of getting beat up on, but they were hoping for another year or two of production before it happened. 

The Spurs are looking like they are ready to defend their title.  As usual, they are led by Tim Duncan.  Duncan is averaging over 18 points and ten rebounds a game.  He can still fill the basket if he needs to, but with teammates like Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili there is no reason to push himself.

Miami has played ok, losing all their games but just a few points each.  But, I don’t see how they will be able to beat San Antonio in their gym, especially if they aren’t at full strength. 

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