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The Blue Devils were expected to be good, but not this good. The team, as a whole, is young, yet they are surprising everyone by starting off the year 16 and 1, with the only loss coming by a single point to Pittsburgh. A lot of teams are well balances, but Duke is the epitome of balance, with six players averaging nine points or more. Duke is currently on top of the ACC rankings because of the unexpected loss of UNC to Maryland. They are also rated number three in the countries top 25 rankings. Early in the season people thought it would be a good season if the Blue Devils could finish the year in the top-25, now experts are trying to figure out if they can be significant title challengers.

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This weekend former WWE champion (yes, professional wrestling) Brock Lesnar will take on one of the very best the UFC has to offer, former UFC heavyweight champion, Frank Mir. Plenty of skeptics have come out of the woodwork to suggest that all Lesnar is doing is trying to get some publicity for himself, or for wrestling, but all ready in his short stay in mixed martial arts he has made a name for himself. Also, Lesnar could have just as easily padded his UFC record until he got one big money fight, then softly laid on the canvas, but his course of action doesn’t seem anywhere near of that. Lesnar’s lone MMA victory was against Min Soo Kim in June of 2007 at a smaller MMA show. While Kim’s record wasn’t anything to write home about (4-6), it says a lot about Lesnar, who instead of taking on someone relatively inexperienced like himself, he took on a proven pro.

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The Kansas Jayhawks are undefeated, and are looking for that elusive NCAA championship that has eluded them the last few years, despite having good years. The Big 12 is one of the hardest conferences in America to play in, but that hasn’t stopped the Jayhawks either. Kansas is a very well balanced team, with four out of the five scorers averaging double digits, with the fifth not that far behind. Darnell Jackson is the only senior among the five starters, and he is averaging 12.8 points and seven rebounds a game.

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Year after year the Phoenix Suns put up one of the best regular season records, but fail to produce in the playoffs. The good record part seems to be in full bloom once again this year, but they will be getting a good taste of what to expect in the playoffs as they take on the defending NBA champions, San Antonio Spurs, on Thursday.

Two-time MVP Steve Nash is once again passing the ball at will against NBA defenses, averaging over 12 assists per game. Nash is also scoring 17 points a game, numbers almost equal to his MVP seasons. Amare Stoudemire leads the team in scoring with 22.7 points a game, while his counterpart Shawn Marion leads the team with just over ten rebounds a game.

The big three for the Suns is pretty good, but the big three for the Spurs has proven they can get it done on the biggest of stages. Tim Duncan continues to be one of the best power forwards in the league, leading his team with 11.2 rebounds. Tony Parker, who has come alive the last few years, leads all Spurs scorers with 19.6 a game. Finally Manu Ginobili is averaging 19.2 a game. The Spurs have had nagging injury problems all year, but unfortunately for the rest of the league, they seem to all be pretty healthy now. The Spurs are currently in the middle of a log jam in the Southwest standings in the west, with three teams, including themselves, within a half game of each other in the standings. I like the Spurs in this one, they seem to be on a roll lately.

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This game on Thursday features two of the most exciting, and well regarded teams in the NBA. Both the Mavericks and the Celtics have NBA Final aspirations, as do all teams, but these two have as good as chance as just about any of the best teams. The Mavericks are winners of eight out of their last ten after starting the beginning of the season a little slower than years past. Nobody in the Western conference is dominating this year, and 55 wins or so might be enough to win the conference. In other words, there are a lot of good teams in the conference this year. The Celtics are actually in the midst of their worst downswing of the season. While still playing well, they have actually only won six out of their last ten. While that doesn’t seem that bad, when you consider they only have seven losses the entire season, you can see that most of them have came of late. Surprisingly, four of those seven losses have come at home. The Celtics still have a commanding lead in the Eastern conference, but they would like to continue playing well to ensure the home court advantage all the way through the playoffs. Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, and Kevin Garnett have never won an NBA championship, and with each in their 30’s now, they would like to finish their career on a high note with a championship or two. In order to do that they will need to beat tough teams like Dallas in the process.

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The New England Patriots and the New York Giants put on one of the most memorable games that actually pretty much amounted to nothing. The Patriots were going for the perfect 16-0 regular season, but the Giants had already solidified their spot in the playoffs. At the time, the Giants got a lot of bad press for taking this game so seriously, and many wondered what Coach Tom Coughlin, and company, was thinking. After four quarters of fantastic back and forth action the Patriots had their perfect season, but the Giants had built a type of motivation that can only prepare you for the playoffs. The Giants have won ten home games in a row, and technically, since New England finished with the better record, they will be the home team in Arizona on Super Bowl Sunday.

Eli Manning has grown up during the playoffs. After many years of hearing taunts that he’ll never be as good as his brother Peyton, the Manning name will start a Super Bowl for the second year in a row. Manning hasn’t just “done enough” to get his team to the Super Bowl, he has been an unequivocal leader. Manning has completed 62.4 percent of his passes in the postseason, six percent better than in the regular season. He is also averaging over seven yards a completion, a full yard better than his post season stats. The most important number has got to be his touchdown to interception ration. In the regular season he threw for 23 touchdowns and 20 picks. In the playoffs he has thrown for four touchdowns and zero interceptions. Despite the NFC championship game being his worst game, rating wise, it was his toughness in the below zero temperature that really lets fans know he’s come on in to his known. One of the old stigma’s about Manning is that he was a softy. You can’t say that anymore.

The running back duo of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw has also been quite effective. Jacobs hasn’t had a stand out game yet in the playoffs, but he has recorded a touchdown in all three of the Giants postseason games. The 6’4” 260 pounder is a bruising back that wears out the offensive line, just in time for them to send out the speedy Bradshaw. The rookie Bradshaw is gaining a ton of experience in the playoffs. He is averaging a 4.2 yards a carry, and has scored once in the playoffs.

It’s amazing that Manning and wide receiver Plaxico Burress have the on field connection that they do. Burress has been listed on the injury list every week this year with a hurt ankle. Manning and Burress do not practice together. Their “practice” consists of running warm-up routes before the game. Burress still finished the regular season with 12 touchdowns, and has caught 16 balls for nearly 200 yards in the postseason. Imagine if they had practiced together.

One wide receiver that hasn’t done as well as expected in the playoffs is New England’s Randy Moss. Moss, to his defense, has had some very tough cornerbacks to play against in the postseason, but that didn’t seem to stop him during the regular season. In the playoffs Moss has a combined two catches for 32 yards in the Pats two games. That’s a far cry from his NFL best 23 touchdowns during the regular season.

Perhaps the biggest story surrounding the Super Bowl is if Tom Brady’s foot is indeed injured. Vegas lines seemed to think so when the pictures first surfaced, but even later in the same day he was seen without the walking cast on his foot that is causing on the racket. My guess of Tom Brady not playing this game is about the same as the sun not coming up tomorrow, virtually none.

The other major storyline surfacing is the nearly two touchdown favorites the Patriots have been listed as. After all, how in the world can they be that big of underdogs after they just lost to them by three points? My answer to this question is this: That game was a home game for the Giants. Secondly, while ultimately it seems this game helped propel the Giants to the Super Bowl, but in reality the game didn’t mean that much. The Patriots have Brady, the best big game quarterback in the NFL. I personally like the spread in this game, with maybe the Patriots winning by closer to 20.

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This Saturday in Berlin Germany, “Fast” Eddie Chambers (30-0 16 KO’s) and Alexander Povetkin (14-0 11 KO’s) will fight each other for the right to fight IBF champion and generally regarded best heavyweight in the world, Wladimir Klitschko. While that task alone may be too much for either of these two fighters doesn’t mean that neither one of them won’t covet the opportunity.

At first glance it may seem like a mismatch because Chambers has 16 more pro fights than Povetkin, but that is certainly not the case. Despite the big discrepancy in fights, Povetkin arguably has the better resume. Even before we get to the professional record, Povetkin had one of the most decorated amateur careers in the history of the sport, caped off with a gold medal in the super heavyweight division in the 2004 Olympic Games. In just his sixth pro fight he knocked out 17-1 Richard Bango. In his next fight he beat respected heavyweight Friday Ahunaya by six round decision. In his last two fights along he beat former title challenger Larry Donald by a ten round shutout decision and in the first round of this IBF elimination tournament, he completely dominated former IBF champion Chris Byrd by 11th round TKO.

The closest Chambers has came to beating fighters aligned with Povetkin is his first round IBF victory over Calvin Brock, by split decision. At times in that fight Chambers seemed either tired, or unwilling to engage against a Brock who didn’t exactly seem thrilled to be there. Brock came in at a career high 241, and at times during the fight looked simply uninterested. Chambers only other noticeable win came against a much declined Dominic Guinn.

Against Povetkin, Chambers can not afford to take a second off, let alone complete rounds, as he appeared to do against Brock. Povetkin has been compared to a young Evander Holyfield. He is relentless, wanting to attack the body and the head, and appears to take a decent shot. Chambers, as his nickname suggests, is indeed fast, but he has very little power. Despite being a “boxer” he likes to stay stationary and rely on his hand speed. Even though Byrd has declined in the recent years, it’s safe to say that Chambers and Byrd are similar fighters. I feel Povetkin is a strong favorite in this fight. He has the better amateur record, the better professional record, and the “home court” advantage, as he’ll be fighting in Germany for the 13th time. While I know little about either’s chin, I feel that Chambers has virtually no shot of phasing Povetkin, while I feel Povetkin is capable of knocking just about anybody out.

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The UConn Huskies are a bit improved from years past, but they will have to bring their best game into Indiana to try to beat the red hot Hoosiers. All five of the Huskies starters are averaging over ten points a game, indicating a very balanced offense. Leading the team in scoring and rebounding is junior forward Jeff Adrien. Adrien is averaging just under a double-double, with 14.5 points a game and 9.2 rebounds a game. Another thing about this talented starting five is that none of them are seniors, and only two of them are juniors. While they hope to do big things this season, it’s my guess that they will be among the best teams in the nation next year.

One of the teams that are among the best in the country is the 10th ranked Indiana Hoosiers. In Indiana basketball comes second on the list of most important things, right behind breathing. For a few years the team struggled, but with the play of super freshman Eric Gordon, and his 22.4 points a game. Their only loss of the season came as a bit of a shocker in the sixth game of the season by 15 points to Xavier.

Gordon is a special kind of player, who may only play in college for one year, but could make a huge impact, like a Carmelo Anthony, in his short visit. The Huskies will be one of the toughest games of the year for Indiana, but playing at home should be enough for the Hoosiers to get the upper hand in this contest.

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The UCLA Bruins started the year as the number one ranked team in the nation, and with the exception of one little blip on the screen, they appear to still be among the best. If it weren’t for a two point loss against Texas back in the beginning of December they would still be undefeated, but the Bruins didn’t allow this loss to set them back. The Bruins have also opened the Pac-10 conference undefeated, a good start in a very tough conference. The Bruins have a good balance of older leadership on the team, but it’s a young freshman now that is leading the team. Kevin Love, expected to play in the NBA in just a year or two, is averaging a double-double. His 16 points and 10 rebounds a game comes consistently every night, no matter who they are playing.

The Oregon Ducks are playing fairly well, but also enjoy the advantage of having one of the loudest arenas in all of college basketball. Oregon is undefeated at home, and their high scoring offense, 81 points a game, is a joy to watch. All five of their starters are scoring double figures. Leading the scoring is senior guard Malik Hairston with over 18 points a game.

At home you expect the Ducks to be able to hang with anyone, including the Bruins. But a look at their record shows that they have dropped some games that seem unacceptable, including those against Nebraska and Oakland, not exactly powerhouses. I know every game is a different series of match-ups, but I feel that the Bruins will be able to go into Duck country and live victorious.

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The New Jersey Nets started off a bit slow, but after going on a steady winning streak since the initial decline, the Nets are right in the hunt of things in the Eastern Conference. However, they have hit a mini-slid here of late, dropping three in a row, but two of those games were against the Boston Celtics and the Portland Trailblazers, both very good teams. It won’t be easy for them to turn it around when they travel to Golden State and take on the Warriors. Nets point guard Jason Kidd will be more than up for the challenge, as he has been putting up triple-doubles at a quick rate. Kidd is averaging 11.5 points, 10.7 and 8.6 rebounds a game. He is also good on the defensive side of the ball, averaging 1.7 steals a game. Richard Jefferson leads the team with in scoring with 23.9 points a game.

To match wits with Kidd will be Warriors point guard Byron Davis. Davis leads his team in points, assists and rebounds. When Davis is healthy, which he has been the majority of this year; he is among the best players in the entire league. In the past couple of years Golden State has continued to get better, while playing for a playoff position on the bottom half of the eligible standings. There 23-17 record puts them about there, but as they proved against Dallas in the first round last season, they surely aren’t an easy out. Any game between Davis and Kidd is a treat, but I feel Davis will come out the victor in this one, with home court advantage being the main factor

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