Monthly Archives: November 2011

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SPORTS YAPP: Week 13 Power Rankings

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1. Green Bay Packers- I think they proved to the national audience on Thanksgiving that their hopes of an undefeated season are still very much alive.

2. Baltimore Ravens- They remind me of last year’s Packers because they are a little under the radar but have a great chance to make a deep run in the playoffs.

3. New England Patriots- They appear to be getting better every week, so we can stop doubting them for now.

4. New Orleans Saints- So…the Saints have the best offense in the league? I think it’s fair to say that’s true.

5. San Francisco 49ers- Jim Harbaugh was right when he talked about the tough scheduling with travel and a short week leading up to the big Thanksgiving game.  However, those ended up just being excuses when he couldn’t take down his brother’s Ravens… Continue reading →

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SPORTS YAPP Podcast: Episode No. 13 (Featuring Clark Kellogg)

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Join host Bryce Johnson and Sports Spectrum staff writer Aaron May for Sports Spectrum Magazine’s podcast called “SPORTS YAPP.”

On Monday, famed broadcaster Clark Kellogg called into the Sports Spectrum studios to discuss his faith and his roles at CBS and the Indiana Pacers. Click here to listen.

The SPORTS YAPP Podcast is also available on your phone or mobile device. Click on either link below.

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To keep up with all of the show’s updates with the most recent episode, show news, etc. head over to the show’s webpage at www.sportsyapp.com. Continue reading →

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Old School – Top 10 Contenders to the BCS Title (Week 12)

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“I’ve made a mess of me.” The chorus line of Switchfoot’s popular hit “Mess of Me” comes to mind when thinking about the BCS title races. What a mess we have! We have a clear number one with LSU, but after that, a bunch of one-loss teams who feel like they deserve a chance to play for the BCS title. Oh, and one other undefeated team no one wants to give credit to in 12-0 Houston.

So in order to solve the BCS mess I want to infuse a little bit of reason and logic into this discussion. At least my personal logic and reasoning. I’m well aware that what I will conclude will not be the popular train of thought (which is a LSU-Alabama rematch). I am forgoing my weekly rankings in order to sort this out.

Common sense and logic should tell us that the game we should get is… undefeated LSU vs. undefeated Houston. Not one or two loss anyone else. Let me explain… Continue reading →

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Old School – NCAA Basketball Look Ahead

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Basketball season is here, and the way labor negotiations are going in the NBA it looks like the only basketball we may get this year will be college ball. I don’t know about you, but that suits me just fine. Ever since my childhood NBA team, the Charlotte Hornets, left town I have had a hard time really caring about the NBA (I haven’t been able to love the Bobcats the same way, and of course, this lockout doesn’t help). I believe the college game is played with more passion and enthusiasm and has more unpredictability than the NBA ever does.

I’m excited that the season is underway (even more so this week since it’s “Feast Week” on ESPN) but before I get to this season, I want to reflect on what happened last year, just in case you’ve forgotten… Continue reading →

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SPORTS YAPP: Week 11 Power Rankings

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1. Green Bay Packers – Despite a little scare from the Bucs, the Packers win again. They will have to establish the running game in the next few weeks though.

2. San Francisco 49ers – I’m very excited to see the Harbaugh brothers coach against each other on Thanksgiving. How will Alex Smith handle the Ravens defense?

3. Baltimore Ravens – I think I rank the Ravens higher than most people, but they have enough strong pieces to be considered a top team in my eyes.

4. New England Patriots – Their tight end, Rob Gronkowski, continues to steal the headlines for a team that’s improving.

5. Detroit Lions – They have shown they can score and they have shown they can shut people down. Now they need to do both consistently during the same game. Continue reading →

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In the News – Clayton Kershaw

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Thursday, the Baseball Writers’ Association of America announced Clayton Kershaw as the winner of National League Cy Young award. Kershaw was voted the league’s best pitcher, receiving 27 of the 32 first place votes with a total of 207 points. Roy Halladay finished second, followed by Cliff Lee, Ian Kennedy and Cole Hamels.

Kershaw led the league in wins, ERA, and strikeouts (21-5, 2.28 ERA, 248 Strikeouts) and also won a gold glove earlier this month.

Kershaw told MLB.com:

“The only thing I will say is I’m really humbled to be here,” Kershaw said, after leading his comments by saying that he didn’t have a lot to say. “I always dreamed about playing baseball as a kid, maybe one day making it to the big leagues, but I never dreamed about anything like this, so it’s really special.”

In the spring 2011 issue of Sports Spectrum, we featured Kershaw and he and his wife, Ellen talked about their mission trip to Africa over the offseason… Continue reading →

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In the News: Mark Richt

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Georgia head coach Mark Richt has led his team to eight straight victories after opening the season with back-to-back losses against Boise State and South Carolina. No. 15 Georgia crushed No. 20 Auburn 45-7 on Saturday. Mark’s story was featured in Sports Spectrum’s 25-year anniversary book. To order the book, click here.

Before taking the reigns at the University of Georgia, Mark Richt (born Feb. 18, 1960) was a graduate assistant at Florida State (1985-1989), offensive coordinator at East Carolina (1989) and offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Florida State (1990-2000).

He was married to Katharyn Francis and they have four children: Jonathan (born March 11, 1990), David (born December 1, 1994), and two adopted from Ukraine, Zach (born May 15, 1996), and Anya (born February 13, 1997)… Continue reading →

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From the Archives: Michael Redd

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Michael Redd already had the best preparation an NBA player could get for the upcoming season.

Now it seemed appropriate to carry out the proper celebration for the gold medal Team USA won in the FIBA Americas tournament.

Redd, an All-Star guard for the Milwaukee Bucks, was certainly in the perfect place–Las Vegas–to indulge in the party as well.

Casinos were to his left, nightclubs bouncing into the wee hours were on his right, and everything else was in between.

So what was the dead-eye left-hander doing to celebrate the moment?

“I’m up in my room playing some dominoes, beating up on my man Rick Davis,” Redd said with a chuckle.

So much for the juicy nightlife. Then again, Redd has always been more about storing his treasures elsewhere… Continue reading →

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