NFL
SUPER BOWL XLII
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS (18-0) vs. NEW YORK GIANTS (13-6)
The New England Patriots enter Super Bowl XLII with one goal--win! Getting to play on Super Sunday is not enough for a team that marched through the NFL's regular season unscathed.
For New England head coach Bill Belichick and his team, the thought of going 18-1 would be an utter failure! For the Patriots, this game is not merely about earning another ring--this game has historical significance.
Which team has more pressure to win? The answer is summed up in a phrase: Undefeated. Should the Pats win on Sunday their accomplishment will live on--long after their careers are over. Don't believe it? How about that 1972 Dolphins team every good team has been compared to for the last 30+ years!
Yet square in the way of Patriot perfection are the New York Giants--one of the two teams that gave the Patriots their toughest regular-season tests. (Baltimore was the other.) The Patriots needed to rally from a 12-point deficit to beat the Giants 38-35 on December 28th.
So the match-up is set. One team (Giants) is looking to close out their late-season run with a victory on the sports biggest stage, while the other (Patriots) is looking to re-write the history books with a 19-0 season.
Every football fan knows about the two quarterbacks. New England QB Tom Brady is the game's best--perhaps of all-time! While Eli Manning has lived in the shadow of his older brother Peyton Manning for many years, he is now starting to emerge and lead the Giants to a title.
On defense, both teams have their strengths. For the Patriots, their linebacking corps is impressive--a healthy mix of sage veterans and talented stars. The Giants strength on defense is up front--led by pass rusher extraordinaire Michael Strahan.
For the Giants to win they need a strong game--free of turnovers--from Manning, and a consistent pass rush on Brady.
For the Patriots to win, they have to score plenty of points--think Brady to Wes Welker--the way they did throughout the regular season. And find a way to contain big receiver Plaxico Burress.
No matter how you evaluate these two teams, the New England Patriots are the better team. Will they thrive or crumble under the pressure to complete their quest for perfection? The answer is thrive!
SS Pick: New England 34, New York Giants 20
NBA
JAMES SITS, SONICS BEAT CAVS
The Seattle SuperSonics saw an opening and went for it right away. When the visitors from Cleveland put a starting lineup on the floor that did not include LeBron James (he was out with a sprained ankle), the victory-hungry Sonics jammed the accelerator to the floor in the first quarter and zoomed past the Cavs.
Seattle scored 40 first-period points to take a 16-point lead at the break. Although Cleveland made a valiant comeback attempt in the fourth, outscoring the hometown team 27-16, Seattle held on for the win. The Sonics improved to 11-35 on the season while Cleveland fell to 25-20.
Kevin Durant led the Sonics with 24 points, Chris Wilcox had 18, Jeff Green scored 17, and Kurt Thomas netted 16 for Seattle. Earl Watson pulled down 12 rebounds to help Seattle outboard Cleveland 40-33.
Both teams took 78 shots from the floor, but Seattle made 14 more of theirs.
Larry Hughes did his best LeBron imitation, scoring 28 points for Cleveland.
OTHER NBA SCORES
San Antonio 84, Phoenix 81
NBA NOTES
* Thirty-eight percent shooting from both teams. Thirty-two turnovers. Twenty-four bricked three-pointers. This was not what anyone expected when the high-powered San Antonio Spurs met the high-powered Phoenix Suns. But that's what took place in the desert on Thursday. It was ugly, but the Spurs will take it as they ended their three-game losing streak.
* Hey, when you don't have Kevin Garnett sweeping the boards, turn to six-footer Rajon Rondo. The Boston guard grabbed 12 rebounds on Thursday to help the Celtics beat Dallas at home. He also had 14 points.
NHL
BRUINS STAY HOT; DOWN SENATORS
The Boston Bruins are hot. Then again, they have no choice. Look at the rest of the New England sporting landscape.
The NHL representative from sports most prosperous city of late continued their hot streak beating the Ottawa Senators 4-1. The Bruins jumped out with an early scoring barrage and never looked back.
Phil Kessel, Milan Lucic, and All-Star Game star Marc Savard scored first period goals to give Boston the 3-0 lead in the first period. The rest was up to Boston goaltender Tim Thomas who stopped 30 shots.
Boston finished January with a 9-3-1 record. The Bruins still trail the first-place Senators by nine points (68-59) in the Northeast Division.
OTHER SCORES
New York Rangers 4, Philadelphia 0
Los Angeles 3, New York Islanders 1
Tampa Bay 4, Vancouver 3
Nashville 4, Columbus 2
Carolina 3, Toronto 2 - OT
Washington 5, Montreal 4 - OT
FACT OF THE DAY
OVECHKIN GETS A 5-POINTER
Alex Ovechkin did it all for the Washington Capitals on Thursday, scoring four goals and assisting on the Caps' other one as they beat Montreal 5-4 in overtime.
Ovechkin hat tricks:
1. January 13, 2006 vs. Anaheim
2. December 12, 2006 vs. Atlanta
3. December 29, 2007 vs. Ottawa (four goals)
4. January 31, 2008 vs. Montreal (four goals)
SPORTS SPECTRUM INSIDER
Getting to the heart of what matters in life
TODAYS FEATURE: DAVID TYREE
RECEIVER, SPECIAL TEAMS, NY GIANTS
BIO NOTE: Tyree turned his life around after battling substance abuse. He became a Christian, and has been living for God since.
RECENT NEWS: Tyree caught one pass in the Ice Bowl II in Green Bay as the Giants won the NFC championship.
FAITH QUOTE: Speaking of his wife, Leilah, he said this on NFL.com: "Proverbs 31 praises the well-rounded, ideal woman. I am blessed to have found one who is intelligent, ambitious, goal-oriented, and independent. Leilah is beautiful inside and out with a heart of gold."
MINI MEMOS
Putting the SS spin on today's sports news
SUPER NEWS?
Let's run down what we know thanks to thousands of interviews and millions of words of talk. Tom Brady's foot seems to be okay. Plaxico Burress' knee is swollen. Some guy in Phoenix lost his Super Bowl tickets because the dog ate them. Michael Strahan loves the attention. Jeff Feagles has been waiting a long time for this (he's 41). Randy Moss continues to be a good teammate for New England; he seems to have matured. Kraft (the product, not the team owner), Coke, and Frito-Lay will have ads running during the Super Bowl. We still don't know who the best Super Bowl QB or the best team of all time--nor will we ever, despite all of the arguments. And we know that Archie Manning is one very proud papa. Now let's kick the doggone football and get the game started.
NBA NAMES ALL-STAR RESERVES
You know who the starters are for the NBA All-Star Game in New Orleans two weeks from Sunday, but what about the reserves? Here's a look at the All-Stars chosen by the coaches.
EAST
Chauncey Billups
Chris Bosh
Caron Butler
Richard Hamilton
Antawn Jamison
Joe Johnson
Paul Pierce
WEST
Carlos Boozer
Steve Nash
Dirk Nowitzki
Chris Paul
Brandon Roy
Amare Stoudemire
David West
ENSBERG TO GIVE YANKS A TRY
Morgan Ensberg's career hasn't been the same since he pounded out 36 home runs for the Houston Astros in 2005. Last season, the Astros gave up on him and sent him to San Diego. Ensberg's stats were not strong last year; he hit just .230 with 12 home runs. But now he has a new lease on baseball life--if he can make the uphill climb from signing a minor league contract with the New York Yankees to actually cracking their opening day lineup. In case you're looking at this and thinking, "Uh, Mr. Ensberg is a third baseman, and the Yankees have a pretty fair guy there already," you're right. That's why Ensberg is going to give first base a try. His challenge would be simple: Unseat Jason Giambi. It's a longshot for Ensberg, but you can't fault a guy for trying.
WHO IS HE?
Testing your knowledge of past sports stars—taken from “Legends” articles from the pages of Sports Spectrum magazine
THURSDAY'S MYSTERY PERSON
* Played 14 NHL seasons for Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Washington
* Scored 391 goals in his career. Add 383 assists, and he tallied 774 points in 998 games.
* Once scored a goal six seconds after an NHL game started.
* While with Washington, he led Ryan Walter and Mike Gartner to faith in Jesus Christ.
WHO IS HE? Jean Pronovost
FRIDAY'S MYSTERY PERSON
* He was voted the Defensive Player of the Year in the NFL in 1997 and 1998.
* He finished his career with 192.5 sacks--an all-time record.
* He had three sacks when his team beat the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXI.
* On October 10, 1999, the Green Bay Packers retired his uniform No. 92
WHO IS HE?
SPORTS SPECTRUM RADIO
SS DAILY INTERVIEW
To hear today's interview, go to the Sports Spectrum radio home page. It can be found at www.sport.org.
THE FRIDAY GUEST(s)
TANK DANIELS, linebacker, New York Giants
DERRIN HORTON, NFL Network anchor
Here's football from two totally different perspectives. First, Daniels, who played at a D-II college yet made it to the NFL, talks about how he overcame discouragement to find success, and how God helped him in the process. Second, Horton, who sees the games from the press box and not the field, talks about the unbeaten Patriots, his job at NFL Network, and his faith in Jesus Christ. It's a double-dose of get-ready-for-Super-Bowl SS interviews.
