The Weekend from A to Z - From Anderlecht to Zbikowski

Here's a rundown on the last couple days from A to Z.

A is for AZ Alkmaar vs Anderlecht. The Europa League draw for the Round of 32 was announced this week and it's going to pit American striker Jozy Altidore and his Dutch club AZ Alkmaar against fellow American Sasha Kljestan and his Belgian club Anderlecht. Both clubs are in first place in their respective leagues with Alkmaar maintaining a one point lead over PSV Eindhoven in the Dutch Eredivisie while Anderlecht is 5 points clear of Club Brugge in Belgium's Jupiler League. The Europa League resumes play in mid February.

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B is for Bowl Games. Bowl Season kicked off yesterday with a couple of really good games. After Temple thrashed Wyoming 37-15 to win the Gildan New Mexico Bowl, the next two games went down to the final minute. First Ohio sophomore Tyler Tettleton scored on a quarterback keeper with 13 seconds left to win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl (not just the Idaho Potato Bowl - but the FAMOUS Idaho Potato Bowl) 24-23 over Utah State. It marked the first bowl victory in school history for the Bobcats who finished the year 10-4. Then in the nightcap, Louisiana-Lafayette blew a 19-3 second half lead, and then came from behind getting a 50 yard field goal from Brett Baer as time expired to defeat San Diego State 32-30 and win the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl. Baer was in a position to be the goat in this one having missed two extra points earlier in the game, but drilled the 50 yarder - the longest kick of his collegiate career. This actually isn't the first time we've talked about Baer on the blog. If you'll recall back in November, Baer was the kicker we mentioned after the first Alabama-LSU game. Being from Mississippi, how is it that none of these SEC schools with terrible kicking games gave this kid a shot? Anyhow, Baer delivered the Ragin' Cajuns their first bowl victory as a Divison I FBS team. Hopefully these games are a sign of things to come for the rest of this year's bowl season.

C is for Concussions. 37 year old Philadelphia Flyers captain Chris Pronger's season is over due to severe post-concussion syndrome. Pronger has been out since mid-November and won't be returning to the ice any time soon as he's already been ruled out through the postseason. Doctors are hopeful that this injury won't be the end of Pronger's career, but that will all depend on how he recovers. Pronger's not the only high profile player dealing with concussion issues right now either as Pronger's teammate and the league's leading scorer Claude Giroux was also sidelined this week and is out indefinitely, while the Penguins have placed their star Sidney Crosby, who recently missed 11 months after suffering a concussion in January, on in the Injured List due to a recurrence of concussion-like symptoms. Rough month for Pennsylvania hockey.

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D is for Dempsey. Clint Dempsey, the highest scoring American in English Premier League history, added to his record yesterday with his 5th goal this season and 38th goal of his Premier League career in Fulham's 2-0 win over Bolton Wanderers. Dempsey, who led Team USA with 5 goals in 2011, is also Fulham's leading scorer this season.

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E is for English Premier League. Manchester City got a goal from David Silva in the second half and that was enough to hold off surging Arsenal by a score of 1-0 to maintain their lead atop the table. Manchester United stayed right on City's heels grabbing a 2-0 win at Queens Park Rangers today. Wayne Rooney needed just 52 seconds to put United on the board and Michael Carrick doubled the lead after the intermission as United won easily. Meanwhile Tottenham Hotspur, anchored in net by American Brad Friedel, took over third place following their 1-0 over Sunderland coupled with Chelsea's 1-1 draw at Wigan. Wigan's Jordi Gomez scored the equalizer in the 88th minute to deny Chelsea of the full 3 points.

Photo Credit: edition.cnn.com

Fis for FIFA Club World Cup Champions. Take a wild guess at which club won this title this morning. That's right. As per usual, Barcelona are the champs following their 4-0 rout of Brazil's Santos FC. A match that was touted to be a showdown between two of the world's top players, Brazil's Neymar and Argentina's Lionel Messi, was largely one-sided as Messi scored twice and the Spanish club brought home yet another piece of hardware. Xavi added a goal and an assist, Brazilian Dani Alves had a pair of assists and Cesc Fábregas also scored for Barcelona. This was the second time in the last three year's that Barcelona have won the FIFA Club World Cup having also done so in 2009. Qatar's Al-Sadd, the Asian Champions League Winners, took third place following a 5-3 shootout win over Japan's J-League Champions Kashiwa Reysol after the two teams played to a 0-0 tie in the consolation game.

G is for Griner. In a matchup of Women's College Basketball's top two teams, #1 Baylor and #2 Connecticut, it was Brittney Griner and the Baylor Bears who emerged victorious by a final score of 66-61. The 6'8" junior led the Lady Bears with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 9 blocks as Baylor improved to 11-0. Bria Hartley led Connecticut with 25 points in a losing effort as the Huskies fall to 9-1 on the season.

Photo Credit: womentalksports.com

H is for Heat. The Miami Heat, the closest thing the NBA has to a villain right now, had their preseason opener against their in-state rival the Orlando Magic tonight and absolutely dominated them. LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh combined for 47 points, 15 rebounds and 7 assists as the Heat cruised to a 118-85 win despite playing without Mike Miller and Shane Battier. Miami also got a solid performance from their first round pick in this year's draft Norris Cole. The point guard from Cleveland State who was selected with the 28th pick in the draft finished with 8 points and 8 assists in 20 minutes. If he plays like that all season, he should give Mario Chalmers a run for the starting job.

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I is for Indianapolis. The losing streak is over. The previously 0-13 Colts stunned their division rival the Titans 27-13 today finally getting their first win of the season. Donald Brown had the play of the game when after the Titans had cut the Colts lead to 7 late in the 4th quarter, he broke a tackle in the backfield and turned what would have been close to a five yard loss into an 80 yard touchdown run. Brown finished with 161 yards on just 16 carries and tied the franchise record for the club's longest run play from scrimmage. Dan Orlovsky didn't have a great game, but it was good enough to win, and he becomes the first Colts quarterback other than Peyton Manning to win an NFL game since 1997. Can you guess who that was? That would be current 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. Most important though is with the win the Colts avoid becoming just the second team in NFL history to go 0-16. And obviously I will not be wearing my Titans hat to work this week.

Photo Credit: indiana.sbnation.com

J is for Jeff Green. The Celtics got some bad news yesterday as Green, acquired last year from Oklahoma City in the Kendrick Perkins deal, is going to be out for the entire year after a routine physical detected an aortic aneurysm. The 25 year old Green will need heart surgery and while the condition and procedure aren't necessarily career threatening, he will not be back before the start of the 2012-2013 season. Green will undergo surgery January 9th at the Cleveland Clinic. The loss of Green for the year is a big one for the Celtics. As ESPN's Bill Simmons put it in a tweet yesterday: "Best Celtics after Big 4 right now: Jermaine O'Neal, Brandon Bass, Chris Wilcox, Keyon Dooling, Marquis Daniels, JuJuan Johnson. Yeesh."

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K is for Knickerbockers. The Knicks have added more depth at point guard this season reportedly signing Baron Davis to a one year deal worth $2.5M. The 32 year old Davis appeared in 58 games last year for the Clippers and Cavaliers averaging 13.1 points and 6.7 assists. Davis will join fellow veteran Mike Bibby and 25 year old Toney Douglas who has started just 21 games over his first two NBA seasons. The Knicks have a loaded frontline with Carmelo Anthony, Amare Stoudemire and Tyson Chandler, but the backcourt is a huge question mark for the Knicks following the departure of Chauncey Billups. We'll see if the addition of Davis and Bibby are enough to propel the Knicks among the elite teams in the Eastern Conference.

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L is for La Liga. Barcelona has been getting a lot of attention lately, but Real Madrid is a full 3 points clear atop the table following their 6-2 thrashing of Sevilla on Saturday. Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat trick giving him 20 goals this season while José Maria Callejón, Ángel Di María and Hamit Altintop also scored for Real. In 16 matches this season, Real Madrid has outscored their opponents 56-15.

Photo Credit: heraldsun.com.au

M is for Marshawn Lynch. Somehow the Seattle Seahawks have quietly crept back into the NFC wild card conversation winning 5 of 6 games after a 2-6 start. Running back Marshawn Lynch is as big a part of that as anyone. With two rushing touchdowns today, he now has 12 touchdowns on the season and has scored at least one touchdown in 10 straight games and suddenly Seattle is 7-7. The Seahawks host San Francisco next week before finishing their season in Arizona. Speaking of Arizona, the Cardinals won today in overtime giving them 6 wins in their last 7 games and they too are now 7-7. The Cardinals now have 3 overtime wins this year. Here's a throwback Lynch highlight to Mario Brothers music. Close your eyes, Saints fans.

N is for Ndamukong Suh. Love him or hate him, you can't say that that the Lions polarizing defensive tackle isn't a difference maker. Suh helped preserve a remarkable come-from-behind victory for the Lions today blocking Sebastian Janikowski's 65 yard field goal attempt (not a typo) at the end of regulation. The Lions trailed the Raiders 27-14 midway through the 4th quarter before Matthew Stafford engineered a pair of scoring drives, the second culminating in a 6 yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson with 39 seconds remaining giving them a 28-27 lead. Stafford finished the day with 391 passing yards and 4 touchdowns.

Photo Credit: themajors.net

O is for Ochocinco. Remember that guy? There was an Ochocinco sighting in Denver tonight as the outspoken wideout hauled in a 33 yard touchdown pass from Tom Brady in New England's 41-23 win over the Denver Tebows. I mean Broncos. It was Ochocinco's first touchdown as a Patriot and the first time he'd found the end zone since last November against Buffalo. As for Tebow, his winning streak came to a close but he didn't play horribly. He finished 11 of 22 for 194 yards and also ran for 93 yards and 2 scores in a losing effort. Denver falls to 8-6 with the loss, but still lead the division by a game following Oakland's loss to Detroit.

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P is for Philadelphia Phillies. The Phillies locked up shortstop Jimmy Rollins for at least the next 3 years with a deal worth $33M. Rollins hasn't hit over .270 since 2008, but he's helped lead the Phillies to 5 straight NL East titles. Rollins is a 3-time All Star, has won 3 Gold Gloves and won the 2007 NL MVP award. He's also 4th in Phillies franchise history with 1866 hits. Rollins becomes the 5th starting shortstop to sign a multiyear deal this offseason joining Jose Reyes (Marlins), Alex Gonzalez (Brewers), Rafael Furcal (Cardinals) and Clint Barmes (Pirates).

Photo Credit: phillysportscentral.com

Q is for Quarterbacks. The 1972 Dolphins may be celebrating today, but the 1984 Dolphins are probably getting nervous. Drew Brees had another video game-like performance throwing for 412 yards and 5 touchdowns in a little over 3 quarters of football today. Brees now needs just 305 yards to break Dan Marino's 27 year old record of 5084. Brees has thrown for under 305 yards just 3 times in 14 games this year and now he has two tries to get it done. Brees isn't the only one chasing history though. Tom Brady threw for 320 yards today putting him on pace to pass Marino as well. Brady needs just 492 yards to reach 5085.

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R is for Rangers. No, not the Texas Rangers. And no, no not the New York Rangers either. We're talking about the Glasgow Rangers from Scotland. U.S. Men's National Teamers Maurice Edu, Alejandro Bedoya and Carlos Bocanegra all started for the Scottish Premier League leaders yesterday as they defeated Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-1 keeping them 4 points ahead of second place Celtic who won to keep pace this morning. Bocanegra scored his second goal of the season to open the scoring and Kyle Lafferty tallied the game winner in the 83rd minute. Rangers have now won three in a row.

Photo Credit: guardian.co.uk

S is for Semifinals. Fantasy Football Semifinals this weekend and we're headed to the Drydock League Championship for the first time since 2004. LeSean McCoy scored 3 touchdowns, and Nate Washington, Julio Jones and Santana Moss all found the end zone today as we overcame 4 Tony Romo touchdowns and cruised to a comfortable 30+ point win. After losing DeMarco Murray I really didn't think we had a shot, but here we are. One win away from glory.

T is for Two Hundred Three Yards. Reggie Bush, another reason my fantasy team is moving on, ran for a career high 203 yards against the Bills today highlighted by a 4th quarter 76 yard touchdown run in Miami's 30-23 win. Bush needs just 27 yards for his first 1000 yard rushing season in the NFL. Reggae Bush!

U is for Upset. As I mentioned earlier, the 1972 Dolphins are cracking the champagne after today's games. The Green Bay Packers went into Arrowhead Stadium today and were stunned by the Chiefs, just a week after they fired their coach. Interim Coach Romeo Crennel and his Chiefs came out inspired shutting out the Packers in the first half and the Chiefs outgained the Packers 438-315 for the game pulling off the improbable 19-14 upset. Kyle Orton, the guy Tim Tebow replaced in Denver, threw for 299 yards, Jackie Battle ran for a score, and Ryan Succop kicked 4 field goals to lead the offense and Tamba Hali sacked Aaron Rodgers 3 times to lead the defense in the win. The loss was Green Bay's first since December 19th of last year when they fell 31-27 to the Patriots with Matt Flynn at quarterback. The last time they lost a game with a healthy Aaron Rodgers was Week 12 of last year when Atlanta beat the Packers 20-17. Still, at 13-1, I don't think anyone's going to be feeling bad for Green Bay.

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V is for Volquez. The Reds dealt Edinson Volquez, former first round picks Yonder Alonso (LF) and Yasmani Grandal (C), and minor league pitcher Brad Boxberger in a package to the San Diego Padres for 24 year old right-handed pitcher Mat Latos. Latos, who will be entering his 4th major league season, has a career record of 27-29 but an ERA of 3.37 and has averaged 187 strikeouts the past two seasons. He'll join a rotation featuring Johnny Cueto, Mike Leake, Homer Bailey and Bronson Arroyo that when healthy will be one of the toughest in the NL Central if not the entire National League. The price was certainly steep though as they part ways with Volquez (a 17 game winner with 200+ strikeouts in 2008), Alonso (the 7th overall pick in 2008 who hit .330 in 47 games with the Reds last year), Grandal (the 12th overall pick in 2010 who hit .305 with 14 homers between A ball and AAA last year) and Boxberger (a hard throwing righty who fanned 93 hitters in 62 minor league innings last year with a 2.03 ERA).

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

W is for Western Conference. In a rematch of last year's Western Conference Finals the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder faced off in preseason action tonight. While the Thunder's roster is still largely intact from last season, the Mavericks have undergone a makeover following the departures of Tyson Chandler, Jose Juan Barea and Caron Butler and the arrivals of Lamar Odom, Delonte West and Vince Carter - all of whom started tonight. Durant led all scorers with 21 points tonight as the Thunder won 106-92. Dirk Nowitzki did not dress for the Mavericks.

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X is for Xavier. In their first match since the brawl, the previously unbeaten 9th ranked Musketeers got hammered by Oral Roberts 64-42. With 40% of their scoring suspended following the Cincinnati game, Xavier struggled offensively shooting just 33% from the field, connecting on just 1 of 11 3-pointers and turning the ball over 17 times. The unranked Golden Eagles improve to 8-4 on the year with the win. In case you didn't know, Oral Roberts is located in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Photo Credit: american-school-search.com

Y is for the Yakult Swallows. Centerfielder Norichika Aoki may be headed to the NL Central after eight seasons with the Yakult Swallows in Japan. Aoki is a career .329 hitter and has won 3 batting titles and if signed could provide insurance for the Brewers if Ryan Braun is indeed suspended for the season's first 50 games. The Brewers have 30 days to work out a deal with the 29 year old Aoki having earned the exclusive rights to negotiate with him following their $2.5M bid.

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

Z is for Zbikowski. That would be the Baltimore Ravens safety Tom Zbikowski. And that's all I've got.

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