From A to Z - New Year's Edition

Happy New Year Everyone! Here's a rundown on the last couple days from A to Z.

A is for Alex Ovechkin. The 26 year old Washington Capitals star appears to be heating up. Ovechkin scored 2 goals on Friday and 2 more Saturday and now has 8 goals in his last 11 games after scoring just 8 in his first 26. Ovechkin scored 50 goals or more in 4 of his first 5 seasons, but has struggled to match that production the past season and a half. The Caps are now winners of 3 straight and in 9th place in the Eastern Conference.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

B is for Bowl Standings. The 2011 portion of the bowl season has drawn to a close. Here's a look at how all the conferences have fared thus far. Note every conference already has at least one loss.

C is for CSKA Moscow. Free agent forward Andrei Kirilenko announced that he will remain in his native Russia and finish out the season with CSKA Moscow rather than return to the NBA. Kirilenko is not the only former NBA player on the squad right now as he's also joined by Nenad Krstić and Viktor Khryapa. I drafted Kirilenko in my fantasy basketball league this year and since his stats in Russia get me zero points, I might has well have drafted myself. Thanks Andrei.

Photo Credit: onemanfastbreak.net

D is for Davies. American striker Charlie Davies is headed back to France to resume training with his French club Sochaux. Davies, nearly killed in a horrific car crash late in 2009, spent the 2011 season on loan to D.C. United. Despite scoring 11 goals in 26 games for United last season, the MLS club decided against a permanent transfer and with the loan expiring Davies now returns to Europe. Sochaux (4-9-6) currently sits in 19th place in the French Ligue 1 scoring just 21 goals in 19 matches. No word yet on what Davies' role will be with the French club.

Photo Credit: theshinguardian.com

E is for Eighteen. Houston Rockets point guard Kyle Lowry scored just 2 points against the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night but tied a career high with 18 assists as the Rockets beat the Hawks 95-84. The 18 assists were the most by an NBA player this season and were just one shy of the record for assists for a player who scored 2 points or less in a single game over the past 25 years. The 6'0" Lowry also had a ridiculous block of a layup attempt by Jannero Pargo.

Fis for Flynn. No Aaron Rodgers? No problem. Matt Flynn, who once upon a time quarterbacked LSU to a National Championship, started under center for the Packers today and threw for 480 yards and 6 touchdowns (both Green Bay records) in Green Bay's 45-41 win over the Lions. Playing without Rodgers, cornerback Charles Woodson, linebacker Clay Matthews, wide receiver Greg Jennings, right tackle Bryan Bulaga, running back James Starks and wide receiver Randall Cobb the Packers showcased their depth and finish the regular season 15-1. The crazy thing about this game though? As good as Flynn's numbers were, he wasn't even the most prolific passer in this game. Lions quarterback Matt Stafford threw for 520 yards and 5 touchdowns in a losing effort. Only 4 quarterbacks in NFL history have thrown for more yards in a single game: Norm Van Brocklin (554), Warren Moon (527), Boomer Esiason (522) and Dan Marino (521).

Photo Credit: usatoday.com

G is for Gustavo Ayón. The 26 year old 6'10" Mexican big man may be ready to make his NBA debut for the New Orleans Hornets this week now that he finally has his U.S. work visa. Ayón was a winner of the 2011 Asociación de Clubs de Baloncesto (ACB) Rising Star Award while playing for Baloncesto Fuenlabrada in Spain. Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio was the recipient of the award back in 2007.

Photo Credit: basket-live.sk

H is for Hines Ward. Congratulations to Ward who became the newest member of the 1000 reception club today. Already one of the greatest receivers in NFL history, he now finds himself in pretty elite company joining Jerry Rice (1549), Tony Gonzalez (1143), Marvin Harrison (1102), Cris Carter (1101), Tim Brown (1094), Terrell Owens (1061) and Isaac Bruce (1024) as the only players in NFL history to catch at least 1000 passes. Ward, in his 14th NFL season had just 41 receptions on the year before making 5 catches in today's game.

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

I is for Italy. It looks as though the U.S. Men's National Team is headed back to Europe in 2012 as a friendly match with Italy has been tentatively been set for February 29th in Genoa. The match, which is to benefit victims of November's deadly flooding in Genoa, will be the U.S.'s first against Italy since the 2009 Confederations Cup that they lost by a score of 3-1. The U.S. has never beaten Italy in 10 matches managing just 3 draws including one at the Group Stage of the 2006 World Cup. The U.S. opens its 2012 slate with a home match against Venezuela on January 21st.

Photo Credit: mlssoccer.com

J is for Ji-Dong Won. The South Korean striker scored 2:56 into stoppage time to give Sunderland a stunning 1-0 victory over league leaders Manchester City today. It was just the second Premier League goal for the 20 year old striker who burst onto the international scene in 2011 with 7 goals for South Korea. City misses a golden opportunity to put some distance between themselves and Manchester United who also lost this weekend dropping a 3-2 contest against Blackburn Rovers.

Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com

K is for Kevin Love. The double double machine continues to rack up points and rebounds and tonight it finally resulted in a victory. Losers of 15 in a row to end the 2010-11 season, the Wolves had already dropped 3 in a row to start this season before tonight's 99-82 win over the struggling Mavericks. Love scored 25 points and pulled down 17 rebounds in the win.

Photo Credit: thehoopdoctors.com

L is for Luck. "Congratulations" to the Indianapolis Colts who following their loss today to the Jacksonville Jaguars will have the number one pick in the 2012 NFL Draft. Stanford quarterback Andrew Luck is the consensus number one pick, but the Colts already have a franchise quarterback, albeit an injured one, in Peyton Manning. Some big decisions for the Colts to make over the next few months now that they're officially on the clock. Luck will be in action in Monday's Fiesta Bowl against Oklahoma State.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

M is for Miami Heat. The Heat cruised to a 129-90 win over the Charlotte Bobcats tonight as they improved their record on the season to 5-0, the first time in franchise history that they've opened the season with 5 straight wins. The Heat try to make it 6 in a row tomorrow night when they host the 3-1 Hawks.

Photo Credit: espn.go.com

N is for Number 99. Linebacker Jason Taylor played his final NFL game today after 15 solid seasons. Taylor finishes his career with 139.5 sacks, including 7 this season. The 2006 NFL Defensive Player of the Year helped Miami close out the season by eliminating the New York Jets from the wildcard race with a 19-17 win. The Fins won 6 of their last 9 games after starting the year 0-7.

Photo Credit: mysanantonio.com

O is for the Oklahoma City Thunder. The young Thunder won their 5th in a row on New Year's Eve, the franchise's best start since moving over from Seattle. Kevin Durant scored just 12 points after opening the year with 4 straight 30 point games, but it didn't matter as the Thunder cruised to a 107-97 win over the Phoenix Suns. Durant needed to play just 26 minutes as the Thunder bench contributed 53 points in the rout. The Thunder will try to make it 6 straight when they travel to Dallas on Monday to take on the defending champion Mavericks (1-4).

Photo Credit: sports.yahoo.com

P is for Playoffs. It took 17 weeks, but here are. First, in the AFC: The Patriots are the top seed while the Baltimore Ravens also get a first round bye. The Houston Texans will host the Cincinnati Bengals while the Denver Tebows back into the AFC West title and will host the Pittsburgh Steelers. Meanwhile, over in the NFC: The Packers and 49ers take the top two spots. The Saints will host the Lions while the Giants - who clinched the NFC East after the last game of the season - will take on the Falcons.

Q is for Quentin. Carlos Quentin is headed to the San Diego Padres after a deal was struck between San Diego and the Chicago White Sox. Quentin, a two-time all star, has hit at least 20 home runs in each of the past 4 seasons and he'll start in left field for the Padres. The White Sox get minor league pithcers Simon Castro and Pedro Hernandez. Castro, 23, made 22 starts between AA and AAA last year posting a 5.63 ERA while Hernandez, 22, went 10-3 with a 3.49 ERA between A ball, AA and AAA.

Photo Credit: mlbreports.com

R is for Robert Griffin III. The 2011 Heisman Trophy Winner will not be back next season for Baylor having stated that he intends to declare for the 2012 NFL Draft. RGIII already has his degree, and could have stayed on at Baylor while continuing to work towards his Masters, but will instead look to compete at the next level. He ends his career at Baylor having won their first ever Heisman Trophy and having led the Bears to their first bowl win since the 1992 Sun Bowl and their first 10 win season since 1980. He is currently listed as a Top 10 Draft Prospect according to espn.com's Todd McShay.

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columbiadailyherald.com

S is for Sacks. Jared Allen had 3.5 sacks today for the Vikings giving him 22 on the season, just a half a sack shy of Michael Strahan's record. The Vikings finish the season 3-13, so Allen's performance, while mostly wasted, is one of the few bright spots. The 29 year old from Idaho State has had at least 11 sacks in 6 of his first 8 NFL seasons.

Photo Credit: cbssports.com

T is for Thierry Henry. Henry is headed back to England to re-sign with Arsenal on a two-month loan deal. The 34 year old Frenchman spent 9 seasons with the Gunners while in his prime scoring 174 goals in the Premier League. Arsenal is currently in 4th place in the Premier League as they get set to take on Clint Dempsey and Fulham tomorrow.

Photo Credit: dailypost.com.ng

U is for Unbeatens. We're down to just a handful of unbeatens in Men's Division I College Hoops right now as we start the new year. Baylor (13-0), Missouri (13-0), Syracuse (15-0) and Murray State (14-0) are all that's left. Baylor and Missouri play each other on January 21st.

Photo Credit: nunesmagician.com

V is for Villa. American goalie Brad Guzan allowed an early penalty kick goal to Didier Drogba, but Aston Villa rallied for 3 straight goals to stun Chelsea 3-1. The Blues have now gone winless in their last four matches following their 2-1 win over Manchester City back on December 12th. The win was just Guzan's second since taking over for injured starter Shay Given.

Photo Credit: bleacherreport.com

W is for the Winter Classic. If you're like me and you don't have Versus, tomorrow is a great opportunity to catch a hockey game on network television as the New York Rangers will take on the Philadelphia Flyers outdoors at Citizens Bank Ballpark. This will be the 5th occurrence of the Winter Classic with the puck set to drop at 3 pm Eastern. The game will be televised on NBC. The Flyers are led by the NHL's second leading scorer Claude Giroux (17 goals, 28 assists) while the Rangers have the league's second leading goal scorer Marion Gaborik (22 goals).

Photo Credit: montrealgazette.com

X is for "X"-perience. Yeah, pretty weak I know. Anyhow, it pays to be a lefty reliever who's been around a while. 41 year old Darren Oliver will be back next season after signing a one year deal with an option for 2013 with the Toronto Blue Jays. Oliver has appeared in 654 games over 18 major league seasons. He has posted an ERA under 3.00 while making at least 54 appearances in each of the last four years while pitching for the Angels and Rangers. Toronto will be the 9th different major league team Oliver has pitched for.

Photo Credit: zimbio.com

Y is for Yakubu Aiyegbeni. The Nigerian striker scored a pair of goals and Grant Hanley netted the game winner as Blackburn Rovers stunned Manchester United 3-2 for just their third win of the year moving them out of the Premier League cellar. It was just United's second loss of the season in 19 matches, but with Manchester City also dropping points this weekend, it costs United an opportunity to take over first place. Aiyegbeni now has 12 goals this season.

Photo Credit: www1.skysports.com

Z is for Zero. The number of playoff games that Rex Ryan and the Jets will be playing in this year.

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