NBC12's Marc Davis covers the world of sports in Central Virginia and beyond. Check in here for Marc's take on Richmond, Henrico, Chesterfield, Petersburg and more high school sports. Plus, sports discussion of VCU, University of Richmond and other college and pro athletics.
I'm a believer that sports are more than just fun and games on a regular basis. Athletes learn many life lessons through sports and develop life long friendships. Many of the people I consider my closest friends are former teammates from my college cross country team. Sports also provide an escape during times of trouble, both on an individual and mass scale.
On Monday, cowardly individuals attacked sports, bombing one of the world's premier marathons. The Boston Marathon is more than a race. It's a feat that people in every walk of life strive for. It's an event completed by elite runners as well as those whose goal is just to finish. Many were unable to achieve their goal on Monday.
If you take a moment to look back at some of the worst moments in history, sports have served as a symbol of America's ability to bounce back. I have an image etched in my head from the first weekend of football following the September 11th attacks, where two members of the Cleveland Browns run out of the tunnell holding an American flag. I remember President Bush firing a strike in New York City during the 2001 World Series. The latest example came at TD BankNorth Garden in Boston Wednesday night, when nearly 20,000 hockey fans sang the national anthem as one. It defies the hope of our enemies that we will be brought down, instead choosing to stand tall in the face of adversity. Baseball teams everywhere honored Boston by playing Sweet Caroline, even the arch rival New York Yankees.
Wednesday night's moment in Boston at the hockey game saw tears shed throughout the arena and gripped whoever may have been watching on television. But they were different tears than those that were shed on Monday. The tears and pain and fear that showered the nation on Monday had become tears of hope brought on by the unity of a city at one of its worst moments.
So as the Celtics open their playoff series, as the Bruins make a late season push, and as the Red Sox put up an early fight in the American League East, these teams play for more than just wins, losses, money and pride. They play for a city that is getting up and brushing itself off. They play to put smiles on the faces of fans and citizens in search of an escape, and chances are a little piece of you is cheering for them, too.
Opening Day is my favorite day of the year. All through school, I would come home from school and turn on whatever game was happening at the time. During college, I would skip classes for the day to enjoy it with friends who love the game of baseball as much as I do. This is actually the first Opening Day I've worked in six years, as it's become a tradition of mine to burn a vacation day so I could take in the return of America's pastime.
The return of baseball also reminds me of my father, as we've spent countless hours talking about the game since I was old enough to understand it. He'll pull for his beloved Phillies, while I route for the Mariners, a team I came to love during my first visit to the Emerald City in the mid-1990's.
My dad never signed up to be a coach when I played little league growing up, but somehow, he always found his way onto the staff as a volunteer, and would be the loudest, most positive voice you'd hear throughout the season. I was never very good at baseball, but my father made me feel like an all-star after every trip to the field, and that continues to be one of my most cherished memories as an adult. I certainly hope I have the same impact on my kids.
Baseball also brings with it surprises each season. Last year we watched the Nationals, Orioles and Athletics burst onto the postseason scene. Phillip Humber threw a perfect game, one of three no-hitters thrown at Safeco Field. Johan Santana threw a one-hitter that was called a no-hitter, and the Red Sox went through a downward spiral that one simple word in Boston will sum up... Valentine.
So what will 2013 hold? I think there will certainly be a lot of parity in the league this year, and I believe we'll see one of the closest overall races across the board, except maybe in the AL Central. Things will look a little different with the Astros in the American League and an interleague game every day.
In the NL East, I'll go with everybody's favorite pick, the Nationals, but I don't think the Braves will be too far behind. I love what they've built in Washington and it will be fun to see the Nats and Atlanta go toe-to-toe this season. Philadelphia, the Mets and Miami round out this division.
I'll take the Reds to win the NL Central, with the Cardinals nipping at their heels. Keep in mind this division doesn't have Houston to kick around anymore. Milwaukee will finish a distant third, followed by the Pirates and the Cubs.
The Giants win the NL West as the defending World Champions will get the chance to defend their title. They'll get a tough test from the Dodgers and Diamondbacks, with LA finishing second. Colorado and San Diego will once again be irrelevent come July.
Division Champs: Nationals, Reds, Giants
Wild Cards: Braves, Dodgers
NLDS: Nats over Reds, Braves over Giants
NLCS: Nats over Braves
To the American League, and I love what the Blue Jays have done in the off-season. While many have picked Tampa Bay to win the AL East, I'm taking the team that hails from north of the border. Tampa Bay will come in second, with Baltimore finishing third, and for the first time in recent memory, the Yankees and Red Sox will fill out the bottom two spots in the division.
Detroit will run away with the AL Central, as I think they're the best team in the American League. If you think any other team in that division is worth talking about, feel free to speak up.
The Angels and Rangers will battle for the AL West title, with the Halos' line-up proving too much for the rest of the pack. Oakland and Seattle will battle for third place, with Houston finishing last and tallying at least 110 losses.
Division Champs: Blue Jays, Tigers, Angels
Wild Cards: Rays, Rangers
ALDS: Tigers over Rays, Blue Jays over Angels
ALCS: Tigers over Blue Jays
The World Series will feature Detroit and Washington, and after two losses in the fall classic since 2006, the Tigers finally get over the hump and beat the Nationals in six games.
World Series: Tigers over Nationals
The great part about baseball is that there will be a team that messes everybody's predictions up. A team that is expected to shine will struggle, and a team that nobody sees coming will shock the baseball world. It's one of the many things that make this game the best sport there is.
Oh, and one more thing... can we please get rid of this ridiculous All-Star Game winner getting World Series home-field advantage rule?
The Atlantic 10 just capped off its 2012-2013 season at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, and what a tournament it was. Teams entered in clusters in the conference standings and seven of the eleven tournament games were decided by six points or less. We saw two controversial finishes when Richmond lost to Charlotte on three technical fouls in the final 4.7 seconds and an apparant shove in the final second was not called that should have sent Xavier to the foul line in an eventual one point loss to UMass. VCU and Butler made it to the finals and semifinals, respectively, in their first seasons in the conference, and Saint Louis capped it all off by winning its first Atlantic 10 championship, holding off a charging Rams comeback.
What we've seen is a glimpse of what could have been for years to come. Next year, Butler and Xavier will almost certainly leave to join the new-look Big East, and several other conference teams look to be on the same road in the next two seasons, including the Billikins. A league that offered, in my opinion, some of the best basketball in the nation this year will be torn apart, and that's a shame. A 16 team league will be trimmed to 12 (Temple and Charlotte will join the (old) Big East and Conference USA, respectively), losing some of its top talent.
Would this year's tournament have been as exciting? Maybe, but let's take a look at what would have been had next year's projected happenings been in place this season:
The tournament would open with Dayton and St. Bonaventure, followed by 5th seeded Richmond taking on 12th seeded Duquesne, a team that only managed on conference victory on the season... oh wait... that would not have happened because that win came against Temple. GW and Fordham would have battled in the 7-10 showdown, with St. Joe's and URI ending in the nightcap.
I'll save you the painful truth of playing this out the whole way, and I didn't go through and re-seed based on no results against the teams that are allegedly leaving, but the hard truth is the fact that the future of the league isn't as bright. I'm not saying it won't offer good basketball, because I think there we be a lot of good match-ups, but if the conference is affected by a second wave of Big East pulls, we could see the second coming of the current CAA.
I hope by some miracle something swoops down and stops all of this from happening. I hope by some miracle the Atlantic 10 can stay intact. This year, the league put five teams in the NCAA Tournament, but will we be sitting here two years from now hoping our favorite team wins the league, because that's the only way it will find a spot in the NCAA Tournament? I fear it's possible.
A lot of excitement is surrounding this week's Atlantic 10 Tournament in Brooklyn. 12 teams are meeting at the Barclays Center to battle for the conference title, and I think eight of them have a chance to win it. Here are my predictions for how this will play out:
Thursday:
Game 1: Richmond beats Charlotte- The Spiders rocked Charlotte in the fourth game of their league season. Since then, Charlotte has dismissed its leading scorer from the team and has struggled. Look for the Spiders to move to the quarterfinals.
Game 2: Butler over Dayton- These two actually played a close game in the regular season, but I think the Bulldogs roll in this one reletively easily. The postseason is when the Bulldogs shine, and I look for them to last into the weekend.
Game 3: Xavier over St. Joe's- This is a game that I expect to go down to the wire. It's been a disappointing season for the Hawks, who were A10 preseason favorites. Xavier spent most of the year in the conference's top four, and I expect the Musketeers of the early season to show up Thursday.
Game 4- UMass over George Washington: The two times I saw GW in person I was less-than-impressed, as the Colonials were blown out by VCU and couldn't hold a 2nd half lead against Richmond (one of the slower, sloppier games of the year). UMass moves on convincingly.
Friday:
Saint Louis over Richmond- The Spiders played the Billikins tough at the Robins Center, but this is an even better Saint Louis team. Sorry, Spider fans, your road ends in the quarterfinals, with hopes of a postseason berth somewhere.
Butler over La Salle- I've been impressed with La Salle, so this is tough, but I really think we're going to see Butler get two wins to move on to Saturday's semifinals. Rotnei Clark is due for a big showing.
VCU over Xavier- The Rams overcame a 17 point 2nd half deficit to beat the Musketeers in Cincinnati in the regular season. I like their chances in this one. Xavier will come in believing it could win after failing to finish earlier, but VCU will hold them off and move into the semifinals.
Temple over UMass- Temple has a great chance to win this entire tournament. The Owls are the hottest team in the conference and have momentum after topping VCU to cap off its regular season. Temple is on to Saturday.
Saturday:
Saint Louis over Butler- The Billikins and Bulldogs met twice this season, with SLU winning both. I don't think Butler can hang in the conference semifinals, especially in its third game of the day against arguably the best team in the conference. Butler falls, SLU's in the title game.
Temple over VCU- As Ram fans curse my name while reading this, please take comfort in the fact that this is a tough decision. I love this match-up, and I love the way the Rams play. At their best, nobody can beat them. I would not be surprised if VCU won, but I have to give the edge to the Owls.
Sunday:
Temple over Saint Louis- It's another very difficult one to pick. The Billikins have been at the top of the Atlantic 10 since the beginning of the season, but the Owls are peaking at the right time. I pick Temple as the 2013 Atlantic 10 Champions.
We haven't even had the first points race yet, and NASCAR fans are all ready sick of the Danica Patrick coverage. The question is... how long will it last?
Like any athlete who's popular for reasons other than their performance on the court, the issue people have with Danica is that she hasn't done ANYTHING on the track to deserve all the attention.
Well, now she's done SOMETHING, so you can't get angry at the racing media for going out of their minds.
She's won a pole. And she did it at Daytona - the highest profile, most drawn-out week of the year.
Is she going to win the Great American Race? Almost surely not.
Here's the list of the drivers that have won the Daytona 500 from the pole since 1970:
Cale Yarborough (1970), Buddy Baker (1980), Yarborough (1984), Bill Elliott (1987), Dale Jarrett (2001).
Those are some huge racing names, something that Patrick is not.
But this is a laudable accomplishment. Many NASCAR fans I know never thought she'd even be able to win a pole against the best drivers in the world.
The question really is, what sort of a leap does she make this season, running Cup full-time? Last year in this blog, I projected that she would win a Nationwide race. She never really came close.
And I don't think that she will come close to winning a Cup race this year. But the fact that she's won this pole does signify that she's coming along. And while there are some fans that have said she would NEVER win a Sprint Cup race, I disagree. I think she will wind up in victory lane, eventually.
So for all of you NASCAR fans who are sick of Danica, she's not going away. But midway through the season, when she's 26th in points, she won't nearly dominate the headlines like she's doing now.
Other thoughts about the upcoming season:
Brad Keselowski will regress. I'm not saying that he's not a talented driver. But it happens all the time - young guys win a championship, and they rest on their laurels the following year. LOTS went right for Kes last year, and he's a talented guy, but I can't see him getting the breaks again.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will not be a factor. He might make the Chase, but I'm sick of predicting that he is going to get back into contention. I'm just done with him.
JGR will dominate. Adding Matt Kenseth to the stable will elevate all of Gibbs racing. JGR will win more races than any other team, including Hendrick.
Kevin Harvick will win plenty of races, but fall short again. Harv is becoming the best driver not to have won a championship. Something always keeps him just a little bit short. And it will again.
Kyle Busch will win the 2013 Sprint Cup. After an awful 2012 season, Rowdy figures it out, and now in the strongest stable in the garage, he's the surprise strongest car. He stays out of all the drama, and just wins baby.
1. Whether it was because of Ray Lewis or not, that Baltimore Ravens defense certainly stepped up its game in the playoffs. They hit harder than anyone else - that helped to force turnovers and also keep receivers on their toes during their routes. That was obvious in Pats game, and showed itself once again with the LaMichael James fumble.
2. I'm just exhausted with almost all of the big story lines by the time the Super Bowl is over. I don't want to see Ray Lewis, Joe Flacco, or either Harbaugh for a long, long time.
3. I thought the holding in the end zone on 4th down in the 4th quarter could have been called. But it seemed like most of that had been going on all game, and really all playoffs the Ravens were getting away with it.
4. Flacco should've been the MVP. Jacoby Jones had the two biggest plays of the game, but Flacco made some HUGE throws to Anquan Boldin in the second half to secure that victory. Flacco was great.. and had an incredible playoffs.
5. Also.. I'd give the slight edge to Boldin over Jones for 2nd place for the MVP. But I almost always go QB over WR in Super Bowls.
6. For instance, Deion Branch and Santonio Holmes don't deserve Super Bowl MVPs. Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger should've won those years.
7. I don't blame the loss on Colin Kaepernick. Certainly, he was not prepared to audible when he saw blitzes, and there were times where he didn't look comfortable getting to the hot read before the pressure got to him. Certainly Flacco played better. But for his 10th game in the NFL, he had some incredible throws, and played with great poise after the blackout.
8. If you're going to blame someone, blame the 49er secondary. Atrocious.
9. I HATED the call for the fake field goal. Eight is a lot of yards for a kicker to run, and the Ravens all ready had ALL of the momentum. Take the 3 points, and keep pouring it on.
10. With more and more offenses gearing toward throwing down field, and the restrictions that defensive backs have playing wide receivers, this type of never-over-till-it's-over type of game is more of the norm. There are so many good quarterbacks, and the most skilled, quick and agile players in the league are receivers - so even a run-first team like the 49ers can score 14 points in two and a half minutes.
11. Huge viewership numbers. I'm surprised that it was the most watched Super Bowl ever - I thought fewer people would get excited about this matchup, but I was wrong.
12. And huge in Richmond - 8th largest market in the country in terms of Super Bowl viewership.
13. If I'm New Orleans, I'm kissing my chances at the 2018 Super Bowl goodbye. The blackout was a nightmare. There will be a Super Bowl in New Orleans again. But I'm not holding my breath until the next time.
14. I heard a national reporter today say that Beyonce's performance is "arguably the most talked about halftime show ever". This could not be more false. JANET JACKSON! HELLO?!?!?!
15. That being said, I thought Beyonce was awesome. While I wasn't all that excited about the Destiny's Child reunion, the females in the room that I was watching it with certainly were.
16. Plus, I thought they used some real cutting age technology. When I'm watching a halftime show, I want to see something that I had never seen before. Her dancing with multiple Beyonces was very unique, and I really liked the perfomance as a whole.
17. And she didn't lip synch. Which is fantastic - because there has not been a story that has made me yell "NOBODY CARES!!!!" at the television screen more this year than the "Beyonce lip-synched" story.
18. My favorite halftime show of all time? U2 in 2001.
19. New favorite Super Bowl food - neighbor Katherine hooked us up with some crescent rolls stuffed with jalapenos, cream cheese, bacon and I can't remember what else. Awesome.
20. New favorite Super Bowl beer - "Shift" by the guys at New Belgium.
21. Always wanted to include a What Lincoln is Drinkin' part of this blog... but it has not come to fruition yet. Maybe if there's enough popular demand....
22. No, I have never covered a Super Bowl. While it is the biggest spectacle in all of sports.. part of me thinks that while I'm there I would wish that I was instead sitting on a recliner with a Shift in one hand and a jalapeno cheese roll in the other.
23. There is a lot of vitriol on the internet spewed at Phil Simms. This is why - it seems like he does zero research, and relies on the knowledge of the games that he's called, and the games that he's played. There is almost zero insight. He is awful.
24. Also, Jim Nantz has called a lot of big games over the years. There is a thought that a broadcaster needs to let the game speak, because people care about what they're seeing, not what some broadcaster is saying. I totally disagree - the viewer is watching a "broadcast" of the game. Nantz is our host.. he is delivering this to homes all across the country. What I'm getting to, is I thought Jim was very bland. He's always bland.. but I thought he was extra bland Sunday.
25. And was there a worse half hour of television than the time during the blackout? No joke, I actually changed the channel to the Puppy Bowl.
26. Yes, the Puppy Bowl - with hamsters driving the blimp, and little hedgehog cheerleaders.
27. Also, I totally agree with this from Deadspin: http://deadspin.com/5981428/it-took-a-blackout-to-show-you-how-truly-useless-nfl-broadcasters-are (beware, there's some profanity here). CBS's studio crew is by far the worst on television, and it was ugly during the blackout. Why do we need all the same guys saying all the same things? Can you even name all the guys on CBS? With all the millions that are spent on NFL pregame shows, that money can go to a better place than Dan Marino's pockets.
28. Lots of talk today about the best commercial, and it seems the Dodge "God Made Farmers" ad was the best. It was not my favorite, but our room was totally quiet during its entirety.
29. Ones that I thought were clever - the Bud Light Voodoo commercials. Clever, funny, and I liked the way they tied in New Orleans.
30. Doritos almost always has the best commercials.. but I thought they were some of the worst of the day.
31. Other faves - the Audi commercial with Prom, and the Cheetos commercial with the guys playing "Princesses".
32. I just saw a commercial during PTI, that made me laugh out loud more than any I saw during the Super Bowl. It's from the great guys at Old Spice.
33. As for the GoDaddy.com Ad... Too gross to really enjoy.
34. During the first half of this game, I got up to eat during game play, because I was much more excited about the commercials. That probably gives you some sort of idea about by mindset coming into this one.
35. Really disappointed in the Super Bowl logo:
Most logos that were used, got rid of the Superdome in the background, and became the most mundane, generic logo in Super Bowl history. This is a decision by the NFL to go with a generic logo, and just change the background stadium. Terrible decision.
36. Don't you miss logos like this?:
37. Back to the football - I agree with the referees not to kick Cary Williams (the Raven that pushed the ref) out of the game. At that point, the physicality was getting a little out of control. But it seemed like after the scrum, everyone really calmed down. It was obvious Williams didn't mean to push a ref, he thought he was just another player.
38. Jim Harbaugh needs to get a hold of himself. He did not conduct himself like a professional - he looks more like a little kid on the sidelines than a leader of men. Does he ever watch video of himself? How can you remain level-headed to make the correct decision as head coach when you are obviously letting your emotions get the best of you?
39. Say what you want about Bill Belichick, but you know that he is not letting his emotions get the best of him.
40. Is Joe Flacco elite? He certainly had an elite 4 playoff games. To me, elite means his team goes as he goes, and he could possibly be a Hall of Famer one day. Right now, those guys are Tom Brady, Peyton Manning, Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees. Joe Flacco and Eli Manning are just outside that group.
41. Of course, guys like Robert Griffin III, Colin Kaepernick, Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson just haven't won enough games yet to be elite. But I may take all of them to quarterback MY team over Eli Manning right now.
42. Randy Moss is the 2nd best wide receiver in the history of football. Jerry Rice is #1, and may be #1 forever. Terrell Owens is #3, and will likely be passed by Calvin Johnson and Larry Fitzgerald by the time their careers are over. That being said, Moss was NOT one of the 5 or 6 best receivers on the field Sunday. He needs to retire now.
43. Ray Rice better watch out - Bernard Pierce may wind up being a better 1st and 2nd down back than him next year. I will not take Ray Rice in the first round or maybe first two rounds of my fantasy football draft next year.
44. I may possibly take Kaepernick in the 2nd round of my fantasy football draft next year.
45. Big fantasy football fan? Here's a game that I play in the playoffs with a friend of mine who's also obsessed with fantasy football:
Before the playoffs start we do a draft just the two of us (one of us gets the first pick, and then we each get two selections until we fill the team). We are drafting 2 QB, 3 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, and 1 DEF. But the catch is, you can only select one player from each playoff team. Then we only count touchdowns, so it's very easy for us to score it without the help of the computer. So, here are our teams:
Mine:
QBs: Tom Brady, Peyton Manning (Total TDs: 7)
RBs: Arian Foster, Alfred Morris, Frank Gore (6)
WRs: Randall Cobb, AJ Green, Reggie Wayne (0)
TE: Tony Gonzalez (2)
DEF: Ravens (2)
My friend's team:
QB: Aaron Rodgers, Andrew Luck (3)
RB: Marshawn Lynch, Adrian Peterson, Ray Rice (4)
WR: Julio Jones, Andre Johnson, Demaryius Thomas (3)
TE: Rob Gronkowski (0)
DEF: 49ers (0)
So I beat him 17-10. Good times! I recommend the game to everyone obsessed with fantasy football.
46. There are a few variations, but the most points I could get by using this formula is 32 TD's. That would be a perfect score:
QB: Joe Flacco, Colin Kaepernick (Total TD's 18)
RB: Shane Vereen, Arian Foster, Marshawn Lynch (8)
WR: Greg Jennings (or James Jones), Julio Jones, Demaryius Thomas (4)
TE: Logan Paulsen (1)
DEF: Bengals (1)
(Yes, I have too much time on my hands)
47. Last year right after Super Bowl 46, I picked the Packers to beat the Texans in Super Bowl 47. It looked like that could've happened if a couple of things had went Green Bay's way.
I'm taking the Packers again in Super Bowl 48 - Green Bay over Denver in the first Super Bowl in New York.
I should start thinking about my 48 thoughts for next year now.
If there was every any doubt that VCU should have left the CAA for the Atlantic-10, it has been squashed halfway through the Rams first conference season.
The A-10 has been incredible - it has an RPI of 7 in the country (putting it ahead of the SEC and Missouri Valley) and will put at least 3, and as many as 5 or 6 teams in the NCAA Tournament.
And there is no team running away with this. 7 games in, no teams are undefeated. No teams have 1 loss. And a whopping 7 have two losses. Is VCU the best team in the league? Is Butler? Is Xavier? Is Saint Louis? Temple and La Salle both have three losses, and they could be considered the best.
The rest of the teams in the league - Richmond, UMass, Saint Joe's, Dayton, and others - have also been incredibly strong.
Right now, I'd take the top 12 teams in the 16 team league.. and I would take them over the 12 teams in the ACC.
As with the league itself, the Player of the Year race is also wide open.
But there are 4 frontrunners:
Ramon Galloway, La Salle - If VCU fans didn't know his name two weeks ago.. they know it now. He scored 31 points for the Explorers, and became the first team to win an A-10 game at the Siegel Center.
Treveon Graham, VCU - He was the leader by himself before the Rams dropped two straight. He's been VCU's most dependable performer, and it is obvious that they will go as he goes.
Khalif Wyatt, Temple - The leading scorer in the league, Wyatt led Temple to maybe the league's best win - over Syracuse in the Carrier Dome. The Owls have been erratic this year, but if they find a way to win the league outright, Wyatt will be Player of the Year.
Rotnei Clarke, Butler - He missed two games after suffering a horrific neck injury against Dayton, but he's been remarkably clutch while he's been in there. I peg Butler right now as the best team in the league, and it's got a lot to do with Clarke.
I'd be shocked if anyone else walked away with the Player of the Year Award. UMass's Chaz Williams, Dayton's Kevin Dillard and Xavier's Semaj Christon are having great years, but I just don't see any of them winning the award.
One more A-10 thought:
Saint Louis coach Jim Crews would be my choice for Coach of the Year. What Shaka Smart and Brad Stevens have done, bringing two teams from outside the league, and making them arguably the two best teams in the league, should not be ignored. But after the death of Rick Majerus, Crews has brought the Billikens together, and their win over Butler this week maybe the most impressive conference victory of the year.
But of course.. there's still a month to play, and a lot can, and will happen.
Oh yeah, and by the way, that old league, the CAA, has just three teams that have a winning record and is easily a one-bid conference. The teams that brought the CAA to another level are all not players this year - VCU is gone, Mason is terribly inconsistent, Drexel is a huge disappointment, and Old Dominion is an epic disaster.
What a difference a year makes, and the Rams decision to join the A-10 looks better each day.
What am I thinkin' about the Manti Te'o story? As a journalist, it makes you think about how many times I maybe should have done a deeper background check, or searched for a death certificate. We are always looking for emotional stories, ones that tug at your heart strings, and makes the viewer feel something. So are we likely to trust someone when they are telling us about a dead loved one? You better believe it.
As for Manti himself, it is hard to believe that he was duped all the way until this week. That seems just unbelievable to me - there's no way someone would invest all the time on the phone and emotional expense over someone they never met.
But, without knowing Manti, it is hard for me to make a real conclusion on whether he's an all-out liar, or just a pathetic, naive young man.
Tell me what you think - here are the most important stories, with all the details about what you could possibly need to know about the Te'o story.
http://deadspin.com/5976517/manti-teos-dead-girlfriend-is-a-hoax?post=56284056 - The original Deadspin story which set this whole thing off an running. An incredible breakdown of how they researched to find out she never existed. It tells us who all of those pictures are that were supposed to be of Lennay Kekua, and introduces us to Roniah Tuiasosopo, who is apparently behind this whole thing.
It's a lot to process. And if you should probably just sit and watch college basketball this weekend instead of trying to read all of this. But if you're behind on it all.. here's how you get caught up.
How far will the Redskins go? Will there be any first round upsets? Who will win the Super Bowl? All those questions.. answered.
Wild Card Round (home teams in parentheses)
4) REDSKINS over 5) Seahawks
3) PACKERS over 6) Vikings
4) RAVENS over 5) Colts
3) TEXANS over 6) Bengals
Divisional Rounds
4) Redskins over 1) FALCONS
2) 49ERS over 3) Packers
1) BRONCOS over 4) Ravens
2) PATRIOTS over 3) Texans
Championship Games:
2) 49ERS over 4) Redskins
2) Patriots over 1) BRONCOS
Super Bowl:
Patriots over 49ers.
(BTW - on my blog last year immediately after the Super Bowl I picked the Packers to beat the Texans in this year's Super Bowl. While I don't think that's what's going to happen, if it does, I get partial credit.)
2012 was a great year for sports in Richmond. Who could've projected both UR and VCU getting new athletic directors? Or the Redskins camp coming to town? Or the Spiders adding men's lacrosse?
What will 2013 bring? Here are some fearless projections:
The Redskins will advance to the NFC Championship. The Skins will win a slobberknocker with the Seahawks, and then embarrass the top seeded Falcons on their home turf. But they will run into a strong, fast defense at San Francisco that will slow down their running game.
VCU will win its first A-10 Tournament. Havoc rules at the Barclays Center, and the Rams' championship earns them a 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The Rams will coast to wins in the first weekend of the Big Dance, but will lose in the Sweet 16, once again to Duke.
There will be no movement on a new baseball stadium. Things that are more likely to happen in 2013 than Richmond finalizing plans for a new stadium for the Flying Squirrels:
1. VCU realized it made a mistake, and returns to the CAA.
2. The Spiders dissolve their baseball program, in order to add men's equestrian.
3. The Flying Squirrels announce they are leaving town in 2014.
Yeah, that last one is not a joke.
Spider football wins the CAA. Michael Strauss is a Dudley Award finalist (he loses to Logan Thomas) and Danny Rocco is named FCS Coach of the Year. The Spiders get a first round bye in the playoffs, and lose in the quarterfinals.
Tim Hightower returns to the NFL. Fully healed from his knee injury, Hightower gets invited to camp and earns a spot on the roster with..... the Dallas Cowboys.
Kyle Busch sweeps the races at RIR, and wins the Chase. Now the third wheel at Gibbs, Busch realizes it's do-or-die time. He coasts to wins in Richmond, and then winds up being JGR's strongest car. Denny Hamlin makes the Chase, but never truly contends for the title.
We all wind up liking the VHSL playoff changes. Yes teams have to travel too far, and district play means nothing, but once the playoff starts, excitement around high school sports grows higher than ever before.
