Djokovic Wins Australian Open in Longest Final Ever

Five hours, 53 minutes of championship tennis. In the end, it was the world's #1 who emerged again, as Novak Djokovic outlasted #2 Rafael Nadal 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 in the Australian Open Final to win his fifth career Grand Slam, and third in a row.

Djokovic, coming off a season in which he won three Grand Slams, including beating Nadal in both the Wimbledon and U.S. Open finals, had hoped for a quicker match, after needing nearly five hours to defeat #4 ranked Andy Murray in the semifinals.

What he and the world got instead was a tennis match with sensational shot after sensational shot. After Nadal won the first set 7-5, Djokovic rallied to win the next two sets 6-4, 6-2 and was up 5-4 in the fourth set before Nadal rallied to win in the tiebreak to force a fifth set. In the fifth, Djokovic finally broke Nadal to go up 6-5, and put a forehand winner away at 1:37 A.M. local time to win his third Australian Open title.

"We made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn't be two winners," Djokovic said.

NBA All-Star Voting

NBA All-Star voting ends on Tuesday. So if you haven't voted yet, be sure to vote at NBA.com. The players I voted for are below.

Tigers Land Fielder

Wow. In another deal that was came out of the blue suddenly, the Detroit Tigers have landed free agent 1B Prince Fielder, signing him to a nine year, $214 million deal.

Fielder, 27, hit .299, with 38 home runs, and 120 RBI last season with the Milwaukee Brewers, but was never a strong threat to return to Milwaukee, as he and his mega-agent Scott Boras was going to take the highest offer on the market.

Fielder joins a Detroit Tiger team that was coming off a season in which they advanced to the American League Championship Series behind MVP and Cy Young Justin Verlander and the bats of first baseman Miguel Cabrera and DH Victor Martinez. Martinez was lost for the 2012 season with a torn ACL last week, so Fielder is great replacement for him in the short term. However, long term, this contract, the fourth largest in baseball history, is still insane money, and has little chance of paying off, especially at such a loaded position.

NFL Picks: Conference Championships

01/22

Ravens

vs

Patriots

‎-2:00 PM (CT) on CBS

Classic defense vs. offense battle in the AFC Championship, with Tom Brady and the explosive Patriots offense trying to outplay the rugged Baltimore defense. Key in the match-up will be how much pressure the Ravens can get on Tom Brady to prevent him from getting the ball to his sensational tight-ends, Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. Baltimore's offense also has to make big plays in the passing game against a susceptible New England secondary. In the end, I just think New England's offense is too advanced and prolific and will make just enough plays to advance.

01/22

Giants

vs

49ers

‎-5:30 PM (CT) on FOX

New York is the hottest team in the playoffs right now, with QB Eli Manning playing like an All-Pro and a defense that is playing its best football of the season when it counts the most. The key for the Niners to cool off the Giants is the formula they've used the whole season, get takeaways (as they did 5 times last week against the Saints) and play solid defense. Getting pressure on Manning is important, but even more so, will be making tackles in the open field on the explosive New York wide receivers Hakeem Nicks and Victor Cruz and preventing yards after the catch. But in the end, I think Big Blue's defense, which last week, confused and slowed down MVP Aaron Rodgers, will get pressure on Alex Smith and force San Fran's offense to become one-dimensional to reach Super Bowl XLVI.


Last week: 2-2
Season record: 169-95

NFL Picks: Divisional Playoffs

01/14

Saints

vs

49ers

‎-3:30 PM (CT) on FOX

Prolific New Orleans offense vs. great San Francisco defense. I'll take red-hot QB Drew Brees and the more experienced Saints in a nail-biter.

01/14

Broncos

vs

Patriots

‎-7:00 PM (CT) on CBS

Tebow vs. Brady, Round 2. The real key is whether the Broncos' defense can put enough pressure on Tom Brady and avoid getting picked apart, as they were in their previous match-up. In the end, I don't think they will be able to, and the Broncos will be down too much for any Tebow-led comeback to be possible.

01/15

Texans

vs

Ravens

‎-12:00 PM (CT) on CBS

My hometown Texans have made it this far, without Pro-Bowl LB Mario Williams, and down to our third-string QB in rookie T.J. Yates. It comes down to whether our defense can stifle Baltimore RB Ray Rice. If we limit him, we have a good chance at an upset. But Baltimore is hungry and on paper, they are clearly the better team here.

01/15

Giants

vs

Packers

‎-3:30 PM (CT) on FOX

New York is hot right now, and its defense was dominating last week in shutting out the Falcons' offense, mainly because they stopped the run and got huge pressure on Matt Ryan. Unfortunately for them, the Packers operate on quick passes and don't really utilize the run that much. The result is a big day for Aaron Rodgers, which Eli Manning will have to match to keep the Giants in the game. Advantage: The MVP of the league and the home-team.

Last week: 2-2
Season record: 167-93

BCS National Championship Preview

It may not be the high-scoring shootout that the other BCS Bowl games have been, but tonight, a national champion in college football will be crowned at the Superdome in New Orleans, LA, as #1 LSU takes on #2 Alabama.

Here are my thoughts on the game.
1. Top two scoring defenses in the country face off for the championship. The old phrase: Defense wins championships certainly applies here.
2. Special teams. In the first game, LSU special teams was spectacular (kicker Alleman 3 for 3 field goals), while Alabama's was dreadful (kicker Foster missed four field goals), which proved to be the difference.
3. Turnover battle. In such a closely matched football game, whichever team can get extra possessions through takeaways usually has advantage.
4. Rest or rust? The two teams last played a game 44 days ago.
5. For LSU to move the ball effectively on the Tide, it all starts with the running game. Michael Ford and Spencer Ware's early success will open up passing game for QB Jordan Jefferson to get the ball to his big play WR Rueben Randle.
6. For Alabama to move the ball on the Tigers, it all starts with the running game. (sound familiar?) Trent Richardson was held to 89 yards rushing in these two teams' first match-up, which put a lot more pressure on young QB AJ McCarron to have to throw the ball 28 times. Also, they must finish drives with TDs and not FG attempts, which failed last time.
7. Potential for split national championship if Alabama wins this time? Man, we need a playoff.


I will be calling the game live with Random Sports Unlimited's Peter Berger. LISTEN HERE.
PREDICTION: In a close matchup that goes down to the wire, behind Jefferson and CB/PR play-maker Tyrann Mathieu, LSU takes home the title.
#1 LSU 20, #2 Alabama 19

NFL Picks: Wildcard Weekend

01/07	Bengals	vs			Texans	‎-3:30 PM (CT)
01/07	Lions	vs			Saints	‎-7:00 PM (CT)
01/08	Falcons	vs			Giants	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/08	Steelers	vs			Broncos	‎-3:30 PM (CT)

Last week: 8-8
Season record: 165-91

Happy New Year 2012!

Happy New Year to all my readers! Here are my Week 17 NFL Picks.

01/01	Bills	vs			Patriots	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Panthers	vs			Saints	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Bears	vs			Vikings	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Lions	vs			Packers	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Colts	vs			Jaguars	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Jets	vs			Dolphins	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	49ers	vs			Rams	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Titans	vs			Texans	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Redskins	vs			Eagles	‎-12:00 PM (CT)
01/01	Ravens	vs			Bengals	‎-3:15 PM (CT)
01/01	Chiefs	vs			Broncos	‎-3:15 PM (CT)
01/01	Steelers	vs			Browns	‎-3:15 PM (CT)
01/01	Chargers	vs			Raiders	‎-3:15 PM (CT)
01/01	Seahawks	vs			Cardinals	‎-3:15 PM (CT)
01/01	Buccaneers	vs			Falcons	‎-3:15 PM (CT)

01/01

Cowboys

vs

Giants

‎-7:30 PM (CT)

Last week: 10-6
Season record: 157-83