Sterling Gibbs Sinks Villanova

Welcome to the Madness of March. Former Texas Longhorn Sterling Gibbs hits a stepback jumper to help Seton Hall upset Villanova in the Big East Tournament Quarterfinals earlier today. The loss could cost Villanova a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, as Michigan and Kansas have a chance of moving up back into that top line with Wichita State, Arizona, and Florida.

Wichita State Wins MVC Tournament, Now 34-0

For the first time since 1991 (UNLV), a team will enter the NCAA Tournament with an undefeated record, as #2 Wichita State wrapped up the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship today with a 83-69 win over Indiana State in the final in St. Louis. Fred Van Vleet led the Shockers with 22 points, 5 rebounds, and 5 assists, while fellow guard Tekele Cotton added 20 for the 34-0 Shockers, who will definitely get a #1 seed in the NCAA Tournament, which starts next week. Then, they'll try to become the first undefeated NCAA basketball champion since the 1976 Indiana Hoosiers.

Tyler Ennis Keeps Syracuse Undefeated

Unreal shot by freshman Tyler Ennis, as #1 Syracuse remains unbeaten, running their record to 24-0. They should win their next two games easily (hosting NC State and BC), so mark your calendars for next Saturday when they visit Cameron Indoor and Duke.

17 days until March...

Super Bowl XLVIII Preview: Seahawks vs. Broncos

The first ever outdoor, cold weather Super Bowl, although the forecast is for temperatures in the mid-40's. 

QB: Russell Wilson vs. Peyton Manning

Wilson has proved all his doubters wrong in his first two years in the NFL. Basically a Frank Tarkenton 2.0 with his ability to buy time in the pocket by escaping pass rushers, while keeping his eyes down the field, he has simply been amazing to watch. Although he hasn't had great statistics this postseason (just 1 TD and 89.1 QB rating), he has managed the game well and made the plays when it counted (his 35-yard TD pass on 4th and 7 in NFC Championship Game was game winner). Meanwhile, on the other side, what can I say about Peyton Manning? Two years ago, it looked like his career was over and this year, he breaks the all-time record for TD passes in a season, throwing for 55, while leading the Broncos to their first Super Bowl since 1997. There was concern "Mr. Omaha" may struggle to the throw the ball in the often windy conditions of Met Life Stadium (he struggled in the wind, Week 12 in New England), but the weather forecast looks fairly positive, so I expect a great game from one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. 

Edge: Broncos

RB: Marshawn Lynch vs. Knowshon Moreno

Lynch AKA "Beast Mode" anchors the NFL's 4th ranked rushing offense, as he amassed over 1200 yards and a career best 14 TD this year. His punishing running style and ability to run over would-be tacklers will be a good test against a Denver defense that ranked 7th in stopping the run. Denver must contain Lynch enough so that Seattle cannot be as effective with play-action, which Wilson thrives on in the passing game. Meanwhile, while Manning and Denver's passing game sets up its running game, Knowshon Moreno has quietly had a career-year himself, as he ran for over 1000 yards and had 13 total TD (helping my fantasy team make the playoffs). Moreno, who has thrived behind the zone-blocking Denver offensive line, also can catch the ball out of the back field on check-downs from Manning, while backup Montee Ball has also been effective around the goal-line. The more Denver is able to run the ball effectively with Moreno and Ball, the more pressure it takes off of Manning and any potential weather conditions.

Edge: Seahawks
WR/TE: Percy Harvin/Golden Tate/Doug Baldwin/Jermaine Kearse vs. Demaryius Thomas/Eric Decker/Wes Welker/Julius Thomas

The Seahawks' wide receivers are not the biggest of names, nor should they be. Golden Tate, Doug Baldwin, and Jermaine Kearse are all possession-type receivers, who run precise routes but don't really have big play potential (Kearse probably is the most explosive of the bunch). As a result, although Tate and Baldwin combined for an impressive 114 catches between them, Seattle ranked just 26th in passing offense during the regular season. However, Percy Harvin, who the Seahawks signed to a big contract in the offseason to be their #1 receiver, is finally healthy and may play a big role if he is 100% against a Denver secondary that has been susceptible to giving up big plays in the passing game.  
For the Broncos, Peyton Manning definitely makes any receiver better, but the depth of Denver's pass catchers is impressive regardless. Demaryius Thomas and Eric Decker make up the best wide receiver duo in the league in terms of yardage, as Thomas caught 14 TD this year with 1400+ receiving yards, while Decker caught 11 TD for over 1100 yards. If that were not impressive enough, TE Julius Thomas (also a waiver-wire fantasy pickup that helped me make the playoffs) and WR Wes Welker also accounted for over 700 yards each. So it's safe to say Seattle's #1 pass defense will be facing its toughest test yet.

Edge: Broncos

Defense:
Seahawks:

Ranked #1 in the NFL in total yardage allowed, Seattle's defense is solid from front to back, and excels at stopping the run, ranking 7th in the league in rushing yards allowed. After forcing offenses into third-and-longs is when their #1 ranked pass defense thrives, as the Seahawks' defensive line of Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Red Bryant, and Chris Clemons do a great job of generating a pass rush without blitzing, which often forces opposing quarterbacks to throw into coverage. And with the Legion of Boom secondary, headlined by three Pro Bowlers, CB Richard Sherman, who will tell you he is one of the top corners in the game, Earl Thomas, who had a career high 100 tackles to go with 5 intercepts, and Kam Chancellor, who is one of the hardest hitting safeties in the game. Against Peyton Manning and the #1 offense in the league, the Seahawks have to generate a consistent pass rush because, although the Seattle secondary is amazing, Denver has more weapons than they can cover.

Broncos:
Denver's defense, meanwhile, is middle of the pack, as they ranked 19th in the league in total yards allowed in the regular season, as injuries have depleted this defensive unit (they've lost top pass rusher Von Miller, as well as starting CB Chris Harris for season). The strength in their defense is against the run, as DT Terrance Knighton (aka Pot Roast) and LB Danny Trevathan have had outstanding seasons under defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio. This could bode well against a Seattle offense that primarily relies on running the ball. Against the pass, though, is where Denver struggles mightily. Although veteran DE Shaun Phillips has given Denver's pass rush a boost without Miller, their secondary has still been susceptible to big plays, as veteran CBs Quentin Jammer and Champ Bailey have been ineffective on the other side of Pro Bowl CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie and may need a lot of help from safeties Duke Ihenacho and Mike Adams to contain Harvin.

Edge: Seahawks

Special Teams

While the Broncos may have the better kicker in Matt Prater, the Seahawks have the edge at punter (Jon Ryan), kick coverage, and kick return, as Percy Harvin and Golden Tate are much more consistent than the sometimes erratic Trindon Holliday.

Edge: Seahawks

Coach:

John Fox returns to the Super Bowl for the first time in 10 years, as he has turned Denver around from a 4-12 laughingstock under Josh McDaniels to AFC Champions in just two years, after a successful career in Charlotte with the Panthers. Meanwhile, Pete Carroll has led a revolution since arriving in Seattle from USC, reshaping a defense and instilling his team's offense in a rising star in QB Russell Wilson.

Edge: Even

Bottom Line:

For the Broncos to win, Denver's offensive line must protect Peyton Manning from Seattle's group of outstanding pass rushers and allow him to find mismatches down the field with Denver's ridiculous depth of receivers. Also, they must contain the running game of Marshawn Lynch and prevent big plays in the passing game by containing Russell Wilson and not blowing assignments down the field. 
Meanwhile, for the Seahawks, they absolutely have to be able to run the ball effectively and control the clock, which will keep Peyton Manning off the field as much as possible. Defensively, they must generate a pressure on Manning and try to coax him into a mistake (i.e. Tracy Porter's game-sealing interception in Super Bowl XLIV)

In the end, although great defense usually beats great offense, I'm taking Denver to win the game based on the fair weather forecast, which will allow Denver to spread Seattle out and throw the ball, and the belief that this game will stamp Manning's legacy as the greatest QB to ever play.

My prediction:

2724

Last round's record: 2-0
Season record: 170-95

Stanislav Wawrinka Wins Australian Open, First Career Major

Men's tennis has a new major champion.

28-year old Stanislav Wawrinka finished off his amazing run at the Australian Open with the championship, as he beat Rafael Nadal 6-3, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to win his first career Grand Slam title. (highlights below)

Long overshadowed by countryman Roger Federer, Wawrinka's road to the title in Melbourne included an upset over #2 Novak Djokovic in the quarterfinals, as well as Tomas Berdych in the semifinals.

Nobody expected him to be able to compete with the Nadal, who was going for his 14th major, in the final, though. But incredible shot making from the get-go helped the Swiss control most of the match, as he won the first two sets easily, even almost forcing an early retirement due to a back injury from Nadal. After Nadal came back to win the third, Wawrinka closed it out in the fourth.

"Last year I had a crazy match, I lost it [in the fourth round to Novak Djokovic]. I was crying a lot after the match. But in one year a lot happened -- I still don't know if I'm dreaming or not but we'll see tomorrow morning."

NFL Picks: Conference Championships

01/19

Patriots		2:00 PM
Broncos

Here we go again, Manning vs. Brady for the 15th time in their careers, with a trip to Super Bowl XLVIII on the line in Denver. If New England can continue to run the ball as well as they have done the last couple of weeks, as well as pressure Peyton Manning, I think the Patriots can pull off the upset, just as they did in their shocking comeback win in Week 12 in Foxboro. But I think it will be Denver's running game, with Knowshon Moreno and Montee Ball that will wear down the New England front seven, allowing them to advance.

49ers		5:30 PM
Seahawks

The bitter, nasty rivalry continues in the NFC Title game, with San Francisco and Seattle matching up for the third time this year. I think it comes down to QB play in this one. The 49ers have the best linebacking core in football with Aldon Smith, Navarro Bowman, Patrick Willis, and Ahmad Brooks, so Marshawn Lynch should have problems running the ball, so it'll be up to Russell Wilson to make plays in the passing game for Seattle to move the ball, something they haven't done well in the last month. On the other side, Colin Kaepernick will have to extinguish his demons against Seattle's legion of boom secondary and get the ball to Vernon Davis and Michael Crabtree on time and on target. In the end, I like Wilson better, with the 12th Man behind him.

Last week: 2-2
Season record: 168-95

NBA All-Star Voting

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