Happy Thursday everyone, here's my Top 5 for January 3, 2013 from Len Berman at www.ThatsSports.com.
1. Quick Hits
- Louisville surprised Florida in the Sugar Bowl 33-23.
- Baltimore All-Pro linebacker Ray Lewis will retire after the playoffs.
- Syracuse basketball coach Jim Boeheim is now #2 all time with his 903rd win last night passing Bob Knight. Duke's Mike Krzyzewski has 940.
- The NHL talking continued late into last night and will resume today.
- It's opening day... for the PGA. The Tournament of Champions gets underway in Maui.
- The 32-year-old son of Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Scott, is dead a suspected drug overdose.
2. The Jet Set
So what does a football team owe its fans exactly? A good show? That's probably it. But in these highly charged days of heavy fan investment do they deserve just a little more than that? If a team tanks, like the Jets, and fires its general manager do the fans deserve a timely explanation? NFL rules say that they do. Should the team give the impression that the second the season ended, the coach and brain trust immediately got back to work to prepare for next season? Or should the coach frolic in the Bahamas? Jets fans might have joined Rex Ryan in the surf, but they already took a bath with their PSLs.
3. A Tradition Like No Other
Top 5 subscriber R.K. was watching the Meineke Car Care Bowl last week when he fired off an email with the subject: "I want to be sick." It seems the hand gesture for Texas Tech is "Guns Up," their version of Texas' "Hook 'em Horns." R.K. writes: "Why don't we ever, as a society, learn anything except the regularity of falling over fiscal cliffs and shooting the s*** out of each other?" Here's the skinny on "Guns Up" from the Texas Tech website. Perhaps they need to start a more peace-loving tradition? "Guns Holstered" would be a good jumping off point.
4. Hannah Storm
Welcome back to sportscasting Hannah Storm! In case you missed it, she was burned in a horrible grill accident. It's a story well worth watching.
5. By George
He died two and a half years ago, but not a week goes by where a Yankee fan doesn't say "If only George Steinbrenner were still alive." Would he have a strict budget? Would the Yankees be so quiet this off-season? Wouldn't he have something juicy to say about A-Rod soliciting phone numbers from babes near the dugout? Love him or hate him, George was a lot more fun. And it all began when he bought the Yankees 40 years ago today.
Happy Birthday: Eli Manning. 32.
Bonus Birthday: Chicago Blackhawks great Bobby Hull. 74.
Today in Sports: A big day for acquisitions in Yankees history. The Yanks get The Babe from Boston. 1920.
Bonus Event: George Steinbrenner buys the Yankees from CBS for a reported $10-million. 1973.
Fun Fact: The Top 5 was read yesterday in the United Arab Emirates and Jordan but not in South Dakota or Mississippi.
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