It’s been a slow week in the world of sports. Other than the fact that almost every NFL coach loses his job, and a few more top 25 teams in college basketball lose, it was a VERY slow weekend. For Florida fans, their nightmare became complete. Not only did Florida hire their new head coach, Ron Zook, but on Monday, the Washington Redskins hired the former Gator head coach to replace Marty Schottenheimer. It might be safe to say that the SEC is celebrating now.
The No. 1 team in college basketball lost again. Last week it was Duke giving up their top spot in the polls, this week it was the Kansas Jayhawks succumbing to UCLA in Westwood. Among the other upsets in college basketball, 13th-ranked Iowa lost at home to unranked Indiana. Despite a slow start, don’t expect the Hoosiers to remain unranked any longer. Our beloved Bulldogs will drop out of the top 25 this week after losing at Arkansas and Ole Miss during the week. The ‘Dawgs were given their first national ranking since the Final Four season of 1996, and seemed to give it up almost as quick as they got it.
The NFL playoffs are underway and no real surprises to speak of, other than the fact that Chicago and Philadelphia are meeting in the second round. Two teams that only three short years ago were struggling to get out of their respective division cellars, are now two wins away from the holy grail of football, the Super Bowl.
Believe it or not, the Winter Olympics are around the corner. Yeah, I forgot about it too. I mean come on, has anyone heard anything about it other than about how tight the security is going to be? Can we not get a Nancy Kerrigan/Tonya Harding saga this year? What’s the problem? Now that I’ve mentioned it though, I’m ready for it. My main focus will be the hockey portion of the games. I suggest we all wear our red, white and blue and cheer on the athletes, I know I will.
If any of you missed the MSU women’s game on Sunday against Georgia, you missed out. Georgia was ranked eighth in the country coming into their battle with the Lady Bulldogs, and is still regarded as one of the best teams in the Southeastern Conference. LaToya Thomas and the Lady ‘Dawgs quickly silenced the critics and came out with a 2-point victory. Led by Thomas’ 43 points, MSU gave Georgia only their fifth loss in 338 games in which they have scored over 80 points. The Lady ‘Dawgs are now 12-5 overall and 3-1 in the SEC. Just like the men, they deserve your support too.
One more thing, I was able to attend the Mississippi State-Mississippi men’s basketball game Saturday in Oxford. I must say I was a little impressed with the noise in the arena. I have always said every team is as good as it’s home fans, and Saturday, I guess I learned that Ole Miss is a little better than advertised. Which also tells me something else, our fans must be pretty darn good themselves. But let’s do those Rebels one better. On Feb. 23, or for that matter, for the remainder of the home games, let’s show the rest of the SEC just how good the Mississippi State Bulldogs are– men AND women. Hope to see you all Wednesday night against Tennessee, but until then, be good.