Around The Horn

NFL- The Super Bowl is less then a week away and that means we should only be subjected to 6 days of updates on Dwight Freeney and his ankle. Apparently a ‘grade 3 lower basketball sprain’ in fact means torn ligament. That is a little deceptive. Being the second most impactive player on the Colts the focus on Freeney and his injury will be covered closer then a Brett Favre retirement watch... Certainly Freeney’s ankle is Freeney’s ankle, it is on TV more then Leave It To BEAVER....RE-RUNS

NBA- Sunday the Lakers played the Celtics in a possible NBA Finals Preview. The cam came down to 1 point in the dying seconds of the game. The Lakers wound up victorious. Any idea who took the last shot for the Lakers and made it for the winning basket?? Yeah, figured...it was Kobe....again. When will teams learn. You make the Luke Walton or the Jordan Farmar’s of the world beat you. You can’t keep letting arguably the greatest clutch shooter/player the league has ever seen keep beating you. Coaching 101...Rookie Mistake Doc.

NASCAR- The DAYTONA 500, "The Great American Race". 43 of the best stock car drivers in the world take center stage February 14, 2010 in NASCAR’s biggest, richest and most prestigious race. I love the sport and am a HUGE Jimmie Johnson fan but I do fear looking in the stands to the type of people who will be in the grandstands celebrating St. Valentines Day at the Speedway. The old V-chip in the TV might kick in for inappropriate content by inappropriate fans and viewer discretion may be advised. Hope it is on a delay and any nudity is brief and tasteful (and has a weight limit).

CFL - Congratulations you have a league that not once but twice drafted a deceased person on the entry draft. They have had 2 teams with the same name at the same time (Roughriders and Rough Riders) Now they have made things look even more on the up and up as the Toronto Argos are all set to be sold to BC Lions owner David Braley. It is nice that the team will have an owner and not be in fear of folding but to have an owner own 1 team in the East and 1 team in the West is sketchy at best.

MLB- The Minnesota Twins and catcher Joe Mauer have apparently agreed to terms on a 10-year contract extension. Mauer, who became just the second catcher in the last 33 years to be named the American league’s MVP this past season, is slated to earn $12.5 million this coming season and could have become a free agent at the end of the year. For a small market team who is known for allowing their best player move on when they become stars because they can’t afford them it is nice to see that they actually have made a commitment to the player and the player to the team. A nice change of pace. It probably was made more possible that Maur is also a native of St. Paul, Minnesota.

NHL- The trade between the Calgary Flames and New York Rangers reportedly involving Olli Jokinen, Brandon Prust to New York and Ales Kotalik and Chris Higgins to Calgary. that was supposed to go down on Monday didn’t. The Flames played with Jokinen in the lineup in Mondays game in one of the most odd situations involving a players transaction. Nothing says motivation like knowing that you may be gone 2 minutes after the conclusion of your game. That didn’t seem to help as the Flames were shut out.

Around The Horn

Today marks the beginning of a Tradition Unlike Any Other. It is time for The Masters. For golf fans this is the Super Bowl, the Daytona 500, the Final Four, the World Series wrapped into one.
Rumor has it that this Tiger Woods fellow is supposed to be good and has a chance to even win this year, it is like he came out of nowhere

The Columbus Blue Jackets have finally made the playoffs for the first time...ever in life. Will It be enough to make Rick Nash decide to commit to the team and sign a long term deal? Good question.
So does Doug Maclean still take credit for building this team? Is this just a coincidence that they made it in after he was relived of duty?

French officials say that Lance Armstrong violated the rules of their testing policy. His samples came back clean and there was no signs that he had done anything wrong. The agency, known as AFLD, said in a statement that the doctor leading the tests maintains Armstrong “did not respect the obligation to remain under the direct and permanent observation” of the testers.
Just another point that proves that the French really do hate Lance and will likely continue their witch hunt well after he decides to call it quits...for real this time.

Andrew Bynum of the Lakers is apparently ready to return to the team after rehabbing his injury in time to get ready for a playoff run.
Bynum had little choice but to re-join the team after he was seen at the Playboy Mansion with a bunny on his shoulders. Granted she probably weighed less then the bar he uses to put his weights on, but optically it just looks bad.

Bills running back Marshawn Lynch will be suspended three games by the NFL Lynch was arrested near Los Angeles on Feb. 11. In searching a parked car carrying Lynch, Culver City police found a 9 mm semiautomatic handgun inside a backpack in the trunk. Police also found four marijuana cigarettes in the car, but no drug charges were filed.
This may not be good as far as personal conduct goes but at least he didn’t shoot himself in the leg with his gun.

Cory Clouston Signed a 2 year deal to coach the Ottawa Senators.
With the amount of coaches that the team has gone through after some 8+ years under Jacques Martin it would be fitting had they left the Interim Head Coach title on him.

Terrell Owens shocked all of Up State New York by actually attending a voluntary workout with the Bills.